Notes from the Patch

My Garden of Eden

Our beautiful Eden roses are just beginning to bloom.

They are so big and heavy that they remind me of huge pink grape clusters drooping under their own weight.

Although they bloom off and on all spring and summer they are never as gorgeous as they are right now during this first bloom.  I look forward to them all winter and every morning as I pull out of the driveway I glance over to the brick wall that runs between us and our neighbors to check their progress.

I got up an hour early this morning to finish reading Heaven is Here by blogger Stephanie Neilson.

Reading Stephanie's blog after her accident helped me so much during the time I was caring for Jeff and preparing myself to live the remainder of my life here on earth without him. I know so many of you are going through tough times and I want to recommend this book to you as a source of hope and inspiration.

Stephanie writes about her life after a plane crash where she was burned over eighty percent of her body and how her faith, family and community helped pull her through some unbelievably horrific times. She reminds us that it's what's in our hearts that really matters and urges us to be kinder and more compassionate to one another. 

I love that.

In this crazy, busy world, it's our love and compassion and our connection to one another that really matters. With a positive attitude, our faith in God, and the love and support of our family and friends, we can do anything. It is possible to once again find joy through our pain and sorrow.

Have a wonderful Wednesday my friends!

Encourage one another,

 

 

 

 

Twenty 12

I've been thinking a lot about my word for 2012. You know, the one word that summarizes what I want to work on to better my life in the coming year.

This year my word is simplify.

sim·pli·fy  (smpl-f)

tr.v. sim·pli·fied, sim·pli·fy·ing, sim·pli·fies To make simple or simpler, as:

a. To reduce in complexity or extent.

b. To reduce to fundamental parts.

c. To make easier to understand.

Simplify summarizes what I hope to accomplish in my life perfectly! Let me be clear. I'm not striving for a simple life, there is nothing simple about me - just ask Bill! What I hope to accomplish is to reduce the extraneous things in my life so I can fully enjoy the things that matter to me most.

Here are my plans:

1. This year I will strive to simplify my life by cleaning the clutter from my office, my sewing room and my closets; my life in general. I really want to feel and be more organized!

2. I will strive to list what I hope to accomplish and revel in the satisfaction of crossing off those lines one. by. one.

3. I will document my experiences and share my feelings more regularly here on my blog through words and (better) photos.

4. I will simplify my life by remembering that people are more important than things. That holidays aren't just about elaborate decorations and shopping lists but about spending quiet time with the people I love.

5. I want to eat simple, healthy foods (not necessarily those pictured here - sorry Peggy) and continue to strive to eat a sugar free diet.

6. I want to take more long walks on the beach and capture the simple beauty in nature through the lens of my camera.

7. I want to sip and savor this life to its fullest and share it with people I love.

8. I want to simplify my life by unplugging more often from computers, iphones, ipads, televisions and radios. In this crazy busy world I want to find quiet moments to reflect.

So, for me tonight there will be no crowded parties and fancy gowns. I will simply surround myself in the comfort of good friends and the man I love and toast to a bright and promising New Year.  

Cheers!

Encourage one another,

One more thing. I couldn't let this year go by without thanking you all for gathering here and encouraging me through your comments. As corny as it may sound, my life has been forever changed because of this blog. Your coming here means so much to me. Thank you! xo 

   

SARAH

 It was just me and Sarah on Saturday. 

We stayed home and decorated her room.

Papa Bill and Michael went on a Boy Scout camp out.

The girls had Chinese take out and watched a movie.

The boys roasted hot dogs over an open fire.

She slept under new sheets in a freshly decorated bedroom.

He  slept in a tent under the stars.

If you were to ask anyone of us, I think we'd all agree it was the perfect weekend.

Eleven is a magical age. Serious and grown up one minute.

Silly the next.

 

 

 

Tomorrow there is a soccer game, shopping and putting the final touches on her room. Our little tomboy has developed quite a love for the bling and a delightful since of style.

She already understands color and balance. She also understands a room CAN have too many peace signs.

You can learn a lot from an eleven year old.

