AWOL

I've been "blog-awol" lately. After weeks of pushing hard to complete the revisions on Dawn's Early Light, we headed straight into vacation, a week of babysitting, and now we're prepping the house for a wedding open house.

Do any of you panic at the thought of hosting the wedding open house back in your home town? I thought I had made peace with the occasional dust bunny under the sofa and the toast crumbs in the silverware drawer. In fact, we have so many ward functions here, people jokingly refer to us as the chapel annex. But the thought of new people passing through. . . those who haven't yet fallen in love with my adorable housekeeping mediocrity . . . that makes me panic.

So we're removing the ducky wallpaper from our son's bedroom so his bride won't cancel the marriage deal, and we're hiring lots of professionals--teen aged weed-pullers, painters, and the Merry Maids--to help us whip this place into shape.

We call it the marriage make-over--a tri-yearly or so event whereby we shake off our comfort and really scrutinize the cupboard to determine how many of those empty Cool-Whip bowls we really need. I'll let you know once we've determined the final figure.

I'm do plan to blog hard next week. I have a review of a fantasy book titled Bone Warriors I'll be posting. It's a satisfying fantasy, but you'll be amazed when you discover that it's written by a fifteen year-old whiz kid named Bron Bahlmann. It's worth getting this book for your kids just so they can see what amazing things they can accomplish. I'll also be interviewing Bron next week, so pop in and read about this uber-youth.

Gotta run and pull down the last duckie. . . Have a wonderful weekend!

AND WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

The winner of this gorgeous book, "The Declaration of Independence, a Museum in a Book", is Laura Shipp Lewis from North Carolina, who not only answered the contest question correctly, she also hit the bonus question on the head as well. (Gotta love those home-schooling moms!)

I'll be starting a new contest soon, so stay tuned, and thanks for playing!

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE

A friend died suddenly. He was one of those fun, vibrant personalities people couldn't imagine growing old and feeble, but his death hits those who knew him very hard. For ten years we sang in an annual amateur review to benefit Boy Scouts. It was a very good show considering that most of the principle singers were simply a bunch of mommies and daddies. Dan was always priceless-a comedian whose vocals were upstaged by his wide-eyed enthusiasm and crazy dancing. He was a young bishop as well--a stalwart, caring man with a limitless capacity for inclusion. The youth loved him.

He also was a valiant father and husband, and I cry for his family--good children who lived with the security of knowing their wise and loving father was always available to them, and a wife who was still his best-girl. One day he was fine, and the next--he was gone.

I spent a good bit of time asking Heavenly Father about this, understanding that being good, or valiant, or loving doesn't provide any of us a free pass against tragedy or sorrow. If it did, life would be less a test than a vending machine where we'd deposit good deeds and obedience, not out of faith and good character, but rather as a wise investment. I do understand all that, but losses like this are still hard.

So this was an important perspective check, a time to refocus on what really matters, and what's important. Books can wait to be published, events can be rescheduled. I hope you'll all understand if deadlines pass. I want to invest in people today. I want to hold my grandson, celebrate an upcoming wedding, snuggle with my husband without the press of the calendar or clock.

I hope you'll all do the same. And to my sweet friends who mourn, we're heartsick for you, but we rejoice that love is eternal. What a splendid reunion you'll have!

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION. . . .

Tell me July isn't really over! I feel as if some time-traveling thief stole at least two weeks of this month right out from under my pressed-to-the-grindstone nose. But what I remember of this month was glorious, so even if it was mysteriously reduced by half, I received two-months worth of happiness from it.

First of all, Angela, my editor on Dawn's Early Light, and I were joined at our cyber hips from May through the middle of July, completing the edit on the manuscript. All that remains is to place the maps and photos, and then it's off for printing. This really is a very special book--not because I wrote it, but because it describes a painful, neglected, almost forgotten American story from which we triumphed with the Almighty's help. Most compelling is how old enemies became loyal allies, reminding us that we do have the ability to come together and make peace. Of course there is a wonderful love story and family drama woven in amongst this great American history. I hope these story lines only add to the sense of urgency and sacrifice that drove the first generation of Americans on to defend what their fathers had begun. I hope you'll pick up a copy in October when Dawn's Early Light hits the shelves.

I had barely completed the final track changes on Dawn's Early Light when it was time to grab my suitcase and head off for our family's summer vacation. We began by taking our youngest son through the Salt Lake temple. It was the first time all our children and their spouses were in the temple together. Honestly, if our grandchildren weren't being babysat elsewhere, they'd've had to pry me out, it was an exquisite experience that reminded me that I cry a lot more easily these days.

