Betsy Brannon Green

Time keeps FLYING!!!

2012-01-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

I don't know what happened to 2011 - it seemed to just disappear. And 2012 is off to a quick start too! We welcomed in the new year at Smith Lake. We rented a nice house with plenty of room so all of us could be together for a few days. The grandchildren loved playing with each other. Banx was hugging Harrison and his mother told him to let go. He said, "But I LOVE him!" Harrison was running around the island in the kitchen and his mother told him to stop. He said, "But I'm really SUPER fast!" Andie brought her tricycle and was very nice to share it with her cousins. As she would take off down the driveway with either Banx or Harrison riding on the back she'd say, "I'm going to college like Emily!" I told Abbie that I was so happy to have everyone together but hated that we weren't in Nauvoo (where we've gathered for the past two years). She said, "Let's pretend like we're there!" Atticus and Scarlett and Thad don't say much but they give lots of sweet kisses. I enjoyed every minute of their company.

My children and their spouses had a good time together too. They flew kites and watched ballgames and played charades and set off fireworks and made gingerbread houses and ATE. My father came and visited with us for awhile on Sunday and brought lots of University of Alabama memorabilia. It was wonderful - but like Harrison - it went by SUPER fast. Laura and Harrison and Emily and I went down to see my grandmother at Extendicare one day while they were here. Then they went home and Tommy went back to BYU and school started here. I'm sorry it's over but so thankful we had the chance to be together for a little while. I am related to some really great folks!!!

Haggerty Christmas Story - 2011

2011-12-11T04:55:00.000-08:00

As a gift to all my readers I've posted a new Christmas story on my website. If you'd like to read it please go to www.betsybrannongreen.net. Thanks and please have a Merry Christmas!!!!

Human Nature versus Miracles

2011-12-11T04:42:00.000-08:00

I like to get a good deal as well as the next person.Coupons and discounts and bargains are fun. But I think we have to be careful because sometimes a 'deal' for us comes at a price for someone else. I'll use two personal experiences as examples.

A couple of years ago - right at Christmas time - Grace and Aaron were living in an apartment and they had to pay their rent with a money order. Aaron went to Walmart and paid cash for a money order. He was in a hurry to get to the rent office before they closed so he didn't take the time to write the name of the apartment complex on the money order while still in Walmart. And he put the receipt in the envelope with the money order. It was cold and raining, so he rushed out to his car and drove home. He stopped at the office to pay the rent and when he got out of the car he had the envelope in his pants pocket. But somewhere between his car and the office, it fell out. By the time he got into the office - realized he didn't have the envelope and went back out to look for it - the envelope and the money order were gone. He said another guy was getting out of his car at the same time and he figures the guy saw him drop the envelope and picked it up. Then instead of giving it to Aaron - he kept it. And since the receipt was in the envelope - there was no way to cancel it. Of course we were all sick about it. They had to pay a late fee since they didn't get the rent there on time. Aaron's mother loaned him the money to pay the rent and then they paid her back with Grace's Christmas bonus. Grace said for weeks after that when driving through the apartment complex she would look at each door and wonder if the person who stole the money lived there. Even though it was a bad experience, it's in the past. It was just money and we have all moved on. But I wonder sometimes what the guy who took their money did with it. And I wonder how different things would have been if he would have given the money order back to Aaron. If he could have been a part of a Christmas miracle instead of a little Christmas tragedy.

Another story. Emily is leaving Rexburg after the Fall term and she won't be going back until the Spring term. Almost two years ago she bought a 1988 Honda Accord with a lot of miles on it. The car is nothing to look at and it's a stick shift - but overall it has been a good dependable car for her. Since Andy has a newer, somewhat nicer car that she will inherit while he's on his mission, she decided to sell her car. She's been living on about $50 a week since September so the prospect of having a lot of money all at once was wonderful. She has been dreaming of all the things she would do with the money - rent a storage room to store her stuff until Spring, buy a few new clothes including a heavy coat, and buy lots of Christmas presents. She was asking $650 - which was below the blue book value - and hoping for a quick sale. Yesterday a man came to see it. He test drove it and then proceeded to tell her what an awful car it was. Finally he said he would not pay one penny more than $500 for it. She needed the money and so she took the $500. Maybe the car wasn't worth any more than that or maybe the man couldn't afford more than that. If he couldn't afford more, I wish he had said that so she could have gone away from the experience feeling like she helped someone. If the car wasn't worth more, I wish he had just said that - in a nice way. But I'm afraid that he saw an opportunity to take advantage and probably drove away proud of himself for getting such a good deal. Emily still has enough money to accomplish most of the things on her dream list, but it could have been such a different experience for her if the 'buyer' had used a different approach. Emily could have concentrated on the miracle of having $500 instead of feeling like she'd been cheated.

Praying that miracles will overcome human nature in your life this Christmas season!!!!

NO PROMISES!!!!

2011-11-24T13:38:00.000-08:00

My new goal is to post every week. But I know myself (and my life) well enough not to promise!

The year is almost gone and I have no idea where it went! Since it's been a year since I posted - I'm going to run through the highlights. In February we were able to have the whole family together for a few days in Nauvoo, Illinois.

We were able to participate in the commemorative walk to the River representing our pioneer ancestors and it was fun to be together - although it almost got cancelled before it even started because of weather. Most people would be nervous about trying gather 20 people from Idaho, Utah, Alabama and Mississippi in Nauvoo in February because of possible weather problems. But I am an optimist (and we had done it for the past 2 years without any problems). So we invested a small fortune in plane tickets and rented the Hyrum Smith Farmhouse and rented vans and bought groceries and then - the worst blizzard in a long time (maybe FOREVER) hit. It was predicted to really hit the St. Louis area - which was where we were flying our college kids in, thinking we could save them a lot of travel time by picking them up on our way through. So we changed their plane tickets to Birmingham which meant they missed an extra day of school, had to fly all the way here from Salt Lake, and then drive all the way to Nauvoo. Laura and Josh were leaving from Idaho and they were behind the storm. Our hope was that they could stay that way and follow it into Nauvoo. So after some soul searching and discussion and tears and praying - we decided to delay one day (not really a choice since the interstates were closed) and then head out and hope we made it. My prayer was that the St. Louis area might be spared so that we could travel through. I knew that 20 people and their vacation plans were not the most important consideration for the Lord. People died in the blizzard. But it was very important to us and for our family. Vacation days had been taken, school excuses given, money spent - if we didn't go now, we couldn't go. As we were packing to leave we saw a weather report from St. Louis. The reporter was standing in about a foot of snow, the night was clear and calm behind her. And she said that while St. Louis had been predicted to bear the major brunt of the storm, it had been amazingly spared and most major roads were open. I'm sure many people prayed during that storm, but when she said those words I knew the Lord had heard and answered my prayer. My husband looked at me and said, "You got your miracle." So we all headed out and all had our share of scares and adventures - but finally we all made it to Nauvoo. Because of the snow we had to make some alterations to our schedule. The kids got to walk out on the frozen river and they got to go sledding (Alabama-style with tubes). The snow and the cold and even the adversity we faced just getting there made the walk to the river, thinking of our ancestors and all the other pioneers who made the original trip, extra special.

In March we were able to rent a house on Smith Lake during spring break and all our 'local' children and grandchildren were able to spend at least part of the week with us there. With every spare minute I had to be working on the re-write of Proceed with Caution - a semi-sequel to the Duty Series. I should have enjoyed the vacation more and written the book less because when I submitted it - the readers weren't thrilled with it (for the second time) and I was told they were going to shelve it and for me to start working on something else. I had an idea for the 3rd Kennedy Murder book - but it is very hard for me to shift gears like that. And my confidence was shaken - I'll admit. I wondered if I had finally reached the end of what had been a wonderful and wild book-writing ride.

In May Andy graduated from McAdory High School and had been accepted to BYU-Idaho, so he was working 2 jobs and preparing for that.

As soon as school ended for the summer Cathy and her family moved to Mississippi. I had been promising my grandmother for weeks that I would come to Headland and bring Grace and Scarlett with me. So in the middle of June we went down and visited for a few days. Then on June 28th Thad was born.

Two weeks later I was at Jamie and Paris's house babysitting when I got the call from my father saying that my grandmother - who was 91 years old at the time - had been taken to the hospital for emergency gall bladder surgery. She spent the next two months in either the hospital or an extended-care facility. There were times when I thought she was not going to survive the ordeal and there were times when I thought she might never see her home again. But she fought a difficult battle and is now home and doing almost everything she was able to do before the surgery. She turned 92 in September and is unquestionably one of the greatest blessings in my life. The only good thing about her ordeal is that it gave me a lot of opportunities to be in her company and I treasure every moment.

I'm sure that I am forgetting some important things that have happened. My job changed at school - I am now the Library Aide and loving that.

In October Andy submitted his mission papers and got a call to the North Carolina Raleigh Mission. We are all so excited for him and the people he will meet and serve! He reports to the MTC on February 15th.

And somewhere in the middle of my duties and opportunities as wife, mother, and granddaughter - I have been trying to write a book. It seemed that the harder I worked the farther I got from being finished. I just couldn't settle on some of the major aspects of the plot. But finally - at long last - I completed the manuscript I am calling Murder by Association. I submitted it to my editor at Covenant this past Tuesday (and I will give more updates on how it is received by the 'test readers' and whether or not it will be coming out in the spring/summer!) Then I had a root-canal on Weds...and I'm fixing Thanksgiving dinner today (in between website posts...) Tomorrow I'll be babysitting for my children who plan to be out all night tonight getting Black Friday deals... But on Sat I plan to start working on Proceed with Caution again and hopefully can get it reworked so that it can come out next fall. We'll see.

Thanks to all of you who read my books and care about me and my life! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!!

What goes around, comes around - sometimes

2010-09-14T02:49:00.000-07:00

We had an interesting experience as a family a couple of weeks ago. We been dog-less (by choice) for several months. We've always had a dog and never really had time to properly train or entertain them. Besides, we've had female dogs that attracted unwanted male attention and when we had an unplanned pregnancy this past spring, we decided to find a new home for her.

We have all adjusted to our dog-less state. But then one Sunday afternoon when we came home from church there was an elderly Jack Russell terrier sitting on the front porch. At first we tried to chase her away but she wouldn't leave. She greeted each car that came up the driveway and was friendly without being pushy. She was obviously well-cared for even though she wasn't wearing a collar. So we gave her some water. And then some dog food (which she wouldn't eat) and finally some people food (which she did eat). We thought she'd be gone in the morning - but she wasn't. We moved her to the backyard and bought canned dog food (which she liked). By Weds we had named her Lucy and Butch was planning to take her to the vet to have her checked out. And that's when we saw the signs. An elderly Jack Russell terrier, lost on Sunday, and a phone number to call. The kids begged me not to call and I'll be honest, I really was tempted. But I knew I had to call and so I did. The owners were thrilled and gave me their address.

When we drove up to the house - just a few blocks away, I had to smile. Several years ago, the day after Tommy got his driver's licence, he was driving Grace's car and - just a few blocks from our house, took a turn too wide at a stop sign and hit a young man driving an old truck. When I got the call I was just sick. But fortunately the damage to both cars was minor. Grace's car just a little scratch. And the truck - which had many dents already - just had a new one above the rear tire. I knew this was an opportunity for the truck's owner to make some cash - since fixing the damage would be pointless, but Tommy had hit him and our insurance would pay. But amazingly the boy and his parents were very nice and understanding and un-greedy. They said they would hammer out the dent so it wouldn't rub the tire and not to worry about it. We were grateful. And then we had a chance to do something nice for them.

It made it a little easier to give Lucy back - but we all do miss her. And we're glad she was a part of our family for a little while.

Blog Interview by author Linda Weaver Clarke

2010-08-03T03:58:00.000-07:00

I was recently interviewed about Murder by the Book. If you'd like to read the interview and enter a contest to win a copy of the book - you can visit http://lindaweaverclarke.blogspot.com.

Tommy's Home!!!

2010-08-03T03:42:00.000-07:00

We are so thankful to have him back safe and sound. I can't believe he's already been here almost a month. And I really can't believe that he's about to leave us again. But at least he'll be closer and we can talk to him on the phone. I've learned to search for the positives in my life!

A couple of days after he got home we were gathered for Family Night and didn't really have anything planned so Butch asked Tommy if he could just talk about his mission. Tommy was a little unsure of what to say - since he'd talked about it so much over the past few days. Clay reassured him by saying, "We're interested in anything you say." I thought that was so cute and so true!

Then on Sunday night we were gathered again - just talking. I made some comment and the conversation took a turn in that direction. Finally Andy said, "Is Tommy ever going to start talking about Africa again because if not I'm going to bed."

So you see how it is here.

Welcome Home Tommy!!! We missed you and it's great to have you back!

Safe Haven - taking a pro-active step toward family safety

2010-07-23T03:27:00.000-07:00

We live in a world full of amazing technology. I can remember - not that many years ago - when a computer was an incredible luxury. Today everyone has access to a computer and most have laptops (of some variety) that are portable and accessible almost anywhere. And now - the newest way to keep in touch with everything - is the iPhone. It seems that we are moving in the direction of one device that will eventually replace personal computers and handle all our communication needs. And while this is happening so fast that its kind of scary for older folks like me - I can see the potential for good. Especially when there are heroes like my son-in-law, Josh Farrer, working to use this technology to make the world a safer place for children.

Josh and some friends have developed an app for the iPhone called Safe Haven (learn more by visiting the website at www.safehavenapp.com). You can be notified when a child goes missing in your area and you can be notified when a child predator moves into your area. The app provides a current list of missing children and their pictures so if you see a child that fits the description, you can compare to the actual picture. There is also a current list of child predators and their pictures.

The thing I love most about this is the proactive, empowering affect it will have on child-searches. I think I can safely say that having a child kidnapped is every parents' worst nightmare. I had a friend who's child wandered off and was missing for several hours. She said she never truly understood the phrase from the Bible about 'pray without ceasing' until that experience. I think we can all imagine the horror, but I hope that the helplessness that has accompanied these situations in the past - while parents waited for the police to find their child - will be diminished by this new app. Parents, friends, neighbors and total strangers can all work together to become a finding force - and the kidnapper's worst nightmare. The fact that through this app information gets out so fast and is so accurate will be a huge help in finding children and (I hope) a deterrent to predators who steal children. The key is to get this app onto as many iPhones as possible and thereby increase the finding force when a child is missing.

