This past weekend, Steve and I participated in the 200 mile Ragnar Relay with a group dedicated to supporting the Neema Project.  Teams comprised of 6-12 runners made the journey from Lancaster all the way to Lake Harmony in the Pocono Mountains, with each runner responsible for 15-30 miles of strenuous running in hot conditions, steep hills, and very little sleep.  In addition to making it out alive, we were able to raise over $19,000 for the Neema Project!

The ​Neema Project is a US Non-profit and Community Based Organization in Kenya providing skills training, counseling and discipleship to vulnerable young women from Kitale and surrounding villages. The students are trained to become certified dress makers and tailors through a rigorous educational and national certification process. Training encompasses all aspects of the craft from sewing machine mechanics and repair to dressmaking, tailoring theory, and practical application.  In addition, Neema has a residential program that provides each young woman and her children with a safe home environment, clean water, food, and medical care.

Although we are both a bit sore from all the running, our hearts are full from knowing the work we did will continue to help those less fortunate.  Thank you to all of the donors who have supported us and the Neema Project leading up to the race.  Many of you were past clients of Tatcor, and remain our close friends to this day.  We truly couldn't have done it without you!  

To learn more about the Neema Project, visit ​www.neemaproject.org/.  

Over the next few weeks, we will be presenting weekly or bi-weekly updates on one of our kitchen projects in order to let you live the transformation, just as our clients and we do.  In today's day and age with technology, what better way to do it than through video!

Several years ago, a few family members and I started Woodlynn's Edge, a live edge wood furniture company.  We began by purchasing different types of trees that had fallen in and around Chester County, Pennsylvania.  It's important to note that we only work with trees that fell, and were not "felled".  Believe it or not, there's a pretty significant difference.  Trees that fell are trees that have fallen due to the innate course of nature (lightning strikes, high winds, old age, etc.), whereas trees that were felled were brought down by mankind, or in many cases - a logger.  It's a part of who we are at Woodlynn's edge to maintain the utmost level of respect for our environment by not harming it in any way, but rather restoring it and preserving it whenever possible.

We had the opportunity to work on an exciting kitchen remodeling project in Chester County, PA in a neighborhood that we lived in before taking on our first fixer upper and eventual forever home.  It was exciting to be part of such a tight knit community and to watch our children grow up together.  They went to the same schools, played on the same sports teams, often times with their parents as coaches, slept over at each other's homes, and ultimately became lifelong friends.