All About Jessie's

Jessie is such a sweetheart! And her being here with us, to laugh, sing and scrap is nothing short of a miracle! Her mom, Patti is without doubt, a gift to all of us! Patient, gentle, strong, there are a lot of lessons we could learn from her, from this family, from their resilience in the face of odds that would have cut down most of us or left us whimpering in a corner!

It isn't an easy life they have! But what a rich life they have made it! Little Mackenzie, Jessie's daugther sings like an angel.  There is knowledge beyond her years in her eyes, and something else too, a fiendish naughtiness, which I suspect is not uncommon in a cute 10 year old, who loves acting! Zack, Jessie's son is now tasked with the "exercises" a dastardly period of therapy, which helps keep Jessie limber, but at a price, one that can''t be easy for a young man to put his mom through. But he does it, because that is part of his contribution to his mother's care. And it is so obvious, especially when you look at him, when he is not aware that you are doing so, that he loves his mom!

John or Pops, as everyone calls him, is the dad of the family. That man loves fiercely, protectively. I'm not sure that there is much that Pops can't do, lay down hardwood floors or cook or help care for Jessie, he does it all! Another member of Jessie's team is her brother, Michael and a lovely woman named Jane who comes in and helps out wherever and however she can. She has one more connection to Jessie, she is a scrapbooker, and those of us who know Jessie, know how happy scrapping makes our friend Jessie!

It's a tough life for Jessie and for her family, and I'm truly in awe and blessed to have met her before the "accident" and lucky to know the woman of character she has become! She was always a wonderful lady, but she has added layers of grit, determination, patience that have allowed her to come such a long way from the 2% life expectancy the doctors' gave her!  Thank goodness her mom refused to listen to them!

The pictures here are of a present I made for Jessie, for I think she is the bravest person I know.  They are of her children, her mom, farm, her life and of course, her favorite scrapbook store! We had such a great time visiting Scrapbook Village! Thanks Jessie, for a stupendous weekend. I'll be back soon, you know I promised!