New year, new start

I just looked back on my post from 2012--December 30.  It was full of remembered sorrow--a husband and a son lost for 20 years, but lovingly remembered and still in my heart.  So much has happened since that day last year--actually, so much has happened since July!  Last year, there was still the pain of loss and the pain of incomplete business.  This year, it's all different.  I'm accomplishing my dreams, and it feels wonderful!

To be honest, I don't remember all that much about the beginning of the year.  I know that I decided to start blogging again, and that went well.  I still am not sure why more people don't read my blog, but I know that I will eventually figure it out, so I'm not worried.  As I continued in the year, I decided to go to California over the summer.  It started as a trip with Emily to visit my sister, but that was postponed due to my new niece's arrival.  Nina--what a beautiful name!  After that, we decided to travel up the coast to Oregon.  I miss the  beach; it's lifegiving to me.  Everything was set and ready, but then my son and daughter both tried out for "Annie" and were given parts, so a coastal vacation turned into a time in Greenville (what would end up being the LAST time in Greenville, though none of us knew it).  We enjoyed each other and had fun.  I didn't get to see the play, but I did get to sit in on a rehearsal, so I felt good about that.

When I came home, there was an invitation to join a writer's group in town--Tucson Christian Writer's Group.  I decided to give it a try, along with a lot of other things.  The other things didn't click, but the writer's group certainly did.  I brought one of my portraits with me to read, and it was very warmly received.  More importantly, the guest writer, Kris Tualla, gave a talk on self-publication.  I could hear a door opening in my mind, and I immediately started getting my portraits in a publishable format.

School began with many changes.  I am now teaching Spanish 1 and 2, and that has started me writing for first year as well as second.  I took a bunch of my stories and made an SSR book for 2nd-3rd year.  I realized, too, that I can use that book for my own classes, so that's a really good thing.

As the year progressed, I got up my nerve and asked Adam Colwell to edit my book.  That worked out well, too, and my book, Biblical Portraits, will soon be available for sale.  I'm excited to see a long-held dream finally come to fruition.

I hope all of you have a great 2014.  I'm looking forward to finding out what my future holds.  I'm once again thinking about relocating, but I'm not at all sure that God sees it the same way.  As always, it's in  HIS hands.  Amen!