Five Minute Friday... HAPPY

I love Five Minute Fridays. I have a chance to stop for 5 minutes and simply allow a free flow of thought about whatever prompt we are given. Hop over to Kate's blog and join the fun! Lots of giveaways and lots of fun this week. 

This Friday our prompt is.... HAPPY. 

This is my five minutes of writing. Give it a try! 

HAPPY

I never think about the HAPPY of life. I never think about the SAD of life. I make my choice each day to find a way to be happy. Life takes wrong turns and sometimes how you think your life will turn out doesn't always...... NEVER happens. I allowed sad for a while.. not anymore. I think we focus so much on what we don't get out of life that we miss all that we have. I have a beautiful family. My fabulous four make me happy, and they fill my life with joy. My family makes me happy. We are all in each other's business, but it's great fun to be loved so deeply by so many. My job makes me happy. I love teaching, and I love my new job! My writing makes me happy. Being a writer is who I am and I can get lost in the words flowing from me. Happy is what I choose. Happy is a choice. Choose happy because SAD takes so much out of us that we have nothing left to give those we love. Is it hard? Yes, on some days. Is it worth it? EVERY SINGLE TIME! I love my life, and along the way there will be more things that bring me to a HAPPY place. For now, I enjoy each moment I can take with a smile and know that my HAPPY is simply because I have made that choice.

Five Minute Friday - Build

It is fantastically ironic that this week's word is build. I was listening to the radio today on the way home from work and heard someone say, "We have to build a relationship with each other, with our families, and with God."

How often we cast our family members aside and don't think about building that relationship. It's easy to overlook those closest to us. It's easier to take them for granted. We give our best to so many others when the ones we love deserve the best of us all the time.

Sometimes I'm too tired to do anything, but the coming home to my fabulous four means I don't have to keep on going all the time. The accept me, they encourage me, they love me, and it isn't for any other reason other than for the fact that I love them completely. I should be giving my best to them. I'm tired.... all moms are tired.. but I want to know at the end of the day that my best was what I gave to make the world of my fab four a little brighter.


To be a part of Five Minute Fridays, hop over to Kate's blog and read all about it!

The Challenge

Good day to all who stop by from the IWSG. It seems that every year I attempt the A to Z Challenge, and every year my April seems to spiral out of control. Well, it's time to get things in proper order. Writing always seems to take the backseat in life for me lately. Do any of you have that problem? 

I think it's time to prioritize.I used to have everything scheduled out for my day and my week. That hasn't been the case as of late, but moving into my new home has taken off the blinders of life. My kids and I are making life fun again, and writing is my personal fun and I intend to enjoy it again. Schedules are being made for everything we do. It just makes life easier, and organization sure makes it easier to find our keys when it's time to go to work!

So my personal challenge is to write something each day. We as a family are going to do one thing each day that makes our home a better place to be. We are still unpacking because with four children time is a precious commodity. Now I challenge you, my writer friends, to run with that new idea you have (because we all have one), and spend time making it amazing!

My goal for this summer is to finish my rough draft editing of my latest manuscript to send in and to complete the manuscript for book four (it's my favorite thing I've written so far).

What are you working on this summer? I'm thinking also about hosting an online writing retreat. Would anyone like to help?

Have an amazing Wednesday!

C is for Coo-Coo Clock

The theme for my A to Z Challenge this year is The A to Z's of Unpacking. I have been fortunate to now be a home owner! I am in the process of unpacking, and I must say it is an adventure! Let's keep rolling with the letter C.

C is for the unpacking of my coo-coo clock. Now this is not an ordinary coo-coo clock. It's special, as most coo-coo clocks are. This particular one is special because it was given to me by my daddy. You see, my daddy had rheumatoid arthritis, and it made his fingers curve over to the sides. However, when he decided he wanted to do something he did it, and his disability never stopped him. He learned to build and repair clocks, and a lot of what he couldn't do with his hands he learned to do with special tools and magnets. I do miss him so, but when my clocks chime or when my coo-coo clock sounds off, I smile and remember his determination, his love for knowledge, and his joy in loving my kids.


