Going to be New Parents

Did I tell you that my niece and her husband were going to have a new lil one? They are hoping for a son. My niece has an older daughter from a previous relationship and they have a younger daughter together. So a son would be really nice for them. Now without bringing up any real past I do want to say how proud of them I am. You see they are both very strong Christians. And they recently moved to a new town. So leaving their home church and finding a new one is always hard on a family. But it seems that God has led the way.

I wanted to do something special for both of them. So for my niece I gave her "Mom's Bible: God's Wisdom for Mothers" (the NCV version). I know that she has her trusty KJV and that it lives with her. But a companion bible is always nice. And I loved the way this one was both a study bible and a devotional too. My niece knows that her guidance is very important in their home. Especially since her husband has to travel for work so often. So having these tools at her finger tips is always helpful. I do wish to thank Thomas Nelson Publishers for letting me share this gift with her. What a great mom's gift to give to a expecting mother.

I also have a good book that I am sharing with her husband. He received "I'm Going to be a Dad: Now What?" It is a wonderful book to answer all those questions. We all wish our children came with an instruction book--right? Well here is the help that those Dads are looking for. I was thrilled to read all the information it shared on how to be a supportive husband during the pregnancy. And then the great parenting tips to help from the 3 a.m. feedings to dealing with teething on to juggling work and being a parent. Whew! What a job it all is. I also thank Atlantic Publishing for helping me with this gift too!

What tools or books have you cherished as you traveled down the path of parenthood? Where do you turn to keep your head on straight during the whirlwind? Has there been that one special gift you would like to share with young parents? My favorite two are actually children's books. There is the "Potty Book" (one for boys and one for girls) that was quite instrumental in helping out my own daughter. And then the always popular and tear jerker "Love You Forever". Remember the one where the mother sings to her sleeping baby: "I'll love you forever / I'll love you for always / As long as I'm living / My baby you'll be. ... Yeah! It gets me!

A Mother's Wish

I have many wishes for my College Girl. And I have often thought what would I wish for her the most? That is a hard one. What do you wish for your loved ones?

I Wish her:
Discernment, which she has quite well. Thus she can be polite yet state her view in most situations. CG also is very good at deciding who and when to share her life with.
Love, to fill her life with. True deep never ending love. She has not found it yet, but she is patient and willing to wait for the right one.
Joy, in her choices, in her encounters, in life.

It comes down to the fact I wish her enough. Bob Perks wrote a gift book named "I Wish You Enough". It helps us focus on how we can embrace those moments in our lives. I love the attitude this book brings. Each small chapter starts with a wish that composes part of a poem. My favorite is "I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright." That alone can brighten my day.

So instead of wondering what I wish for my College Girl, I have decided to sit and share this book with her. I do want to say thanks to Thomas Nelson publishing for sharing this book with me. And let me end with another line in the book "I Wish You Enough."

"I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

Saving Cicadas

Have you ever wanted to just chuck it all? You know, today you wake up and life is way too much to handle. So why not just make the change? Jump in the car and go? I know that I have felt that way, but never made that leap.

While reading Saving Cicadas I felt a kinship with Priscilla Lynn Macy who learns she's having another child unexpectedly so she packs the family into the car to escape. In doing so she takes her family (we can not runaway without them) on a road trip. Of course this turns into a mystery and takes us on an unexpected journey.

I have to say I enjoy twist and turns in a story. And being reminded that we all count. Even the very smallest of us all. Nicole Seitz has used her Southern spirit to create full characters and a story of redemption. I wish to thank Thomas Nelson Publishers for sending me Saving Cicadas. This was a good read. You can pick up this story to share for only $14.99. I feel it would be a good book for a teenager and older.

Nicole Seitz is the author of The Spirit of Sweetgrass and 3 other stories as well as a freelance writer/illustrator who has published in numerous South Carolina magazines. Nicole shows her paintings in the Charleston, South Carolina, where she owns a web design firm. And she is like so many of us, a wife and mother.

Laugh Out Loud Advice

I have had so much fun looking for my Dear Hubby's lil black book. Honest! I always said he had the book that has all the excuses men give their wives. You know what I mean. Why men can't pick up their dirty clothes? How did they forget your anniversary? And didn't they see that game last week?
Honest my DH always has such sweet answers I know he has to be getting them from some cheat sheet some where. Now I know where! Yep, I found his lil black book and it was (as expected) in disguise with a plain white wrapper. Even had the nerve to title it 'Rick and Bubba's Guide To The Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage'
I have had so much fun reading this book. And the CD that is at the end has had me in stitches in the Durango. I was so happy to receive this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I do not know how I have not heard Rick and Bubba on the radio or their TV show or through their books. It must have been a conspiracy to save DH from me. I know that I now have a goal to let all the other GRITS (girls raised in the south) know that there is a book (man's guide to marriage) that has all the secrets we have been looking for. Oh and to top it off I found out they stole our secrets too!
They published our well hidden Book of Blame to share with our football loving, hunting, fishing, can't find the remote darling husbands. There is even a confidentiality agreement the men must sign to keep us from finding out. So GRITS, I have caught them red handed and expect you to go out and find your DH's copy of 'Rick and Bubba's Guide To The Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage'.