Cover for RACE AGAINST TIME!!

Here it is peeps:

The cover for book #2 - Race Against Time! Isn't it beautiful?

Don't Try This At Home...

The Sunday before Christmas, I attempted a feat only I would dare try.

Skiing down the stairs.

On my shin.

It didn't work. And it hurt.

Thus, the title of this blog...

Anyway, the REAL story is this (albeit much less glamorous) :
Sunday night after church, my friend (loyal and true) Carrie came over. I was still in my dressy outfit from the cantata that night. (Mistake #1)

After we caught up and had a good ol' heart-to-heart, I asked if she wanted to see how we'd rearranged all the rooms in the basement. (Mistake #2 - not that asking her was a mistake, I love Carrie dearly, but it was definitely too late at night and my pants were entirely too dressy...)

At the top of the stairs, I realized a dilemma. I normally wore four-inch heels with these particular pants. Why? Well, One - the incredibly cute and dressy pants demand that kind of footwear, and Two - my legs are just too stinkin' short. Anyway, back to the story - Carrie headed down the stairs first, and me and my big mouth and dressy, dressy pants started our descent. I said, "Watch me trip on my pants and fall down the stairs..." (Mistake #3)

Truer words have never been spoken.

And I fell.
It wasn't glamorous. It wasn't graceful. It wasn't even pretty.
But Carrie's football stance at the bottom of the stairs was all of the above. I wish I had a picture of her face. It was priceless.
And I treasure her even more as a friend. Carrie is no frail chick who danced around saying, "oh my goodess!" - she didn't even try to save her own skin and jump out of the way of "skiing Kim" as I hurtled down the wood stairs - no, this girl stuck out her own neck, ready to take the blow so she could stop my momemtum-building fall.
That's a friend, people. Just sayin'.

And me? Well, my leg is grotesque to put it mildly. The bruising and coloring just get better and better each day. :)

Sweet hubby has patched up the wall-(oh, by the way, did I mention that my knee punched a large hole in the sheet rock?), and I've learned valuable lessons. Things like:
-wear shin guards every time I head down the stairs
-never, NEVER say I'm going to fall-Even if I'm joking
-never wear the cute, dressy pants without the appropriate footwear
-grow longer legs

And for all of you who demanded a picture - well, here it is. This is three days after. I almost took another one today, but I'm afraid of scaring small children... and the elderly... So... just imagine it about ten times worse - That's what it looks like now. Hopefully in about a month, maybe it will be gone.

The Grinch that Stole...

...blogs...
...and emails...
...and motherboards...
...and operating systems...
...and hard drives...

But I digress. I really do love the age of technology. Yes, even when it goes against me. Even when it has a heart 500 times too small.

So, I'm here to say - We're Back!!! Hopefully, prayerfully, joyfully. I now understand why emails have been getting lost for months upon months, our blogs have posted/unposted, and basically life in the land of social-media-techno-world stunk. :)

BUT - it hasn't stolen our Christmas spirit. We wanted to share with you a few pics of our Christmas decorating... and yes, I decorate way before Thanksgiving. Get over it. I LOVE Christmas. And I really like enjoying this season... hence - the putting-up-decorations-early mindset.

*** Rabbit trail warning ***(I've had hate-mail over this [not really, but it sounds so much more intense] - from those grinchy-type people who think Christmas music should NOT under any circumstances be played before turkey day is over. But I won't mention it... well, not any more. At least I'll try to remember. I've forgiven them. And I play Christmas music sometimes year-round. I'm not spiteful. Or ornery. Really. I promise. I just love Christmas.)

Ahem. Back to those Christmas pics ;)

I have never been accused of over-decorating.



...Or using too many lights...



...Or going overboard.

In any way.

On any thing.





Nope.

Not me.

Nuh uh.



I'm perfectly normal.

Yep.

Everyone decorates like this, right?




Okay, okay, so maybe you don't put up 15+ Christmas trees.




And maybe you actually have to use other (i.e. regular light fixtures) lights during the Christmas season to illuminate your home. (To which I say, what's the point in that?)

And airplanes don't head for your house like it's a runway...

