Birthday Buzz

so as most of you all know, i am now the big 23.

yay - not.

this year i left it all in my husbands hands to organise,

and of course i completely forgot i told him that and planned an afternoon at the aquarium and dinner at crepes with our boys, i even invited some friends to come along.

that's when i found out my beautiful husband had actually planned something like i told him to.

we started out the day visiting my brother and father in law at the cemetery.

i thought that was so thoughtful of jevan to plan.

i know my brother is never far from me, i think of him as my guardian angel.

makai will often come in and ask me where did uncle mark go?

and braxton is always smiling and laughing at someone right next to me.

a lot of people do not believe in this but i certainly do.

i then got the BIGGEST surprise of all.

(sorry, i am going to give you a background into this present - feel free to skip right passed it if you want)

when jevan and i got married i wanted to get a matching eternity ring for my wedding band, but because we were young and did not have much money, we could not afford it. So he promised me on our first anniversary he would buy me this ring. 

but as the anniversaries kept coming, this ring never appeared until THIS BIRTHDAY.

YEP, you guessed it joovy got me my ring : ), and it looks AMAZING.

but back to the day.

we went and watched out boys play at the park. as you get older and your kids grow, how you wish to spend your birthday changes. i want nothing more than to spend my birthday's just watching my boys play at the park with each other sitting on a seat with my husband. whenever we are all together it is a feeling i can never explain, i just feel whole.

we had lunch at flower power - LENTIL BUGER BOO YAH !

(my brother HATED IT)

jevan also surprised me with a shopping trip to Pit Street Mall to buy a new dress for my friends wedding next month and yes he came into every shop with me even though the swans game was on (i know he's totally a keeper).

so after we found a dress i cut him some slack and let him watch the swans game on the big screen at Darling Harbour (he totally deserved it after the shopping trip.)

we had a lovely dinner at criniti's and dessert at adirano zumbo's (YUM YUM YUM)

i'm almost done haha.

he then bought two tickets to see legally blonde the musical and it was SO funny.

i had such a fantastic birthday, i don't know how he tops it off year after year but he does and i feel so blessed to have been blessed with a husband like jevan. noone knows him quite like i but he is my better half and brings out the best in me.

i have been blessed with two amazing sons who are going to grow up and do great and marvellous things. my family spoil me and have made me the person who i am.

i could not have gotten through the last 23 years without them.

thank you for sticking by me, even when the road i was walking down was rocky (EXTREMELY rocky at times.

graduated.

today the love of my life graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce - Professional Accounting.

he is the second to graduate from the Ormsby side and the third to graduate from the Nicholls side.

i could not have been prouder in that moment where he stood on that stage to receive his Bachelor.

as i was driving to meet him for this event i found myself become weepy (and for those who REALLY know me know that weepiness is defiantly not something i do like EVER.)

he started this journey in 2009, one month after getting married to one another.

we have had to sacrifice a lot during this three year period.

we also had great opportunities because he was a student and did not have a full-time job.

we have had two beautiful and amazing sons during this time.

but the biggest hurt happened 6 months into jevan's studies, he lost his dad.

to watch a husband have to cope with the grief and heartache from losing a father is something i do not wish upon anybody.

but nevertheless, jevan persevered and took day by day, month by month until he was able to focus somewhat on his studies again.

as i watched him graduate today even though you could not physical see his dad i know 100% he would have been there cheering him on with his mum, his nan and I from the other side.

he would have told him how proud he is of him and what an amazing father he is.

i wish he could still be here, but i know he isn't far from us either.

david is one of the two biggest motivations to jevan. he wants us to have a life like his father gave him and like my father gave me.

how grateful i am to him for raising a son so selfless he was willing to give up 3 years of his life so that we might be financially secure and be able to provide all the we want for our children.

being the one who watched jevan spend sleepless nights before exams and assignments, being the one who woke up EARLY (and i mean EARLY) to quiz him before exams, drive him and continually quiz him the whole way through (i'm pretty sure i know some accounting facts that i will NEVER EVER need because of that) makes me have so much more respect and love for him. 

having a family, studying full time and working part time was not easily balanced but he did it, i'm not sure how but he did. for this we have become a stronger couple and a stronger family.

i'm so grateful for the example he has set for our children.

so today i want to congratulate my husband publicly (even though he totally HATES this stuff) i'm going to do it anyway HAHA.

