Welcome to Pearl Girlsâ„¢ Mother of Pearl Mother’s Day blog series. The series is a week-long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today’s best writers (Tricia Goyer, Megan Alexander, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Beth Engelman, Holley Gerth, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, and more). I hope you’ll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother’s Day.

AND … do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand-crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/1-5/8 and the winner will be chosen on 5/11. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girlsâ„¢, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girlsâ„¢ products (all GREAT Mother’s Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there! Happy Mother’s Day!

3 DIY Mother’s Day Gifts that Celebrate Family By Beth Engelman

This Mother’s Day, celebrate family with these crafty games the whole family can enjoy.  

Block Photo Puzzle
Not only does this 6-sided photo puzzle provide hours of family fun, but it’s also a great way to reuse favorite family photos.

Materials:
•    9 – Wooden Blocks (Use old alphabet blocks)
•    6 – 8 x 10 Photograph Prints or Colored Copies
•    Ruler
•    Scissors
•    Mod Podge and Paintbrush

Directions:
1.  Arrange blocks in a square and measure the length and width of the square.
2. Measure and cut print to the exact same size as the 9-block square.
3. Place blocks in a square on top of print. Position blocks so they’re lined up neatly and as close together as possible.
4. Trace and cut the outline of each block.
5. Glue print pieces to blocks using Mod Podge. Set aside to dry and then seal with 1-2 top layers of Mod Podge.
6. Repeat process until all 6 sides of the blocks are covered with different photographs.
Thank you to the creative folks at www.photojojo.com for sharing this idea!

 â€œGo Fish with the Family” Card Game
This gift is perfect for Moms who like card games. Another bonus?  There’s always room to “grow” the deck.

Materials:
•    Camera
•    Double stick tape, or a glue stick
•    Several pieces of cardstock (one color)
•    Scissors

Directions:
1.    Take pictures of each family member and develop the pictures in duplicates (3×5 or 4×6 is fine, just make sure all the pictures are the same size).
2.    Turn the pictures into playing cards by gluing or taping a piece of card-stock to the backside of each picture.
3.    Game ideas include “Go Fishing with the Family” which is similar to “Go Fish” but, instead of matching numbers, the object is to collect matching pairs of photos. “Memory” is another fun game to play.  Place the cards face down in a grid and try to find matching pairs of photos.

Family Bingo
In my house, Bingo is always a big hit because regardless of age or skill level, everyone has the same chance to win.  However this version is extra special because the playing boards are populated with pictures of family members.

Materials:
•    Color Coordinated Game Boards (download here)
•    Images of Family Members (use photographs, drawings or clip art)
•    Bingo Markers (pennies, pebbles or buttons)
•    Glue and Scissors

Directions:
1.    Create the game boards:  Download and print desired number of game-boards. Remember each player gets a different game board.
2.    Color-copy and paste images of family members onto each game board.  Remember to paste one person per square and make each board slightly different.
3.    Make “call-out cards” by writing the name of each family member in yellow, green, blue, purple and pink (which coordinates with the colors on the board)
4.    To Play: Game play is similar to traditional Bingo except the caller will randomly select a call-out card and then read the color and person.  For example, “Blue, Grandma Mary” means there is a picture of Grandma Mary in a blue square.  Just like Bingo, the first person to get 5 in a row (horizontally, vertically or diagonally) wins!

Beth Engelman is a columnist for the Sun Times News Group’s Pioneer Press. Her column “Mommy on a Shoestring,” appears in over 30 local papers around Chicago area as well as on the Sun-times website where you can also view her Mommy on a Shoestring video series. She is also a regular on “You and Me this Morning” on WCIU and is frequent contributor for WGN America’s Midday News at Noon.  Recently, Beth was chosen by a celebrity panel from NBC Universal and iVillage to become one of 15 national  “mom” correspondents for NBC’s popular website, www.ivillage.com (over 3 million visitors a day) where she reports on issues that affect moms, families and communities such as bullying, divorce and weight loss.  For more information visit Beth at www.mommyonashoestring.com

I’m going to be joining in with the “Mother of Pearl” series the next week. Hope you enjoy reading these encouraging stories — and most of all, I hope it will inspire you to write some of your own memories down as a legacy to your family!

