How can it be April already?

So much has happened that I haven't blogged about... Highlights from the last two months:
February:
Alvan turned 60!! We had the family come over for a surprise birthday breakfast. I love this man, he is a wonderful, loving husband, father, brother, son, friend and companion. I wish we had been in a better financial situation to do something more special to commemorate this big day. Alvan said he didn't want a big fuss, but I can't help feel he deserved it! Love you hun. xx

Whitney's tests all turned out to be good news. Her sudden loss of eyesight has been officially diagnosed as a spasm. She will have another follow up visit with the Opthamologist this week, but she hasn't had any other "episodes" so all is well.

March:
Tara was sealed to Yustan and Freyr. It was an beautiful day....Freyr was amazing, he was so reverent and "knew" what was happening was very special. He also got a great new hair cut for the big day...which we all absolutely love!
My sister Kerrie came up from Melbourne for Tara's sealing. We had a wonderful time catching up and just spending some "down time" together. Only being 4 months apart in age we grew up best friends, our bond is very special. Thanks for coming Kerrie, I loved it. Hope it's inspired you to come up again soon.

Whitney got her partriarchal blessing!! It was a really special, personal blessing...with lots of wonderful promises for her future. Whitney had wanted her patriarchal blessing for a while now, we waited to see if her grandad would be able to give it to her (all her siblings had that wonderful opportunity), but ultimately Whitney understood who the blessing really comes from and decided she needed to not put it off any longer. Our stake patricarch is a wonderful, kind, righteous man. We are anxiously waiting for it to arrive in the mail!

March was an interesting weather month...with unprecedented rain. It seemed to rain almost every day, and when I say rain, I mean pour!! Enjoy some pictures Whitney took one afternoon of an approaching storm below. Easter is approaching very quickly!! Looking forward to spending some more quality time with family, and our traditional "Easter Feast". Workwise, Alvan is still looking...working 3 days a week as a storeman in a warehouse to keep us "treading water", and March was very demanding for my company...with very few days that were not "FULL DIARY" days. As busy and tiring as it's been, I'm ever mindful of how blessed we are for me to have this job!! It's a great company to work for, and I really do love it...if only I could do something about my commute time.

This year is almost a quarter of the way over already. How can it be April already? Before I know it, I'll be asking how can it be October already? Fasten your seat belts friends, I think this year is gonna be the fastest one yet!

Together Forever

Tara and Yustan were sealed to each other and to Freyr last Saturday... 14th March. It was a beautiful day, and I've never seen Tara look so happy and radiant. I was not alone in that description; everyone made the same comment over and over all day. Enjoy some photos from the day, I'm working on getting a video uploaded soon.

Why are Whitney's eyes dilated?

This has been an interesting week. Last Tuesday 11th Feb, while at school in the middle of a class Whitney suddenly lost vision in her right eye. Yes, completely black. Alvan was called and he came and collected her from school. He called the 1300 health line for guidance and they sent out an ambulance to check it out. The paramedics said she should go to hospital, she didn't want to to do that so Alvan took her to the drs. The doctor told her she had to go to hospital, so only at this stage did I get a phone call. Alvan called to let me know when I finished work (in 10 mins), to meet them at the Mater Hospital. You can image the panic I felt.... I met them about 40 mins later at the emergency room of the Mater Hospital. After a number of tests, (one of which involved dilated her pupils) from nurses, interns, registrars and the dr on duty, and because by now she was seeing light and a few moments, but nothing distinct, we were sent home and told we'd hear from the specialist tomorrow for an appointment. When she woke up the next day, she had vision albeit very blurry. I stayed home from work the next day, the specialist called in the morning to say he could only fit her in after hours about 6.30pm that day. At lunchtime I got a call from the Mater Eye Clinic saying the specialist has asked for Whitney to come in now. So we rush in (staying in the speed limit of course). Where we spend 6 hours seeing registrars and nurses and doing another round of tests. Only to be told they don't know what it is and she'll have to make an appointment to see the Opthomologist next Tuesday. Her vision stayed blurry until Friday morning, when it suddenly came right again. On Tuesday this week, Alvan took her to see Dr Pane (yes, that really is he's name) who ran some more tests, having her eyes dilated again. He said he had two ideas, the most likely was a spasm of the vein behind the eye (he sees about 10 cases a year of that), or a mini stroke. So she began another barrage of tests which lasted to the end of the day and included a exercise stress echocardiogram & bubble study, and a corotid duplex, not to mention a plethoria of blood tests. After a very long day (11 hours worth), the news is good from the results of the stress echo and duplex tests, blood tests still unknown, but looking most likely to be a spasm. She sees Dr Pane again next Tuesday for an absolute answer... we hope!! So now you know why Whitney's eyes are dilated!! Enjoy everything you see today, and be grateful for your sight.

Christmas tradition...Fireworks at Southbank

On Tuesday 23rd December, as is our family tradition we all met at Southbank for a bbq dinner and swim and Christmas fireworks display. Elly and Rick were missed this year as they were visiting Rick's family. Below is a series of candid pictures from the night:

Yustan & Tara enjoy the fun atmosphere

As does Freyr...cheeky boy Rachel came all the way from Hong Kong to enjoy it with Whitney!! L to R: Rachel, Whitney, CeNedra hugging Linda, Perrin, Yustan (Tara behind) Jaime & Rob

Alvan gets a good possie!

Whitney and Tara share a quiet moment One of my favourite views from Southbank...the Temple lit up at dusk

As the time got closer to the fireworks, Freyr found himself a good seat...Nan's!!

Freyr turns 2

Freyr turned two years old on December 16th! Nan & Koro gave him a train set...he is in love with it!! He couldn't wait to get it set up (Everyone else was more than happy to help too), and just loves playing with it everyday. He also got...drum roll please...his first hair cut. He wasn't too happy to sit still, so after finding a spray water bottle (which he decided he could drink from) to appease him, the hairdresser was able to complete his first haircut. Judging by the photo of Tara, Freyr was not the only unsure participant.