Every time this app is purchased the world becomes a little bit safer place. I am so proud of Josh for putting so much time and effort into creating something with so much potential for good. And I urge everyone to invest in protecting our children (and pass the word along!)

Anticipating Tommy

2010-07-07T19:51:00.001-07:00

July 7, 2010
It has been a busy few days - flying to Idaho, welcoming a new baby (Atticus Joshua Farrer) to the family, and finally flying home last night. Today has been particularly hectic - but tonight, as I sat going over my Monster List for the thousandth time in anticipation of Tommy's arrival tomorrow, my mind wandered back to March 7, 1989 - the night before I met him for the first time. In those days I was a faithful journal-keeper, so I was able to pull out the old book and read the words I wrote that night.

Tuesday, March 7, 1989 - Gracie woke me up at 2:00 this morning and I haven't been able to fall back asleep. So here I am, making one of my middle of the night journal entries. I think I am completely ready for this baby to come. We celebrated Gracie's birthday yesterday and she seemed to have a wonderful time. The house is relatively clean (I still need to do a few things today - like clean out the refrigerator). I even bought Tommy an Easter basket. So by tonight I hope to be in a holding-pattern, waiting for him to arrive. And I really hope I don't keep my doctor's appointment next week!!!!

I feel pretty much the same tonight. The house is relatively clean. There are several things that still need to be done tomorrow - but its all manageable. We've just had a string of happy birthdays - Jamie (25), Atticus (0), Aaron (24), and Clay (13). I think everyone enjoyed their day. I didn't get Tommy an Easter basket - but I have some new things waiting for him since he was planning to leave almost all his clothes - except the ones on his back - in Uganda for native missionaries. I have the refrigerator stocked with Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. I have bags of peanutbutter M&M's. I have Root Beer chilling. We are once again in a holding-pattern, waiting for him to arrive.

Wednesday, March 8, 1989 - Well, I didn't make my doctor's appointment. John Thomas Green was born at 6:07 this morning. He is a sweet baby with so much hair! I started having contractions about 11:00 last night. I went on to bed since I figured if they were the real thing I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. I did fall asleep but I woke up a little before 2:00 with a good one. I got up to see if they would get worse - they did. I did a load of clothes, washed a few dishes, paid bills, did the food orders (I was Relief Society President at the time and bi-weekly had to submit food orders to the Store House in Atlanta so food could be delivered to needy families). Finally Butch woke up and asked what I was doing - so I had to tell him I thought I was in labor. He got up and got dressed. I called Cindy Smith (a friend who lived nearby) and she came over to stay with the kids. I only had a few contractions during the entire trip to the hospital and started to worry that I wasn't really in labor. But when I got to the hospital they took me upstairs and confirmed that I was definitely about to have a baby. The labor was easy and quick and I didn't even get an epidural (a decision I regretted toward the end - but am happy about now). In fact when it was time for the delivery Butch didn't have a chance to make an escape - so he stayed with me through the entire thing for the first time. Tommy was 21" long and 8 pounds, 2 1/2 ounces. The nurses were a little concerned about his breathing so they took him straight to the nursery. I was disappointed that I didn't get to hold him - but I definitely wanted to be sure he was okay. Finally they brought him to me - screaming his lungs out. But as long as I hold him he's happy. So I think I'll just keep him with me instead of sending him back to the nursery. I miss my other kids. When they came up to see me Laura was concerned about my IV and Jamie was concerned that I was still fat. I talked to Cathy on the phone a little while ago and she said she had cleaned her room perfect and then the little kids had dumped out the Legos and Barbies and were now shovelling them with Gracie's toy garden equipment she got for her birthday. Poor Cathy. But all in all this birth experience has been wonderful and we are so glad that Tommy is a part of our family!

On that first night of being Tommy's mother I loved him, even though I didn't really know him yet. Now I know him and love him. And I'm honored that he was sent to me. I'm thankful for his goodness, his obedience to the Lord and to his parents, for his diligent and uncomplaining service, and especially tonight - I am thankful that he is returning home. It has been a wonderful two years of growth and sacrifice and learning. I would not trade it for anything. But it is done. And I want my baby back.

Surrendering to the Monster List /Love the One You're With

2010-06-25T02:34:00.000-07:00

List Obsesson -

I am a list-making addict. I admit it. And even though I know that if I would spend more time doing the things I need to do instead of reorganizing them on lists - I would get more accomplished. But I can't help myself. So in anticipation of the next 3 weeks when I will be flying back and forth across the country, welcoming a new grandchild into the world, pampering the new little mother, welcoming home a returning missionary and trying to be a wife/mother long distance my list-making obsession soared to new heights.

I made a list that was so comprehensive, so lofty (it even includes replacing some sheetrock in the laundry room that was removed a year ago to do a plumbing repair) and so optimistic that I've been calling it The Monster List. Every day I make adjustments (this means I add all the things from yesterday that I didn't accomplish to today's portion of the to-do list) and mark things off as they get done. In my defense - I did do a lot of things. But because of the sheer number of things that have now landed on 'today' - I accept that I will not get it all done. I will not sheetrock the laundry room. I will not paint the living room or finish painting my bedroom (a project that was mostly completed duirng spring break). I may not have my house spotlessly clean when I leave. But now it's time to turn my focus to packing and preparing for my trip - since I leave in about 24 hours.

Always missing someone -

I am so excited to get to Idaho and spend some time with Emily and Laura and Josh and Harrison. And obviously I can't wait to meet little baby 'whatshisname'. I have been looking forward to it for months now and feel so blessed that the Lord opened the way for me to be able to go - not once - but twice to visit this summer. But while I am gone I will miss Jamie's 25th birthday (making his cake and a Mexican fiesta for my family to eat without me on Sunday in his honor is on the Monster List), I will miss Aaron's 24th birthday (Grace is making a pie for his birthday 'cake' and he will be honored at the Mexican fiesta as well), and I will miss Clay's 13th birthday (I'm taking him and some friends to see Karate Kid today as an advance celebration and then Cathy and Grace are going to make him a cake and fix his birthday dinner next weekend). Not to mention that Butch and Andy - who both work very hard - will have to fend for themselves food-wise and laundry-wise while I'm gone. And Grace won't have anyone to feel sorry for her because she doesn't feel good while she's pregnant. I won't be here to babysit for Cathy while she attends to her Young Women duties. And I won't see my Alabama grandchildren for 2 weeks. Weds night when I was saying goodbye to Andie (Cathy and her family were leaving for vacation on Thurs) I asked her what I was going to do if I couldn't see her face for 2 weeks. She shook her head and said, "Probably cry." She's probably right.

But anyway, I'm trying to ignore the negatives and concentrate on the happiness and blessings the next few weeks will bring. I pray that Laura will finish this pregancy easily and safely. I pray that little 'whoever' will arrive healthy and quickly so I can have them settled as much as possible before I have to leave to come home. I pray that Tommy will make it across the world without incident and return to us. I'm afraid that I weary the Lord sometimes. I do pray a lot! Thanks goodness I know He's always listening!!!!

New Approach to Blogging

2010-06-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

I'll admit that I feel a little intimidated by blogging. I feel like I have to have something worthwhile to say - which is why I so rarely post anything! So I've decided to go back to the original format I used to use when I kept my 'journal' on my website. I'll just try to write weekly about what's going on in our family. It will rarely be profound (and sometimes not even interesting). But at least I'll be blogging!!!!

Here's my first try at turning over a new leaf.

June 7-14, 2010

Since I am getting ready for Tommy to come home and for me to be gone out to Laura's for the baby's arrival - I had a busy week full of trying to get this house organized and catching up on projects and things that I don't have time for during the school year. I finally made Banx his baby quilt (that I should have given him over a year ago). I wanted to make Laura's baby one but couldn't very well do that when I still owed Banx one! So I got them both done and it was so fun I went ahead and made a pink one just in case Grace has a girl (she won't for sure now - but I'll use it eventually). Abbie didn't get her "Gram Quilt" until after Andie was born so 5 years is my record for latest baby blanket.

Clay got poison ivy while working in the yard with our neighbor across the street and I doctored it all week and finally surrendered on Sat and took him to the doctor. They gave him a steroid shot (he was thrilled and is expecting to have huge muscles any day now) and a graduated dosage packet that he has to take for 13 days. But the poison ivy is much better.

Andy woke up sick on Tuesday night. He threw up for two days - from what I assume was a stomach virus. Clay caught it too and so I had them both sick. Luckily neither Butch nor I caught it.

Butch found out that he will not be able to take off work for our trip to Laura's in July. We were planning for Butch, Tommy, Andy and Clay to fly out on July 17th and bless the baby on the 18th. But Butch graciously offered to stay home alone and let the boys go on. Then he and I will fly out over Labor Day weekend and that's when the baby will be blessed. Tommy and Emily will be out west at school so they'll be able to attend. Andy and Clay will miss the blessing - but not any school. So I guess it all worked out okay. Just not the way I'd planned (surprise, surprise).

On Thurs Grace went to the doctor and got to hear her baby's heartbeat and they were so excited. Then I came in and saw that I had an email from Kirk Shaw at Covenant telling me that my new book Murder by Design has been officially accepted for publication. It will be released in October - which is very exciting. Then Emily called and said that she had been awarded (without even applying for) a $500 scholarship at BYU-I. It will pay what she owes the bookstore and her July rent since the job she got didn't work out as well as she'd planned. That was a huge blessing.

On Friday Butch stopped by the Korean food store and bought anchovies and kimchee and all kinds of things that he likes to eat and I don't. But that's fine because I'm on a very restrictive diet and can't eat much of anything. The good news is, though, that I've lost 27 pounds! I am so proud of myself and so sorry that I didn't take control sooner so that I wouldn't have made all this necesary....

Anyway, on Saturday we were just trying to get Clay ready for his first scout camp.

On Sunday I had to teach YW's and it was a lesson called "Sustaining Missionaries through Letters". It was about writing missionaries and encouraging them and not saying negative stuff or telling them how much fun they were missing at home and stuff. I had the full-time missionaries come in and tell how much letters from friends had meant to them on their missions and then we gave them each a giant candy bar. Then we made up a little box for the missionaries serving from our ward (except Tommy - a package couldn't get to him before he comes home) and then the girls wrote them notes to put in the box with the candy. So it turned out pretty good. After church we had a "Linger-Longer" potluck dinner. I made lasagna and a cake as my contributions and Andy and Clay stayed for it. I went home and ate my turkey sandwich instead. I had a rare burst of organization on Sat night and made an extra lasagna for our Sunday Evening Family Gathering Dinner so I didn't have to do much on Sunday to get ready for that.

Then Monday morning I woke up at 3:00 am and emailed with Tommy. Only 3 more chances to do that. Then he'll be home. YAY!!!!

Until next week...

Baptismal Blessings

2010-06-05T13:51:00.001-07:00

These are some beautiful pictures of my oldest grandchild, Abbie Grace Acker, taken by Carissa Brown (http://carissasphotography.blogspot.com). Abbie will be baptized on Friday, April 30, 2010, her eighth birthday. And she will wear the dress I made for her mother to wear when she was baptized, nearly 22 years ago.

I have thought a lot about my own baptism as I've prepared to give a talk at Abbie's. My father was in the Army at the time and we were living on Fort Shafter - which is near Honolulu, Hawaii. My father was doing his medical internship at Tripler Army Hospital and was gone from home a lot. My mother, who was dealing with 5 young children - including a newborn - and the beginning symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, still took the time to make me a beautiful white dress. The fabric was dotted Swiss with eyelet lace. Once I was dressed she had me sit down and write all the events of my special day. I still have that paper, written in my childish handwriting, now a piece of my history. Then she let me go and show the neighbors how cute I looked. Finally it was time to go to the church. I'm not sure why - but we were locked out and I remember a few moments of horror - thinking that my baptism wasn't going to happen. But my father saved the day by climbing around a ledge to a back door or window and somehow got us in. I think it was his first time to baptize anyone, but he did a great job. And afterwards he and my mom took me out to dinner at a restaurant (a rare and therefore very special occasion). It was a beautiful day.

I've also thought a lot about Cathy's baptism. I was a busy mother too - with four children and pregnant with my fifth (Tommy, who is about to complete his mission to Uganda/Ethiopia in July). She was my oldest child and so we were all excited to have the first baptism in our family. We wanted her to be prepared so we challenged her to read the entire Book of Mormon before her baptism and she completed this goal with hours to spare. We gave her a set of scriptures with her name engraved on them. And of course I made her a beautiful white dress out of eyelet fabric. Her birthday came and we explained that the 'celebration' would be limited this special year because we wanted the focus to be on the baptism itself. Friends and relatives traveled to be with us. And then her father, who I know had some previous baptizing experience, baptized Cathy.

So on Friday when I attend Abbie's baptism, it will move this wonderful event into yet another generation. I am so thankful for Abbie and the joy she is in my life. I'm thankful for her righteous desires and good example to her younger cousins. When Butch asked her why she wanted to get baptized she said "Because Jesus asked John the Baptist to baptize Him and I'm supposed to do everything Jesus did." I thought that was a perfect answer. And I'm also thankful for Cathy and Ricky - for trying so hard to be good parents.

As John said, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." 3 John 1:4

Introducing Carissa's Photography

2010-04-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

My nephew's wife is a very talented photographer with a wonderful camera and she has started a part-time business. So anyone in the Birmingham area who needs pictures taken - check out her blog at http://carissasphotography.blogspot.com.

These are some samples of her beautiful work.

Nauvoo was wonderful!

2010-02-11T03:42:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all your kind comments!!!! Here's my Nauvoo report -

Of course - things didn't go exactly as we'd planned, but everything turned out fine. We left at about 2:30 am instead of 2:00 - but I thought that was pretty good for so many people (including 4 children and one pregnant person!). I thought the drive was pleasant and we arrived in Nauvoo about 3:30 on Thursday afternoon. We checked into the lodge at the Nauvoo Log Cabins (I highly recommend them - all different sizes to choose from, we've stayed in three of them and they were all very comfortable and the people who own them are very accommodating).