And your friends don't tell you that "Christmas threw up" in your house.
LOL

I'm teasing. Christmas really is my favorite time of year. Love, love, love it.

But just in case you can't agree with me, or don't like to decorate, just look at this next picture.


You gotta admit she's too stinkin' cute for her own good. :)
Now doesn't that just make you smile?

So, here in Colorado, dreams of new un-grinchified computers will dance in our heads...

Merry Christmas!

Computer Crash... Stay Tuned

Well...
After months of craziness, we finally discovered all our glitches. Our main computer system had a time-bomb virus. (if you don't know what that is - don't ask. It's scary. I'm freaked out every time I think about it. Yuck. Ugh.) It fried the mother-board and operating system, and sent trojans to the other computers on the network.

We haven't been able to post on blogs correctly for MONTHS - and not at all for quite some time - as you can see :)

We haven't been able to receive and send email properly for months...

And, we've lost a lot of data.

BUT - we believe - that it is all functioning properly now. (At least the computers that are still alive.)

So... Thanks for your patience and keep watching. We hope to get it all back to schedule this week and next.

New Website, Need Influencers, and Great Interview Next Week!

It's official - the new "website" is up and running. And for the most part, I haven't totally killed it, rearranged it, or messed it up. (I know, I know, just wait, right?) LOL

Anyway, so please tell your friends that they can go to any of the following:
kimwoodhouse.com
kimberleywoodhouse.com
kimberleyandkaylawoodhouse.com
kaylawoodhouse.com
and they will all take you to our new streamlined (hopefully), easy to navigate (prayerfully) site :)
Kayla and I would love to have your thoughts on the new site, tabs, and info that is up. We'd also love your suggestions!

NEXT - we need influencers for our upcoming release NO SAFE HAVEN - if you'd like to be someone to read it, blog about it, and talk it up - please let us know ASAP. Either commment here - or send an email through the contact tab on our website.

AND NOW - that everything is up and running smoothly (finally, whew!) be watching for a great interview we have with Jenny B. Jones next week! She's totally amazing, hysterical, and one of my favorite people of all time.

Stay tuned!
Love you all :)

Superficial?

Do you have any depth? I'm not asking about the face-to-face you that a privileged few might get to see. I'm talking about the social-media-out-in-front-of-your-thousands-of-follower/friends you.

I've read a lot of blogs lately about professionalism, social media, blogging, etc. etc. etc.

And it's made me think. A lot.

Do you think there's the "professional" you and the "personal" you?
Do you think there's a "social media" you and the person you are face-to-face with your closest friends?

Here's my two cents on this (and as you read this - think about whether you feel the same way):
-I can only be the best "me" that I can be. No one else can do it. Only I can. Same goes for you.
-I'm a real person with feelings and emotions and thoughts. Don't put me on a pedestal. Ever. I don't ever deserve that. Or want it for that matter.
- I do believe that there is a "public" and a "private" persona. But for me, I don't ever want it to be a facade. I'm still going to be real whether it's one-on-one or social media.

Now let me ask you a few questions. Feel free to comment with your answers or to email or DM (twitter) or FB message me.

What do you look for in your networking - meaning - social media?
-Do you only want friends? Fans? Family?
-How much time do you spend on social media, blogs, forums each day?
-What interests you on social media? (for instance, I have people get upset if I don't tweet or FB enough about what I'm cooking - because that's what they want to know/see -and that's perfectly fine, because I love to cook, so it's fun to share with others)
-What makes you keep coming back for more? (websites, blogs, tweets, whatever - and I'm not just talking about here - I'm talking about every site that you like/visit)

Feel free to answer as few or as many as you like.

Why do I share this with you and ask you these questions? Well, frankly, I want to know your thoughts. And your opinion and thoughts are valuable here. And I really wanted to just get the discussion going about social media. Let's think about whether we are superficial or have some good ol' meaty depth.

Pride...The Lesson That Keeps Needin' to Be Learned

Do you ever struggle with pride? Now be honest. Don't lie to me. Or to yourself.

