Summer time!...Let the fun begin!
What plans do you have for your summer? Family vacations? Large organizing projects? Just more of the same daily routine? Well, I don't know about you, but I am ready to shake things up a bit. Do something new! I appreciate the schedule of a school year, but I am so ready for the summer. But this year, I am more then ready to go out of the normal humdrum cycle of daily routines and do things to make a great memory with our family!
    There are places in the area I have never seen and I intend to do just that. Hell's Canyon, The Fish Aquarium in Boise. Maybe even go to a couple of places I haven't been too in a long time. The kids have definitely voted on camping, so I am all for that...just as soon as I buy me a cot! My aging bones may not make it sleeping on the ground anymore! But  I can already smell the campfire, smell the pine trees and hear the birds singing high in the trees along with the chatter of the squirrels. I can feel the peace, the silence of no traffic, no

beeping and flashing. I am there!

Happy Mother's Day!
One thing I learned through my years of being a mother.... I am not perfect. I had never been a mother before, you see. I had a great mother, but I was not my mother. I was starting new and fresh. I had the dream of the mother I wanted to be and I tried my best. For the most part I think I did okay. But then I realized each of my six children were different. They needed different things, their thought process was different, but again. I tried my best.
    I love being a mother! From the time I was small, I knew that was what I wanted to be when I grew up. I played with my dolls and practices as often as I could. But the real thing was so much different.
    I was so excited for each new baby to arrive! I loved holding that precious newborn. With each one, I would pray that I would be the mother they needed. It was a hard job, but I would never trade it for the world!
    I just want my children to know and understand that children do not come with instructions. Your children won't be cut from the same cloth as you are and whatever you THINK is the WAY to do things, may not work for each child. The only thing that will be consistent is the love you feel for your children. 
    I love my children. I would never go back and change the choice to be their mother! I look at the pictures in the scrapbooks and wish for more time with them when they were younger. I see them growing up and wish for time to slow down. I see their struggles and wish I could stop the hard times that are coming for them.
    I have one thing to say to my children....remember, always...I love you. We are an eternal family. We all have our trials to learn and grow from; it is a part of life. Everyday remember that no matter what, no matter how good or bad life is for you now, no matter how good or bad you thought life was for you as child in our home....I love you, always!
     

  

Time to get back to writing!
I have been busy with books sales and The 2015 Treasure Valley Quilt Shop Hop! Fun time for sure! 
    I just spent three days with friends traveling into Oregon, up to McCall, Idaho and all throughout the Treasure Valley hopping from quilt shop to quilt shop! Each place had a sewing gift, bottled water and a treat. Discounts and special precut quilt blocks to create a beautiful Quilt. It was such great fun! Now to put to use all the wonderful material I found on my trips.
   Now its back to the grind stone! I have a book to revise. I have pulled Darla out of Westbow Press  (Thomas Nelson group). She needed revised and their price was just too high. I also have one to get  ready for publication by the end of May/first of June!  "Colton's Cabin!" I am determined! I am excited to share with you book 3 in An Orchard Grove Series! Look forward to seeing a few old friends from "Darla's Decision" and "Lovin' Lily".

This Saturday, April 18th, is the end of my two week  of my"Spring Book Boutique"! It was such a great opportunity to meet more of my community and share with them my beliefs as I talked about "The Short List". That is my plan of sanity in a short book. Put God first and put yourself on your own 'to-do' list! Remember make time for yourself!
    I offered several types of books from fiction, to woman motivational, journals, and Children books! I sold "Darla's Decision" at a discount during the sale for $6.00! I will continue to offer it at that price for the rest of the month on my blog! I have taken it back from my first publisher, Westbow Press associated with Thomas Nelson and I will revise it and have it back in circulation by the end of May! Right along with Book #3!  Colton's Cabin!!



Today I am also announcing a Kindle Countdown!starting Monday, 8:00 a.m., April 20th to the 22nd you will find 
"LOVE AT LAST" for sale for 24 hours!  At .99 cents!! Then $1.99 the next day, April 22st brings it back to normal at the normal price.  For those of you who have not read it yet! 
Here is your chance!
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Journaling..... My first diary was given to me when I was ten. It was a Mickey Mouse Diary with a little lock. It was given to me by my mother when I had been put into the hospital for pneumonia for the first time.
    I loved that little book. It had a place to write on four lines for each date...enough for five years! I wrote in it faithfully. One sentence every day for the first three years...then as I got older I would squeeze in five or six sentences on those short four lines. It was the beginning of a collection of many full size journals and notebooks.
    Writing was calming after a stressful school day. It was a place to write my secrets, my hopes and dreams...and the very back cover I recorded the crushes I had... the love of my (ahem)...month was written in many different colors. That back page was full of names surrounded by hearts. It is a very fun memory now!
      So many important moments were recorded, many sad ones too. It was a wonderful friend who listened to me when I didn't think anyone else would listen. It was that comfort of knowing I could tell my secrets and no one would laugh. 
    Journaling became a great part of my life. From the age of ten to about 19, I wrote every single day! After I was married it shifted to two or three times a week, then when the kids came. It shifted again. I wrote once a week- every Sunday- for a long time...now I catch up every other month or so.
    One journaling idea that was very precious was when each of my children were born I began a journal about them. I wrote for them and about all the fun little cute things they did as babies. As they begin to crawl, walk or talk, I recorded it for them. Until they were about eight years old. Then I bought them their own and tried to help them to remember to write. Off and on, I would let them help me write in their baby journals. We have some pretty humorous little additions in their own handwriting. From squiggles to their first spelled words. Another Treasured memory!