I had been very concerned about the weather (snow was predicted for Friday and Sat). We are not snow people - and I was afraid that snow would make driving difficult and keep us from doing all that we wanted to while we were there. I tried to pray for the Lord to temper the elements in our behalf - but I just couldn't make myself do it. Not when the pioneers had to leave Nauvoo in the dead of winter for REAL. So the weather was fine when we got there on Thurs (about 38 and cloudy). But we woke up to 2-3 inches of snow on Friday. And it was still snowing. The kids were thrilled and I figured we'd deal with it.

After breakfast we went down Parley Street. Because of the weather I thought everyone would just stay in the vehicles and read the signs from inside. But my entire family chose to walk down Parley Street in the snow (except Banx, Abbie and Andie who stayed in the van with me). It turned out to be one of the best moments of the trip. I waited with the children in the van by the edge of the frozen river and watched my family emerge in little groups from the fog mixed with driving snow. It was so authentic and amazing. Laura and Josh even pushed Harrison in his stroller and from the beginning - everyone had a very good taste of what the pioneers faced on that morning in February so long ago.

After our spiritual moment at the river's edge, there was an impromptu snowball fight. Then we drove around to the graves of Joseph and Hyrum and the prophet's original little cabin. When we got there Aaron said his wedding ring was not on his finger. He said he either left it back at the lodge in the bathroom or lost it during the snowball fight. While the others walked up to the graves, he and I left in search. My idea was to check the lodge first so we didn't search through an acre of snow for nothing. So we were headed that way. But then Aaron said he felt like we should check the riverbank first since it was still snowing and if we waited too long it might be covered up. So we went to the river's edge and after looking for about 2 minutes before we found it - barely sticking out of the snow. I know Aaron was inspired to have us go there first. And when we returned to the gravesite triumphant - Jamie said, "Miracles happen in Nauvoo." And it's true.

We watched the movie at the visitor's center (heart-wrenching but necessary). The wagon rides weren't running because of the snow but we did get to visit several of the historical sites. The snow did keep us from being able to go to our picnic area across the river and eat chicken while looking at the temple. We did eat chicken - but we did it in the lodge. Then we enjoyed Rendezvous at Old Nauvoo (a musical production performed by some of Nauvoo's senior missionaries). It's always particularly poignant to me because I love Nauvoo and I have met so many wonderful people there. It is truly my dream to one day have a Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo with my ancestors, my family and my many friends. Ahhhh.

Saturday morning the snow had stopped but it was colder. We went to the temple and had a wonderful time there. Then we went to Carthage and finally watched the DVD of the City of Joseph together. The only thing that dampened our spirits was the knowledge that we were soon going to have to leave. But even that was part of the pioneer experience - leaving and saying goodbye to those they loved.

On Sunday we packed up and drove through Nauvoo one last time before heading home. We dropped the Farrers off at the airport in St. Louis and made it home about 9:30. And we're already planning next year!!!

Can't think of a place I'd rather be...than Nauvoo with my family!!!

2010-02-03T04:27:00.001-08:00

So Laura, Josh and Harrison arrived on Monday night and it's been great having them here. I've seen a lot more of my other kids too (since they want to visit with Laura) so that's an added bonus.

We are having a big birthday party for Butch tonight (big only because there are so many of us). During the festivities we'll discuss our past experiences in Nauvoo and our ancestors who lived there. Then we'll get a couple of hours of sleep (hopefully) and leave at 2:00 am on Thursday morning. That will put us in Nauvoo about 3:00 on Thursday afternoon - just in time to check into our log cabin lodge. We have a lot of activities planned. Some are logical - anyone would do them if they were in Nauvoo. Others are just silly traditions that we do every time we go. For those who are interested - this is our basic itinerary:

Thursday February 4th (The Journey begins…)
2:00 AM – Leave for Nauvoo (listen to City of Joseph CD)
8:30 – Stop in Paducah for Breakfast, receive N-A-U-V-O-O (similar to BINGO except cooler and more spiritual) games. There is a prize for a NAUVOO (BINGO) and a bigger prize for a blackout (covering the whole card) Participation is optional.
1:00 – Stop in Wentzville for Lunch
3:30 – Arrive in Nauvoo and check into log cabin lodge
4:00 – Some people go to Keokuk and stock up on groceries while others rest/enjoy lodge-living
5:30 – Pizza for dinner (picked up in Keokuk)
6:00 – Drive around Nauvoo again. See the river and temple at night.
7:00 – Go back to lodge. Relax/go to bed

Friday February 5, 2010 (We can’t believe we’re really here!!!)

8:00 – The Big Breakfast (prepared by Dad with minimal assistance from Mom – clean up crew a representative from each family to be determined by each family)
9:00 – Leave authentic log cabin lodge. Visit the Prophet’s cabin and the graves. Look at the Brick Store and Mansion House. Drive down Parley Street, read the signs. Get out and stand on the water’s edge and be glad we don’t have to walk across it to Salt Lake. Drive by the corner lot Lindsay Anderson Brady owned.
10:00 – Go to the City of Joseph Stage. Walk around, reminisce, dance, sing, cry. Stand in our Angel Spot with additional family members and be glad we have each other.
10:30 – Go to visitor’s center. Look around. Watch the Movie.
12:00 – If weather permits – take a wagon ride (snow is predicted so this is probably out)
1:00 – Go back to our Lodge for sandwiches
2:00 – Visit historic sights (maybe break up into smaller groups so everybody can see what they want to most) – Blacksmith’s shop (nail ring), Brickyard (Nauvoo brick souvenir), Browning Gun Place, Bakery (get a free gingerbread cookie that ain’t too great), Assembly Hall where Emma and Joseph danced on a rare happy occasion, Family Living Center (shows how they made bread, you get a rope souvenir, show how they made quilts, etc), Community of Christ visitor’s center and any of their property (if it’s open)
4:00 – Go back to Lodge. Get ready for trip to Keokuk
4:30 – Drive to KFC in Keokuk. Buy chicken. Lots of chicken.
5:00 – Arrive at our spot across the river from Nauvoo. Eat chicken while gazing at the temple.
5:30 – Drive back to Nauvoo
6:00 – Arrive at our Lodge. Rest. Change. Relax.
6:45 – Leave for Rendezvous at Old Nauvoo at the Assembly Hall
8:00 – Clap for the old folks and tell them they did a good job. Go back to our lodge.
Relax, rest, discuss our experiences, share funny moments

Saturday February 6, 2010 (Look at us – we’re in NAUVOO)
Breakfast – self-serve (cereal, poptarts, etc.)
8:00 – Leave for endowment session at temple
10:30 – Baptismal session at the temple
12:00 – Go back to Lodge and get everybody and go to Carthage
12:30 – Eat lunch at Dairy Queen
1:00 – Go through the tour at Carthage
2:30 – Drive back to Nauvoo
3:00 – Go down Main Street and Mulholand Street, get souvenirs, fudge, bookstore, visit any other historical places we didn’t get to see on Friday
4:30 – Go to Ducks and buy some last minute supplies and snacks
5:00 – Dinner (Leftovers of all the stuff we bought and didn’t eat yet)
6:00 – Watch Nauvoo Pageant DVD (eat popcorn, Junior Mints, other movie snacks)
8:00 – Talk about our experiences and how much we love each other. Everyone be prepared to share your favorite Nauvoo experience. (I got Tommy to email me one so I'll share one for him)
9:00 – We drive around Nauvoo for a little while. Go back to the lodge - Relax, talk, Scrabble (only Nauvoo-related words), go to bed whenever

Sunday February 7, 2010 (All good things must come to an end – but they are still good things and we’ll always have our memories…)
Breakfast – Orange Danish Rolls, Chocolate Milk, Cereal, etc.
Make one last drive around Nauvoo.
Leave (Listen to Pageant Music)
Go to St. Louis and take Josh, Laura and Harrison to the airport for their flight to Salt Lake.
Drive home.
Start planning for next year…

Amazing review of "Shudder"

2009-12-29T10:14:00.000-08:00

I read 'Shudder' and, as usual, was not disappointed by Jennie Hansen and her unparalleled writing skills. I tried to write a review but could never get my words to do the book justice. Then I found this amazing review by Laurie (L.C.) Lewis and realized that I shouldn't even try to write a new review - I should just post this one. So, with her permission, I am posting this review and encourage everyone to check out this and other reviews at www.laurielclewis.blogspot.com. Enjoy!!!!

"SHUDDER"

by Jennie Hansen

In my case, the test of a book's appeal can easily be determined by one look at its post-read appearance. I rarely have the time to sit down and do a straight read-through, (oh, the heaven of such an indulgence!) So if I really get into a story, I stuff the novel into my purse and drag it around everywhere I go, stealing reading moments anytime and any place possible.

My copy of "Shudder" is a a sad sight. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The quality of the read is no surprise. Jennie Hansen is a prolific author whose experience shines in this novel. She grabs her readers' attention in paragraph one, dropping little breadcrumbs of back story until by page three, we're fully invested in the principal characters--best friends and roommates, Darcy and Clare. The tension and suspense ramp up as multiple story lines twist around a common theme--the danger encircling two women Darcy loves.

The timing between the arrival of Clare's wealthy, well-connected boyfriend--Blaine--and her persistent injuries, frightens Darcy, but despite her love for her childhood friend, Darcy moves out when love-hungry Clare succumbs to Blaine's insistence and allows him to move in to the spare room in the girls' apartment. As a student teacher hours from her home and family, Darcy's financial resources are limited. Fellow-teacher and running companion, David Schoenfeld provides a housing lead, and Darcy leaps at the opportunity to serve as a live-in companion for Karlene, a fifty-ish car accident victim. But Karlene insists that her accident was anything but accidental, and she fears her attacker is still out there, awaiting another opportunity to finish the job.

The two story lines contrast powerfully off of one another. Clare is a young, beautiful, and physically strong woman whose emotional neediness causes her to submit to Blaine's abuses in the name of love; while Karlene summons a broken body to vigilance, fighting to have someone believe her story and save her from her attacker. Entangled in each of their lives is Darcy, who finds her own life in jeopardy because of her love for both women. Jennie Hansen did such a fine job weaving multiple threats into the story that I became suspicious of every support character as well, and that's what led me to turn one more page each time I tried to lay the book down.

Sadly, we likely know a Clare or two. Perhaps that's the real reason "Shudder" hits home. It pulls no punches, showing how ugly and destructive abuse can be, while holding a mirror up to potential enablers who protect abusers out of some misconstrued sense of loyalty.

"Shudder" would make an important YW read as well. The coverage of Chris Brown's abuse of Rhianna showcased this issue as an important topic for vulnerable, insecure women of dating age. Though the topic is tough, Ms. Hansen balances the questionable moral choices made by some of her characters by openly emphasizing Church standards. It feels a bit instructional in places, but her care to avoid glamorizing or condoning such decisions is admirable and should put parents at ease. An added bonus is the lovely romance Jennie Hansen weaves a through the book, providing another contrasting storyline, balancing Clare's and Blaine's destructive relationship against the tender, respectful, supportive romance developing between Darcy and David.

The ending is suspenseful to the last page turn, and though bittersweet, the growth of the characters left me content and thoughtful well after the book was laid aside. "Shudder" is a satisfying, important read I can highly recommend to all readers, and one I feel mothers and daughters should read and discuss together. After reading "Shudder" I'm anxious to dig into other pieces from Jennie Hansen's body of work. The hardest part of that decision is choosing which piece from her twenty-one-book collection to begin with. Such a lovely dilemma!

"Shudder" is available wherever LDS books are sold.

And now some final remarks from Clay

2009-10-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

Now all you winners, since none of you would have won if it was not for me, I will take one Hershey bar out of each of your baskets.

Clay

YAYYYYY for Tammy Fleck!!!!

2009-10-24T17:21:00.001-07:00

Congratulations Tammy! You'll be receiving a copy of Murder by the Book, a Ward Worldwide Cookbook, a copy of Clair Poulsen's 'Dead Wrong', a copy of Gale Sears' 'Christmas for a Dollar, Mini Hershey Bars and a whole box of Moon Pies!!!!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our contest.

And now the moment we've all been waiting for!!

2009-10-24T17:19:00.001-07:00

I am about to draw for the grand prize in the Where in the world is Miss Eugenia? Contest.

I'm swirling my hand around in the bowl full of names now.

And the winner is...Tammy Fleck!!!!!

Congratulatons Michelle Ramos!!!

2009-10-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

You will be receiving a copy of Murder by the Book, Shudder (by Jennie Hansen), Ward Worldwide Cookbook, Mini Hershey Bars and some Moon Pies!

I am now drawing for the 2nd Prize

2009-10-24T17:16:00.001-07:00

And the 2nd place winner is...Michelle Ramos!!!!!

Congratulations Jolene!!!!

2009-10-24T17:14:00.001-07:00

You are the winner of the 3rd place prize box that contains a copy of my new book, Murder by the Book, a copy of Poison, some mini Hershey Bars and some Moon Pies. I'll mail it out this week and hope you enjoy it!!!!

I'm now drawing for the 3rd Place Prize

2009-10-24T17:13:00.001-07:00

And the winner of Third Place in the Miss Eugenia Contest is...Jolene Richmond!!!!

Congratulations Becky!!!

2009-10-24T17:12:00.001-07:00

You are the last Honorable Mention winner and I will be mailing you a free copy of my book too. Now on to the 3rd Place Prize...

Drawing now for the 3rd Honorable Mention

2009-10-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

And the winner is...Becky Barfuss!

Congratulations Carol!!!

2009-10-24T17:08:00.001-07:00

Carol, I will also be sending you a free book! Now let's see who the next winner is...

And now I'm drawing for the 2nd Honorable Mention

2009-10-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

The 2nd Honorable Mention winner is....Carol Holdaway!!!!

YAYYYY!!!!

2009-10-24T17:05:00.001-07:00

Congratulations Zoreatha! You will receive a free copy of my new book. Now, it's time for Clay to draw for the 2nd Honorable Mention - which will also receive a free book.

And I'm pretty excited about drawing the winners!

2009-10-24T16:59:00.000-07:00

If everyone is ready - I'm going to draw the winners for the first Honorable Mention now. Mom says this winner gets one copy of her new book. And the winner is....Zoreatha Husky!!!!