Pride is the basis for well... let's just say it... all sin. Proverbs 16:18 puts it clearly: "Pride goes before destruction..." (NASB)

Think about it. Every sin you've committed - okay narrow it down to a few - think about the motive behind it. It had something to do with your pride, didn't it? We're such selfish beings, we want this, we want that, we want to do things our way, we can't stand anyone outdoing us, or someone having something we don't have, or worse - having people think badly of us. It's all pride. Pride. Pride. Pride.

A recent incident made me think hard on this issue of pride in my life. With the economy and other factors, we traded in our beloved and mucho decked out Expedition, Little Gracie. I loved her. We all did. She was comfy. She was huge. She had every bell and whistle Ford makes. The seats themselves could heat or cool your bum and move five kazillion ways. Everything was computerized and motorized and at your fingertips with a push of a button. She even had power running boards. (That if you moved too quick, you'd hit your shins on while they were whirring their way up and down.) :)

We were stinkin' spoiled.

But times are changing. We'd done so much traveling in beautiful Little Gracie, that her mileage was getting on up there for a young vehicle. We also needed to see where we could save money. Figuring we could save half (did you read that?) HALF of my gas budget if we downsized, we knew we needed to be good stewards.

The decision itself was easy. The dealership that we bought from made everything even easier and delivered everything to our house. BUT, my pride kicked in at the last minute when I thought of actually giving up my much-beloved vehicle. I thought, "it won't be the same!" (Waah, wah, whine, whine, grumble, complain.)

Thankfully, I have a loving Heavenly Father who graciously hits me over the head with the much needed proverbial 2x4 in times such as these.

WHAM! In that split-second, I knew my pride had gotten the better of me once again.

Who cares if it's not the same? Who cares that I'm not driving down the road in my swanky, oversized, over-optioned vehicle? Good grief, did you read that? It's totally ridiculous! Who cares?

I found myself laughing in the driveway. There are people in the world starving, homeless, orphaned, so how dare I balk in the face of all that - at merely saying goodbye to a stupid (excuse my use of the s-word) vehicle? That stinkin' pride. Always sneakin' up and givin' me grief.

Well, let me just tell you that after that brief moment of slacking (okay, so maybe it was momentS) there hasn't been one doubt in my mind. Material possessions have far too strong of a hold on this ol' world, and I don't want to be hanging on to anything like that. I'll hang on to Jesus. The Author and Finisher of my faith.

As I walked back up my driveway and as Little Gracie drove away, I looked at my kids. We've tried really hard to teach them about stewardship and about the fact that when we leave this earth, we're not taking any of this "stuff" with us. And for another brief instant, I was worried about them. Were they sad to see the vehicle go?

I asked them. And guess what? They laughed. They didn't care. They put their arms around me and said, "it's just a car, Mom. Who cares?"

Out of the mouths of babes. Again, I wondered how the good Lord could use an inadequate vessel like me to rear these two fine teenagers. I shook my head and laughed with them.

And we haven't looked back. As I'm zippin' around town in my little red Nissan, savin' gas money and singin' at the top of my lungs with my kiddos, it hasn't phased me a bit.

But imagine what could've happened had I let pride win that day? Well, you might not be able to imagine, but I can. And it ain't purty. Not at all.

Pride goes before destruction...

Too Much...

All right - for everyone who has been sending me the wonderful notes - thank you! I'm here today to clarify everything I possibly can. LOL - don't get your hopes up, it will probably be clear as mud by the time I'm done.

I'm thinking of getting rid of the counters on the site, because frankly, they can't keep up. Every time one of the shows we've appeared on airs, I receive thousands of notes and emails, and then people try to comment on blogs and it won't let them. So even if we could guess accurately, which we can't, I don't know if it's worth it.

Next, I apologize for all of you who try to comment on the different blogs (Kayla's, Kayla's and mine together, and this one) and can't. There doesn't seem to be an explanation for this, other than the fact that computers and the web must hate me. :) I've got an amazing web guru guy who handles our websites and it's not his fault. He makes everything work when I mess it up - So it's obvious that I somehow freak everything out.

