Amy L. Sullivan's Blog, page 5

2015 in Pictures

Happy 2016, friends!

I am a girl who likes to race into the new: new adventures, new projects, new situations, but let’s linger for a bit in 2015, shall we? Here are some of my highlights from last year.

That time when these hooligans surprised me for my 40th birthday and took me to New York City.

It was in NYC that I discovered there is such a thing as an automated cupcake machine. You put in money, out comes a cupcake. Genius.

In NYC I also discovered I will jump on top of and over anyone to get a chance to high-five Jimmy Fallon. Second row, mouth wide open, the girl throwing herself at Jimmy. That’s me.

In 2015, I traveled to places like Minnesota and Michigan to speak about writing and serving and connecting. My trips reaffirmed my love for cold weather and people.

This year was the year a local magazine decided to give me a makeover (had the potential to be fun!), but missed the mark and I ended up looking like a 40 year-old extra from a bad 80’s rock video (not so fun). Do not ask to see the photo from the magazine. It’s not happening, people. I drove my thirteen-year-old around, and we confiscated all copies of the magazine. The proof this fashion mistake happened does not exsist. However, I will tell you the makeover involved this outfit, a fur coat, puffy hair, and red lipstick, very red lipstick.

In 2015, our family saw lots of beach.

And too much loss.

This was the year my dream of writing a picture book about real heroes for our girls came true.

And my husband’s dream of being on TV became a reality (after I hunted down the adorable news anchor and pushed the hubby in front of the cameraman). My guy gave a riveting 30 second recap of Easter morning, sunrise service in the mountains. Dreams come true, babe. Dreams come true.

This year I left the public school system, entered the corporate world, and logged loads of hours on planes.

This was the year our family discovered aphids in our Christmas tree. Hello, have you ever experienced aphids? Think thousands and thousands of teeny black bugs joining you for Christmas.

And 2015 was the year we spent Christmas Eve away from home, and Christmas Day with a sick relative at the hospital. It was the year our holiday lacked sparkly wrapping paper and milk and cookies for Santa, but it was the year local church people we didn’t know fed us Christmas dinner, and we learned how-to receive.

It’s been such a blessing connecting with you here. I pray your 2016 is full and that you experience much through His love.

Now you go. Any highlights from 2015? What adventure is awaiting in 2016?

Blasting Consumerism at Christmas

It’s that confusing time of year, Christmas.

                                        Photo Credit: N.Karim

It’s the time when I hustle about attempting to balance Jesus with wreath cookies, wrapping paper, and the pile of gifts inching its way out of my office. Christmas is also the time of year where a running commentary sprints through my head.

You spent too much! You spent too little! You spent at all!

Does that family still live in a camper? Does an apple cinnamon candle say I appreciate you? 

What will happen with the Syrian refugees? What will happen if my nephew’s gift arrives late? What will happen to those two girls whose mother just died?

Do you see what I mean? Each year I bumble about having it figured out not much more than the year before, but our family has come up with ideas we know to be true. I affectionately call them Consumerism Blasters.

Here they are:

1.   Shop with someone tiny. I realize you may scroll away because hello, this post is entitled Consumerism Blasters, and I am telling you to go shopping, but let me explain.

Our six-year-old saved $19.00 over the last, I don’t know, forever. This money has come dollar by dollar. It is crumpled up and lives in various places around the house. Think inside a toy birdcage and at the bottom of her sock basket (very Depression era like, I agree).

When our girl said she wanted me to take her Christmas shopping at Big Lots my first thought was grrrrrreeeeeeat, everyone needs more plastic trinkets!

But this is how it went down.

Our girl bought gifts for three pets and six people with her $19.00, and every gift was PERFECT for the receiver.

Example: She bought my husband a four pack of vanilla pudding for $.89. He loves vanilla pudding. She bought our dog over-sized candy cane bones because “he eats the little ones too fast”. She bought her older sister one pair of fuzzy socks because her sister is always cold.

Our youngest didn’t spend a lot, but she thought a lot. She paced down aisles never second guessing what she knew and being thrilled with each item she discovered. It’s how I am determined to shop.

2.  Put up a nativity set. We have a nativity set. It’s not at all fancy, and one of the wisemen’s beard chipped off. I always placed it under the tree, and I prided myself in the fact that it was a working nativity set meaning I didn’t care where it went or where I found baby Jesus because that meant my kids were thinking about the birth of Jesus.

