April!

 April marks the beginning of the 'busy' season for me. In the next few weeks, I have trips taking me to WI, SD, and FL, and will eventually end up in NY, where I'll be spending the summer working at Longview Bible Camp. 

Miriam and I flew out to Ohio for Hosanna's birthday, and it was my first time flying!

Take off wasn't as bad as I thought it would be . . . but landing was worse. :)

Throughout our different flights, I got to sit in the very back, the front, and the middle, and it was neat getting all the different perspectives.

It was so good to see this little niece! And of course Hosanna and Nate.

We borrowed the ladies for a coffee/shopping outing and had some great sister-time!

We even managed to sneak out for ice cream.

And because the niece is so cute . . . :)

Back at Christmas, I got this espresso/steaming machine, and have been enjoying making lattes, and experimenting with it.

Then, this past week, I was able to be a sponsor for the girls with Pine Ridge Homeschool heading to the regional A.C.E. student convention. I competed at the convention when I was in high-school, but attending, six years later as a sponsor was a totally different side of things! We went down the day before and rented this awesome place.

At the cabin, we had games of pool, round robin, kayaking, and all kinds of fun. It was an ideal place to bring a group of young people.

How could you not have fun with these girls???

We packed lunch for the road, and had a pizza party.

Miriam, and two other gals came to work in the kitchen at the convention and were such a blessing.

With special permission, I took the group down into the old college costume room, and made everyone get fixed up for a picture. I don't think I know these people! Those wigs are just . . . wow. I mean who are those weird people?!?!?

Evangelist Steve Piggot was the speaker, and he shared God's Word in many convicting messages. It was so encouraging getting to spend time with so many like minded believers. The fellowship and support throughout the competition were amazing.

It was so neat seeing all of their hard work pay off!

I think Dad is one good-looking cowboy! The guys from our school wore matching ties one day.

And if it's not dangerous, it's not fun right? I could hardly watch the guys climbing this old chimney, but then they reminded me that last time I was there, I climbed it too, so I guess I couldn't very well tell them it was too dangerous . . . 

All in all, it was an incredible week, and I'm thankful that there are still places that preach the Word of God and aren't ashamed to proclaim the truth.

March in Review

 March is in the books, and with it, a lot of great memories!

I was able to attend the Southern California Mega Christian Writer's Conference virtually, and I had a great time!  . . . Okay. Yes. I know that's a skeleton in my room and I should be disturbed. It's actually a leftover prop from last year's Escape Room at the Corn Maze. Someone hid it in my room, and ever since then, it's been floating around ending up in the oddest places.

There were so many wonderful workshops, and I learned a lot of new things, was reminded of some old things, and took a bunch of notes.

I tried my hand at making a chocolate soufflé with a white chocolate raspberry ganache. It was good, but almost too sweet.

Then . . . I had a birthday, and my sister and I decided to do something new.

I'd never had my hair done, but it felt like it looks. Like I was in an alien spaceship! :) :P 

I'm loving the results!

For my 24th birthday, my mom put together a green charcuterie board, to go with my St. Patrick's Day birthday. Some wonderful friends/cousins came by and we had an awesome movie night!

Marie Jayne Photography took me out for my birthday and did a new author photo shoot with me. Not only is Marie Jayne a wonderful photographer, she's also a dear friend/cousin, and I'm so thankful God put her in my family!

And what's the point of taking pictures if you can't get a few fun ones?!?

So, that's March in a nutshell. I'll try to get April up here too. . .

February in Review!

 So, February is flying by!!!! For those of you who were waiting for my Valentine post, wondering what could possibly follow up on the last few years posts on 18 Excuses for Not Having a Valentine Date, 16 Ways to Avoid Getting a Valentine Date, and 14 Ways to Get a Valentine Date, I'm sorry! I've actually worked on a couple of lists . . . and there may still be one coming! Though, if I don't get it done in the next week, it may have to wait till next year . . .

    What's had me so busy? (Besides work, life, and . . . yeah, life.)

Well, in early February, I had the opportunity to attend a ladies retreat in WI, and was SO encouraged and blessed by it! Unfortunately . . . I don't think I got any pictures there.

Then, this past weekend, I was in Bismarck, ND for the Homeschool convention! We had such an amazing time!

I had the opportunity to do a workshop on Self-Publishing.

And after a long day at the convention, we stopped at Cracker Barrel. The latte was AMAZING!!

On the way home, we got to our hotel in Fargo pretty late, and it was freezing cold, and we were exhausted, so of course, we had to get a picture! 

Re-wind into January, where I had a fun time catching up with some cousins!

Mainly, because one of them got married!!! If you've paid any attention to people in pictures on my blog, chances are that you've seen these two quite a bit. These two have been there for me through thick and thin, and I couldn't be happier for them! It was such a joy and blessing to be a part of their wedding!

This week, I'll be attending the virtual SoCal Christian Writer's Conference, and then I've got to start planning for the next thing!

Other notes of interest . . . I did sign a contract to spend the summer working at a Bible Camp in New York, and that will be a new adventure for me! I'll also be attending the South Dakota Convention again this year.

As far as writing goes . . . I'm still working on several projects, but the next one to be published will be book one in the Preacher Kid series. I'm SO excited to be working with Sword of the Lord Publishing House!

Until next time, this is Priscilla Krahn, reminding you to stay thankful in everything!

Christmas 2020

I'm one of those people who thinks that Christmas is the month of December, and not just December 25th. I love every thing about Christmas. Music, baking, snow, and most of all, the true meaning of Christmas. I love the Christmas programs, candlelight services, and other things that help me think through the coming of Christ.

