Message to my Dad

Happy Father’s Day to my dad, Mike Brune, and all the dads out there! This is your day – Enjoy! MESSAGE TO MY DAD: You taught me how to ride a bike bait a fish hook open a pasture fence gate give a tenth back of whatever I had You were there for my first broken bone to pick me …

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving – Day Seven

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Are grandkids the best thing since the hula hoop or what? And what a sense of humor God has! He gave us four sons, then bam! Five grandsons! Ha. Ha. I’ve loved them everyone in turn. Perfection in miniature! Then, finally . . . FINALLY . . . a grandgirl! …

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving – Day Six

Day 6. The letter F.  The holidays always make me thankful for the family God chose to give me—one where faith and love went hand in hand with learning the value of an education, hard work, and cherishing each other. Max and I have tried to instill those same values in our own family. Here are a few of my …

>Much to be thankful for

>Before this month of traditional thankfulness slips away, here are a few things for which I’m grateful. My dear hubby, Max, who somehow, year after year, plods along with me, taking all my quirks in stride. And this fall, he scarcely batted an eye when I announced that I wanted our new entry doors to be painted red. Five coats …

>The UPS Man Came Today . . .

>. . . And guess what he brought?? I’ve been waiting my whole life for this day, it seems. And it met my every expectation. I cradled the books in my arms, counted them, inhaled the scent of new paper, read each and every endorsement (thank you lovely friends for your amazingly kind words), wiped a tear as I read …

>HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

>To moms everywhere: No matter where your kiddos are – I wish you a lovely Mother’s Day. Being a mom is one of the greatest privileges I’ve had. Love to my boys, their precious wives, and all my grandkids. You know who you are. PS: Once every few years, Mother’s Day falls on the birthday of my grandmother on my …

>HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

> As I went out walking one morning for pleasure, I spied an old cowpuncher a-ridin’ along. I cocked my head and smiled in admiration as the tune Daddy sang filled the cab of the pickup truck. The miles whizzed by, gobbled up by the Whoopie, ti-yi-yo, get along you little dogies. I’ve long since forgotten where the road ended, …

>FALL BREAK

>We all need a break once in a while. So today I’m taking a short breather from my novel revisions to bring you some pictures of what we did last weekend. It was fall break for the school kiddos, so Max and I were recruited . . . er, volunteered to watch Scott and Denice’s three kids. Lovely weekend for …

>Happy Birthday, James

> Today is our youngest son’s birthday. James was a cute kid, wasn’t he? I won’t embarrass him by saying he’s still cute, but he has grown up to be a very nice young man. He hardly ever leaves his socks in the den anymore, and he learned to empty his pockets before putting them in the laundry after I …

>TULSA ICE STORM

>An ice storm hit Oklahoma on Sunday. We lost power that night and woke to find my car like this: The neighbors Bradford pear split—Half of it landed on my car, the other half crashed into our backyard. Max (who is a quick thinker in emergencies) went to Home Depot and got a gas-powered chain saw to cut the limbs …