"A Journal" is my creation of a blank, lined journal. I LOVE journals and I just had fun creating one for me...and I am sharing it with you. If you aren't a journal keeper....begin today! What you have to write is worth reading in the future by your own grandchildren and their children. It will help them realize someday that you understand anything they will also be going through someday. It is a great part of Family History! So start writing today!

Newest book out...
Get Ready...Get Set...Go to School!
This is an educational book I have created for my grandchildren. I taught preschool for my kids and had many others joined us through the years and even beyond when I had no more preschoolers at home....thirteen years of teaching preschool. I love the preschoolers. They are so energetic and ready to learn! I researched what I needed to teach my kids to get them ready and shared it with others. Now I have put it all in a book ready to share with you! "Get Ready...Get Set...Go to School!" Find it on Amazon...just click the link!

March is around the corner! Spring is a great time of year for new beginnings! New exercise programs, new paint on the living room wall, new flowers blooming....and a new book to read!
Take time to read! It is relaxing and the words are inspiring and motivational! Whether it is fiction or non-fiction, reading fills your mind with new possibilities!

 Happy Spring!!

January will soon turn to February. The month for Love. It is a time to show those that you care about your appreciation. Plan now! Write a simple note that tells that special someone why they mean so much to you. You know...pen, paper. They still make those!
      The world spends hours upon hours texting, facebooking, or tweeting, but how much time do you actually spend writing down your thoughts and feelings. There is special treat in receiving a hand written note. Even if all you do is write those three little words....I love you. Sign your name and set it on someones pillow, place it on top of that electronic that they seldom set down or walk away from these days, stick it in their shoe--just pick a spot that is unusual. They will feels so great when they receive it!
    Remember there are those who aren't connected to your electronic world that you maybe forgetting. Send them a card or a short note expressing your love to them. Make February a special month this year! 
Think Love!

How are the resolutions going? Well, it is still January. We have time to restart on them several times! I have begun with mine and already have to readjust them! It's a good thing I believe change is a good thing! You know, if it isn't right, it isn't right. Begin again. Keep trying. That is my motto for the month.... 
Keep trying!

 Happy New Year to everyone! I hope this year brings you much joy and happiness. Here is to New Beginnings and New Goals!
     I love January. I look forward to new ideas, new goals accomplished and new experiences.
     I look forward to sharing new things and happy times with all of you.
     I have  several books on the burner, so be watching for them! I will be re-editing "Darla's Decision". I love my first book ---but it has many flaws. The story won't be changed, just corrections in grammar.
      I have a couple more quilts to finish. A revised personal routine to incorporate into my day and people to meet! I have fun times planned for family time--which includes hard work in the yard and around the house. A family that works together builds great memories and creates great bonds.
       What plans do you have for your New Year? Hope your New Year is full of many blessed moments.

Newly released Christmas book! Just in time for some holiday cheer and romance! To get it by Christmas order from Createspace store. OR from Amazon. This book is also available in kindle form. Merry Christmas! ($7.00) Price may vary online.

Kaylee Brinkerhoff was determined to reach her Nana's by Christmas. She had never been steered wrong by a prompting before. She knew she needed to reach Flagstaff, Arizona and her grandmother--and no snowstorm was going to keep her away!
    Chad Hancock was surprised when a frozen figure of a woman fell through the front door, but he was more surprised when he discovered it was his good friend's grand-daughter--and the girl of his dreams! He had been wanting to meet Kaylee, but not this way. 
      He had looked at her pictures on the mantle and heard her praised by her grandmother so much he had fallen in love with someone he had never met! Now was his chance to show her that he was what her Christmas dreams were made of! He had just a few short days to give her the most romantic Christmas ever!

Christmas is just two weeks away. What will you wish for this year?  My family keeps asking me what I want for Christmas...and honestly? I don't need anything. I have everything that is wonderful and good already around me--My family, music, my talents, a testimony of Jesus Christ. I already have a home, a warm bed, food and clothes. I can sew (and I have a nice sewing machine). I have a piano, I have a house full of things already. I don't know what to ask for.

