Becoming Crunchy

Boy it is giveaway central around here lately (and there’s even more to come a little later this week!). There have just been so many great things to share – and I hope you know I don’t do giveaways or reviews for anything I don’t think is really awesome – my enthusiasm is very real!

Today I’m thrilled to be sharing a beautiful book recently released by Dionna Ford, blogger at Code Name: Mama and co-founder of both the Natural Parents Network and Nursing Freedom.org.

The book is called For My Children – A Mother’s Journal of Memories, Wishes & Wisdom. A gorgeous keepsake intended for mothers of grown children – it is one of the best ways I’ve ever seen for a mom to pass on her memories and wisdom in a form her children can treasure forever.

You know how a beautiful journal just inspires you to want to fill it up? I always feel that way when I browse the fancy journal section in the bookstore – and For My Children fits that bill perfectly. It’s so pretty! The illustrations, the colours – everything about it cries, “Write in me!”

And for those looking for further inspiration, For My Children takes care of that, too. Each page is headed with a prompt or guide for writing your thoughts to your kids – things like:

• What do you wish you had known as a new mother?
• If you had to compare your family members to fictional characters (from movies, books, etc.), who would they be?
• Have you ever nursed a broken heart? What did you find were the best ways to heal the hurt?

This is just a sampling of over 150 prompts (really, an entire lifetime’s worth) of things a mother might wish to share with her child.

And that’s what I love the most about this book. When I think about the things I want to share with Bean when she is older – the knowledge and memories I want her to have from me – the task at times seems overwhelming! I’ve started certain projects – monthly letters to her, baby books… but I feel like I just end up getting repetitive in the letters (and/or don’t make time for them) and the baby books feel like they have an expiration date that hits right around toddlerhood (and it’s not like I remember much from those hazy first months anyway!).

Essentially, I need a book like this – it’s the perfect project, something I could literally take years to complete, with a wonderful outline of just about anything I could think of that I might want to include – and I don’t have to do the thinking when it comes to what to write about!

This isn’t something I envision for myself alone, either. I would LOVE for my mom to gift me with her words in something like this (she’s definitely getting a copy – and hopefully not reading this post before Mother’s Day…). My mom and I talk on the phone pretty much every week and have always had a great relationship, but there is still so much more that just never comes up. (In fact it was a similar situation that inspired Dionna to create For My Children).

Being in my thirties now, with a little one of my own, I feel so much closer to my mom in so many ways - it would mean a ton to have her thoughts and experiences written down in a book like this.

And ultimately, I think this book could open all kinds of possibilities. Maybe not all the prompts inspire you, so you write where you know you can answer with passion and know you’ve given your children an incredible gift. Maybe you have many children so you use the prompts as inspiration to write different letters to each one. Maybe you’re at the very beginning of your mothering journey and you fill a page every year over the next thirty. Maybe you’re looking for the perfect gift to honour someone in your life who’s been like a mother to you, and so ask them to fill its pages for you with their memories and wisdom.

I always like the possibility of getting creative with journals as well - filling them with pictures, art, extra pages, clippings – even video on a dvd - I can just imagine the possibilities with such a great guide for creating something truly unique that could be passed down through generations (though that dvd thing might become obsolete at any point…).

Truly I’m thankful to Dionna for creating such a beautiful book – and for offering the opportunity for one of you to win a copy this Mother’s Day!

First of all, if you’re still looking for the perfect gift for your own mom, look no further – go get it here on Amazon! And now, be sure to grab your chance to win it for yourself (or to pass on to your mom at another time). Complete any or all of the Rafflecopter entries below – none are mandatory, but I do ask that you be honest – I check all entries and dishonest entrants will be disqualified.

This giveaway is open worldwide, with the winner to be drawn on Sunday, May 13th. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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