Where in the world is Miss Eugenia? Contest Drawing

2009-10-24T16:57:00.001-07:00

Well, here we are at the drawing for the winners of the Where in the World is Miss Eugenia? Contest. It's been fun, but it's time to bring it to a close.

Can you find her?

2009-10-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

The 'Where in the World is Miss Eugenia?' contest has begun! Go to my website (betsybrannongreen.net) and check my "Murder by the Book Page" for details and a list of the prizes!!

Cover for Murder by the Book

2009-09-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

Don't you just LOVE it???? It is unquestionably my favorite cover so far. I love that my name is prominent but not 10 feet tall. If possible - I am now even more excited!!!!

Okay so I changed my mind

2009-09-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

Instead of doing 'Clue' type game for the contest, I decided to do one where we follow Miss Eugenia around the world - guessing all her locations and - ultimately - her final destination. I think it will be fun and maybe a little simpler and at this stage in my life - simple is good. Especially if it's still fun!!!

My palsy is greatly improved. I can blink (and my left eye stays closed when I want it to instead of slowly drifting back open the way it did before). The only time it's noticeable is when I smile. If this rate of improvement continues I should be pretty much back to normal by 4 weeks - which is exactly what they predicted in the Emergency Room when I went with it originally. So we're all good there. Plus - no more kidney stones - so we're REAL good in that area.

I don't have a cover for Murder by the Book yet - but just based on the title page from the typeset manuscript - it's going to be GREAT!!! I'm so excited.

Affliction, Submission, Milestone

2009-08-26T03:32:00.000-07:00

We'll start with the affliction - I have a temporary (I pray) case of Bell's Palsy. It started about a week and a half ago when I woke up on Sunday morning and my tongue was numb (I thought I'd burned it). By Tuesday the entire left side of my face wouldn't work. I couldn't blink my eye down and I couldn't raise my lips up. If I kept my face perfectly still it wasn't too noticeable (unless you realized that my one eye wasn't blinking) but when I had to talk or - the worst - SMILE - it was very obvious. Since I wasn't in pain and had no other physical complaints, I didn't think I was having a stroke. I looked up the symptoms online and felt pretty sure it was a temporary palsy of some kind. I called my doctor and they agreed but said to go to the ER just in case. I did't want to leave work so I waited until Butch got home that evening and he took me. They did an MRI and said I would be fine eventually. It was a very strange experience. I'm not vain - or I didn't think I was - but having something wrong with my face and continually having to explain to everyone I meet why my eye doesn't blink and my lips don't move on one side was tedious. It really made made me think how difficult it is for people who have conditions or deformities that cause others to stare (even if they aren't being unkind). I take a lot for granted. And it was kind of a wake up call physically. I've gained a lot of weight over the past year or two and never even think about exercising. When I first realized that something was wrong and had to consider the possibility of stroke - I wished fervently that I'd been taking better care of myself. So now I'm rededicating myself to healthy eating (prayers please). And even though I was warned that it can take up to a YEAR to fully recover from the palsy - I am already noticing improvment. I still can't blink my left eye and my upper lip hangs down on the left side. But my lower jaw is working again along with my lower lip. So I can talk and eat much more easily. If I can just learn not to smile...

Now on to the Submission. I returned the final edit of Murder by the Book to the best editor in the world, Kirk Shaw, at Covenant yesterday. Now it's being typeset and then he'll send me that version for one last glance before it goes to the printer. I hope and pray that I didn't make any glaring errors this time. It was such a fun book to write and I'm really anxious to hear from readers about it. I'm also so thankful that it's going to come out this fall. That was truly a miracle. Time and financial constraints are going to prevent me from making a visit out west to 'introduce' the new book this fall - which is sad and disappointing. But I'm working hard to think of ways I can make the release exciting anyway. What I've come up with is a contest combined with a Murder Mystery Game (similar to Clue and the Murder Mystery Dinner Covenant used to do in the good old days). I'm thinking it will be something like the Twelve Days of Mystery (since Murder seems so harsh and un holidayish...) I'll use characters from all my books and create a little scenario. Then I'll give clues every day for 12 days and at the end I'll let people email me their guesses for a limited lenghth of time (like a day). Everyone who correctly solves the mystery gets their name put in a 'hat' for a drawing. I think we can do the drawing sort of semi-live using my blog or Facebook or both (with my kids as cyber-reporters) so participants can read along and see who wins. I think that will be fun and I hope it will generate some interest. The grand prize will be a basket (or box or something) that will contain not only some of my books, but other Covenant products and candy, etc. Other prizes will be copies of my new book. I'll post a picture of it on my website (I'm planning to do a whole page just about the contest and game). It's not up yet - but I promise it will be by October 1st when the book comes out (hopefully before). And I'm going to start presales on Murder by the Book on Sept 1st. I have a fun idea about that too (but this post is getting too long so I'll save that for later).

Finally - the milestone. On Monday Butch and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. It's crazy to think that it's been that long ago that he and I began this incredible journey. When we started out - both 21 and completely clueless - we had a lot of dreams and plans. Butch wanted to be a lawyer or a veternarian. I wanted to write books and have 10 kids. We assumed we'd live in the Decatur area near our family. Instead he's a UPS man and we live in Birmingham. I do write books and although I didn't make it to 10 - I have EIGHT of the greatest kids in the history of the world!!!! (Not to mention 3 great son in laws and 1 great daughter in law - and the grandkids - well there just aren't words to describe how fabulous they are). Life has not always been easy (that's an understatement - it's never been easy - sometimes it's more manageable than others). So looking back I see things we could have (maybe should have) done differently so that the present could be better or easier or at least more what I had expected to be my future when I was that 21 year old girl. But the funny thing is that even though there are things I wish were different - if given the chance I wouldn't change a single thing - just because I'm afraid that one different decision (even for the better) might change where I am right now and I couldn't risk it. So we'll take what we've learned from the first 30 years together and work on making the next 30 even better.

I've had a request for an updated book list

2009-08-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

Haggerty Series -
Hearts in Hiding
Until Proven Guilty
Above Suspicion
Silenced
Copycat
Poison
Double Cross
Christmas in Haggerty
Backtrack
Spirit of Christmas
Murder by the Book (coming in October)

Duty Series -
Hazardous Duty
Above and Beyond
Code of Honor

Eureka Series -
Never Look Back
Don't Close Your Eyes
Foul Play

For a little synopsis about each one - check out the "My Books" page on my website
www.betsybrannongreen.net

Question about Code of Honor

2009-07-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

I've had a couple of people ask me a question about Code of Honor and since I don't know exactly how to reply to a comment - I decided to post about it.

The question is - how could Chad Allen be dead at the end of Book 2 (Above and Beyond) and then become a major player in Book 3 (Code of Honor).

The answer is - He wasn't really dead - just very bad off. They thought he was dead when Ferrante took his 'body' as he left the McLaughlin's mountain. But then he recovered. This was not spelled out and I'm sorry for the confusion. It's not my first mistake and I'm sure it won't be my last!

Did I mention that Murder by the Book is coming out in OCTOBER???

Most Excellent News!!!!!!!

2009-07-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

You know the news must indeed be excellent since I am posting twice in the same day after not posting at all for like a month!!!! And it is very excellent news! My wonderful editor, Kirk Shaw, emailed me today but before I can tell you the good news - I have to give you the backstory (Butch hates this part of my storytelling process).

I have been working on the new Haggerty book, Murder by the Book, for almost a year. I meant to have it done by the end of last year. When that didn't happen, I told myself I'd have it finished by the end of January, then February, then, well you get the idea. Life kept getting in the way and I finally emailed it in to Kirk much later than I intended. I was really hoping for a fall release - but knew that because of my tardy submission it would be a miracle if the book came out before next year. Sure enough, when Kirk gave me the good news that the book had been accepted for publication - he also gave me the bad news that it wouldn't come out until January 2010.

This was bad for several reasons. A January release means that you miss the entire Christmas buying season - which is the best book-buying market of the year. And even though I do write books for the fun of it - my family depends on the royalty checks that I receive in February and August. The February check reflects sales from the previous July through December. A January release would mean that the proceeds from the sale of the new book wouldn't make it to me until August of 2010. And that's a long time from now. But the MAIN problem was that readers wouldn't have access to the new book until January.

So, today Kirk emailed me with the miraculous news that they were able to work Murder by the Book (possibly by another name - I haven't heard for sure about the title yet) into the fall lineup and it will be released in October 2009!!!!! Which eliminates all of the above mentioned concerns.

Like I said, excellent news!!!!

Mother of the Bride

2009-07-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well, now three of my four daughters are married. I won't say that I've given them away - since I'm still holding on for dear life - but I have watched them enter into a different stage of their lives, where I will be on the fringes instead of a central character. We have been blessed with three good sons-in-law and I'm thankful for that. But a part of me still aches for those little girls that my three brides used to be. Thank goodness for grandchildren. They do ease the pain associated with watching my children grow up.

It was a wild few weeks around here, getting ready for the wedding. We don't have a huge house but were having lots of out-of-town guests. I'm not the world's best housekeeper and Butch isn't a handyman. So there were lots of little projects and a whole lot of cleaning that needed to be done before everyone arrived. I went a little crazy with paint - I even painted two floors - and finally Butch suggested that the dishes in the sink might be more of a priority than painting baseboards...

We moved Clay and Andy out of Emily's old room (which I longingly call the guest room although it never really will be). Cathy cleaned it spotless for Josh and Laura. Then we moved all of Grace's stuff to her apartment and set up a second twin bed in the room she's been staying in since last August when she returned home from Provo (in our house setting up a bed means stacking the appropriate number of wheat boxes and topping them with a mattress). I couldn't find the other twin dust ruffle - which covers the boxes - so I made one (again getting off the straight and narrow path that leads to a clean, orderly house).

Finally we had Grace's room set up for her and her former roommate, Hillary, who came from Provo for the wedding. We made Emily a bed on the floor in my room and put the boys on the couches in the den. Later Clay asked if anyone had seen his bag. I asked if he meant the garbage bag that had been sitting in the den. He said that was the one and that it was full of all his clothes. Since he was now a man without a country - he had put all his clothes in the bag so he would have access to them. I thought this was funny but Andy said, "Actually, that's a pretty good idea. I don't know where any of my clothes are now." We had left his folded clothes in his drawers but had moved his hang up clothes to the closet in Grace's room (where he and Clay will stay now that all the company is gone). In the process he lost track of his belt and never did find it until after the wedding. We were looking at some snapshots taken of the wedding party and Andy shook his head and said, "I don't look good in any of those pictures without my belt." Poor Andy.

Hillary left on Sunday (Andy took her to the airport right after he finished giving a talk in Sacrament Meeting). Laura, Josh and Harrison left on Tuesday morning and my niece, Ruth-Anne, left on Tuesday night.

So, today I'm a bundle of emotions. Relief mixed with grief. Happiness mixed with sadness. Trying to count my blessings and forget about the things I wish were different.

Murder by the Book (excerpt)

2009-06-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

This is an excerpt from the new Haggerty book that I've turned in to Covenant (but it hasn't been accepted yet - so I don't even have a guess at the release date).

Murder by the Book
Chapter One
The day started out with a speeding ticket and ended with a murder. The ticket was only a minor inconvenience because the issuing officer was my ex-husband, Cade Burrell. He just pulled me over so he could try and finagle a date. He was wasting his time because I didn’t agree to go out with him and I have no intention of paying that ticket. The murder was another matter entirely.
My name is Kennedy Killingsworth and I live in the town of Midway, Georgia – home to four thousand people who don’t have anywhere better to go. I’ve never been able to get a satisfactory answer as to why the town is called Midway. It’s not halfway between anywhere as far as I can tell – unless you count despair and hopelessness.
Midway is so small if you blink during your drive through town, you’d miss it. And until a few weeks ago if you kept your eyes open, all you’d have seen was a blur of broken glass, drooped awnings, and peeling paint. For as long as I can remember Main Street has been pitted with potholes and lined by abandoned buildings. The only interesting thing about Midway was a stop sign that used to hang from the branch of an oak tree at the intersection of Main and First. But that was replaced years ago with an ordinary, stuck in the ground sign. My father said it was done in the name of progress. If that was the goal – the new sign was a failure.
I have two sisters, both older, one father and one mother. My parents live in the farmhouse that has been in the family for generations. I’ve always resented those original Killingsworths. If they’d had just a little foresight they would have pushed on past Midway and settled a mere fifty miles away on the Gulf coast. Then my parents would own valuable beachfront property instead of a few acres of mediocre farmland in southern Georgia.
My father is a quiet man who delivers mail for a living, tinkers with old cars as a hobby and fishes when he needs time away from my mother. My mother is an enthusiastic Christian and a consummate homemaker. She believes that true happiness can be achieved only through heavenly sanctioned matrimony followed after a respectable passage of time by pregnancy and childbirth. Both my sisters are married so she constantly harps on my single-status. She tries alternately to set me up with eligible bachelors or reunite me with my ex-husband so I can have children. You’d think she’d be satisfied. She already has four grandkids, but apparently in my mother’s circle grandchildren are like stocks and bonds – the more you have the more respect you command.
When I received the afore-mentioned speeding ticket I was on my way to the Midway Library, where I am the director, cataloger, purchaser, custodian and owner of almost every book on the shelves. I’ve been obsessed with books all my life. I blame this mostly on the fact that I live in the dullest spot on earth and during my uneventful childhood I found escape from the paralyzing boredom through the written word. My mother didn’t understand my need for books, but she allowed it. However, when my collection surpassed 500 books she said she had reached her tolerance limit and demanded that they leave her house.
So I built some shelves in my grandpa’s old barn and lined each volume up according to the Dewey Decimal system. Friends and neighbors came by to borrow the books and I signed them out in a spiral notebook.
For several years I did a respectable business and shortly after I graduated from the local junior college, the mayor of Midway came in to look around. Mayor Cook, who runs a towing business in addition to his civic responsibilities, said he was impressed with what I’d been able to accomplish and offered to give me the use of an empty trailer near the public pool where I could set up a real library for the town.
He went on to explain that once the library was established the county would be required to pay my salary and the monthly rental for the trailer. The mayor owned the empty trailer and was probably more interested in collecting rent than promoting literacy in Midway – but I didn’t care. Finally we were going to have a real library and I was going to be the director. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
The Midway Public Library has since expanded into two trailers – and my dream is to someday boast five trailers like our more prosperous neighbors to the south. Their trailers are arranged in a star-shaped design. We’re a T at the moment – but I’ve spent hours thinking of ways to add trailers in eye-catching ways.
I arrived at the Midway City Library fifteen minutes late, thanks to Cade, and found Miss Ida Jean Baxley waiting. She’s my mother’s next door neighbor and one of the most irritating people on the face of the earth.
“I thought the library hours were ten to five on Mondays,” Miss Ida Jean whined the minute I got out of my truck. She has a perpetual string of saliva between her lips that moves up and down as she speaks but never seems to break. Since childhood I’ve been morbidly fascinated by this phenomenon.
“You’re correct about the hours, Miss Ida Jean,” I returned in my fake-nice voice. “I was delayed by car trouble.” I figured this wasn’t a complete lie since I had been driving and Cade definitely qualified as trouble.

