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3 Comments Posted on marriage, parenting, Pregnancy, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: This is Definitely a Facebook Pregnancy Announcement!

4 years, 10 months. 

Dear Holly or Logan: You’re Due on April 21, 2016

Dear Jack,

Mommy’s due date is April 21st, 2016; just one day after my 35th birthday.

We have preparing you for this all year. Every time we would ask you if you wanted a brother or sister, you always replied, “No! I just want my stuffed animals!”

But as of this summer, that question ceased to simply be a hypothetical question.

A few weeks ago, we made it clear: “Jack, there is a little baby inside of Mommy’s tummy.”

Since then, you have been very excited and curious about this. You no longer see having a baby brother or sister as a bad thing.

I love the fact that you’ll be 5 and a half years-old when your baby brother or sister arrives.

You’re already such an independent boy. It’s going to be so rewarding seeing you help take care of your sibling. You’re going to be great at it.

This is going to be so exciting for our family!

Dear Jack: You’re Going to Be a Big Brother After All

Two days ago I posted a sneaky picture of our family on Facebook. I had been crafting this idea for weeks now. I wanted to release a subtle hint that to the general public that our family is expanding.

To play on our last name, I had each of us hold a seashell towards the camera; then I took a picture of Mommy’s other hand, secretly holding a 4th seashell behind her back. Then I left a simple caption:

“Shell collection.”

But I don’t think anyone really figured it out.

Plus, a couple of weeks ago I wrote a letter to you called The Dresser for Our Guest Room. It was really a post about your baby brother or sister’s room instead; they are the “guest.”

Not to mention, earlier this week I published People Finally Stopped Asking If We’re Going to Have Another Kid, which gave birth to much speculation.

You and I also made a “very special episode” of Jack-Man, in which it is revealed Jack-Man is going to be a big brother; as if that wasn’t an obvious giveaway to the general public. Even after releasing that video, the news still didn’t spread.

This letter itself is a throwback to This is Not a Facebook Pregnancy Announcement from July, in which I proclaimed in big bold letters, “There is not a baby on the way. I promise.”

Ironically, that fact changed exactly 2 days later.

Yesterday I posted this secretive picture of our family, as well.

Dear Holly or Logan: You’re Due on April 21, 2016

I admit, I’ve had a lot of fun going public with our family expanding.

This is going to be so good. Just about 6 months away…

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on marriage, parenting, People, Spirituality, Storytelling

Dear Jack: I Could and Would Die for You

4 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack: I Could and Would Give My Life for You

Dear Jack,

Without any hesitation, I could and would give my life for you.

However, I believe there is nothing heroic or surprising about that statement whatsoever.

Instead, it’s simply common knowledge, I would assume; that a father would simply in a moment either risk his life or give his life if he saw his child in serious danger. Cue a relevant song:

The reason I recently gave this thought is because recently when we took our mini vacation to Pensacola, we walked out to the end of the long fishing pier at Casino Beach. Mommy and I took turns holding you up to the guard rail to let you see over into the water.

(We were all surprised to the see the man next to us catch a small shark; which he ultimately was required to throw back into the ocean.)

As we left the pier and walked back to the beach, you asked me this:

“Daddy, what would happen if another child’s daddy or mommy was holding them and they pretended like they were going to throw their child into the water, but then they really did, but they didn’t mean to?”

I was amazed at such a deep, hypothetical question from a 4 and a half year-old little boy.

My answer was this:

“They would do whatever it takes to get their child back. If it were you that fell in, I would immediately jump in after you.”

Granted, I’m not sure I would survive the hit of impact of the water (that pier is pretty high off of the water), or that the water would absolutely be deep enough to save my fall.

Either way, I would follow you, even to death. Cue another relevant song:

This reminds me of a scene on one of my favorite shows, Lost; during the final season one of the main characters gets trapped in a submarine, after a bomb explodes, causing water to rush in.

Spoiler alert! Even though Lost ended almost exactly 5 years ago:

Her legs are pinned down from the explosion, leaving her upper half out of the water, as her husband desperately tried to bend the steel bars in order to free her.

After several attempts, he realizes it’s impossible. Though he himself was free and could escape instead of drowning, he chooses to stay with his wife; dying with her in the flood.

