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 😊

From the Rising of the Sun

There's always something special about watching the changing sky as the sun brings a new day and again as the sun sinks below the horizon. A time to pause in thanksgiving and wonder, realising how small and fragile we are.

From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to             be praised.     

Psalm 133:3

Miss V and Miss E were both water baptised on Easter Sunday - a public confession of their personal faith. It was wonderful to have all the family present for this event - as well as many friends.

A small organic baby quilt has been stitched and added to my Etsy store along with a small selection of cards professionally printed using my photos. Some lovely new fabrics have inspired a few more blocks of my epp hand stitching project too.

We continue to making steady progress as we sort the possessions of my parents' in law, frequently contemplating the role of belongings, our impact on the world and the legacy we leave for future generations. Appreciating the past, making the most of the present and looking with hope towards the future.

*** You may also enjoy my Instagram feed which I add to several times a week. You don't have to join Instagram to view - just click on the little blue square camera logo under my blog profile (top right hand corner).
Karen

Life Past and Present

It's amazing the things you discover as you begin to clear out someone else's home. There is much which needs to be graciously overlooked and dealt with appropriately and then you also find curious old treasures. Trying to find the line between old worthless 'stuff' and intriguing possessions is a difficult one, which is made both easier and harder once the owner is no longer here.

I find my self looking back over the old black and white photos to see if any of my young mother-in-law was wearing any of the dozen hats and fascinators discovered in her hat box - and I haven't found any yet. I didn't even know about the existence of the hat box until just over 12 months ago when she had to have a particular hat (the one with all the little fur tails) to wear to my son's wedding, the same hat (and accompanying dress) which she had worn to her oldest son's wedding in 1983. She and I spent hours looking for the hat box and nearly left her old seaside home without locating it. Once found, she briefly looked through her memory hats that day as we quickly gathered the right hat and headed back into our home town an hour away. And that was all. Life moved on. 

Many finds remain intriguing mysteries, other my husband knows the story behind them, like dozens of Fowlers Vacola preserving jars retrieved from the boat shed. These have been scrubbed are now happily in use in our home and a local florist as vases.

Each week we make another trip down to continue the huge task of house sorting, and when time and the weather allow, we enjoy a little time at one of Iluka's wonderful beaches before heading home.

Life continues on amongst sorting my mil's affairs. Early morning walks are still a pleasure, before the heat and humidity of the day linger long. Quite a few new fabrics have been added to my Etsy shop over recent weeks, bringing variety as other fabrics sell out. An organic quilt from my Etsy shop has also made it's way to a new home this month. Nothing seems to mark the passing of time more distinctly than birthdays. Our youngest turned 10 this week - Miss E had a wonderful birthday and is a blessing to us every day!

Further details for some of these photos will appear if you hover your cursor over the image.  :)

*** You may also enjoy my Instagram feed which I add to several times a week. You don't have to join Instagram to view - just click on the little blue square camera logo under my blog profile (top right hand corner).
Karen