And last but not least, be watching for changes to streamline and connect all the websites, blogs, facebook, fan pages, etc. I'm hoping it will work the way I imagine it in my brain. Hoping being the operative word there. So please be patient with us as we attempt to figure it all out, and hopefully, it will be even better. :)

As always, I love hearing from you. I love hearing when you see our EMHE episode and you cry when I cry. I love hearing how you love reading our crazy blog posts. I love hearing your wonderful suggestions, encouragement, and silly stories. I love hearing how you don't think I'm crazy, even on days when I know I am...

To sum it up? I love you guys. Now back to Algebra, grading papers, and another chapter in RACE AGAINST TIME. Thank you all so very much for your support!
Kim

Priceless

*This is a tough post*

I love how God uses story to help open our eyes and draw us closer to Him. Two incredible books released this year that tackled an increasingly horrendous problem:
Sex Trafficking

Some knew nothing about this awful subject, some may have known but turned a blind eye to it - "it's not happening around me, so I can ignore it", some are caught in the midst of it.

I'm going to give you some terrifying stats:

-1.2 million children are trafficked every year; this is in addition to the millions already held captive by trafficking (1)
-Every 2 minutes a child is being prepared for sexual exploitation (1)
-The average victim is forced to have sex up to 40 times a day (5)
-The average age of a trafficked victim is 14 years old (5)
-Approximately 30 million children have lost their childhood through sexual exploitation over the past 30 years (1)
-Sex trafficking is an engine of the global AIDS epidemic (4)
-People are trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries (3)
-Between 14,500 and 17,500 victims are trafficked into the USA each year (4)
-The total market value of illicit Sex Trafficking is estimated to be in excess of $32 billion (2)
-By 2010 Sex Trafficking will be the number one crime worldwide (5)
-Trafficking in women is the second largest global organized crime today
-Over 25% of victims are trafficked from Southern and Eastern Europe.
-Tragically, only 1-2 percent of victims are rescued, and only 1 in 100,000 Europeans involved in trafficking are convicted.
(1-UNICEF, 2-UN, 3-UNODC, 4-US Department of State, 5-The A21 Campaign)

We cannot turn away from this. A lot of people are discussing the problem of Pornography, and yes, pornography is rampant in the world, but this problem is even greater. Pornography feeds this industry. Can you imagine your own child being abducted and sold into sex slavery?

Since reading Priceless by Tom Davis, and Deliver Us From Evil by Robin Caroll, I've been seriously praying about what I can do. What can you do?

If you like to read - Please buy the two books mentioned above. The stories will grip you and bring to life this epic problem. They are both powerful and beautifully written. I'd also recommend you check out Tom Davis's different sites. Tom is the CEO of Children's Hope Chest. Below are other links for you to check out (PLEASE, PLEASE go and read their stories - you will never be the same)

www.sheispriceless.com
www.love146.org
www.iempathize.org
www.hopechest.org
www.notforsalecampaign.org
www.globalcenturion.org

On a personal note, I know both of these authors. They have touched my life in huge ways. This is not just about selling books... this is about changing a life. One at a time. Please pray about how you can help.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!

Kayla has been chosen as a staff writer for iBegat.com a new site for teens!!

This is launch week at iBegat - so please check out the links below and tell all your friends!

iBegat Home Page
Devo by Kayla
Staff Writer Kayla Woodhouse
Movie Review by Kayla

Another Year... Another Reminder

So, another year has passed, and I am getting older. I don't mind, although I often wonder where the time has gone, and why has it gone so quickly.

Anyway, my birthday was this past weekend and I can't help but remember a comment my son made a couple years ago.

It was the year I turned thirty-three. We had been having a fun, together-at-home day. Late in the afternoon, my son all-of-a-sudden gasped REALLY LOUD...

"Mom!" He exclaimed, with a look on his face that told he had a great revelation.

"What, Honey?" I just knew it was something sweet and profound. It was my birthday, right?

And without missing a beat, he informed me, "You're as old as Jesus was when He died!"

Let's just say that everyone else there laughed. Hard.

