Long Time No See!

Hello, folks! Well, I'm back. I have had a productive winter, holed up in my cave. I rewrote my novel, from start to finish, and plan to pitch it at the Willamette Valley Writers Conference in August. I've also sent out TONS of poetry--and had the vast majority of it rejected (although I've also received some treasured encouragement from editors who find it either "good, but not right for them" or "good, but not quite there." But I have had a cinquain published recently in Amaze, and I recently received an acceptance from Cell 2 Soul, an online journal that tries to provide a platform for physician, patients, and their loved one to "meet." Five of my poems will be out there within two weeks. (I'll provide the link when they appear.)

Other than that, I've been mostly just taking care of the family. (Although there's really no "just" about it! This family is lot of work! But then ... most families are.) The kids are doing well. Kaitlyn (who, for the record, is now Kayte) is doing well, and/but is very thirteen. I'm going to spare you all the details of last weekend's clash, except to say that I've realized how easy it is to fall into a "parenting lull" after the challenges of the preschool years have drifted away. The teenage years clearly require a more "ramped up" approach to parenting. But she's fine, really. And we're fine. Just ... being stretched!

Alex is doing GREAT. He has a good friend, Zach. His first friend that is really HIS, and not a playmate I threw him together with. He is loving school and doing well and GROWING like a blackberry vine! (And eating like a herd of elephants ... How my aunt Kathy managed to keep FOUR boys fed without breaking the bank is beyond me!)

Brendan is also doing well. (The picture above is him showing off the boxing kangaroo he won at last night's Pirate Carnival at their school.) He's loving kindergarten (although he finds the long days on Mondays and Wednesdays a bit much for him). His reading and writing abilities are just taking off, and he LOVES to read anything and everything. Although ... don't you DARE tell him what a word is! If he has to struggle with it, then ... he has to struggle with it, doggonit! He does NOT look kindly on people who take away his pleasure at diciphering language by being too "helpful." Just call him "Mr. Independent."

And Vader ...! Our puppy is six months old now. He is THE most neurotic dog I have ever met! He get seriously terrified of ANYTHING out of the ordinary, including a box or bag left in the middle of the floor. (We have lots of boxes and bags around our house, but they BELONG there! Bring in a new one, and he ... flips out.) But he is also the most adorable, affectionate little guy. And SO much fun. And what if he IS a little neurotic? He fits right in, around here!

Not to bring this to a close on a down note or anything, but ... Mark isn't doing nearly as well. His pain continues, with visits to the ER about twice a week, still. His heart is relatively strong, but his rhythms are acting up. He'll be having an ablation on March 12th. I'll fill all of y'all in on that more as we go along. What I know, so far, is that it's a procedure rather like a cardiac catheterization except that once they get up inside the heart they burn the parts that are misfiring to hopefully stop the arrhythmias. They had looked at doing this several months ago, but held off because, as Dr. Broberg puts it, it's "not without risk." But it's not risky like a transplant or some such thing. He SHOULD be fine (well, as "fine" as he gets!).

He had to leave his job at the church last week. He wasn't able to get in there more than once a week (if that). He's at the point now where a trip to WalMart often kicks off such severe chest pain that he ends up in the hospital. To those of you who are praying people, I'd love your prayers on two matters: First of all, Mark's spirit. He's pretty discouraged (understandably!). And secondly, we were tight, financially, even with his paycheck from the church. Now ... we won't possibly be able to make ends meet. I started a writing service (www.dot-the-i-writingservice.com). But here's the catch. I know I'm can write and edit. What I can't do is market! I have a business license and everything, but no clients. I would very much appreciate your prayers that God will send some business my way and that the jobs that he does send will be "door openers" to future work. Oh, and if you want to throw in a prayer that we'll survive Kaitlyn's teenage angst (and that she'll survive US!), that would be grand! Thanks, all. And more again soon ...