Mother's Day

2009-05-09T15:55:00.001-07:00

No matter who we are, no matter what stage of life we're in - surely Mother's Day is a wonderful time to reflect, to enjoy and to hope.

I have had so many excellent examples of motherhood in my life. The most important - of course - was my own mother, Dorothy Anne Walton Brannon. My grandmothers Ruth Lund Walton and Grace Vann Brannon have also been very involved and influential in my life.

But today as I celebrate motherhood - I wanted to tell you a little about the incredible children that have been sent to my home. I have chosen short little stories about each one that I hope will help you to get a glimpse of what fun children they were and what fine people they are.

Cathy has taught me many important lessons, but one that I remember vividly (because it haunts me) took place when she was about 10. I did a lot of cross-stitching back then and for mother's day she found a wooden hoop and a three-yard piece of pink gingham (that I used to make baby quilts) in my material box. She cut a circle right out of the middle of the material and cross-stitched "Mama" with white thread. Then she mounted it in the hoop. When she gave it to me I was upset about the wasted fabric and pointed out the fact that you couldn't see what she'd sewn because of her thread color choice. I'll never forget the look of disappointment on her face. I realized that the material was unimportant but Cathy's feelings and her efforts were priceless and apologized. I kept that little cross stitch hanging on my wall for many years as a reminder.

Laura was seven years old when my cousin, Lara Bennett, got married. We flew to Dallas so my girls could be bridesmaids and while we were visiting with various relatives, some of her older cousins asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. Without hesitation she said, "I want to be a mom." Then, after a few seconds of thought, she added, "And if I'm a mom I'll be too busy to do anything else." She got some practice at being a mom when Clay was born. We put the crib in her room (for lack of another option) and I remember several times seeing her walk past my door with a bottle in her hand in the middle of the night. She had gotten up, made him a bottle and was going to feed him without even waking me up. She has now realized her dream and is a full-time mom with a precious little boy of her own.

Jamie is our oldest son and until Tommy was born (when he was 4) he was the only boy and had 3 sisters. So life was hard sometimes. One day right after Grace was born I was feeding her and he came to sit by me on the couch. He showed me a nickel he had found and I suggested that instead of spending it - he should save it. Sensing a teaching opportunity, I explained that when he grew up he'd have to work hard and save money so he could have a wife and family. From my carefully worded lecture - he got that he needed money to buy a wife and said, "I'm going to buy a wife with my nickel." I figured it was hopeless to try and correct this misconception at that point so I just nodded. He sat by me for a few more minutes. Then looked up at me, opened his hand to expose the nickel, and said, "Do you want to buy a wife?"

Grace has always been soft-hearted and one experience I remember well was when we had a litter of puppies. The mother dog wouldn't feed one puppy and kept pushing it to the side of the dog bed. We tried feeding it milk but it wouldn't swallow and finally we accepted that it was just a matter of time until the puppy died. We were all sad and a little disturbed and I was anxious for the whole bad experience to be overwith. We kept checking for signs of life, dreading the moment when we'd have to pick up the dead puppy and dispose of it. Then Grace said, "Can I hold it til it dies?" I was so touched by her compassion and willingness to put her own fears aside to comfort the dying puppy if possible. So she held the puppy until it's short life was over.

Tommy has always been one of my most friendly and independent children so I didn't expect any problems from him when he started a half day 4 year old kindergarten class. But when I was dropping him off on the first day another child started crying and so Tommy did too. I tried to console him - promising that I'd be back soon. But between sobs he said, "When you're gone I won't be able to remember your face!" He finally agreed to stay and the next day I brought him a picture of our family to keep in his cubby and he looked at whenever he got sad. He still carries pictures of home around with him in Ethiopia and shows them to anyone who will let him.

Emily, being the youngest daughter, has been a big help to me. She is very mature and competent. I remember her third grade teacher, Mrs. Thrash, telling me that any time she needed something done - she gave the assignment to Emily. In fact she said, "I honestly believe if I told Emily to go to China and back she could do it." Over the past three weeks she's had to do so many hard things while adjusting to college life and being far from home. I'm so proud of her and I know that Mrs. Thrash was right. Emily can do anything.

Andy is quiet and laid back but witty. One day we were in WalMart and we saw a very old lady who had a terrible cough. She was driving herself around in one of those little scooters the store provides with a basket in front. She coughed constantly and it sounded horrible. We helped her get some things that she couldn't reach on high shelves and then hurried on to finish our shopping. We passed her again on the way to the checkout counters. She was surrounded by WalMart employees. Apparently she had coughed so much she had thrown up. It was embarrassing and I felt so sorry for her. On the way home I was still disturbed and told Andy that if I was ever that old and that sick one of my kids better do my grocery shopping for me so I didn't have an experience like that in WalMart. Andy replied, "Don't worry, Mom. By the time you're that old we'll have you in a nice home."

Clay, being the youngest of eight children, has had a lot of good examples and many hard acts to follow. When Jamie was a teenager he used to talk about the brothers buying land together in Colorado so they could have a cattle ranch. They would sit around talking about the houses they would build and how their wives would be friends and their children would play together while the brothers herded cows. One day after Jamie left for college I was talking to Clay (who was 5) and begged him to promise that he would live with me forever. With complete seriousness he looked at me and said, "I can't do that, Mom. I have to go to Colorado with my brothers."

Climbing Every Mountain - Fording Every Stream - Following Rainbows toward my Dream

2009-04-27T01:22:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to drive Emily across the country to Idaho so she would have a car while beginning her college experience. I dreaded the thought of driving that far (again), but looked forward to spending some quality time with her. And we had quite an adventure. We were supposed to leave on Thurs (April 16 - Emily's 18th birthday), but then I got the idea we could leave on Weds afternoon right when I got out of school and at least make it to St. Louis. So that's what we did. We had a good drive on Weds afternoon and made good time all the way to St. Louis and even drove on about an hour or so to Columbia, MO. We stayed at a dumpy Motel 6 but it was cheap and we weren't there long so it was okay. Since we were relatively 'fresh' and since I had a gray stripe down the middle of my head, I made use of the hotel's bathroom to color my hair. The plan was to get up early on Thurs and drive to at least Evanston, WY and if we felt like it-- push on another hour to Ogden and spend the night there. Laura and Josh were leaving Salt Lake on Friday morning (heading back to Rexburg where they hope to be in permanent residence), so if we made it to Ogden we could just wait for them in our hotel room and then follow them to Rexburg.

So we got up early on Thurs and drove and drove and drove and were doing really well until we got to Cheyenne, WY and then it started snowing. It was big huge wet flakes and they weren't really sticking to the road but they got clogged on the windshield wipers so they didn't work right and I couldn't see (besides the fact that the clouds were down really low like fog and trucks were going extremely slow so I had to watch real close to be sure nothing was in the road in front of me). We drove on like that until Laramie and finally the snow was collecting on the road in a kind of dirty slush. It was still wet but there was enough of it to be slick. Then we went over a mountain and saw that on the other side of the interstate hundreds of cars were trapped trying to go up the mountain we'd just come down. Two trucks were stuck at the top and couldn't go on. Visibility was terrible and even though it was only 5:00 in the evening and we had planned to drive for HOURS still, I was afraid to go any further for fear we'd get stranded on the road. So I got off the interstate and we checked into another dumpy Motel 6 - this time in Laramie. And then we got snowed in. There was at least 8 inches of snow on the car the next morning. On the weather they said some areas got 4 FEET.

Of course I didn't have any real shoes with me - since I'm from Alabama and down here April means SPRING - so I went outside with towels tied around my feet covered with Walmart sacks. Emily and I each had half of the pizza box from our dinner on Thurs night and scraped the car while standing in snow up to our knees. A plow came through and got the roads pretty much clear so we went and checked out the road conditions while filling up with gas. The roads weren't great - lots of the brown slush, but they were passable. So we went back to the motel and were packing up to go when it occurred to me that I'd better make sure the interstate was open. It wasn't. We were stuck there. We sat around all morning miserable and not knowing when we were going to get out (they said on TV that it might be Sunday).

It kept getting clearer - no sun but brighter - and the little bit of snow still on the car melted and we got hopeful. We could stay in our room until 12:00 and then we were going to have to pay for another night. So at 11:30 I called the Laramie police and asked if they knew when the interstate was opening. They said not at all that day. So I paid for another night at the dumpy Motel 6. At about 2:45 Emily checked the Wyoming Road Department Website and it said I-80 was open. We immediately threw our stuff in the car and checked out. They wouldn't give me even a partial refund but said if I-80 wasn't really open we could come back. We got up on the interstate and the lights were still flashing saying it was closed but a few other cars were on it so we went. And we made it all the way to Pocatello before we got too tired. We drove in to Rexburg on Saturday morning (instead of Friday like we'd planned). We were NOT traveling with Laura and Josh and Harrison (they went on without us on Friday) and we were afraid that all the BYU-I offices would be closed. But that was not the case. We were able to do everything on Saturday that we would have been able to on Friday except get Emily a bank account - which she handled on her own after I left (at 3:30 am on Monday - that's when I left - not when she got her bank account!!!)

Anyway, I'm sure you're wondering how the Mountain Climbing title figures in to the is post...

While Emily and I were driving we listened to the Sound of Music soundtrack about a hundred times and the song Climb Every Mountain became particularly meaningful to me. I've always liked it - but while driving across the country (in adverse conditions) and with a son in Ethiopia (Heaven help me) and a daughter about to get married (that Heaven help me thing) and 4 little grandchildren (so far) who have to grow up in this evil world and two more sons at home to raise - it's easy to get overwhelmed and tempting to say 'it's too much - I can't do it'. But the words of that song - talking about how in order to reach your dream you have to give all you have - all the love you've got - for your whole life - rang true to me. I started out my married life nearly 30 years ago with a dream to have a large family and to raise them to be productive, happy, tax-paying, God-fearing people. I was blessed with 8 beautiful children and if I acheive my greatest dream - I will spend eternity with them and my husband. Many times during this life process I've reached roadblocks or deadends or snowstorms which have required an adjustment in course. But to quote Maria from the movie, When God closes a door, He opens a window. So when the path was blocked, I've had to climb what seemed like mountains and ford hypothetical streams and follow figurative rainbows - working toward that goal of eternal togetherness. It's been a lot of hard work and I know I have more work ahead of me. As the song says if I want to reach my dream I'll have to work 'every day of my life for as long as I live'.

So now when I get discouraged or overwhelmed or just tired I hum a few bars of that song and press forward. Maybe something good did come of all that driving in the snow...

Living the 'Good Life'

2009-04-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

I had an experience a few weeks ago that I wanted to share. I work at an elementary school. I'm a teacher's aide and I basically work with children who need a little extra help. I was in a fourth grade class and saw a student who looked like he was having a bad day. I tried to encourage him to sit up straight and get ready to have a good experience in class. He looked up at me and said, "Why are you always smiling?" I didn't realize that I smiled that much. In fact, I think I'm pretty stressed and irritable a lot. So I asked him, "Am I always smiling?" He said, "Well, you always look happy. You must have a good life." I thought about it for a minute and nodded. "Yes, I do have a good life." "Well, I don't," he said. "I hate my life."

I talked to his teacher later and she confirmed that he does have some challenges to deal with. Ever since then I've been haunted by his face, his situation and his words, "I hate my life." There's not much I can do to improve things for him. I pay particular attention to him while I'm in his class and I smile whenever I see him in the hall. And he's always in my prayers.

But there is something I can do about me and my attitude. I'm trying to appreciate my blessings more and complain less about the stresses in my life. I'm trying to remember that I am happy and I do have a good life - even if it's a busy one. I'm thankful to that fourth grader who has helped me to see things much more clearly. And I hope that one day he will have a happy life too.

Grace and Aaron are engaged!!!

2009-04-04T05:57:00.001-07:00

The date is July 18th and we're all pretty excited!

It's a shame that life is so busy we barely have time to enjoy it!!!!

2009-03-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

Life is so busy sometimes I wish I could just make everything stop for a few minutes and enjoy it! But time marches on and thankfully it marches in mostly positive directions!!!! Above are a few pictures that reflect a lot of what has been going on with me and mine. Laura and her family visited and while here we tried to cram in as many activities as possible - including pedicures for the sisters, a trip to the zoo, a visit to the McWane Center, a dinner at Habaneros Mexican Restaurant, a March Combo Bday Party (Laura 25, Grace 22, Tommy 20), a lunch at Chuck E. Cheese, and a session at a ceramic place called Painted By U.

Here's a brief update by person-

Cathy - Her family is doing well. Abbie has now lost 2 teeth and is on good terms with the Toothfairy. Andie can talk and we're all enjoying that. Cathy and Ricky are both doing well - trying to keep up.

Laura - We really enjoyed our brief visit with Josh and the longer visit with Laura and Harrison. Josh has some career decisions to make and we're anxious to see how that turns out (since it will determine where they end up living). Harrison and Laura leave today and we're all pretty sad about that, but we're thankful for the time we've had together.

Jamie - Paris doesn't look like she's ever had a baby but she's turned into a confident, experienced mom. Banx is precious and smiling and huge. They invited us all over to eat at their Subway on Sat and then the men went shooting while the girls went back to their house to visit.

Grace - Still loves her new job, is doing well in school and spends every spare minute with Aaron. I hear wedding bells ringing in the not to distant future.

Tommy - Inexplicably loves Ethiopia and is having a wonderful experience there. He's been gone nearly 9 months. We'll get to talk to him on Mother's Day and we're all looking forward to that.

