Merry Christmas

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I am amazed that another year has passed! And so much has happened! My book is finally out (yes I had to say that) and it's been really great to go around to different places to talk about how it all came about. I am getting to meet a lot of different people, which is really great. The other day, when we were done setting up the tree (I believe and don't quote me on this, Tasha please) my philosophical daughter mentioned that she couldn't believe another year had passed. I have to agree with her. I'm older!!! (No comment Sue!) I'm wiser (maybe!) and I'm still learning just how great God is. I don't think we'll ever stop learning just how awesome He is.

Logan and I were reading in our history book today (that was before he got me to continue to read another story to him, that sneak!) that God sent the Israelites into the desert for them to learn about just how great He is. Some may beg to differ. I have to agree. I am still learning how much I can depend on Him, and Him alone. When I have exhausted all the angles, He steps in and lets me know that He was just waiting for me to step out of the way so His work stands. I always love that one.

But I digress... Although not completely! After all, there is a reason why my family and I are making the 6 hour trek up to Quebec this year to spend CHRISTmas with Tom's family up there. I get so stuck thinking about my petty things (and they are not petty to me by all means, they are monumental at the moment they happen) when all I have to do is to step aside. There is a saying in our house, God's got it! I truly believe that. After all, I have a house! I have furniture! I have a Christmas tree!

Whenever I write (and those of you waiting for cards, sorry, but I don't write) I learn things about myself. Lately I have been really thinking about that contentment. I think at Christmas we can get so focused on the things (yes I certainly can!!) that we forget about being content. Does being content have to do with me being happy? I used to think so. But lately as I write another story (that's 22 for those who are counting) I find that contentment has nothing to do with the circumstance I'm in. I guess to some degree it does, but that real contentment, the one that I feel deep in my heart, that comes only from one source. And that source humbled Himself and was born of man, and we celebrate that He came every year.

When things don't go my way (shocker! I know) I still have the ability to be content. I can choose to throw a hissy fit (yeah that never happens) or I can just know that this isn't what is going to happen in my life. Sometimes it's real easy to throw a hissy fit (wouldn't know about that, you understand all this is hypothetical). But as I'm about to blow my top, do I take a moment to think about how my blowing my top affects others? Myself?

Of course not!

So, I wish you contentment. Real contentment this year. It's worth the persuit. Happiness is just circumstantial. Joy and contentment are a much deeper, more lasting thing. And I celebrate the chance to have joy and contentment because Christ was born in a manger. No, He wasn't born on Christmas day! But that doesn't matter to me. He was born, in a food troth for animals. And He gives me a chance to live beyond the happiness, to be content. That does it for me!

Have a wonderful Christmas. And to my friends and family in Germany I wish them all a Frohe Weihnachten. I miss you all!

It's finally done

Hello everyone. I just want to wish everyone a happy fall. I know. It's been a long time and I apologize. I have been a little busy. Things have gone really well for me for a long time. I want you to come with me as I explain. This is all about the book (sorry, house is doing well. We have a bathroom room set up and it will soon be a working bathroom, hopefully!)

In the late summer my first editor was done with her wonderful edits. I was so excited that she had taken the time to sit through what I wrote. And I was researching printers. And of course... Nothing was coming together. The publisher I thought I was supposed to use was outrageously expensive and the whole thing didn't sit well with me. On one thought, I wanted them to publish the book. They are a big name independent publisher, one that a lot of big time Christian authors use. But there was just so much doubt. The we researched another printer, which was expensive. Again, frustration and doubt began to grab me, for a moment. And then I remembered that I am not the one Who was writing and publishing this and again, peace came over me. And not this happy feeling. It was a deep conviction that I was not alone in this, that there was a plan for this. I researched something called Create Space, which I had known about from the beginning. They were fast and they didn't charge me for anything. If I want to buy a book, I have to pay, but a reduced rate, something that Tom and I could live with.

I was all set to put it on Create Space, when an old friend contacted me through facebook. Our daughters had been great friends growing up and we had been through many bible studies together. He saw that I was working on publishing a book and asked if I wanted him to have a peek at it, he has some experience with editing and such. I took a deep breath, turned to my husband, who respects this man a whole lot and asked what I should do. We prayed about it and a few days later Tom suggested I give him another story. And the I thought, no! I have to give him the skating story! I did and he worked hard on it.

