Long Time, No See (Literally)

What have I been doing? And what am I grateful for? I'm glad you asked!

I'm grateful for...

1. Bible studies. Our Evangelism training and Reclaiming Beauty studies ended earlier this month. It was sad to say goodbye to acquaintances who have become good friends, but we all agree that we should do something together again soon. ; )

2. House cleaning! Top to bottom deep cleaning. And yardwork. ; ) I got to organize our history bookshelves chronologically which was helpful to organize my own brain. (Believe it or not, I had the Alamo in the totally wrong mental place!)

3. Out of town guests. It was so much fun to catch up with friends we haven't seen in over a year! Balderdash, Chik-fil-a, thrifting, Studio C, a water fight, and just plain hanging out... Good times. ; )

4. Family. ; )

(The crazy sisters on the slide. We're screaming because we're falling of the end as Anna is taking the picture. And yes, that's all of us, Blue is just hiding next to Aimee's head.) ; )

5. Homeschooled Authors work. I'm now officially part of the team helping out with emails and keeping the booklist updated. It's been a ton of fun to work with the amazing Sarah Holman and all the other authors I come into contact with. ; )

6. Short story inspiration. A couple weeks ago Em and I spent a couple of days at Perry and Tyler's. During our nighttime talking time together, we told each other stories. I recently expanded my idea into a full short story which I hope to have up on Noble Novels soon. I had her and Blue read the finished version to give me their opinions. They enjoyed it and found a few continuity errors/missing words which was really special. ; )

7. More book related stuff believe it or not. ; ) I'm part of a summer reading program on Homeschooled Authors (more details Wednesday!). It was quite a bit of fun work to get my entries put together, and Anna helped me a ton by taking the pictures for me. ; ) We had a hilarious time together trying to pick poses. I'm a bit of a photographer's nightmare since I like to photobomb myself; but she did a good job, and we got it figured out. ; ) Here's one of my favorite pictures we took...

The necklace is one of my birthday gifts from Dad and Mom this year. I put it together from components from Hobby Lobby, and it's now one of my favorites. (Chum loves it too. He'd open and shut the locket for hours on end.) Since it's a bit whimsical, what book could be better to pose it with?

8. Library books. We are so funny when we go to the library. We usually hit the limit of books that can be checked out, which means both book bags are full and still everyone has to carry something. ; ) I'm enjoying reading all the juvenile fiction that is too adult for it's age group but is just perfect for mine. It's a lot safer and more fun than the adult section! 

9. A store. Em, Blue, and Pearly put together a little store of things they had made and invited us all to come browse through it. There was some pretty neat stuff; and, when all the shopping was done and the store was closing, they generously gave us all gifts. ; )

10. Nephews!!! Like I said, Em and I were over at their house a few weeks ago; and there's been visiting between our families a few more times as well. We also get the blessing of seeing them at church (and chasing them all around the play area--in medium-high heels!). I'll post some newer pictures of the little friends sometime.

11. Grace. We are weak, but He is strong.

So that's what I've been doing in a nutshell! (Not that I've personally been in a nutshell, but what I have been doing has... Oh, forget it. Grammar.) ; P

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Next time you want to take an undercover gluten-free dessert to an event try this recipe. And if you aren't trying to be super healthy, substitute the chocolate chips with M&M's. Oh, heavenly! Just be warned that if you want a picture of them, you'd better take it right away. They sell out quickly! ; ) (I'm a living example.)

What is one recipe that you've found that never fails to please?

Questions, Questions

The last survey I did was so much fun, I thought it was high time for another. This is borrowed and tweaked from Aimee's Google+, so you can thank her later. ; )

