Here I am, on this 28th day of March, no idea what I'm doing. Scared? Yes. Excited? You bet. The idea of having a family business has always been on my radar. Did I ever think it would really happen? (pause) Well... of course! I guess. I mean, I wanted to think it could happen. I've tried lots of things to see if they might work for me. I've quilted, crocheted, cooked, baked, sewn, painted, hooked rugs, paper crafted, thought about weaving. All of it was interesting, but none of those really grabbed me. There was no spark of joy in them like I've found in what I'm doing now. "And what is that?" you ask. So good of you to inquire.
First let me introduce myself. I'm Kathi, wife of 17 years to the best man in the world. Mother of 4 of the craziest kids! I love them to the moon and back. I'm a Christian, loving God, striving to grow closer to Him, and aim my children in His direction. Actually the verse, Psalm 127:4, talks about children being like arrows in the hands of a warrior. That's where we got the idea of our business logo. The bow is shaped like a D for Dugal. The arrow is to represent our children as we mold and shape their character and point them in God's direction. Our goal, of course, is that they hit their mark; that they land right in the center of Christ's hand. As hard as it seems, all we can do as parents, is take our knife and sharpen them, aim, pull back, and let go. LET GO?! Oh, that'll be the day.
Ok, back to "who is this Dugal Designs lady?" Who am I? What's my story? I spent the first 7 years of my life in Vermont on a big chunk of land in a great A-frame house that my parents built out in the country. Sounds ideal, right? It was good, average, nothing over the top, but it was my home and I loved it. Then we moved to Maine, because my dad bought a lobster boat! We lived in a creepy little house in a rural neighborhood for about 17 years. That was never home. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed life and did lots of things, but it never had that home-y feeling. Finally my parents found a nice, spacious piece of property and this is where you'll find me now. Shortly after we moved to the property, I got married to my junior-high sweetheart, and within a few years, we had built our own house and I was "home," living on the homestead.
Another 17 years has nearly passed since I wed my man. They have honestly been wonderful years. We have been blessed beyond measure. I couldn't even begin to recount the mountain of things, people, experiences that God has filled our lives with. Our children, our church, our family, our home, family cottage, good food, animals. And now we are beginning to see our life-long dream of having a family-run home-business come to reality. It's really at the very first stages, but it does seem to be moving in that direction. Please pray with us as we move forward down this road. It truly feels like so many pieces of a puzzle all sliding into place as we trip along.
I must say, as I re-read this very first post, it reads like a dirt road; pretty bumpy, but it gets you there. I hope that you'll stick around and follow along with me down this bumpy, dirt road as I share the story of our family, it's faith, it's failures and triumphs, and finally, well...who knows! Oh, and I just realized that I didn't actually get to that thing, that craft that sparks my joy. I guess you'll have to come back and find out!
I know...that was just mean.