Happy New Year! The old passes away and a new day comes. This time of year is always seen as a time for reflection. In days long gone by folks would traditionally show up at the White House to shake hands with the President of the United States. It was actually a tradition that was begun with George Washington prior …

I want to wish all of you out there, a very blessed and merry Christmas. I’m so fortunate to be a part of this blog group and share with my writing sisters and readers some of the things going on in my life. I’ve written this post early because our granddaughter Rainy is once again seriously ill and in the …

In case you missed it, December 13th was St. Lucia’s Day. Since my husband’s family is of Swedish ancestry, I made it my business to better understand their traditions. Over the years I’ve learned that Swedes are among the most stubborn (my husband says it’s tenacity – not a matter of being stubborn), hospitable (always have a pot of coffee …

Being a person of history, I’m always asking questions about my family. Who was who, what did they say, how did they live, what did they like? My mother’s mother was a nifty woman named Georgia Irene Butler Williams. I love the above photo of her. She hated her name – especially the middle one – but she was a …

Today is the big day. My husband and son are both having surgery. My husband is getting his right rotator cuff repaired (later he’ll have to have the left one fixed) and my son is having his right thumb tendon reconnected. Yes, you heard right. My son was going to need knee surgery, but that’s on hold. Erik loves swords …

Yes, I lost my crown. No, not that one. It was the one in my mouth. One on a back molar. I was just innocently eating a piece of brownie when I bit down on something hard. Pulling the piece from my mouth I realized it was a gold crown. My first thought was that it had to belong to …

It’s that time of the year again. Thanksgiving will soon be upon us, then we’ll sail right into Christmas and New Year’s and then all at once 2009 will be completed and we’ll welcome 2010. It seems like just yesterday I was blogging about the new 2009 year. Sigh. Time is flying by. Someone mentioned buying a Christmas tree the …

This week has been loads of fun as I’ve been working with the publisher to title my Texas series. This is the series that will debut next fall. I like to write and title all three books before any of the series releases. I think the publisher likes that too. It seems, however, that this was titling week for a …

Well I’m home for a month. The booktour was loads of fun. Of course anytime I get together with my writing friends–no matter who–no matter where, we inevitably have a great time. I was with Judy Miller and Cathy Marie Hake this time. Bethany House’s extremely talented marketing directeor, Steve Oates, drove us from place to place. We visited Amish …

This week I’m in Ohio and Indiana on a book tour, so I’m not going to have much to say. I forgot to plan ahead for this blog, so please forgive me. It’s been a lot of fun hanging with Judy Miller and Cathy Hake. The book signings have introduced us to some lovely folks and incredible stores. Wednesday night …