    So, if you know what you want or need, I hope you get it. I hope your life is full of greatness and lots of happiness! Merry Christmas!

December!

I love December! I love the family time, the traditions and the music. Tonight the Loya family (us) organized our 3rd annual "Night of Christmas Music". It's a night for us to share with our friends our love of music. We also invite other great vocalists and talented musicians to share their music with us. It is our family's way of saying "Merry Christmas."

      It's so amazing to see young kids grow in their talents this year. I enjoyed the mature talents of the adults that took part tonight too.

        Music is a great way to feel the spirit of Christmas.       

 The number one point of the celebration for me during this time is the remembrance of the birth of our Savior. It is amazing to me to realize that Jesus Christ came to this earth as an infant. 

        The first time it really, truly hit me was when I was expecting my second child and I sang "Mary's Lullaby" in a Sunday Christmas program. I was 8 months pregnant and such an overwelming understanding hit me so hard with the first two lines of that song....He was just a small baby. That Mary was a young mother just like me, and she would be the mother of the Savior of the world. He wasn't the wondrous man  and Savior that I had learn about at that moment. He wasn't the Savior being crucified on the cross. He was a tiny baby, who needed a mother to care for him, to hold him, rock him and to protect from the world around him.

     And now, as my testimony of the Savior's life has grown, I realize that Christmas isn't just a time to celebrate His birth, but that He lived! His life began that night in a humble stable as an infant. He grew into an adult to become our example, my Savior, the comforter of my soul.

       I hope that Jesus Christ is an important part of your Christmas Traditions...he is in our house. 

Enjoy your December!

              BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL!!

 Any book you order on Black Friday for a great deal will be Shipped in time for Christmas!

                   Find the book on the side Panel to compare the great price! 

PLUS!!! Shipping cost cut!  Just$2.00 each package leaving in time for Christmas!

       ** Contact me- information on the side panel- or message me through facebook or this blog. These prices are only good for Black Friday and Saturday- Nov 28th and 29th.

**While supplies last!

Darla's Decision and Lovin' Lily...buy the set for $22.00                                                            (Individual book $12.95)

 In the Kitchen with Gretchen..... $7.00

 The "Little Bits of Love" set  (New covers!)... Two books for $8.95  (The Cattle King and Mail Ordered Happiness) Individually..$5.50

My Christmas Stalker........$6.50

A Creative Journal....$5.95

A Writing Journal.....$8.00

The Short List......$4.50

My Chaos Organizer......$8.95

          Thanks for your support!

**I am having trouble with my comment section of my blog. If you cannot find the "comment" Area and wish to purchase a book use one of the following options:

 1. Call the number to place an order.  #208-722-5676

 2. Contact me through my facebook account--leave your name address and the books you wish to order. I will message you to set up payment options.

3. Send a money order to: Donetta Loya/26227 Pioneer Lane/Parma, Idaho/83660. Include the name of book(s) you wish to order, your address, Money order in the amount of the price of the book(s) and $2.00 shipping fee.

I have a Pay-pal account as well.

Thanks a bunch!

Happy Thanksgiving!
November 15 2014

Not much longer now until that wonderful day of family and tradition is here! I love Thanksgiving! ( Have I said that before?)
I hope you all have a great and loved filled Thanksgiving Day! 
      I wish I could invite you all to my home to enjoy food and friendship. I would make your favorite pie to go with all the others I will be making! A  place would be set with my good china just for you. You would be able to enjoy a goblet filled with 7-up being chilled over cranberry juice ice cubes. (It is a very festive sight!)
      The turkey would come out golden brown and fill the kitchen with a wonderful scent! Right along with the dressing, the candied yams and hot rolls! The orange jello filled with mandarin oranges would be set out in the fridge in the garage. Next to it would be the large tupperware bowl full of fluffy fruit salad. The black cherry jello dish with cranberries and celery would be small because no one likes it by me--but I still make it every year! 
     On the table would lay a blue damask table cloth with my blue china waiting for the feast to begin. But it doesn't end there! We would serve green salad, green bean casserole, mash potatoes and gravy, too! I feel like I have forgotten something....Oh, yes! The cranberries!
      Prayer would be said thanking God for our family, friends and so many physical blessings. But the most gratitude would be express for the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. For the example he has set for us and the love he has blessed our life with.
           Blessings asked for you and your family
          during this holiday season!

