Merry Christmas

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2: 8-14

Christmasy Stuff

Even though we are running behind on Christmas due to combination of a) leaving things until the last moment, and b) a horrible virus that caused us to lose an entire week of December, we've still managed to get a few Christmasy things done.

Thanks to Walmart One Hour Photo, I manged to slap together a Christmas card!


And we finally hung up the sparkly snowflakes that we glittered in early December. Yay for toddler art projects! And for finding something for this really strange, large, open window!



It's December 22! I'm still getting out Christmas decorations! Oh boy. Next year I am going to be done with gift shopping early... as in September!

How are you doing? Are you ready for the big day?

While the Giant is Sleeping

One of the most interesting geographical features of Helena, Montana, is the Sleeping Giant. There is a section of our mountain range that really, truly looks like a giant laying on his back. The cool thing is the Sleeping Giant is perfectly framed out of our new back window!

Alycia Holston is an author and Helena resident and, I'm glad to say, also a friend of mine. She and illustrator Suzi Stranahan have produced a charming picture book called While the Giant is Sleeping that follows the Sleeping Giant throughout the year as the seasons change around him. This well written and beautifully illustrated book is a treat for both children and their parents. Both of my young children loved reading about all of the wildlife and weather that pass through "while the giant is sleeping." I highly recommend this book, especially if your children are interested in nature.

Alycia and Suzi are currently having a giveaway on their site Calm Creations for a copy of While the Giant is Sleeping. All you have to do to enter the giveaway is visit their site today, let them know which of the winter illustrations from While the Giant is Sleeping is your favorite (the illustrations are on their site), and make sure to leave your name and email address in your comment. Easy peasy!

You can also purchase a copy of While the Giant Sleeping on Amazon or through CrossRiver Media.

Revealing the Cover for My Novel!

Oh my gosh, I am so stinking excited that I cannot contain myself! Today on my author site I am revealing the cover for my novel Awake: A Fairytale. I would really love if you could head on over and check it out!

I'm kind of bummed to have missed out on the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day - but come on guys, it's a real book! I promise to not miss out next time (May, right?!?!)

Look Who's a Winner

I honestly thought I'd feel a lot more excited about this...

But I guess at a certain point you realize that getting the first 50k is a great milestone, but you are so far from done that it's a little bit "ho, hum, guess I'm still going into the office tomorrow."

And by office, I mean Starbucks.

The middle is looking great. I've still got to write the end...and the hero and heroine's entire relationship prior to the middle (so yes, that would be the beginning, or at least large sections of the beginning).

But, yay for me! I've written the middle of a novel in the month of November!

Now to commence a major freak out about how much is left to do in an incredibly short amount of time if I want it out by August 2012. Ah, good times.