I attempted to keep a straight face and looked at my loving boy, Josh. "Wow. I hadn't thought of that. And I'm so proud of you for remembering how old Jesus was when He was crucified, and then rose again. Thank you for telling me."

My husband, Jeremy, (after he picked himself off the floor from laughing) tousled our sweet boy's hair and Josh ran off to build something with legos, I'm sure. Jeremy smiled, "Out of the mouths of babes, huh?"

We laughed, and we have laughed about it ever since, but it has also made me think. Josh did say something very profound that day.

Jesus lived such a short life here on earth and yet, accomplished so much. And He was perfect. Sinless. Never made a mistake. As believers, we are supposed to be striving to be like Him. So, on that day of my thirty-third birthday, my son reminded me of what I should be working toward. These precious years we've been given in this life are not about us. And in our society of "Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!" lives are lived selfishly but does it help us in any way?

My questions for today are not easy. What are you living for? WHO are you living for? What have you done with your life? It doesn't matter if you are sixteen or sixty - these questions still apply to you. Are you caught up in the day-to-day stress and forget the end goal? Are you running toward that finish line? Where is your focus? Do you get distracted and take little side trails?

I wrote a post a while ago entitled, "Running... Out of Time"
I've updated it a little and am reposting it. I think we all need the reminder.

"Running... Out of Time"
I'm always amazed at how time flies! Our beautiful daughter had brain surgery almost FOUR years ago; it feels like it was just yesterday, and it also feels like a lifetime has passed since then. Where did the time go? My kids were babies just yesterday . . . weren't they? And now I have two teenagers!

My title for this was: Running . . . out of time. Aren't we all running? Shouldn't we be running? Hebrews 12:1-3 says this, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart." (NASB)

So yes, I'm running. And I'm running out of time - we ALL are. I'm running the race set before me and as the enemy tries to steal my time (especially my writing time, it seems) I'm going to keep ON running. How many more people will God place in my path? I don't know - because I don't know how much time I have left -- but I DO know that He wants me - and all of us - to be lights for Him, use the gifts that He has given us, and keep running the race.

Throw off those encumbrances, get rid of that sin, fix your eyes on Jesus and let's run with whatever amount of time we have left.

***This is a revised version of a post I wrote a couple of years ago***

The Scoop...

Kim and Kayla here...

Here's the new scoop:

As we have worked on our schedules, re-vised, re-grouped, re-focused, re-assessed, re-rested, re-confuzzled, and totally turned everything upside down with all this "re" business, we've come up with a new schedule to try and simplify things.

With the craziness of our lives, we want to share it all with you (isn't that nice of us?) and still be able to maintain our writing, schooling, swimming, speaking, teaching, and everything else in between. :)

So here it is:

Tuesday - will be a post on our blog together at - KimberleyandKaylaWoodhouse.com
(One week Kim will post, the next week Kayla will post and so on...)

Wednesday - will be a post on Kim's blog posted at - KimberleyWoodhouse.com click on the blog tab this blog is also posted at
KimberleyWoodhouse and KimberleyWrites

Thursday - will be a post on Kayla's blog for kids at - Dragon Claws, Dog Paws, Swimming Laws...

As always we love to hear from all of you and look forward to sharing all the great things going on!

It's Raining... It's Pouring

So many times in our lives things overwhelm us. And the proverbial saying comes into play, "When it rains, it pours..."

Life always seems like that - with its ebbs and flows. Craziness always appears to hit more than one way.

I discovered when we moved to Colorado that most of the time when it rains, it only lasts a few minutes and it never really pours. Until last Tuesday. :) We had some great thunderstorms. Little did I know, that it would be a torrential downpour with flashflood warnings all around us. I was just excited for the moisture for my flower beds.

The next day, we discovered water had found its way in through a window in my office. Not a pretty sight. And heartbreaking. Books wet and damaged, a lot of my author stuff wet.

I was devastated. We've had a lot of "hits" lately, and I didn't want another one. :) Then another blow came - finding out that homeowner's insurance couldn't cover it. Okay, I admit it. I cried. Tears of frustration and anger and then... "what do I do?"

