Today marks the end of 2006, for all of us there have been successes and perceived failures, rewards and punishments, gains and losses, additions to family and losses of family. We have made some new friends and lost some old ones, we have traveled down old paths with old results and tried some new paths with new results.
For keepers and myself, we have lost contact with people we thought we had found again, we have found others we had no idea even existed a year ago. We have family members who seems like strangers and strangers who have become our new family. We have watched a web site go from an attempt to sell art to a website which has become a legally recognized charity selling nothing but instead offering support in many ways to other multiples and abuse survivors.
We lost our dear Shakespeare after 18 years and gained a little baby girl goat on a farm in Indiana that Concrete Angel named Little Keeperskorner. We have had children stay away, come back in our lives, then leave again but we have had bloggers and emailers evolve from just that to brothers and sisters in arms who are taking this journey to recovery with us.
We went to a new webmaster who developed a new site for us and now at the end of 2006 we have moved to another webmaster to maintain our site and take it from where it is now to where it will evolve to next. The newest webmaster is the first webmaster we ever had, what goes around comes around?
Keepers are getting dental work done they have needed for years, it all began in 2006 when out of necessity they had to overcome their fear of dentists which was well justified I might add, and we found some excellent dentists who will complete the job in 2007! Keepers have all pulled together with the dentists help and kindness to achieve this.
In 2006 my mentor at work announced his retirement in 2007, March 30th, and that means I have 3 months left to pick his brain for any information I may need to carry on after he enters retirement.
Keepers and I know each of you have had your ups and downs in 2006 and we can only wish for each of you a markedly improved 2007, full of joy and success and continued recovery. We will be here, hopefully you will be too, to encourage and be encouraged, to help and find help, to give and receive, to grow as never before.
To each of you we extend our wishes for a Happy New Year, a Blessed New Year, and a Prosperous New Year.
May you all be in the Grace of God now and always
John and Keepers
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
The "Boys" Are Free
The "boys" are Max and Owen our two cats that have had their territory reduced once the Christmas tree went up! They both find it difficult to resist the urge to climb the tree and nestle upon a few branches and lay in there until someone notices them. Obviously the trip up and back down dislodges a few ornaments nott o mention the bending of the branches. Once the tree goes up, usually a day or two after Thanksgiving, they are relegated to the basement unless both of us are here to keep an eye on them which also means when we go to bed they go downstairs.
We love 'em dearly but the tree we need at Christmas time. Well today the tree came down, keepers felt so bad for them they gave in and said take it down, Christmas is over and the boys are looking way too pathetic and sorrowful. She was right, some nights they would hide at bedtime other nights they accepted their banishment almost too nonchalantly. Other nights I would pick one up and he would just look at me, sorrowful eyes and all, then a "meeow" for a wee bit of emphasis.
As I write this they are both curled up in the living room like two peas in a pod in a triumphant get together clinging of kitty minds. As they lay there we wonder what will happen when we head for bed and don't send them downstairs. When we went to the store this afternoon without putting them downstairs they kind of looked at me like, "did you forget something?"
So they are free, free to roam, free to find some other way of getting in trouble, free to come up on our bed if they so desire (maybe one of these days). I can read their faces and it is written in big bold letters, WE WON, WE ARE BACK ! WE ARE IN CHARGE!
Cats, ya gotta love 'em.
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and may the New Year bring nothing but joy to you and yours
john Michael and Keepers
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Helping Others
At this time of the year there are many groups, people, organizations asking for donations, from the Salvation Army to your church, if you belong to one, to Spanky's Home for Wayward Elves. Several times in the last few days one of our local TV channels has been doing stories on the Pa family. They own a Chinese Buffet restaurant not far from here, in fact we ate there this past week. For the last several years they have produced a meal for homeless people in the area which is held in conjunction with a toy drive and clothing drive to help the less fortunate.
The Pa family is from Taiwan but obviously have a generous nature. Granted they are funded by donations and other businesses for this annual meal they cook and supply, except for this year. For some reason they are behind on donations this year, maybe the economy, maybe cynicism I know not. Last year they literally ran out of food, and there were according to the news reports one thousand people still waiting for a meal. They fed fifteen thousand!! There were still hungry people waiting to eat.
Keepers and I don't have a lot but we are making it. Keepers Korner is where we funnel most of our extra funds but tonight keepers asked if we could afford to help the Pa family, they needed donations to buy more food. So we wrote a check for $30, and drove over to the restaurant to give it to them. I let keepers take it in, praying they received a nice response. I was not let down.
