Our October Surprise

As a writer, I crave those moments when characters step off the page.  I like to grumble about what wayward children they are, but I love it when they soar beyond my control, beyond my expectations, and test the limits of possibility.  I’ve spent over seven years now writing our Irish twins.  Our Irish twins, the same age for nine days each year are our October surprises. They are smaller versions of us, if we had rabid interests in meteorology or actually knew the names of all those weird pieces of construction equipment.

Waylon’s smile is not for everyone – he smiles when he really means it. He is interested in everything.  He loves vanilla better than chocolate. He is one of the best judges of people’s hearts I know. Wyatt is my happy, go-with the flow child, unless he is tired and then he lets his Scots-Irish temper out to play. He thinks he is a secret agent for the U.S. government and is constantly working on his secret code.  He chatters endlessly and often he will fall asleep talking about dreams, friends, or whispering his good night prayers.

Both of these wonderful boys, just like the rest of our children are pieces of my soul, wrapped in my DNA. But that’s not all they are. They like their father are generous, and handsome, passionate, and intelligent. And they are both more than the sum of each of their parts.  It’s time for both of them to fly, to step off the page, and to discover the wonderful outside world and God’s place for them in it.

I love watching both of them as they continue to grow and weave a story only God could imagine for them. These boys are princes and adventurers with beautiful eyes and enormous hearts. I marvel always watching their flight off the pages of the book of this life we have been blessed with.

Two-Stepping Off The Page & Into My Heart

I couldn't sleep last night. I haven't sleep much in the past few months. I could blame the usual list of suspects; one of our six children usually wakes me or sometimes its the non-stop trains barreling through our sleepy town.

As the weeks have passed and Colt and Graysen's story has unfolded before me on my laptop, the unlikely pair two-step through my mind during my restless night hours when sleep will not come for me. They've danced into my heart and I follow their dance with each other, breathless for how it unfolds.

To learn more about Graysen and Colt's story, read my first chapter of Hearbreak Ranch  hosted on Harlequin's "So You Think You Can Write" Contest site.