When he passed away, I only had two children, yet he gave me enough antique clocks that all four will have one when they have their own homes. Me... well, I'm keeping the coo-coo clock.

B is for Blue Mugs

The theme of my AtoZ Challenge is The A to Z's of Unpacking. 

Quite some time ago I finished the manuscript for my next book. I have it right here... and it needs editing. However, I know I have not been able to give it the time it needed so I wait. It's my summer project, and hopefully I'll be able to share it with you all soon! The title is BLUE MUG MONDAYS. It's actually a spin-off of FRIDAY LUNCH. For all of you who loved Audrey, you will enjoy meeting her sister, Tori.

Now, because I named the book BLUE MUG MONDAYS, I have started collecting blue mugs. I have one special blue mug that started it all. I have written a blog post about it before, but it is my favorite. It was given to me by my best friend in high school before I left for college.

This blue mug has traveled the world with me. I use it every Monday. Strange are the habits we form. I never know what I'll lose as the boxes are unpacked. There's always something that gets broken or damaged in every move, but I'm just thankful that through every journey this one piece of fun has survived.

If you ever stop by for a visit... there will always be chocolate, there will always be enough coffee, and there will always be a blue mug. 

Five Minute Friday.... DECIDE

By my clock it's still Friday, so I'm going to join in on the Five Minute Fridays. The word for today is... DECIDE.

I've had to decide a lot of things that would be best for my family in the last year. One particular day stands out more than any other. I had a job interview lined up that would keep me close to the place I grew up. My kids had established friendships, my mom is close, our lives were taking root for the first time in a long time. I felt like I would get this one! Then... my phone rang. I was asked to come to an interview over four hours away on the very same day! It was a better paying job, and as a single mom I thought maybe I should go. In an instant, I prayed and with perfect peace I declined the interview, went on the interview already scheduled and was offered a job. I know I had to decide what was right for us.. and I am so thankful to finally have a home. More money would help, but it can't replace peace... and joy... and family.

Join Five Minute Fridays and have fun!

A is for Angel

And.... we're off!

It's that time once again, my friends, for the world fabulous A to Z challenge! Blogging has taken a back seat for some time for me. I've worked getting my second novel out, and the best news of all is I bought a house! That's right, a new home for the fabulous four and myself.

Since my head is completely wrapped around trying to establish a new home for my sweet family, I thought what better A to Z for me than The A to Z of Unpacking!!! It's been one crazy adventure as we are moving in as you'll see as the month progresses.

So to begin....  A is for Angel.

This sweet angel has graced every home that we have lived in as a family... and let me say it's been a long road to home. She will be the last thing I place on the hearth when the last packing box is gone from our home.

I can't wait to see what everyone is doing for the A to Z Challenge. Drop back by and visit!

Writing....

Writing, writing, writing..... and not writing.

I'm pretty sure I can't get one word down right now that makes any sense. It seems like the more I try the harder it is to collect my thoughts.

Editing BLUE MUG MONDAYS  has become my priority. I need to complete this manuscript. It just needs a little something more... and then it will be off to the publisher! I can't wait for this one to be in your hands. It has taken months to complete the edits with life moving full speed ahead. BLUE MUG MONDAYS has been a work in progress for some time now, but I want it finished.

Funny how life takes over and writing gets pushed to the side. Working seven days a week, moving, parenting, surviving. Well, I'm tired of surviving. I want each moment to count. Happy found it's place in our home, and I'm loving who my sweet family has become.

I found if I am to be my best then I have to write. This is who I am. I am my best when I know I have given my time to create.

Time to keep on packing up my house. I'm moving. I love that I'll have a house to call my own. I'm not just packing....  ideas are swirling, plots are forming, characters are being created!

I'm doing what's necessary to live, and I'll do what's necessary to become the best me I can be.

Write... write... write....

CHOSEN is here!

This has been such a fun release time for my newest novel CHOSEN, THE RISE OF THE DARK QUEEN. I hope you have your copy! I have loved every moment of encouragement and response from all those that have read Eliana's story. 

If you have not been on her adventure, go grab your copy on amazon. If you would like to read a sample visit the ebook version and click the "Look inside" option. 

Thanks for being along on this journey with me! Life is beautiful!