Introduction

Paulette--the new wife, the mother, the grandmother--will call her daughter, Janita, and describe this beautiful moon witnessed on her honeymoon to Minnesota. Can an everyday moon really be that beautiful? It can if you are Paulette.

The Past and the Abuse

It''s almost ritual, the abuse Paulette had suffered at the hands of her mother''s boyfriend, Harley Bull. What''s a girl of six to do?

Family and Moving

She loved her daddy, Gustav Swenson, but was seeing him only on weekends enough? No. Abandoned by her mother, Gustav gains custody. Gustav and Paulette move from Washington State to farm half of his brother''s homestead in Newfolden, Minnesota. She learns the meaning of love, the expected promise of forever. From her daddy? Yes. From her aunties Laura and Ulla? Yes. From her best friend, Mary? Yes. From Jacky Slogard? Absolutely.

Love and Life's Surprises

But sometimes love is not as comely and dependable as we might wish it to be, is it? The growth of overall peace and happiness--of contentment with our place in life--can very well come with a number of unpleasant circumstances during the living of that life. Will there be surprises in Paulette''s life? Yes. Will there be miracles? Definitely: Life itself is a miracle. And within life, finding love and giving love are precious miracles. Paulette--all of us--must embrace those precious moments of love''s worth.