A Plethora of Mother's Day Gifts! Deborah Batterman & Matt Hammitt's Books

Children's Book Choice:

Summary: In the same manner as touching picture books like bestsellers Let Me Hold You Longer and Love You Forever, I Couldn't Love You More tells a sweet, loving, yet powerful message: I couldn’t love you more, but there is someone who does. Through the unique relationship of adorable animals, the book shares that Christ is always with you and he loves you more than you can imagine. This engaging picture book combines lovable and irresistible images with the lyrics from the song (co-written by Jason Ingram and Matt Hammitt). Matt is lead vocalist for Sanctus Real, a Grammy-nominated Christian rock band. The song is on Hammitt’s latest album, Every Fallen Tear. When Matt and his wife, Sarah, were halfway through her pregnancy, they discovered their son would be born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), a rare congenital defect. Matt and Sarah’s son, Bowen, was born on 9/9/10 and received a huge following through the Hammitt’s blog (bowensheart.com), K-LOVE, and ABC News. A portion of the proceeds from the book goes to the foundation the Hammitts’ have started to help parents with children who have this heart condition. 

Particlars of the book:  

Publisher~Tyndale House Publishers

Pages~28

Genre~ Children's Fiction/Christian/Inspirational

About the Author :

Matt Hammitt is the lead singer and a founding member of the band Sanctus Real. Over the past decade, the Grammy nominated, Dove Award–winning group has released five albums and has topped the Christian radio charts with fourteen No. 1 and Top 5 radio hits.

  In 2010, Matt and his wife, Sarah, found out they were expecting their third child. Already the parents of two young daughters, Emmerson and Claire, they were looking forward to an ultrasound that would reveal whether they were having a boy or a girl. "We found out it was a boy, and we were all celebrating," Matt recalls. "But only a few minutes later the doctor came in and told us that things weren't right, that half of the baby's heart wasn't developed. At that time, they didn't think he would survive."

 Diagnosed with Hypoplastic left heart syndrome, little Bowen, whose name means "small, victorious one," defied the odds and survived. But it hasn't been an easy road for Matt and his family. Following Bowen's birth, Matt and Sarah watched their newborn son endure two open-heart surgeries, and they spent more than three months by his bedside at Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Matt and Sarah have shared the pain, as well as the joy, of their journey with others through their blog, Bowensheart.com, which has received more than one million hits to date. Sarah says, "God clearly has His hand in all of this. Our family has been called to walk through this, and we will do our best, even though it's going to be really rough at times."

 "Everything I've watched happen in the hospital—all the pain I've felt—is deepening my faith, strengthening my marriage, and molding my character," Matt says. "Out of what appeared to be a well of emptiness has flowed a fountain of purpose." Matt's album Every Falling Tear, released in 2011, was born out of the heart of a father wrestling with his pain but buoyed by his faith and his love for his family. I Couldn't Love You More is one of the songs on the album. It expresses a parent's desire to share Christ's unconditional love with his child. A portion of the proceeds from both Matt's album and this book will be given to support the Whole Hearts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by the Hammitts that is dedicated to helping families with children suffering from congenital heart defects. Matt says, "We've met so many families like us whose children are suffering, and they are looking for hope. It has become our mission to help them find it."

Find out more about Sanctus Real at:  http://sanctusreal.com      and their blog at:  http://www.sanctusreal.com/sanctus-real/c/feed-blog

The Dame's Nutshell Review:   

This is a darling book with the most beautiful of illustrations.  I wish I had a copy for every single one of my 7 little grands to keep on their bedside tables.  The message of Jesus's love and His never leaving them whether day or night is such a comfort.  I know my grands would all be happy to be reminded that someone else loves them much more even than their devoted parents and grandparents!

Matt Hammitt, and illstrator Polona Lovsin have worked together to bring a stunning little book to life with  the collaboration of  songwriter, producer and artist, Jason Ingram's input. 