When I got his edits I freaked!!!! I didn't expect there to be so much. And then I worked through them and turned a really good story into a great one. With the help of everyone this story is something I am so proud of. And then... my daughter's cover came together. Wow! The model we used is a beautiful Christian girl who exemplifies what I thought of my main character to be. So now... I am happy to present (drumroll, please!)

https://www.createspace.com/5700472

I invite you to visit my page and to go to Amazon, where you can have a peek inside. But if you don't want to, here is a quick description of the story.

Jacqueline Chevalier has it all. She is one of those girls you see in a magazine and wish you were her. She has everything a sixteen year old girl would want. She is an international figure skater at the top of her game. She lives a dream. Her family has riches and power. With that status, Jacqueline is expected to look the part, play the part, and be the part for family and country. But something is missing in her life that fame, fortune, and power can't provide. She feels lonely, unloved, and out of place in her family's picture-perfect image. She is frustrated about her parents refusal to allow her to pursue her dream, once her skating career is finished. When she makes the acquaintance of a set of twins, Grace and Brian Spencer, Jacqueline discovers that they have what is missing in her life. They have a relationship with each other that Jacqueline doesn't have with her brother and sisters, and especially not with her parents. Jacqueline craves that close relationship her new friends have with each other and with their parents, even though she knows that her family is different, that they have responsibilities to the citizens of their country. Just that alone prevents them from being a happy, normal family. She struggles with this as she watches her friends. Jacqueline wishes that she could be part of their close family because her parents' high standards of perfection and performance is exhausting. And then there are the expectations she puts on herself! Her life as a top skater leaves her no time to be what she really is - a teenager. When her parents reward her for finishing up her high school examinations with distinction, they take her on a holiday that includes a visit to her friend's hometown, Dubai. Her friends show her the best their town has to offer and a very strong friendship develops between the three of them, something that she has never allowed herself to experience before. On top of everything, Jacqueline makes discoveries that leave a deep impact on her as she watches and talks to Grace, whose standards are different than anything Jacqueline has ever thought of. She starts to learn that perhaps she is not as alone as she has thought. Her life changes when the family continues their holiday in the States. She accepts an invitation from Grace and Brian to spend a week on their grandparent's ranch, catching cattle and riding all day. She finds something more than the desire to have a close relationship with her parents. She finds that her perspective starts to change, that she no longer longs for a relationship with her parents, but that she now has something more to look forward to. It sets her up for an adventure that will last her life... and more.

Of course I want this to be a best-seller. Who doesn't. But there is something more important for me in this. If only one person reads this story and is touched by it, then I will be more than happy. And now I am going to enjoy myself. I am working on a website that is not up yet. I still have to upload this so that it is available on Kindle, which will happen this week.

 In the meantime, life does go on. Tasha dressed up at work for Halloween. She was Robin. Yeah, cute right? Everyone was dressed as a superhero. Very funny, really.

 As to this picture. My husband, el buss drivero, has to bring his sweet ride home. Talk about going on a date in style in that thing!!! It seats 70+ people and we had to have room for him to park it. So, we had someone straighten out our driveway and widen it. Sweet. We can now park all 3 cars and one bus next to each other! Yeah, things are looking up.

This is a typical day at the house. We bought a new generator (and it's really quiet. I'm sure our neighbors thank us for it) and now... they are driving cars and being chased by the police, smash each other and play other ridiculous games. It's like we never left Bristol. Oh yeah... there is no bathroom!



Have a wonderful day. I know I am.

Family

Hello everyone,

B-day dinner at: McDonalds! We are
stylish!

I am so sorry that it's been such a long time since I have posted a blog. I just haven't really had a lot to talk about, I thought. That's not true, of course. There is a ton to talk about. First of all, I am so excited that school is finally done with for this year! Yes, we were evaluated and it went better than I expected it to. After all, it was an off year for us. We did more reading and talking than anything else. Logan likes to talk and listen. He's a great kid. Love him to pieces.

Computer time!

