A rhyming, light-hearted celebration of the different ways a family can grow. A wish began your journey And now that you are here Our family has grown with love With love for you, my dear. This warm appreciation of love invites the youngest readers to share in the joy and excitement of expecting families. The lyrical, rhyming text subtly references pregnancy, surrogacy, and adoption, gently touching on the different ways a family can grow. The book's celebratory yet comforting tone incites both appreciation and understanding, leaving readers with a lasting message of unconditional familial love. Includes a simple glossary at the end.

Lifting one’s head up to view the family landscape can transpire questions such as, “Where am I?” “How did I get here?” “Why am I here?” and “Where am I headed?” observing the loved ones growing alongside. This may also form questions to which we reflect on the status of their formation. Take a short journey with this parenting handbook, Growing a Family. This will give inspiration to parents and family supports to obtain essential tools to help cultivate the roots of your garden. In it, you will travel through parenting subjects that are attached to personal stories orchestrated with experience and wisdom intended to surface an emotional rainbow. Uncover the gems hidden within your ancestry, gaining knowledge of the “why” when turning through the chapters on the foundation of yourself as well as the precious soul of your child. Dig into the importance of family values and stitching supports to add individual and family strength. You may find comfort in a greater power as you read spiritual happenings written with an open heart poured out in the “Power of Prayer.” Parents and caregivers of children all ages can find tools to use in the unexpected storms of life. Helpful strategies and observations are to be considered when reading about boundaries, babies to youth, and the importance of how we communicate when turning through the “Talk to Me” section of the book. Learn how to look for safety issues that may arise when leaving your children in the care of others with the “Working Parent” chapter. Grow knowledge of things that may cause harm to a family if the unexpected happens, causing a shift of unbalance uncovered in the “Blended Family” section. Laugh, cry, and internalize the creativity told through the words to inspire all of us to nurture our future gardens.

After the turmoil of the past few years, the Nelson family is finally starting to come back together. Jan has opened her bakery, Jack has established his pottery shop, and the toddler twins—Joe and Mary—are growing fast. Jack is realizing, through Jan, how important he is to the rest of his family. Jack’s siblings, Carol and Randy, are both married and expecting babies, which makes their mother, Sharon, very happy. And after his father’s death, Jan’s young cousin Barry is starting to come out of his shell, making new friends at school, and joining Jack in the pottery shop. Soon another change will be coming for the Nelsons, an unexpected and welcome change—something that will bring the family closer and brighten their lives beyond anything they could imagine. One evening Jack goes for a walk and has an encounter with their neighbors that will change their lives forever. In this novel, the third in a series, Jack and Jan Nelson take in an eleven-year-old girl whose father has been in an accident, and the choice alters the course of their lives for good.

As a young bride, Jennifer Smith couldn’t wait to build her life with the man she adored. She dreamed of closeness, of being fully known and loved by her husband. But the first years of marriage were nothing like she’d imagined. Instead, they were marked by disappointment and pain. Trapped by fear and insecurity, and feeling totally alone, Jennifer cried out to God: What am I doing wrong? Why is this happening to us? It was as if a veil had descended between her and her husband, and between her and God—one that kept her from experiencing the fullness of love. How did Jennifer and her husband survive the painful times? What did they do when they were tempted to call it quits? How did God miraculously step in during the darkest hour to rescue and redeem them, tearing down the veil once and for all? The Unveiled Wife is a real-life love story; one couple’s refreshingly raw, transparent journey touching the deep places in a marriage that only God can reach. If you are feeling disappointment or even despair about your marriage, the heart-cry of this book is: You are not alone. Discover through Jennifer’s story how God can bring you through it all to a place of transformation.

