Trek 2018

last week jevan and i got to participate in trek.

its a 40km walk that spans over 3 and a half days,

dressing up as pioneers, living out of a bucket, pushing a handcart,

making your own food and putting up and putting down a tarp each night to make a tent.

it sounds CRAZY when you write it all down

but it was one of the best experiences i have ever been able to participate in.

still almost a week later i get teary thinking about it

and i'm not an emotional person.

we were in charge of 9 kids who become our "trek children"

and we became their trek "ma and pa."

i love each of them some what ridiculously.

in the lead up jevan and i participated in "ma and pa" trainings.

and i thought this would be easy.

it's basically like taking care of church kids for 3 days.

but it was super tough, tougher than i had ever anticipated.

my first lesson i learnt was that

trek is a bit like labour

- noone can prepare you for it.

to write about the whole trek would take up pages and pages

and as i look back on this experience,

i don't think i could put my feelings down in words.

i know that everyone who was there felt what i feel

but if you weren't i couldn't describe it to you.

i understood what the whole gospel is about.

support, hard work and love.

the women's pull would have to be my all time favourite moment of trek.

i loved it,

it was empowering

and too see women go up and then come back down to help the others

was just the act of pure love and support.

we were the McArthur Family.

that name will always hold a special place in my heart from now until forever.

we walked with our kids, we pushed with our kids,

we played games with our kids, we got frustrated at our kids,

we laughed with our kids, we walked down a canyon with our kids,

we stood in freezing water with our kids, we cried with our kids

but most of all we loved our kids.

they were amazing and i think they don't see how amazing they truly are.

i never realised how many distractions we have in life,

until i did trek.

i don't actually need a phone, or a computer, or a big house, or lots of clothes to truely be happy.

i just need a bucket, a handcart, two tarps, a dutch oven (with people bringing me food supples), 3 changed of clothes and my family to be happy.

trek broke me a couple of times,

balling hysterically in jevans shoulder and a couple of reassuring comments 

was all i needed to wipe my face and keep on going.

jevan was amazing on trek.

i don't think i have ever been more grateful for him in our whole entire married years

than i was for him on trek.

he was my rock

and i always knew he was there.

seeing him try his best made me want to try my best.

not many people know this but i struggle in the church sometimes

and trek was exactly what i needed.

i know it was for the youth but i think Heavenly Father knew that i needed it just as much.

i've never felt the confidence that i feel to this day

and i owe it to trek.

putting yourself out their in situations that make you sick

are sometimes the moments in your life that you need the most.

i know heavenly father loves me, i know he is there,

i know jesus christ died for me and you.

i know the book of mormon is true.

i know that joseph smith restored the gospel.

francis webster sums up my thoughts the best,

"The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Baulkham Hills Stake Handcart Company."

Newnes Glow Worm Tunnel

last week jevan and i got to go on trek.

when we put it in words to people it sounds like we were crazy

but it was one of the BEST experience jevan and i have done together.

but that's for another post.

we wanted to take the boys and show them where we did it,

we also doubled up this trip to go and take the boys to the glow worm tunnel.

it was awesome ! 

it is a super kid friendly walk,

so super friendly that zayden didn't even need to get picked up.

we did take lots of bribery (lollies and chocolate),

that ALWAYS helps.

there were so many glow worms in tunnel,

makai told us it looked like he was looking at the milky-way.

if you go take a torch or you phone for the light,

it gets pitch black very quickly.

if you do go,

go early the carpark was packed when we got there at 11.

the boys all loved this little adventure

and makai told us this was his favourite walk we have done.

BIG call from this boy because

he H.A.T.E.S walking.

Rouse Hill Farm and House

i needed a quick activity for the holidays on monday.

i didn't feel like driving too far,

so i googled and found Rouse Hill Farm and House.

i only had 2 out of the 3 boys for this little activity.

we got there in time for the animal feeding tour.

this was the boys favourite

(and very hands on for the kiddies)

and my favourite was the house tour.

brax and i would've loved to have stayed for the school tour

but zayden (even though he's one) out voted us

with his CONSTANT whining.

and in fairness he did do ALOT of walking (for zayden).

the boys really loved all the old school games

they had set out that the kids could play with in between tours.

we had games of bowling, skipping, sack races and quoits.

it's definitely worth a visit.