Welcome to Pearl Girlsâ„¢ Mother of Pearl Mother’s Day blog series. The series is a week- long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today’s best writers (Tricia Goyer, Megan Alexander, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Beth Engelman, Holley Gerth, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, and more). I hope you’ll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother’s Day.

AND … do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand-crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/1-5/8 and the winner will be drawn on 5/11. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girlsâ„¢, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girlsâ„¢ products (all GREAT Mother’s Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there! Happy Mother’s Day!

PEARL PINS by Margaret McSweeney

At age 49, I am a mom without a mom. This deep longing for my mother continues to surprise me. During milestone moments, I imagine phone conversations with her.

“Can you believe that Melissa is graduating from high school in June? I’m so glad you will be flying to Chicago to be here with us.” 

“Wasn’t that a fun family dinner we all had last weekend to celebrate Katie’s ‘sweet sixteen?’ I am so glad you could join us.”

“Isn’t this exciting? I just got a new book contract. Will you please edit my manuscript before I send it in?”

Sadly, this will be my eighth Mother’s Day to spend without my mother. She has missed some poignant milestones in my life and in the lives of my daughters. Both Melissa and Katie were very young when she died so they don’t have a full reservoir of memories about Grandmommy Rhea. However, they do have the legacy of faith that she helped instill in them as toddlers. She loved to send Veggie Tales tapes, Children’s Bibles and devotional books. 

Melissa and Katie were blessed to have Nana, (Dave’s mother) around for much longer. Nana passed away two years ago. A few years before Nana died, she gave me a beautiful necklace with a diamond pendant made from her wedding ring along with a pair of diamond earrings. She asked me to give these special gifts to Melissa and Katie for their sixteenth birthdays. Even though Nana wasn’t around to celebrate, my daughters were so happy to receive such special keepsakes from her. Hugs from heaven.

Last week on Katie’s 16th birthday, I discovered an unexpected blessing that had been tucked away in a cardboard container of my mother’s things. A jewelry box with three pearl pins! I gave one to Melissa as a belated 16th birthday gift, and I presented one to Katie for her 16th birthday. This Mother’s Day, I will wear my mother’s pearl pin as a tangible reminder that a mother’s love (and a grandmother’s love) is an everlasting gift from God.  

Finding these gifts made me think about what I might leave for my own daughters someday. It isn’t the external value of the gift that matters, but rather the love that it represents.

Is there a special gift or letter that you would like to leave your children?

Margaret McSweeney lives with her husband, David and two teenage daughters in the Chicago suburbs.  After earning a master’s degree in international business from the University of South Carolina, Margaret moved to New York City to work at a large bank where she met David.  Margaret is the editor of Pearl Girls, author of A Mother’s Heart Knows and co-author of Go Back and Be Happy. Charity and community involvement are very important to Margaret. She has served on the board of directors for WINGS (Women in Need Growing Stronger) for over eight years. For more information, find Margaret at www.pearlgirls.info and www.kitchenchat.info. 

When I saw the previews for Soul Surfer a few weeks ago, I was squeamish about seeing a movie involving a shark attack. Yikes. It reminded me too much of “Jaws,” which I remember seeing on someone’s cable TV back in the early 80s. I really had no desire to see a girl survive something horrible like that.

But … several of my daughters’ friends saw this movie — and their moms, of course, and everyone loved it. People kept telling me, “It’s got a great Christian message.” OK, so there are not many movies you can say that about, especially not on the big screen. So we went to see it.

And it was amazing. Soul Surfer is based on the true story of Bethany Hamilton, who was attacked by a 14-foot shark off the coast of Hawaii when she was 13 years old. This happened in October 2003, so now she’s around 20, and she’s become an inspirational role model to kids, teens, and even adults (like me) around the world. She’s also authored several books where she uses her platform as a survivor and champion athlete to share her faith in Jesus Christ.

Before the attack happened, Bethany was training for a national surfing championship, with her heart set on turning pro. After the tragedy in which she lost her left arm, she didn’t know if she’d ever surf again, and she questioned God about why He had allowed this to happen. Yet, only a month later, she was back out surfing the waves, regaining her footing as a fierce competitor, and capturing the hearts and admiration of millions of fans.

