Traditions

Christmas is full of traditions that very from culture to culture and family to family.  I was thinking of all the traditions that I have and realized that one of the things I love about this time of year is all the traditions we observe.

Christmas begins for me with A Festival of Carols - a Christmas program that our choir at church puts on every year.  It's a lot of work, but I love spending time with my fellow choir members, learning the Christmas music, singing with the orchestra and presenting the Christmas story.

We also let each kids (and me, too) pick a new ornament for our Christmas tree every year.  It's fun to see what they pick each year and how it changes with their age and interests.  We have superheroes, princesses, ballerinas and many more.  They love pulling out their ornaments each year and remembering what they've picked from past years.

Our next tradition is to celebrate Christmas with my parents and siblings.  We get together and we each buy little gifts for each of the kids' stockings.  The adults have their own stockings, too, but we each are in charge of filling one of them.  It's so much fun to see the little things that we've picked up for each other through the year.  My parents give the kids their gifts and while the children play with their new toys, we play games together.

Next is Christmas Eve.  We meet at my parents' house and then we walk to church for the candlelight service.  We celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday either before or after depending on when we can all get together.  Even that has a tradition.  My family always gets him an Arizona Wildcat bowl game shirt - if we're going to a bowl game that year.  We have appetizers for dinner and then my mom has a treasure hunt for the grandkids.  This is a new tradition, but the kids love it.  They find a little chest filled with small toys and candies.

Christmas day get to open their stockings first.  After that we get dressed and get the food ready.  While the food for lunch is cooking, we open gifts.  In my family, we take turns with the youngest starting.  Then we head to either my grandparents' home or Joel's parents' home.  This year we'll be with my grandparents.  We have lunch and open gifts and then spend the rest of the day watching football, playing games and enjoying family time.  Whichever family we didn't get to be with on Christmas day, we'll find another time to celebrate with them.  (My kids love getting so many Christmases!)

Throughout all of this, we have three advent calendars (one for each of our kids).  They take turns doing each one.  One of our calendars is a garland of little stockings that have a little candy in each one.  Another is a quilt made my aunt and it has a tree with buttons on it and each day they get to hang a fabric ornament on the buttons.  My favorite though is our Jesse Tree advent.  We read a devotion each night and then there is an ornament that corresponds to the lesson for that night.  We start at the beginning of the Bible and end at the birth of Christ, showing how the Old Testament leads up to the coming of the Messiah.  I love how we can end each day focusing the busyness of the season back to Jesus.

Last year I started moving my wise men from our nativity around every day, but this year, their journey was more scripted and planned out.  I posted Bible verses beside them so the kids would know what each stage of their journey was meant to demonstrate.  Some were prophesies, some were parts of the magi's story and some were names for Jesus.  It was a lot of fun and the kids loved looking for the wise men every day.  They had to tell me who was the first to find them every day and my four year old made us read her the verse that was posted beside them every day.

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and hope that you enjoy your own family traditions.  If you haven't already done it, I hope that you pick up my Christmas novella and allow me to be a small part of your Christmas.

Christmas Angel

Dedication: Christmas Angel

When I was trying to decide who to dedicate my Christmas novella to, I was thinking about the people who help to make Christmas such a special time.  There are many people who do that, but one stood out to me and that was my grandma, Fay Smith.  

My grandma is a person who truly has a servant's heart.  We always have our extended family Christmas celebration at my grandma's house and even though we all pitch in, inevitably it is my grandma who does the large share of the work.  She makes her home ready for us and it's a place that we all think of as an extension of our own homes.  She makes Christmas treats for all of us:  divinity, peanut butter fudge, sugar cookies, bon bons, almond bark - and more.  We can never get her to sit down and let the rest of us clean, so we all just pitch in and try to make it not as much work for her.  As we play games later in the evening, she usually comes and sits with us.  She doesn't really enjoy playing them.  She just enjoys being with her family.  As we play, she often takes care of the little great grandchildren so that we can keep playing.  After we leave, she cleans the house again, making Christmas a long day.  Yet when we've offered to move the Christmas celebration my grandma would rather host it.

Why does my grandma do all this?  It's love.  It's love that compels her to go above and beyond for her family.  It's love that drives her to bake everyone's favorite Christmas treat.  It's love that won't let her leave the cleaning to the rest of us.  It's love that brings her over to watch us play games and spend time with her family.  It's love for her grandkids and great grandkids that makes her take care of the little ones while we play.  But above all, it's love for her Savior that compels her to serve wholeheartedly as to the Lord.  

My grandma loves Christmas, not because of the gifts, the goodies, the time with family (although she enjoys that, too), but because it's when we remember when our Savior was born.  My grandma has been such an example of what a true servant looks like.  She's humble, does things without expecting or wanting praise, puts her best into what she does, is willing to serve wherever He leads.  I think my grandma's life verse could be this, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31).  She's my Christmas angel.

Christmas Angel

Thankfulness

As I sit here on the day before Thanksgiving, I'm thinking about all that I have to be thankful for.  My salvation, my family, my friends . . . the list goes on and on and on.  I have been so blessed, in good days and bad.  I'm so thankful for what God has so graciously given to me.  I'm well aware that I do not deserve His blessings, yet He still gives lavishly - out of His mercy and grace.  In return, I try to give Him all of me!  He deserves no less.

As I sit here on the day before Thanksgiving, I'm thinking about all of you and how thankful I am for each and every one of you!  You make my writing worthwhile.  You encourage me to continue.  You push me forward.  You help me improve.  You can make my day with kind words that make my spirit glow.  Thank you so very much!  I can't say thank you enough!

As I sit here on the day before Thanksgiving, I'm thinking about how I was able to finish, not just one book, but two!  Dress for Success has been available for a couple of months now and I so enjoyed learning more about Brooke.  Her story will be on sale for $0.99 starting Thanksgiving Day!  I guess it's my own version of black Friday.  I've also completed my Christmas novella and it is now available on amazon.com as well.  It is called Christmas Angel and follows an heiress named Gloria Herald as she goes on her Christmas mission with the help of Ryan Remington who could stand to learn a little bit about generosity.  I hope that it helps get you in the Christmas spirit.  Both books can be found by clicking on the links below.

