I was born and reared in Belton, Texas which is a small town located in Central Texas. It is much larger now, but glimpses of the small-town flavor surface every now and again to remind me of the wonderful childhood I had living in a small town. When I was either six or seven, I was running up some steps and fell into a flower bed by our home. As I opened my eyes and looked up into the Heavens, the clouds came together, and I saw Jesus looking at me. He began to speak in a language I could not understand, but the words I did hear were teacher, and I would write books. I went inside and told Mom what had happened, and she never doubted me. I believed that Jesus talked personally to me all my life, even though I rarely shared that with others. If you had watched me go through school, you would never have imagined me going into the teaching field because I loved to play, talk, and misbehave in class rather than pay attention. I made good grades because school was easy for me, except for Geometry, which I still don’t understand. God knew that I would understand the children who were bored or hyper and would do my best to make school and learning fun, so that, they enjoyed their day as they learned. Teaching was the perfect occupation for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed my career.

My junior year in high school brought the love of my life to me. Leon Carroll and I were made for each other and have been married for 48 years. We have had good times, bad times, and most of the time, it has been wonderful. Going to church and keeping God in our lives have blessed us more than we could have imagined.  Leon and I are blessed with our children and grandchildren.

Teaching and life kept me from publishing, but writing has always been a joy to me. I have all kinds of stories that I have written that may, one day, be published. This story you just read has been in my head for 34 years, so it is so satisfying to finally have it on paper to share with family and friends. I do hope you enjoyed our adventures traveling the world. Who would have ever thought that someone who never ventured out of Texas growing up would become a world traveler? I am so thankful God was with us on all our adventures.