A working nativity set was an awesome idea until your working nativity set becomes a lost nativity set. I didn’t set it up last year because I couldn’t find it (yes, the stable is lost, the sheep lost, the cow lost…), and I didn’t want to buy a new one. Then the best thing ever happened.

This.

Our kids made a new nativity scene. I am certain it may be the first nativity which contained a papertowel blanket and two Beanie Boos.

3.  Burn candles for Advent. The ex-Catholic part of me loves this tradition. We snag five Dollar Store candles (three purple, one rose, and one white), and light one each every Sunday through Advent and the white candle on Christmas.

4.  Go Christmas Caroling. I love Halloween because it is the one time of year that I see all of my neighbors. All of them. Ring a doorbell and neighbors are thrilled you are there. Christmas caroling is the same deal.

Last Friday, our oldest decided she would carol our neighborhood. Despite not knowing the full lyrics to any Christmas songs, she was certain her and her friends sounded exactly like Pentatonix. Yeah.

The girls printed off Christmas song lyrics from the Internet, practiced a solid two times, put on festive clothing, and took off.

And do you know what happened? Of course you do because you are smarter than I am. People were excited to see them. People liked to meet kids who lived in the neighborhood. People asked the girls to sing more. Someone even said they harmonized well (?).

5.  Read the story of Christmas as a family. We read it from kids’ books and from the Bible. We listen to it on podcasts and hear it retold by friends.

6.  Do for others. With five minutes of planning and an hour of time, I met two friends and their families at a big box store, and we shopped (and “shopped” I mean spent less than $15.00) for mamas in prison. We invited a new girl over. We loved on our favorite high school graduate. We tossed on garb from Bethleham and corralled kids at our church’s Journey to Bethlehem event. We made time to notice people.

7. Use a formula to buy gifts for our kids. We buy our girls something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. I stole this from my wise friend, Tomi, and it helps me box up my shopping.

8. Go to church on Christmas Eve. Last year we were visiting family in Chicago, and I thought we were going to skip my favorite Christmas tradition, but then the husband surprised me and took us to midnight mass at my Catholic grade school in Chicago. It was perfect.

9. We pay attention to where we shop and what we buy. The me of years ago happily bought gifts for everyone on my list at big box stores. But now (aside from specific requests made by my favorite, toothless six-year-old to shop at Big Lots) I look for the little Etsy shop or the new author or the local artist or the local business or the necklace made to help boost women out of poverty.

And that’s us. Maybe we aren’t exactly blasting consumerism. Maybe we are just trying to figure it all out, and maybe you are doing the same.

Your turn. Let’s hear how you try to keep this season slow and meaningful. Tell us about the intentional ways you spend the holidays.

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Hey, if you are looking for a way to put #6 into practice, click over and see Tiny Prints’ (a division of Shutterfly) Giving Back Guide. I got to join this panel of experts and talk about giving at the holidays. Be sure to click around it’s three pages long!

And a big congrats to Juamil Lezer who was the winner of the FB giveaway of 10 Kindle copies of When More Is Not Enough! Yay! Hope your people enjoy the book, Juamil!

Happy Thanksgiving and Free Stuff for You!

I’m not sure if you are gearing up for a long road trip or if you are waiting for family to visit. Or maybe, just maybe, you are trying to boss around photographers on the beach. Who me?

Stop talking, Amy. The photo is better when you aren’t moving your mouth. Regardless of how you are spending these last few days before Thanksgiving, I want you to know how much I appreciate you.

I wish I could jump through the screen and tell you all of the things you deserve to hear and then bombard you with questions which my husband says are nosy and I say are important and born out of genuine interest.

As a way to show my appreciation, I am offerning readers some free-to-the-bee enrichment activities for Gutsy Girls (keep scrolling for the link!). Activities include math, writing, georgraphy, and Bible reading all based on gutsy girl of book one, Gladys Aylward.

This five-page packet can be completed in the car or on the sofa. Children can fill it out between bites of turkey or while waiting for the applesauce to come out of the crockpot (Is this a tradition for anyone else? Phulease tell me you eat this.).

Or you can forget doing the packet during this holiday weekend, print it out now, and save it for when life slows. Either way, it ’tis yours, and now for the link!