I hope that you are able to count many blessings this year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas Angel

Dress for Success

A Long Overdue Update

Again I've been letting my blog go unwritten.  Mostly because I had nothing to say.  I had finished editing my novella and sent it on to my editors and was waiting to hear back from them.  This week, I got all of their editing back so I can go through the manuscript and make the corrections I need to make.  I also have ordered my book cover and I am anxiously waiting to see the new cover art!  Since this book is not connected to the KW Consulting series, I'm really interested to see what they come up with for the cover.  The other books all had a similar look to tie them together, but this one will have a look all it's own.

I'm also excited about what my editors had to say.  My mom said, "I LOVED it!" and Ashley said, "Loved it!  Wonderful!  So heartwarming and touching!  Brought tears to my eyes a lot!"  Meghan said, "I loved it so much!  It totally got me in the Christmas mood!"

So now, I need to finish the editing, but I think it's safe to say that it should be available for purchase next week!  Just in time to really get in the Christmas spirit!

Busyness

I haven't written a blog post in a long time.  Not since the beginning of October.  My excuse is simple.  Just pure busyness.  An overused excuse perhaps, but valid.

Soon after my last blog post we went to Disneyland to celebrate my sister's 30th birthday!  It was so much fun with my family, my sister's family, our parents and our dear friend, Meghan.  I brought my computer along.  I thought I might have time to write, but it was no use.  We got up early to get to the park as soon as we could after it opened, stayed until the park closed and fell into an exhausted sleep almost as soon as we got back to our room.  It wasn't a relaxing trip, but we had a blast!

After getting back I focused on finishing up writing my Christmas novella.  I wanted to get it finished by the end of October so that hopefully I could have it edited and published by Thanksgiving.  I wrote in any free moment I had which sometimes did not seem like nearly enough.  My house is evidence that I took moments that weren't really "free" because I should have been doing laundry or dishes, but instead I was writing.  However, I got it finished this week!  I need to go through and do my editing before sending it off to be edited further, but I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  This is always the exciting part where I can see the fruits of my labors ripening.  Soon they'll be ready for harvest.  (Seems like an appropriate metaphor for fall, doesn't it?)

It's been interesting to see how I can write more quickly with each book.  My first book, Best Laid Plans, took five years for me to write (and is the shortest of all the KW Consulting books by a lot!).  I wrote Smell the Roses in a year and I've written Dress for Success and a Christmas novella this year.  It makes me wonder what I might be capable of doing next year!

Here I am with Ashley and Meghan in front of a "Frozen" backdrop at Disneyland.

What do you write?

Whenever I mention that I just published a new book or that I have published books, the next obvious question is, "So what do you write?" I kind of dread this question.  In fact, it makes me feel embarrassed about my writing.  When I reply, "Christian romance novels", I always duck my head and mumble it.  I love to read the genre and I have so much fun writing these books, but I dread the reaction that I'll get for three reasons.

Christian
As soon as the word "Christian" come out of my mouth, I have people completely shut down.  I can see the look on their face and it says, "I wouldn't touch your book with a ten foot pole".  Or even worse, a feeling that it isn't a "real" genre or book.  Yet Christian novels can have interesting, deep characters as well as secular novels.  Their stories can be as varied and interesting.

Romance
The reaction I get from this is mostly from men.  It's a look of "Aw, how cute."  If I wrote mystery, suspense, drama - almost anything else - they would be impressed, but romance?  Of course a girl would write romance.  Inevitably the teasing will begin as images of the covers of romances in the grocery store come to mind with the bare chested male with the helpless damsel clinging to him.  I hate telling men that I write romance novels.  The common view seems to be that they're the easiest to write and the least important of all the genres.

Novel
I don't get nearly as much negative reaction from this, but there are a few intellectuals out there who would be much more impressed if I wrote theological commentaries or history books.  Instead, I write novels.  The feeling I get is that only untalented writers, nonintellectual writers would write novels - and especially romance novels!

I was realizing how much I dread answering this question as it came up over and over again with the publication of Dress for Success.  Yet, I also get support - mostly from women.  I have women respond with "That's my favorite genre!" or "I love Christian romance!"  Those answers keep me from being completely discouraged.

While thinking about these things, I was reading Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.  Jane Austen got lots of criticism for being a woman author and an author of romance novels at that.  In this book, she says that the main character, Catherine Morland, read novels and followed that statement with this one.  "Yes, novels; for I will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic custom, so common with novel writers, of degrading, by their contemptuous censure, the very performances to the number of which they are themselves adding: and scarcely ever permitting them to be read by their own heroine, who if she accidentally take up a novel, is sure to turn over its insipid pages with disgust.  Alas!  If the heroine of one novel be not patronised by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard?  I cannot approve of it. . . . "And what are you reading, Miss - ?" "Oh! it is only a novel!" replies the young lady; while she lays down her book with affected indifference, or momentary shame.  "It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda"; or in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best chosen language."

And so Jane Austen encouraged this new writer nearly two hundred years later.  I will never write a book that becomes a classic like Pride and Prejudice, or works that last for centuries, but I enjoy what I write and I have readers who enjoy reading it.  I strive to get better with each book.  I know I have more to learn.  But I will no longer be ashamed to claim to be a writer of Christian romance novels!  (At least I'll try).

If you are one of the readers who love to read Christian romance novels and you haven't seen my books, you can find them by clicking on the links below.

Best Laid Plans
Smell the Roses
Dress for Success

Dedication: Dress for Success

My third book had to be dedicated to my sister, Ashley Beaulieu.  She's one of my best friends and one of my editors.  She also happens to be one of my biggest fans.  She is more insulted than I am when I get a negative comment and she is always pushing me forward to keep me writing because she's anxious to read the next book.

Ashley and I often get asked if we're twins.  We're not. There are four years between, and Ashley would be quick to tell you that I am the older one.  We're often seen together.  We say the same thing, at the same time, with the same inflection - evidence that we spend a lot of time together.  People will often call us by the other one's name and we don't correct them any more.  We'll just go to each other and say, "So and so thought I was you."

Ashley and I have been blessed to serve together in many capacities.  We used to teach the four and five year olds in Vacation Bible School every year.  I would teach and Ashley would help.  We were able to co-direct VBS together this year and right now we serve in the same small group for ladies Bible study.  We work well together.  As the oldest, I tend to be the leader and the one who takes charge, but Ashley has a lot more contacts as the younger, more outgoing one.  I can delegate things to her easily and she's always willing to help out.  We're a good team and we balance each other out nicely.

When I got back her editing notes for Dress for Success, she had written on the first page, "LOVED IT! P.S. I cried a lot! :)"  She encourages me all the time and will list me as one of her favorite authors, which always makes me smile.  The thing that I love about it is that I know she's being sincere.  She's not saying that just because she's my sister.  She genuinely enjoys reading my books.

