Allison and Her Questions

Yesterday Allison was my shadow. She wanted all of my attention, all of the time. If I left her sight for a nano second she'd be calling, "Mom? Where are you?" I tried not to sigh too loudly as I answered, "I'll be right back Allie." I love that little girl more than life itself, but I admit I was feeling a bit smothered. She is always moving, thinking, and asking questions, very hard questions! Last night as I was getting ready to lay her in bed she says, "Mom, why did Jesus glue our fingernails down?" I stifled a giggle and admitted that while I'm sure Jesus didn't use glue, I don't really know how our fingernails stay on. That made her more convinced that He did use glue. I mean, if mom doesn't have a better answer, then glue it is! She comes up with those sorts of questions all the time! She amazes me with her energy, her insight, and her ability to express herself. And as exhausting as days like yesterday were, I wouldn't trade them for ANYTHING!

Shop Talk: Next week is Book In a Week. My goal is 10 pages. That's alot and probably not at all realistic. I'll be happy with five! I've been working on a plot for my book. The characters are coming along nicely. The setting is a school. But creating the conflict and resolution always cause me grief. I'm feeling pretty good about what I'm developing now though. We'll see where it takes me.
I just joined an online critique group. This is a group of writers who evaluate each others work, pointing out the positives as well as changes that will make the piece stronger. I know I need a group like this to keep me motivated to write once I finish my course. It can be lonely on your own as a writer and having a network of other writers to commiserate with is vital to success! I'm looking forward to it!
I mailed off Assignment 7 this morning. Nick is on his way to be critiqued by my instructor. I feel really good about the story. I worked hard at tailoring it to a specific magazine so hopefully after a bit of polishing and minor changes suggested by my instructor, I'll be able to submit it! I can't believe in three more lessons I'll be finished with the course! They tell you to expect to take 2 years to finish. I'm on track to finish much sooner. April will be one year for me and I think, at this rate, I'll finish by September. YAY!

I Miss Summer

I miss the green grass, flowering bushes, and little girls dressed to play in the sun...





I miss the lazy days we spent on Frye Island...

I'm tired of scenes like this...

We are in the midst of a snow storm and I'm feeling oh so ready to be done with winter. I want to be pulling weeds from the gardens. I want to be watching the girls swimming in the pool. I want to go for a walk after dinner. BUT, we have no weeds, the swimming pool is frozen stiff, and we'd be slip sliding our way around the neigborhood if we ventured out for a walk. Big sigh.

Crazy Kid

My dare devil daughter provided heart stopping terror for her father and I. Yes, Katie. If you know her at all, you know she tends to be a bit accident prone - a trait she most certainly acquired from ED! Yesterday afternoon we went to the local golf course for some sledding fun. The sun was sparkling off the snow, the wind was calm and the temperature was a balmy 33 degrees. Perfect sledding weather. The hills weren't crowded and there were several paths that had been smoothed into icy slopes by previous sledders. Perfect sledding conditions. On the far left end of the hill someone had created a rather large jump. It was very steep up the front side and flat on the back. Katie decided she should try it out, inspite of my warnings. She laid her tube out in front of her and backed up for a running start. Whoosh! She flew down the hill heading straight for her target. Up the jump she went. Katie and the tube parted ways. Her face hit the ground first and then her legs went over her head so that she did a flip, only, her head stayed in the snow. We thought for sure we had just witnessed our daughter break her neck. Crazy kid. Fortunately, being the tough, athletic girl that she is, she rolled over and got up. The inside of her mouth got cut up by her braces, her bottom lip is HUGE, she has multiple scratches on one side of her face, and the beginnings of a black eye. Thank you Jesus for sparing her a major injury! I don't think she'll be so adventurous next time. And I'm sure I will be far MORE insistent that she LISTEN when her mother says "DON'T DO IT!"

Shop Talk: I'm finding that I really like developing characters. I've been creating a protagonist for the early chapter book I will start during BIW. I love her already. So far she is a mix of Becky and me. I'll tell you more about her as she comes to life. And the more time I spend with Nick, the more I love him too! He's a good boy, but he's all boy! He's got a tender heart but he's not wimpy. Finding the plot to put my characters in is a bit trickier for me at this point. Conflict is difficult for me to create. And remember, there needs to be awful elements that these characters have to overcome.

Disney Tips: The single best web site out there to help you plan a Disney vacation is Mousesavers.com. Poke around the site and see for yourself all it has to offer. As we get closer to our trip this fall I will have more tips. I'm not quite in vacation planning mode yet.

Happy Monday!

