Dear Reader,

It's been a while since I sat down and wrote an email.

Now, you're probably curious about the subject line, so I'll get to that in a moment. But first, before I forget, I'm dropping the link for the Martha 2.0 Faith-Based Bundle, which includes my Bible verse cards. So, if you're interested in faith-based resources, check out the bundle this week while it's open!

Now, part of why I haven't written in a while is because I was traveling. One place we went was to a writer's conference. While I couldn't take a lot in while caring for the children, I did pick up some interesting thoughts and tips. It was also fun to meet fellow authors! I also got to see my books in a local bookstore. Have you seen my books in a bookstore? I'd love to see a picture!

When I got home from the trip, I had a package on my porch from a writing friend. It was this mug:

The only trouble with the mug is that you might end up in my book whether or not you're careful!

These days, I'm not doing much writing, so you're safer. But in the past, I drew a lot from my experiences as I wrote the Brennans books. I'm currently reading Books 5 and 6 in preparation for sending them off for editing, and I think they're some of my favorite books yet. I keep smiling as I read and remembering the stories that they came from! In Book 6, the Brennans go off for a weekend of fellowship, not expecting torrential rains, a nosebleed, or their van shutting down. I didn't make all that up - it really happened to my family once upon a time!

Yes, we really got up in the middle of the night to mop up water (book 1, chapter 7) and as dreadful as it is, one of my siblings unintentionally threw a hot water bag at another sibling, causing a head burn (book 1, chapter 11) and someone really did bring a mouse in the house and it escaped (book 1, chapter 23)

We had a flying supper once (book 2, chapter 2) and one of my brothers was chased by a rabid fox in our yard (book 2, chapter 12) and we had a stray dog who had to stay in the sugarhouse during church (book 2, chapter 28), and one of my brothers did learn that Maximizer is better than mocking (book 2, chapter 33)

Full disclosure, I was the one who nearly hit the stop sign while trying to learn to drive on a stick shift (book 3, chapter 2), but one of my siblings was the one who made soggy potatoes (book 3, chapter 7) and even though Matthias was the head scientist in the plate-burning story, it was actually one of my sisters in real life (book 3, chapter 25)

My mom really did lose the car when she was pregnant with twins (book 4, chapter 2 - sorry, Mom!) and a boy at Bible school did knock a lamp down on another boy in the night (book 4, chapter 7) and one time we really did get 40 inches of snow overnight (book 4, chapter 13) and even the caterpillar story's timeline is true (book 4, chapter 35)

Actually, nearly everything that happened in the books comes from real life, making these books an excellent choice for young people to read to help them find joy, contentment, and adventure in everyday happenings. Learning to patiently deal with inconveniences like the leaking fridge in Book 4 is an important life skill. If your children have read the books and you feel it has benefited them, it would make my day to hear about it!

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What do you do when you observe daily life? If you're like me, you think, "that would make a good story!" A friend of mine who likes to paint told me that she sees things and thinks, "now that would make a nice painting!" I think observation is a good skill in life, and can help with critical thinking. Even if you don't write or paint, you can still take things in!

Thanks for reading my ramblings! Until next time,