After basking in the joy of "forever" happiness, we settled in for some "now" happiness. We spent the week splashing, boating, eating, playing games, eating, playing sports, eating. . . (I assume you see a theme emerging here. . .

Our family is competitive--the boys begin a dieting competition that runs from Christmas to vacation with the winner earning not only a slim torso but a nice prize. The guys caved in about three weeks before vacation this year, so they took their competitiveness out to the ball courts and game boards. As a result, our vacation was busy and lots of fun, and I have the sunburn and sore muscles to prove it!

We also attended a free Olympic skiing demonstration at Olympic Park in Park City, and a rodeo/fireworks display at Kamas. It was baby Brady's first rodeo, and as you can see, the drama was intense, so much so that the little feller sought security in a chew on his daddy's popcorn cup.

The family flew or drove off to various destinations soon thereafter. Tom had to work in L.A., but I remained behind to watch our son's children while he and his wife took off on a relaxing cruise. If you've been following my Face book page, you've read about some of the fashion faux pas committed during grandma's tenure with the children. To my dismay, I discovered that the "Princess Leia" hairdo I inflicted upon my own daughter when she was little, was no longer acceptable to my diva grand daughter. Finally, when allowed to add as many clips, bows and other doo-dads as she desired, we came up with a style-compromise. Here is my little ballerina after all our work had fallen out. I think I like this style best anyway!

Our five-year-old grandson, Tommy, decided to create a style sensation all his own. Notice the socks he selected to wear to school with his plaid shorts? What can I say? You have to be way cool to pull this look off!

Babysitting is always a sobering reminder of how much work is involved in child care. Hats off to mommies for all their hard work. Especially when the glamour is thin. I've felt more like a waste-control expert than a nurturer this week--diapers, food smears, wiping almost-completely-potty-trained bums and dodging showers of spewed baby food. I've dubbed baby Christian "The Eliminator" because he somehow produces more volume in waste than he consumes in food. It's an amazing anomaly.

So yes, it's been a busy, satisfying, mach-seven July, but what a wonderful month. Interestingly enough, open houses for the Oquirrh Mountain temple are going on right now. My son and daughter-in-law took their children on a temple tour, and upon exiting, Tommy, our Santa-socked grandson turned to his mother and said, "Mom, my Holy Ghost feels happy. Is your Holy Ghost happy too?" "Yes," she replied, tenderly, "My Holy Ghost feels very happy."

That's what it's all about--the patriotism that protects this choice and promised land, the work, the occasional drudgery and sacrifice--all to get to the temple so we can secure the promises the Lord has waiting for us there, and to enjoy the hope those blessings bring us here on earth.

Our vacation began and ended with experiences at the Lord's House. I was lucky to have my second son, Adam's fiance, Brittany, here to help for a few days before she returned to her home in Ohio to complete last-minute preparations for her wedding to Adam. So, yes, next month we'll all be together in a temple again, in Ohio.

And that's why my Holy Ghost feels happy too.

Another GOD-BLESS-AMERICA-MONDAY

JAMESTOWN

Our First American Colony

I apologize for not posting last week. We were on vacation with our entire family, and despite well-intentioned plans to post this article last Monday, when push came to shove, I chose family fun over writing. I'm sliding back into work now, but let's pay a visit to Jamestown first.

America's 400th birthday party was celebrated for 18 months between 2006 and 2007, but how many of us even noted it? How many of us knew to where, or why Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip flew to the United States in May of 2007? Sad. While Thanksgiving conjures images of Pilgrims and Massachusetts, many of us forget that Virginia was actually the cradle of America.

Still, a legendary mystique surrounds Jamestown like no other colony, except perhaps an even older colony, that of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. And rightly so. Jamestown deserves our respect and awe. This first foothold in the New World was America's birth as well as a turning point for Europe and all other nations as well, and it all began because one hundred and four settlers defied nature, natives and disease a decade and a half before the landing at Plymouth Rock.

It is somewhat disappointing that people's interest in this pivotal settlement is based more on Disney's romantic speculation over the perceived love triangle between Pocahontas, Captain John Smith, and John Rolfe than for the historical and patriotic significance this little island and these people represent for Americans. Here is a fascinating link to one man's research regarding the "real" Pocahontas.)

For me, the Pocahontas story is one more example of the "power of one" person to do good. Without this young woman's aid, the colonists would never have survived the "season of starving", and who knows what impact one more failed colony would have had on American history. It's a fascinating thing to consider, among many others.

