Thursday, May 20, 2021

Family Milestones



I really love Instagram for all the visual inspiration and connections which can be found so quickly, it has become my primary online space. January 2019 is the last time I shared any family news here, with more recent posts featuring only quilts which I have completed. It's time to bring a summary of family news to provide some context and serve as a personal record. 

Thankfully, by the grace of God, we are all very well and individually moving on in our lives in positive directions. Our three youngest are still living at home, with the younger two continuing well with their homeschool studies (and cricket as their chosen sport). We love our new home and location and I'm still enjoying sewing quilts (and my clothes), long walks, taking photos, loving my family and keeping an orderly, welcoming home.

2019 was a year of settling into our new home and season of life after a very hectic 2018. Our Songbird daughter, Grace, released her debut EP of original songs, Every Little Thing. Everyone was home for the pre-release launch on a Saturday night in June 2019.This was an extra special weekend as Grace scheduled her bridal shower for the Sunday, following her engagement in early May.


July to September 2019 were a blur of smoke haze (from the beginning of a harrowing extended bushfire season) and wedding preparations. Mid September Grace and J were married in a beautiful country wedding at the back of J's father's farm. The reception was held on site, under the light of a stunning full moon.

Following the younger three girl's annual state Country Championships cricket carnival in October, we headed off on a three and half week road trip. Master T also accompanied us as he had just completed his first year of studies at Uni (Computer Science). The primary purpose of our long journey was the interment of my Mother-in Love's ashes at a family church in Victoria. After a small family ceremony at the historic church, we stayed in Ballarat, then had a week in Melbourne, before traveling to many other stunning places in Victoria including the Great Ocean Rd, Grampians and Mallacoota. We drove home along the NSW coast, catching up with some family and friends along the way. It was a wonderful holiday.






2020 began with lots of promise and the engagement of Miss E, our eldest child. Plans were soon curtailed greatly as the unpredictable impact of COVID increased. With the extra time at home I settled in to finish off some long term quilts - a positive focus, along with lots of neighbourhood walks. Miss E and fiancé R did an amazing job of working with ever changing restrictions in Sydney to eventually have a very small and beautiful wedding in their Latin Mass church in June 2020 (a very different experience for the rest of the family). So grateful our immediate families were able to attend (we met R's family the night before the wedding).


Christmas brought all the family together again, a gathering we were extra grateful for.


Early this month we had all the family home again, and many of the extended family, to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday. Discretely arranged by my sister and held in our home, we managed to surprise Mum. Mum came to stay for the weekend, expecting to see our immediate family (which is quite a number anyway) but then my two siblings and families arrived from Queensland, one by one, as well as her two surviving brothers and their wives from Dubbo, and a close Aunt (who was married to my father's brother - how Mum and Dad met), who is well loved by all the family. It was a wonderful time of reconnection for most and a time of introductions for the newer family members.




A pleasant change from quilt details - although I do have some more of those to share shortly too 😊

11 comments:

Fun60 said...

Thank you for this post and the catch up. I don't follow other media social platforms so had wondered how you were all doing. What a busy year you have had with the move and weddings and special birthday celebration. Good to hear all is well.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Thank you Fun60, I know quite a number of my blog followers have remained blogging only. It's nice to catch up a little. The time frame shared is over two years and they were good years - not as hectic as 2018 was with emptying my in-law's home, selling it and our own, purchasing another and moving.

chica said...

Karen, apesar de te ver no Instagram de vez em quando, foi muito bom te ver aqui nesse lindo blog! Quantas novidades...Doias casamentos, festinhas, naniversário da mãe, tantos lindos momentos,apesar dessa pandemia! Aqui ainda não podemos nos reunir...Deves saber da situação do Brasil!!! Pena!
Adorei as fotos e dou parabéns por tudo e também pela filha que se saiu bem na área musical... Beijos, tudo de bom,chica

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Thank you Chica. Yes, we know we have been very much spared during the last 15 months and are very grateful for our freedoms and only occasional lockdowns, especially in regional areas.

Barb said...

Lovely synopsis of your family activities. The photos of the happy faces are wonderful.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Thanks Barb. It's hard to believe you are still surrounded by snow. Your spring must be coming very soon. Like you, "I give thanks for life, for love, and for all of my blessings."

Anonymous said...

As a self-taught quilter, of 8 years, living in a country in which
quilt making/ handcrafts are not popular.
I deeply regret taking up quilt making due to all the negative
things I've read about the cotton industry. When I came across an article about how dangerous handmade quilts were for babies and toddlers it was the final straw. There is only one online quilt
shop in my country and charity shops are not good for sourcing
fabrics. Two years ago I bought fabric from a shop in the USA which
included a charm pack when I read that the fabric was a product
of one country flown 4,000 miles to be packaged then flown
5,000 miles to the USA another 5,000 miles to my country.
All the good was taken away from quilt making
Mary C.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Hello Mary,
The cotton industry certainly is far from perfect. I personally have a preference for purchasing certified organic cotton for both sewing and household linen, however the range of organic cotton is much smaller. Some of my sewing supplies and purchased clothing (mostly underwear) are made using organic bamboo fibres which appear to be better environmentally. I would rather be wearing and creating with natural fibres than synthetic products.

diane b said...

Glad to hear from you again with a family update and what an amazing family you have.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Thank you Diane, we are very grateful for each one.

diane b said...

That was great to read your family update. So much has happened over the last few years. You have an amazing family. Well done in bringing them all up to be wonderful citizens. I suppose you will have a crop of grandchildren soon to add to your big family. So glad you enjoy your new home and you had a lovely holiday.

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