Heidi McCahan's Blog, page 23

Throwback Thursday: Preschool Firsts and Lasts

I took our last child to his last first day of preschool this morning. Are you with me? Good. It was a milestone that passed with little fanfare. I didn’t cry and he didn’t, either. After a few hugs initiated by him and words of encouragement, compliments of me, I handed him off to his delightful new teachers. Resisting the urge to skip across the parking lot, it wasn’t until I was halfway to the store that I realized what just happened. Whoa. This won’t be a sappy, sentimental, oh-no-my-baby’s-almost-in-kindergarten … don’t worry, that post will come. Mostly I’m marveling at how the seasons of life bring change and growth. In honor of Throwback Thursday, I wandered back in time to the fall of 2007. Here’s a picture of our firstborn’s first day of preschool. That blog post had a completely different tone, let me tell ‘ya. Will he be okay? Can he use the bathroom by himself? What if he has an accident? I was a frazzled, anxious mom separating from her first child yet eager to race home so the baby could take a nap and I could finally have a few minutes to myself. Funny thing, I’m still in a hurry to hoard some “me” time, but the issues I agonized over then aren’t the things that weigh me down today.

I’m not at all suggesting I have this gig figured out. Our children pitch us curve balls every day. We take two steps forward and then one step back. Some issues raise their ugly heads repeatedly and we wonder if there will ever be resolution. But this I know for sure, there is One who is on our side, doing more than we could ever ask or imagine to shape us into the people He has called us to be. I’m confident that He’s equipped us for every crazy twist and turn of this journey. I’m grateful He used something trivial like preschool drop-off to remind me of His faithfulness.

Just for fun, here’s today’s photos. Call me crazy, but I think this little cutie is ready to go.

He consented to posing by the flowers for one last shot before I walked him inside.

Have a great year, little mister. I think I’m going to miss you.

 

A Read-a-thon?! Yes, please.

I’m home from vacation and trolling the internet planning my blog’s editorial calendar for the next several weeks. Much to my delight, Tanya@ Mom’s Small Victories posted about the upcoming Bout of Books Read-a-thon.

Be still my heart.

Here’s the deets from the hostesses:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Such a great excuse to read more, connect with other bookworms and promote your blog. If you’d like to participate, craft a sign-up post (feel free to mimic mine), then head over to the official linky at Bout of Books. Hurry, the sign up closes on Tuesday August 19th at 11:59pm CDT.

I can’t take on a challenge without a clear direction in mind (‘cuz I’m control-freakish like that), so here’s a short list of what I intend to read this week:

1. An advanced reader copy of The Land Uncharted by Keely Brooke Keith
2. The Flower Girls by Wendy Paine Miller
3. Wish by Jake Smith

How about you? Wanna savor these last bits of summer by diving into a page-turner?

Waiting On Wednesday: A Life Intercepted

I’m linking up with Breaking the Spine and sharing a novel that I’m eagerly anticipating. A Life Intercepted is the next release from the talented Charles Martin. Ever since I read Unwritten and declared it one of the best books I read in 2013, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on more of Charles Martin’s work.

Cover reveal and book blurb from Amazon:

 

 

Twelve years ago Matthew “the Rocket” Rising had it all. Married to his high school sweetheart and one of the winningest quarterbacks in the history of college football, he was the number one NFL draft pick. But on the night of the draft, he plummeted from the pinnacle of esteem. Falsely accused of a heinous crime with irrefutable evidence, it seemed in an instant all was lost–his reputation, his career, his freedom, and most devastatingly, the love of his life.

Having served his sentence and never played a down of professional football, Matthew leaves prison with one goal–to find his wife, Audrey, whom no one has seen since the trial. He returns to an unwelcoming reception from his Gardi, Georgia, hometown to learn that Audrey has taken shelter from the media with the nuns at a Catholic school. There she has discovered a young man with the talent to achieve the football career Matthew should have had. All he needs is the right coach. Although helping the boy means Matthew violates the conditions of his release and–if discovered–reincarceration for life, he’ll take the chance with hope of winning back Audrey’s love.

A Life Intercepted releases September 2nd. You can connect with Charles Martin at his website and if you’re interested, check out this moving post where he shares the inspiration behind this novel.

Happy reading, friends!

What’s your Waiting On Wednesday contribution this week? Click on over to Breaking the Spine and share your selection with bookworms everywhere.

 

Five Minute Friday: Fill

Word of the day: FILL

Sippy cups (only one now and probably not for long) … Water bottles, man sized to accommodate their boy-man thirst … lunch boxes … ziploc bags … permission slips … backpacks … washing machine and it’s faithful sidekick the dryer … laundry baskets … pool bags for our now-fleeting trips to the pool (summer is oozing away like sand through our fingers) … car seat … utensil drawers … dresser drawers … this computer screen as I wrangle words on a daily basis … photo albums … scrapbooks (but not like I used to because aren’t we supposed to post it all on social media for consumption by the masses??)

This life of mine requires a lot of ‘filling’.

But am I filling the right things?

What about the hearts and minds of our impressionable young boys racing faster than I’d like toward manhood. Or how about my spouse? Am I filling the space between us with words that build up and encourage or is it just empty, idle talk that robs us of the joy that’s found in appreciating our many blessings?

