My Mom (Cathie Ancalade) inspired me to write this book. She said we needed to have a book that introduced the Catholic Church to kids. I told my Mom I already had the story. My son renamed San Carlos Cathedral (The Mission Church in Monterey), The Castle Church. We go through the secret door, we go to children’s church, we have holy doughnuts, and if they are good, we go to Dennis The Menice Park. At the same time, the Church was telling the story of Lazurus. My oldest son got wrapped up like Lazurus with toilet paper. He said,”Mommy, when I get a dog, I want to name him Lazurus after Jesus’ best friend. He will be my best friend like Jesus.” This is how the story came about. My awesome and talented 84 year old Grandma (Jeri Lochmann) did the illustrations.
Now, I had my teeth book on the agenda first. I finished it and saw my sister in law the next day (I see her a couple times a year) and she said the teeth book was no ready. She said it needed a lot of work. My sister in law (my angel in my life) took on the challenge to save me. She put me on the books for November. November came and went. I really wanted to publish a book before Christmas. My Grandma was really inspired and finished her drawings in a month. She did one every day until it was done. We decided to do the Castle Church first because it was easier. She told me to call up the company and see when our deadline would be. It was a Monday and the online company said no later than Thursday. I laughed and prayed. I said, God you are going to have to move mountains to get this book done before Christmas. I texted my sister in law and said forget about it, the deadline was Thursday, and we would do it in January. She texted me back and said lets give it a try. I was shocked and went for it. My sister in law, God bless her, worked feverishly to get everything done. She made the deadline.

God’s plans are better than mine. One the day I was going to publish with a different company, a publisher sat in my chair the hour before I was going to complete my order. That morning I was amazed and wondered what God had in store because I see this patient every 6 months. It was too ironic that she was scheduled on the day I was publishing. Well, she suggested that I hold off and publish on Createspace through amazon. I told her I did not have time and I would have to do this later. She ran over through my lunch and I had just enough time to get air in my tires because my tire light was on. When I went to put air in my tires it was a gusher. I called Ezra and he was out of cell phone service. Toyota laughed at me and suggested I go to Monterey Tires on Fremont. I cancelled my next patient. The tire place took care of me. While I was waiting, my sister in law had lunch and we were able to download everything to Createspace. The second blessing and the most important, was my back tire was bald, I was planning to go out of town, and it was going to rain the next day. The kids and I could have been in a horrific accident. God saved me and my family, the book got published to createspace and my kids and I were safe driving to my Mom’s the next day in the rain. I have never been so thankful for a flat tire in my life. Not only did God send me to createspace but he saved me a ton of money and it got delivered on Christmas Eve. The best blessing was I published my first childrens book with my Grandma. It was the most special experience. Her drawings are amazing. I was able to have a special bond with her that I will remember for the rest of my life. She is special and a wonderfully talented lady. She dedicated a good portion of her life to teaching kids, and anyone in need about God. She still does prison ministry in Fresno. Her love for God is always overflowing.
To sum it up. God moved mountains to get this book done before Christmas. That in itself, is special. Please help me share this with the world, one family at a time. Read the book, come to The Castle Church, and then come play at Dennis The Menace Park. (Please know Dennis The Menace is a crazy fun park where my kids like to get lost. Beware of the maze. I stay away unless there is one parent to child ratio.) You can purchase this book by clicking the link below. It is available on amazon. A u-tube video is coming soon where I read it to my kids. Thank You for everyone who supported me and thank you my angel, Anthea. You can hire my lovely sister in law and see her work at www.asbacreativestudio.com.

Buy The Castle Church