The Woman that I Am

Billy Jean Cook
Jeanette Carpathia Jones

"Guided by my heritage of a love for beauty and a respect for strength -- in search of my mother's garden, I found my own."
-- Alice Walker, "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens"

Being home with my momma has brought up so many memories and feelings for me, and with Mother's Day just around the corner, I started to reflect on my Mother, and her mother (my grandmother) and my relationships with them. Being a mother myself, I find so much of these two woman in me, and the way that I look at the world, and interact with it. Both of these woman were hard workers, fantastic cooks, gardeners, kept immaculate homes, and yards. My love for crafting was inspired by them as well. Grandma was great with a sewing machine, and my mothers crochet was so beautiful. She made doilies, trimed tea towels, made afghans for all her kids and grandkids. I have been inspired to work hard for my family as they did for theirs. For these gifts I am so greatful, it is these gifts that surface in me from time to time. I was an adopted child (adopted as a 6 month old infant), and these women loved me like there was a blood bond. Another thing that I have learned from them is, there is always room for the love of a child, whether they come from your loins or not.

Thank you Billie Jean & Jeanette Carpathia for loving me, and leading me to my own garden

A Heart For Jack

One of the blogs that I follow is Kim over at Daisy Cottage. I read this post on her blog and was deeply touched by Jack's love for his wife Tabatha. The blog entry is below if you care to read it.
"Dear Daisy Cottage Family, I received an email from a very sweet man, Jack, a little while ago. With his permission, I am going to share it with you too. Dear Kim, My name is Jack Benke. My beautiful wife Tabatha passed away last Saturday at the young age of 42. She had been battling cancer for the past two years. I find my peace in knowing that she is in a beautiful place now and that I know that she is not suffering anymore. I know you never knew her, but you were such an inspiration in her daily life. In the last month's, she never missed a day of going to your web site and listening to your music and reading your web page. It gave her a great deal of peace during a time when she was in pain. We were able to pull your music off of your web page, and those were the songs that we played at her service. As I stated, you never knew her, but you were an inspiration to her, and I thank you so very much for that. I will continue her daily visit to your web page and listen to your music. Thank you again and God bless you. Jack Benke (photo below is Jack's wife Tabatha)

(Kim at Daisy Hill then wrote) As you can imagine, my heart has been touched in a way that I can't even begin to describe. The tears have not stopped. But this post is not about me. It is for Tabatha. She was one of us. She was here and she is here now in spirit. When I asked Jack if I could share Tabatha with you he replied ... Dear Kim, Thank you so very much for your kind words. Tabatha was my life, my love and my happiness and even though my life will never be the same, I will get my strength from her to go on. She battled this old cancer for two years, but she never gave up the fight. The doctors allowed me to bring her home last Thursday where she wanted to be. I was with her Saturday morning when she left us and she left in peace. Kim I have comfort in knowing that she is in a better place and no longer in pain. I have attached a picture of her for you to use as you wish. It would be such an honor to her knowing that you were willing to share her life on your blog. I feel closest to her when I listen to your music playlist. Thank you again Kim for touching her life in a special way. God bless you, Jack "

Kim at Daisy Hill had a fantastic idea to call out to her readers to make hearts to send to Jack in honor of his love for his beloved wife Tabatha. So I joined Kim at Daisy Hill, and made a heart for Jack. It has a little scar on the side where I closed the hole for the stuffing. Much like the scar that we carry when we lose a loved one. The out pouring of hearts was really awesome. Go check them out on Kims blog; http://deardaisycottage.typepad.com/daisy_cottage/page/2/ It would be the April 12th posting.

It has been such a blessing for me to craft a little ole heart, filled with prayers and stuffing, and send it on it's way to people I have never met. Their story touched my heart, and still I am in awe at the power of this electronic medium. May we all hug our loved ones a little more closely, and not take them for granted. May we pray for those blogger's who touch lives and not even know it!

Peace be to you Jack. You have a beautiful gaurdian angel watching over you.

Forget Me Not (for Lea)

When the wise God planted His garden,

Scattering the seeds from above,

The choicest seed in His packet

Was the flower of Mother-love.

Carefully watched o'er and tended,

Nurtured by sunshine and stronger,

It blooms a beautiful flower.

A flower so sweet and entrancing,

Dazzling and shining and white,

A love that guards us and guides us

Through life our beacon light.

A love that steadies our footsteps,

That stretches a helpful hand,

That comforts our sorrows and heartaches,

That always will understand.

Mother-love, God's gift to His children,

With heavenly fragrance fraught;

The brightest flower in God's garden,

His truest forget-me-not.

~by Myrtle Fisher Seaverns~

Reaquainted with an old friend and cleaning

I had a chance yesterday to get outside and work a little bit in our Bellingham yard. It's been over a year since I have had the pleasure to get my fingernails dirty here. What joy I experienced finding plants that I had popped into the ground. When Lindon and I replace our septic system, we had to totally redo the back yard. So all of the planting with the exception of the rhodie, and three wigellia's we put every thing in. It's still pretty early for plants to be a blooming but there are a few things that have come out that I will be sharing with you over the next couple of days.

Enjoy it while we can

We have our home in Bellingham on the market for sale. It has been a tough decision for Lindon and I to sell our beloved KeelerKai. But our decision has been made. Now it is a waiting game, and time to enjoy all that we love about this place. Keelerkai is so different from the Kauai property. One of those differences is the seasons, and the colors inside the house. They change from month to month.

Spring in the Pacific Northwest

Can I come out to play? I promise I will be good;-)

Thankfully Brody missed the coral color peony! He always looks for the shade

Progress??????

I have forgotten what the emerging of spring can be like in the Pacific Northwest. From the looks of the flowers, it's been a tough one for the posies, as the temps have been warm, then cold, then darn cold, to rain, wind, snow, sleet, hail, you get the picture! LOL Just wait five minutes and it will change. Lots of changes happening here in this part of the world. Our wonderful neighbor Paul passed away, and his kids shipped his dear sweet wife Joyce off to Wisconson. Will really miss them as they were the best neighbors. Paul's daughter sold the family home, and last week heavy equipment moved in. The big tonka trucks have really been shaking things up around here.

My mommacita is holding her own. Thank you all for the prayers. Everyday is a gift, and we are so thankful for each and every one.

Please Pray for my Momma

This is my Momma Billy Jean (with My neice Jessica). These days she is not doing to well. Please could you say a little prayer for her, and for her family as we gather around to support her.