Stop.

I’m excited to be a part of this new chapter in the life of the fabulous Five Minute Friday writing community. It’s the same wonderful weekly challenge: write, unscripted and unedited, for five minutes on the given word prompt. In case you missed it, there’s been a passing of the baton. Lisa Jo Baker has handed over the hostess with the mostess duties to Kate Motaung. You can click here to join the fun and read more about Kate, as well.

Wordless Wednesday: Water for the Win

We made our semi-annual trek to the children’s museum last week. This was the first time the water table was set up outside. His expression was just precious: the wonder and amazement over a crazy plastic octopus was priceless. He loves water. And critters. And putting the critters in the water.

Our summer vacation is on the home stretch. I’m going to miss him when he starts five-day preschool.

The Ten On Tuesdays: Ten Authors That Rule Our Shelves

Okay, book loving friends. Confession time. Name the author (or ten) that fuel your addiction. You know the one(s). They publish a novella and it’s on your e-reader. A new release is announced and you automatically pre-order. Said author visits your local bookstore and you stand in a line that snakes around the building just for a chance to meet him or her and gather that coveted autograph. These names fill the spines of the beloved books tucked on the shelves of your home or take up residence in the cloud of your virtual library. Yes, those. Tell me about the authors who reign your shelves.

Here’s mine, spanning both the inspirational and mainstream markets.

1. Denise Hunter: I think I’ve read everything she’s published. I rarely read a book a second time, but as an author, her novels are my go-to for re-reading when I need a better understanding of plot, structure and deep POV. I highly recommend her Big Sky Series and I can’t wait for her December release, The Wishing Season.

2. Lisa Wingate: Another author whose work I devour. Her Moses Lake series is excellent and the cover of her September release The Story Keeper is quite intriguing. You can check that out here.

3. Nicholas Sparks: Occasionally his endings throw me for a loop, but Safe Haven is at the top of my list of personal faves. I highly recommend his memoir Three Weeks With My Brother.

4. Jan Karon: I’ve already mentioned my love for The Mitford Series in various posts and blogged about her wonderful decision to release another Father Tim story later this year. Can’t. Wait.

5. Elin Hilderbrand: if there’s one author’s book I take to the beach, it’s Elin Hilderbrand. Blue Bistro and The Matchmaker are my favorites.

6. Rachel Hauck:  Love Starts With Elle and the rest of the Lowcountry Romance series is wonderful. I feel like she really hit her stride with The Wedding Dress and now I’m thoroughly enjoying the Royal Wedding Series. If you’re a fan of sweet, uplifting romance that feeds your craving for royalty falling for a commoner (hello, William + Kate), I highly recommend the Royal Wedding series. Once Upon a Prince is the first book.

7. Sarah Jio: The Bungalow will always be my favorite, but I adored Goodnight June, as well.

8. Mary Alice Monroe: Last Light Over Carolina will break your heart, but it is so worth it.

9. Sarah Addison Allen: magic, second chances, delicious food … her novels are quirky and delightful.

10. Susan May Warren: Despite my looming deadlines, I put aside my current manuscript and devoured her new release over the weekend. When I Fall in Love is part of the Christiansen family series and I thought it was fabulous. She’s a prolific author in the inspirational market and I highly recommend her novels.

Your turn. Link up with The Broke and the Bookish ladies over here and tell us which author reigns on your bookshelves. Or else you can surf the linky and get some fabulous suggestions for your TBR pile. Happy reading! 

 

Can’t Get Enough of Blake and Lauren?

Good news. They’re on tour! A blog tour, that is. My friend, critique partner and fellow author, Marion Ueckermann, recently launched a new blog called Foreign Affaire: Finding Romance in Novel Places. Isn’t she awesome?

Marion offered to kick things off this month by featuring Unraveled on Foreign Affaire every Monday. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share more about my debut novel with readers everywhere.  But this week includes an added bonus because Blake and Lauren both sat down for extensive interviews, discussing everything from their first memory of each other to their favorite beverage at Starbucks (or in this case, Emerald Cove’s Copper Kettle).

One lucky winner will receive an e-book copy of Unraveled so leave a comment with your email on one of Foreign Affaire’s posts if you’d like to be considered for the giveaway.

Happy reading, friends!

photo credit: Shutterstock

Five Minute Friday: Cultivating Children Who Bloom

Photo credit: Creative Commons via

The four year old and I are easing into our Friday. The brothers are off to school and he’s enjoying sole control of the Kindle for another round of Fruit Ninja. I’m savoring a second cup of coffee and procrastinating a major re-write on my current manuscript. In the midst of my time-wasting  caffeine consumption, I’m watching Hoda and Kathie Lee do their thing. They started their hour with a convoluted discussion about whether or not we tell our children if they’re not talented at a particular extra curricular activity.

Listen. Lest you think I take my parenting advice from morning talk show hosts, let me assure you that I do not. I found the discussion both disheartening and comical.

