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My neighbor saw a crawdad in her yard. It had about 30 babies. She let it go. It burrowed down into the mud, by a drainage ditch. The babies followed her down, and then went back inside, underneath her tail. We live in Northwest Missouri. Do you have crawdads where you live? We don't see them very often, but have noticed more holes--very muddy here. Lots of rain lately!
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Happiness is when your granddaughter likes a board game you have created so much she plays it by herself. And then her brothers start playing, too! Can't wait until we can play it together! It's been too long.
 So excited to announce that Ashland United Methodist Church is reading my book, God's Protection Covers Me, for their story time! And my good friend, Sharman's, daughter, Emily, is going to read it. What a blessing!
 Thank you, Missouri Life Magazine, for including my picture book, God’s Protection Covers Me in your “More Great Reads” section!
 My gift to you is a free cooperative board game I created called BEFORE THE BLIZZARD! A Winter Holiday Game. Enjoy! Encourages empathy, helps to develop critical thinking skills, fine motor control. Great for families, teachers, grandparents. Download PDF of the game board, rules, and game pieces here: https://www.houtsandhome.com/before-the-blizzard-freebie.html. Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
My picture book, God's Protection Covers Me, was released by Beaming Books last year, but is an important reminder in this moment when families are struggling with illness, job loss, and stress. I would love to get my book into the hands of families, churches, and preschools, so I've decided to give away 3 signed copies on Goodreads from November 15-December 15. If you have young children in your life or would like to give a copy to your church nursery or public library, please enter! And please follow me if you have a Goodreads account. Click here to enter.
Great news! God's Protection Covers Me has won two awards!
"Acknowledging the good you already have in your life is the basis of all abundance." Eckhart Tolle Amy Houts is an award-winning author of over 100 children’s picture books, cookbooks, and board games that feature early learning concepts, family themes of love and friendship, and holiday celebrations. Amy’s numerous short stories, articles, and poems have appeared in Ladybug Magazine, Highlights Hello, and Pockets Magazine. Her books include: The Giant Book of Bible Fingerplays for Preschoolers (Group Publishing); Think Like a Scientist (Pearson Learning Group); and Dora the Explorer Safety (Learning Horizons).
 I snapped this photo looking out our front door! The water department came to fix a leak and brought this digger. I don't think I've seen one this close. I sent the photo to our grandchildren. They loved it! Three men worked for awhile, but they finally fixed the leak!
 My granddaughter started preschool. What a different school year! Our grandchildren are happy to be back at school. Everyone is wearing masks--teachers, staff, and students. No drinking from the water fountain or sharing supplies. I'm thankful they are taking precautions, and I'm praying for everyone to stay healthy and safe. Favorite Oatmeal Apple Walnut Muffins My husband and I started a healthy eating kick over a year ago. He was experiencing some health issues. It was time to rethink our unhealthy lifestyle. So, he bought a Fitbit and started exercising. I revamped our menus. And it worked! We still enjoy eating dessert, but I make healthier desserts, lower in fat, sugar, and refined flour. I enjoy baking muffins (instead of cupcakes) with fruit, nuts, and whole grains. Fresh and dried fruit make muffins moist and sweet. Nuts add crunch and flavor. Whole grains add texture. Healthy ingredients make these muffins more filling and more satisfying, too. I wanted to share our new favorite with you. It's brimming with nutrition--it's breakfast in a muffin, a perfect way to start a busy school day or break for mid-morning coffee. 1 scant cup milk or almond milk 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 medium-large apple 2 tablespoons oil 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 2 cups 1-minute oats 1 1/4 cup unbleached white flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 cup broken walnuts Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tin or line with muffin papers. Measure milk. Add vinegar; set aside for 5 minutes. Core the apple. Grate into a cereal bowl; set aside. Measure oil, brown sugar, and egg into a large bowl. Add milk mixture and stir. Measure oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt an cinnamon. Stir just until mixed. Fold in nuts and grated apple. Spoon batter into muffin tin. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from muffin tin and cool on wire wrack. Serve with butter. Yield: 12 muffins Do you have a favorite muffin recipe? Take a picture and tag me on Twitter or Instagram @AmyHouts. Book news! So excited to be one of the featured children's authors in this new book, WRITING & SELLING CHILDREN'S BOOKS IN THE CHRISTIAN MARKET, by award-winning author Michelle M. Adams and her literary agent, Cyle Young. Let's end with a school-related quote. Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom. -- George Washington Carver Amy Houts is an author of over 100 children’s picture books, cookbooks, and board games that feature early learning concepts, family themes of love and friendship, and holiday celebrations. Amy’s numerous short stories, articles, and poems have appeared in Ladybug Magazine, Highlights Hello, and Pockets Magazine. Her books include: God's Protection Covers Me (Beaming Books); Think Like a Scientist (Pearson Learning Group); and Dora the Explorer Safety (Learning Horizons).