Click here and print —->GutsyGirlsBkOneEnrichment

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Real-Life Gutsy Girl: Twelve-Year-Old, Hannah

If the attacks in Paris this weekend have left you feeling helpless, here’s a giant helping of hope from our twelve-year-old guest, Hannah. In celebration of the release of Gutsy Girls: Strong Christian Women Who Impacted the World, Hannah’s post is a part of a month long series on real-life gutsy girls.

(Text by twelve-year-old, Hannah. All photos taken by Hannah’s mother, Alicia Bruxvoort)

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I don’t know many little girls who dressed up as a missionary for career day in second grade, but I did.

I don’t know many little girls whose favorite game involved gathering all of her dolls and playing “orphanage” in the yard, but I did .

I don’t know many girls who begged her mom to help her organize lemonade stands and plan parties to help the poor, but I did.

And I don’t know many little girls who were sent to time out when her mom glanced out the window and spotted her leading her little brother and sister barefoot across the snow as they re-enacted the life story of a famous missionary. But, maybe that happened to me once.

No, I’m not really an unusual girl. I just happen to love the idea of making a difference in this world. (And sometimes a little girl just has to fuel her playtime with some big dreams).

For as long as I can remember, I have wished and longed and prayed for the day when I’d be able to do something BIG for Jesus, to be gutsy for God.

Gutsy is an adjective meaning brave, courageous, daring.

However, there is just one problem with my dream… these words don’t describe me.

In fact, of all my siblings (and I’m the middle child of five kids), I’m sometimes called the “scaredy cat.”

When we went to the amusement park when I was little, the thought of joining my family on the rollercoaster brought me to tears.

When we took boat rides as a family, I would pass on riding the tube behind the boat when my siblings were begging my dad to drive fast.

And not long ago, when I moved to a new town, I was sick with fear the night before I went to my new school. I didn’t feel brave and ready to make friends, I just wanted to hide in my closet.

I’ve never considered myself incredibly gutsy.

And, according to the world’s definition, I may never be.

But the thing about courage is this– God defines gutsy differently than the world does.

And saying YES to God often puts us on a rollercoaster ride of faith that brings out a courage inside of us that we didn’t even know we had.

And sometimes it just helps to hear the stories of ordinary girls like me who have discovered they are braver than they think.

That’s why I love the story of Gladys Aylward.

Gladys (that name doesn’t even sound gutsy!) was just an ordinary girl, a parlor maid who was good at cleaning…

At least, that’s what the rest of the world thought.

But it turns out, Gladys wasn’t just good at cleaning, she was also good at dreaming.

Gladys was the child of a great big God (like me and you). And He had planted a great big dream in Gladys’ heart.

She wanted to be a missionary, even though she had failed out of missionary school.

But that dream in Gladys’ heart just wouldn’t stop growing, so, finally, she decided to leave her life as a maid behind and take a courageous leap of faith. And that ordinary girl took an extraordinary journey to China to share the love of Christ.

She traveled by boat, train, and bus across a war zone and over perilous mountain ranges, putting her very life in danger more than once.

And that was just the beginning of this gutsy girl’s story.

Before Gladys’ tale was finished, she served as a spy, a rescue hero, and a foot inspector. And God used her to change countless hearts across the globe.

It wasn’t that Gladys was born with an extra measure of courage.

It’s just that God loves to use an ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Or maybe you could say God just brought out the “GUTSY” that was hiding in the heart of an ordinary girl.

I love the story of Gladys Aylward because it reminds me that in God’s eyes, we can all be gutsy girls (Even if we never climb aboard a rollercoaster!).

We simply have to trust God to give us the courage to be gutsy wherever He leads.

And those dreams tucked somewhere deep inside?

The ones that seem ridiculous? (The ones that just might drive a girl to drag her siblings barefoot through the snow….)

Those crazy dreams just might be the beginning of a gutsy story for God’s glory.

I’m not sure if I’m ready for riding the waves behind a full-speed boat, but I’d love to grab my Savior’s hand and walk on water.

I think I’m ready to let God bring out my GUTSY.

How about you?

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Thank you, thank you for letting me share your words, Hannah!

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Cell Phone Picture Share

I interrupt our real-life Gutsy Girls series (did you have a chance to catch our guest posts?) to share the latest in cell phone picture randomness.

