Roses for Mama

It had all turned out to be so strange, so ironic. Angela Peterson's family had moved west because her mother had not been well and the doctor said the cooler, clear air of the region might be easier on her lungs. Her father sold the farm and loaded everything they could take with them in three wagons. They found new land and a new life, setting about to build another farm.

Her mother's health did improve-at least for a while. Then a winter cold put her back in bed and it became clear she had only months to live. Angela was just fourteen at the time, and in those intervening months her mother tried to prepare her for the responsibility of raising three young siblings. But no one dreamed that something would happen to their father.

For Angela, now seventeen, and her older brother Thomas, the profound events that reshaped their family also changed their lives. Angela does her best to care for the children, but still wonders if she is providing everything they need-like her mother did. And as the children grow, the questions and challenges intensify, at times even feel overwhelming. Preparing them for life seems to require something more.