1. Name: Kate Marie
2. Age: Young enough and old enough. ; )
3. Role model: Jesus Christ, Mommy...
4. Hobbies: The three r's (minus the 'rithmatic), cooking/baking, nephew chasing, singing with my family, writing letters, test reading, amateur sewing, talking.
5. Favorite actor: Jimmy Stewart, and Gregory Peck. (And if you're asking about ones currently living I'll add Kirk Cameron, and David Tennant. And James from Studio C!!!)
6. Favorite actress: June Allyson, Julie Andrews, Donna Reed, and Amy Adams 
7. Best friend: I live in an artist colony (yeah, creative people who wear weird clothes--we qualify when we're still in pjs), so I'm pretty much best friends with everyone here. Outside of my family, I'd say Esther, Rebekah (both of them), Anya, and Susie.
8. Favorite band: Andrew Peterson and all his folks!!! (Though I'm beginning to branch out into some of the other Rabbit Room-ers...)
9. Favorite song: Kung Fu Piano by The PianoGuys and Rejoice by Andrew Peterson.
10. Favorite movie: Fireproof, A Man Called Peter, and Toy Story 3.
11. Favorite animal: Big dogs and small cows.
12. Favorite subject: English. (That covers about all of the wordy stuff.) ; )
13. Pens or pencils? Pencils, because I'm a fallible human. 
14. Summer or winter? Winter. It's so moody and good for inspiration and a really good excuse for reading.
15. Tea or coffee? Chai tea! It's like coffee without the dirt flavor.
16. Good day or bad day? So far, so good. I've made breakfast, read my Bible, and done my chores while talking waaay too much with my crazy siblings. 
17. Birthday: In the springtime. Lovely, lovely springtime.
18. Something that makes you happy: God's love, babies, books, breaking 13k words in my story, my family, our sweet dog Ella... I'm sorry, there are too many. ; )
19. Something you're looking forward to: In the future future, having a family of my own and Christ's return. In the present future? Eating lunch, publishing, writing more, and seeing the nephews again.
20. Tell a story in one sentence: Once upon a time, there was a problem that was solved so everyone could live happily ever after.
21. Nominate any number of people: I think it would be fun if Rebekah, Holly, and Lauren answered these questions! ; )

Now it's your turn! Answer the questions if you like or ask me an extra one. ; )

Ice-Skating on Mars

Dad, Mom, and us older kids watched The Martian on a filter together the other night. The next morning we were still discussing space travel, the theological ramifications of aliens, and different kinds of technology. Blue was busily eating her breakfast and not really paying attention to what we were talking about.

Someone mentioned water on Mars.
Dad: Yes, but it's mostly frozen at the poles since it is so cold there.
Blue, looks up from eating and yells: Ice-skating!!!

The conversation took a rabbit trail for a moment as we all laughed and imagined together what it would be like to balance on skates in a space suit. ; )

She's also been keeping us entertained in other ways like writing me notes during church in elaborate kid cursive to ask for something or imitating one of our favorite tenors as she goes about her day. (He has something of a jazzy twist to his style, and she can do it perfectly; though maybe not as well as she does Golde from The Fiddler on the Roof.) She also sings a crazy cowboy song from a vintage TV show, and it's even better when she has a sore throat. ; )

Love the littlest! ;)

Laughter Is Medicine

So we've been catching ourselves up on the four or so seasons of Studio C we haven't seen. We've been pretty sick for a while, so why not? ; ) (It's also easier to do a marathon of these than find a good full length movie sometimes.) These are just a few of my favorites. I hope they get you laughing as well, but please remember to be careful since YouTube is a secular site. ; )

The world is ending, and James has us all laughing our heads off! I love this one so much. We've watched it over and over again. : )

This is how politics actually work! Where are Perceval and Galahad??? I would vote for them. #PercevalGalahad2016

This one is just way to good!! (Especially how James cannot sing!)

No comment. ; )

This one just kills me!! (Especially since Stephen's wife is playing his mother!) ; )

This one is just too brilliant!!! (We know a little boy who acts this one out.) ;)

What are your favorite funny videos?

Inspiration

When C.S. Lewis was trying to describe how he got his inspiration for The Chronicles of Narnia, he wrote, "It all began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy woodland. This picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself: 'Let's try to make a story about it.'" (You can read more of what he said here.) We all know what happened next, and some delightful stories were born.

Just like Mr. Lewis, I'm often not sure where my inspiration comes from. Sometimes it's another story, a song, a random Scripture verse, and yes, even pictures.