At the beginning of October, I presented at a writing conference in Michigan with my friend, Lisa. We sort of loved it, and we officially declared ourselves a fabulous team.

Between conference happenings, Lisa and I snuck off to Art Prize in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We saw art made of rocks, paper, yarn, wood, book pages, and we even discovered audio art.

On the way home, I decided I couldn’t be in Michigan and NOT visit the beach, but seeing as the public beach was closed due to a major sink hole (?!?), I found a neighborhood on the beach, and I pretended I lived there. I also pretended these sailboats belonged to our family.

Should you want to borrow one of our boats, feel free to stop by.

In other news. . .

I am sporting a new ring which has earned me points for being hip (although my imaginary hip points were quickly deducted due to bad nails and dry hands).

And I finally ate chicken and waffles. I realize I am a solid five years behind on this trend, but yum-uh.

My girls and I discovered morning hikes are even better with doughnuts.

And my husband and I are working hard to bring back Sunday afternoon drives. Our kids aren’t buying into the idea of aimlessly driving around yet, but we are getting closer.

I am also logging loads of airplane hours for work, and discovering how much I truly love home.

Now you go. Tell me about the pictures filling your cell phone. Tell me about what November looks like for you.

 

Real-Life Gutsy Girls: Music Artist, Emma Danzey Talks Bravery

In celebration of the release of Gutsy Girls: Strong Chrisitan Women Who Impacted the World, this is the third in a series of guest posts on real-life gutsy women. The women featured in this month long series aren’t the women you find lining the pages of history books, but these women are true heroes. They have lived bravely, inspired many, and we look at them with admiration. This guest post is from music artist and founder of the Polished Conference, Emma Danzey. Today Emma shares about bravery.

(Text by Emma Danzey. Photo credit: Bri Nicole Photography)

It amuses me that I would ever be writing an article about bravery. Most of the time I feel as if I am the exact opposite of brave. Anxiety has been a battle in my life through different seasons, so I have known fear and battled with it many days. One of the ways the Lord has called me to be brave is through music. It takes a lot of guts to write songs and sing them for others. This might seem like a terrifying task to you, but that is why I remind myself that I am singing and writing for the glory of God.

Many Biblical stories contain a theme of trusting the Lord.

There are characters such as Jonah and Gideon, but the one I want to focus on today is Moses. When I was a sophomore in college at Liberty University I had to make an important decision, was I going to audition for the Christian Artist program or was I going to play it safe and stick to a more practical career?

It took a series of confirming events that led up to my audition. One of which was a speaker that talked about how God called Moses to be a voice against Pharaoh and for the Israelites. Instead of accepting the challenge, he kept coming up with excuse after excuse not to do what the Lord had called him to do. I was fighting the battle of excuses in my life in order to follow God’s will for my life. Thankfully, I auditioned and the Lord opened up many amazing doors as I followed Him. I have always had peace about that decision that I made when I overcame fear with faith.

1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” Earlier on in 1 John 4:8 it says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” We are not inherently brave and courageous, but when Jesus is in our lives and the Holy Spirit in our hearts, God Himself will drive out the fear that is hindering our journeys.

I pray that you will take whatever is preventing you from being brave straight to God, He loves you and He will surround you with peace as you move forward with faith. It may not be easy, but it is worth it.

Emma Danzey is a Christian music artist and the founder of the Polished Conference for teen girls and moms. Her mission is inspiring young women to embrace the extraordinary. Connect with Emma on FB, Twitter, Instagram, or peek at her Go Fund Me Campaign.

Emma’s upcoming events: Novemeber 7th and 14th in Hickory, North Carolina.

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Coming in 2016 to WNC: Gutsy Girls-Make and Take Painting Party lead by the illustrator of Gutsy Girls, Beverly Ann Wines AND special guest, Emma Danzey. What?!? Stay caught up on this event and a soon-to-be announced event in the Chicagoland area by subscribing to this blog. Simply enter your email in the box labeled Subscribe below.

In Celebration of World Missions Month: 40% Off Gutsy Girls

Do you know it’s World Missions Month?

Image Credit

In celebration of World Missions Month, the paperback version of Gutsy Girls: Strong Christian Women Who Impacted the World, Book One: Gladys Aylward is 40% off. Discount applies to all church ministry leaders and teachers (Sunday school, public school, small group, homeschooling mamas, anyone who teaches!).