Encourage one another,

Life as I see it

Things always work out in the end. If it hasn't worked out yet, it's not the end.

Let me start by saying I'm typically not a worrier. I tend to trust that in the long run everything will be just fine. Oh yeah, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking of things that are going on in my life and worry a bit, but usually in the morning I realize how silly that was.

The thought of losing my manager, Amanda has been hard on me. I love that girl just as many of you do. I've watched her grow from a young inexperienced girl living at home with her parents to a married woman with a beautiful home of her own.

From the day Bill and I introduced Amanda to her husband Lang I've known this day would come - the day she'd leave me to stay home to rock her babies. As much as I want that for her (just as I wanted it for my own kids) I knew I would  miss her sweet competent spirit here with me every day.

The good thing about making a baby is that it takes time. Time I've needed to prepare myself both physically and emotionally for the day Amanda would be leaving.

As the months have clicked by and Amanda's belly has grown, I've slowly reclaimed some of the jobs I'd relinquished to her and found some wonderful, capable women to step in to help.

I've hired Becky Rhodes to head up the Bernina side of our business. Becky's knowledge and love of Bernina is as amazing as her laugh is infectious. Becky and I have some exciting plans in the works and it is our number one goal to continue to provide our customers with expert advise as well as continuing education on machines, software and sergers.

With Becky here everyday I was feeling more comfortable (and sleeping much better) but still felt like I could use just one more person to round out our team. This morning Andy Stewart came in with her resume in hand. She said she'd been praying about a part time job and several people had urged her to apply at Strawberry Patches.

This afternoon I hired Andy. It seems God answered two prayers when He sent Andy to me - hers and mine.

So things have worked out. As I see it, it's not the end but a bright new beginning.

A beginning for Amanda as she starts her new full time job as a mother, and a beginning for me who, with the love and support of a fabulous team will continue to help, inspire and encourage you our valued and cherished customer.

I am blessed and humbled in the knowledge that God hears our prayers. He blesses a young couple with life's greatest gift and He hears this woman's 3:00am prayer for strength, courage and the help she needs to carry on.

Encourage one another,

 We are getting together on Sunday, August 28  at 2:00pm to shower Amanda with love here at the store. We would love to have you join us.

 

 

 

 

Today

Today a young mother came into the store with her two small children.

She let out an audible sigh as she approached me at the register.

Tough morning? I asked.

Yeah, we just came from my son's pre K check up. There were shots and tests and tears and I had to restrain him. He really hates going to the doctor. I think I was even more upset than he was she said.

I commiserated. It seems like not so long ago I was in her shoes.

Jeff was the same kind of kid. He hated the doctor and even pulling out a splinter would usually cause him go ballistic. Most doctor visits involved me holding him down so the nurse could do her thing.

A year ago Jeff needed to have a breathing treatment that he really didn't want. Although he had limited understanding of what was happening to him he did know he didn't want a suction tube put down his throat. It was my job to restrain him. What I will never forget is how ALS had taken Jeff's strength. My nearly six foot tall, two hundred pound son couldn't fight off his mothers restraint. As much as Jeff hated that procedure, I hated having to hold him down a hundred times more. I hated seeing how weak and vulnerable my son had become. I hated seeing him slipping away.

Some days are harder than others.

Today was really  hard.

Encourage one another,

Now this takes the cake!

We were there the day they met.

We were there the day he proposed.

We were there the day they said I do.

So it only seemed right that we were there the moment they found out.

Boy or Girl?

The ultrasound technician slipped the results of the twenty week ultrasound into an envelope and it was delivered to the bakery where the inner frosting would reveal the babies sex.

No one including Amanda and Lang knew the results of the ultrasound and it wasn't until after a lovely dinner and the cake was served, that the babies sex was revealed.

Hidden inside

beneath the yummy outer frosting was this.

It's a GIRL! (Toe rings never lie)!

Congratulations!

Let the shopping and sewing begin!

