Jeff and I are back from the A Kentucky Homespun Christmas Folk Art and Antique show in Cave City, Kentucky, and the show was a huge success. I really enjoyed every minute of it. My parents traveled with us, and it was so nice to be with them and for them to see a side of me that they rarely get to see. The show could not have been more perfect. Stacee Droit and Wilma Gilbert did a wonderful job organizing everything. Whatever we needed was there for us, and if we needed something extra all we had to do was ask. Setting up our booth went very smoothly. My mom, dad, and Jeff were an enormous help. We started setting up at 8:00 a.m. and we were finished by 12:00 p.m., which was record time!

There was a large crowd on Friday night, and it was so nice to see so many familiar faces. I met people who I knew through Facebook, and many of the homeowners of homes that I have photographed for the magazine A Primitive Place & Country Journal were there as well. It seemed that everywhere I turned, there was someone I knew. On the second day of the show there was another good crowd, and it was nice to connect with even more primitive lovers.

Overall the show was an enormous success. Did I sell everything? No. Did I make a bunch of money? No. However, I accomplished my goal, and I did the show and had a booth full of completely handmade items. It was an enormous success because had someone told me two years ago or even a year ago that I would ever make anything again or ever be able to participate in a show like this, I would have thought he was crazy. I would have said there was no way that that would be possible, but here I am. That is the thing about God that we all need to remember. He can restore what we thought was lost. He can make a way where there seems to be no way, and He can give us the strength to endure the struggles of this life so that we can appreciate when the sun begins to shine on our faces once again a little bit more than we did before. It is the valleys of life that make us appreciate the good times. It is the dark days that make us appreciate the light. It is the hopelessness that makes us realize how important hope is, and it is the lack of peace that makes us know just how much PEACE MATTERS.

~Dan~