When they came out they were smiling. They were greeted inside and pointed towards the check out desk. The restaurant was very busy, Saturday night and a popular restaurant at that I might add. Anyway, the fellow who pointed Keepers toward the checkout thought she was there for a carryout order, at the desk the lady picked up the carryout order but keepers said "no, we came here to give you a check to help with the food for the free meal tomorrow, we saw the news story". The check out lady, the hostess and a waitress all began and repeated "Thank You" over and over. Keepers smiled and returned to the car and me, so we could head back home.
On the way home the younger Keepers were teary eyed, they always want to help others, to drop some coins in the Salvation Army pot, or give a toy to the Toys For Tots drive, and we have in the past but usually very little. Tonight it was $30, not a lot to some, significant to others, a fortune to some. All we know is that maybe a few more people will be fed by the Pa family tomorrow thanks to that $30 and maybe , just maybe someone who was checking out after Keepers left, were able to leave an extra $10 or $20 and help feed a few more.
We can always hope.
peace and joy to each of you
john michael and keepers
Friday, December 08, 2006
20 Years in the Making!!!
About twenty years ago my wife, keepers, and I had a vision of a foundation that would help people surviving child abuse and multiplicity, it was called The Emily Ann Foundation, we even got it incorporated in our home state but we had no idea where we were heading with it or how to proceed. My boss at work at that time was the one who got it incorporated and gave keepers their first support in their artistic endeavors. Eventually it "died" and it was no longer on the states records as ever existing and I know that Harold still believed in keepers and their vision of a foundation to help others.
As keepers delved deeper into their artwork they let other keepers come out and do their artwork, let others write their poetry, their viewpoints. Eventually they decided they wanted a website to display their art, their poetry and to begin their forum for multiples and abuse survivors.
The first attempt was very crude and minor league, based on a canned software package a friend of mine setup for us, but I understand pcs so little I couldn't maintain what he started.
Then we took the leap to a webmaster in our area who we contracted with to build us a new website, still Keepers Korner but a new setup. He and his wife built it for us at considerable expense, at this point keepers wanted to sell their artwork on the internet if at all possible.
As time passed we were frustrated with this webmaster, with the site itself and the lack of interest in the artwork, or so we thought. Then they had their first gallery showing and saw that people were interested in their artwork, but also that it was "specialty" artwork, as the gallery owner called it.
Well, we fired our webmaster and found Blue, she met with us and keepers took their portfolio with us and when keepers and I saw her first draft of the new homepage we knew she was the one to design the third version of Keepers Korner! She incorporated keepers artwork into the site, putting artwork alongside articles and in the galleries at the top of pages, etc. As soon as the site was up we began receiving awards from other sites!! Wow were we excited.
Still, no selling of artwork though, and Blue told us not to expect to sell art over the internet, she had run a gallery for awhile herself and from her experiences doubted we could market it successfully. She was right, but something else happened...keepers started a blog and on their blog they wrote about what they had experienced in their life, what had made them multiples, what they felt and how they overcame and still struggled over osme things, how their children walked away and I hung on with them.
The more keepers wrote, the more comments they got. After a while it became obvious that other survivors and multiples were visiting the site as we visited theirs and left comments on their blogs. We were finding others who had this commonality, survivors of abuse many of whom are multiples, not all but many.
Then, in July 2006, after meeting with Pastor Brown, a friend who had helped us in a family situation several times, keepers knew what direction to go in. On the way home they said, when we get home send Blue an email, take all of the Paypal info off, all prices, nothing is for sale anymore. She had decided to turn Keepers Korner into a ministry of sorts, a site dedicated to helping others like Keepers in any way possible, if someone saw a picture in the gallery or a poem in the poetry gallery write us and let us know and we will mail you a print.
We got a toll free number for US, Canada and the Virgin Isalnds, need to talk, call us! We put up blogs about softies, stuffed animals, waterfall fountains, are your littles sad and lonely, are you alone at Christmas? Let us know and we will send your littles or inner child a gift just for them.
Why? To let them know that someone cares and wants to show them they mean something to someone. So they are not alone. So, we began the paperwork, to make Keepers Korner a legitimate charitable organization. This past week we received the papers back from the State of Missouri, Keepers Korner is incorporated as a not for profit charitable organization! Now we have sent in to the Federal IRS the forms asking for federal exemption. We don't know if we qualify but we are trying. But, after 20 odd years we know that Harold who originally got us incorporated is smiling down on us, for not giving up, for doing it again, without his help, but knowing he is still helping guide us.
