What a month it has been, I hope now that we are more active, I can add more entries. We have officially went from helping for holidays to helping year round. 

The flood really did a number, and I already had a idea of what our community needs where before. It slightly has come full circle, and tomorrow we Open our charity store. The Small Blessings Closet.. I just love the name. Our first  transition space reminded me of a Closet with as much clothes I had stuffed in it. Small Blessings, well that is every individual I meet, that is every donation big or small. That is coming into our store and finding something you really need, almost free, when your pockets are not full. It is a Small Blessing.

I cannot wait for this next adventure. For awhile we will have a jar available "Keep the Lights On", that is a donation jar that we are hoping to raise funds to put towards Rental Units in Sumas. The power bills have been high, and to add to the strain, they raised the rates. Hopefully this can help some families.

Though, things have shifted to public and not just flood victims, we are still wanting to help flood families as best as we can, with what we have available. This community needs as much help as possible. 

Thanks for coming to check in. Our community still needs help, the level of help per family is so different.  Each situation is unique in there own way. If you pray, say some prayers for these families. Displaced or not everyone is struggling one way or another.

 Many Blessings 🙌 🙏 

Blog

Valley Community Flood Drive

Its January 14th, how is it 2026 all ready. I barely made it through Christmas. Honestly, this Christmas I barely made it work this year. Still feel like October til now has been a fast train steam rolling into the next month. 

Its been a little over a month since flood waters had caused havoc in our community...again.. in just 4 short years since the last flood. I still shake my head when thinking about it. Frustrated, Sad, and so confused as to why a solution has not be started to fix this problem. I realized, instead of fixating on it, realize this might be just a new normal. As terrible as that sounds, maybe I just need to learn how to handle these disasters and be geared up for the next time. When I would absolutely love for it to never happen again. 

In the first days of post flood I will say I saw God work in so many ways. I slightly kick myself for not Journaling my days. I saw strangers show up to help. No experience, not even sure what needs to happen but felt they needed to be where help was needed. 

I felt him calling me to help, in a way of clothing and hygiene bags. Which now is small kitchen appliances, dishes, clothes, shoes, diapers, bedding, toys etc. It has grown massively. We are super grateful for Scrap-It and the 20ft Shipping Container we are using temporarily! It has truly helped keep all the donations dry. Did I mention our community has been so good that the container is id say 80% full! Its so amazing to see how people rallied for all that was lost.

I saw a fellow flood victim from 2021 flood donate her van to a 2025 flood victim. She originally lost her car in 21 flood and wanted to pass it forward to another flood family. I will say it was a honor to witness Gia getting her new car for her family.

Our Santa in the Park- not even a week after our Christmas Tree Giveaway we were back in the park to provide flood families with gifts and pictures with Santa to hopefully bring some holiday cheer in such a difficult time. The gifts where donated by our community.  Especially one community member (Yvonne) who was a victim of the flood, but had her small gifts for kids she has saved over the course of time to donate to us. We had totes of fun things the kids could chose from. Our Fire Department also made a special delivery. We got brand new teddy bears to hand out. Each one of those kids who came received a little bit of everything as they walked through. Once they got to Santa they received there Teddy Bear, Christmas Magic key and Bell, and my favorite Reindeer Magic Food..so they know where to bring Santa.

My favorite memory is receiving a call from a tired, slightly panicked community member who was starving. They had been doing cleanup all day, they had volunteers and she knew they needed food but wasnt sure where that was. We were able to bring her snacks that Valley Tap House had on hand, plus some snacks we had available. That night I prayed on my way home. Asking how to make this work. People are hungry, the help is no where near it was in 2021. What can I do? That evening I received a message from Giselle asking if we were taking food donations. It wasnt exactly what I was thinking. They own and operate Michelles Antojitos Taco Truck from Bellingham, and was wanting to offer burritos to flood victims and volunteers for free, and was wondering if they could park where we were. I cried. I bawled actually. You see the tired faces, you hear the panic, and then this beautiful gift is blessed to us. It took about 2 or 3 hours, can't remember now 100 burittos were handed out to our community. Another prayer answered.

I had many answered prayers, answered thoughts, and I will say that I am forever changed by this experience. There are many other instances, but I am gonna share these big ones.

I finally caved and filed Articles of Incorporation with Washington State, and filled for 501 (c)(3) exemption. We are definitely in this for the long haul.

We are still here. Weather has taken a toll. We have finally got indoor space, and we are transitioning indoors. Layout is different. What we have available is going to be different. Every one's situation is different and unfortunately we dont have the square footage to fit everyone's needs. We are hoping to be the middle man so to speak on furniture, appliances etc. 

We are looking for a more permanent location. Who knows what this adventure brings. We dont have a thrift like store in our Valley. I do know God will lead me right where I need to be. He seems to be putting me in these spots for a reason. Maybe im crazy, maybe its my purpose. Time will tell.

Thanks for stopping in! Be sure to check out our Facebook page for up to date info. We love the support.

Much love from a small town (Sumas) raised girl ❤️

🦃THANKSGIVING MEAL BOX DELIVERY 🦃