Last year, I wrote a short story from the perspective of one of Joseph's friends, Christmas for Shad, but this year, I never got around to writing a story. Though, I did try some other new things this year! So, here are a handful of pictures and highlights from my Christmas this year.

I ended up with a stack of records, so this Christmas, I used some money from my grandparents and bought myself a record player! I've listened through all the Christmas ones, and am looking forward to starting on the rest of the stack.

I made chocolate ganache for the first time. I think it looked prettier than it tasted, but hey, it's chocolate, so it was good!

My book, Expired by Eggnog made it's appearance.

And, I had a book signing at Caribou coffee. I'm still working with a publisher on my PK Detective series, and am looking forward to that moving forward in this new year.

Of course, over the holidays, there are lots of moments with the nieces and nephews.

I made gingerbread, and sugarplums for the first time. The gingerbread was . . . well, gingerbread. And the sugar plums were . . . different. Very different. I'd never tasted anything quite like them with all the odd spices. The fennel seeds, caraway seeds, anise seeds, and so on. First bite, I thought they were pretty awful, but they did grow me, and I think I might even try making them again someday.

Since the indoor skating rinks are closed, Warroad iced a two mile trail down the Warroad river through town, and we've had some beautiful days to go skating!

All in all, it was a great Christmas. I'm really not ready for it to be over. But, the clock doesn't stop.

Coming up in January, in addition to the coffeeshop job and working with publishers, I'm excited for my best friends' wedding, and then in February, I'll be attending a girl's retreat, a writer's conference, and I'll be a vendor/workshop speaker at the ND homeschool convention.

Until next time, this is Priscilla J. Krahn, reminding you to stay thankful in everything!

Expired By Eggnog Release!

   So, first off, I know. I've gotten WAY behind on posting. No, I haven't died. No, I'm not in a relationship. No, I haven't fallen ill. I've just been . . . busy? 

     Over the summer, I've been writing articles every week for the local newspaper, so in the time I'd usually be writing a blog post, I've been writing articles. 

Then, I started a job at a local coffee shop, and while it's only part time, it has filled up some of my other writing time. So, basically, I don't have an excuse. I'll be attempting to blog once a month from here on out, but I can't make any promises.

Another thing that's kept me busy, is this new book! Expired By Eggnog, will be officially released on December 5th! If you're in the area, stop on by at Caribou Coffee! Books are also available on Amazon.

Until next time, happy Thanksgiving! Stay thankful, and remember to let the joy of the Lord be your strength.

A Series Contract!

 So, most of you probably saw that I signed an exciting contract last week, and you've all been asking me WHAT is this contract for?!?!? Well, I'm excited to announce that I've signed a series book contract with a publishing house in TN. 

   Not only is this my dream publishing house, but I'm also super excited to have a series contract where we'll be doing multiple books.

  It'll be the Preacher Kid Detective Series that I've been working on for awhile, and I'm thrilled about this next step!

I'm Still Alive!

  Yes, I realize that after almost five years of posting on my blog every week, I just went four weeks without posting, but I'm still here!

  I'm just going to do a couple of quick pictures to give you a brief update on what kinds of things have been keeping me so busy that I haven't posted, and then I'll give a bit of a book update at the end.

I was a local host this year for the Bible Bee, and we had our Proclaim Day in early August. It was a great group and a real privilege to be their host!

We had fun Bible BEE decorations, complete with Bible BEE cupcakes.

Then, the same week, Mom, Marie, and I were the 'camp cooks' for Farm Camp this year, and that kept us busy full time. Not the cooking itself, but everything else it entailed. Like defrosting the freezer when the fridge quit . . . and harvesting beans, and weeding flowers at the maze. Thank you, Marie for all the help! It was a great week.

Then, I ended up being an election judge at the local MN primary election. It was a new experience for me, but a great one! I enjoyed it, and encourage everyone to get involved when they get the chance.

Then, Miriam got home from New York, and we jumped into maze prep. The corn maze opens this weekend, and we're still working frantically to get everything done. Here, Miriam is stirring paint so that we can touch some things up.

Then, of course, the cows decided to get out, and Miriam and I got to go help Dad and Isaac get the beef herd back where it belongs.

So, with everything going on, and the maze opening this weekend, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to post over the next eight weeks, but I'll do my best.

As for writing, I was in contact with a publisher on my first PK Detective book, but they wanted to read the second book in the series before we signed any contracts. So, I frantically finished a book, and sent it off, and should hear back in a few weeks with a definite yes or no.

VBS!

So, our church did Vacation Bible School a little later this summer than normal, and obviously, things had to be run slightly differently, but we still had a great group, and I'm SO thankful for all of the people who helped out!

Thank you, everyone who prayed! God really blessed this past week, and we saw several children get saved. I had the opportunity to pray with a girl and it just reminded me of the joy of Salvation!

This little niece seemed to be trying to strangle me with her hug!

But aunt-life is the best so I don't mind! :) 

Have a Great Week!

4th of July!

  While things were a little different this year for the 4th, I still had a wonderful time celebrating Independence Day with family.

I made frosted-lemonade, which I'd heard about many times but never taken the time to make before. It was every bit as good as everyone said!

Recently, I got this new .22, and Mom customized the stock for me with her cricket machine. I love the dot scope!

Matching necklaces!

I hadn't been fishing in years, so getting out on the water again was amazing!! I did get a sunburn, but it was TOTALLY worth it! We had great weather, great fishing, and great fellowship!

Happy Independence Day!