We didn't always get along as well as we do now.  When we were growing up and she would irritate me, my mom would remind me that I had prayed for a sister and God had given me one.  I didn't think it was very fair to remind me that I had wanted a sister.  I often thought that if I had known what a pest a little sister was, I wouldn't have asked for one.  But now I can't imagine my life without her.  God knew what He was doing when he gave me a sister and a best friend rolled up in one amazing person.  I love you, Ashley!

Switching gears a little bit, I want to thank everyone who has purchased Dress for Success.  I hope you enjoy Brooke's story as much as I enjoyed writing it.  If you haven't purchased it, you will be able to find it by clicking on the link below.

I also wanted to quickly update you on my Christmas novella.  It's coming along and I'm really enjoying writing it.  It's not part of the KW Consulting series so I've been able to develop all new characters which has been a lot of fun.  I think it will be a nice Christmas read when it is finished. I still have my eye set on a Thanksgiving release date.

Dress for Success

Dress for Success

Here it is!  The cover for book three, Dress for Success!  The book has been edited, formatted and is now ready to publish!  It should be available for purchase tomorrow, September 16th, in the afternoon sometime.  You can find it at amazon.com.  

Dedication: Smell the Roses

After my husband, the next most obvious people to dedicate my book to was my parents.  I dedicated Smell the Roses to both of my parents because I couldn't possibly choose one over the other.  When I first told my parents that I was writing a book, they were both excited and supportive.  It would have been so easy for them to think that I was wasting my time or to warn me that the likelihood of my ever getting published was not good.  Instead they acted like it was completely natural for me to be writing a book and that they would fully expect to one day expect to see a book with my name written on the cover.  Their reaction gave me confidence to continue and see where it went.

Both of my parents have helped with editing my books, although my mom is more active in that aspect than my dad.  I know that I could go through my book ten times and still miss errors simply because I know what it's supposed to say.  I'm so thankful to have fresh eyes take a look at my books and catch those errors or those phrases that don't make sense.

I know my parents are proud of my writing.  My dad actually has read my books which says a lot and I can honestly say that I am the only romance author he has ever read.  My dad likes to tell people that his daughter is an author and I can hear the pride in his voice when he does.  My mom enjoys reading my books and she loves to tell her friends that are looking for a new book to read that they should try my books.  I appreciate her willingness to "advertise" for me.

My parents taught us the value of hard work by example and taught us that we should serve the Lord, not to gain us "brownie points" or to get noticed, but to thank God for all He's done for us and to spread the Word.  I can't remember my parents ever going to church and not being involved in some sort of ministry.  I appreciated seeing them serve and then later they brought me alongside them so that I could learn from them how to serve.

My family is close.  We just enjoy spending time together.  I love the times that I can cheer on our favorite sports team with my parents, or play board games.  I can talk to my parents for hours.  My dad and I have always been close.  My mom and I are so much alike that we understand each other better than anyone else.  This makes her someone that I can go to when I'm struggling because most likely, she's been there too and she understands.  

Thank you, Dad and Mom, for all your support and help!  I love you!

Now for a quick update.  Mom has finished editing and is going through a second time to double check.  Meghan thinks she should finish up sometime this weekend.  Which means that hopefully I can start the final edit either this week or next!

If you haven't read the first two books, you can find them by clicking on the links below!

Best Laid Plans
Smell the Roses

Dedication: Best Laid Plans

I've been thinking about my dedication page for the upcoming book and I realized that I wish I could just write a page or two about the people who have been so supportive of me during this process.  Then I realized that I have my blog and so I could dedicate a post to them.

My first book, Best Laid Plans, I had to dedicate to my husband, Joel.  We've been married for fourteen years and this month we'll have been a couple for nineteen years.  I often tell him that I can't imagine being with anyone else.  He's a man who wants to be the best husband and father he can be.  He wants to grow closer to God all the time and he serves God with all his heart.  He is passionate about the power of prayer and I love to see how excited he gets when he sees wonderful things happen because of prayer.  I have seen an improvement in my own prayer life, not because he preaches at me to be better at it, but because his own excitement is contagious!

When I told Joel that I had started writing a book, he never questioned, never doubted, never discouraged.  He helped me to research various publishing options and graphic artists to do my cover art and we made the decisions together.  He was excited for me when I first published the book and he's cheered me on every step of the way.

Since that first book, he often gives me suggestions for how to work pricing and sales.  He anticipates each new release and is excited for me when my sales do well.  I'm not sure that I would have had the courage to go through this without his support.  I certainly would not have been able to wallow through all the options without his help.

Joel encourages me to better myself as a writer.  He wants to see me grow and develop as an author and not stagnate.  I know that he wants me to be the best writer that I am capable of being.  I love how he actively participates in this process with me without taking it over.  He lets me write as I want to write.  He lets me set my own deadlines.  He lets me have the final say in the decisions that I make.  Yet he's right next to me to support me, advise me and encourage me.

Joel often gets asked if he's actually read any of my books.  It's a valid question since Joel is not a big reader and he certainly doesn't read romance novels when he does read.  In all honesty, I don't let him read my books until they're published.  After Best Laid Plans was published, he did read it.  It's the only one he has read.  It may be the only one he will ever read and that's okay.  He doesn't need to read my books for me to know that he supports me.

I have been blessed by the man that God put in my life.  He has supported me in every way possible through this journey and I know he'll continue to support me.  Joel was an obvious choice for the dedication of my first book.

Now a quick progress report.  My editors have book three.  I know one of them has started on it.  She said that she was taken completely by surprise by the end of chapter three.  Before then she was carefully reading for errors, but after that she found herself reading quickly because she had to find out what happened next!  She had to force herself to slow down.  I love hearing things like that!

I have also started working on my Christmas novella.  I hurt my back last week and the only time I felt comfortable was when I was sitting down, so I wrote - a lot!  I'm about a quarter of the way through and hoping to have it completed by October so I can hopefully have it published by Thanksgiving!

If you haven't read the first two books you can get them by clicking the links below.  Book three should be ready to purchase in September!

