Blessed

I can't believe it's been a few weeks since Mother's Day and my last blog post. Where has the time gone? 

Hubby was in Cairns for 3 days for a work conference he organised (flights, accommodation and organising the conference). He sent us some beautiful photos while away, and purchased some handmade soap for me at a local market. Very thoughtful and appreciated. We plan on taking the kids to Cairns for a holiday, possibly next year. I look forward to creating more memories with our family

Above 3 photos were taken on a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2

Our eldest son Mr J turned 12 on Monday May 16. It doesn't seem that long ago we were holding our 6mth old for the first time. On Sunday May 22 he was ordained a Deacon and received the Priesthood. We're so proud of the young man he is becoming

There have been school events, craft morning, trying to keep up with everyday life and sickness in the family. Mr D's Birthday will be here before we know it; on June 1

Four days ago I saw an exquisite embroidery on Sarah Jane Studios instagram page. I had to buy the pattern as it spoke to my heart and is another reminder of how truly blessed hubby and I are to have 3 Korean angels

{ Christmas 2015 }

Myself, Hubby, Miss Y, Mr D and Mr J

Here's my version of 'blessed'. Our children's dark brown hair, my light brown hair and our children love snuggling up with a cuddling toy. How sweet is the bunny in Sarah Jane's embroidery! I loved stitching this beautiful design

I wound vintage fabric around the wooden hoop 

and hung the embroidery on an heirloom cupboard

from my great grandmother

Thank you Sarah Jane for creating such a sweet design. I love it!

Last week, Sarah Jane posted about her childhood best friend of 28 years who passed away from a sudden case of meningitis 12 days ago, two weeks shy of her 37th birthday. This week in Sarah Jane's shop, 100% of proceeds will go to a fund for Rebecca's kids. You can purchase from her shop at sarahjanestudios.com or you can click on this link to donate directly to the family fund. Sending my condolences to Rebecca's family and friends

Hug your children. Enjoy every precious moment you have with them. Remember how blessed our lives are to have each other. Families are forever!

Much love, Julia xx

P.S. I've added some tabs across the top of my blog home page. I would love for you to have a look 

My first quilt - Paperie

I have seen so many beautiful quilts via Instagram and blogs I follow. I have wanted to make a patchwork quilt for some time. Last year I ordered Amy Sinibaldi's Limited Edition fabric collection called Paperie. Inspired by Amy's love for classic books. With tips from my Mum and friends I began to make my first quilt!

Sewing pieces together. Pin basting with help from my Mum

Alternating fabrics for the binding

Adding tiny hand stitched details

Some of the hand stitching tells the story of our family. The picture below depicts the long journey for my husband and I to become parents and be blessed with 3 beautiful children

Once upon a time. . . we got married 21 years ago and wanted to have a family. We spent a ridiculous amount of money on fertility procedures, followed by a very long wait to adopt our 3 precious children who were in a far away land in South Korea. We travelled to The Land of Morning Calm on 3 separate occasions to bring each child home. Our dream came true and we lived. . . happily ever after. The End

A handmade label

I made a big label to incorporate all the exquisite fabrics of Amy's collection

I finished my Paperie quilt on Sunday March 6, 2016

I hope you enjoyed viewing the making process of my quilt 

and the little stories hand stitched with love

Wishing you all a very happy Easter

I am thankful for our Saviour, Jesus Christ

Travel safe on the roads and enjoy spending time with family and friends

Julia xx

Happy Birthday, Beautiful ~^^

We celebrated our daughter's 4th Birthday on December 18

She was so excited when it finally arrived!!

Yuna loves Hello Kitty (I do too)

The night before I made sure she was asleep

Then I put the new bedding on 

A nice surprise for when Yuna woke on her Birthday

We dropped by the shops and bought 

some beautiful roses for our beautiful girl

Yuna chose the colour

We had a wonderful time celebrating 

~ ~ ~

Wishing you all a Happy New Year filled with health and happiness

Squeeze Cuddles, from Julia

My Shops  www.madeit.com.au/SqueezeCuddles 

               www.etsy.com/shop/SqueezeCuddles 

High Tea

Today was a day to look forward too

My first time to attend a High Tea

My daughter was excited to wear her bangles, necklace, white satin rose/ lace headband, her pretty navy dress with white lace overlay, her adorable black mary jane shoes with Hello Kitty socks and the handbag I made her

My beautiful Mother wanted to hold a High Tea Birthday

for my younger sister and myself

Crystal ware and some of the fine bone china was handed down

from my Great Grandmother and Grandmother

My Birthday was August 27

My younger sister's Birthday is September 13

In attendance ~ Mother, older sister, younger sister and my daughter

After a while, my nephew who was unwell decided to join us

to enjoy the delicious food

Then he sat back in the lounge room

I think he felt overwhelmed by ladies 

We enjoyed chatting, eating and sipping 

caffeine-free fruit tea

I tried the Raspberry, Strawberry and Loganberry tea

It was delicious! 

I'll be buying some and the lemon tea when I next visit the shops

The roses were so pretty

My Dad and older brother were busy fixing the fence in the backyard

They took a break and enjoyed the food 

I appreciate the time and effort my Mother

put into preparing the delicious food for the High Tea

It was nice to get dressed up for the occasion, 

relax and enjoy the company of family

Have you enjoyed a special event recently? 

Navy Ship and Fish & Chips

Yesterday afternoon we took the kids for a drive to see USS George Washington while it is docked in Brisbane. We thought the boys, in particular, would have thought it was cool however they didn't. One comment was 'Where's the fun stuff?'

Click on image to zoom in

It was nice to get out of the house, do something spontaneous and have some family time together. The fish and chips we bought on the way home were yummy

Have you done anything spontaneous recently?