Last night I looked out my window over my yard. There are three trees I can see from the front window. Two ash trees and one maple. There were full of bright vibrated orange and yellow fall leaves. When I got up the next morning the ash trees were completely bare! All the leaves had dropped every single leaf! It was amazing! The maple tree is still slowly losing leaves a few at a time. That is how some days go. You give it your all into one project or your energy just trickles along slowly spreading your time and self among several activities.
     Some of us are that way...we just dump all our energy in to one activity and then we have nothing left to share later on. I need to be more like that Maple tree---giving my energy and focus to more then one area. I need to focus and prioritize what those areas should be, though.
     Sometimes we get caught up in giving our best to things that just don't matter! What should be on our priority list? God, self, family, then extended family, the community, then the rest of the world.
    This holiday season I hope you can focus on what's really important and let those worldly, time sucking moments pass by without a moment of hesitation. Give your time to God and your family this year! Make this the best Thanksgiving and Christmas ever. Let your memories be ones filled with happiness and love and time well spent in wonderful family moments.

Fall! Fall! Fall! I love this time of the year. Love the smells and the colors. It is the beginning of all the holidays and that means family! Lots of family fun and memories. First comes Halloween, then a favorite time...Thanksgiving. We make everyone their favorite pie! Then comes my other favorite...Christmas. A wonderful time to serve and think of others, but most of all to remember the birth and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And of course, there is the lights, the tree, the pretty packages. ( I don't even care what's inside! I just love the wrapping paper and shiny bows!)  I hope you have a wonderful holiday fall and winter time.

      Announcing my newest book....A personal favorite.          
               "MY CHRISTMAS STALKER"
It is a story I wrote for Jessica last Christmas based on a dream she had....and what a dream it must have been! Here it is! Meet David Ballantine. He wasn't really... stalking Whitley Spencer. He just wanted to meet her!   Hope you enjoy the story!

A new school year has started for the kids and finally we are back to a schedule. I don't know about you all, but I need a schedule. Life gets to slow without a plan to my day. Though, on the flip side, I do enjoy a day off when the schedule gets going! :) I have been writing. Yep, I guess you couldn't have guessed that. I love to write. My day isn't complete if I haven't written something.Writing is my relaxing time. Whether it is my journal, a letter to a friend, fixing a part of a story or starting a new one! I love the feel of writing. It clears my mind.
     The harvesting has been in full swing around here in Parma (Farm country) Idaho.  It always is amazing to watch. Daniel has been helping in the harvesting of watermelons at a local friends farm. We have enjoy sweet, 30 lb watermelon! It's been great! We have harvested our own peaches...we made jam, not only regular peach jam, but strawberry peach jam. It is Amazing! So yummy! We also made triple berry jam--blackberry, raspberry and strawberry blend. Another' to-die-for' taste! And there is no greater taste then a fresh tomato! Oh, yeah! I love Harvest time!
    Don't forget to check out my books! Order now for your fall reading time!

Not much longer and the summer will be over. It is amazing how time seems to change as I get older. Priorities change also. Years before I would have made heading to the lake a top priority of my summer with a few camping trips tossed in there. I know that is still important to my kids, so I do have to consider those activities as part of my summer. But now...I just need my computer, my sewing machine, an air conditioned house and a soft bed!
     I am truly enjoying my new found love! Writing! I have always taken time to read. I consumed books like any addict consumes their vice. Now, my addiction is writing! I dream about my stories, I get up and write and write, and come lunch time-- I am still in my pj's clicking away at the computer. Isn't life great? HA HA! Mine is!
    But I still manage to wash my dishes, get the laundry done, and direct the kids to do their chores. I also manage to get the grocery shopping done. I even baked bread and chocolate zucchini cake with zucchini from my garden this week-end. So, I do have a bit of a real life still taking up part of my life.
    I have also been busy going to events to sale my books. Gretchen and I have had sale events every weekend in June and part of July. We always sell out of Gretchen's books. She sales more then I do all the time. It's her cute face and out going personality. She isn't afraid to talk about her book and yes, she does make bread and uses her recipe from her book all the time here at home. I am so proud of her!

     Here is the info on my newly released books!
Book 2 of Little BITS of Love , "Mail-Ordered Happiness" was released last week. I just finished up the kindle version this morning. So if you need a fun quick book check out my series of novellas! Book 3 and 4 should be out in August! #3 "Love at Last" is my favorite and #4 "Christopher's Story" is about Donovan's McClaw's brother from Book #1 "The Cattle King". I just had to know what happened! So I figured you did too!
     The second book release this month was a journal with a barnyard theme! It has the big red barn on the front!  Inside the pages are decorated with barn animals and there are quotes throughout the book from famous authors. The lined pages inside are blank for your own writing. Fill the pages with your own life experiences. Write about your day--good or bad! Write about your "Ah ha!" moments, or favorite memories. It is your book to write!

Summer is under way. What are your plans? Ready to read a good book? Order one of mine! They are the perfect escape literature! Have a great day!

Check out my new fun book! It is "A Creative Journal" --perfect for everyone! It is for those who want to start writing, or for those who already love to write. Inside are a few short lessons about  Grammar and the rest are writing prompts and extra pages to write what ever floats into your creative mind! Perfect for kids, teens or adults. Find your creative groove today!