The "Proof" is in the Pudding--or the Mailbox?

 I was excited to receive two of the four proofs that the printer sent out of my newest book, Roses in Kiev, a few weeks ago. The other proofs went to my nephew who had formatted the book.

This is hard to believe!

Just a few little looks inside the book.

On this page in the picture, I am looking in the mailbox that was empty so many times!

Here are the pages about our first day together, and a picture of our first date.

Here is the epilogue page with a wedding picture. I hope the first printing will be done and available by the middle of April when we hope to be at IHC in Gatlinburg, TN. I have a space and table reserved there for selling my two books.

Joella sent me this photo of her reading my book that Ezra gave her.

She said it was one of the most interesting books she has read in a long time, and she wants me to turn it into an audio book, since her husband prefers to listen to books while he drives. He is not a reader much, and another friend just this evening told me the same thing. She prefers to listen to a book. 

So maybe I will try to read the book and record it. Anyone want to help me figure out how to do that? In the meantime, I am already starting to write the sequel to that book. It is a compilation of stories from our early marriage and early years in Ukraine, where our first three little ones joined our family.

Stories about Jonathan falling off the scaffolding only weeks after we applied to return to Ukraine as missionaries, stories about one robbery after another, stories about a mother's struggles and victories, stories about rainbows, an upside down cow, and a little revival out on the work site in Ukraine, and many others.  I may end up having two smaller books, one with stories from a mother's perspective, and another with different stories from a child's perspective, more for children than adults. 

Also, I have stories I have already written to edit and compile into a Christmas book called Christmas in the Karpathian Mountains, stories from our unforgettable week in the Karpathian Mountains at Christmas time when Crystal was just one year old, meeting poverty and sorrow with the gentle news of Peace on earth, Goodwill to men. 

And then I want to write stories of our adventures on our Colorado ranch, and stories about adventures during or around our Mission Helps trips. 

I could also write a whole book about my adventures during the year I taught in Honduras--the attack of the army ants, for example. 

And about my adventures on my trip to China and on another trip to Haiti.

Though I have to admit this last week I didn't have much time to write!

And if you wonder what the above picture is about, well, that is the grain I had to soak and cook every night, along with cayenne, garlic, and other spices, to feed Rose's chickens while she and Carrie were gone a week to help the Albertson family in South Dakota. 

Joy just had her seventh baby, and after some life-threatening complications, she needed to have plenty of rest and not to overdo. So Carrie and Rose went up to help and had an absolute blast.