Best Laid Plans
Smell the Roses

Sent out

I have finished writing Brooke's story!  I wasn't sure how it would flow when I read through it, but I only made minor changes when I went back through it.  I love when I read it over for editing and I forget that I'm the author.  That's when I know it's good.  When it just seems like an old favorite that I'm re-reading, that's a very good thing!  The only thing that reminds me that I am the author is when I stumble on a sentence that makes no sense or some other error and then I have to fix it.  The read through is done now which means that I have sent it on to my editors and am now waiting for their notes to make further editing.  I'm excited and eager to see what they think of it!

I'm going to try to write a Christmas novella this year as well.  I know what I want to write, but I'm going to take at least a few days off from writing.  The reason is that I pretty much put everything on hold while I finished up book three so that I could give my editors plenty of time and still do a September publication.  Which means that my house is in terrible condition.  I have dishes piled up in my sink, laundry piled up both to wash and to fold and just a general mess everywhere.  I need to take some time to get things into some sort of order before I get back to work.  Besides it's nice to take a little time between two stories to let my mind sort of shift gears.  Especially since this one wouldn't be linked to the KW Consulting series and would have all new characters to develop.  My hope is to have it written by October so it can be published around Thanksgiving or the beginning of December.  Since it's a novella, I'm thinking I can accomplish that.

Thank you for your support and encouragement!  I really appreciate it!

Progress

I am happy to say that I made writing a priority last week and now have about one more chapter to write before book three will be finished!  Next week, I will finish the final chapter, go back through for a quick edit and then send it to my editors for their editing notes.  If all goes well, it should be ready to be published in September!  I'm very excited!

Brooke's story has been more difficult for me to write than Georgia's story was.  I think I probably related more to Georgia than I do with Brooke.  It's been interesting to see her story unfold though.  Her story has brought me to tears on occasion, has brought in some new characters and brought back some old ones and I think it will be a touching story when it's all is said and done.  At least, I hope so.

On another note, Georgia's story, Smell the Roses, will be on sale for $0.99 starting August 3, 2014 for a week!  There will be no price increase through that week so it will be available for 67% off the regular price all week long!  If you haven't bought it yet or know someone who would like to read it, this would be a great time to get it!  You can find it by clicking the link below.

Smell the Roses by Courtney Lyman

Best Laid Plans by Courtney Lyman

Laziness

I've realized something in the ten yeas I've been a mom.  God uses those little ones to point out my own imperfections and challenges me to change in ways that the best sermon won't do.  See, my kids see me all the time and they pick up on my behavior and they emulate my behavior.  Suddenly they're doing things that drive me crazy and I want them to change.  I wonder where they ever picked up something like that and all of a sudden it hits me that it's from me!

Recently my son has been driving my crazy with his laziness.  Any time I would ask him to do something he would whine and complain and drag his feet.  It would take him two hours to do a ten minute job because he spent so much time trying to get out of it.  I learned quickly that he couldn't share chores with his older sister because that just meant that he would let her do all the work while he played.  I was getting on him all the time about how God wants us to be productive and doesn't like laziness.  I wondered where he had ever learned such a thing and then I took a good look at myself.

What did he see me do every day?  He saw me spend a lot of time on the computer.  While some of that was work related, often it's to check Facebook or play games.  He saw me reading or on my phone.  More importantly he saw the results of my misspent time.  He saw the piles of dishes and laundry, the layer of dust, the clutter everywhere.  Why did I expect more out of him than I expected from myself?

This was part of the reasoning behind my New Year's resolution to be better about cleaning my house.  I wanted to show my children that Mom knows how to work.   I want them to see me work hard, not to please my husband, my parents, my friends, my kids, but to please God.  I still have days where I give in to temptation and sit at my computer too much and don't get enough done, but I'm having more frequent days where I get a great deal done around the house.  My house still isn't immaculate and it probably will never be, but my laundry and dishes are not piled up very often and I make my bed every day (something that I have never done in my life).  The other chores get done much more often than before.  I still  have room for improvement, but I'm happy with the progress that God has worked in me so far.  And yes, it is through God's help that I've been able to do this.  Laziness was so deeply ingrained in me that I needed Him to nudge me forward.  Every time I feel that temptation to just let everything slide, I also feel a familiar nudge that reminds me that my kids are watching and I need to do it and do it cheerfully.

My son had a memory verse that I told him was a good one for him to learn especially.  Be careful of ever thinking or telling someone that a verse is perfect for them because often it's good for you, too.  As soon as I made the comment  I felt that old nudge.  It was like God said, "And what about you?  Don't you think this could be a good one for you to learn, too?"  And He was right.  The reason why it was so perfect for my son was because it was also perfect for me.  Here it is:  "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31 (emphasis mine).  That's a good principal to remember as I trudge through the daily things that I don't enjoy doing and don't want to do.  I need to follow that command anyway just out of obedience, but it's doubly important for me to do it as a mom so that my kids can see a good example in me.  

Halfway

Yesterday evening my oldest daughter was at ballet and my husband was going to pick her up.  My son was playing at a neighbor's house and my youngest daughter was napping and when she woke up she was content playing quietly by herself.  Can I tell you just how amazing that time was?  I almost never have a house that quiet!  It was prime writing time and I took advantage of it.  I was so immersed in my writing that before I knew it my husband and daughter were home.  At first I thought they came home early, but I looked again and I had just lost track of time.  I got quite a bit done and it flowed so easily.  Those are the times when I really enjoy writing.

Looking at my progress, I'm about halfway done!  That is exciting!  My goal is to have the book done and ready to send to my editors by the end of July.  Now having said that, it's taken me six months to get the first half done so I'm not sure that will actually happen.  However, the first six months of the year were extremely busy and as I look at my July calendar there's very little going on this month.  It's possible, but I'm going to have to get to work.  I'll make sure that I post some updates periodically.  A little accountability never hurts.

Summer rhythm

Summer has a much slower rhythm than other seasons.  It's a time to relax and refresh before the busyness of fall comes back.  Sometimes I can still pack our summer so full that it whizzes by, but this year I've purposefully kept it as empty as possible.  It's been so nice to settle into a slower pace.

I'm a night owl.  My mom says I've been that way since I was born.  So summer is my time to stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning and sleep in as late as I want.  I love not waking up to an alarm.  My day starts off so much nicer when I can wake up on my own.

After I wake up, I get the kids their breakfast and I spend some time catching up on emails and Facebook.  I go get ready for the day and maybe do a few chores.  Then it's lunch time.  After lunch the kids have to turn off the television.  Then my kids do their workbooks.

