Nanny = Motherhood

I have survived the first official week of nannyhood. (Well...I've still got the second half of today, but I don't expect anything too crazy to happen in one afternoon....)

Was it easy? Well, up until today I would have said yes. However, today the Lord decided I needed to learn patience. It has been an interesting day, full of a fussy niece and never getting a moment's rest. Do I still love nannyhood? Yes! Do I still want to do this job? Absolutely! :) Is it easy? No.

There are good days and bad days. Days full of smiles and bright blue eyes. And days full of shrieking and tears. But I wouldn't miss this for the world. All of these moments, the smiles, the tears, the dirty diapers, the giggles...this is Addison's life. A life that will happen in the blink of an eye. So yes, I want to be here on the bad days. Because she's only going to get this bad day once. I don't want to miss a single moment of her precious life.

So here I am, endeavoring to live every second in the moment and not a miss any part of everything that is Addison. Learning patience, holding on to my sanity when my sweet girl can't stop crying, finding joy in every smile, laugh, and cry. Relishing the happy snuggles and the sad snuggles. Cherishing every minute.

I feel like I am learning motherhood right now.

Obviously, having never been a mother, I can't say this is exactly the same. But I definitely feel like that new mother on her first child loving every minute and not having a clue what to do. We're just taking it one day at a time. :)

To be honest, I'm not completely clueless. Today was on the rougher side, so I'm feeling a bit harried. But I've been watching children for years, this is nothing new. The only difference now is that it is all the time, and not just a few hours at a time. That's the hard part, I think. I do love it though! As I said, I wouldn't trade this time for anything! :D

Libraries, Books, and Authors, oh my!

I visited a library today!! :)

"Wait!" I can hear you saying, "You're an author and addicted to books and it took you more than a week to visit the local library?!"

I know, I know. But I was moving into my new room and shopping all last week. I was busy. But today I finally made it to the local library. Did I get any books? No. But it was fantastic just to be in there. I love the atmosphere of libraries. It's peaceful. And it smells good. And there are books!! That's the best part, of course. :) I also visited a local bookstore. That place is fantastic! It is a very sweet little shop, and they have everything from Divergent to David Copperfield to 50 year old encyclopedias! So many beautiful books! And yes, I unashamedly buried my nose in a few of them and inhaled deeply. I just love the smell of books. :)

Now that I'm finally settling in to my new home and getting into a daily routine, I have time, not only to visit libraries and bookstores, but to get back into my writing! This past week has been somewhat devoid of writing. Not that I haven't written, because I have. I wrote maybe 3000 words in one story this week. But I am finally ready to sit back down and immerse myself in my writing world again. I am very excited! I have two books right now that I am focusing on, and I am eager to get them finished and to the public!

Dusty, my third Robin Hood book, is my focus right now. I'm about a third of the way done (if you can really measure that. Who really knows how long a book will end up being...??). We're still on the Crusades and haven't even begun the adventure in Sherwood yet. I'm excited to see it all unfold again through Dusty's eyes. :)

The other book I am currently putting an emphasis on is Courageous Heart, the sequel to my latest novel Isolated. This story captured my heart from page one and I am loving writing it! Following Cassy and Cindy's stories has been very exciting for me. I never really know where my stories are going or what my characters are up to. I have rarely ever used an outline or plotted out the story beforehand. None of my published works followed outlines. I just sit back and "read" the story like anyone else, except that I get to read it first, and more than that I get to live in that world first. :)

So, suffice it to say I am very happy to be diving back into the world of Robin Hood and super excited to find out what is going to happen to Cassy and Cindy a few hundred years in the future! :) I am so ready to share these stories with the world, but unfortunately I actually have to finish them before I can publish them. So I will get on that! Dusty, as I have mentioned before, should be a 2016 release. I would love for Courageous Heart  to be one as well, but that is unlikely to happen. So 2017 it is...unless a miracle happens (which is always a possibility!). :D

JOY :)

Joy.