Tom and I took our children to visit Jamestown back in the early nineties when archaeologists still believed the majority of the original fort had been compromised by erosion and now lay underwater. It was a very disappointing trip for me. Admittedly, we were off-season when many of the exhibits were closed except for the glassblowing exhibit. I wanted my children to be excited by this glimpse of America's beginnings, but the small-print explanatory placards, "sketches" of the original fort, and dull monuments bored them stiff. The acreage was under preservation and therefore dense, providing some sense of the fear such primitive environs could have raised in the settlers, but sadly, the forty or so deer we saw hiding in the forest proved to be the children's most exciting memory of Jamestown back then.

Not so anymore. An amazing archaeological find a decade and a half ago has changed everything at Jamestown, and it happened just a breath before the 400th anniversary of the settlement's founding when essential landmarks proved that the majority of Jamestown's original foundations were in deed on land and recoverable. The information this find unleashed allows visitors to see items excavated from the actual ruins of the original city that is itself, rebuilt and ready for modern exploration by our families. Imagine getting a 400 year-old glimpse of the lives and lifestyles of the first Americans. It's phenomenal!

There are more "touristy"exhibits as well--recreations of the three ships that brought the colonists to Virginia, craftsmen, artisans, characters in period dress who tell true colonists' stories in the vernacular of the day. It's no wonder that along with neighboring Williamsburg and Yorktown, Jamestown, the third gem along Virginia's Colonial Parkway makes this stretch of land a phenomenal necessity for families desiring to instill patriotism and gratitude in their children.

I'm still saddened by the lack of remembrance, or perhaps ignorance, over our nation's beginnings. We assume an a la carte mentality--picking and choosing what we will hold on to . . . what we care to remember. In a few years we will mark the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, the burning of Washington D.C., and the Battle of Baltimore from which emerged our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, and more importantly, our national identity as Americans. I wonder if anyone but historians will notice.

This has been my personal quest as an author . . . to illuminate these spectacular, sometimes painful chapters of our history in my Free Men and Dreamers series, for these are the events that finally forged us as one nation under God, a more perfect union, Americans all.

If you love history, please pick up one of my books and join me sometime.

ACCORDING TO LIZ:

Like other tradespeople, authors help each other out. Since I don't need a new toilet or vinyl siding, fellow author, Liz Adair, offered to read and review my books: Dark Sky at Dawn and Twilight's Last Gleaming.

The review was so lovely I'm considering buying my own books. (Just kidding, but you go ahead and feel free to do so if you're so inclined. Thanks, and happy reading.)

Thanks, Liz!

"AWAKE, AWAKE FROM A DEEP SLEEP. . ."

The title of this post comes from a scripture in the Book of Mormon, II Nephi 1:13. Most LDS people will recognize it, but regardless of your religious persuasion, the sentiments are timely and critical. Americans have been complacent for too long, and now it is time to awaken.

If you know much about American history and the tumultuous birth of this nation, it's hard to deny the hand of the Lord was in it--that we survived the Revolution at all, and that a passel of minds, such as those of our Founding Fathers, came to be on America's stage at the same time with such unprecedented vision.

Our forefathers freely acknowledged God's hand in America's formation. Said George Washington, "The man must be bad indeed, who can look upon the events of the American Revolution without feeling the warmest gratitude towards the great Author of the Universe whose divine interposition was so frequently manifested in our behalf."Said Patrick Henry, "The American Revolution was the grand operation, which seemed to be assigned by the Deity to the men of this age in our country."These words from the Book of Mormon chill me now. Speaking of America, it calls this land "a land of promise," and "that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord." And then the responsibility of this great blessing is spelled out. "Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom [the Lord]shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity."This land was set apart to be a special land of freedom and hope, and we who are blessed to live here are supposed to be stewards over these freedoms. But most of us fell asleep at our posts, and we're in serious trouble. . .

After years of lazy, selfish slumber, current events aroused our curiosity, and we awoke like angry bears to find that much had happened while we were in poliical hibernation. And now we don't know how to turn things around, or who to trust anymore.

I try to pray for the president every day, but he and his socialism don't offer answers that fit the vision the Founders envisioned for America. I also pray for our military and I'm grateful for them every day, but while their monumental sacrifice holds our foreign enemies at bay, we have plenty here at home as well, and I think we need much bigger help to win these battles we're facing now.

It's time to stop, drop and pray for this country like we've never prayed before.

But even prayer won't be enough. We need to change our hearts--to be people willing and able to hear the answers when they come, and willing to become what He asks us to be. And we need to be civil. We need to be righteous. We need to be Christlike.

We won't need to fear what foreign enemies can do to us if we tear ourselves apart and divide us as we are doing. Congress seems to be running in fast forward, our courts appear to be approaching a dangerous precipice, our taxes will soon rise so high people will flee the land for $greener$ pastures, and what will be left of the promise that once characterized this land?

The problems are becoming too diverse for man's wisdom. We need God. We need to pray. And we need to start today.