I didn't really know until I had finished writing the first draft of "The Book of Dreams' where it had come from, and even now I'm not completely sure. Maybe it was the book from the BBC Voyage of the Dawn Treader that had caught my fancy years ago or my fascination with Caspian's half-dwarf tutor. Maybe it was listening to an audio drama of "At the Back of the North Wind", reading "The Weight of Glory", or listening to Andrew Peterson music that filled me with a longing for heaven. Or maybe it was just my own random thought: "What if you were chosen to have an adventure?" 

This story has been one of the easiest for me to write. The words, especially the description, just seemed to flow into the keys of the computer. I felt almost like Handel frantically writing the Messiah. Although my siblings keep begging me to let "Letters for Victory" be published next, I've decided that it must be "The Book of Dreams". It's a story that I love and can't wait to share.

I will admit to you, that not all of my inspiration has been this glorified or extraordinary. Most of it comes from everyday life and interactions with my creative and amazing family. ; ) When I was describing Grandma Rowena, I pictured her as Grandma Nutt from the board game Candyland. ; ) Cool, right? (Cinnamon doesn't quite look like her peanut dog.)

I think some of my characters would protest if they knew their origins. So, dear Sir Larkin, Drewin and Ryla, Byron, Sienna, and everyone else please stop reading this post if you won't be able to handle it. ; ) I'm about to confess.

• Sir Larkin--your name was originally a girl's name I heard at the Homeschooled Authors' book table in 2014. Very sorry, but I thought with the medieval twist it would work. Will you forgive me?
• Drewin and Ryla--your names themselves are made up because I had run completely out of medieval names since I've overused the time period/genre. But I have an ever bigger confession to make. The name of your story (The Twin Arrows) is actual the name of a local casino. I didn't know where I had picked it up until I was idly reading the billboards on our way somewhere. I'm reclaiming it though. It's mine, and it's ours.
• Byron--yes, I know I haven't visited your story in a while. I'm stuck. But your name was an awesome inspiration. I've read it almost every day of my life, and it was such a part of me that I didn't know it was the brand name on the tag of my teddy bear. He is very noble and unique, though; so you shouldn't be ashamed to be named after him. (And it's really not as bad as the random Pony Express rider who was named after my pencil case...)
• Sienna--hello, again. I want another story for you, but we'll have to get to that sometime. I believe you are named after a local resort from yet another billboard. It's a beautiful name nonetheless, and I love it. ; )
• Fiddler--I love you so much that I couldn't find a name good enough for you (and Edward already got a story, so I can't use that again); so that 's the real reason you don't have one. There's no geeky or cool reason for the "secret" except lack of inspiration and fear of ruining your awesomeness. (I don't think Isolde minds.)
• Percy--you are so cool that I'm sorry you got that name. Only thing I could think of when you needed one. (At least you aren't stuck without one like "Mr. Strathmore's boy" or "the half-grown boy with the half-grown voice"...) And by the way, if you end up in a second story, you just got ten times cooler. I was reading the Arthurian tales the other day and crying over Sir Perceval's coming to Camelot. Your name is now short for Perceval. ; )
• Isolde--you're name is also from the Arthurian tales, but hopefully your story won't be as tragic as Tristan and Yseult's. It's beautiful nonetheless, and I'm really not ashamed of it all. (You're sister Ariel is from one of Jerusalem's alternate names and the name of the sprite from The Tempest. I heard somewhere that they were naming people during the 1860s from the Bible and classics, so... And Shallia was completely from my own head.)

So it ranges from everything from billboards to Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis to teddy bears, and everything else in between. Sometimes with stories like "The Book of Dreams", I feel as if I am writing something beautiful and amazing that will bless many people and bring them closer to God. Other times I feel as if I am writing a collection of random ideas that is just a cheesy remake of The Princess Bride. And then I remember that, as long as I am writing for God, He will make something out of it that I could never have imagined being possible. He will use my crazy stories to change a life, even if it is only my own. So I keep writing. ; )

I've recently started using Pinterest to help with inspiration. I have boards for "The Book of Dreams", "Letters for Victory", "Fiddler's Bargain", "Awake", and another story currently (and boringly) known as "Kiera". I try to keep my boards God-honoring and kosher, but please use the site in general with caution. (Same warning as I give for YouTube.) And please note that there might be spoilers. ; )