Emily - Leaves for BYU-I on April 16 - her 18th birthday. We are not ready to let her go but are thankful to have so many friends in the Rexburg area if she needs any help. I'll drive her out and fly straight back since we'll still be in school at that point. I'll be back out in June to check on her.

Andy - Is gearing up for Spring Football and the end of his scouting career which will culminate with an Eagle Project on April 18th (conveniently while I'm in Rexburg - I didn't plan it that way I promise)

Clay - Just finished basketball and decided too late he'd like to play baseball so I get a break and he'll be starting football in just a few months - this time for the McAdory Middle School Yellow Jackets. Heaven help me where did the time go?

Butch still works hard both for UPS and the church. And I feel like I work hard but never accomplish anything. I'll be glad when school is over so I can take a deep breath and figure out where I am at least - if not get to where I want to be. I have a new book coming out at the first of June (release date changed AGAIN) and I'm working on a new Haggerty one that I hope will come out in the fall if I can get it finished. If...

So even though life is busy it's good and we're extremely blessed and grateful.

It's March in Alabama and it's SNOWING!!!!!

2009-03-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

Seriously - we have like 2 inches of snow. Church was cancelled and everything! I know that sounds crazy to people who live in parts of the country where snow is common - but down here it just doesn't happen. So we are enjoying being 'snowed-in' for the day. It's about 40 degrees so the roads are clear and the electricity is still on - so it's the perfect kind of snow storm. As an extra bonus - Jamie and Paris were going to have Banx blessed today but the weather postponed that to next week when Laura and her family will be here!

Since I haven't written for a month I'll try to catch up on all the Green Family News!

Butch turned 51 at the first of February and to celebrate we took a quick weekend trip to Nauvoo. We've been many times in the summer but have never been in the winter and he wanted the kids to stand on the side of the river and look across in the cold so they could more fully understand how the pioneers must have felt when they left. When we arrived - to our thrilled amazement - the river was frozen! We had a wonderful time.

Cathy and Ricky celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Gatlinburg. Abbie has lost two front teeth and is probably the cutest snaggle-tooth I've ever seen. Andie is talking and knows her colors and her ABC's and can count to 19. They amaze me.

Laura and Josh are still in Murray, UT and enjoying it. Josh has a training seminar in Miami next week so they are flying here on Sat and then Josh will fly from here to Miami the following Tues while Laura and Harrison stay with us. We are looking forward to a visit and hope that Harrison still remembers us from Christmas!

Jamie and Paris are becoming such good parents. They were here yesterday and it was fun to see them handling him with confidence. Yesterday he was wearing a camo outfit (complete with hat and booties) given to him by his Grandpa Scott. Clay and Harrison both have camo too - so we're excited to take a picture of them all next week.

Grace and Aaron are at this very moment making snow angels. They have been dating now for 6 months and still enjoy each other's company. We are expecting a big announcement from them any day...

Tommy is back in Ethiopia after his short trip back to Uganda because of a visa problem. He is working hard to learn Amharic and loves the people and climate of Ethiopia. He was recently transferred from the big city of Addis Ababa (where he has been since he arrived in October) to the small village of Debre Zeit. We are anxious to hear about his adventures there. But most importantly, he's healthy and happy and about the Lord's errand.

Emily found out this week that she has been accepted to BYU-I and we are so happy. Both Laura and Grace went there so it seems like it's the place for the Green girls. We are waiting to see what track she'll be on so we can make arrangements for housing, etc. As always timing is tricky. I'm hoping she gets on a fall track and will be home this summer (she wants to leave sooner so she's hoping for the summer 09 track). But if we're going to have a wedding this summer I'd like for her to be here to help and also not have to pay to fly her home. Then once the wedding was over I could drive her out to school - just before school here starts. But we'll see what happens.

Andy is enjoying the freedom of driving although we have to share cars so he doesn't get as many opportunities to drive as he might like. He's doing weight training for football and they will have spring practice soon. He's planning to work this summer and hopefully buy himself a car. If Emily leaves at the beginning of the summer we hope he can take her job at the library. If not, Jamie has offered him a job at his Subway.

Clay has been enjoying the snow (until he hit Emily in the head with a big snowball and got sent inside). He will turn 12 in July and that doesn't seem possible. I don't know where all the time has gone. He's unhappy with me at the moment because I didn't let him sign up for baseball. But he hasn't played for 3 years and I'm afraid he'd end up on the bench most of the time if we let him play. Besides, with limited time and transportation - I just don't think we could get him to all those practices and games. So we said no and now I feel guilty. Maybe he'll forgive us.

Well, I'd better go make a special 'snowed-in' lunch!

If you're looking for something profound - you may not find it here...

2009-01-24T04:11:00.000-08:00

I usually feel like I need to wait until I've actually got something worthwhile to say before I post - hence the scarcity of posts over the past few months. So now my new plan is I'll post regularly regardless. When you're ready for me to go back to the few and far between - let me know.

Several of my children have commented on my Christmas blog indicating that they thought I sounded like I had a terrible time. So first let me correct that misconception if anyone else got the same impression. I had a wonderful time with my family at Christmas. I just get frustrated with myself and my management of my time and my lack of organizational skills. And (as I was accused) I have a tendency toward the dramatic and possibly over-exaggerate somethings. (I guess that's why I write fiction books).

Anyway, the month of January is almost gone - which seems impossible. This week Andy got his driver's license (after two tries and not on his actual birthday since I was trying to meet a book deadline). Baby Banx has not joined us yet - but he will by Weds at the latest. So we're all pretty excited about that. Tommy is in Uganda again, temporarily, because of a visa problem. He saw that his was about to expire and so they applied for another one but in the letter written for him requesting that his visa be extended they said something like 'ask that he be allowed to stay so he can continue his work' meaning the Lord's work of course. But he was there on a tourist visa and isn't allowed to 'work' and the Ethiopian government didn't want to hear an explanation of how that word could be used more than one way. So he had to leave and they've applied for a business visa - so hopefully he'll be back in his appointed spot soon.

The only morsel of wisdom I can think of to share comes from a children's book that Mrs. Robinson (one of the teacher's I work with) was reading to her kindergarten class on Friday. It was about a short man who wanted to be taller. He admired a tall cow and wanted to be just like him. The only advice the cow could give was that if the short man wanted to be like the cow - he should do whatever the cow did. So the short man ate a lot of corn and ran around the pasture and at the end of the day he was still short and his stomach hurt and his legs ached. So he found a tall bull and copied him for a day with similar results. Finally he talked to a wise owl who told the short man that while he was short - he didn't really need to be tall. The owl pointed out that he himself was small - smaller than the short man - but he wasn't complaining or acting like a cow or bull in an effort to get taller. He was happy with how he was. There was a quote at the end (which of course I can't remember exactly) but it was something to the effect that he should change his attitude - otherwise he would spend his entire life seeking something he didn't need and couldn't achieve.

That was a pretty powerful statement for me and I've thought about it a lot since then. I'm afraid that I do spend a lot of time chasing after things I don't need. As part of my life reorganization plan I'm going to try and apply that test to all my activities and goals. If I don't NEED it and can't reasonably expect to ACCOMPLISH it - I should probably let it go. I'm beginning to wonder if lose weight falls into that category...

I'm sorry it's been so long....

2009-01-08T03:28:00.000-08:00

This picture doesn't really have anything to do with my post - except that I wish I was at the beach! The past few months have been a blur. Nothing terrible has happened in my life but I've struggled badly with managing the day to day. I blame it mostly on my decision to go back to work at the beginning of the school year. I love what I do (assisting slower learners) but it takes a lot out of me. By the time I leave school, pick up my sons at their school, stop by the store or run whatever other errands need to be run and get home I'm exhausted. And there's still dinner to be made and laundry to be done and homework and, well, you get the ugly picture. Then try to mix in a little time to write LDS fiction books and you have true disaster. I'm not doing anything very well and I've got to figure out a better way.

My new plan is basically to try and put the Lord first and throwing off some of my responsibilities onto other family members. Both are easier said than done but that is my goal. And I'm so thankful for the opportunity to start a fresh year.

I have gotten a lot of questions about the Duty series (and I appreciate the interest). So I'll update everyone on my progress. I finished the sequel to Above and Beyond on Thanksgiving morning and emailed it to my wonderful editor Kirk Shaw just before leaving for the airport. I was in Utah for 5 days and had a good time signing with Michele Bell and Jennie Hansen, visiting with my daughter and her family and I even got to 'speak' to a book club in Orem (wonderful group of ladies). Anyway, I'm calling the third book Beyond Duty (and I'm kind of attached to the title so I hope they let me keep it) I use the term 'finished' loosely. I made pages of notes while on the plane about places in the book I know I need to revise. My plan was to do that the minute I got home. But when I got home I'd been gone so things were in a mess and I kept putting off my writing time. Then my computer crashed. It was the oddest - must unpleasant experience. One of my daughters was checking her email and it just froze and would not turn off. We unplugged it and got it off - but then couldn't get it back on. Fortunately my missionary son left his laptop with us - so we were able to hook it up but I've had a hard time getting used to using it. I know that sounds kind of crazy, but it's true. I guess you could say I had an emotional attachment to the old computer. I was thankful that I had emailed in my book - so I had a way to download it to the laptop. There is still a lot of important stuff on the old computer and when I get my royalty check in February - I plan to see if it can be repaired or if the info stored on it can be recovered. But for now it's just taking up space in my bedroom.

So things were crazy and I kept telling myself that as soon as school was out I'd be able to get ready for Christmas, clean the house for my daughter and her family to come stay with us for a week and generally get caught up on life. We got out of school on the 19th - not nearly enough time to do all that. And then I made poor decisions as far as time management (which my husband pointed out after the fact - so helpful). For instance, in the process of cleaning Emily's room for Josh and Laura to stay in while they were here - I had Clay take down the "Alabama Crimson Tide" border that had been up when the boys were in that room (some day I'll do a blog about how many times we've switched the kids' bedrooms and the number of paint colors on the walls). This was a painstaking process (that border glue was great). We ended up with thousands of tiny pieces of border on the floor - behind furniture - everywhere. I had expected it to pull off in big pieces and didn't anticipate the mess or the consumption of time. After we finally got it off - my husband pointed out that this time could have been spent better elsewhere since Josh and Laura didn't care if there was a border on the wall in their bedroom and after Emily goes to college in a few months one of the boys might move back into that room and might have liked to have the border. Oh well. On to the next bad decision. I have carpet in my living room. It's a light greenish color that shows dirt easily. The original idea was for us to stay out of the living room and thereby protect the carpet. But for years I've had my computer in here and we eat dinner at the dining room table often and so anyway, the carpet gets walked on a lot and it was filthy. I had been waiting to clean it until right before Christmas and somehow ended up on the day before Christmas Eve trying to rent a carpet cleaner. That was a process but finally we got home with it and Andy and Clay helped me clean the living room carpet, a rug in the den and the hallway. We took it back on Christmas Eve and the carpet looked much better - so I thought it had been a good investment of our time. But the weather was really wet and apparently we put more emphasis on spraying out the soapy water than we did on sucking it back up - so my carpets were wet for days. By Christmas night the carpet in the living room smelled terrible (thank goodness for Frebreeze) and the old wooden parque floor in our den was buckling up underneath the rug!!! It was like walking on a roller coaster. So in the end I would have been better off to forget the carpet cleaning all together. I could have just spread out blankets over the dirty carpet (I had to anyway since it was damp and smelly). But other than that we had a wonderful time over Christmas. Laura and Josh and Harrison arrived on Christmas Day and we had dinner and opened gifts. That Saturday my nephew (who left for a mission in Milan Italy yesterday) went through the Birmingham Temple so my three married kids and their spouses were all there with us and that was a great moment. Then on Sunday we all went up to Decatur to listen to Jonathan's 'leaving on a mission' talk. My kids made gingerbread houses and swapped coupons and recipes and reminisced and ate and ate and ate. It was hard to say goodbye, but I'm so thankful for the time we had together.

Now, I know you think I've forgotten that I started out talking about the final book in the Duty series. But I really am getting back around to that. I emailed with my editor yesterday and he said that the release date for Beyond Duty has been pushed back to May. I was a little disappointed - but the bad economy is effecting the publishing world like everything else and Covenant isn't going to publish as many books this year as they had planned - so I'm thankful that my book is coming out at all! And May isn't much later than March. Plus that gives me a little more time to make the revisions that I want to. So I have until next Thurs to revisit Beyond Duty and get it ready for my editor. Then it will come out in May. And I have a Haggerty book planned for the fall (I just need to time to finish it...)

I didn't renew my website but I'm trying to decide if I should. I don't have the time to keep it up (obviously...) but it was a good way to keep in touch and I'm afraid people will have a hard time finding this blog. So I'll decide about that soon.

And I got a lot of comforting emails about the incident with my son's mission website. I appreciate your compassion and support. It was just another one of those times when I didn't use good judgment. Not that anything I put on the website was bad - just not reverent or serious and I should have realized that missionary words and pictures have to be above reproach. Since I do have those judgment lapses about 100 times a day - its safer for me just to not post on his mission website anymore.

I'm sure there was more I meant to say - but I really hope to post more often so I don't get too far behind in the 'news'.

My feelings are hurt and I need to vent

2008-11-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

Again I apologize for not keeping this blog updated as often as I should. I am putting the finishing touches on Book Three (as yet untitled) of the Duty Series so that is my excuse (this time). But I wanted to take a few minutes out to express my feelings about something that upset me and made me sad. It wasn't the economy or Proposition 8 backlash or any of the important things that are going on in the world today. It is because I got my missioanry son in trouble with his mission president.

Tommy set up the website before he left but since his email time is so limited on P-Days I compile the emails he sends me to create the 'letter'. I then post it on the missionsite. I have always been cautious to edit what he says (since he is talking to me) but apparently I wasn't cautious enough. He and several other missionaries (along with the senior missionary couple) went on a hiking trip in Ethiopia about two weeks ago. Tommy sent me an email with a lot of details about the adventure and I posted it (almost verbatum) on his website. I also posted the pictures he'd sent on his memory card. Some were silly - like one of him holding a bat and another of him and his companion standing on a rooftop. But I thought they were cute and I was posting them on an obscure mission website - not the Evening News...