LOVE YOU JOOVY BOY AND I AM SO INCREDIBLY PROUD OF YOU.

i am so glad that i married someone who loves us so much - i'm the luckiest girl in the world : )

The End Of A Chapter

Octavia Olden, what can I not say about this girl. She is super ridiculous which I love, she is crazyyyyy, she is one of a kind, she is SOOOOOOOO EMOTIONAL, she emulates christ like attributes that I soooo wish I had. She has an amazingly GINORMOUS heart and her love in unconditional.

I love my eternal sister Octavia.

Now when I think back to when Octavia and I became friends (back in 2004), I can see that is was defiantly a blessing straight from Heavenly Father. I lost my brother in 2004 and Heavenly Father knew how tough life was going to become for me and I believe that he put Octavia, Mele, Nikita & Kira in my life's journey to help me and guide me on the straight and narrow path. They have been my shoulder to cry on, they have been my constant guide the whole way through my life until now. I believe that they, when I fell down and could no longer go on, they were the people that picked me up and carried me until I could continue along this journey that we are all on.

I have watched my friends get married and I'm ok with that because I know they are a text away or a 40 minute drive AT MOST, but tomorrow will be the day that I have to let one of them go for 18 months so that she can go save others, the same she has done me.

She won't be a phone call or a text away, she won't be a drive away. She will be on the other side of the world fulfilling her call that has been assigned specifically for her.

I am going to miss her. There is noone in this world like Octavia Rebekah Olden, noone comes close. This is why she is going to be THE BEST missionary I have ever known. She has been preparing this moment her whole life. I have been honoured to watch her be baptised into this church, I have watched her testimony grow and now I get to watch her leave for her mission tomorrow.

I love her with all my heart. She is my not my friend but my eternal sister.

So Temple Square please take extra good care of my sister Octavia because we love her and I know you will to.

Wedding Buzzzzzzz

So i'm a COMPLETE sucker for weddings. I absolutely looooovvvvveeee weddings, the way the bride & groom look at each other during their wedding dance, the speeches, the dresses, their SMILES as they walk out of the temple doors for the first time as husband and wife, the cutting of the cake, the fake smiles at the end of the day from to many photos, the little table arrangements, table cards, the thank-yous right down to the guest book I L O V E WEDDINGS !

Personally, the best and most favourite part of weddings is the sealing for me. Although many people don't get to witness it, it's an amazing, sacred and special ordinance (and it's FREEEEEE) !

So today as you probably already guessed it, Jevan and I attended the wedding of Aaron & Simone Halavaka. This wedding was so special and they deserved a PERFECT wedding.

(Don't they just look AMAZINGLY happy)

At moments like those I always find myself reminiscing about my own wedding.

The moment were I walked into the temple and knelt across the alter from my eternal companion was one of those unforgettable moments that is and will always be imprinted in my mind.

I could not stop smiling after I said Yes to being his wife for time and ALL ETERNITY.

Yes we aren't perfect and YES he drives me crazyyyyyyy most of the time. But I'm so grateful that we live on this earth with a temple that seals families for all eternity because I would not want to spend eternity with anybody else but him.

So this basically turned into my testimony haha. But it's all true I just can't stop smiling at the fact that I can live with my eternal companion and beautiful sons for the eternities to come - who wouldn't want that ?

ADDICTED .

so they say a picture tells a thousand words.

and seeing as i'm a tad of an instagram addict - here is our instagram life.

 I know, Jevan doing dishes.

 Makai sporting his new speedo's

 Braxy is always happy to go to swimming - he is such a water baby.

 Makai's new surprised face.

 And you thought Makai was the bully.

 Makai & Braxton's first slide together.

 These kids love the park.

 Braxy's first fireworks.

 Makai was NOT a fan of the fireworks.

 We loved having our family over this weekend.

 Sunday night walks.

 Poor KaiKai had a vomting bug.

 Braxy Boy is always ready for the camera - as you can tell in ALL the photos.

If you look really closely you can spot KaiKai.