And then for the bazillionth time in my "young" life - I felt the prodding to consider this trial joy. Ugh. You'd think I'd learned that lesson a while ago. Did I really need to work on it again?

Um... yes.

No matter how tired I am, how much I have on my plate, or how many things might be piling up... I need that reminder. It doesn't mean that life all of a sudden takes on a rosy glow, but it does mean that I can choose joy. Even when I don't feel like it, or don't want to, or would rather wallow. :)

So... one day at a time. I'm choosing joy. What about you?

WOOHOO! Check out the trailer!

I'm so excited to share with all of you the book trailer that B&H has for NO SAFE HAVEN!

It would thrill us beyond belief :) if you could help us get the word out by passing on the links to everyone. They can either view it here on our website, Kim's Website or on - Kim's YouTube channel under favorites

NO SAFE HAVEN releases in March of 2011 - and will be up for pre-order in a couple of months! We are very excited about this book and hope to get the word out!
Thank you - Kim and Kayla

Spider Bites and TV ... Random Monday

What a week...
I had a crazy one, that's for sure. We had a big event for our kids' swim team, Kayla and I are in the middle of revisions, and I don't know what shows aired when, but I received over 4500 emails through my website... AND... I got bit by what we think must have been a spider.

My random thoughts about this?
-I don't like spiders.
-I really don't like being bit by one.
-It really itches.
-It REALLY hurts.
-It made my arm swell up to twice its size.
-The diameter of the area grew up to 8 inches.
-Yes, I measured it.
-WebMD doesn't have enough information on spider bites.
-My arm had a fever for 4 days.
-My arm also looked like it had a sunburn on steroids.
-It made all the muscles in my arm hurt.
-It's still there. But it is getting better.
-I really don't like spiders.
-I really, really, REALLY, don't like being bit by one.

Now back to email...and revisions...

Spider Bites and TV ... Random Monday

What a week...
I had a crazy one, that's for sure. We had a big event for our kids' swim team, Kayla and I are in the middle of revisions, and I don't know what shows aired when, but I received over 4500 emails through my website... AND... I got bit by what we think must have been a spider.

My random thoughts about this?
-I don't like spiders.
-I really don't like being bit by one.
-It really itches.
-It REALLY hurts.
-It made my arm swell up to twice its size.
-The diameter of the area grew up to 8 inches.
-Yes, I measured it.
-WebMD doesn't have enough information on spider bites.
-My arm had a fever for 4 days.
-My arm also looked like it had a sunburn on steroids.
-It made all the muscles in my arm hurt.
-It's still there. But it is getting better.
-I really don't like spiders.
-I really, really, REALLY, don't like being bit by one.

Now back to email...and revisions...

Alaska Adventure #2...

As we continued our amazing research trip into the interior of Alaska, we had the privilege of seeing one of Alaska's (and the United States') most incredible sights. The Alaska Pipeline.







And another part of our interior Alaska trek was North Pole, Alaska. Here's a great picture of Julee at Santa Claus' House hugging a giant stuffed Polar Bear.




North Pole, Alaska is where our characters' are from in NO SAFE HAVEN. This deliciously yummy croissant french toast is from a little cafe' in North Pole and probably the best french toast I've ever had!




Guess what this is? Any idea how much mail they receive here every year? Take a guess...



Julee, myself, and Karen at the Cafe' North Pole - which will be featured in Book #2. The research was oh, so hard...




This trip was full of great memories, but more than anything - great friends. This is one of my best friends, Leah. I miss her.



Keep watching for more pictures and fun stuff from our trip back to our beloved Alaska...

From Kayla's Perspective #4 - REVISION RAMBLINGS

UGH!! Revisions, schoolwork, swimming, crit group chapters. Where has the day gone?

As we travel down this amazing-ly busy, terrib-ly funny, tiring-ly draining, and genuine-ly crazy path, (since this is a blog I can use all the “LY” adverbs I want, LOL) I realize what “not enough time in the day” really means. (“Sleep? What is this sleep you talk about?”)

Also, now Mom and I have a new challenge, a puzzle: Taking apart and then putting back together our story. (Duhn, duhn, duhn, duh!) Otherwise known as, REVISIONS.