Why not share about real-life missionary, Gladys Aylward as a way to celebrate this month?

To qualify for the discount, orders must be placed through me by Friday, October 23rd. That’s this week! Email me for details. AmyLSullivan12@gmail.com.

That’s all for now, friends. Wednesday on!

Real-Life Gutsy Girls: Gutsy in the Face of Tragedy

Happy Monday, friends!

Exciting happenings have been happening, but the most important tidbit of excitement is that sweet Sophie from Massachusetts completed her book report on Gutsy Girls, and this small fact has made me smile no less 14 times. Let me show you. Could Sophie’s hand-drawn characters be more adorable? The answer is a resounding no.

In celebration of the release of Gutsy Girls: Strong Chrisitan Women Who Impacted the World, this is the second in a series of guest posts on real-life gutsy women. The women featured in this month long series aren’t the women you find lining the pages of history books, but these women are true heroes. They have lived bravely, inspired many, and we look at them with admiration. This guest post is from author and speaker, Amy Otteson. Today Amy shares about a woman named Susanne. Both Amy and Susanne have sons who nearly drowned. However, their sons’ stories have very different outcomes. Amy is a friend of one of my forever friends, and therefore, I know she is a good egg. Read on.

(text by Amy Otteson)

Have you ever met someone, learned their life story, and asked yourself, “How much can one person endure?” OR thought – Their life is like that of Job’s. It’s one calamity after another.

I have and her name is Susanne.

In the summer of 2010, my husband and I nearly lost our youngest child in a near drowning accident. Not to seem cavalier because it was the hardest thing that I have ever experienced. It’s a miracle that he lived, and our lives are changed forever. I bring it up because it was the caveat that brought Susanne into my life.

A few months after we were discharged from the hospital with our son, I was approached by a woman that shared a story of another little boy that had nearly drowned. He was fighting for his life on the same floor that we had lived on at Children’s Hospital. She asked if I would reach out to the family. Still suffering from overwhelming emotional meltdowns and anxiety from our own tragic events, I felt hesitant. That said, the desire to support anyone experiencing what we had been through was greater.

We met Susanne and her husband with this precious, blond headed little boy that was the same age as our son. Susanne was so gracious, open and warm. Our sons’ stories and sadly their outcomes are very different. Their little boy never recovered completely. The brain damage was very severe. He has a smile that will light up a room, but he can’t walk across that room. He needs help to walk, talk, and eat. Susanne gives all she has every day to him and her three other children.

I found myself questioning God’s mercy on our son all the while looking at the long road that this family was left to go down. After they left the hospital, Susanne and I would process what was next. I marveled at her faithfulness to God’s plan. Yes, she would cry out. Yes, she would question, but she stood resolute on this path that God had put before her.

The following year, Susanne’s sister and nephew were killed in a tragic car accident. Her brother-in-law survived the accident but had severe brain damage. He later took his own life.

Following these events, Susanne and her family lost their home in a forest fire.

All the while, her husband continued to work for a Christian missions group and Susanne would encourage other with her story and God’s faithfulness.

In disbelief, I would learn of the calamity that continued to rain down on this family. I thought about the verse in Job 2:9-10 where Job’s wife tells Job to curse God and die. Job’s response is, “Should I only accept good from God and not trouble?” This is precisely Susanne’s outlook. In the face of immense tragedy, she presses on and has more true grit, guts and determination than I have ever known.

Never does she stop and say, “Enough is Enough!” Never does she curse God (as Job’s wife suggested). Instead, they have moved their family of six to another country to continue to spread God’s love and God’s redeeming power. If that’s not gutsy, I don’t know what is.

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Amy Otteson lives outside of Denver, Colorado with her husband, Dave, and three young children. Amy and Dave are the authors of Giving Up Gore, a memoir of their son’s near death drowning and his miraculous healing. Amy enjoys time with her family in the mountains, running, skiing and volunteering with at-risk youth.

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If Amy’s story or words resonate with you, be sure to take a peek at her book, Giving Up Gore. Also, make sure to keep up with our month long series on real-life gutsy women by subscribing (just enter your email in the subscribe box) or stay in touch via FB, Twitter, or my new favorite, Instagram.

