Through a door and onto the rooftop of the world!

If you're wondering how our business ever got involved in our current work in Central Asia you'd have to read this post.  It's a pretty amazing story and I'm still amazed when I read it how all these events have come about.  Sometimes I have to pinch myself.

It was through a wardrobe door that we entered into the enchanted world that Linda Cortwright calls “wild fibers”.  It was a brisk day in early fall when my mother received a midmorning call from the Council of International Programs USA, a non-profit educational exchange program based out of Cleveland, Ohio.  They were planning a series of stops for a group of fiber artisans from Kyrgyzstan and we happened to be the closest mill available.  They wanted to know if we would give their group a tour.  Of course we said yes, and within a few short weeks a group of twelve artisans and two translators showed up at the mill and changed how we viewed the world forever.

Spring reveals yet another beautiful mess

The winter months have finally begun to yeild to the climate of spring.  Long cold, cloudy winter days have become milder, cloudy, rainy days with a few days of bright warm sun.  We actually had a picinic the day of my birthday (February 18th) outside in the 55 degree weather.  I don't ever remember it being warm enough to enjoy a family meal outside on my birthday before. 

But with the approach of spring also comes the revealing of all the things that need to be repaired and renovated to accomendate life on the farm.  So what follows is a list of things that will need to be addressed here in the next couple of months as the weather turns nicer.

Bet You Didn't Know! (Gretchen Lucia)

Luci is our second daughter.  She was born shortly after we moved back to Ohio from Georgia.  Luci is our shining light in dark places.  She just recently turned 5 years old.  And we had a big party for her.  Because we have so many kids we do "just family" parties most years but then every 5th year we throw big parties and invite their friends over.  Luci hosted a "fancy Nancy tea party".  She has eyes that will melt your heart.  Luci is a great hugger and we love it when she cuddles with us watching t.v. at night.  One funny thing she does is that no matter where she's at when 8:30pm comes she falls asleep.  Here's 10 questions we got a chance to sit down and ask Luci...

April 1st Fundraiser...

On April 1st we're going to do a fundraiser for our trip to Kyrgyzstan in May.  We need to raise $8,000 for our trip.  Stay tuned for more details...

Bet You Didn't Know! (Juliana Ruth)

So I got a chance to sit down with Ruthie and ask her some random questions for her "bet you didn't know" post.  Ruthie was a first girl and she just turned 6 this year.  She's really competitive and loves to run fast... she's even faster than some of her brothers!  And she's pretty strong too.  She can pick up Sam and even Aunt Joanna.  She's a huge helper around the house and loves taking care of Libby.  But here some random questions you might not have known about our little Ruthie.