Awesome News From the Publishers!

 

Bethany House Publishers

a division of Baker Publisher Group

 

Announces

 

True West Magazine 

voted    TRACIE PETERSON

BEST WESTERN ROMANCE WRITER FOR 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do You Have My Christmas Decorations?

My Christmas decorations have disappeared.  We've looked all over and they're just gone.  They were in storage in the shop, but when we went to locate them they were no where to be found.  So, it got us to thinking that maybe we had experienced one of those moments and put them away in the crawl space.

My hubby Jim went climbing down into the crawl space and gave it the once over and no Christmas decorations. Even our cat Cal was perplexed.

Then we thought maybe we'd put them in the storage under the stairs, but they weren't there either.

Now this isn't just a small bit of stuff. This was a collection of several rubbermaid tubs of Christmas village houses and other pieces that were quite sentimental.

 

So I thought I would just ask - do you have my Christmas decorations?

I am happy to say that a few special pieces are still around.  Judy had gifted me with a lovely nativity set several years ago and I'm happy to say that is still with me.

There were a couple of new village pieces I'd picked up at a garage sale this summer and they are still sitting in the garage awaiting their debut. 

But there are some very dear friends out there somewhere and I don't know where they are.  They've been missing for over a year now, as last year when we realized they weren't where they were supposed to be - we figured we'd find them after the rush of the holidays.  We went out and bought a few lights for the house and actually skipped doing a Christmas village or tree.  I really don't want to go that route again this year as it seems very bah humbug.

So, if you see my Christmas decorations - please send them home.  Meanwhile, I guess I'm just going to have to start recollecting.  Oh well, I suppose there are worse things to have to do.  Somebody get me some chocolate and a nice hot mocha coffee.  I have a feeling I'm gonna have to go out shopping and need to have some sustainence.

God Bless!

Northwest Beauty and Thankful Hearts

I found myself continually praising God as we traveled through the Northwest.  There were many areas that had been affected by fires and some had suffered great damage, but there were also so many places where the fingerprints of God were so evident.

 

 

Going through this area just east of Butte, MT all I could think about was the rocks crying out in praise.

 

 

There were other places where I wished we could have taken a side road and slipped off the beaten path for a time and just worship and be alone with God.

 

 

The weather, although cloudy, was also an inspiring part of the ambiance.  When my daughter Julie was little and saw sunbeams like this, she would say, "Look Mama, it's a little bit of heaven coming down."  You know, she was right.

 

 

 

We definitely enjoyed seeing the yellow tamaracks - evergreens that aren't always green.

 

 

And of course there is always that special feeling that you get when home comes into view.

 

 

 

At Bible Study Fellowship this week we talked about starting each day in a spirit of thankfulness and worship.  Everytime I look at God's handiwork I am filled with a deep thanksgiving for all that He's given me.  I had wanted to live in the mountains all of my life and wasn't sure that it would ever come to be, but God put that desire in my heart and God brought it to be.  I also wanted to write books and God showed me a way to do that very thing for Him.  And I wanted to travel and see new places, and with my writing and ministry for God, I get to do just that.  So as Thanksgiving draws ever near - I am shouting out my thanksgiving to God and praising Him for the many blessings He's given me.

 

 

Of course - that includes the blessing He's given me in each of you.

 

 

 

Research fun in Seattle

This last week we went to Seattle to do a little historical research.  The town is a fascinating place to visit and we had a great time.  On the way to Seattle we were able to touch base with family in the Tri-Cities area,  here I am with my niece Bethany and her boyfriend Corey on the left side and my nephew Phillip and his girlfriend Rachel on the upper right side.  That's my son Erik sitting beside me and my mom in the lower left corner.

 

 

 

The weather in Seattle was typical for this time of year - overcast, misty, rainy and chilly.  But that didn't stop us from venturing out to learn what we wanted to know.  Jim and I were able to uncover a lot of super interesting bits of history to use for future stories and even Erik got in on the research.

 

We stayed at a really neat hotel - the Best Western Pioneer Square.  This hotel was built in 1914 and the decor and folks there were awesome.  I highly recommend this hotel if you want to stay in the historic district of Seattle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here I am researching the joys of eating crab at the Crab Pot.

 

 

 

And here we are researching the Space Needle Restaurant.  A very expensive endeavor to be sure, but it proved to be a lot of fun and a great meal.

 

 

 

And while in Seattle we were able to visit the Chihuly glass exhibit next to the Space Needle.  The following are some of the amazing pieces that were being shown.  This glass art is incredible and while I've shared photos from the Boston exhibit before, I can't resist sharing some Seattle shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course we had to get a shot of the Space Needle itself.

 

And Jim got creative with this photo reflecting the Space Needle in the Chihuly glass.

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed a taste of our trip.  I hope to share some additional photos with you next week and hopefully in a year or so I hope to share a new series with you set in the Seattle area.

 

Blessings