In a dream I walked a fragrant path, and emerged through a gate to see a garden that loved me. My blooms surrounded me, and I tended them with care because I loved them. Perhaps a family is like that garden, each child a delicate rose that with the gentle nurturing of a master gardener can flourish and bring beauty to the world. How like that gardener am I, who daily plants love and encouragement in the rich ground of a child's heart, and who, with the kind hands of compassion, guides the rose to fill the trellis. Our newest little "bloom" is our daughter Everett, with whom God blessed us on June 18th 1997. On her first birthday, I present this garden, and this cottage, in her honor!

--- Thomas Kinkade