Just Shop Talk

Shop Talk: I've just mailed in the registration to attend my first writer's conference. It's in New Hampshire in April. I'm very excited about going - and a little nervous about it too. The conference is put on by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators-SCBWI- and they are a national book writers organization. The conference is set up for all levels of writers as well as illustrators. I'm only going up for one day but I'll get to attend four different workshops. It will also be a nice opportunity to meet some people in the business - publishers, editors, etc. I keep thinking it will be a bit intimidating but I know I'll be so glad that I went! I believe they offer a fall conference as well. Maybe by then I'll have had something published - or dare I hope for a couple of somethings published! I've also officially signed up to part of the Book In a Week club. The next writing week is March 3-9. I've got a cute idea rolling around in my head for an early chapter book. Many writing tips I read suggest pulling ideas from your childhood for stories. I'm going to pull some ideas from my elementary school days and hope for the best. The plan with Book In a Week - BIW - is to just TYPE. No editing along the way. That will be challenging. I'm definitely an edit as I go kind of writer but I know I could be much more productive if I could force myself to just keep typing. The plan is to train myself to write well from the get go by learning to choose my words carefully and let the revision process be for fixing things. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

A Little About Nick

Shop Talk: I've just finished the first draft of my revised story from Assignment 6. I managed to awfulize it adequately - I think. More importantly my protagonist, Nick, will have listened to his conscience and done the right thing. By the end of the story he has grown more morally responsible. I like that. Another thing I'm excited about is what I'm learning in the little bit of research I'm doing for this story. Nick is into skateboarding - a topic I know virtually NOTHING about. I did some looking around on the web and discovered that many skateboard companies love to exploit death, darkness, and menacing images and make them appear cool. Then I discovered that there are skateboard communities out there that are trying to change that image and are christian people who want to bring glory to God. Since my story has a moral slant, I've already looked into some magazines that like that kind of thing. And if I do this right, I can tap into the info I found on the different christian skateboarder websites and convincingly portray Nick as a cool skateboarder with strong moral convictions. Maybe this doesn't make sense. Hopefully it'll all come together and I'll be able to tell you more. Basically I'm still revising the piece, but now that I have the story roughed out I can really focus on making my character believable and making my plot strong. Honestly, I haven't spent this much time and effort on any story I've written so far - I told you , I really want to get it right. This is kind of where the rubber meets the road and I get to take all of the information I've been inundated with and make it into a real live, publishable story. In other shop talk news, I'm thinking of joining an online critique group. This is an online group of writers that share their work and offer constructive criticism and praise. I'm SO nervous about people reading my work and honestly critiquing it! I'm in the process of finding a group that will be a good match for me.


The girls are home from school this week. I'm liking the laid back days of school vacation. Everyone sleeps a tad later, we wear our jammies until after breakfast, and we don't have any real plans! Ahhh, no plans! That's nice sometimes, isn't it? Yesterday we ventured out to our local paint your own pottery place. Katie and I had pieces we've been working on and wanted to finish. Allison and Becky got to pick out something new to paint. My girls love this kind of thing and for 2 1/2 hours we were all engrossed in our projects - Allison included. I'll have to take pictures of our pieces after we get them back from the studio - they're waiting to be fired. Everyone seems to be getting along well and I'm actually able to take some time to work. I do love having my girls home with me. Kindergarten registration papers came last week. I'm mostly fine with my baby going off to school full time but sometimes I about hyperventilate when I think about it!! Can you imagine? My baby off to school. YIKES! I've had someone small at home with me for 13 years so this will be a big change for me. Not to mention a big change for Allison too - being away from home ALL day. Why don't I homeschool her, you ask? It just doesn't seem like the right thing for us at this point of our lives. Allison will thrive and grow and learn at school - I know that. If God wants me to homeschool her or the other two, He'll let me know. But for now I really don't think that's what He wants for us. You know I've prayed about this alot - I still am praying for clear guidance about school decisions for all three of my girls. God won't let me down - He knows just exactly what's right for my girls and me. Oh, the comfort that comes from believing those words...

Got to do some laundry...

My Girl

Today is Katie's 13th birthday. How come I can remember so clearly the day she was born? I can tell you practically every detail of the day/night Katie was born. And yet, it was 13 years ago. The time has seemed to move in slow motion and zoomed by at lightning speed at the same time. I can't believe she is a teenager. I can't believe I am the mother of a teenager. Wow. Katie is an amazing girl. She has such a clear perception of who she is, what she believes, and what is right. She's comfortable with herself in a way that most people never experience. She's strong, determined, and goal oriented. I'm so proud of the person she is growing into. Happy Birthday Katie, I love you!

Me, Katie, and our sweet dog Emily. This was our first day home from the hospital. Good grief, I'm such a baby myself in this picture at 22 years old!!

Here's me and my girl (and Lucy) today.