The actress who plays Bethany, AnnaSophia Robb, is the same adorable girl who played Opal in Because of Winn Dixie and Leslie in Bridge to Terabithia, two of my favorite books adapted into movies. AnnaSophia has grown up quite a bit and, at age 17, appears older than the 13-year-old Bethany she portrays. But she does a wonderful job of helping us to imagine what life would be like having to recover from such a devastating loss.

There are some poignant scenes with Bethany and her mother (Helen Hunt), as well as Bethany and her church youth counselor, played by vocalist Carrie Underwood, in which these women steer Bethany back in the right direction, as she seeks a new purpose for her life.

If you’re a mom of a teen daughter, I highly recommend you to take her to see this movie. Our theater was filled with teen girls, and afterward, everyone had to compare notes about which scene caused the most tears. Bring your tissues!

On her website, Bethany says this about her faith:

When people ask me what my faith in God means to me, I usually answer in just one word: “everything!”

As I left the movie theater after seeing Soul Surfer, I couldn’t help but feel gratitude for the WRITERS who captured Bethany Hamilton’s story into words. How else would I have heard of a surfer girl in Hawaii who got attacked by a shark and used her experiences to reach the world for Christ? Thank you, writers, web designers, photographers, and filmmakers, for producing wholesome, encouraging stories that give all of us a reason to hope!

I’m happy to join in this week’s blog tour for CJ Darlington’s second novel, Bound By Guilt, which is being released this month from Tyndale. CJ has been a blogging/writing friend of mine for several years, and I had the exciting privilege of interviewing her here last March when her debut novel, Thicker Than Blood, released.

Once again, I’m amazed at the depth of CJ’s writing. She focused her first novel on the relationship between two sisters, Christy and May Williams, showing how years of estrangement are restored through the rich bonds of sisterhood and faith. In her second book, she delves even more deeply into the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters.

Much of the action in both books takes place on a horse ranch in Colorado or at a used bookstore, Dawson’s Book Barn, which is based on the real Baldwin’s Book Barn in Pennsylvania where CJ lives and has worked as a book scout. (Didn’t even know what that meant until I read about it!) It’s an actual five-story barn, which holds over 300,000 books. I would definitely like to visit there — doesn’t that sound heavenly for all of us book lovers?

Bound By Guilt picks up about a year after the events in Thicker Than Blood. We’re now introduced to a new character, 16-year-old Roxi Gold, a girl with a troubled past, caught in a life of crime. I had a hard time putting this novel down, as CJ carefully lays out pieces of a puzzle that all come together in the end.

This novel is all the more intriguing because it involves the theft of a first edition copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. I had no idea a rare book like that could be worth over $50,000! It was fun to learn about the world of antiquarian book scouting. The novel also shows how the little things we do, helping others, sharing a scripture or wisdom from the Bible, can go a long way toward giving someone hope. I really think this would be a great novel to pass along to teenagers, as well as any youth workers who spend time with teen girls.

Go CJ! We’re anxiously awaiting another book in the Dawson’s Book Barn saga!

Check out this beautiful cover and book trailer!

TitleTrakk.com Blog Tours Presents:

Bound by Guilt
by C.J. Darlington
Published by Tyndale House

Shuttled between foster homes, Roxi Gold will do anything to fit in. Soon she’s traveling the country stealing rare books from unsuspecting bookstores. Police officer Abby Dawson has seen the worst of society—and not just at work. One fateful night, both their lives are changed forever. One searches for justice, the other finds herself on the run. Will the power of forgiveness set them free?


