James Family Newsletter - December, 2011

 

This time last year, I thought that we’d had enough news for a while, but – umm .. the year has brought another wave of changes for the family.  Chris and Claire (mostly by the effort of Claire) gave birth at home to a lovely new daughter Eloura Angelique James on 28 August.  Adrian and Alycia came good with their beautiful daughter Lily Demeter James on 14 November.  Karen and Wade have revealed that they too have some special plans for June 2012!

Our nephew Chris and Fiona Chapman gave birth to Alia on 22 Nov last year, niece Rebecca and hubby Richard had a daughter Mia on 22 April this year and niece Claire and her hubby Chris are expecting a babe in Jan 2012..

At the other end of the age spectrum, we've celebrated birthdays for Ted Holmes (90), Laurie Cox (93) and Harry White (96).

In the last year, we’ve seen the death of too many people close to us, particularly sad in the case of young people.


2Karen & Wade continue living at Forresters Beach with their venerable canine friend Ralph, having forsaken the city life in Melbs.   Karen works with Max Employment as a specialist in finding work for people with disabilities.  This is a particularly demanding role in terms of the complexities of her clients and management demands for results.  However, the work is well suited to her nature and talent for understanding people, and she is doing well there.

Wade is still in Hospitality-related work, now planning additional training and employment in golfing circles.  His brother Glenn lives nearby, providing valuable family contact.

K&W, enjoying their new status as Aunt and Uncle of two new nieces, have been watching the baby business in Melbourne with interest, and may have some news of their own by about June next year … 


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Chris & Claire started the year with an epic expedition to Guinea and Mali in West Africa, learning and teaching circus and musical skills to add authenticity to their multi-cultural performances. 

They have become somewhat focussed on the life and times of their new daughter Eloura, who seems to have found a nice niche for herself in the Toohill-James clan.

 In her first three months, Eloura has already participated in school activities, circus class, the Geelong Show, a Queensland holiday and numerous festive revelries.


6 The completion of Chris’ Masters of Teaching and Diploma of Education at Melbourne University has been a huge accomplishment, with great support from Claire, and many thanks to Ted Holmes for his assistance and encouragement.  These days the qualification does not automatically lead into secure employment, but that’s coming along as well.

Mummy Claire creates dance, music, singing and performance experiences at schools, and with Chris in their business “The Dreaming Space”, developing and presenting a range of extraordinary programmes.


8 Adrian & Alycia have been blessed by the birth of little Lily, to share the nest in their new straw-bale house at Phillip Island.  Her arrival coincided rather nicely with the conclusion of Alycia and Adrian’s teaching work for the year, so they’ll have lots of time with her. 

Alycia will return to part-time teaching at Phillip Isl., and may launch into some new directions next year. 

Adrian has been granted a renewal of his contract with St. Leonard’s College running outdoor education programmes at their Camp Ibis, on the Gippsland Lakes near Paynesville.  He has succeeded in completing the requirements for Vic. Teaching registration, which seems to be quite an arduous process.

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Another huge milestone was the “completion” of their straw-bale house, with the award of the coveted “Certificate of Occupancy” – not bad for a first-time owner-builder partnership with an “alternative technology”, limited time and resources!  There are still one or two tiny jobs to complete, but that can be done over time …  It remains to be seen how well straw-bale walls can withstand the ravages of a two-year-old.

Alycia’s parents Janet and Tony, and sister Giselle have been an invaluable support through this epic.  A&A share an interest in the Transition Programmes and community gardening on Phillip Island.

 

Jeanne taught Primary School at various locations, ending-up a few hundred metres from home at Majura Primary.  She is doing well there with the staff, students, parents and location of the school – a lucky lady indeed!

She's been busy with Bonsai Group on Saturday, art classes Sunday, Yoga Tues, Choir Wednesday and Yoga Thursday. Robert wonders what goes on with all those nudies in Art, and attends afternoon-teas at various (landscape) painting outings at the river.  The Gospel Folk Choir sings at numerous locations and events, sharing in a great community and shared interest.  Robert participates as a Choir Spouse.  JJ is the Canberra Jung Society Librarian, and shares in Robert’s activities as below.

11 Of course the huge event for us this year has been the appearance of C&C’s and A&A’s babies in Melbs, following the desolation of our “empty nest” phase. 

We regret our geographic separation from this new emerging generation, but are most grateful for the warm relationship with the families that we’ve acquired by marriage!   The family meals at Montmorency, and the “chainsaw fellowship” during construction at Phillip Island, have indeed been special experiences for us.

Robert - With our numerous trips to see Uncle Frank, Laurie and other friends in Sydney, Karen and Wade at Forresters Beach, and our various and expanding family connections in Melbourne, we're getting to know the Hume Highway pretty well. At the various wedding speeches two years ago, I used to make the very witty observation that our family tree, like my tummy, is getting wider. With these new births, we can now note that it's getting deeper as well!

I seem to keep busy with work at DFAT, church activities, Jung Society, Prisoners Aid Soc, General Semantics Soc, Initiatives of Change, Jungian Discussion Group, Environment and Meditation Garden works, maintaining various websites, communion with friends, and the family focus (as above).

They say that our focal-length increases with age, both in vision and in attention to the wider world.  I would say that this is correct, except that the advent of grand-parenthood does have a pull back to the family.

 

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Bibs is serenely watching the years roll on, and starting to show her age. The Vet told me that by keeping dogs going for more than their "three-score-and-ten" doggie years, they end up with similar complaints to us - overweight, diabetes, heart conditions, arthritis etc.  I've had serious discussions with Bibs on issues of lifestyle, mortality and eternity … she just seems to take it all in ...

Have a jolly-good Christmas and another resolution-filled new year. 
We hope to see you all again soon. 

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