Meet the Twins - College and Beyond, Part 2

(If you didn’t read Part 1, please stop and read it right now! Thanks.)

Becky and I headed off to college, barely 17 years old, ready to conquer the world! We were scared of what we’d encounter, but we had each other, and an older brother, who was a student at the same University. We knew we’d be fine. I knew that our parents would be missing us because losing two at once would be hard, but losing two of us who were so very, very busy, would be awful. We decided that we’d write letters each week. Remember when long distance phone calls were $.40/minute and there were no cell phones? Well, that’s when we were in college. Phone calls were not in any of our family’s budgets!

Neither of us dated anyone seriously during college, though we had some interesting and fun times with people we still consider friends to this day.

We both worked at the Print Shop, where we were in the production department, and cranked out anything that was written, typed and presented, like booklets for the Bible department and newsletters for the education department.

It was an educational job, and I loved every minute of it. I met some of the most talented, hard working and wise people, both in the things of the Lord, and just in the things of business. I learned as much how to be a good “printer” as I did a godly lady, who would aspire to deal with problems in a Christ-like way (even though I often fail.)

About halfway through our college days, we realized that we would both need to stay an extra semester, in order to complete all the things we needed to get done. So, we stretched four years into four and a half. Student teaching took one semester and we had to live in the “home economics house” for another half of a semester, where you planned, hosted and put on dinner parties and such. We were both taking a lot of extra classes, and instead of 136 credits needed for graduation, we finished at over 175, when done.

And by the time Jan. 20, 1984, rolled around, by then, I was done. Completely done in. I had given everything and wanted out. I wanted to start this quest called life. So, when Becky and I were approached with the idea of staying on for grad school, around Jan. 10 or so, I said, ‘No way.” I had already signed a contract to teach in a Christian school in Centre County, PA. But, Becky rearranged her thinking and stayed on to earn her master’s degree.

For the next two years Becky was able to teach sewing on the college level to those who wanted to be there, while she earned her master’s degree.

In the meantime, I moved to PA to teach Home Economics, and mainly science, which was my minor, to junior high and high schoolers. I was a decent teacher, I felt, but a HORRIBLE disciplinarian. I could not control my classroom, and I knew it. By the end of the second year, I had had enough. I wanted to teach, NOT to discipline. During that second year, however, I did get to teach teenage girls to sew. That was fun, although frustrating, because we were using “Grandma’s old sewing machines” to sew with.

Ken and I had met during the first year, dated and at the end of my second year, I told the principal that I was not coming back. It worked out perfectly, as we moved on shortly thereafter, and left that town.

Becky and I got married one year apart. Though it sounds like she was married before I was, she was married on Saturday, June 14, and mine was the year earlier, on June 15. Becky sewed all the bridesmaids’ dresses for my wedding, as well as her own. We did find a beautiful gown that we both loved at David’s bridal in Tampa, and we split the cost, when I got engaged. (I had flown down shortly after my engagement to visit my parents and see Becky and find a wedding gown.)

We designed these bridesmaids dresses so they would “resemble” the bridal growns. Remember when that was a thing? You used to have matching bridesmaids dresses that all “pointed towards” the bride? Wow, have things changed now!

I’ll spare you all the gory details, but life has lots of twists and turns, and Ken and I ended up in Florida shortly after we had been married for just a year, where Ken became pastor of the church we’re still in, 35 years later! Becky had married Mike, and they were off on their own adventures in Alaska, CA, and back to Florida for a few years, while he finished up his doctorate in Old Testament.

We have nine children between us, now ages, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 25, 25 and 22. We passed maternity clothes back and forth and when we were together and could, we passed baby clothes around. However, before the last three, Becky and Mike headed over to Poland, when she was pregnant with Lydia, the now 25 year old (third from the end on the list).

I worked as a newspaper reporter in addition to teaching in our church’s tiny Christian school, writing a column, as well, since I did enjoy writing. (Hence, now you get a daily email from me).

Becky was confident that communication would be difficult once they got to Poland, so she learned to use a Ham Radio. I, however, wasn’t that dedicated to the short wave system, and knew that I could type well, so I would resort to the regular old postal system, no matter how slow it was.

Mom took this picture of us when we were about 7 years old.

However, not very many years after they moved over there (Lydia was born in Dec. 1994 in Poland),  electronic bulletin boards and a very basic version of email became available. I could see how it would be helpful, and we jumped on the bandwagon with opening AOL and JUNO accounts, using our AMIGA, the big brother to Commodore 64s.

For the next 25 years I would immerse myself in opening and operating TheCouponClippers.com, (TCC) which grew to be the largest coupon clipping service in the nation, and rearing my four children, while helping in our church here in Dade City. Becky would home school her five children, as well as have them in the public school there in Poland, to learn the language and culture. In addition, she would help Mike in the work there in Poland, as they established a Baptist church in a town near Warsaw, Poland.

We took our family over once to visit with them in Poland, and they’d bring their kids back to the States to report back to their churches, so our kids would interact. Genetically they are half brothers and sisters; technically, they are cousins.

Part of Becky’s ministry in the church there was an outreach into the community, where she hosted giant Christmas parties and give aways for orphans and others who were in need. We would use my coupon business to raise money to help find sponsors for the kids.

After her children moved over to the States to attend college, that became impossible to keep up, and she had started quilting.

She decided instead, to pare back, and instead of kill herself each Christmas, she’d use the quilts as a part of her outreach into the community.

After her children were gone from home, she dove into quilting with a passion that you can see today. She started sharing her patterns freely, since people asked how she made things.

With her teaching background, and basic computer knowledge, and the background in basic layout and design for printed products, she is able to produce a nicely printed pattern for us today!

One day I went to visit there in Poland, and I told Becky that some day, whenever she wanted to start to “make this a business,” that I’d be there to help. So, one day in the fall of 2016, she said, “I’m ready.” We laid the ground work for several months, and on Jan. 1, 2017, we launched QuiltedTwins.com.

For the first year we grew. We learned. We laughed. We got frustrated. We bought fabric, and we tried to grow our online base. I had already grown TCC from the ground up, so I had a good idea of some of what would be involved. I was loving working with non-expiring products!

Right at the end of our first year, when we were preparing to open to the public.

In Feb. of 2018, after some prompting from people who knew us locally, we decided to open our doors for walk-ins, and we’ve never looked back! (I finally closed TCC in April of this year, so I could focus 110% on QT)

We love it. The sharing, the laughter, the creativity, and the caring that is exhibited among the quilters is amazing, inspirational and encouraging.

I’ve left out lots and lots, but hopefully you can get a LITTLE better understanding of who we are and where we come from! You can understand why Becky is the designer and pattern writer and I’m the business person!

We hope to be a blessing, an encouragement, and, of course, YOUR source for your fabric needs!

… and now you know more than you ever wanted to know about us!

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