Real-Life Gutsy Girls: Showing Guts In the Face of Loss

In celebration of the release of Gutsy Girls: Strong Chrisitan Women Who Impacted the World, this is the first in a series of guest posts on gutsy women. The women featured in this month long series aren’t the women you find lining the pages of history books, but these women are true heroes. They have lived bravely, inspired many, and we look at them with admiration. Our first guest writer is Amy Young. Amy moved to China knowing three words: hello, thank you, and watermelon (brave girl, right?). It doesn’t surprise me that Amy’s mother, Marsha is gutsy. Let’s hear from Amy.

Photos and text by Amy Young.

Let’s cut right to the chase, sometimes gutsy girls grow up to be gutsy widows. When I first envisioned this post, I was going to refer to my mom as a Gutsy Grandma because I liked the ring of it.

Gutsy Grandma. Yup, I like that.

Gutsy Widow. Not so much.

Gutsy Grandma is rooted in what she has.

Gutsy Widow is rooted in what she has lost.

On October 9th, 1965 Marsha Farley married Tom Young, so this Friday would have been their 50th wedding anniversary. I have strong childhood memories of helping to throw–more like attend–Golden Wedding Celebrations for both sets of my grandparents. I can picture the friends and family gathered together, the hoopla, the new outfits we wore. We still have the yellow potentilla shrub planted in our front yard from one of the parties.

No shrub will be planted for my mom. They made it a few months over 48 years when my dad succumbed to liver disease.

And this is what I’m learning from my mom, being gutsy isn’t just for girls, it’s for grown-ups too. As we gathered around my dad’s hospital bed and had to decide whether to continue with treatment or not, Dad looked to Mom for her input knowing the decision impacted her in ways it impacted no other.

It takes guts to say, “It’s okay to go ahead of me.”

It takes guts to lead the family procession down a different church aisle than the one you walked many years before, this time in black.

It takes guts to attend to the myriad of details and meetings and decisions that used to be shared.

It takes guts to begin to build new traditions well into your 70s while honoring the past.

It takes guts to keep investing in people, knowing that you might not see the fruit of your investment because you are aging.

Because of Dad’s liver disease we, their daughters, threw a 40th wedding anniversary party, just in case one of them didn’t make it to their 50th. But as the years passed us by, we hoped that this Friday would be a day of celebration and not one of remembrance.

And this is why the idea of gutsy girls is so important: you don’t become a gutsy widow if you weren’t first a gutsy girl. Mom taught us that life wasn’t a given, joys and disappointments are a part of life. Although you don’t have to be afraid of what will happen, you do have to roll with life’s punches.

Friday will find our family scattered, instead of gathered together in celebration. While this is sad, it also shows how Mom’s gutsiness has laid the groundwork for life to go on.

It’s gutsy to live life to the very end without checking out.

I love you, Mom.

Who do you know who has shown guts in the face of great loss?

Amy Young is a writer and speaker. She is also Editor, Book Club Leader, and Connection Groups Coordinator for Velvet Ashes. Her first book, Looming Transitions: Finishing well on the road to or from serving cross-culturally will be released in January of 2016. Connect with Amy on FB, Twitter, or via her website.

 

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Thank you to the fabulous Amy Young for sharing here today! Be sure to check-in next Monday as we continue to talk about the gutsy women we know and love.

Pssssst: Thank you and GUTSY GIRLS is $.99

You. guys. Thank you for blowing it up on social media about GUTSY GIRLS: Strong Chritian Women Who Impacted the World. Thank you for buying the book for your girl and buying it for girls you know and buying it for your Sunday School class, and buying it for your entire preschool class (!!). Wowza.

Thank you for photos like this.

And this.

Oh and of course, thank you for photos like this.

Thank you for taking the time to write reviews. I know this is a pain, but potential book buyers on Amazon love to read reviews.

As a giant we-appreciate-your-kindness gift, the illustrator and I are temporarily dropping the price of the Kindle version of GUTSY GIRLS to $.99.  I love, love, love the paperback version of GUTSY GIRLS. There is nothing like a real book in your hands. However, in case you want to preview Gladys’ story before you spend $10.00 on the paperback copy, a $.99 Kindle version is a sweet deal.

So thank you, fabulous readers and friends. We can’t wait to share about the next gutsy girl in our series. Watch for her in the summer of 2016.