***Here’s what others are saying about Bound By Guilt***

Great job! You kept me turning the pages.
—Francine Rivers, Internationally best selling author

C.J. is a wonderful, talented writer . . . extraordinary . . .
—Bodie Thoene, best-selling author of the A.D. Chronicles

This one engages your senses and reaches your heart.
—Jerry B. Jenkins, NY Times best-selling author & owner of The Christian Writers Guild

Watch the book trailer:

About the Author:
C. J. Darlington won the 2008 Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest with her first novel, Thicker Than Blood. She has been in the antiquarian bookselling business for over twelve years, scouting for stores similar to the ones described in her novels before cofounding her own online bookstore. In 2006 C. J. started the Christian entertainment Web site www.TitleTrakk.com with her sister, Tracy, and has been actively promoting Christian fiction through book reviews and author interviews. A homeschool graduate, she makes her home in Pennsylvania with her family and their menagerie of dogs and cats. Visit her website www.cjdarlington.com

QUICK LINKS:

• The 1st chapter of Bound by Guilt
  
• Buy at Christianbook.com
• Buy at Amazon.com
• Buy at Barnes & Noble
  

I love to travel, don’t you? In my 20s, I enjoyed wandering the planet as an itinerant English teacher, but these days, I’m thankful if I get to travel a few hours from home. I do most of my globe trekking from the cheap seat of my armchair — and that is why I LOVED reading Sibella Giorello’s latest novel, The Mountains Bow Down.

Why? Because this author whisked me away to the wilds of Alaska! On a cruise ship, The Spirit of Odysseus. Where I got to see glaciers through sentences like this:

Smothered with evergreens, the steeps pointed to a sky so blue it whispered of eternity … And where a liquid silver sea lapped the rocky shore, a bald eagle surveyed the cold water for fish.

*Aah.*

Not only was the setting of this book thrilling, I also thoroughly enjoyed spending time in the mind of FBI agent, Raleigh Harmon, who uses the fascinating field of forensic geology to solve her crimes. And yes — a crime does take place aboard the ship. While most of the passengers are lounging, eating, and gazing at the gorgeous scenery, a woman goes missing and tragedy occurs. In the short span of a 5-day cruise, it’s up to Raleigh Harmon and her Tom Cruise-like sidekick, Special Agent Jack Stephenson, to piece together the mystery and put a monster behind bars.

So there’s a little romance on board, though Raleigh isn’t too swayed by Jack’s charm and stays focused on her mission of justice. As I read the book, I kept sneaking peeks at the author’s photo, thinking this book has to be somewhat autobiographical! Sibella Giorello grew up in Alaska and majored in geology. I could imagine her as the novel’s heroine, an FBI agent solving a crime based on microscopic dust fibers. It was so cool to learn how this is done. (Especially since I’m married to a geologist.)

Here’s the back cover copy of the book, if you’d like to learn more:

Everything’s going to work out. Time away always makes things better…

Like the scenery that surrounds the cruise ship, Raleigh discovers a situation so steep and so complex that even the mountains might bow down before it.

I hope you have a chance to read this book, and if you click on the picture below, you also have a chance to win a getaway on your own Alaskan Cruise!

Sibella’s celebrating the release of The Mountains Bow Down with a blog tour, a Cruise prize pack worth over $500 and a Facebook Party! Don’t miss a minute of the fun.

One Grand Prize winner will receive:

• A $500 gift certificate toward the cruise of their choice from Vacations To Go.
• The entire set of the Raleigh Harmon series.

To enter click one of the icons below. Then tell your friends. And enter soon – the giveaway ends on 4/1! The winner will be announced at Sibella’s Raleigh Harmon Book Club Party on FB April 5th, 2011! Don’t miss the fun – prizes, books and gab!

Sibella Giorello grew up in Alaska and majored in geology at Mount Holyoke College. After riding a motorcycle across the country, she worked as a features writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Her stories have won state and national awards, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize. She now lives in Washington state with her husband and sons. Find out more about Sibella and her other books at her website. www.sibellagiorello.com

My oldest daughter started learning “Londonderry Air” from John Thompson Book 3 today at her piano lesson. So I thought it would be fun if she heard the words to “Danny Boy” to inspire her as she plays.

We ended up finding this hilarious video of the Muppets singing “Danny Boy.” Do any of you remember watching the Muppets on TV as kids? My childhood friend, Meredith, and I used to push back the furniture in her parents’ living room and make up gymnastics routines to “The Rainbow Connection,” sung by Kermit the Frog. We knew every word and somehow managed to sing and do somersaults and splits at the same time. I’m sure her mom stayed clear of that room while we were “creating” our master performances.

This should bring back memories to you. And in honor of the month celebrating the Irish, enjoy!