Keepers Korner would have kept on doing what it is doing with or without the recognition from Missouri, this just makes Keepers and myself and harold so much more proud than ever before, a validation if you will, that we are sincere, that we will not give up, that Keepers Korner will grow. So we thank Harold and Blue and Andrzej for all they have done to get us here, we are so thankful to each of them.
To Keepers, keep up the good work, your dream, which has also become mine, is just unfolding before you, bit by bit, and I know we have a long way to go, but we will and it will be side by side, all the way.
Please feel free to visit us at http://www.keeperskorner.com and see where we are heading and who we are helping.
peace and blessings to each of you
John Michael
As keepers delved deeper into their artwork they let other keepers come out and do their artwork, let others write their poetry, their viewpoints. Eventually they decided they wanted a website to display their art, their poetry and to begin their forum for multiples and abuse survivors.
The first attempt was very crude and minor league, based on a canned software package a friend of mine setup for us, but I understand pcs so little I couldn't maintain what he started.
Then we took the leap to a webmaster in our area who we contracted with to build us a new website, still Keepers Korner but a new setup. He and his wife built it for us at considerable expense, at this point keepers wanted to sell their artwork on the internet if at all possible.
As time passed we were frustrated with this webmaster, with the site itself and the lack of interest in the artwork, or so we thought. Then they had their first gallery showing and saw that people were interested in their artwork, but also that it was "specialty" artwork, as the gallery owner called it.
Well, we fired our webmaster and found Blue, she met with us and keepers took their portfolio with us and when keepers and I saw her first draft of the new homepage we knew she was the one to design the third version of Keepers Korner! She incorporated keepers artwork into the site, putting artwork alongside articles and in the galleries at the top of pages, etc. As soon as the site was up we began receiving awards from other sites!! Wow were we excited.
Still, no selling of artwork though, and Blue told us not to expect to sell art over the internet, she had run a gallery for awhile herself and from her experiences doubted we could market it successfully. She was right, but something else happened...keepers started a blog and on their blog they wrote about what they had experienced in their life, what had made them multiples, what they felt and how they overcame and still struggled over osme things, how their children walked away and I hung on with them.
The more keepers wrote, the more comments they got. After a while it became obvious that other survivors and multiples were visiting the site as we visited theirs and left comments on their blogs. We were finding others who had this commonality, survivors of abuse many of whom are multiples, not all but many.
Then, in July 2006, after meeting with Pastor Brown, a friend who had helped us in a family situation several times, keepers knew what direction to go in. On the way home they said, when we get home send Blue an email, take all of the Paypal info off, all prices, nothing is for sale anymore. She had decided to turn Keepers Korner into a ministry of sorts, a site dedicated to helping others like Keepers in any way possible, if someone saw a picture in the gallery or a poem in the poetry gallery write us and let us know and we will mail you a print.
We got a toll free number for US, Canada and the Virgin Isalnds, need to talk, call us! We put up blogs about softies, stuffed animals, waterfall fountains, are your littles sad and lonely, are you alone at Christmas? Let us know and we will send your littles or inner child a gift just for them.
Why? To let them know that someone cares and wants to show them they mean something to someone. So they are not alone. So, we began the paperwork, to make Keepers Korner a legitimate charitable organization. This past week we received the papers back from the State of Missouri, Keepers Korner is incorporated as a not for profit charitable organization! Now we have sent in to the Federal IRS the forms asking for federal exemption. We don't know if we qualify but we are trying. But, after 20 odd years we know that Harold who originally got us incorporated is smiling down on us, for not giving up, for doing it again, without his help, but knowing he is still helping guide us.
Keepers Korner would have kept on doing what it is doing with or without the recognition from Missouri, this just makes Keepers and myself and harold so much more proud than ever before, a validation if you will, that we are sincere, that we will not give up, that Keepers Korner will grow. So we thank Harold and Blue and Andrzej for all they have done to get us here, we are so thankful to each of them.
To Keepers, keep up the good work, your dream, which has also become mine, is just unfolding before you, bit by bit, and I know we have a long way to go, but we will and it will be side by side, all the way.
Please feel free to visit us at http://www.keeperskorner.com and see where we are heading and who we are helping.
peace and blessings to each of you
John Michael
Friday, December 01, 2006
What a Night!!
Yesterday afternoon the sleet and freezing rain came in around noon, before that it was just raining, lots of rain. and as the day went on the temps dropped. The day before it was 73 degrees and they said we had a winter storm watch in 24 hours, they were right!