Things have been intense. For me at least. Since last I spoke to you, I just have been writing and writing, pouring myself out in words that aren't really mine. It is amazing to see what comes together. To date (now please don't flip out) there are 14 stories (100 thousand words each) written. And the stories just keep coming. It is amazing! I'm not saying that for you to go: Oh mighty Anne. We bow before you. That is not why I share this. It is simply to show, there ain't time to write this blog. No, kidding! (This is Tom... had to sneak this in here... she said, "ain't... ain't, ain't a word and she teaches Logan English.  ha ha ha.  I used it twice!).

We are in summer mode now (which this year doesn't seem any different than spring mode, just more time to write). The weather is nice, sometimes really nice (I think) and others downright cold (I know). Tom is off for the summer, and that is pretty strange in itself even though I see a lot of him. Now, he is around. And around. And it is kind of nice. There isn't the rush to get him to the bus in the morning if Tasha happens to have to work in the morning. I have had the pleasure to be able to make dinners more than three times in a row because Tasha takes the car at night to go to work. No need for me to go in. Ahhhh, the luxury to just write and write and write. Oh, and there is dinner too. Hm! That usually puts a dent into my writing time, making me slightly cranky (I know, you can't picture that one. Me, cranky?)

I love you so much!

This weekend we had the chance to visit with family. Although the occasion was less than pleasurable, it was a time that I personally cherished. And so as I sat down to write this blog, I thought what wisdom I could bestow upon my followers of this ostentatious blog (that's what I do: I shed wisdom). It came to my mind, to ponder about family! Hmm. Sure. Family.

Boys killing each other. Go Halo! Yeah
I don't know what to say about that!

I certainly didn't choose the family I was born into. And they didn't choose me! But we all had to get along (to some extent and some loud words and other things too. Hey, Eiki. Don't interrupt me while I am having a very pleasant dream which includes Black Beauty! Be warned, again!). As I grew up, I began to realize something very important about the family I had been born into.

I began to realize that even though nobody's upbringing is ever perfect (Sean and Tim called me The Robot!!!) there is something about realizing that God put you into the family you were born into. Before I was born, my Savior decided to put me into the family I grew up in. He gave me a chance to come to know Him, through situations that were beyond my control. He gave me a chance to show love and to forgive. I have a thing about forgiveness! Without that, we would all be in deep doodoo.

You can't choose your family! That is a good saying. But we can make the best of our family because we are told to. The Bible talks about family a lot. There is the family of believers, which is so very important. Christ also addresses the natural family. Although some of the things he talks about family isn't all that edifying or seems so (although everything God does has a point and is edifying for us) He gives some great pointers. Children honor your father and mother. Why? So that it is well with you on this earth!

My adoptive dog Bucky

Hmm... I haven't always honored my parents. There are moments when the words that come to mind
are less than flattering. But, there is the flip side of the coin. I love the family I have been born into. I love that I can go to them and be myself. I can cry, when I am down, and they know me! I don't have to put up a brave front... pretend to be this super-mom, super-pioneer, super-anything. They will love me, no matter what I can or cannot do.

God is just like that. I love that about Him. He is a Father, the Father. I can come to Him

Having a cup'er with my computer

when I have a really bad day.  He expects me to be humble, to be led by the Spirit, by Christ in me. And when I have a moment, because things aren't going my way (which we all know happens very rarely) I am reminded that I am not alone. I have something much more precious than gold to guide me out of the muck I am about to step into. And if I choose to listen (yeah, not so good at that some times) things strangely go a lot better for me than if I plow my own way through the mess.

So family... I love family! They show us our faults, our issues. In the past I have been less than humble (hey, I know... big shock!). I am learning to be humble and still before my God, Who is so willing to guide me, to walk through my troubles with me. And He is waiting for me at the end of the rainbow, cheering me on. I have been blessed with the family I was given. I have been blessed with the family I married into, and I am blessed to belong to the family of God!

This weekend I had it all. Well, I missed my given family, but my sister was there! Right with me on the road and in thought. I knew it and could feel her. I spent time with the family I married into and what a nice thing that was too. Then I was blessed with spending time with the family God chose for me! Hoorah! What could be better than that!

Bathroom=porch!

Bathroom!