I confess. I’ve caught a bit of spring fever.

We’ve had a few days of sunshine here that have teased me into thinking I need a break. A spring break!

But we’ve still got a solid month of school — and testing — coming up before we’re out on holidays. So, although I’d rather be stretched out under a seaside umbrella, I decided to do the next best thing…

I gathered a group up to go see Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never — in 3D!

I’ll tell you right off the bat: we squealed and laughed almost the entire time. (Justin Bieber was ADORABLE as a preschooler!) This is such a fun movie for girls and their moms to go see. We were all wearing these giant 3D red and blue glasses watching a teen POP STAR grow up from baby to toddler to adored performer, who at this point is clean-cut and publicly praises his own mom — what’s not to love?

To me, the real heroine of the movie is Justin’s mom, Pattie Mallette. She was the one behind the video camera, capturing those precious images of him as a toddler beating on the seat of a chair. She bought him his first drum set and filmed him, never realizing these images would one day make it into a movie about her famous son’s first sixteen years of life.

OK, so of course everyone knows who Justin Bieber is (right?). Before seeing this movie, I only knew Justin from the covers of magazines, the ones I see while waiting in the grocery checkout line. Cute kid, cute hair, is about all I knew.

I had also heard an interview with him on NPR a couple of years ago, and I knew he had a sweet song where he sings “Baby, Baby Baby — ooh!” and that he was discovered on Youtube. That’s it!

So I totally didn’t expect to be COMPLETELY mesmerized by his story during “Never Say Never,” which sounds like a fairy tale. He was born to a teen mom in London, Ontario and raised in the tiny town of Stratford. He was very close to his maternal grandparents, and in the movie, you see him sitting in his grandfather’s lap, just like any kid. He played sports and became interested in music, teaching himself to play drums, piano, guitar, and trumpet.

He liked sitting on the steps of an auditorium in his hometown playing guitar and singing. When he sang, people all over the town would open the windows to let his voice drift in. Yeah, there was something about that kid…

So he entered a singing contest, at age 12 — and got second place. But his mom recorded it, and she and Justin decided, “Hey, let’s put it on youtube” so family and friends who couldn’t make it could see him singing.

Then one day, a music manager in ATLANTA, of all places, accidentally clicked on Justin’s youtube video, and by this time, his mom had put several songs online. This guy, Scooter Braun, figured out where Justin lived, contacted him through his mom, (that must have been freaky!), and invited them both to come down to Atlanta to meet a few people and record some demos.

Now, this part of the story has become legendary: in the parking lot of the studio, Justin saw one of his favorite recording artists, Usher, and asked if he could sing for him. At first, Usher was a little too busy. But eventually he took a minute to hear this kid from Canada sing. And — he discovered a future star! So Usher and Braun took Justin under their wings and helped him get his first record deal with Island Music.

Then they invited Bieber and his mom to move to Atlanta! Scary! And they did. See, how I admire his mom? She must have done a lot of praying to know this was the right thing to do. Anyway, his first album was a huge success. Justin also built up his own following through social networking. As of today, his Twitter site has close to 8 million followers. In 2010, he won “Artist of the Year” from the American Music Awards.

The “Never Say Never” movie is a documentary leading up to his sold-out Madison Square Garden concert, with real footage from many of his other performances. You get to feel like you’re in the audience, watching him jump out at you and sing away. And at one point, he takes a break from the behind-the-scenes concert tour to speak to movie-goers, telling us to quit texting and pay attention! It was really cute.

I’m sure this is the closest I’ll ever get to see him in concert, so it was a bargain price for us. We thoroughly enjoyed it, and I wish Justin Bieber and his mom all the best. I’ve heard that tomorrow, March 1, is his 17th birthday. I hope he’ll keep producing good clean music with lyrics that moms will let their kids listen to!

Happy Birthday, Justin Bieber, from all of us here at Mom 2 Mom Connection!

* Here’s one of his recent tweets (2 hours ago, as of this writing):

im never gonna change…i will always remember…i will always be that kid from stratford…I will always be grateful.