 The Missouri Ladies Military Band in front of the Capitol before the suffrage parade, March 3, 1913. Courtesy, National Woman's Party at Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument. Today is the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment giving women in the U.S. the right to vote! I have a special interest in women's voting rights--suffrage-- because of a local story related to Maryville, Missouri, the town where we have lived since 1990. But I wasn't always interested in suffrage. I didn't even know the meaning of the word. Years ago, I found out that my friend, Mary, was interested in women's voting rights. So, when I saw a headline in the newspaper related to it, I cut out the article and mailed it to her. Even though we live hundreds of miles apart, Mary is my closest friend. We often email several times each week. In 2013, it occurred to me that I should start reading the articles I was sending Mary before mailing them. One in particular caught my interest. It described a trip that a local ladies marching band had taken a hundred years earlier to a suffrage parade in Washington, D.C. I was hooked. I spent the next 7 years writing, revising, and submitting a manuscript featuring this fascinating event. While there was interest in the subject from both agents and editors, and I was nearly awarded a contract (twice!) I ultimately decided to publish it myself. My plan was to release it March 3, the day of the parade. When that date passed, I set today's date, August 18, as the release date. Due to delays, the pandemic, and issues beyond my control, my book has not gone to print--hopefully it will by the end of the year. I'll share the book cover soon! So, as we enter this contentious election season, being able to vote is more important than ever. It took many years, hard work, and dedication by both women and men to gain the vote. And while this was a huge victory for women, it didn’t include women of all races. It took many more years for Black, Native American, and Asian Americans to gain suffrage. Despite this, and despite the fact that people are still being disenfranchised, this is a day to celebrate! Amy Houts is an author of over 100 children’s picture books, cookbooks, and board games that feature early learning concepts, family themes of love and friendship, and holiday celebrations. Amy’s numerous short stories, articles, and poems have appeared in Ladybug Magazine, Highlights Hello, and Pockets Magazine. Her books include: God's Protection Covers Me (Beaming Books); Think Like a Scientist (Pearson Learning Group); and Dora the Explorer Safety (Learning Horizons).
 I look at this photo of myself, and I see it as a "before" picture. Before COVID-19, before my husband starting working from home, before I couldn't travel to New York City to see my mother. This photo was taken at a writers workshop in Iowa with the SCBWI (Society of Chidlren's Book Writers & Illustrators). I'm not going to writing workshops now, not this summer. Everything has been cancelled. Yet in this humid, Missouri heat--as strange as it feels to admit it--there are good things that have come from this pandemic. I enjoy having my husband working from home, and we've started a weekly FaceTime event with my mom, and I have been attending Zoom writing workshops online. What about you? What's new and different and good about this year, this summer? While I've worked at home for years writing children's books, having to stay home has put me in a decorating mood. Or rather, has put me in an un-decorating mood. We've lived in this ranch-style house since 1992. We decorated it nearly 30 years ago, and that's the way it has stayed. And now it looks dated and not quite who I am anymore. We have only one wall completed, three to go.
Time to Paint See the strip of a different color paint on our wall? That's where the wallpaper used to be. Our living room will need to be repainted. But that all has to be put on hold. I found out I have a health issue--nothing serious, but I still need surgery. I'll be unable to lift, or stretch, or stand on a ladder for 4-8 weeks. No more redecorating for a while for me! So, 2020 has been the year that I've thought about my mortality more than once. Nothing seems to matter when your health is at risk, or the health of those you love. What dangers are you facing this year? Yes, there is a "before." But I must remember that there is also an "after." I will look back on 2020 as a year of sadness, transition, and change. A year of hope for a vaccine, and truly a year of gratefulness for the relationships we have and the intangibles, for those are what is really important. Book News Writing fairytales for Compass Publishing, an educational publisher in South Korea from January through May, 2020, was a highlight of my writing career. So, I'd like to end with fairytale reference. My husband, Steve, planted pole beans and they are growing up to the sky. This photo shows him pointed to the pole, and he's over 6 feet tall! Makes us think of the fairytale, Jack-in-the-Beanstalk. Happy climbing!  |
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