READY FOR PRINTING!!!!

Hi everyone!


I wanted to give you an update on the happenings of my children's book - "I Love You to the Moon."


It is in the process of being printed as we speak.  This is very exciting!!  If you would like to order my book, you can order it through Halo Publishing at this Link:


http://www.halopublishing.com/bookstore/Melissa-Ivey-Staehli/I-Love-You-to-the-Moon   


All orders placed through Halo will receive a SIGNED copy from me, and then I will mail the book directly to you.  If anyone orders through other online bookstores such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc...then Ingram (the distributor) will be mailing my book directly to you without an autograph. Here is my ISBN Number: 978-1-935268-88-8.  My book will also be at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.


Please keep me in your prayers as I continue in my journey with this precious book.  I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do through - "I Love You to the Moon."


My heart is smiling right now because my dream of writing a children's book has finally come true!


Blessings to you all,
Melissa~ 

September 11, 2001 - "The Day Our Country Cried"

"The Day Our Country Cried"

The morning, clear and beautiful;

The day had just begun.

The USA would start it's day

With rising of the sun.

The promise of a new day;

The precious gift of life

Would soon not be for thousands,

because of evil strife.

The world would gasp in horror

To see the tragic scene,

How could there be such people;

How could they be so mean.

As long as breath is in us,

We'll never comprehend,

Why it was so important

To cause their lives to end.

The towers stood so proudly;

A tribute to us all.

How tragic, in a moment,

It was to see them fall.

The Pentigon, the symbol

Of our defending power.

Has risen out of ashes,

For this oppressive hour.

Now in this Country's darkest time,

God grant us peace and hope;

And give us courage to go on.

Please give us grace to cope.

Our country, now united;

With fervor, we will stand

For truth, and right, and justice.

Now God, Please heal our land.

We've so much sorrow, so much pain;

So many people died.

Dear God, be with us now, as then,

"The Day Our Country Cried."

Written by my mother - Gaila Catron ~

Adoption

July 30, 2011


As I put my sweet baby boy to bed this evening, I was thanking the Lord for Caleb's precious little life, and what a blessing he is to me.  I was also giving thanks to the Lord for his birth mother.  She chose LIFE for Caleb, and for that I will always be grateful.  I can't imagine my life without him. Here is something you may find interesting.  I wrote my first poem July 2, 1999 called "To You Oh Lord".  I was sitting in my car during my lunch hour praying for my baby (mind you...there was no talk about adoption at this point in my life) I felt at that moment I needed a pen and paper so I could write down what my heart was feeling, so I did and this is what I wrote ( this was my hearts cry to the Lord) - 


                                 I humbly bow right now, before Your holy throne
                                              and offer up a heartfelt prayer, 
                                                     for a child of my own
                          Oh, to look upon his glorious face, and into his blue eyes,
                                                     to give a sweet kiss upon his lips,
                                                         and place his hands in mine
                          I'd rock him in my arms of love until he fell asleep,
                                              I'd hold him closely to my heart,
                                                   and pray he sleeps in peace
                          My voice will sing praise unto Your wonderful name,
                                      thanking you Lord, for this precious child,
                                                           this gift you freely gave
                          Don't worry Lord, I won't forget, to dedicate his life to you,
                                             for you are the one, who gave me my son,
                                                               so now, I give him to you


That was my prayer and hearts cry to the Lord for my baby.  I didn't know where my baby was going to come from, I just knew my baby was in my heart and I was just going to be still, and wait upon the Lord.  I wrote this poem July 2, 1999 and 7 years later to the day (July 2, 2006) Caleb's birth mother went into labor with him!  God is good and he does hear our prayers.


I would love to see Adoption BE the only option.  There are so many people just like me out there who couldn't get pregnant and desired a baby so badly that it hurt. Children are such a blessing and a GIFT from God.  My heart smiles every day because Caleb is in it!  :-)


Blessing to you all,   and goodnight ~


p.s. If you go to my website at: www.iloveyoutothemoon.com you will be able to see my book trailer.  May it touch your heart like it does mine.


Melissa~
                  

Illustrations...

Hi everyone!

I wanted to take a moment and give you a little update on the progress of my book. I met with my illustrator, Rick Steinhauser the other day, and he showed me all of the spreads he had completed;  needless to say, I was very excited about what he had accomplished!  Out of 12 spreads we only have 6 more to finish, and then off to Halo Publishing to begin the proofs and then the printing process.  Wow!  What a journey this has been.  This journey has put a smile on my face and joy in my heart to watch this project grow from a thought to an actual dream come true.

I just want to say - Thank you Lord for putting this desire in my heart to write Caleb a story about how much I love him.  Thank you for giving me the greatest gift of my life!

Illustrations...

My illustrator, Rick Steinhauser, came over this morning and showed me the storyboards that he has drawn for my book.  They look amazing!  Rick is extremely gifted, and I am blessed that he is doing this for me.

"I Love You to the Moon" is now available to pre-order

Here is the link that which "I Love You to the Moon" can be pre-ordered:

PRE-ORDER "I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON"

Please post this link anywhere that you can - such as Facebook or on your own blog.

Thanks so much!

Melissa~

The cover of "I Love You to the Moon" is completed!

This is my first post on my new blog about my first children's book, "I Love You to the Moon."  I am very excited about this journey on which God is taking me.  I wrote this book for my son, Caleb.  He is the light of my life and the joy of my heart.  My desire is that anyone reading this book will be blessed in the same way that I have been blessed with the love for my child.

The cover illustration was done by a very dear friend, Rick Steinhauser.  He is wonderfully talented and he is in the process of illustrating the entire book - which should be out in late summer/early fall.