It was one of the most touching moment in Lost for me.

But ultimately, it wasn’t heroic. You undoubtedly would die for the people you love the most; without hesitation.

So yes, it’s a dark thought to think about you falling in the water or that we would not spend many more decades together here on Earth.

I just want you to know- I can’t imagine living the rest of my life with you or Mommy. If I felt I was about to lose either of you, I would instantly throw my life in front whatever it was to try to prevent anything bad from happening to you two.

Not because I’m some great guy, but simply because you and Mommy are my life. What would life be without you?

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on marriage, parenting, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: I’m Feeling Guilty About Rushing Through Our Daily Routines

3 years, 11 months.

I’m Feeling Guilty About Rushing Through Our Routines

Dear Jack,

Last night I had a dream in which I could see myself rushing through our bedtime routine; which is pretty much what happened in real life last night.

In my subconcious, I guess I felt bad about not living in the moment enough.

Sometimes I wish we lived in some village in Thailand where we owned very little material things and had more quality time as a family.

On my conference call with Kirk Cameron yesterday, he referenced this guilt we have as parents in knowing the paradox of balancing a demanding schedule with quality family time.

So while I’m not being hard on myself, it is a real and legitimate issue than I am forced to think about.

Even today on the drive to school, I rushed us out of the house, rushed us down the Interstate, rushed you into school; only to forget your stuffed animal in car.

I left your school with you crying and was still a few minutes late to work anyway.

For my lunch break, I drove back to your school, just in time to deliver your stuffed animal to you for your nap time.

I’m Feeling Guilty About Rushing Through Our Routines

I know this is a normal feeling, but it’s really on my mind right now.

Granted, we’re in the process of selling our townhouse, moving our stuff into storage, and buying/building a new house.

By default, life is chaotic for us right now.

And your Mommy and I are actually planners! We are extremely aware of doing our best to ensure as much quality time together as possible.

We’re so extreme we don’t even have cable TV or smart phones or pets; and yet still, there’s that instinct for me to rush through our routines.

Maybe somehow this will get better once we move into our new house, I don’t know.

I don’t want to get in the habit of camping out in the future when the reality is, you’re growing up right in front of me.

Also on my call with Kirk Cameron yesterday, he spoke about the importance of not depending too much on our children’s teachers or coaches or even church leaders to raise our kids; that ultimately, if a child has parents who love each other and set the example, that influences a child more than anything.

So while life is not as easy I as I wish it could be, we’ll do the best with what we have and hope you turn out alright anyway.

I’m pretty sure you will.

Love,

Daddy

shoes family

2 Comments Posted on marriage, People, Uncategorized

My Conference Call With Kirk Cameron Today

I kept assuming it wouldn’t actually happen- that somehow there would be some kind of technical difficulty get the call through.

Kirk Cameron and Nick Shell

Fortunately, I was wrong. I indeed was on an hour long conference call with Kirk Cameron today.

Obviously, I’ve been reviewing movies for a while now, from a family friendly perspective. That means that sometimes, like with 23 Blast, I am even asked to review the movie before it even arrives in theatres.

That is the case this week with Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas.

While the majority of the call revolved around his new movie, he was able to speak a lot about other things.

He spoke a whole lot about his family; his wife and 6 kids! I could tell Kirk is truly a family orientated guy.

That’s what he talked about more than anything, actually; his family. Oh, and he loves Christmas!

He mentioned how living out in California, or as he calls it, “the land of fruits and nuts,” (a reference to food, not people) his family is definitely health-conscious, but referenced his loved for Southern style biscuits; as he recently visited the Duggers (19 Kids And Counting) as well as the Robertsons (Duck Dynasty).

Kirk contributed a lot of his health consciousness to his wife; Chelsea Noble. He loved talking about her; explaining how they met on the set of Full House.

His mother who happened to be there because Kirk’s sister Candace was there for taping, encouraged Kirk to find a girl like Chelsea who was “even more beautiful on the inside than the outside.”

Eventually Chelsea played Kirk’s girlfriend on Growing Pains and a year later, he proposed.

