Where it all started... Then and Now

On a farm in Iowa.  Approximately 1986.  I remember faintly my mother putting these HUGE button-up shirts on me and my brother, sticking a paint brush in our hands, and a gallon of white paint on the ground and telling us to get the whole hay rack covered.  It seemed like a never ending job.......  and I can't recall if we ever finished!  So from a young age, I had painting forced upon me.  And now here I am....  still painting!  (But loving it!)

Painting my Aunt Jan's (now home in Heaven) kitchen in their condo.  You know she would have been right there doing it herself if she could have!!  Suddenly, I feel like turning this blog in to a tribute to my great aunt Jan Sluiter, but I wouldn't even know where to start!  She was such a wonderful person.  Facing life with ALS and then having breast cancer....  almost always had that smile on her face, and an encouraging word for others.  She was so sure of Heaven, and she wanted others to share in her joy!  I only wish she could have hung on a few more years - I wanted her to meet my kids so badly, and I want them to know the Jan I tell them about.  I can almost HEAR her laughing at my silly little Ty, and "awwwwing" over Tori...   I miss you so much, Jan!!!!  And I know many others do too.