In the blink of an eye...

Thirteen years ago I gave birth to my first daughter. Sweet and tiny, she was the first to make me a mother. Then, I blinked. Today I am the mother of a teenager! I cannot believe how quickly time flies! I have loved each and every age, every year, and (almost) every moment. My new teenager keeps reminding me how close she is to driving, to college, to leaving our nest. She's excited about life and that's fantastic - I am excited for her! I'm also that mama bird who wants to put her wings around my girl and shelter her, protect her from the big bad world.

In two more years my second daughter will become a teenager as well. My home will be filled with the joyful laughter of two teenage girls who get along splendidly, as did my sister and I. But I need not wait for the teen years to hit dear daughter number two. They ALREADY get along that blissfully! They also enjoy the love and gentle affection of their younger brother who will turn eight next month. Yes, my house is the shelter for all of the peaceful affection passed along between my children.

This message is brought to you by summer vacation and 13 years of parenting.

Rejection #1

I received my very first literary agent rejection yesterday from The Knight Agency. I did receive some very positive feedback and some excellent suggestions on what it lacked, so I'm actually quite pumped about it! I'm going to take some time now to comb over the manuscript once again and really incorporate a lot more into it. I think it will really improve things!!! And then... time to query another agent! I've been doing some research and know EXACTLY where I'm sending it next!

June is National Birthday Month. Just kidding...but it is a BIG month in my family! First comes my sister, then my husband, my daughter, my niece, my anniversary, my close friend's anniversary, my dad & step-mom's anniversary...surely I missed someone or something in there! That must mean it's a DURNED good month! Full of love and...birth! I mean life! Hee hee!

Summer's Here!

Summer weather was slow to join our summer vacation this year. It finally arrived! Today was the PERFECT summer day. Heat that drove people to the lakes to enjoy God's great creation...sunshine...blue skies...no rain. My family enjoyed swimming in the lake at Grandma's house while I worked! Still, when I drove to town to do some errands I got my kicks just being in the moment and wishing that every day in Minnesota could be like today.

Yesterday morning was beautiful as well. Open skies and sunshine promised a day to enjoy outside. Because my husband has been very sick I decided it was THE time to wash all of our bedding. So the washing began and before long I had three large comforters and some towels floating on our clothesline. Just after I hung the last towel my kids called out from the trampoline, "Mom! It's raining!" Which, of course I had noticed but was trying to ignore. I told myself that a few sprinkles wouldn't matter at all, which I verbalized to them.

I went inside and continued to clean, still ignoring what was happening outside. My three children were squealing and screaming in delight as the rain POURED down on them. They love to play in the rain. My bedding does too. It stayed on the line all night long and into this afternoon. It had a double rinse directly from nature, because I like to do things as naturally as possible. (uh-huh...) and smells of sunshine and outdoors. I can't wait to crawl under them tonight!

Loving Frank

Nancy Horan's first novel, "Loving Frank" reveals a scandalous affair between architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the main character, Mamah (pronounced MAY-muh) Borthwick Cheney. Never before had I heard of anything involving Frank Lloyd Wright other than his amazing architecture. Horan did a brilliant job of bringing the story Frank and Mamah to readers.

Throughout the book I struggled with Mamah. I didn't like the choices she made, and I didn't like how she dealt with the consequences. In abandoning her young children to run off to Europe with Frank she made a choice that affected the lives and well being of her family. That's just something I can't connect with. For me, my children will always come first. I just can't imagine ANYTHING ever changing that.

Nancy Horan brought the 1900's vividly to life. She gave Frank and Mamah voices and personalities that kept me reading, even though I was shaking my head the whole time. I was startled by the unexpected ending, which left me thinking about Mamah's story long after I had finished. I would definitely pick up another Nancy Horan book. For some interesting history with creativity thrown in, I'd recommend reading "Loving Frank."

Possible Signs of A.D.D.

If you're making potato salad and you can't find your egg slicer, you find yourself pulling up a stool and the garbage can. Suddenly you've shifted from cooking to sorting and tossing. It may take a few moments before you realize that NOW, is not the right time to do that...then get back to making potato salad using a knife to slice your hard boiled eggs instead.

If you're cleaning up the living room and go to put the photo album back on the shelf and suddenly find yourself fifteen minutes later enjoying a walk down memory lane.

If you're packing some things for an overnight trip and end up sorting seasonal clothing.

Did I do these things? Yes, and many, many more. I'm working on staying focused on the task at hand. Fortunately, it seems that these little distractions don't enter my office. I do enjoy life, love improvements, and have a desire to learn, grow and change every day.

Friday Night

I have a house FULL of children tonight. The kids are having friends over and I've just ordered Dominoes Pizzas to feed them in a very slumber party fashion. I was going to make a dish we call "Sunny Italy," which is like spaghetti in a casserole topped with cheddar cheese and pepperoni. It's a favorite of my children and they usually want that when they have sleepovers, but tonight my oldest was insistent; "DOMINOES PIZZA, MOM!!!"

The thing about slumber parties these days, is that it actually makes my life EASIER, if you can believe that. The kids go off with their own friends and I'm left alone. No sibling fights, no, "Mom I'm bored" to deal with. I just have to feed them and remind them NUMEROUS times to go to sleep. I don't mind when they want friends over. I remember when they were little, it meant planning activities. We'd bake something, we'd do a craft, play a game, go outside...I'd have to plan it out. No longer. I suggested the oldest girls play a game or something and when I mentioned Hungry Hippos... GOSH, I had meant it as a joke! Hee hee.

Ducky Humor

Here's a little goodie that my dad has shared with our family over the years:

M R DUCKS

M R NOT DUCKS

O S A R -

C D E D B D FEET?

C D E D B D WINGS?

M R DUCKS.

Can you understand the gibberish that is my father's humor?