2019 Harvest / Holiday Edition

Dear Family and Friends,
​

We are home! On August 15, we moved our camper to our land and it has been such a BLESSING. Phase I of our vision is a reality. Since moving onto the property, we have put up a screen room and all of our "stuff" has been moved from our storage rental unit and is now only a few steps away from the front door in our new storage building.

​The first two days we were here, it rained most of the time. But on the second evening, we rushed outside to take pictures of this "God Hug" rainbow stretching across the sky over our four acres. It was like the Lord welcomed us home. 

​At the end of October we put up our Macs MountainView sign. Jeannie wanted to frame it with the beam hand-hewed by her great-great-grandfather. Her mom had taken two beams out of an old building on the family farm in Wabaunsee County, KS. Both beams were used as mantels, but ours was an 8-foot floor joist with several notches. When we built our first home in Silver Lake, KS, it sat over our wood stove. When we sold that home, Jeannie insisted on taking it down and bringing it to NC. Because it was kept outside since 2002, we decided to use it outdoors and it works well for this purpose. The dinner bell and other memorabilia also came from the family farm. (You can read about this area and its connection to the UGRR in Jeannie's first book, Dawn of Day.) The actual mountain view on the sign is not in this photo, but those "M" shaped mountains on the sign will be visible from our house when we get it built! We positioned it this direction because we wanted folks to see it from the road, and we enjoy looking at it from the windows of our camper. 

​Dennis has kept busy working on the land. He just finished volleyball season, and as a second-year referee, he was even asked to be an official at two first-round state playoff games, which was an honor. He is ready and looks forward to the beginning of basketball season. This outlet for his love of sports and school kids has been the perfect niche for him and he really enjoys it. It's still a jump ball on whether or not he will ​ 

continue to ref after his music studio is up and running! Jeannie has a feeling he will find a way to combine these two loves, music and basketball, just as he has done their entire 45-year marriage, (celebrated two days before our move!) Whenever Dennis works on his music or is away to officiate a game, Jeannie can do her reading and writing thing, so it works out well. 

​Jeannie hasn't been idle in her writing during the past year. She keeps up her monthly website blog, has been working on her craft, and preparing for the next project. In our last newsletter, she shared about attending the Rubart Writing Academy in April. One of the things on the "Road Map" she was given, was to get out into communities and take her books to the people. Thanks to fellow writer Georgia Wilson, she (and her characters, Winny and Ginny) attended their first street festival in October. You can read about it here. 

Blog

​Another thing that has filled her time since moving was to help Dennis move all his tools to the front of our little barn. Then Dennis helped her turn the back half of the barn into her "library" instead of storing her book cases and books in our new storage building. Now Jeannie's beloved books are again at her fingertips and available to share with friends and neighbors. There is no electricity, so no electric lights or computer, heat, or A/C, but it was a happy homecoming for her when she sat down at her desk surrounded by her books. Jeannie is a happy camper. When we moved, she donated many boxes of secular books to her favorite local used bookshop and many more boxes to begin our church library at Cherokee Bible Church, so these are her favorites and special collections. On good weather days, her barn library, and the screen room, will be places where she can begin her next writing project. She is ready!

​While Dennis finished up some fall projects on the land, Jeannie took stacks of bins filled with her mom's almost 40 photo albums covering seven decades. There just wasn't room in our new storage building to hold them. Jeannie spent many days going through each one, enjoying the memories, and pulling out photos of family and special friends that she wanted to keep or share. The last two days in October, Jeannie's brother Dave, and his wife Rhonda, came from Topeka to see us. It rained both days they were here, so our mountain sightseeing was curtailed, but the first evening, after Carolina BBQ, was spent in our little camper going over photos from mom's albums. We had a good time, and the next day enjoyed a drive in the rain around Franklin, Cherokee, Maggie Valley, and ate at two of our favorite restaurants. It was great to see them and share Macs MountainView. Rhonda asked 

Jeannie about her favorite authors and was reminded that she could keep track of the books Jeannie reads on her website under "Reading Nook" on her homepage. So can you! And find out more about her next writing project, too.

Reading Nook

Kingdom Corner

​We will hunker down for the winter here in the camper with our campfires and family of deer (hunters not invited, sorry.) We love to watch them stroll across our property almost daily. Biggest group was seven, including two spotted fawns. Deer corn is on the grocery list to keep them happy this winter.

​In the spring, we will begin construction on Phase II, Macs Music Recording Studio and Ruby Cottage (both in one building -- the cottage for guests.) Jeannie likes to "see" our vision and put it up on her vision board. Here is her rough drawing of Phase II.

​One last thing. Jeannie's ebooks will be on sale for Christmas, so after Thanksgiving, check the website (www.jamcphail.com) for more information. But she wanted those of you who receive our newsletter to know about a special gift offer first. Until December 15, her Tresia Trilogy is available for $40 including postage and a free Tresia Tote in your choice of jewel colors. If you are interested in giving these to the kids in your life, send a check for $40 for each set, to J.A. McPhail at our new address below. We would love to hear from our "Clan." If you've read this far, thanks! We'd love to hear what God is doing in your life. If you reply to this newsletter, and tell her you want to be included and what color tote you want, Jeannie will put your name in a drawing for the three books and bag to be given away in time for Christmas. 

Our vision verse up to this point has been Jeremiah 29: 11. But the Lord gave us a new scripture for Macs MountainView and we want to share it with you. 
Psalm 118:23  This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.

Have a BLESSED Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. 
Dennis and Jeannie (J.A.)
368 Allen Road, Franklin, NC 28734