When asked if Kirk missed the days of Growing Pains, he laughed, with no relectance, to say no; comparing that part of his life to high school.

I could tell he wasn’t at all annoyed by the Growing Pains mentions, but his focus is clearly on his family and his faith. He has moved on with his life.

Kirk does, however, keep in touch with Jeremy Miller, who played Ben; and occasionally Alan Thicke and Tracey Gold.

Saving Christmas

The main takeaway from my conference call with Kirk Cameron was that he’s far from a has-been. It’s evident he’s doing much more meaningful and remarkable things in his life now than ever before.

He’s humble. He really is. I heard him talk for an hour.

It wasn’t about him; it was about family and God the whole time.

Now, it’s time for me watch his new movie Saving Christmas so I can write a review for it here on Family Friendly Daddy Blog; which is sort of the whole point of my conference call with him!

Stay tuned for that…

Leave a comment Posted on book review, marriage, parenting, Uncategorized

Growing Up Social: Family Friendly Book Review

As my regular readers of Family Friendly Daddy Blog already know, my family is building a house; closing date in January 29th, 2015.

In the process of planning out the rooms, my wife and I have decided that while we will have a TV in the bonus room, we won’t have one downstairs in the living room; or any other room.

That means in order to watch TV, you actually have to walk upstairs and isolate yourself. Therefore, the temptation is greatly reduced to walk in the door and veg out without spending quality time with other family members.

I believe it’s “little” decisions like that which contribute to health family communication and relationships.

Growing Up Social: Family Friendly Book Review

A few weeks ago while reviewing a car here for Family Friendly Daddy Blog, I was sent an iPad and an iPhone to use in conjunction with the vehicle’s 4G LTE capabilities.

I should point out that I’m of the American minority; we have no smart phones in our household. My wife and I both have “dumb” phones instead.

The main reason is because we’re not willing to pay for a data plan. We are on a family plan with my parents and pay a monthly total of only $30 per month. Again, that’s total; not per person.

But even if it cost us no extra money per month to own smart phones, I still wouldn’t be excited.

Here’s why:

I fully recognized that my family’s life is hurried enough. My wife and I both work; our son is in school all day. The commute time in Nashville is longer than the average large city.

We don’t need more interruptions or distractions in our lives. I feel that if we owned smart phones, it would only add to the anxiety.

Sure, I get the irony in the fact that I run this blog from a cheap ASUS laptop and a dumb phone. I was the official daddy blogger for Parents Magazine for 3 years and never once touched a smart phone.

Of all people, I should own a smart phone… or at least want one. But I don’t.

I won’t deny the fact that having a smart phone for that week made certain things more convenient. However, I found myself getting frustrated that I couldn’t use manage my blog with the same ease as a laptop.

Plus, I don’t like knowing that I can check my email or Facebook at any time. I’d rather just “shut it off” during the day.

Growing Up Social

With that being said, you could imagine I would easily like this book…Growing Up Social, by Gary Chapman (The 5 Love Languages) and Arelene Pellicane (31 Days to Becoming a Happy Wife).

The book causes you to ask yourself, “Is technology bringing your family closer together or driving you farther apart?”

Growing Up Social teaches the five skills that every healthy child needs to master: affection, appreciation, anger management, apology, and attention:

The Skill of Affection – How do you show real love to another person?

The Skill of Appreciation – How do you cultivate a grateful heart?

The Skill of Attention – How do you focus and be a good listener?

The Skill of Anger Management – How do you express anger in a productive way?

The Skill of Apology – How do you mend a relationship after you make a mistake?

The focus is raising relational kids in a screen-driving world. So relevant!

And one lucky reader will win a free copy of this book today…

Just be the first person to post on the Facebook wall for Family Friendly Daddy Blog (not a private message), asking me, “Did I just win Growing Up Social?”

If you’re the first person to do so, I will respond by saying yes… After that, I will follow up by getting your address to give to the publisher so they can send you your won copy!

Update: A winner was found within just a few minutes of this post going live. The giveaway portion is now complete.

Did I just win Growing up social????

Family Friendly Daddy Blog

Thanks for reading today! And remember, I’ll be giving more books away; so stay tuned…

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: ‘Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising’):

Many thanks to Propellor Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”