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The day after Pop's funeral we were lucky to have an extended family get-together so that we could spend a bit more time with one another before those who live interstate had to fly home.
Uncle Kim and Aunty Deidre live in Nan and Pop's old house, but they have renovated it and done it up recently to be a beautiful, modern home. It was so lovely being able to meet there as it was our "old stomping grounds" for Triffitt get-togethers. Although the house looks different now, it still feels the same and was the perfect location for us to gather together.
Nan joined us for a few hours which was really lovely, I think she was well and truly worn out by the end of her stay though with so many crazy great-grandchildren buzzing around her!
It was such a fun day together - a BBQ, playing cricket, riding motor bikes, a hayride, a waterfight and lots of time to catch up with each other once again.
Carli and I tried to get an individual shots of everyone with hopes to make something (don't know what yet?) for Nan for her birthday coming up at the end of February. There were a few sneaky adults and busy children who I didn't manage to snap - I hope you go them Carli?! 
I love being a part of a big family. It is especially nice now that my cousins are all having children and that our little ones have a big network of people they can call family and trust and rely on and know that they too will grow up having the same strong bonds that I did with my cousins and aunties and uncles. Your parents and brothers and sisters are so important, but sometimes growing up you are too cool for them and I know that I wouldn't be half the person I am today without the support of my extended family to fall back on.
There is something special about family. It encompasses a totally unique, unpredictable blend of personalities, yet we have a special bond with one another and share a love and friendship that in many cases wouldn't exist if we weren't related.
I know that Pop would have been watching us from heaven and smiling as we carried on his legacy of faith in family without him here to guide us.
Sorry for the scarcity on the blog this week. It has been a busy and emotional week. Not in a devastatingly upset way, but it has been a time for reflection, reminiscing and celebrating the life of the man that so many of us love and call Pop.
Pop lived to the age of 89...a couple of months more and he would have been 90. His health had taken a turn for the worse a few years ago and he had been sick on and off for quite awhile. He passed peacefully away in his bed last Monday, a bitter-sweet moment for all of his family and close friends. Although we are all sad that he is no longer with us to share his stories and love we are also happy that he is free from the infirmities his aged body presented him with. We are sad for Nan, that she no longer has her faithful companion by her side but know that this is the way things are supposed to be for a little while.
We always used to joke around saying that when Pop eventually passed away (he was like the Energizer Bunny...always bouncing back when we thought this was "it"!!!) his funeral would be a huge event and it was! He was so well known and loved by everyone, it was touching to see family members and many, many friends of Pop's gather together to bid him farewell.
His funeral on Friday was just beautiful. There were many tears shed. I will miss him dearly and it is sad to think that he isn't going to be here any more but most of the tears I shed were tears of gratitude and love for this great man who has been such a wonderful example to me and taught me so much throughout my entire life.
He taught me to work hard and keep working at a job until it was completed and done well.
He taught me about service and how important it is to look after those around you who are less-fortunate or in need.
He taught me to love Jesus Christ and helped me to develop a testimony of Him.
He taught me that it is important to have fun and joke and laugh, I have fond memories of Pop playing practical jokes on people after Sunday dinner and telling us the same old jokes over and over again - they were always funny when he told them though!
He taught me to hold family close and make the most of the time we have with each other. Family is different from friends.
He taught me to love the earth - I watched him work on his river flats day after day, week after week, year after year, keeping the entire acreage in pristine condition. I didn't realise what a wonderful job he did at this until just recently when we camped at the river flats and saw things from a different perspective and how much work must have gone into caring for it all.
He taught me that you can achieve anything in life if you want it badly enough. Pop was from a very poor family, he couldn't read or write properly until he was a father himself, Nan was from a very wealthy family and her father did not want them to marry because he said that Pop would never amount to anything. Pop proved him wrong and ended up being one of the most successful farmers in the area!
He taught me to slow down and enjoy the beauties of life for you never know when your time is going to be up.