I started reading it a couple of weeks ago without having any idea what my “project” might be. After slipping this book into my purse and carrying it around to basketball games, school pick-up lines, and doctor’s appointments, I feel like Kathi Lipp has become a friend, someone who wants me to seek God’s best for my life.

The book is divided into 21 “projects” that will help you take small steps toward dreams you may have on hold. It would be a great resource for women’s book clubs and church groups, since one of the main points Kathi Lipp makes is that friends can hold you accountable as you make progress toward your goals.

Here’s a little about the book:

Has that rush to make (and break) New Year’s resolutions already waned? According to Daniel Pink, author of 
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, taking small steps every day will not only help you stay committed to your goal, 
but will also help you ultimately achieve that goal when obstacles come up. Author Kathi Lipp wants you and your friends to live out those dreams—and have some fun along the way.

As women, we forget the goals and dreams of our younger years. The busyness of everyday life gets 
in the way. To-do lists replace goals. The Me Project provides women with fun and creative ways to bring back the sense of purpose and vitality that comes with living out the plans and dreams God has planted in our hearts. Kathi Lipp’s warm tone and laugh-out-loud humor motivates women to take daily steps toward intentional goals. The end result? We get back our lives and enjoy living in the confidence of a purposeful life in spite of our chaotic schedules.

This handy guide coaches women to do one simple thing toward achieving our goals each day for three weeks. A woman experiencing the exhilaration of a rediscovered life offers more as a wife, mother, friend, volunteer, career woman.

Now you get a chance to meet Kathi Lipp as she shares how you can get started on your own “Me Project.” And if you leave a comment below, you’ll be entered in to win a really cool Starbucks gift basket full of caffeine-loaded goodies that will certainly energize you and your accountability buddies to reach for the stars!

Three Super-Simple Ways to Kick Start Living Your Dreams — In the Next 15 Minutes
by Kathi Lipp

Is there a dream that God has given you, but you are waiting until the kids are grown and you have money in the bank before you get started?

You may not be able to enroll in a month-long pastry making class or take a week off of work to get started on your novel, but today you can take three little baby steps to making your dream a day-to-day reality.

1. Go Public with It.
It’s a little scary to tell the world what you want to do when you grow up — but this one little step could get you closer to living your dream than almost any other. Plus — it takes very little time, and you don’t have to raid your kid’s college fund to make it happen.

When you gather up all your courage and tell your best friend, “I want to learn how to paint,” suddenly she remembers an old art book she has laying around she would love to give you, or her friend from church who teaches art classes. The people you know and love want to be a resource. Give them the privilege of being a part of making your dream happen.

2. Join an Online Group.
This is one of the simplest — and cheapest — ways to start exploring your passion. Find out who else is talking about restoring antiques and listen to their conversation. Start by Googling your interest along with the term “online groups.” You’ll be amazed with the number of people who want to talk about the proper way to care for 1950’s lunchboxes as much as you do.

3. Don’t be Afraid to Pray.
I remember the first time I put an offer in on a house — I wanted it more than I had wanted almost anything else in my life. While I knew that I had dozens of other people praying on my behalf, I was too scared to pray.

I didn’t want God to tell me no. I was afraid to pray until my co-worker Kim asked me (in a loving, kind way), why I didn’t believe that God wanted His best for me. Don’t be afraid to pray — as with anything amazing in my life, the path is never what I expected, but it has always been obvious that God’s hand has been on it the whole way.

Kathi Lipp is a busy conference and retreat speaker, currently speaking each year to thousands of women throughout the United States. She is the author of The Husband Project and The Marriage Project, serves as food writer for Nickelodeon, and has had articles published in several magazines, including Today’s Christian Woman and Discipleship Journal. Kathi and her husband, Roger, live in California and are the parents of four teenagers and young adults. For more information visit her website.

Grand Prize Giveaway: Deluxe Starbucks Coffee Gift Basket

* Three 2.5-oz. bags of Starbucks coffee
(Sumatra, House Blend, and French Roast)
* Tazo black tea
* Starbucks marshmallow cocoa
* Almond roca
* Almond roca buttercrunch toffee cookies
* White chocolate and raspberry cookies
* 2 Starbucks mugs
* Keepsake black bamboo basket

$62 value

In yesterday’s Publisher’s Weekly, I read the sad news that Dr. George Edward Stanley, children’s author and professor of languages, passed away suddenly at the age of 68. Dr. Stanley was one of my first writing teachers when I signed up to take a correspondence course at the age of 20 from the Institute of Children’s Literature.