My prayer for you is that you enjoy the family you have been given. Time is too short on this earth. They aren't all that! Sometimes they can be downright hurtful. But they are there to be loved, to be cherished. And sometimes having a distance is a good thing, to regroup and heal. To my family, which is too numerous to name.. I love you and I cherish every one of you.

Honestly, I love you guys!!!

Bathroom or porch! Hmm, you decide!

That patience thing again!

 I wish you all a happy New Year (I know, it's the middle of February!).  But anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.  We did.  We spent it with the Perreaults and it was again a lot of fun.  It's great to see all the cousins come together and hang out.  But that was indeed a long time ago.  A whole month!  A lot can happen in that month!

I want to first update you on the status of the house.  Yes, we are actually moving forward.  Every step is a forward step, really.  We have been trying to keep up with the wood to keep warm.  No, we

weren't able to get all the wood we needed to heat the house this summer because Tom worked so many hours.  I am not one of those chainsaw toting, ax-swinging wives.  I will support my husband while he swings his ax and chainsaw with prayers and hugs when he stumbles back into the house without blood gushing from a wound.  I observe from a distance.  So while we have been able to find wood to burn to keep us warm, it also keeps us busy.  Sometimes too busy.  But it's all good, really.

As you can see that even in the dead of winter my boys are out there.  Tom and the boys have started on the addition to the house that will soon (hopefully) become our bathroom.  It is so exciting to see.  I have forgotten how fun it is to see these things go up.  We didn't cut our own

wood because we barely can keep up with the heat demands.  So we cheated!  Bought the wood.  Hey, it's all right!  Anything to get this thing done.  Tom and Logan were up there in pretty cold temperatures getting the structure up.  When Sean has time he gives a helping hand.  Tash and I are huddled inside under blankets, reading or writing.

So, we come to the part of the blog that really doesn't have anything to do with building a house or living in a half built house.  Been there, done that.
My life has to go on.  And it does.  We all know that I have been so blessed recently that I have found someone who would publish my book.  Tom started reading it, and although he complained a little bit at the beginning that it was not written for him (no duh!) he is getting into the story and has given me some really good pointers to make the story a whole lot better.  But he is still working on it!  And still working on it!

In the last couple of months or so it has been very difficult for me to be patient.  I know, that is a shocker for those of you who know me really well.  My father and I are really patient.  Hey, I hear you snickering!  None of that!

  Before my birthday I started thinking a lot of what will happen when my poor computer, which had been such a blessing to me, would die.  I had to face the fact that at 13 years old, it really wasn't going to be around much longer.  So talking to Tom, he told me not to worry.  I would get another computer.  Well, it happened!  My computer died.  It died as I was writing a story that was pretty difficult to write.  I had backed it all up, thought!  Yeah, I'm learning.  I had a new computer within a month.  I couldn't believe it.  It was great and it is a really nice computer.  So now we have four computers in the family.  And it calls for interesting evenings.  Everyone is glued to their computers.  I love it because for the first time I can write at home and my computer works without having to charge it continually.
  Back to the patient thing.  The thing is I have given my writing completely to God, but sometimes I still want a piece of it.  I want to hang on to it.  With Tom taking his time editing, it has me grounding my molars and twisting my hands, waiting impatiently for him to finish his part.  Then there is the whole publishing nightmare!  I know I have a publisher, who will publish this story for a fee.  That is no problem.  The problem is that every time I try to get together with her, something comes up!  We don't meet.  I am paying attention.  It is possible that God does not want me to go with her, for some reason.  Her job may just have been to give me the reassurance that I can get this published.  I don't know.

A few weeks ago I contacted another publisher.  Sean had mentioned that Zondervan, a huge Christian publishing company (if you have a bible it was published by Zondervan), is looking for new authors.  I go onto their website and check around, not sure what I should do.  But I sign up with West Bow, a division of Zondervan for self publishing, and talk to a rep.  Yes, they would publish me no problem.  They would be a lot cheaper and there would be a lot of options with them.  They send me the contact and Tom and I go through it.  It is so confusing!  Neither of us has a good feeling about this. But I want it!  I am ready to sign.  Tom is cautious, very cautious!