It was so wonderful to have all of the extended family together once again. My cousin Penny lives in the USA so she wasn't able to be there in the flesh, but did join us over Skype and was able to be a part of the funeral in that way. Nan and Pop have 6 children, 29 grandchildren and 58 great-grandchildren! Growing up we would get together each Christmas for a family lunch and usually a few other significant times during the year. Unfortunately as we have all grown older, married and had families of our own and many of us have moved away this doesn't happen very often anymore so it was very special to all be together.
When planning his funeral awhile ago, Pop wanted one grandson from each of his children's families to be the pall bearers. I think he secretly did this because he knew it would make us all cry A LOT! :) It was just beautiful watching my cousins carry him to his grave and extremely emotional for everyone.
Pop was a WWII veteran and as his coffin was being lowered into the ground the boys held an Australian Flag over the grave as The Last Post was being played. Our eldest cousin, Dion proudly wore Pop's medals from war during the funeral. It was all so fitting and appropriate as ANZAC Day has always been such an important event in Pop's life and for the rest of the family as we would gather together and watch him march down the street and pay our respects to him and the other men and women who served our country so valiantly at war.
Nan was just perfect. She has always loved to buy new outfits, get dressed up and have her hair done and she was so beautiful. Pop always used to joke that she "was the best wife I ever had" (and he only ever had one!) and he is right...she is just adorable and a strong woman who is also a wonderful example to all of her family.
Thankyou Pop for your life, your example and your love. Your legacy will live on.
Love, Midget
xxx
P.S. You can read more about Pop and how he has touched our lives on my cousin's blogs here, here, here, here and here.
This man is a hero. A hero of war.A hero of family.A hero of religion.A hero of friendship and acceptance.A hero of work.A hero of endurance.
His life was long and rich. He has touched many.
Farewell Pop.
We love you and will miss you but are happy you are in a better place. I can't help but smile as I think of the hundreds you have been greeting with a warm hug or a firm handshake in heaven today. We are sad for Nan, but there is joy in knowing that we will meet again.
Love,
Midget xxx
Check out our explosion of green... :)
Congratulations to Nic WoodYou are the winner of the Fab Frocks giveaway!
Email me with your postal address and I'll get a copy of the pattern out to you :)Thankyou all for you support!
My Dad has a killer vegie garden. He recently had an abundance of beetroot so I had a go at this salad to eat with dinner one night. It was divine...Roasted Beetroot, Pumpkin and Hazelnut Salad1 small bunch beetroot, trimmed1/4 Jap/Kent pumpkin, deseeded, cut into 2cm cubesOlive oil spraySea salt & freshly ground pepper1 red onion, cut into 1cm thick wedges1/4 cup (60ml) low-fat French dressing1 tbs fresh lemon juice50g fresh rocket, trimmed1/2 cup feta, crumbled1/4 cup hazelnuts, roasted, roughly chopped
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Wrap the beetroot in foil. Place the pumpkin and onion on a baking tray and spray with oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the wrapped beetroot to the tray. Roast for 30-40 minutes until tender. Remove beetroot from foil to cool slightly.
Gently rub the beetroot to remove the skin. Cut into small cubes.
In a large bowl, toss the rocket, beetroot, pumpkin and onion with the dressing. Sprinkle with feta and hazelnuts to serve.
First of all...this post is VERY heavy in the photo department. I just couldn't help myself ;)
Last week I was very privileged to spend three days camping with the Young Women (girls aged between 12 and 18) in our church from the northern part of Tasmania. In our church we all have "jobs" (callings) which change from time to time. At the moment my calling is a part of the Stake Young Women Presidency and we get to do fun things like put on camps, dances, conventions and other activities for the girls.
We have been planning our 2010 camp for months and it was very exciting when the time finally came. The girls haven't been "real" tent camping in years so we decided that this year we would rough it a bit and "go bush"! I have mentioned my Pop's river before on my blog and how beautiful it is there. When I was in Young Womens all of our camps were held there and it is a great location to go bush camping as it isn't too far away from civilisation but isolated enough to have it all to ourselves. Lucky for us the new owners were happy for us to use the river for camp this year!
