If you go down to the woods today …..
Well, it has been quite some time since I gave you an update on our lives. If you are someone that receives our Christmas newsletter, don’t keep holding your breath for that as I haven’t even written it yet! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Business in 2022 kept us hopping! We were only open 3 days a week but, like Richard said, we were actually doing 7 days work in 6 as there is a lot of preparation that goes on behind the scenes. No complaints though! We have met some INCREDIBLE people and many of the “regulars” are like our extended family.
In October the Lord miraculously opened up the doors for us to get a warehouse. Whilst we knew we needed one as the storage at the store was rapidly filling up, we were not actively looking for one. The warehouse is FANTASTIC, providing us with more space to sort. Not only that, it has A/C and heating not to mention being really well insulated. Now, all the truckloads get delivered there, we sort all the items and then take what we need down to the store.
Over the past year I have felt like I was constantly chasing my tail. I could never get caught up. We closed for the first week of January and Richard & I were finally able to “breathe”. That week enabled us to take a real break from the store, reevaluate all that we were doing, talk to suppliers etc. and get a fresh perspective moving forward. I, for one, have no desire to continue to work the hours I was working last year and Richard has a lot of other jobs on his plate too. Changes for the better are coming as we make things WAY more efficient along with being open more days! (More on that later!)
Another exciting event was Michael coming to visit for the weekend in November. It was SO good to see him after 3+ years.
Hannah faces another major surgery on Valentine’s Day when the surgeon goes in and replaces the rod that had to be taken out in May due to infection. She will be glad to get rid of the brace that she has had to wear since May. We have frequently called her a turtle 🙂 Her time at the residential facility is over and she is being moved to a place with more freedom. She knows that she has to prove herself & use that freedom wisely!
Daniel is our full-time employee & is loved by all. Michelle works for us part-time and is a huge help. Caleb likes to unload the trucks etc. We have another couple of part-time of employees now which is really going to take the pressure off of me.
Why the title about the woods? It was a GORGEOUS day a while back. Caleb’s friend had been in for the weekend and they crafted a short bike trail in the woods. I walked down to see it and put Hovis up on a branch. She wasn’t too keen on that to start with but soon thought it was pretty cool!
Looking forward to an INCREDIBLE 2023!
Liz
