journal/blog

February 12, 2005

Dear Friends,

My family has been battling the flu! Well, not all of us, just my husband and me. Our girls have thankfully dodged that bullet. I was reading a bedtime story to Gracie this week and suddenly felt nauseous. I ran to the bathroom (as we are apt to do in that condition) and 45 seconds later Gracie stood in the doorway and said, “Mom, will you come back and finish the story?” Her obvious lack of bedside manners officially dashed our hopes of her someday going into medicine! When my temperature shot to 104 I knew a doctor’s visit was in order. I hope your family has sidestepped this flu and are healthy and whole.

You’ve probably noticed we’ve launched a brand new website. We’ve included links to help Tsunami victims, information about adoption, and have added a question and answer section to answer many of the great questions you send to my attention. Keep the questions coming and I’ll post the new ones.

Also on the site, you’ll find four cover mock-ups my publisher has sent me for my next book, The Christmas Hope. Now this is where I need you. I need your help in selecting a cover. If you have a second (really, that’s all the time it takes), please go to the home page and vote for the cover you like. The Christmas Hope will be in stores at the end of October.

Thank you again for taking the time to stay in touch. I always love to hear from you.

Many Blessings!

 

 

January 26, 2005

 

It seems I just posted the journal entry for December but the date below indicates that the holidays are officially over and we’re well under way into the New Year.

 

The Christmas season went too fast; it always does.  It seemed we had just put up the tree and decorations and then were taking them down again.  Since then, our entire family has been ill (thankfully, not all at the same time).  Our three-and-a-half-year-old is finishing up medication for an ear infection and our 17-month-old is getting over a cold that has left her entire face chapped!  Neither illness seems to slow down either little girl for long.

In between doctor visits I have been working on my first non-seasonal novel that’s due out in Spring 2006 - just six months after the release of The Christmas Hope.  It is yet untitled but I hope you’ll like it as much as the Christmas series of books.

 

We still haven’t heard any definitive word about The Christmas Blessing movie.  CBS has optioned it and we’ve been told by the production company that they’re optimistic that it will air this coming Christmas but still no official word.  When I hear something, I’ll pass it along to you.

 

Well, Gracie, our three-and-a-half-year-old has declared that her little sister is awake so I need to get her up before Gracie pulls her out of her bed!

Today is December 19 and it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Tennessee. It snowed today! Not much (it rarely snows a lot in the South) but enough to get us excited about the possibility of having a white Christmas.

I spent a great deal of this week making Christmas candy and cookies. I made peanut butter fudge, turtles, caramels, buckeyes, cheese wafers, some sort of pinwheel cookie (a new recipe I tried) and maple cake (from a new cookbook I purchased this week.) Our pantry is full and our bellies are even fuller! I love to bake and make candy and the Christmas season is the perfect excuse. Feel free to send a delicious, favorite recipe and I’ll try it!

My husband I took our three-and-a-half-year-old to Disney World at the beginning of the month. She woke up at 5:30 on the morning we were leaving and never stopped talking. She chattered all the way to the airport and when we drove to curbside to unload our luggage, she threw up all over everything!  She wasn’t sick; she was simply too excited! We were the last ones on the plane because it took quite a bit of time to clean everything up before checking our baggage. She ran through the gates at Disney World and was beside herself when she saw Cinderella’s Castle in the distance. As we got closer she burst into tears and told us she wanted to go home. It was too much to take in and her mind couldn’t process all the sights and sounds. After several minutes she settled down and had a great time (the carousel and teacups were her favorite rides. We rode them five and three times respectively!) We have lots of pictures with her and Pooh Bear, Snow White, Mary Poppins, Mickey, Minnie and countless others and sweet memories of our time with her.

My maternal grandmother, Mary Hurley, turned 92 this month and I loaded the girls in the car and went to the celebration in Greeneville, TN. My parents drove down from Ohio and lots of old friends (some of them VERY old) turned out to wish my grandmother a happy birthday. A few months ago she broke her hip and the opposite leg and because of her age, surgery didn’t help and she’s confined to a wheelchair but her mind is still sharp.

We’re saying goodbye to Hannah Fennell this week. She’s been staying with us for the last couple of months before starting school in Chicago. She’ll be catching a 5 a.m. flight (who booked that???) for Alaska to see her family before heading to Chicago. We’ll miss her and know the girls will miss her even more but know she’ll excel in college in every way. We’re having some new friends: Chris, Tonya (who’s carrying twins) and Brady Carter over for dinner this week and our oldest is very excited because she’s found a true playmate in four-year-old Brady. I wrapped every last Christmas present today and am ready for my in-laws to arrive on Friday! I’ll be reading the Christmas narrative that’s on the home page of the website at a Christmas Eve service in our area and that will round out our week before Christmas Day.

I hope you and your family have a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year!

Monday, November 29, 2004

Dear Friends!

Today is Monday, November 29th and I'm still recovering from too much food over the Thanksgiving holiday. For the first time in years, my husband and I spent Thanksgiving at our home.  Our good friends, Bob and Dannah Gresh, came from PA to share this time with us in addition to Hannah Fennell.  Hannah, who is from Alaska, has been in our home for the last couple of months.  She'll be with us for only three more weeks before entering the world of college.  We enjoyed the company of her 'friend' Seth (or "Self", as my three year old calls him) from Ohio for Thanksgiving as well. I trust your holiday was as enjoyable as mine and that you were able to truly enjoy the things that you are most grateful for - for me, that was family and friends.

This is my first journal entry and I hope to be able to keep you up to date regularly (every few weeks) with what is happening in my life and career.  I look forward to getting to know you in the coming months and years and to develop some lifelong friends.  Click on my Message Board link to the left as well for interaction with myself and readers/friends.

Many of you have asked about whether or not "The Christmas Blessing" (TCB) will be made into a movie or if "The Christmas Shoes" (TCS) will be re-airing this year.

CBS Television has optioned TCB story for a movie, but the actual making and airing have not yet been determined by the network (although it is very possible it will be fall '05.)  You will be the first to know as I will post it in my news section as soon as I hear.

TCS movie has aired two consecutive years on CBS and while not re-airing on CBS, it is possible that it will re-air in the years to come on other cable channels and perhaps someday, be available on home video or DVD - again, you will be the first to know.

Thank you for all your support and I look forward to sharing some VERY exciting news with you in my next journal entry in a few weeks - please come back!

Blessings and Happy Holidays,