History
Where did it all begin??
It all began at the greatest place on earth-“Home Sweet Home!”
When we were able to homestead on land along Durbin Creek our dream became reality! We moved our family to the country and started our small rabbitry with Californians and then New Zealand white rabbits! A whole lot of VERY hard work is done behind the scenes here at our home where we raise our kids and rabbits!!
We are so thankful that God enabled us to get the land here on Durbin Creek where the deer cross, the raccoons stop to “fish” for their meals, the fox run wild, the owls and oppossums hunt through the night and the whippoorwill’s call is heard! Each day’s blessings come in a variety of ways whether an old snapping turtle ventures up from the creek, wild turkeys parade through the yard with their young, rabbits nibble the veggies in our garden or hummingbirds hover above the blooming flower beds.
What prepared you for your work?
My childhood wish to become a teacher came true! My love to teach children to read and write, to love this homeland and the God who made it and blessed it has never wavered! My years as an elementary teacher helped my development of many skills in observation, problem solving, adaptation, creativity, organization, public relations, illustration, research and much more!
Motivating others to reach difficult goals is never easy and seems impossible at times when I must require it of myself. I never thought I would attain those far distant goals of writing children’s books!! Often I would write poems and stories and make sketches that would embellish letters that were written to friends. Sometimes I would file the ideas and write at a later time!
Over the years I enjoyed photography, sewing, painting and they all have contributed to the work that I do now as an author, teacher and illustrator. To actually put my first book together required a lot of time and the help of graphic artists and my printer. Prayer and drop dead determination were required to keep up the additional research, writing, and camera work!
How do you plan your work?
The encouragement that came from families reading my first book was the impetus needed to keep writing and taking pictures of my rabbits! My own family works very hard and so much of our labor is getting all the chores done and maintenance work! So many daily tasks actually provide the inspiration to write and sketch! Ideas spill over and I find myself consumed with plans for a cute rabbit photograph or a delightful book.
Now that I have three books published the task of keeping current with computer software, my printer etc adds additional work to my load. There are so many books I would love to complete and see children enjoy. However the work required for a book to be written, assembled & published is overwhelming! There is so much I would like to do but really need the help to do it!
Schedules are made for the week month and year. I need a schedule for my personal work, the events that we are invited to, appointments for visitors to our park, and we even have a calendar to write the due dates for our rabbit litters to be born!