The weather was stinking hot on Monday, which isn't much fun for setting up tents so after our official opening ceremony we decided to forgo our plans for the afternoon and make the most of it being warm enough to go swimming instead! 
One of the perks(?!) of being a leader is that the girls think they can play fun tricks on you like pulling you into the river when you least expect it (thankyou Tayla and Morgan!!) We have had some lovely warm days recently so the water temperature was really good, instead of jumping in and freezing after 10 minutes it was easy to stay swimming for half an hour or more.
Since Pop sold the property, the new owners have built a jumping platform on the other side of the river. Everyone was having a great time on it jumping into the water, singing songs and playing games. The girls wanted me to jump with them so I climbed to the top and realised how high up it looked once you were up there! I was so nervous and stood there for about 10 minutes until I finally caved to the peer pressure :) and took the plunge! 
Tommy came along to camp with me as I am still feeding him. He is such a little trooper and loved all of the cuddles and attention from the girls. They nicknamed him "The Happiest Baby Ever" because he hardly ever cried and gave them plenty of smiles! He was really easy to have around. I thought it would be easier if he could go "home" to sleep at night so that I could still be involved in our night time activities and not have to sit in a tent with him or worry about him if he was unsettled. After dinner each evening I drove him to Aunty Deidre's house (about 5 minutes away), fed him and put him to bed. The country air must have really exhausted him as he slept for 12 hours each night and I had to wake him up in the morning to get going again!!!
The rest of camp was filled with lots of fun activities like skit performances...
A hike (yes, that is Kim and I pushing our prams up the rocky, steep hill!!)...
Secret Sister pockets (we made up this wall hanging with a pocket for each of the girls and challenged them to put nice notes or treats into each others pockets each day)...
Fun group games like waterbomb volleyball...
Quiet time for scripture reading and journal writing...
Making friendship bracelets (have you made these before? Out of cross-stitch thread - instructions here)...
Morning devotionals...
Listening to Lisa's LOUD and SHINY whistle (the girls just loved this - hehe!)...
And lots of free time to go swimming, chat with friends and chill out.
We finished camp with an awards ceremony where each of the girls were given an award for something that they did on camp. We have seven girls who are going to be turning 18 this year who earned certificates and engraved wooden boxes for completing their Camp Crafter requirements over their six camps. These girls were a lot of fun and such a great help on camp and we are going to really miss them next year!
It was such a fun three days, I think everyone was happy to go home and have a hot shower and use a decent toilet but it is always sad when camp is over as the girls and leaders form such strong friendships and connections with one another. 
Uncle Kim and Aunty Deidre live in Nan and Pop's old house, but they have renovated it and done it up recently to be a beautiful, modern home. It was so lovely being able to meet there as it was our "old stomping grounds" for Triffitt get-togethers. Although the house looks different now, it still feels the same and was the perfect location for us to gather together.
Nan joined us for a few hours which was really lovely, I think she was well and truly worn out by the end of her stay though with so many crazy great-grandchildren buzzing around her!
It was such a fun day together - a BBQ, playing cricket, riding motor bikes, a hayride, a waterfight and lots of time to catch up with each other once again.
Carli and I tried to get an individual shots of everyone with hopes to make something (don't know what yet?) for Nan for her birthday coming up at the end of February. There were a few sneaky adults and busy children who I didn't manage to snap - I hope you go them Carli?! 
I love being a part of a big family. It is especially nice now that my cousins are all having children and that our little ones have a big network of people they can call family and trust and rely on and know that they too will grow up having the same strong bonds that I did with my cousins and aunties and uncles. Your parents and brothers and sisters are so important, but sometimes growing up you are too cool for them and I know that I wouldn't be half the person I am today without the support of my extended family to fall back on.
There is something special about family. It encompasses a totally unique, unpredictable blend of personalities, yet we have a special bond with one another and share a love and friendship that in many cases wouldn't exist if we weren't related.
I know that Pop would have been watching us from heaven and smiling as we carried on his legacy of faith in family without him here to guide us.