Anyway, this Monday when I was emailing with Tommy he told me that he'd gotten a call from Pres. Christensen. The president said he had gotten an email from someone in America complaining about Tommy's website - and the last letter in particular. He had read it and agreed that it was 'over-the-top'. He had also browsed the pictures and felt that some of them showed immaturity. He asked Tommy to remove several pictures and edit the letter about his mountain climbing adventure.

Now, let me say right here that none of my hurt feelings are directed toward Pres. Christensen. I support him completely and in retrospect I can see that the letter wasn't uplifting and that some of the pictures showed questionable judgement. I wish more than anything that I could go back . . . but I can't.

I'm hurt that whoever read the letter and thought it was objectionable wrote to the mission president instead of me (or Tommy). And I'm SICK that Tommy got in trouble over it when I was the one who made the posts.

Tommy was very kind about the whole thing. He said it's okay and he even thinks the president still likes him! I feel very chastened and fixed the website immediately. My brother reminded me that in order to repent I had to go through all the R's of repentance - but I can't seem to get past Regret.

My husband wants me to close down the missionsite all together. I'll ask Tommy how he feels about it on Monday - but there's a good chance that's what we'll do. It makes me sad because I had a lot of fun maintaining it and I felt like it was a great way for others to share in Tommy's missionary experiences. But there is room for error (obviously) and closing the site would eliminate the possibility for future problems. So unless Tommy feels strongly about keeping it - the missionsite will be a thing of the past. And hopefully my guilt will be too (eventually).

There, I do feel better!

I hope something good will come out of the whole experience. I'll try to be more cautious in what I say (and write) and I'll try not to judge others too harshly. We all make mistakes and we can all be forgiven. Tommy forgave me for putting him in an awkward position with his mission president. I'll forgive the anonymous person who - either with good intentions or not - created the incident. So maybe when it's all said and done we're better people!!!! (But I'd still take it all back if I could)

Betsy

Christmas is coming...Again!!!!

2008-11-05T03:56:00.000-08:00

This year has flown by for me and as I approach the Christmas season (again – wasn’t it just a month or so ago that I put up the decorations from last year?) I dread the thought of not having everyone together - again. It’s not the first time we’ve been unable to gather as a family for the holidays. I survived two years while our oldest son Jamie was in Sweden. And last year Laura and her family were in Idaho, Grace was in Utah and Jamie and Paris were floating on a Disney cruise ship. Somehow I survived all of that. This year we will all be able to gather except Tommy, who is Addis Ababa, Ethiopia serving a mission and Baby Banx (who won’t be born until January). So even though our family will be almost ‘complete’ at the holidays, each absence leaves a huge hole. As I’ve thought about this, my mind has been drawn to Christmases past and I’d like to share one particular memory. I’ve entitled it “In Search of the Perfect Christmas” (and by the way – I’m still searching!!!)

For years when the holidays approached, I started dreaming of the perfect Christmas. I was haunted by childhood memories, enticed by television commercials, inspired by classic movies and challenged by the covers of December magazines. In my memories and in the media, the perfect Christmas looked so easy, almost effortless. But after years of trying to provide a perfect Christmas for my own children I had to admit that perfection always eluded me. One way or another, the season never measured up. I accepted full responsibility for the failure and usually spent January slightly depressed, planning what I would do differently the next year.

So the Christmas after my daughter, Emily, was born in 1991, I determined that the year had finally arrived. This time I would do everything exactly right. Our Christmas would be perfect. Then on Christmas afternoon I would have the glow of satisfaction instead of the gloom of disappointment that I was becoming accustomed to.

So, I began my preparations early. I bought magazines, attended classes, made lists, scrimped, shopped and wrapped. I decorated, Christmas-crafted, baked and preserved. Several family members accepted our invitation to eat Christmas Dinner with us and the prospect of company pushed my efforts to new heights. I wallpapered my kitchen, painted the bathroom, shampooed the carpets and even cleaned behind the refrigerator.

I sent Christmas cards to everyone in my address book. I hung garland over the doors and put holly leaves on every flat surface. I put up two Christmas trees, taped paper snowflakes to the windows and hung angels from the ceiling fans.

We attended holiday parties and hosted one of our own. I made the kids sit on the lap of every Santa we saw and we watched all parades within reasonable driving distance. We spent hours cruising through strange neighborhoods, admiring their Christmas decorations. We went caroling and delivered homemade jelly to our neighbors.

The kids got out of school the week before Christmas and I scheduled activities for every waking moment. We made cookies and gingerbread houses. We strung popcorn and cranberries, played Christmas music 24 hours a day and wore only Christmas colors.

Finally, Christmas Eve arrived. Warmth seemed like an important element of the perfect Christmas, so when the sun set I started a blazing fire even though it was 70 degrees outside. I gathered the children, freshly bathed and dressed in coordinated Christmas pajamas, in front of the fireplace. We sang Christmas carols, just like the families on TV, waiting for Butch to come home. I knew he would be charmed to see this heart-warming sight when he came through the door. He got home right in the middle of Jingle Bells. He waited until we were between verses to comment: “It must be a hundred degrees in here. Somebody turn on the air conditioner.” Our fireside concert ended abruptly at that point and I went in to warm up his dinner while the children watched Christmas videos until bedtime.

After they were settled, I started pulling sacks and boxes from their various hiding places and divided them into appropriate stacks. Butch went upstairs to change clothes and never came back. I went up to check on him and found him lying on top of the covers, sound asleep. He worked long hours during Christmas so I knew he was tired, but I hated that he was going to miss the joy of Christmas Eve assembly. Hours later I had everything put together with a minimum of leftover screws. The gifts were stacked and arranged to their best advantage. Finally I could sit back and agonize over whether each child had really gotten what they wanted. Accepting that it was too late to change anything now, I went upstairs. I covered Butch with a quilt and collapsed beside him.

After what seemed like minutes, but was actually a luxurious two hours, my children started coming to wake me up. I sent them back to bed at 15-minute intervals until five o’clock when I surrendered. Butch and I staggered downstairs to watch the reactions to their gifts. Everyone seemed adequately ecstatic with their new possessions. The kids settled down to play and Butch stretched out on the couch. I went into the kitchen to prepare the perfect Christmas breakfast. I scrambled eggs, fried bacon, rolled out homemade biscuits and mixed up orange juice. By the time it was all ready, everyone had fallen back asleep. I curled up on the couch by Butch’s feet and surveyed the chaos. Sleeping children, scattered toys, scraps of paper, candy wrappers and an occasional pine needle covered the floor. This scene didn’t fit into anyone’s idea of a perfect Christmas.

I dozed off, but the phone rang about an hour later, waking everybody up. It was my brother saying that his entire family had a stomach virus and wouldn’t be able to come for dinner. Trying to overcome my disappointment, I re-heated breakfast. After we had eaten, the kids returned to their new toys while I cleaned up the kitchen and started on the perfect Christmas dinner. I peeled potatoes, stuffed turkey, dissolved Jell-O, kneaded roll dough and mixed cake batter. I could hear laughing from downstairs where the kids were playing. Butch was trying to put together a train track in the den.

I decorated the diningroom table to match the cover of a popular woman’s magazine and set out our best dishes. I had tried several new recipes and thought the food looked wonderful arranged around the table. I called for my family to get dressed and come to dinner. One by one they arrived. Their idea of dressing for dinner and mine were obviously different. I was wearing my Christmas dress, complete with hose and shoes. Most of my children were still wearing at least part of their pajamas. Butch had on cut-off sweat pants and a T-shirt that had (at least once) been used to polish his Sunday shoes.

Tears came to my eyes as I looked around the table at my family. Cathy watched me warily. She was 11 - old enough to realize that I was upset, but not sure why. I guess I hadn’t used the right kind of paint on her Christmas sweatshirt because it was already starting to peel. Laura (7) was wearing a purple windsuit Eavy Mae had given her for the fourth straight day. Jamie (6) was pointing out all the food items that he absolutely would not eat. Grace (4) was itemizing the gifts she had asked for but did not receive. Tommy (2) was hanging upside down over the side of his chair, examining a cobweb in the corner of the dining room. Emily was alternately banging her spoon on her highchair tray and rubbing cranberry sauce in her hair. Nothing was how I had meant for it to be. We were completely hopeless.

Butch started carving the turkey and mentioned that it was a little dry. The kids served their plates. Jamie hated everything. Tommy spilled his Christmas-red Kool-Aid on my new white tablecloth. I sat there in dazed despair, wondering where I went wrong. What Christmas event or activity could I possibly have missed? Didn’t I plan well enough? How could I have failed again?

It wasn’t until much later, after the decorations had been packed away and the trees discarded that I finally understood my mistake. In all the baking, wrapping, bow-tying, gift-giving and song-singing I had somehow managed to exclude the Savior and his birth completely from our Christmas. We went through all the preparations and then left our honored guest standing outside our door. Nativity scenes had become just decorations, like stockings and the trees. We gave gifts, but didn’t associate them with the wise men. The scriptures had collected dust during the holidays since we had been too busy to read them. Our family prayers had been sporadic and repetitious as we rushed from one holiday event to the next. We sang Away in a Manger along with Frosty the Snowman until we couldn’t tell the difference.

Since then I have come to accept that there will never be a perfect Christmas at our house. Instead of competing with imaginary families, now my goal is to include the Savior in every aspect of our Christmas. We won’t attend every Christmas event, but we will see some lights, talk to Santa and read about the Savior’s birth. Our scriptures may be sticky but they won’t be dusty. The kids won’t get all the gifts they ever dreamed of, but they will get some things they want or need. We are going to count presents less and blessings more. We won’t eat the perfect Christmas breakfast, but I’ve found that my kids like canned cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate as much as eggs and bacon. By involving the children in the planning and preparation of our Christmas dinner, I spend less time in the kitchen and more time with my family. We also eat food that everyone likes instead of things that just look nice on the table. We will take the time to offer prayers of thanks for all that we have. There are so many beautiful Christmas songs about Jesus and his birth. We are going to learn a few new ones and sing them often.

Then I guess my Christmas afternoons will always be spent thinking of things I want to do differently the next year. I’ll remember cross words I shouldn’t have said and good intentions that I never put into action. But I hope that with effort we’ll make improvements every year. And we’ll try to more effectively incorporate the Savior into our celebrations. I hope that in our home He will feel welcome, loved and appreciated. After all – the only truly perfect Christmas took place in Bethlehem over two-thousand years ago. And there’s no competing with that.

Heaven on Earth - My Paula Deen Weekend

2008-10-05T04:48:00.001-07:00

My sister Julie, my Grandmother Grace and my sister Amanda.

Aren't they beautiful????

This summer I was talking to my 89 year old grandmother and she expressed an interest in going to Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah, Georgia. I told her that my sisters and I would take her. She wasn't sure she be up to the trip but made me promise if we couldn't go to Savannah, that we would at least come to Headland and have a "Paula Deen" weekend there. When we realized that a trip to Savannah was too ambitious - Our Paula Deen Weekend was born.

My sister Julie lives in Elkmont, Alabama (almost at the Tennessee line). She and her husband Larry have four children (three are in Utah attending school and/or working and one is in Uruguay on a church mission). She has a full-time job at Athens hospital, visits home health care paitents and teaches a class at a local college. Amanda lives in Montgomery. Her husband, Jeff, is a radiologist and they have three children (ranging in age from 10-17). She is a stay-at-home mom (I use that term loosely, she runs marathons, plays tennis, collects money for charity, supports candidates for political office and plans luncheons for 700 people - so she's always on the go).

Nana's birthday was September 22nd - so we cleared our calendars for the weekend of September and we drove down to Headland. It was the first time the sisters had been together without husbands or children since I got married almost 30 years ago and it was heaven getting to talk and laugh and visit with each other. We stopped at CVS to buy a Ped-Egg and other pedicure related items (our combined gift for Nana). Then we arrived in Headland just before noon. We made a quick stop at the Headland Piggly Wiggly to purchase ingredients for cobbler (the only recipe we had chosen in advance).

After dropping off the groceries and picking up Nana, we went to a nice little cafe on the Headland town square. We each ordered something different so we could share and taste. I got chicken salad. Nana got quiche, Julie and Amanda got little flatbread sandwiches Then we split 2 slices of chocolate chip pecan (as Paula would say PEE-can) pie for desert.

We took Nana home and made Paula's peach cobbler. Once it was done we went grocery shopping (again). We were able to get everything in Headland's Piggly Wiggly except Chilli Cheese Fritos, Easy Off Oven Cleaner (the cobbler leaked a little on to Nana's oven), leeks and shrimp. Since the moment we arrived in Headland Amanda had been running into people she knew. So when I saw her chatting with the meat man at the Piggly Wiggly (when she was supposed to be locating shrimp) I thought she had been diverted from her task by yet another old acquaintance. Then I found out that she was asking the meat man about the shrimp! She told him we needed shrimp but it didn't have to be fresh (meaning it could be frozen). He asked why in the world we would want shrimp that wasn't fresh. Anyway, it turns out they don't have shrimp of any kind available in Headland, so Amanda and Julie dropped me off at Nana's to continue cooking while they went in search of the missing items.

I mixed up the dough for the cheese biscuits but when I preheated the oven, smoke billowed out from the peach juice on the bottom of the oven. I turned off the oven and turned on the automatic cleaning feature - then saw that it takes 3 hours to clean. Unsure what to do, I just put the biscuit dough in the refrigerator and started chopping vegetables. By the time my sisters got back (with FRESH, Cajun seasoned, steamed shrimp) the oven had burned off enough of the peach juice for me to stop the cleaning cycle. Nana told us that at Paula Deen's restaurant they walk around with biscuits on a tray offering them to the people waiting in line. So when some visitors arrived (Nana's sister Mary Owens, her husband Lee and Nana's youngest brother Jim), we wanted to bake the biscuits so we could walk in and serve them on a tray like Paula Deen. But the oven was 'locked down' until it cooled enough after the interrupted cleaning cycle. It didn't cool enough until after our guests had to leave so we didn't get to serve biscuits Paula Deen style. That was the weekend's only disappointment.

During the Auburn game we made Shrimp and Grits, Corn Salad, and finally were able to bake the Cheese Biscuits. This was our menu, with Peach Cobbler for dessert. The recipies are all available on Paula Deen's official website (http://www.pauladeen.com/) but I've listed them below for your convenience.