Yes - I give my kids homework for the summer.  I can't help it.  My degree is in elementary education.  I want my kids to stay actively involved in learning.  So I get them workbooks that are for the grade they're going into.  This year is the first year that my youngest is working on a preschool workbook.  We all sit down at the table together.  My two older ones usually don't need my help except when they need some clarification, but my youngest needs my guidance through each page.  I've told people about this tradition of ours before and they usually tell my kids that they can come live with them since I'm so mean and make them do school work in the summer.  My kids always tell them the same thing - "Actually, we like it."

After we do the workbooks it's chore time.  Then they can play or read for a while.  I always hope I've finished my own chores by this time so that I can work on my writing.  Soon it's dinner time and my husband comes home.  We spend some time as a family - watching movies, playing board games.  Then I read to them (right now we're reading through the Chronicles of Narnia) and it's time for bed.

I love this rhythm.  I love the time we spend together.  I love the slowness.  I love the routine.  I love the rest.  I keep so busy all the time that it's nice to slow down for a change.

It's not that we never do anything else.  We'll go to the zoo or on a play date.  We'll go swimming sometimes or go to a movie.  Once a week I try to bake with the kids.  We've made cookies and batter breads so far.  But that's part of the beauty of it, too.  We have the ability to be pretty flexible.  I love summer!

Vacation Bible School

I've always loved Vacation Bible School!  As a kid I loved the themes, the music, the crafts, the corny skits, playing with my friends and the Bible lessons.  I actually liked to see how the lessons fit with the theme.  Sometimes it was a stretch, but sometimes they fit well.  I looked forward to it every year.

Actually, I'm still a kid at heart and I still look forward to VBS every year.  Since middle school I've helped in various ways in VBS.  I've helped or taught in almost every age group from 2 & 3 year olds to 4th-6th grade.  I've helped in crafts.  I've led the music.  I've helped in puppets.  Honestly, I've enjoyed each and every task I've had the blessing to undertake.  One of my favorite things to do was when my friends and I would make large posters to decorate the church.  We used to make way more than we needed, because I was a firm believer in "too much is just enough".  It was a time for me and my friends to hang out all day long while we worked on the posters.  It was such a fun time!

This year I had the opportunity to participate in VBS in a way that I never had before.  My sister and I co-directed our church's VBS.  It was so much fun to see all the "behind the scenes" work that goes into VBS and I have a completely new appreciation for all the help that is required to put this together.  It's one thing to know that a lot of work goes into it and another to actually see the work that goes into it.  We had an absolutely amazing group of directors working on this and they made our job so easy!  We were so thankful for each and every one of them!

One of the things I prayed about when I first accepted this position was for humility.  Whenever I'm given a position of authority or visibility I'm very aware that pride can begin to creep in.  As I look back on my time as a director I have to laugh because God definitely answered my prayer in such a way that I couldn't take any credit even if I'd wanted to.  God took control from the day I started working on it and everything fell into place so neatly and smoothly that it was obvious that He was at work.  My sister and I joke that God knew we couldn't do it so He just told us to sit back while He took care of it all.  I've spent some time since VBS finished just reflecting back on all the answered prayers, all the details that were easily taken care of, all the issues that were dealt with quickly and smoothly and I'm just blown away at all the different ways where His working was so completely evident.  I can only sit back in awe at the work He did and it makes me smile.

No matter what areas I'm lead to participate in VBS in the future, I know that this year has changed the way I view VBS.  I'm going to be much more aware of the people who work so hard beforehand.  I'm going to be much more aware of God's working in the smallest of details.  I'm going to appreciate all the volunteers who help out through the week even more.  This year has been such a blessing and I'm thankful for the opportunity that I had to participate in this way.



As a side note, VBS has kept me from working on book three, but now my schedule is much more free and I'm hoping that after I've had this week to get my house back in shape that I'll be back to writing again next week.  The story is working in my mind and I'm anxious to get my thoughts out on paper.
Best Laid Plans
Smell the Roses

Balance

I'm entering the time of year where I'm finding it difficult to balance everything.  The school year is coming to an end which means parties and fun activities.  My daughter's ballet class is getting ready for their recital.  My son's baseball team is entering the play off season.  Vacation Bible School is coming up soon.  It's all fun and I enjoy it, but it makes the every day things a bit more difficult to do.  I've actually been keeping up on the house for the first time ever.  I don't always get everything done, but it used to be that my perfectionism would tell me it wasn't good enough and if I couldn't do it all then I shouldn't do any of it.  Doing as much as I can is a definite improvement.  Unfortunately, what has slipped lately is my writing.  It's been difficult to sit down and focus on the story.  Looking at my calendar it seems like things slow down in the middle of June , so hopefully I'll be able to concentrate more on writing then.

I think Brooke's story is coming along nicely though and I feel like I know where it's going which is always a good feeling.  I'm always interested to see if everyone else likes it as much as I do.  I'm looking forward to having my editors read it through and let me know what they think.  I'm also starting to get an idea of how I want to work Isabelle's story.  I feel like her story has taken me a little longer to figure out, but I think I'm going to enjoy writing it.  I actually enjoy the  process of writing more and more as I go along.

On another note, I want to thank everyone who helped to spread the word about "Smell the Roses" being on sale.  I did see a significant jump in my sales and I know that your publicity helped me.  Thank you!

SALE

"Smell the Roses" will be available for $0.99 (normal price $2.99) starting tomorrow, May 7th, 2014!  It will be at $0.99 for a few days and then will increase to $1.99.  It will return to it's regular price next Wednesday.  If you haven't purchased this book yet, this week is a great time to do it!  If you have any friends who might be interested please let them know about the sale.  Word of mouth is fantastic advertising for me.

You can purchase the book by clicking on this link:
Smell the Roses by Courtney Lyman

Remember the sale is for one week only!

Cleaning and Sickness

You guys know that I've been trying to keep my house cleaner for my new year's resolution and you also know that I've had highs and lows in actually doing it.  I've noticed something recently and I'm not joking that this is how it works.  Every time I've spent a couple of weeks really cleaning the house and it's looking pretty good, inevitably I get sick.  While I'm sick, the house gets messy again and I get discouraged and end up back at where I started - feeling overwhelmed.

So the last couple of weeks I was really cleaning my house.  I was going to start over on the resolution and set up some good habits.  And, of course, I got sick.  I don't know if while I'm cleaning I stir up dust and then I'm wiping my nose a lot and putting my hands up on my face all the time and that contributes to getting me sick, but it's very frustrating because normally I'm a pretty healthy person.  I feel like I'm being kept in this crazy cycle and it's hard for me to break free of it.  It's easy to say "Satan is doing it to keep me frustrated and discouraged" but the bottom line is that I need to control my own attitude.  I could let it get me down or I could back on my feet and get to work.  This time, I'm choosing to get back on my feet.