It comes in a variety of ways, from many things. The true source of real joy being Jesus. Yet I do feel that He allows joy to enter our lives through many different mediums because of Him. When you have Jesus, you can find the light in all situations.

I'm not going to be talking about anything dark and depressing today, although His joy can overshadow that in amazing ways. Today, I'm just talking about hilarity. Finding the laughter in moments that could be frustrating or annoying.

The joys of moving.

The hassle of unpacking, finding places for everything...sleeping on the floor because your bed hasn't arrived. Sleeping on an air mattress because your frame arrived without a mattress.

And then getting this in the mail when you were told it was your mattress:

Um....does this look like a mattress to you? Seriously, Amazon? Do you actually think I can sleep on that?

I'm finding moving to be a most hilarious adventure. I am really enjoying it. I wasn't expecting this insanity to be a part of my moving experience, but I am glad that it is. Laughter is a good thing. I don't want to even imagine what my life would be like if I didn't have laughter, if I couldn't enjoy the silly happenings of life.

Even so, I am going to be so very happy when I finally have a bed!

In the meantime...I'll keep watching for those moments that I can find joy. They're everywhere, so long as you keep your eyes open. :D 

Here We Go!!

I successfully traveled across the state and unpacked my car...now to unpack all my boxes....this might take a while...

My nanny duties have begun! And I can already say she is definitely worth the discomfort of my first move, leaving my childhood home and all that jazz.

Longer posts will have to come another day. I'm exhausted from my drive and carrying all those boxes upstairs and I'm going to leave off blogging in favor of cuddles with Addison. :D

The Beauty of Comments

Comments.

Comments are a beautiful thing.

Feedback is the lifeline of this author. I don't know how it is for most other authors, but I know what keeps me going and motivates me to continue. Feedback. Comments. Communication. "I liked this part," "I disliked this part," "that part did not make any sense," "this part made me cry." I love to hear from readers. If that's readers of my books, it helps me to understand what works and what doesn't. What people like to read and what they don't. I can adjust, learn, grow in my art. If that's readers of my blog, it encourages me to continue this little piece of my world (which admittedly I sometimes have no inspiration to continue).

Communication.

If that's encouragement, criticism (hopefully constructive) or everything in between it is a very useful tool in many areas of life. But I'm talking about communication today because it's what keeps me going. I write for people, so when I don't hear from people I find it difficult to continue sometimes. Not always, of course. Sometimes the simple joy of writing is enough to carry me through. Sometimes it's not. But every comment, whether in person, via email, or even here on this blog, gives me a little more gas in my tank so I can start up my engine and get writing again. :)

So thank you, readers. All of you who have ever said anything to me, via any medium. I write for you, and perhaps because of you. Because feedback is my lifeline.

For the record, this is not a plea for more comments, in case you were wondering. This is just what I've been thinking about lately. Sometimes I'll find myself having a less than pleasant day and left with no inclination or motivation to write and then I'll receive some sort of communication about one or another of my various writings and (even when it has negative vibe) I suddenly have the oomph to sit down and write again. So this post is just me musing on that fact, and also thanking those of you who are in some small way responsible for keeping me writing. :)

Like I said, comments are a beautiful thing.

God's Gift of Life

It's the Fourth of July, and there are so many things I could say about the blessed gift of freedom that we have here in America....

But this week, I've been less focused on Independence, and more focused on life. Just marveling at the beautiful gift of life that the Lord has given us. :)

Meet Addison, my precious new niece. :D

I am super stoked to move in with this sweet girl (eleven days!!). I am very grateful for the opportunity to take care of my darling niece. And every moment I am with her I marvel at God's gift of life. He just blows me away with His Majesty. His handiwork is so evident whenever I look at Addison. My heart is full with love for my sweet niece and for my amazing God!! :)

So that's where my thoughts are this weekend. :) 

Happy Fourth of July, folks!