PARENTING NEVER ENDS. From the founders of the #1 site for parents of teens and young adults comes an essential guide for building strong relationships with your teens and preparing them to successfully launch into adulthood The high school and college years: an extended roller coaster of academics, friends, first loves, first break-ups, driver’s ed, jobs, and everything in between. Kids are constantly changing and how we parent them must change, too. But how do we stay close as a family as our lives move apart? Enter the co-founders of Grown and Flown, Lisa Heffernan and Mary Dell Harrington. In the midst of guiding their own kids through this transition, they launched what has become the largest website and online community for parents of fifteen to twenty-five year olds. Now they’ve compiled new takeaways and fresh insights from all that they’ve learned into this handy, must-have guide. Grown and Flown is a one-stop resource for parenting teenagers, leading up to—and through—high school and those first years of independence. It covers everything from the monumental (how to let your kids go) to the mundane (how to shop for a dorm room). Organized by topic—such as academics, anxiety and mental health, college life—it features a combination of stories, advice from professionals, and practical sidebars. Consider this your parenting lifeline: an easy-to-use manual that offers support and perspective. Grown and Flown is required reading for anyone looking to raise an adult with whom you have an enduring, profound connection.

“A gentle tale of inclusion and fairness that children will clearly understand.” —Booklist (starred review) “A truly inspiring picture book that will resonate with both children and adults.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “Emotionally charged and eloquently rendered in words and art, this picture book is worth owning and cherishing.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Inviting dialogue about the need for inclusivity, Vaught offers a lyrical narrative.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) From award-winning novelist Susan Vaught comes a poignant picture book that celebrates inclusivity, acceptance, and the importance of rebuilding a community in the wake of disaster. Lightning gash! Windy lash! A storm drives all the farm animals indoors except for a lonely fox family. The barn isn’t their home. But where will they go for safety? This stunning picture books explores themes of acceptance and belonging: Large or small, Short and tall, There is room, There is room, There is room For us all.

A rhyming, light-hearted celebration of the wonderful differences that make each family unique. A family can be Any kind of number Maybe there's one parent Strong like thunder This charmingly heartfelt board book is for families: families who cook together and families who sing together, families with lots of members and families with a special few, families who live together and families who live separately--for all families. Celebrate the differences that make each family unique and the similarities and love that connect us all together.

Expanding on the stories in her popular column for the website Waging Nonviolence, Berrigan has crafted a welcome antidote to the various parenting fads currently on offer from French moms and tiger moms and mean moms. She offers a unique perspective on parenting that derives from hard work, deep reflection, and lots of trial and error.

Moving into parenthood is typically a time of great joy and excitement, but it also brings fatigue, stress, and conflict. From the authors of the best-selling Fighting for Your Marriage and A Lasting Promise, this unique and innovative guide offers indispensable advice on how to protect and preserve your marriage and take care of yourselves as you become parents. Based on scientific research and containing real-life examples, Becoming Parents challenges you to seize this opportunity to really thrive in your relationship and in parenting together as a team. "If you're having a baby, buy this book! It will give your baby the most important gift of all-parents who know how to keep their relationship happy, satisfying, and stable-the kind of relationship your baby can count on and learn from." --Diane Sollee, director, Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education

Many parents of a teenager or young adult feel as though they're guessing about what to do next--with mixed results. We want to stay connected with our maturing child, but we're not sure how. And deep down, we fear our child doesn't want or need us. Based on brand-new research and interviews with remarkable families, Growing With equips parents to take steps toward their teenagers and young adults in a mutual journey of intentional growth that trusts God to transform them all. By highlighting three groundbreaking family strategies, authors Kara Powell and Steven Argue show parents that it's never too early or too late to - accept the child you have, not the child you wish you had - work toward solutions rather than only identifying problems - develop empathy that nudges rather than judges - fight for your child, not against them - connect your children with a faith and church big enough to handle their doubts and struggles - dive into tough discussions about dating, career, and finances - and unleash your child's passions and talents to change our world For any parent who longs for their kids to keep their roots even as they spread their wings, Growing With offers practical help and hope for the days--and years--ahead.