Today, I still don't feel wonderful.  My throat itches and my head feels dizzy, but I feel better than I did.  So instead of looking around the house and feeling like I'm too far behind and I can't possibly get caught up, I'm digging in my heals and working.  It's kind of nice.  I don't feel like I've won the war, but this has been a huge victory for me.  It may seem silly, but this battle has beaten me time and time again and to finally have even one time where I've said, "I'm not going to let this put me back where I started" is a big deal.  I think it's important to celebrate the small victories as well as the large ones - and give the glory to God.  I can't do it on my own.

I have to thank my friend, Casey Husar for this too.   She doesn't know it, but she's been a huge help in this victory.  Back when I posted my blog about my new year's resolution, Casey posted a link to a weekly cleaning schedule.  I downloaded it and printed it out - and left it sitting in my printer for four months.  It seemed like too much and I felt like I had to clean my house first before I could keep it clean with the chart she sent me.  I finally felt like I needed to use it because I didn't know where to start.  It was amazing!  It broke things down and I finally felt like this was something I could do.  I think that's what has helped me be able to get back up this time.  I finally have someplace to start and I know where I'm going.  So thank you so much for your help, my dear friend!

Sometimes we can feel like we need to clean ourselves up before doing something that God has for us to do.  The worst lie we can possibly believe is that God wants us to clean ourselves up before coming to Him.  The truth of the matter is that our own attempts to clean us are futile.  We can't do it.  We can only come to Him and let Him clean us.  When we try to clean ourselves, it's like a child going down to a mud puddle and washing their hands.  No matter how hard they scrub or how long they wash, they will always come to their mother with dirty hands.  It's only when they allow their mom to take them to the sink and gently scrub away the mud with soap and clean water that they will be truly clean.  This Easter season our pastor talked about the thief on the cross.  He wasn't able to go and make restitution for what he had done or give money to the poor or go to church.  He was dying.  Yet Jesus told him that he would be with Him in Paradise.  Jesus cleaned that thief completely with His blood.  Praise the Lord!

Easter

Happy Resurrection!  I love Christmas, but I think Easter is my very favorite holiday.  Jesus coming is only part of the story.  It's a wonderful, joyous time, but I love Easter because it celebrates the reason He came.  I love the solemness of Good Friday.  I love the mixture of joy and sorrow.  If you've never done it, I encourage you to look up the details of a Roman crucifixion.  It's hard to stomach and difficult to imagine, but very eye opening.  Jesus was willing to go through the excruciating, humiliating agony of the cross - for ME!  That is absolutely amazing!  His blood was shed instead of my own.  He paid a price that I could never have paid and all because He loves me so very much.

And as awesome as Good Friday is, it would be worthless if Easter had never happened.  Jesus' resurrection gave us hope and showed that He triumphed over the grave so that we can, too.  Hallelujah!  I love this passage where Paul explains why the resurrection is so important for believers.

12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.  (I Corinthians 15:12-22)

I hope that you had a precious weekend of reflecting on Jesus sacrifice and celebrating His resurrection.  The picture at the top is me, my mom and my sister at the end of our choir's Easter musical.  It was a beautiful way to remember the events of that weekend so many years ago.  I pray that Easter is not just a yearly holiday for you, but that it is something to be celebrated every day.  He has risen!  He has risen indeed!

A New Hobby

I've started a new hobby recently and it's all because I'm a reader.  One of the authors that I like to read is Debbie Macomber and many of her books have characters who knit.  She even has a series where the primary setting is in a yarn store and the group of women meet because they are doing a knitting class together.  After reading so much about it, I had to try it for myself.  Since my mom and my sister read the same author, they were game to try it with me.

I've been surprised at exactly how much I've enjoyed knitting.  I knit a scarf for each of my kids (which is extremely useful in Arizona).  Still, they were excited about it and kept coming to check the progress on their scarf.  I've started knitting a few dish cloths recently just to do something different and to use up some of my left over yarn.  I'm looking forward to trying new projects.

All of this makes me realize how much reading can influence what you want to try or where you want to go.  I want to visit places that I would have never had any interest in except that I've read about it in some story.  I've wanted to try activities simply because a character in a book enjoyed it.  I've wanted to try certain foods only because the description in a story sounded so good.  Which shows how important it is that the books I read are honoring to God.

I'm reminded of Philippians 4:8.  "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  What am I thinking about after I read a book?  Is it honorable?  Is it lovely?  Is it pure?  If not, I need to rethink what I'm reading.

On the flip side, as an author, what do I want my readers to be thinking about as they read my books?  Would my stories fit within the qualifications of this verse?  I certainly hope so!  

Verse for the Year

I've heard of people having a verse they focus on for the year.  They post it somewhere where it's visible to them to remind them through the year.  They memorize it.  I had never done it before.  I think mostly I hadn't done it because I didn't know where to start!  The Bible has so many wonderful passages in it.  How do you pick one verse out of it to focus on?

Towards the end of last year, I took a Bible study called "The Power of a Woman's Words".  The facilitator gave each of us laminated cards on a key ring with verses for every week to remind us to be careful of our words.  The key verse for the entire series was Psalm 19:14 and it really stuck out to me.  For the first time, I had a verse to focus on for the new year.

This is now posted right next to my computer.  Women tend to use more words in a day than men.  I know that I need to be aware of my words when I speak to my children.  As a stay-at-home mom, I know that there are days where my words are spoken hastily and in frustration, annoyance or anger and that they can really hurt my children.  I want to be a mom who encourages her kids daily, who is patient, who is able to discipline with love when they need it.  I know not every day will be a success, but I know that, with God's help, I can be that kind of mom.  There are also words that I use with my husband, my family, my friends.  Are my words with them encouraging?  Are they helpful?  Are they true?

In today's world, it's not just the words that proceed from our mouth that can cause trouble.  When I'm on Facebook, I have to think about what I'm posting as my status.  Is it something that everyone needs to know?  Is it ungrateful or selfish?  Is it arrogant or rude?  When I comment on one of my friend's pictures or statuses, am I kind?  I have typed many statuses that, before I pressed post, I thought better of it and deleted it.  I'm sure there are many more that I should have thought a little longer about.

