Jerry W Stewart

Good morning. It’s Monday, and I am in an unusually chipper mood this morning. I”m not sure why, but then again I don’t suppose it really matters why. I had a great weekend, because I managed to very little. I spent most of my time tinker with my current manuscript and spending time with my beautiful wife.

We did manage to get out of the house Saturday morning for a Santa errand and to watch my daughters participate in a small town Christmas parade. They were supposed to be riding in the Fire Truck that is behind us in the picture, but it didn’t work out that way.

They didn’t really care. They had a great time, and that’s all that really matters to me. I love to see them smile, and they were doing plenty of that on Saturday morning. I’m glad I could be a part of it.

Tonight Brianna, my oldest, is singing in her school’s Christmas program, so you can guess where I’ll be tonight. I’m looking forward to it almost as much as she is. She’s excited to be involved which makes me excited for her.

All this Christmasy goodness, is stirring the embers of Christmas spirit in me, and I’m finally starting to look forward to it. What have you done so far this Christmas season? Has it been all shopping and chaos or carols and Christmas trees? I hope it’s been treating you as well as it’s been treating me.

Merry Christmas from me and mine,

Jerry Stewart

It’s been a while since my last post. Life has kept me more busy than usual, but I’m making an effort to blog more regularly again. In this post I just want to fill everyone in on what I’ve been up to during my absence. I got my iPhone, and I’ve sent off for replacement. It quit charging the battery, so I went without a phone while I waited for the repair or replacement. It must have been beyond repair, because the replacement I got back didn’t have a small scratch on the screen. Overall I’ve been pleased with my phone. I just hope that this one lasts longer than a month. There is a new firmware coming out September 25th to allow MMS support on iPhone 3G and 3Gs. I’m looking forward to the added feature, so I will be updating my phone then.

I’ve also been busy teaching my oldest daughter to read and spell words. She’s in first grade this year, and it is crucial for her to learn to read. I feel like the rest of her education hinges on this year and her ability to read by the end of it. This has taken up tons of time, not due to a lack of effort on her part, but rather the words she is required to spell. She gets 16 words a week that range from 4 to 5 letters long. Every Friday she has a spelling test on the words for that week. The words so far have focused on the combination sound of a consonant + r construction (br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, and tr). She has some difficulties with some of the combinations, but she is willing and ready to learn. We work hard on her words, and she is making some major improvements. It’s still an everyday thing when I have her.

When I do find time to pursue my own interests, I usually spend it trying to fill my manuscript with words. It might sound easy, but there is a lot involved in writing a novel. It takes some serious determination and an adamant refusal to throw in the towel. I will admit that I’ve been tempted to just give it up and say it wasn’t for me. I can’t do it, though. First of all, I love doing it way too much, and second of all, I want to know if my efforts will ever be good enough to find a publisher. So I’m sorry that my writing time has been spent writing fiction and not blogging. I hope to find a balance in the future.