Makai's Baptism

i now know what the saying “my heart is so full” means.

at this moment my heart is full.

our oldest boy chose to get baptized yesterday

and become a member of our church.

we are not only proud of the choice he made

but for whom he is.

makai hasn’t had it easy.

the two things I love most about Makai is,

his determination and obedience.

yesterday when we got to the chapel to start setting up for his baptism,

he was beaming.

his big day had finally come.

he watched the font fill up with water and asked me if it would be hot or cold.

he kept asking me if it was his turn to get into his white clothes.

everyone he walked past in the chapel he would say

“i’m getting baptized today, do you want to come to my baptism?”

they said of course they would,

(he didn’t know they had already been invited.)

he had practiced with his dad how to hold his nose and go under the water.

it finally came to get him dressed in his perfectly white clothes.

he was so excited,

his smile was beaming.

he was talking 100 miles per hour.

i had to keep telling him to calm down.

we took a couple of photos and then his baptism

the day he’d been waiting for was beginning.

makai and caylin (his cousin) began with a prelude “Choose Him Again”

this is makai’s FAVOURITE primary song.

the big that I loved most about this is that during the song

makai kept looking at his older cousin and they would smile together at each other.

we began with a song and a prayer.

his little brother and grammy said the 4^th Article of Faith together.

his cousin Kyron did a little talk on Baptism

and then came the moment Makai was waiting for,

it was his turn to get baptized.

i’m pretty sure he power walked to the font and

he would’ve jumped over the glass if he dad would have let him.

watching him walk into that water is a sight I will never forget.

he and his dad dressed in white clothes,

entering the waters of baptism side by side holding hands together.

his excitement was just beaming and radiating from his face.

i stood there and just was so proud of who he has become.

i can’t even begin to comprehend the love that 

heavenly father and heavenly mother must have for him,

my heart could not have been more full for him.

and then the words began “Makai Jevan Ormsby…”

and his moment had arrived.

i feel like it happened in slow motion when he was placed under the water.

he almost drenched me coming out of the font

he could not contain his pure joy that he had felt.

i hope his remembers that feeling forever and holds it close to his heart.

he got out to me and just said

“MUM I was so excited I was holding my nose when dad was talking because I was so excited to go under!”

while he was getting changed from his whites to his church clothes he asked

 “do you think Uncle Mark, Papa, Nan and Pop where there to see me get baptized?”

i told him I absolutely know they were there and

they were just as proud of you as I am right now.

next Braxton and aunty jessy sang

“teacher do you love me?”

this song is special to jevan and I because this is the song that his papa would sing at baptisms.

and so we wanted this to be sung at our children baptisms.

makai’s aunty sarah spoke on the holy ghost

and then Makai was able to receive the most special gift he would receive on his 8^th birthday.

he has been waiting for his gift,

 which felt like forever (he will tell you)

his father in heaven would give him the gift of the holy ghost.

this special gift will he help him throughout his life.

this special gift will be his constant companion.

this special gift will always keep him safe,

if Makai lets it.

he received this gift by the laying on of hands by his dad

and all those people that are special to Makai.

they were his Uncle Skye, Uncle Jardian, Grandpa, Uncle Nixon, Kyron, Uncle Hemi, Uncle Steven, Uncle Stan, Uncle Rob and Bishop Hobby.

i’m sure his Uncle Mark and Papa were in that circle aswell.

through an opening I watched his little face,

eyes tightly shut, arms folded, big smile across it,

with hand upon hand of priesthood holders placed upon his head.

in that moment I just could imagine the smiles across his heavenly parents face

as he received the holy ghost and is one step closer to returning to them.

we closed with a song and prayer.

my family isn’t very big and live internationally

and I was really upset about this leading up to the baptism.

but I have been blessed with amazing friends,

they made this day for our family stress-free.

we did not have to worry about the food,

it was all ready to go once the baptism was done,

the cleaned up any messes that were made during the food,

they made sure the drinks were topped up

they took everything off the table and cleaned it,

they even packed up my car.

jevan and i will be forever grateful for them.