One of the hosts campaigned for passing the buck and taking the child to an expert (voice instructor, musician, etc.) so they could be the bad guy and deliver the news that the child had zero chance of making it in the entertainment business. However, she contradicted that advice when she stated she’d received negative criticism from her sister’s instructor and that motivated her to pursue a career in television and entertainment.

Say what?

The other host blathered on about her unfulfilled desire to be a cartoonist and a former professor’s advice that her appearance would be a roadblock to her success in the television industry. I can’t accurately represent her opinion on the issue because she never clearly stated her position.

I had a conversation with some other moms this week about how we help our children find their “thing”. Is it through process of elimination? That could be both expensive and exhausting. Encourage the child to pursue activities we enjoy? Sometimes that works, but it also has an excellent chance of backfiring. I’ve sat on many a sideline watching a parent blow a gasket when their child stands on the soccer or baseball field picking flowers, completely oblivious to the action going on around him.

What about when a child clearly possesses  natural talent or ability but shows little interest in pursuing that sport or activity? We have a child with a delightful singing voice who insists he “hates” music. Alrighty then. Another child keeps us in stitches with his great sense of humor but refuses to even think about attending a drama class or auditioning for children’s theatre. Our third has a beautiful left-handed throwing motion. T-ball was his idea this year but he looked miserable when he was on the field.

Clearly I don’t have this figured out from a parenting perspective. I don’t agree with finding someone else to tell our child they aren’t going to succeed. There’s a time and a place for constructive criticism, but I don’t think a young child is capable of processing that kind of feedback. I do know that my parents gave us opportunities to try new sports and activities, whether we showed any natural abilities or not. They watched us play hours upon hours of organized sports, funded our equipment needs and often traveled with our teams to watch us play. My sister was pretty good but I didn’t have any exceptional ability. They let me play, anyway. Because they saw value in learning teamwork, cooperation, the opportunity to win and lose graciously. I wrote lots of bad stories and drew hideous pictures of horses, but they never whispered a word of criticism. I begged to quit playing the piano not long after I started … that took some negotiating, but they let me stop taking lessons with only a casual warning that I’d regret my decision. Okay, Mom, you were right. I wish I’d kept playing the piano.

I think a word of encouragement and a willingness to support our children in their hobbies and activities, whether they are talented or not, goes a long way in cultivating children who bloom where they’re planted. I believe negative criticism only belittles their confidence and plants a seed of resentment.

I saw this post circulating social media earlier this year. I think his perspective sums it up nicely: “The Only Six Words Parents Need To Say To Their Kids About Sports … Or Any Performance”.

Your turn: how do you cultivate children who bloom? 

I’m linking up with Lisa Jo Baker and her weekly Five Minute Friday post. Come join us and tell us your thoughts on today’s prompt BLOOM.

Waiting On Wednesday: Hello again, Mitford.

Like millions of other readers, I fell in love with the fictional town of Mitford and the delightful protagonist, Father Timothy Kavanagh in Jan Karon’s incredible nine book series. When the author announced Light From Heaven would be the finale, I was heartbroken. But I understood. Perhaps she’d written all she could about this delightful cast of characters. Maybe she had other avenues or creative outlets she wanted to pursue. I was grateful for the stories she’d blessed us with and savored every last word of that ninth novel.

Then last month, I heard rumblings of a new Mitford novel. I consulted the all-knowing internet and found this article. A cover reveal, an excerpt and a statement from the author, Jan Karon. I love that she responded to her readers’ requests for more Mitford stories. The reference to Agatha Christie’s disdain for one of her prolific characters threw me for a loop. As a new writer eager for opportunities to share my stories, I can’t imagine being on the other end of the spectrum and pouring so much of my creative energy into a character I didn’t care for.

But I’m getting off track. Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good has already captured my attention and I can’t wait to read it in September. I’m thrilled that Jan Karon has more Father Tim and Cynthia stories to share with us. I doubt you read my blog, Jan Karon, but on behalf of your bazillion fans, let me extend a heartfelt “thank you” for letting us revisit Mitford and this precious cast of characters we’ve grown to know and love.

Which new release are you eagerly anticipating? 

I’m linking up with Breaking the Spine and her weekly Waiting on Wednesday post. Check out this vast list of suggestions to add to your TBR pile.

 

Vacation Rewind

After a fantastic week at the beach, it’s hard to wade through the laundry, grocery shopping, preschool swim lessons and junk mail. To make life twice as exciting, our older boys started their new school year today. So I’m taking a few minutes and reliving the highlights of our family vacation. There were 103 of us gathered together this year. We sang, feasted, body surfed, celebrated and caught up on one another’s lives. It was spectacular.

The husband took the boys to the pier every afternoon. This was the view following Hurricane Arthur. I love the day after a storm, it’s always so beautiful.

I’m sure some folks think we’re crazy going to the beach the week of the Fourth, but we don’t know any different. In fact, we’ve gone back later in the summer and it just isn’t the same.

We love, love, love going to Calabash Creamery for ice cream. It is scrumptious. This is the annual photo op in front of the cow. Check out that elbow pose, will you? He kills me.

I’m linking up with Jennifer Peterson for her No Words Needed post. Looks like I had a few words to share, after all. Click over here for more details and share your photos, too.