A fan of Frankie’s sent me a link to an absolutely beautiful story about a cart doxie.  I had tears rolling down my face as I read it.  This little Ally is making a positive difference and showing the world that disabled animals can live amazing lives.  Frankie and I are so proud of Ally for her work!!  Just as www.petswithdisabilities.com website’s motto says, “because their spirits are not broken.”  When I see little doxies in carts making a difference like Ally, I believe with every vessel in my heart that they know their purpose is to teach us humans that just because they can’t use their back legs, does not mean they are not loving, compassionate dogs.  Here is the link to this great story:  http://www.thesuburbanite.com/communities/hartville/x2043507392

Today is my 45th birthday… I don’t hide my age, but happy to be where I am in my life.  Could I always say that?  No.  I remember when I was turning 29 I was so upset… why, I don’t know.  I can’t even answer that now.  All I know is I love life now.  Yes, it took hard work to get to this point, but work well worth it.  I just said to my husband the other night, “If I died today, I would be happy.  No regrets.”  Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not ready to go as I am very excited about all the new possibilities I am working on… but, I am trying to live my life to the fullest and am happy to say I am doing that. 

I had my birthday lunch with my dad today and he gave me the most beautiful card… which says it about life and how I try to live it… I was so touched to receive this very meaningful card from my dad.  So here it is:

How To Make A Beautiful Life, Reflections For A Daughter On Her Birthday

“Love yourself. Make Peace with who you are and where you are at this moment in time.

Listen to your heart.  If you can’t hear what it’s saying in this noisy world, Make Time for yourself.  Enjoy your own company. Let your mind wander among the stars.

Try.  Take chances.  Make Mistakes.  Life can be messy and confusing at times, but it’s also full of surprises.  The next rock in your path might be a stepping-stone.

Be happy.  When you don’t have what you want, want what you have.  Make do. That’s a well-kept secret of contentment.

There aren’t any shortcuts to tomorrow.  You have to Make your own way.  To know where you’re going is only part of it.  You need to know where you’ve been, too.  And if you ever get lost, don’t worry.  The people who love you will find you.  Count on it.

Life isn’t days and years.  It’s what you do with time and with all the goodness and grace that’s inside you.  Make a beautiful life… the kind of life you deserve.”

Isn’t that just absolutely beautiful?  I wish that for each and everyone of you… to live the kind of life you deserve… that is my birthday wish for you.

Today I had a wonderful thing happen!  I have been submitting Frankie’s book synopsis to various review sites requesting to be reviewed.  One of the websites I was hoping to get a review with is Reader Views Kids, reviews by kids, for kids (http://www.readerviewskids.com:80/).  It usually takes a LONG time to get a review with this company.  Your book has to first be accepted and then it is sent out to a list of reviewers and you wait to hear if someone is interested in reviewing it.  I sent out my request to Reader Views Kids last week and today received an email which said a girl named Brianne wanted to review my book… and she was from Appleton, which is only 1 hour from where I live!!  I thought, “How fun is this?”  So I emailed back and told Irene (who is the head of the company) how cool it is that Brianne lives close by.  Now it gets even better… Irene emailed me back and included the note from the little 10-year old girl and here it is exactly as Brianne wrote it:

Can I read and review the following book:  Frankie, the Walk ‘N Roll Dog by Barbara Gail Techel (I wanted this book when we had a author party or something at our library I asked my mom if I could have she said she didn’t have enough money, it was when my dad lost his job).  Please save Frankie for me.

Can you see why my heart overflows today?  When these things happen it is hard for me to describe in words what it means to me.  It is an AMAZING feeling!!  You can bet this little girl will get more in the mail than just Frankie’s book… she will have a few little extra’s just from Frankie and me.  Ahhh, my heart overflows!