At 2:30 my boss told me and the rest of our group to head home. Call in this morning and see if work was cancelled or not and we would go from there. My usual drive of 30 minutes took over an hour and a half, because no one was travelling over 30 mph, no one could, it was too darned slippery. When I got home, much to Keepers joy since I was safe and not in a ditch somewhere, I put on a pot of chili and we settled in. As the evening wore on the sleet continued to pummel the windows. They were predicting sleet, then snow, up to 8 or 9 inches!!! Yikes!!!
Around 11 pm when the news was finally going off it happened, our electricity went out, once, then back on, then off again, then a try to come on but....you guessed it, no such luck. So there we were, no electricity, temp in the 20's and sleet still coming down like crazy. With some trepidation we headed for bed, try to get some sleep and stay as warm as we could.
Well when I got up this morning it was COLD! Keepers checked the thermostat and it only goes down to 50, so we have no idea what it was. Just know it was cold! Little keepers were very cold, it reminded them of when they were at home with mom and dad and the bills didn't get paid and there was no heat. I had to get them somewhere to get warm. We went to Starbucks for some hot coffee and a blueberry muffin and then we headed to a shopping cneter to use an indoor phone so I could call work and my boss.
While I called in they went to the Old Navy store and bought 3 warm pair of fleece pants!!! Littles were very cold still and defending against the cold the best way they could. We decided to head home, shut off the water to prevent any bursting water pipes later, then would look for a motel. That was because there were over 500,000 homes and businesses without power and an estimate of 2-5 days for power restored!!!
Across the street, they never lost their power, different power grid or whatever, happens every time. But...as we drove down our street I looked at our side and the furnace vents were signalling power was back, cautiously I watched as did Keepers and then we got to our house, it was the same...Power was back!!!!!!!!
It's been over 5 hours now, the house is warm again, the pc is up and running and the blog is going up. Supper is in the oven cooking and the cats are lounging about. All is well once again at Keepers Korner.
As we drove down the street, we were both praying that when we got home the power would have been restored, and I do mean serious praying. For several weeks we have praying for a friend of ours in the UK whose brother in law had a cancer operation but was awaiting word on whether or not they got it all, both prayers were answered positively and we thank God for that.
Never underestimate the power in a silent word to on high.
peace and blessings to all of you
john michael and keepers
At 2:30 my boss told me and the rest of our group to head home. Call in this morning and see if work was cancelled or not and we would go from there. My usual drive of 30 minutes took over an hour and a half, because no one was travelling over 30 mph, no one could, it was too darned slippery. When I got home, much to Keepers joy since I was safe and not in a ditch somewhere, I put on a pot of chili and we settled in. As the evening wore on the sleet continued to pummel the windows. They were predicting sleet, then snow, up to 8 or 9 inches!!! Yikes!!!
Around 11 pm when the news was finally going off it happened, our electricity went out, once, then back on, then off again, then a try to come on but....you guessed it, no such luck. So there we were, no electricity, temp in the 20's and sleet still coming down like crazy. With some trepidation we headed for bed, try to get some sleep and stay as warm as we could.
Well when I got up this morning it was COLD! Keepers checked the thermostat and it only goes down to 50, so we have no idea what it was. Just know it was cold! Little keepers were very cold, it reminded them of when they were at home with mom and dad and the bills didn't get paid and there was no heat. I had to get them somewhere to get warm. We went to Starbucks for some hot coffee and a blueberry muffin and then we headed to a shopping cneter to use an indoor phone so I could call work and my boss.
While I called in they went to the Old Navy store and bought 3 warm pair of fleece pants!!! Littles were very cold still and defending against the cold the best way they could. We decided to head home, shut off the water to prevent any bursting water pipes later, then would look for a motel. That was because there were over 500,000 homes and businesses without power and an estimate of 2-5 days for power restored!!!
Across the street, they never lost their power, different power grid or whatever, happens every time. But...as we drove down our street I looked at our side and the furnace vents were signalling power was back, cautiously I watched as did Keepers and then we got to our house, it was the same...Power was back!!!!!!!!
It's been over 5 hours now, the house is warm again, the pc is up and running and the blog is going up. Supper is in the oven cooking and the cats are lounging about. All is well once again at Keepers Korner.
As we drove down the street, we were both praying that when we got home the power would have been restored, and I do mean serious praying. For several weeks we have praying for a friend of ours in the UK whose brother in law had a cancer operation but was awaiting word on whether or not they got it all, both prayers were answered positively and we thank God for that.
Never underestimate the power in a silent word to on high.
peace and blessings to all of you
john michael and keepers
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