As an author, I deal with words all the time.  I want the books I write to be pleasing to God first and foremost.  I want people to feel uplifted after they read one.  I pray all the time that God will give me the wisdom to write what I should.  I pray that my books will speak to my readers.  My biggest prayer is that the words I write will be pleasing to "my Rock and my Redeemer".

A Return

I've mentioned before that I'm often surprised as I'm writing by what's happening.  It seems odd that the author is surprised, but things sometimes go in a way that I did not expect.  Afterwards it seems like the most natural progression and I wonder why I hadn't expected it.

I was working on the third book the other day and a character from a previous book returned.  I had known that they were going to, but I was surprised at the direction it took.  I'm very excited though because I think it's going very well.  I think the best part of writing a series is being able to bring back characters that you were interested in before and check in on them.

Brooke's story is coming along, but slower than I anticipated.  Part of that might be my schedule.  I need to have more of a set time to write instead of making it so hit and miss.  I'm still hoping it to get it done by summer, but my very latest date is to have it published sometime this fall.  I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.  It's still early in the book and anything can happen!

You may have noticed that I've stopped giving updates on my new year's resolution.  (Or maybe you haven't and that's all right, too!)  I'm not doing so good with my housecleaning.  I got towards the end of January and I'm not really sure what happened.  I think my old habits came back and that was detrimental to my resolution.  However, we're only in the third month of the year so I still have nine months to get my act together.  I'm going to try anyway.

I enjoy hearing from you!  If you have any questions or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!  Thank you for your support!

Based on a True Story?

I get asked  often if my books are based on real life.  More accurately, I get asked if my books are my own love story written down.  The short answer is no.  My own story is precious to me because it's mine, but not something that I think others would find very interesting.  My books are pure fiction.

Having said that, there are a few elements that I can very much relate to in my stories.  In "Best Laid Plans", Kate and Jeff were high school sweethearts and my husband was my high school sweetheart.  Now we've been married for over thirteen years.  I do think that my own history made it so that I didn't feel like it was too far fetched to believe that Kate and Jeff could have been very strongly attached to each other even when they were teenagers.  To be honest, it sort of runs in my family.  My parents and grandparents were both high school sweethearts as well so I've seen that those high school relationships can become deep, lasting relationships.

Kate also has a peculiarity that I share.  It's the tea drinking.  I love the smell of coffee, but I can't stand the taste of it.  However, I absolutely love to drink tea!  I'm not quite as fastidious as she is about tea though.  I don't always have loose leaf tea and I don't always use a cup and saucer, tea pots or sugar cubes.  I do love it when I can take the time to enjoy all the pretty things that belong to tea, but they aren't necessary for me.

I also very much enjoy my food, just like Kate.  I'm not as good as she is about balancing it, but I'm working on it.  I absolutely love to sit down to a really good meal and both my husband and I love cooking so that means that I get to sit down to good meals often.  There have been times when I am really enjoying my food and tell my husband that food should not make me as happy as it does.  I figure that God created food to be enjoyed though, because even in Heaven we'll get to sit down to a feast!

Georgia from "Smell the Roses" and I don't share as much in common.  There is one thing that we do share, besides being short and blonde, and that is our tendency to cram our calendars full.  I really felt like God had me write Georgia's story to speak straight to my heart.  I used to just say yes to almost anything that came along, but now I have to look at my calendar and really think about whether or not it's worth it.  I've put myself in a near panic attack before by putting too much on myself, but I try hard not to make my life so crazy. Having three children definitely adds to my schedule - I have one who wants to do ballet, drama, choir, orchestra, you name it and another who wants to do sports.  My third is still too young to want to do extra activities and I'm thankful for that right now, but I know the day is coming when she'll be asking to do something, too.  I have to limit what my children do as well.  I don't want our family to never see each other or spend time together because we're constantly running to this practice and that performance and this game.  Sometimes the decisions are difficult, but I'd rather my kids focus on a few things that they truly love to do than to cram their lives full of activity for the sake of activity.

I guess the answer to the question is a bit more complicated than a yes or no.  No, my books are not based on my own love life.  Yes, there are elements of my characters or plots that have some basis in my own life.  I suppose that most authors have some element of themselves in their books.

Best Laid Plans
Smell the Roses

My Valentine

I suppose it would be normal to assume that an author who writes romance novels would love Valentine's Day.  It would probably be her favorite holiday - all those hearts and flowers and romance every where.  For me and my husband, we enjoy Valentine's Day and we observe it, but I enjoy many days of the year.  Honestly, I think that most days have something to celebrate, something to make it memorable.  Even the every day kind of days seem like they can hold buried treasure.  Sure there are days that I wish I could go back and redo the entire day or days that I wish had never happened, but all in all, I'm content with my life.

My husband and I are celebrating our nineteenth Valentine's together this year!  We used to buy gifts for each other, but, now that we have three children, the gift we value most is time together.  A few years ago we decided that our gift to each other would be a date night.  Sometimes, it's dinner and a movie and sometimes we send the kids off to one of the grandparents and get an entire night alone together.  This year we get a night alone!  My kids are excited - even now their suitcases are packed and they're anxiously waiting for me.  The grandparents enjoy a night with the grandchildren.  Joel and I enjoy getting to be just us once again.

Tomorrow I'll get my children back and I will be happy to wrap my arms around them and hear about all the ways they got spoiled while they were at their grandparents house, but for tonight, I get to go back in time and just be with my Valentine.  Those precious moments are sometimes hard for parents to grasp, but so important.  It's nice to have an evening where we're not "mom" and "dad", we're just Joel and Courtney.

I hope you are able to spend time with your loved ones this Valentine's Day, but even if you're alone, remember that 1 John 4:10 says "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  There's no greater love than that!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Writer's Envy

I started reading a book that my friend, Meghan, gave me for Christmas. Not only was I completely envious that this author's book is 560 pages long (remember my struggle to make 200 pages?), but she is a tremendous wordsmith.  This author has a way of drawing you in from the first page and creating images with her words that are just fantastic.  Her use of similes and metaphors are phenomenal.  I was definitely envious of her ability to write.

But then I started thinking a little further about it.  First of all, I don't know how long she's been writing, but I do know that I am a novice.  I have already learned a lot, and I know that I have tons more to learn.  Some things I may learn in time, but even if I don't, the world is full of different types of authors and genres and that's a beautiful thing!