“Let me splain… No, too much, let me sum up…” (Come on, you’ve gotta love The Princess Bride) we’re each making a separate document for our character's scenes so that we can re-tweak them, finding out where to add new scenes, which then means going back and labeling all the old ones. Whew.

Confused? Don’t worry, so am I! But I’m just going along with it, Mom knows what to do, so I’ll just follow her. Again, LOL. (It's a good time to only be 12+1 years old. I don't have to have all the answers.)

Being a writer is hard work, which is why I always keep my stash of M&Ms close by. FYI-M&Ms work magic when writing! And sweet tea, sweet tea’s great too. You’ve gotta be prepared when going onto the battle field, right? (Just go along with it.)

Then again, every once in a while it’s nice to sit back and relax, ya know? Most of the time that means watching a movie (like Bolt, Up, or The Ultimate Gift) or reading a book (like one of The Dragon Keeper Chronicles or The Chronicles of Narnia).

But no matter how relaxing that is, it’s still a job to do revisions! (Revisions themselves aren’t the bad part, the bad part is when you over-do your editing and destroy your scene. How do I know? Just trust me, I know.)

But, it’s always fun when Mom comes into the room (In that moment it’s like angels start singing the Hallelujah chorus) and she starts making me laugh.
(Just a little piece of valuable info here, Mom and I are both very silly and love to laugh at each other’s mistakes, for instance as I was writing “Most of the time that means watching a movie or reading a book” above, I put “watching a book or reading a movie”.) Hey, you’ve gotta at least chuckle!! Come on, chuckle… you can do it… come on…

I guess that’s just how life is though, full of surprises, trials, laughs… and confuzzling sentence skeletons (Ick). But, at least I know that I’ve got God, so what am I worried about? I may do horrible in my worst subject, (English, are you surprised?) but I guess that’s what perseverance is for, right? (Nod your head so I know you’re paying attention.)

Little voice inside head also known as Holy Spirit: BE THANKFUL!
Me: Yes, sir.

Oh! I think I hear lunch calling me, it’s saying “Kayla… eat me…” echo, echo, echo. (Have I succeeded in making you smile yet?)

I guess I’ll go eat lunch and then get to my Revisions, Math, and English (woop-a-dee-doo… hint, hint).

Have a wonderful day and God bless!
-Kayla
Remember: Bad things aren’t the only things that happen in life so thank God for your blessings (yes, English included), even when you’re down in the dumps.

Random Monday Questions...

Well, since the furious writing of No Safe Haven, the research trip to Alaska, speaking, book signings, and then Sales Conference at B&H - and of course the recovery from said trip (LOL!) - I've been just a tad bit off schedule. (Understatement, I know.) But, I am pleased to say that even though my crazy life continues, the random Monday blogs will resume...

Today, it will be all the questions floating in my mind in the next 90 seconds. Here goes:

-I wonder how many people are drinking a Dr. Pepper this morning just like me?
-Why do weeds grow better than my carefully tended flowers?
-Why haven't they come up with something useful to do with weeds?
-Why can't we make money off of growing weeds?
-Does anyone else wish that time would slow down for just a little bit?
-Why does my husband like to fish so much? Especially in the heat...
-Where did I put my black jacket with the pink stripes?
-Was that the dryer that just beeped?
-How many yards will the kids swim at swim team today? 4000? 5000? 6000?
-Will I ever feel caught up?
-When is the A/C guy supposed to come tomorrow?
-I wonder who I just received email from... the iPad has dinged 15 times during the writing of this...
-Can I have a day off?
-What would people do if I answered the phone, "Hi, this is Kimberley the Author, what's your favorite color?"
-Does anyone know what movie that's from?
-Will anyone try to answer my questions?
-Why can't I turn off my brain like my husband and "go to my nothing box"?

There you have it... Random Monday...
Now where did I put my daytimer?

Book Cover for NO SAFE HAVEN!!!!!!!!!!

WOOHOO!! Check out our amazing cover for Book #1 - No Safe Haven - releasing March 15, 2011 from B&H Publishing Group!