My debut novel, Sandwich, with a Side of Romance, released this month.

I’m not sure anyone has fingers strong enough to pinch me awake from my dream! I *ahem* might be seen dancing around my living room with my 4 sweet daughters, squealing, with a big goofy grin on my face. But then again, I leave the drapes closed for that very reason.

Seeing my book in print has been a dream of mine for a long time.

And I have this thing about dreams. I LOVE THEM. Some call me an optimist, some call me loony, but who wants to sit around saying, “Woe is me, nothing good will ever happen” all the time? Depressing, that’s what it is!

I come from a long line of dreamers. My grandpa was a high school football coach and his specialty was going into small, unknown towns with failing football teams and turning them into state champions. And then… he’d move to another town, find another team, and do it all over again.

The dreaming didn’t stop with my grandpa. My mom (and subsequently my dad) took up the mantra. The majority of their dreams were a bit… um… crazy. But it made life interesting. Once, when I was in my early teens, I asked my dad why they always dreamed such crazy things if there was almost no chance of achieving it.

He looked over at me, ruffled my hair, smiled, and said, “Krista, never stop dreaming.”

I know. Not some big, profound answer. He probably said more (most likely excuses for whatever current dream they were working on) but the admonition stuck with me.

I have a ton of dreams. Not all of them are achievable. But, still, it’s fun to dream, to work toward something even if it doesn’t work out in the end.

Because… you never know if you don’t try!

As a teen, I dreamed of finding some guy who would love me and kiss me and make me feel like a princess. (I was very self-conscience and thought I was uglier than sin, so this was a BIG lofty dream for me.) Yeah, I met my husband when I was 17 and we got married 4 months after I graduated high school. We’ll be married 13 years this October.

I also dreamed of being a Momma. I loved kids, and I wanted a bunch! My first daughter was born a year and a month after I married my sweet hubby. I’m now the mother of four beautiful daughters and one angel baby.

And then there were the times I’d walk through the bookstore and look longingly at those shelves, finding the spot in the P’s where my book would be. EEEEEEEE!!!! And you know what? It’s there now! HOW COOL IS THAT!

My next dream? It is by far the most important dream yet.

My dream is to see Annabelle walk down the aisle and get married someday.

Annabelle, by the way, is my princess #4. She was born in 2010 with a rare heart defect and spent her first 10 months of life in the hospital. She received a heart transplant in April 2011 when she was 8 months old.

She almost died more times than I care to remember. She spent three months on the transplant list, getting a little worse every day. And while her transplant was a miracle, the summer was tough, as her new heart almost failed her twice, including once at home including life-flight and CPR and not fun stuff like that.

So yes, my dream, my prayer, my hope, is that my sweet little heart warrior will thrive and grow and be able to meet and marry her prince one day. The doctors can give us no odds. They’ve only done infant heart transplants since the mid 80′s and many of those first transplants didn’t survive, so long term survival rates are unknown. And she has high risks for rejection, cancer and numerous other things.

But I’ll hold onto my dream that she’ll live and thrive and love.

What dreams do YOU have? I’d love to hear them!

 

Krista Phillips writes inspirational romantic comedy. She believes a sprinkle of laughter (and a wee bit of chocolate) makes everything a little better! She blogs regularly about life as a wife, mother, follower of Jesus, and mother of a child with a rare congenital heart defect at www.kristaphillips.com. Her debut novel, “Sandwich, With a Side of Romance,” released September, 2012.