I know...it's been nearly a year

Sorry anyone who checks in on me, but life has been busy beyond my imagination and when I have had the time to do anything for myself...well, I just wanted to veg with a good book!
There have been few changes in my life. Although, there have been challenges throughout the past year. There have been blessings, too.
My husband's schedule changed three (or was it four) times this year and the family juggled schedules to work around it.
My oldest son had a good swim season this past summer, making it to a few events in the Mid-Valley Swim Championships. He received a couple medals at championships and looks forward to next season.
Just a few weeks ago, his football team competed for the 11-year-old championship title and came up short by one point (25-26).

He was happy to have had the opportunity and the team was presented trophies last Sunday.


My daughter is missing a front tooth. She likes to show off the hole left from that tooth and realizes soon there won't be a hole there.
She is doing well in second grade and her teachers have been enthusiastic regarding her academic abilities. I know my little girl is smart and capable of doing so well, but other times I wonder if I have too much faith in her abilities. I will cheer her on regardless. And, I have been told she will be tested for the "gifted learners" program at the end of the school year if she remains in the top 5 percent of her class.

My youngest started kindergarten and he is meeting the challenges before him. He is doing very well for a child whom I felt school would be difficult. He is what the experts refer to as a "kinetic" learner. His learning style is much different from his siblings and I worried. But, he is doing real well and the teachers love him...another fear I had because his temperment is not as easy-going as the other two. I have been told he is a charmer and a hugger at school. :) That is certainly encouraging.
As for my career, it continues to keep me going all the time. I have become so familiar with many community members and feel as though I actually have made progress. I have lived here more than 10 years and only the last two have made me feel a part of the community. I celebrate my second year as a reporter on Monday!
I know my editor has "plans" for me. He wants to have a sit-down over a soda or latte one day when we are both heading out of the office at the same time. But, I don't know what exactly those plans entail. I only know he said they are "long-term." So, once I know...well, we shall see what God has laid in my editor's mind.
God has helped me through some difficult situations this past year in addition to everything else. The biggest challenges have come from the fact that my oldest is now a pre-teen and the rolling of the eyes has come with that. He has challenged me with his attitude and his words. He has also said things at school that caused some concern. There are words that just ARE NOT ALLOWED on school grounds in this day and age, no matter how badly you have been bullied. Therefore, we are in the midst of getting him "professional" help as required by law.
I only hope that all of my dear friends out there are doing well and feeling blessed. I HAVE missed my time sharing the ups and downs on a regular basis. I have missed the helpful words of wisdom and the prayers. I have NOT forgotten you.
And congratulations for all those with joyous celebrations, such as my dear friend Dusty!

God Bless ALWAYS!
Jennie

Each day is my new beginning

We are quickly approaching the new year and I grimace. I don’t like the questions regarding New Year’s resolutions.
I am not one to make New Year’s resolutions. I tend to believe each day is another day to resolve to make myself better…not just that one day of the year that marks the new year’s beginning.
Because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, I believe in making today a better day.
I resolve each morning to show more compassion toward others, be more patient with my family and do what is right when confronted with decisions placed before me.
I don’t make grandiose resolutions to lose weight or anything of that nature because I believe in changing myself from the inside out.
I don’t believe in making what I think of as empty promises, either. If I promise something, I believe in doing my best to keep that promise no matter how I feel about it when the time comes to do so.
I am not saying I am some saint. Lord knows I can only try to be a better person. I can pray for help. But, in the end, I know I can’t be a better person each and every day because I am human. I make mistakes. I get cranky. I become impatient. I have bad days.
But, I can try. I can hope.
That is what New Year’s Day means to me. It means we can hope. We can hope to have a better year than the last. We can hope that those around us are touched with our love, kindness and good will. We can hope that God will help us to become who He wants us to be.
Ultimately, we don’t know what circumstances will come our way with each new year. We only hope that those circumstances will be happy ones and we will be made stronger for experiencing the not-so-happy circumstances.
The same can be said of each new day. So, I suggest we resolve to make the best of each day given to us…not just each year.

His Christmas wish…to hear ‘Yes!’

Monday morning, James Esqueda made a grand proposal to his girlfriend, Alma Miranda.
Wanting to do something unique, Esqueda painted several large signs with a marriage proposal, and placed them directly across the street from the apartments on South Hill Road that Miranda manages.
“I love her. She is a great influence on me and I wanted to do something special,” Esqueda explained.
The signs are clearly visible from both the apartments and the road. Several people called Miranda to alert her that she needed to look outside.
Esqueda said she called him to informally accept his proposal, but the formal answer was provided at a family Christmas Eve gathering at a dinner on Monday night.
He said he is a single father of three boys and she is a single mother of four children and he felt the union of the two families would “…make my world complete.”
The idea of painting the signs wasn’t the first time Esqueda decided to make such a gesture. He said he also decorated a very large cardboard sign for Miranda on her birthday.
“I just want everybody to know I love her with all my heart,” stated Esqueda, stating Miranda means everything to him.
As to when the couple will “tie the knot,” plans have yet to be made. But, Esqueda guarantees he will certainly be the happiest man around when he marries Miranda.

