



1 year, 9 months.
Dear Holly,
I guess I am learning that every Valentine’s Day at our house is like a “mini” Christmas morning. And speaking of Minnie, she was part of your gifts from Mommy and me:
Pilot Minnie, which includes a pink purse and a pink suitcase.
It is my assumption that little girls your age are equally obsessed with Minnie Mouse and Elmo, with the same mania that teenage girls went crazy over Elvis in the 1950s or The Beatles in the 1960s.
Here is how I perceive things with you right now:
It’s as if Minnie Mouse is your best friend and you want to be just like her. So it’s no surprise to me that yesterday, you clutched her tightly in your hand for both your morning nap and for bed at night. It was like a sleepover.
You just think Minnie Mouse is the coolest girl ever!
And as for Elmo, well… I’m starting to think he’s more than just a friend.
Each time I read you the Little Golden Book, Elmo Loves You, and finish the last page, with a big smile on your face, you lean down and kiss Elmo right on the face: “Mmmmmwhah!”
It’s not like anyone gave you this idea. You just immediately did this the first time, and every time, I have read you the book.
Mommy and I have learned to be careful about even saying Elmo’s name in front you. Because often when we do, you get caught in a trance:
“Elmo? Elmo. Elmo? Elmo! Elmo. Elmo. Elmo. Elmo!…”
At that point, I have to either give in, and take you upstairs and let you watch one of your Elmo DVDs, or I have to find a clever way to distract your train of thought.
So yeah, I convinced: Minnie Mouse is your best friend and Elmo is your boyfriend.
Love,
Daddy
I met her back in April when my son was invited to her son’s 6th birthday party. Then just a few weeks later, when our sons both won achievement awards in their Kindergarten class, I needed a seat in the bleachers for my wife and I as the ceremony was about to begin. It was then that Tracy Goodwin mentioned to me that she had a book coming out this summer; about how it’s a miracle she’s even alive.
Flash forward to last weekend, as our family was driving back from visiting my parents in Alabama. My wife sat in the passenger seat, reading Tracy’s book, Unstoppable God. Meanwhile, I drove up Monteagle Mountain with tears in my eyes; tears which I hid from my wife.
It is impossible to hear Tracy’s story and not be grateful. I think Unstoppable God is an instant cure for anyone is starting to feel jaded, asking the question, “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?”
Tracy’s book is, by default, the answer to that question.
To see Tracy with her wonderful family, you just would never guess what all she has been through. It is always inspiring to see a person choose to praise God during times others would question or curse God.
Unstoppable God is not a book about Tracy Goodwin. It is a book about how God worked through a person’s life who refused to give up on Him.
Like I always say, you have to either choose to victorious or you end up allowing yourself to become a victim.
Tracy chose to be victorious, through God’s divine intervention. Had she chosen to see herself as a victim, I don’t know that she would still be alive to tell her amazing story of overcoming impossible odds.
I am so grateful Tracy shared her story with me.
And to the first person who leaves a comment on the Facebook page for Family Friendly Daddy Blog advertising this post, you will receive a copy of Unstoppable God, as well!
This week my son and I got to read a new children’s book about how it’s always our choice to use words that either help or hurt other people. It’s called “Words” by Elle Grey. The book explains that ultimately, when we use words to hurt others, we then attract negativity back to ourselves.
I truly believe this to be true. It’s part of the process of developing emotional intelligence. I have even mentioned before here on Family Friendly Daddy Blog how much better of a person I became (just a few years ago) when I stopped allowing other people to emotionally control me.
In other words, I took away anyone else’s right to “offend” or “insult” me. I did this by taking control of my own emotions instead of letting anyone else control them for me. But before ever getting to that point in life, a person must first learn to choose how to choose their own words and begin to understand how they positively or negatively effect others.
So yes, this book fundamentally teaches a concept I live by.
Congrats to Matt Wright, who was the first reader to comment, and therefore win a copy of Words!
About Author Elle Grey
Daughter of a US Air Force family stationed overseas, Julie was born in Ely, England about an hour outside of London. Her family moved to the United States when she was 6 years old. Following a successful career in financial services, where she co-authored the book “Live Rich, Stay Wealthy” which sold twenty-five thousand copies in the first 90-days, Elle decided to devote her time to her young daughter. The Elle Grey Stories were created to teach her daughter values, principles and morals, all the things that are important for our children to help guide, shape and protect them as they grow.
Julie is a wife and a mother of two adult sons and a 3-year old daughter. In addition to spending as much time as possible with her family, she enjoys going to the gym, writing, doing pilates, running, painting, ceramics, crocheting, knitting, cooking and reading.
My son Jack was excited to see we received a new book in the mail: Almost a Minyan, by Lori S. Kline. Granted, when I first read him the title, his eyes lit up as he looked for a picture on the cover of a “minion” from the Despicable Me movie series…
But as I read the book to him for bedtime, he was still very intrigued despite realizing that “minyan” is also a Hebrew word. As I read him the story, he learned about a tween girl from a close Jewish family.
After regularly seeing her father and grandfather regularly attend their town’s minyan (a public worship group of ten adults), she and her father experience a character arc after her grandfather passes away.
On the verge of her 14th birthday, she realizes she can be the one to qualify as the 10th adult necessary to keep the minyan going.
For Jewish families, this book will surely reinforce and further illustrate the traditions of the Hebrew faith.
For families outside the Jewish fold, this book will surely still engage the reader, as it introduces a new (yet ancient) culture.
Thanks for reading my book review today. I will close with basic marketing information of Almost a Minyan:
Release date: April 4, 2017
Publisher: Sociosights Press
Price: $17.99
Kindle Price: $7.99
Pages: 40
Distribution: Itasca Books, Amazon/Ingram
eBook Distribution: Kindle, Nook
Website: http://www.sociosights.com