The holidays came...they worked their magic...and there they go, just like that! We enjoyed three Christmas celebrations and plenty of joy with our squirrely girls and even squirrlier family members. :)

So what's up for 2016?! Probably quite a bit, but who knows for sure. I'll start with family and go from there. My oldest daughter will be wrapping up first grade and embarking on second grade. Scary thought. I keep telling her to quit growing but she insists she can't. My youngest will turn 3 and start preschool in the fall. That's even scarier because it will give me about 4-5 extra hours per week to work. But it will also be very lonely. :( I think I'll fare okay with the preschool thing, but when kindergarten hits, watch out!

As for books, I hope to put "After the Final Dandelion" out in 2016, spring or summer perhaps. I'm in the editing phase now and I have to get my cover designer cracking. This book will wrap up the Dandelion Series. It's book 3, after "Accept this Dandelion," and "Dandelions on the Road," both of which are available now.

I am also on the schedule to release a children's book with Wee Creek Press in June. It's called "Baby Sheep Gets a Haircut." I have heard no news on this since I got and signed the contract so I have no idea how that process will go. I'm guessing I'll hear something from/on an illustrator early in the year. I'm very excited about this first children's book venture with a publisher. I put out "Shower in the Rain" myself and that was pretty fun too.

I also have another romantic comedy written loosely based on the Survivor game show. It's entitled "The Leftover" and I have it with a couple of publishers now and am waiting on rejections. :) We'll see how that goes as the year begins.

Other than that, just enjoying my freelance writing business and whipping up strange articles for random clients. I'm on a couple of different writing teams, one for product descriptions and one for senior care homes. Those are supposed to be big jobs so hopefully they will keep my mind from wandering too far. I'm trying to slow down on fiction releases until my little one is in school, which will be a few years. That way I can concentrate on writing more in one sitting, which should confuse me less!

Most importantly, I plan to spend every waking moment possible with my family. These girls are growing way too fast. I am grateful the little one naps and allows me a little time to get my writing done. It's like breathing to me and I feel off without it! But both my girls are at such a fun age, I want to enjoy that more than anything else.

What's going on with you in 2016? Contact me any time! I love hearing from you!

Happy New Year! We celebrate it at 7pm and then I usually fall asleep on the couch after my girls are in bed. With any luck I'll wake in time to see the ball drop on TV. :)

Have you ever received a handmade gift from a child? You know the kind I mean...with their little hand prints stamped onto the paper? What a precious gift. It's like you got a piece of the child and not just a simple item.

Well, several years before my sister and I had children, we decided my parents needed something special for Christmas. We didn't have kids so what were we to do? We couldn't press little fingers and toes into a pattern and pass on a cherished gift. So what did we do? We bought gray sweatshirts and we stamped our own hands AND feet onto them.

Now, let me just say, we do not have dainty hands OR feet. I wear a size 10 shoe and have since the third grade. The hands and footprints on those sweatshirts were rather unseemly. We all got a good laugh out of the sweatshirts.

Little did my sister and I know...the next year, we got an equally interesting gift. Very similar sweatshirts that had my PARENTS big ole hand and foot prints on them (and my dad wears a size 13 shoe!!!)

I still have and cherish and wear that sweatshirt. It got even bigger laughs and I smile every time I see it in my closet.

This Christmas, I have a challenge to offer you. Don't just give gifts. Give a piece of yourself. That doesn't mean you have to make odd sweatshirts or any gifts at all. Give others the gift of YOU. That could mean a little more of your time, going the extra mile to help with a meal or any number of other things.

There's no such thing as the perfect gift, but I bet to those who love you most, all they really want is you. Think about what that means to them and make it happen! It's the best gift they'll get and they'll remember it for years to come.

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you get some reading time over the holidays and I'll talk to you again next year!

Those of you who keep tabs on my author facebook page may have noticed that we recently took a trip to Disney World. It was a 25th reunion trip with my husband's side of the family and I learned a lot of things I wanted to share with you. Here are just a few.

1. Do not go to Disney World to relax

You hear "vacation" and you think, oh, a relaxing time away from home and away from work. Well, we were away, but we were not relaxed. We did crash into bed every night and get a few hours of sleep here and there, but that was all the relaxing involved. We were on the go as much as possible because there's so much to see and do.

2. I am capable of a lot more than I thought

I had no idea how long I could carry 30 pounds on one arm. I now know and it's a lot longer than I thought. This may not be a great comparison, but I always figured if my girls needed something, I would come through. Since we dealt with a few illnesses on the trip, I proved it to not only them, but also myself. I'll do what is necessary for those girls!

3. My girls can (when tired enough) sleep anywhere and through anything

When my little one got her cold bug on the trip, she started sleeping just about anywhere we went. That is very unusual for her because she likes to see and do it all. What's even MORE unusual is when my oldest started asking to lay down in odd locations...Cinderella's castle, for example, where she slept through our entire Thanksgiving meal (see left picture). The grass outside where she took another snooze later (below) or even the fireworks the next day that were so loud I was amazed she didn't flinch or wake up.

4. Chicken nuggets get old

I admit it, I'm not an adventurous eater...or cook, for that  matter. I pretty much eat the same few things over and over again. But on a 10 day trip, I learned that I actually CAN get tired of chicken nuggets. I was thrilled to come home and make spaghetti. I haven't had a nugget since we returned. But maybe tomorrow...

5. Laundry is a joy

I don't have trouble getting laundry done, but it doesn't always get put away. One of the reasons I was super excited to get home after the trip was plain and simple...I wanted to do laundry! Seeing the pile of clothes get smaller and cleaner was amazing. I was excited to have clean clothes that smelled like detergent and not parks and other grime.

6. My girls are not princesses

At Disney World, every staff member referred to every little girl as princess. I found that funny because a kid could be throwing a fit and they staff would be like, there there princess. haha. What princess do you know that acts like that?! My girls enjoy dressing up on occasion, but they much preferred Monsters Inc shows to princess fare. I think they get that from me. Have you seen me in the morning?! :)

7. You're never too old for wonder

I enjoy Disney World, plain and simple. But I never enjoyed any of it as much as this time. It wasn't the lights, the rides, or the shows. It was watching my girl's eyes get wide with wonder. I will never be too old for that kind of entertainment. Seeing their glee is reason enough to go back. After my feet recover from all the walking.... :)