I've been carded

Christina Berry CARDED me!

THE RULES:

1. Each player starts with 5 gifts that they would want for Christmas.
2. People who are "CARDED" need to write their own Blog about their 5 things & post these rules.
3. At the end of your Blog, you need to choose 5 people to get "CARDED" and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a COMMENT telling them they're "CARDED", and to read your Blog.

My Materialistic Gift/Wish List:

1. A visit from my mom, since she has not been here for nearly 5 years and I was just at her home in the Summer of '06. She only lives six hours away, but it is an expensive trip for my family and we always feel unwelcome thanks to her "boyfriend."

2. A new laptop...would be nice to have a computer we can "hide" from the kids. This one now has sticky keys because one of them snuck a beverage into the computer room.

3. More books...I can never have enough.

4. Time to work on my WIP...It is slow going and I never seem to have enough time to work on it.

5. A nice, relaxing evening with my husband...one where he doesn't talk about work and actually enjoys just being with ME. Seems we don't have enough time together and what time we do have is often riddled with our three lovely children constantly coming in and out of the room.

My Spiritual Gift/Wish List:

1. More patience...especially with my husband and youngest child.

2. I find some peaceful time.

3. Wisdom in dealing with my oldest child as he faces adolescence.

4. That I will hear God when He speaks to me.

5. That I will remember God's love for me when I am feeling unloved.

The people I have carded:

http://christinescottage.blogspot.com/
www.shoutlife.com/Julie_Eller
http://www.miraleesdesk.blogspot.com/
http://www.mywritingmentor.blogspot.com/

My friend died twice, yet she lives-

A story of Christmas Miracles

My friend, Carol Carillo, came in to visit me yesterday. She wanted to let me know why I had not heard from her in a number of months...and she brought me a Christmas card.
Her story was a story of several miracles. She told me she died this past Sept. 7.
I looked at her, astonished. Afterall, she isn't dead if she is sitting, talking with me and telling me this story.
Carol continued with her story, stating she woke up one morning while having a heart attack. It was what her doctors referred to as a "Black Widow" heart attack.
She was rushed to Yakima Regional Hospital and a stent was put in place. After a stay in the hospital, Carol was able to return to Sunnyside and the doctors told her that her arteries were clear, with no blockages.
But, she began experiencing further health issues and was visiting the heart center in November when the medical staff determined she needed to be rushed back to the hospital.
I was mesmerized by this point.
It turned out Carol needed heart surgery again. Thirty percent of her heart was no longer functioning.
It gets more shocking at this point because she informed me she went in for a second surgery and a defibrillator. Carol died again, while in surgery.
She said to me, "Jennie, it is a miracle I am alive!"
Another miracle occurred yesterday morning. Carol, burdened with all the concerns that come with unpaid medical bills, received a call from the hospital.
"Someone paid my bills," she said. In full!
The hospital would not divulge who paid all her medical expenses, but she considers whoever it was to be quite the saint.
In addition to all of these miraculous blessings, another (or maybe the same) anonymous donor has paid for two years of her continued studies in nursing.
"It's not like I am anyone special," she modestly exclaims. But, Carol is a woman with the soul of an angel...she is special to me and others because she is caring, kind and selfless.
And, one more miracle has resulted from her death...her daughter, whom I know she had been very worried about over the years, has become her best friend.
Carol also told me she has been very blessed by Sandy Bos and the staff at Prudential Real Estate. She told me that they have been providing every meal for her since her heart attack, including Thanksgiving dinner.
Now, just more than a week after her second death, Carol is getting about town as best she can...for the sole purpose of letting her friends know she wants them to have a Merry Christmas!
She told me her Christmas wish list is very short. She just wants anyone suffering from a severe illness to have hope.
Because, you see, Christmas miracles really do occur.

Ashberry Lane Giveaway-8 books!

We've added 65 subscribers in the last few months and that's largely because you spread the word. But we're not happy yet. We're not even close to satisfied. Which leads right into our BIG announcement ...

We write about relationships. We are a relationship. We want to dominate the relationship brand. And we want to have at least 500 subscribers by the first of the year. Should we expect you to keep working so hard at strong-arming your friends to sign up while you get nothing out of the deal? No way!