 

Encouraging one another

One of the blogs I read every morning is Donna Boucher's, Quiet Life. Her photography is my inspiration and my "Encourage one another" at the end of my blog posts was "borrowed" from her. Although we have never met, she does so inspire me. Today's  post especially touched me and I wanted to share.

 

"With enough hard work and dedication, dreams can become a reality".

                                                                                Patricia Zhou

 I believe that.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Encourage one another,

 

Out of the blue

I was warned this would happen.

This morning as I pulled an old sweater from the back of my closet and routinely checked the pockets for wadded up tissue and forgotten notes, I came across this

 

a forgotten ticket stub tucked away from a trip to the movies with Jeff's boys.

Out of the blue that predicted  wave of emotion washed over me. There was no escaping the memory of the unbearable sadness I felt that day.

It was the evening I needed to get the the boys out of the house while the ambulance came to take their daddy  to the hospice house.

It was the night  Jeff died.

Some days it seems so long ago and some days the loss is so raw and fresh it  seems like yesterday.

They say you never get over the loss of a child.

You know what? They're right!

Encourage one another,

 

What I'll Remember

I know someday I'll look back on the Great Flood of 2010 and remember how in the early hours of the Friday after Thanksgiving a plumber was summoned when water was discovered spewing from the roof of our store. By the time we arrived for work our ceilings had caved in and our carpets were soaked. There was moisture in our walls four feet high. It was a disaster of epic proportions. At least for me.

I'll remember how the next four days were so emotional as we worked to put our little store back together all while continuing to carry on a business during some of the busiest days of the year. It was exhausting. It was frustrating. And quite frankly I sometimes wondered if it was all worth it. Dealing with disaster recovery services and landlords who seemed to have more important things to deal with than my little problems. Finding yet one more thing that was ruined and adding it to a list that was growing about as fast as my fortitude was waning.

I've always believed that things happen for a reason. (The reason for our flood was a frozen copper water line that hadn't been properly weather proofed. But I'm not talking about that). I'm talking about the good that can come from bad things.  Yes, even when there is a flood, there is an ark in the form of friends willing to pick us up and carry us through the storm.

We can dwell on the flood or we can remember the blessing of that ark and the promise of a rainbow. It's our choice.

Just to keep it real here, I admit I had my share of tears. I was angry that my neighbors cooler and air conditioners always leak on MY store and not theirs. I was angry that the cooler lines hadn't been properly wrapped and leaked on my space. I was angry that my vacuum was clogged with wet and crumbled ceiling tiles and my phone lines didn't work and I was totally pissed off at the property manager who wouldn't man up and take responsibility for his pipes and his plumbers screw up.

But as the carpet started to dry and the last of the mess had been sweep away I started shifting my focus from the bad to the blessings. The offers of help from customers, family and friends. The afternoon latte and delicious hot soup brought in by an employee. The  beautiful bouquet of roses. I'll always remember the love.

On Wednesday I posted about our ALS quilt and a new wave of love came pouring in. I'm talking about a whole different kind of flood here people.

And then this. Oh my! I hardly feel worthy of the outpouring of love!

As I think back over the past year I am so glad I've shared my sometimes bumpy life's journey with you all because it has brought us all together and allowed us to know a bit more about what makes us tick. You've shared your faith, your love and your own story. You've prayed and bought raffle tickets and supported a little boy who is working through his grief by raising money in his daddy's memory.

You've picked this broken hearted momma up time and time again and carried me. And that, my friend, is what I choose to always remember.

Encourage one another,

 

 

A slight change of plans

 We had planned to draw the winner of our incredible ALS quilt today,

 

but since Bill and I will be visiting Cherene, Jake and Nathan the first of next week we thought it would be fun for them to draw the winning ticket. I just really wanted the boys to see the hundreds of tickets in our big ol' jar and to know that each one represents the love of friends and customers for our family.

We are extending ticket sales until Friday at noon so if you would like to purchase raffle tickets you can do so here or in the store.

Thanks to your generosity we have raised over $4500 for Jake's ALS fund! It's my hope that someday there will be a cure for ALS and that someday Jake can say he helped.

For the love of his daddy, he helped.

 

Encourage one another,