Mac gets the Priesthood! 05/01/20

This photo was taken the night before Mac received the Priesthood (04/01/20). 

I remember going into his room that night & looking at him sleeping and wondering to myself, how it was possible that he grew up so quickly from that cute little helpless baby, who couldn't do a single thing for himself, into this handsome, young man that Heavenly Father trusts to pass on his power to & to give Him authority (in stages) to act in His name. 

Is he old enough and really capable of everything that Heavenly Father expects of him I wondered? He still seems so young & inexperienced in life?

And then in my mind, I quickly remembered the prophet, Joseph Smith. 

This has always been the pattern Heavenly Father has followed with His chosen ones. He sees potential, not perfection. He sees what we can become when sometimes we only see things as they are. And he sees our heart, when others can only see with their eyes.

As I let the magnitude of what Heavenly Father was entrusting my precious boy to do sink in, I got to see just a little glimpse of what Heavenly Father sees in Him and I felt excited for great things to come. 

I know he doesn't fully comprehend right now, the marvellous gift he has been given in being blessed with the Priesthood, but I hope the more and more opportunities he has to serve, the more and more He will see the power of God in his life and in the lives of others. And that it will change Him. 

It was one of my best Mummy moments EVER to see you serve the sacrament for the first time my precious boy. And each Sunday since xxx

 

Another awesome thing about his ordination day is that he got to receive the Aaronic Priesthood on the same day as his good buddy, Isaac Cabaron, who was an old family friend of ours from Aeroview Ward. They moved into West Harbour Ward just a couple of weeks before! Perfect timing!!

Bishop Pilling & 2nd counsellor, Brother Rima

Pics of the freaky yellow skies over Auckland that afternoon, after church. This was a result of the smoke from the terrible bush fires over in Australia at the time. The fires were so bad that the smoke blew all the way across the Tasman. It was such an eerie feeling to look out & see the skies that colour. Kind of like the Apocolyse was coming :(

Celebrating Lukey's 3rd & Julie's 5th birthdays!!!!

Boy am I so grateful that the Stoners chose to move back to NZ in Jan 2019 & that we get to have birthdays with these 2 little critters now!!

They are both such cutie patooties & having their birthdays only a week apart means a combined party with double the birthday fun!!! 

This was their cool day back in Jan complete with good old fashioned party food & an awesome slip n slide!!....

Mac serves the sacrament for the 1st time & Kyah's 9th birthday (& Kel Jnr's 40th birthday!)

Today was such a proud Mummy moment for me as I watched my handsome firstborn son serve the sacrament for the 1st time!!!! He was so nervous & excited all at the same time & had a boggle the whole time, but he did such a great job!

I wish I could've filmed it to be able to remember it forever & ever - but of course it's not appropriate to film a sacred ordinance like the sacrament, so I'll just have to try & remember it in my mind's eye for as long as I can. He was number 4 (out of 4) so he served the people on the right hand side of the congregation at our West Harbour Chapel & I beamed every second watching him perform his priesthood duties for the very first time. 

After that he had his first Sunday in Young Men's (where Stan was teaching) & he was also called as the President of the Deacon's quorum, so that was special. 

After church he got to go with Stan to serve the sacrament to a 92 year old lady from our ward who lives in a rest home just up the road, so he got to do it twice in one day!

Here are a few pics from church & then at our special birthday lunch/kids movie session for Kyah's 9th birthday afterwards, at the Hekes. 

Just on a side note, it's also our big bro Kel Jnr's 40th birthday today! I CAN'T WAIT to meet him & our other 2 brothers one day. What a joyful reunion that will be!!! 

Last day at Bayview

Leaving behind something or some place or someone you've loved is one of the hardest things there is to do in this life, & so leaving behind Bayview School & all of the awesome teachers & friends & memories etched in our hearts from 6 years at the special place was something so hard to do. Thank goodness I'm so far behind in my blog & am writing this post a whole year after it actually happened cause otherwise I'd probably be sobbing out loud right now!! 

Seriously though, the boys & I - all of us, really had such a great time at that school & always felt so loved & cherished & part of such am amazing community there, that it will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Here are some pics of the boys last day...

Mac & the rest of his graduating class reading through notes in their Kete..I had made him a special photo album of photos over the last 6 years, 

from year 1 - 6 

My handsome boy on his last day of Year 6

Mac with one of his year 6 teachers, Ms Cray

Mac with some of his crew...(L - R Mac, Tim, Carlos, Parker, Shea, Jamie, Travis, Aroha)

Lucky he wrote his name on his forehead, just in case we forget who he is!!

Spence with some of his besties (L-R Spence, Josh, Dylan, Cooper, Jake)