Another thing is that we write two very different genres.  I'm not quite sure how to describe this book's genre, but it's dark, mysterious, as Meghan put it, "other-worldly".  Her settings are as much a character as the actual characters in the book.  Description is extremely important for conveying mood and tone and you need to be able to see the old, crumbling castle to be able to get the proper mood of the story.  Mine are much different. Mine are light-hearted romances.  My stories are more about the situations and the interactions of characters than about any particular setting.

As far as length goes, I'm pretty sure most readers would be frustrated if I tried to keep writing for 560 pages.  I think there would be an "all right already" feeling to the book.  On the flip side, if the book I'm reading was only 200 pages, I think most readers would feel like all the build-up and suspense were a let down.  I'm still going to try to keep lengthening my books, but I don't ever want to get them so long that my readers end up frustrated, bored, or, worse yet, giving up on the story all together.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with where I am.  I know I'm still learning, but honestly, I hope that I'll still be learning for the rest of my life.  I write a genre that I love and I feel like I'm pretty good at telling a story.  Reading has always been one of my favorite hobbies.  I know that by reading other authors, I can learn a lot.  Not necessarily to imitate them, because everyone has their own style and personality, but I can still pick up ideas for how to use my words better or craft a better story.

"How are the book sales going?"

"So how are the book sales going?"  I get asked this often.  I usually answer the same way.  I shrug and say, "Good."  To be honest, I don't really know what this question means.  I'm certainly not on anyone's best seller list and my books aren't flying off the shelves, but I get sales every month.  No one is pounding on my door to publish my books for me, but I'm content with how things are going.  Some days there aren't any sales and other days there will be several.  I've only had the one time last May when the book sales really took off like crazy.  So if you ask me this and I seem vague, I guess it's because I'm not really sure what is meant by "going".  I'm content with how it's going and I just leave them in God's hands knowing that He is ultimately in control.

I got to work a little bit on book three this week and I was happy because I had left off in a place where I didn't know where to go from there, but things seemed to have resolved in a way that I'm pleased with.  I have a few ideas for a possible Christmas novella so that gives me a little more incentive for me to get it done a little early.  I'm excited about some of the possibilities that are presenting themselves right now.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.  I very much appreciate it!

Christmas Novellas

During the month of December, I was reading several Christmas novellas.  I love the Christmas season and getting to incorporate that into my reading is so enjoyable.  I also enjoy watching Christmas movies - although I watched most of them after Christmas this year.  One of my favorite authors puts out a new Christmas novel or novella every year along with her other books and I've always wondered how she is able to write so much in a year.

Loving reading, writing and Christmas got me thinking about my own books.  First of all, Brooke's story begins where Georgia's leaves off which means it's autumn.  I'm very excited to have the girls celebrate Christmas in Brooke's story!  I don't know yet whether the book will end at Christmas, I sort of doubt it, but it will definitely be a part of book three.

My other thought is that I would actually like to write a Christmas novella, but it takes me so long to just keep up with my current series.  I'm wondering if I could push through book three a little faster and get a Christmas novella written in time for Christmas.  It's a thought, but it will just depend on how things go with Brooke's story, because that's my priority in writing right now.  If I can get it done by summer instead of fall this year, there's a possibility that I may have time to write a novella before November.  I'll have to see how it goes.  In any case, I will be writing about Christmas soon!

Now, an update on my New Year's resolution.  I've been making out lists and following through with them.  I've been able to clean a lot of my kitchen and some of my dining room.  I'm sure my friends are tired of hearing about each item I've cleaned, but to me it's a big deal!  I've also been able to keep up on dishes (once I caught up on them) and laundry.  It may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but, believe me, this is huge for me!  This week, though, I have my work cut out for me, because, instead of focusing on small areas, I need to do a quick clean of the whole house.  My oldest daughter is turning ten and is having a party this coming weekend which means I need to get busy!

Because of all the cleaning, I really haven't done much writing lately.  I'm going to need to figure out how to keep my resolution and still allow time for writing.  Maybe I need to put writing on my list of things to do for the day!  If I want to push my (self-imposed) deadline and try to get it done sooner, I will definitely have to work it into my daily schedule a bit more than I normally do.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas season this year!  I certainly did!  I felt very blessed to be surrounded by so many precious family members.  After Christmas we were able to take a trip to relax after the busyness of the holidays.

As we enter 2014 though, I was thinking about resolutions.  Do you make resolutions?  Usually when I think of them I think of "Beauty and the Beast" when Cogsworth is giving the Beast ideas for what he can give Belle and he says that there are the "usual things; flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep."  I feel like most of the time when I make a resolution, I actually have no intention of keeping it.  Through the years, I've stopped making resolutions because of this.  I figure I'm not really resolved if I'm fairly certain I won't follow through.  Every once in a while though, I find something that I really feel needs to change and I make a resolution for that year.

This year is one of those years.  I always say that I'm a good stay-at-home mom, but a lousy housewife.  I take good care of my kids and they grow and thrive, but my house is always in disarray.  We have clean clothes, but they most likely are sitting in a hamper in the laundry room.  I fix them dinner, but we may have to wash a few dishes before we can eat.  I have at times actually considered throwing away all of my dishes and just buying new ones.  It's never a trait that I've been proud of and I've tried to change it before.  I would love to not be hesitant to have people over because my house is too messy.  What usually ends up happening though is I clean my house and then we have a birthday party and my house is back to what it was before I cleaned or I end up getting sick and no one helps while I'm sick so by the time I'm well, the house is a disaster again.

So here's my plan.  I don't expect perfection.  I have three kids and they're going to make messes.  I want to start making lists (I respond well to lists) every day of things that need to get done.  It will take a while to get the house clean from it's present state and it's not going to happen over night.  After it's clean, I want us as a family to take a few moments right before bed and pick up any dishes, toys, clothes, etc. that are left out.  I've already told my husband that when I get sick, I'd like for him to help so that I'm not needing to start back at square one and he's agreed to do that.  I'm hoping that sharing this with all of you will help me be more accountable as well.

Now, I know what you really want to know is how book three is coming along.  I did get some work done on it last night and I feel like it's going well.  I'm wondering how I'm going to resolve something right now.  I'm not really sure what's going to happen which is always interesting for me.  I have to remind myself sometimes to slow down.  I find myself wanting to push through to certain events, but if I go too quickly then things don't develop as thoroughly as they should.

I wish you all a very blessed New Year!  Feel free to share your own resolutions - especially if you feel that you could use a little accountability.