Compassionate as we are, we've worked up a HUGE new incentive. How better to promote our relational fiction than featuring other fiction that focuses on different types of relationship? Why don't we give our supporters a chance to win EIGHT autographed books? Without further ado, we present, with a booming voice,


ASHBERRY LANE'S BOOK GIVEAWAY
For the Friend Relationship: Roxanne Henke's After Anne
One of our absolute favorite books. As you watch Olivia and Anne struggle through a difficult challenge, you'll want to be a better friend.

For the Prodigal Relationship: Robin Lee Hatcher's Return to Me
How many of us have walked away from what our father wanted for us? Or away from our Father? This story will remind you that the you can go home again.

For the Marriage Relationship: Robin Jones Gunn's Wildflowers Wildflowers
Married Genevieve falls in love with the man she least expected could win her heart. It's not who you might think ....

For the Sibling Relationship: Laurainne Snelling's Ruby (Dakotah Treasures #1)
In the first of this frontier series, Ruby must deal with her new "inheritance" while protecting her sister from its influences.

For the Man's Perspective on Relationships: James Scott Bell's Breach of Promise
A heart-rending story of a man trying to keep his family together.

For the Supernatural Relationship: Tosca Lee's Demon: A Memoir
Don't let the title of this book scare you away. There is no glorification of the demonic, but an enlightened fresh look at what History means.

For the Relationships Gone Bad: Bette Nordberg's Serenity Bay
A truly terrifying story of woman who married Prince Charming and discovered he wasn't.

For the Single Among the Marriage-Minded: Camy Tang's Sushi for One? (The Sushi Series, Book 1)
You'll laugh. You'll relate. You'll be impressed with this debut novel from up-and-coming author Camy Tang.

EIGHT books. ONE winner. Here are the ways to win:

Any new subscriber or referral will gain another entry.
Publicize this to your homeys through newsletters: one entry.

Blog about the contest: one entry. (Email us and we'll send you what to post or copy off this newsletter.)

Include it in your Christmas cards: two entries.

Tuck it in the gift bag with the fruitcake you'll be leaving on random doorsteps: five entries.

JUST LOG ON TO: www.ashberrylane.net
www.sherrieashcraft.blogspot.com
www.authorchristinaberry.blogspot.com
www.shoutlife.com/sherrieashcraft
www.shoutlife.com/christinaberry

‘The Other Daughter’ circumstances surreal

by Jennie McGhan
In reading The Other Daughter by Miralee Ferrell, it makes you wonder how your own family would react if it unexpectedly grew by one.
This book explores the reaction of a family when a child appears at their doorstep, claiming the patriarch of the family is her father.
This child is a surprise to everyone in the family. She is withdrawn and scared, not feeling as though she is wanted. However, she and the family have been forced into the situation when her uncle left her at the Carson’s doorstep without even a word to the family.
The Carsons are typically kindhearted and have taken in foster children in the past. But, this child was dropped off at the door step out of the blue, because her mother has died. David happens to be her father and was unaware of that fact, though he had some recollection of a one-time incident with her mother prior to his being married to Susanne.
David is forced to reconcile his relationship with Susanne through a number of apologies. He has to confront the fact that his past has caught up with him and somehow balance his relationship with his daughter and the family whom he had been setting an example for over the years.
Susanne has a hard time dealing with Brianna, David’s daughter, and her resemblance to her husband. She struggles with anger and frustration at the situation, guarding herself from fostering a caring heart toward the girl.
Susanne does all the “right things.” However, Brianna is much like any other child and can see that the kindness shown is only for the sake of appearances. Brianna senses Susanne’s resentment of the situation.
It doesn’t help that Susanne has a friend that reinforces negative feelings about both David and Brianna when Susanne has a “girls night out.”
The Carson children readily accept their new sister and so does David’s grandfather, a man deeply committed to his Nez Perce heritage. Grandfather reaches Brianna in a way that leaves Susanne and David feeling a level of conviction and wonderment. But, they are left to ponder his secret.
It takes much soul searching, and the threat of losing Brianna to her drunken uncle to open the eyes of Susanne. She learns she has a right to feel injured regarding her husband’s indiscretion. She also learns she owes herself the peace granted in forgiving and loving those whom she has been gifted.
David learns he not only has a responsibility to Brianna and his family, but to his own heart. He seeks to bridge the gap in his relationships after this realization.
The Carsons’ two children exhibit the ability to love unconditionally from the beginning. They embrace their new sister and do their best to ensure she feels their love…it just takes the two parents a little longer.
The Other Daughter is both poignant and insightful. It opens up a subject matter that similarly mirrors situations found across our nation. The author, Miralee Ferrell, is from Washington state, and the story is loosely based on actual events in her life.
This book is both heartbreaking and inspiring. I would highly recommend this book as a good lesson in love, forgiveness and faith.