He asked me to address him simply as “George,” and I’ve kept his letters and notes from my course assignments these past 20+ years. Now, of course, I treasure them even more. Dr. Stanley was a wonderful mentor for me, and his early encouragement helped keep my writing dreams alive. Although I have yet to publish my own children’s novel, I still live as one devoted to the world of children’s literature, especially as the mother of five kids who love to read great books.

I wanted to share with you some of George Edward Stanley’s many accomplishments that I found on a memorial page devoted to him:

George graduated from Memphis High School in 1960. He took his B.A. (1965) and his M.A. (1967) from Texas Tech University. His Doctor Litterarum (1974) in African Linguistics is from the University of Port Elizabeth [now Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University] in South Africa.

It was while he was a Fulbright professor in Chad, in central Africa, that Dr. Stanley began writing fiction. About the only diversion he found available in that nation’s capital city of N’Djamena was listening to the BBC on his short wave radio. That led to his writing radio plays for a program called World Service Short Story. Three of his plays were eventually produced and so began a lifetime of entertaining and educating children and young adults.

After writing and publishing over 200 short stories in American, British, Irish, and South African magazines and linguistics articles in major international journals, Dr. Stanley turned to writing books. He wrote more than 100 books for young people and one book on writing, WRITING SHORT STORIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

Dr. Stanley was also working on several other books for young people, as well as textbooks for teaching Arabic, Hausa, Indonesian, Persian, Swahili, and Urdu.

Dr. Stanley was a Professor of African and Middle-Eastern Languages and Linguistics in the Department of Foreign Languages at Cameron University. At one time or another he has taught all the Germanic and Romance languages, in addition to African and Middle-Eastern languages.

I also found a listing on his home page at Cameron University of over 100 children’s books he published, including books written under his own name as well as several well-known pseudonyms.

Still, out of all these many accomplishments, the fact that he found time to work with unknown, fledgling writers through a correspondence school shows how dedicated he was to the field of children’s writing. I know that he’ll be greatly missed by all of his current and former students, as well as those who knew and loved him.

His funeral is today in Oklahoma. May he rest in peace, and may his life’s work continue to be an inspiration to those who follow in his footsteps.

Valentine’s weekend is coming up, and if you’re like me, you’ve got multiple kids who need a million Valentines to pass out to classmates and teachers. Some years, we’ve done the Wal-Mart dash and scribbled names on store-bought Valentines. That works, and you can check it off your list.

But this year, my three crafty daughters are old enough to manage their own projects. So I’m planning to let them have at it, supplying them with colored paper, scissors, glue, and doo-dads galore. It will keep them busy for a few hours, and they’ll end up using their creativity in ways they can share with their friends.

Here’s an idea I LOVE sent to me by author and CHOCOLATE EXPERT, Beth Kimmerle. (Does she have a dream job or what?) To make these gorgeous Valentine Foil Roses, you get to use the foil saved from your chewing gum!

Thank you, Beth, for a great girly girl craft project! 😉

Beth advises, “Look for gum available in flavors with fun, floral colors. Just fold the foil into tulips or roses, secure to a stem pipe cleaner and voila, a unique floral arrangement that won’t wilt!”

Supplies:
*5 gum Wrappers
*Pipe Cleaners
*Scissors
*Craft glue

Directions:
1. Cut Pipe cleaners into two pieces with sharp scissors.
2. Fold foil wrapper into half lengthwise and using pipe cleaner, pierce through folded section about ½” from end.
3. Wrap foil around pipe cleaner to create a “flower” and twist at bottom to secure. Use glue if necessary.
4. Using green foil, make “leaves”. Fold green foil twice lengthwise and wrap around bottom of flower. Twist foil to resemble leaves.
5. Repeat making flowers on end of pipe cleaners until your have a bouquet of 20 or so flowers.
6. Use a pipe cleaner and tie bunch around wrist to create a corsage or use one or two and pin on date for a funky boutonniere.