Everything was delicious. After eating we watched the Alabama/Georgia game. Then we stayed up half the night visiting and watching Amanda give Nana a pedicure (the Ped-Egg was a big hit). On Sunday morning for breakfast we reheated biscuits and ate them along with fresh cantaloupe and some of the pound cake that Nana's brother Sam had sent over. We washed the sheets on our beds (against Nana's strict instructions) and visited until lunchtime. Then we reheated our dinner from the night before and ate it one last time. It was just as good the second time around (thanks to a trick Julie taught us which I'll share in the corn salad recipe). Then we sadly packed up, said our farewells and headed home (after a brief stop to see Uncle Sam).

It was a perfect weekend and I hope we get to do it again sometime (my grandfather suggested that we come back every weekend). I feel like after spending time with these three incredible women that I am somehow improved. I've felt like a better wife and mother and person in general all week (maybe I DO need to do this every weekend). I appreciate my sisters for making the necessary adjustments in their lives to make room for a Paula Deen Weekend in Headland. I'm also thankful to their husbands and children for sharing them with me. Life is short and being with your sisters and grandmother really is Heaven on Earth.

Cheese Biscuits
2 cup self-rising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shortening3

/4 cup grated sharp Cheddar

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 stick butter, melted

Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together using a fork; cut in shortening until it resembles cornmeal. Add cheese. Stir in buttermilk all at 1 time just until blended. Do not over stir. Drop by tablespoonfuls, or use an ice cream scoop, onto a well greased baking sheet. Brush dough with melted butter. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Difficulty: Easy Yield: 16-20 biscuits

Shrimp and Grits
4 servings cooked grits

4 tablespoons olive oil1 cup diced tasso ham* (we used bacon)

4 tablespoons diced leeks

4 tablespoons diced onion

4 tablespoons diced green peppers

20 medium to large shrimp, peeled and de-veined, with tails on

1 tablespoon white wine (we used cooking sherry)

1 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Cajun Seasoning to taste
DirectionsCook grits according to package directions; set aside and keep warm.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tasso (bacon) and saute until crisp. Add diced vegetables and saute until onions are translucent. Add shrimp and saute for 30 to 45 seconds, or until pink. Remove from the pan and set aside. Deglaze the pan with cooking sherry. Slowly add the cream and let reduce until thickened. Season with salt and pepper and Cajun seasonings, to taste. (Paula suggests a more attractive presentation - but we opted for what was easy). Pour grits into a casserole dish. Put shrimp and vegetables on top. Pour sauce over everything.

Corn Salad
2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained (I prefer shoepeg)

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup green pepper, chopped

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

1 (10 1/2 ounce) bag coarsely crushed Fritos chili cheese corn chips (we used regular and it worked fine)
DirectionsMix first 5 ingredients and chill. Stir in crushed corn chips just before serving (if you expect to have leftovers, reserve about a cup of chips and mix them in the next day to provide new crunch)

Peach Cobbler

1 stick of butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup self-rising flour

1 cup milk

1 large can sliced peaches

1 small can sliced peaches

Melt butter in 9 X 13 dish in 350 degree oven until golden brown around edges. In bowl mix sugar, self-rising flour and milk. Pour batter mixture over hot butter in the 9 X 13 baking dish. Spoon the peaches into the batter. Gently pour juice from large can of peaches over the top.Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees (or until golden brown). (One of Julie's patients suggested doubling the 'crust' portion of the recipe and topping the cobbler with cinnamon sugar - so that's what we did.) It's great alone or with cool whip or ice cream on top!

Dreams do come true...

2008-09-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

In the 1960's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke these words "I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

Almost 50 years later I live in an Alabama where little girls and boys of all skin tones do live and play and go to church and school together as brothers and sisters. It's easy to take the progress we've made for granted, so I wanted to make a few comments on my blog today.

I work at an elementary school that is racially diverse. This past week one of the teachers read a book about Rosa Parks to her third graders. She had to stop frequently to discuss the issues raised in the book because these children have no concept of segregation. They were all appalled and confused. So finally the teacher said, "Back in those days the white and the black people did everything separately. They went to different schools and different churches and used different entrances and different water fountains. In fact, black and white children couldn't even play together. So (she point out two boys in the class) couldn't have been friends back then." The little African American boy looked down at his arm and said, "I'm black? I thought I was brown." He hadn't even realized that what we were talking about involved him! And it was in that moment that I knew. We've come a long way. Not that we don't still have a ways to go - but I think Dr. King would be proud of us.

Bridging to a new stage of life and a Reality Check

2008-09-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

Today our youngest son, Clay, bridged from Cub Scouts into 11 year old Boy Scouts. I'll confess to not loving the whole scouting thing. I know it's good and my boys have liked it - but honestly I'm tired of trying to keep up with uniforms (which oddly we can never find even though we only wear them on rare occasions), remembering to sew on patches, pack for campouts, buy food for campouts, take sons to campouts, worry about sons while they are on campouts, clean up/wash clothes after campouts, visit summer scout camp and watch the same skits performed the year(s) before, coming up with/financing/executing eagle projects, remembering where we put the scout books, earning badges, etc. So I really thought I would be thrilled when the day came that ALL my sons had successfully completed the scouting program. But as of today I no longer have a cub scout and never will have again. And it's not all that fun. So I guess when Clay gets his eagle and leaves Boy Scouts - I'll look back at all that scouting stuff with some nostalgia. And I hope that I'll feel a little differently about the experiences listed above - knowing that each campout I pack for is bringing me closer to my last one.

Anyway, we held the bridging after church. Another boy in our ward bridged with Clay so we had a nice ceremony, an even nicer lunch and a good turnout. The one thing I LOVE about scouts is all the great leaders we've had over the years and all time they put into it. Clay's cubmaster had knee surgery on Tues. but still got things organzied for today's ceremony.

And now the Reality Check part of today's blog. I don't know how things have been in the rest of the country - but in Alabama Hurricane Ike has been FELT. I didn't think we would suffer any ill effects from the storm since we were completely out of it's path. But on Friday as I was leaving school one of the teachers I work with said her brother in law just called and said that gas was up to $4.00 a gallon (from $3.59 on Friday morning) and that it was predicted to reach $5. There was even talk that we wouldn't be able to get gas by this coming week. So she encouraged everyone to fill up on the way home. Sure enough, on the way home I saw that gas prices were near or past the $4.00 mark. I filled up my van and Grace's car and Butch stopped for more gas on the way home from work. All together I spent $200 on gas in a matter of hours. Prices did spike up to $4.99 in one area but have stabilized at about $4.00 and gas is still available for the moment anyway.

But on Friday night during all this 'hurry and get some gas before it's gone' drama my kids and I were talking about it. Clay asked, "So, if there is no gas next week what will UPS do?" I said I guess they'd have to call Butch and say don't come in to work because there's no gas to put in your truck so we'll have to suspend deliveries until gas is available. And if Butch doesn't work - he doesn't get paid. And since we live basically from pay check to pay check - it wouldn't take us long to be in terrible trouble financially.

We have been warned for so long to have our year's supply of everything - including money and fuel if possible. We've been warned to get out of debt and live modestly. And while I think I've taken these warnings seriously and made adjustments to the way we live and spend our money - I have made these changes with the attitude that we have plenty of time and there's no rush. But after this weekend - I plan to take a more serious approach. It wouldn't take much to bring this country to a total economic standstill. And I have a LOT more work to do before I'm ready for that.

On a happier note - work on the final book in the Duty series is coming along well. I hope to have it turned in to Covenant at the end of this month (or the first of Oct at the latest). And the release of Above and Beyond is only a couple of weeks away! How time flies!

Sisterhood

2008-08-28T04:25:00.001-07:00

I had a dream years ago - not long after my mother died. I was walking down the halls of the Salt Lake Temple and I passed a beautiful young woman. I could see her from a distance - she was talking to someone else - and when we finally 'met' in the hallway she looked over and smiled at me. It was my mother. At first I thought it was just a comfort dream - for me to know that my mother was happy and healthy and WALKING now that she'd left this earth. But later I decided that it was also a lesson in sisterhood. My mother is no longer my 'elder'. She's once again a young woman and when we meet again in addition to being mother and daughter - we will be sisters.

I thought of this again last week. I had a bad day and a particular disappointment and planned to just go to bed (I was exhausted) and wake up (hopefully) more cheerful in the morning. But Emily brought in her fingernail polish and insisted that she was going to give me a pedicure. I tried to talk her out of it. I didn't think anything could cheer me up. But she wouldn't take no for an answer. As I sat there and received this simple, personal service from my sweet daughter I did feel 'cheered'. And my toes look so cute!!!

I am eternally thankful for mothers and daughters and sisterhood.

SORRY!!!!

2008-08-28T04:17:00.000-07:00

I really intended to do a weekly blog and in the future I will - but (and I really hate to admit this) I forgot my own password for the blog and kept forgetting to ask Emily what it was. I finally had to email her at work to find out!!!! So now I have it safely recorded in my inbox and this shouldn't be a problem again.

Things are going well at the Green household. Just busy like everyone else. I'm really starting to enjoy my job. It's still a little stressful and makes it hard to accomplish the other things I need to - but working with the kids is very rewarding.

In book news - Above and Beyond and Spirit of Christmas should hit bookstore shelves in just over a month. I hope to have my copies by the end of that first week of October if not before. I'll mail out my preorders immediately. I am trying hard to make sure I keep careful track of all orders. But if you place a preorder and don't recieve your books/cds by the middle of October let me know. My biggest fear is that I'm going to forget someone!!!

And I've started on the final book in the Duty Series. My original plan was to do a Haggerty book next (and I've got it more than half written). But when I was doing the final edit of Above and Beyond I started getting so many ideas about how to resolve the story - I decided just to go ahead and do that book for March (when Covenant wants another one). The Christmas book has a Haggerty story in it - so hopefully that will tide the Haggerty Junkies over until Fall. And this way we can get Dane and Savannah settled!!!

Grace is HOME!!!

2008-08-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

It is SOOO great to have Grace home. She left Provo on July 31st - all alone - with Mapquest directions, an atlas and a fully charged cell phone. The plan was for her to sleep most of the day so that when she left she be rested and refreshed and ready for a long drive. She was headed to Nauvoo where friends of our family (the Hogans and Ackers) had gathered. She hoped to get there on Friday afternoon so she could have time to look around, attend the new pageant (we were cast members of the old one for the last two years) and then spend the night with the Hogans before heading on home Saturday morning. However several last minute things came up on Thursday - interupting her sleep - so she wasn't all that rested when she left Provo. She had to stop several times to take short naps - which delayed her. Then a wrong turn at Des Moines resulted in a detour to Minnesota. So it was 3:00 am on Saturday before she ever arrived at the Hogan's hotel room in Nauvoo. They took good care of her and after a few hours of sleep she followed the Ackers as far as Nashville (where they ahd to vere off toward Georgia) and then made it the rest of the way by herself. It was not a pleasant trip but we were thankful to have her home safely.

Emily started school last Weds. I can't believe she is a SENIOR!!! So far school has gone well. She starts seminary on Thursday so her life will be even busier. Andy and Clay start their new schools on Weds and I started my new job at my old school last Friday. I'm working with three exceptional education teachers who are wonderful. Once I figure out what I'm doing I'll be more comfortable - but I'm thankful to be back at Hueytown Elementary.

I got up early this morning and emailed back and forth with Tommy. He's doing well in Uganda and it's so fun to see him mature and settle in to missionary life. We still miss him and it's still hard to have him so far away, but I'm confident that he'll be okay.

And finally - we've been mesmerized by the Olympics around our house. It makes me so proud of our athletes and so thankful to be an American! GO USA!!!!

July 23, 2008 - Right Place/Wrong Time

2008-08-09T12:37:00.001-07:00

Tommy is on his way to Uganda. His plane left about 45 minutes ago and he should be there in less than 4 hours. I'll be so thankful to have him settled at last, under the care and watchful eye of his own mission president (and the mission president's wife). He emailed me on Sat the 12th (2:00 in the morning our time) and said that was when he would have computer time the next Sat as well if I wanted to get up so we could 'chat' by swapping emails (something I used to do when Jamie was in Sweden). So on the 19th I got up at 1:00 am (just to be sure I didn't make a mistake in the time difference and miss him). Right about 2:00 he emailed me that he was there. I was so excited!!! I sent him back a quick email and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally he emailed back and said he only go 20 minutes on the computer and had over 100 emails that he'd been trying to wade through. He said he had to go but would email from Uganda. I couldn't believe it! I didn't even get to ask him what day he was leaving. Or why he was wading through 100 emails when he knew I was sitting there at 2:00 in the morning waiting to talk to him...It's a good thing I love him - and that he was in Africa. So I emailed Sister Libby who works in the mission office in Uganda and asked her if she knew when he'd be arriving there. She emailed back and said he was coming today. So this morning when I got up I had a nice long email from him. The traveling missionaries were all packed up so they had been allowed a little extra computer time - when I WASN'T there to chat back. But it was still good to hear from him. He was excited to get to Uganda and meet his new companion.

And on a related topic (my other kids say all I talk about is Tommy - which is not true - although this journal entry does kind of back up their claim) I joined an Missionary Moms email group shortly after Tommy got his call (like the next day - I needed reassurance). The group has been very supportive and informative and just a pleasure to me. One mom, Shannon Tolman, has a son Peter who is 4 months ahead of Tommy - so she was able to give me very practical advice about how to get him ready. She has some friends (the Cowans) who work for the Church and are currently assigned to South Africa. They go to the MTC frequently to let the missionaries 'practice' on them. While they were there on July 11th they met a missionary from Ethiopia (Elder Shegena) who was headed to Capetown. Elder Tolman is currently serving in Ethiopia and had met Elder Shegena before he left for the MTC. So the Cowans took a picture of Elder Shegena and his companion and sent it to Shannon. When Shannon saw that Elder Shegena's companion was from Alabama - she knew it had to be Tommy and forwarded the picture to me. What are the odds? How huge a blessing was that? To see Tommy happy and smiling in the MTC across the world? The picture is posted on my "About Me" page if you haven't seen it. Anyway, sometimes I am in the right place at the right time - or friends of a friend are anyway!!!