About 10 years ago my husband “Sweeney” and I sat in Todd and Susan Peterson’s living room and Todd asked, “Cabell, close your eyes and tell me what your dream job is. Forget about how to get there, just tell me the dream.” My response was, “I want to walk through my garden to a studio where I design and make gifts for people all day. And I want the gifts I design to be more than just another product in the marketplace. I want those gifts to be part of celebrations and the making of memories.” These few “about us” sentences could never contain all the prayer, work and tears- the life and love spent and shared from that moment until today. But that dream I hoped for is the reality of my job. I do get to walk ten steps from my back porch to my quaint studio to paint and create to my heart’s desire. I am blown away that I get to do this for a living. I am overwhelmed that I get to do it with Susan. Both are tremendous gifts.

Four years ago my husband’s job with Young Life brought us to Rome, Georgia. After a year here my husband was diagnosed with cancer and so began an 18month battle with Melanoma. Sweeney died in March of 2009. I won’t even try to summarize the kind of man he was, the marriage we shared or the journey of cancer in a few sentences. It would be an injustice. If you care to read more, you can visit caringbridge.org

I still live in Rome with my yellow lab Tate and am thankful to share life with the friends who have become my family here. I am grateful for the life I have been given. It hasn’t always been easy, but it is rich and deep… full of love and joy and God’s faithfulness. Thank you for caring enough to read about us, thank you for buying our products. We are truly grateful.

There's more to life... My husband and I say that a lot to our kids and to ourselves. There's more to life than what I have experienced in my (ahem) 40 years here on earth. There's more to life than my daily routine. There's more to life than what we see here in our cozy lives in Atlanta. Basically, there's more to life than me. I am thankful that someone (actually a few someones) taught me that along the way.

I love what I do here at Cabell's. I love working alongside one of the great gifts of my life, Cabell ( I really mean that). I love the products we create, the challenge, and the chores. I love it all. I think I love it mostly because it's not about me. It's about doing something that has the potential to impact others lives. Before the ink had even dried on the documents that formally made us a company, we were hopeful and prayerful about how this little venture could impact people from our backyards to across the world. Since then we have had the privilege of employing some amazing people, funding causes that we believe in, and supporting organizations we love. We try our best to put others before ourselves and hope to teach our children to do the same. That’s not our idea. That’s something we learned from God, who loves all people and I believe is honored when we care for what He has made.

I spend most of my extra time with my family. My husband and best friend, Todd and I are involved in our kids lives, which includes everything from school to sports practice, to family Wii challenge nights. We love families and love people. We love to have friends in our home, old and new. We love to give, to travel, and to see life from other perspectives. And most of all, we love it when we feel like what we are doing with our life makes a difference for God. He is who we really love most! I am grateful to Him for a full life.