Don't Get Discouraged

Shop Talk: After waiting for 9 long weeks I finally heard back from the magazine I submitted my first manuscript to. I have officially received my first rejection letter. It was a form letter with a list of possible rejection reasons and then the one that applied to my piece had a check mark next to it. Some of the reasons listed on the letter were: The story is well written but lacks a fresh approach. It lacks a strong plot. It involves stereotyped roles. The reason my piece was turned down was It is not suited to our present needs. That's fine. I actually feel glad that the reason wasn't more negative like "lacks a strong plot." I still feel good about the article and now I will get it ready to submit to a different magazine. I have a market guide with hundreds of magazines in it. I just need to find the right one for this article. A sentence at the beginning of the rejection letter says, "Many a noted writer has climbed to success on steps built with early rejection slips. Don't get discouraged!" As I said before, I've learned so much through the process and what I've learned will help me better prepare my next manuscript package. Rejection letters seem to be some right of passage for writers. A rejection letter means I tried. I didn't give up and I followed through. I feel proud of that and I think I'm feeling a little more like a real writer now :)

Stalking the Mailman and The Blue Lady

I've been stalking our mailman. It's not my fault really. We have a locked mailbox on our street and the only way for me to get our mail these last few days is by stalking him! I know you're wondering why I don't just use my key to get the mail and thereby not freak out the poor mailman. Well, my keys are in Alabama. How did they get in Alabama? Hmm, my dear husband took them with him on his business trip this week, that's how!! Monday morning I was going to start the van and my keys were nowhere to be found. FORTUNATELY, I remembered an extra key in the desk drawer. There was a house key in there too. But no mailbox key. A couple of hours later Ed called. He was SOOO sorry for taking my keys. He claimed he felt just sick to his stomach over it. He said he'd FedEx them to me overnight. Silly, silly man. He felt much better when I told him we were all set - except for the mail. He didn't care about the mail. I do. Yesterday I heard the mail truck coming up the street. Allison grabbed our coats and shoes and headed for the mailbox. The very kind mailman didn't seem alarmed to see me there stalking him. He very nicely handed me the mail, and didn't ask any questions. Ed will be home tonight. He can get the mail when he gets home. No more stalking for me.

Allison and I were at swimming lessons last week. We were in the locker room getting ready. A VERY old woman was in there too. She had just finished swimming and was strolling around the locker room in her undies. Yes, her undies. She walked passed Allison and I and headed into the restroom. After she passed by Allison whispered to me, "Mommy, why is she all blue?" "SHHHH!" I said. "But why is she?" "Because she's old," I said. I thought vericose veins might be a harder concept to grasp! I found it disturbing enough, I can't imagine what Allison thought!

Shop Talk: I'm still thinking awful thoughts. And I have ONE sentence written in my story. I'm trying to find just the right word/sound for a slingshot. And then, what sound does a cat make when it is struck by a jagged rock shot from the slingshot? I need both of these things for my opening paragraph. Any suggestions would be wonderful! Sounding awful so far? I'm trying to decide if the cat should die or just be mamed. Interesting stuff, I tell ya.

Ending with Scripture:

1 Corinthians 8:3 But the man who loves God is know by God.

Think Awful Thoughts

Shop Talk: I got my last assignment back from my instructor the other day. I had to write a story featuring a character I developed in the previous assignment. In a nutshell, my instructor thought the piece was 'nice' but that the stakes for my character weren't high enough. She actually said I should 'awfulize' things a bit more. You know, instead of saying a boy broke his arm jumping off the rocks into the pond, maybe he should hit his head and DIE! Yeah, that's awful. I think I'm unsure about how awful things can get in a children's story. I find that as a mother I definitely have a tendancy to try and cover the awfulness of life. They'll figure out soon enough that things aren't always peachy. And maybe as a writer I'm tending to do the same thing. So for my next assignment I have the choice of writing a non-fiction piece - which is what I thought I wanted to do (remember Ghana?). Or revise the story from the last assignment. I want to get it right, so I'm revising. Revising is hard. It's like aerobics for your brain. Word count is an especially difficult part of revision. But before I even get to counting my words I need to think of the awful things that will happen in my story - ARRRGG! Ideas are rolling around in my head and I've begun a rough outline. I'm feeling a bit intimidated at the moment so I'm finding lots of excuses to keep from working on it.

In other news: Did I mention that we are going to Florida in the fall? We will be going with Ed's entire family. That'll be 17 of us all together; 8 adults and 9 kiddos! Notice I said Florida and not specifically Disney. We will do Disney a couple of days but we want to do other things this time. I'd like to drive to the beach, I've never been to the beach in Florida, which is amazing considering how many times we've been there! I'd like to expand our horizons a bit this time. We're not even staying on Disney property! There are beautiful resorts all over the place and we found a couple of four bedroom townhouses that we'll stay in for the week. I'm thinking I may share some Disney/Vacation travel tips I've acquired over the years periodically between now and our trip. I LOVE planning vacations!

How to put your life in perspective...List five words or phrases that describe your life right now. For example: Busy - chasing after kids, keeping house, fitting things in. Or Joyful - Hearing the sound of giggling children fills my heart with pure joy. Do this for you. You don't need to share it with anyone unless you want to. It's just an interesting way to see where you feel your life is right now. We did this at our bible study and it was very cool. Try it.

Ending With Scripture:

Proverbs 16:24 - Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.