My problem is, once again, that I really want to go out there and make my mark!  I want it so bad that I don't care if the company takes most of the profits on top of charging me for the printing and such. So Tom and I get into the repeated argument.  You are not moving quick enough! (That would be me) and It's not time for a publisher yet! (That would be Tom).  My patience was wearing extremely thin!  I start to think that my husband is standing between me and my dream.  He is holding me back!  Then I am reminded of how if I had listened to him ten years ago, I would have been spared a lot of heartache and trouble.  I hope you can feel my frustration.

On top of everything there was confusion.  Researching the publishing industry and trying to figure out what my next move was sent my into confusion.  Things were just not lining up with the way I thought they should be.  Now there is a statement, that is pretty true.  "If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plan."  Well, I was trying to tell God my plan!  I didn't exactly hear Him laugh though.

What He did do was keep reminding me, that He hasn't forgotten about me.  So many times when I just want to throw in the towel and say that I give up.  That I really have NO business writing and trying to get something published!  So I start to listen to the enemy.  But God comes through with His little love messages to me.  The other day I was confused, distraught and just done.  I knew that I would never get published.  I go on Facebook and there is a message for me.  "I have made you and I will carry you;  I will  sustain  you and I will rescue you."   Little love messages in the everyday life aimed right at my heart and I just stand there shaking my head in thankfulness.  I serve a great and powerful God!  Nothing is outside His control.

So here I am, confused and frustrated!  Things are just not moving fast enough and I can see my hope of becoming a best selling author slipping through my fingers.  Those love messages from God sustain me on some days but most of the days, I am focused so much on when that book gets published, that I loose the rest I have in Christ.  I know, shocking!  I go back onto the roller coast ride that I so don't like.  I focus on the here and now, not on the fact that Christ has me in His very capable hands.

A few days ago, I sent out the I REALLY NEED HELP! smoke signal.  The church we went in CT has a prayer page on Facebook and so I asked for prayer.  Things were just stuck!  I could feel myself come apart at the seams with impatience.  So I asked for prayer for the decisions on the publishers.  Then I started reading a book by Terry Blackstock, one of my favorite authors.  Her book just happened to be about a woman who wants to get a record deal and wants to make her mark.  She writes these amazing worship songs, but she wants to be out there, singing for the masses.  I want that!  But that is not what God has in store for me.  At least I don't think so.  In the end the young woman realized that she had a great impact on the people who heard her songs.  She impacted youth groups and small intimate settings.  It hit me.

I don't want to play the publishing game.  I knew that from the beginning.  And here I was trying so hard to get into the game.  All I want is to get the story out there.  I will be happy just to go around to churches and talk about the journey God has got me on and to talk about the books.  I want to make a difference with the stories in other people's lives.  There is nothing that tells me that I have to have someone publish my books.  There are printing companies who will print the books, without the publisher.  I just got this really overwhelming sense of rightness and peace, when I realized that I didn't have to worry about how the story got out there.  God would do that part.  I had done my part, the writing part.  My responsibility, once again, was to keep that in mind.  Not to let myself be swept away by the moment, by the confusion of a decision that is not really mine to make.

When I was thinking through all these things, something pretty amazing happened.  Nobody other than me has read my stories.  The publisher read a little bit of it, but other than that, nobody has read anything.  We were doing school (it was a rare moment, I can tell you that) and Logan was having fun with his assignment (another really rare moment).  I thought, hey I'm powered up!  I can work on this story I am doing right now.  Logan looks up and I am chuckling.  He asks what I'm writing.  I tell him a little bit of the story.  He asks if I could read some of it to him.

Eek!  I find myself in a corner.  I don't think he would like what I am writing.  It is, after all, a girly story really.  But I am at a really good part.  So I read him the part I am writing.  He gets all excited about this story and wants me to read him the whole thing.  There are parts where he is in tears.  Hey, a captive audience!  I read the whole thing to him and he loved it!  It wasn't even a kid story either.  But he was totally into the whole thing.  That was really, really satisfying!  Sharing the story with Logan and watching what I put my characters through make an impact on him was really powerful.

I leave you with the pictures of the pup.  Yes, he is cold!  And he has a new friend.  His name is Prancer, and yes he does.  Of course Chet is a couch potato right now, covered up nice and snug.  Sometimes only his nose peaks out.  But compared to last year he is doing so much better.

Stay warm in this frigid weather.  Brrr!  Can't wait for spring.