I have always loved the simple and profound messages of their books, but this one is a stand-out!

I highly recommend it, not just for children with disabilities and those who suffer with hospitalizations, but for all children in all situations.

It's a perfect book for anytime and anywhere.

5 sparkling stars...

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Short Stories Choice of the Month

With poignancy and humor, Deborah Batterman reminds us in these brief, linked essays that every mother is a daughter, too. The insights she brings to simple acts – looking at old photographs, recalling the smells and tastes of her mother’s cooking, making her daughter’s bed or shopping with her – are as beautifully rendered as they are profound.    

About the Author:

  A native New Yorker, Deborah Batterman has worked over the years as a writer, editor, and teaching artist. A story from her debut collection, SHOES HAIR NAILS (Uccelli Press, 2006; digital edition, 2010), was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her stories have appeared in anthologies as well as various print and online journals, and she recently completed a novel.    

Find Deborah on her blog at:  http://deborahbatterman.com 

Let The Dame Have Her Say :

Deborah Batterman is a woman who knows the intricacies of writing well.  She is a writer who can take apart a piece of story like boning a fish, bit by tiny bit, and come out with a delicacy.  I love her body of work.  It's a delight to read, and I wonder when some major publisher is going to discover her and put her all over the book shelves in every major city across the country.  For now, any of us can read her work by finding her on Barnes & Noble for a song.  Lucky for us!

In "Because My Name Is Mother," Deborah has highlighted the dark and the light sides of motherhood.  It's a retrospective story making of the push-pull we all probably feel about our own mothers; i.e., that sense of loving them, and at the same time feeling a sort of jealousy or resentment toward them.  And, if not a resentment, an awe of the mystique of them on some level.  The power of motherhood is addressed in Deborah's short stories, as is the personal weaknesses of women who are mothers.  And all this is done with such brilliance and poignancy, we can't help being touched with memory and the madness, and the awareness of our own roles as mothers.

I'm a huge fan of Batterman's work.  I have to stop by her blog fairly often just to get my dosage of her writing and wisdom.  She's an amazing artist.  She's also one of those who actually sees and interprets the world around her on a regular basis.  That's a gift, which makes her a gifted writer. 

 I loved the second story in this collection, for instance, of her showing her grown daughter by example that it's good to enjoy the moment, to take time to distance oneself from busy-ness when having a moment's pleasure and "relaxation" in a manicure and pedicure salon...putting away cell phones, magazines, etc., to enjoy the moment.  She writes of not telling her daughter, but showing by her own choices, and realizing that her daughter might at some time find the way by her example...or not.  That's motherhood at it's most mature.

Let me encourage you to purchase this volume of short stories today or anytime.  "Because My Name Is Mother" is a book you'll be reading and passing on to your mother and friends...

And purchase her book on Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/because-my-name-is-mother-deborah-batterman/1110356646?ean=2940014548731

5 stars

Deborah/TheBookishDame


HAPPY MOTHER'S  DAY   TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY   and Thanks for stopping by today!!

Mother's Day Pearls~My Granddaughter, Hadley

This is my sweet granddaughter, Hadley.  She's the hope of the future Mother's Days.

Hadley is my only granddaughter.

Her dad, here, is my eldest son, Jason, and they live in Massachusetts near Cape Cod.  Here, they are taking the ferry to Martha's Vineyard for a visit with friends for the week last year.

Hadley is an All American Girl.  She loves pink and purple...she won't wear anything that doesn't have a predominance of one of those two colors.  She loves dresses. fancy shoes and girly jewelry (compliments of her Grammie Debi).

She's very interested in "Fancy Nancy" and has all of her books from the earliest to the newest!

She actually loves the word, "actually."

Hadley has her mom and dad read to her quite often; that is, every night and day.

Grammie also sends her fancy books about little girls with cute shoes and dress up things, and such.

This June it's her birthday, just like her gram's, and she will graduate to Fancy Nancy's new chapter book series.

Hadley loves her new American Doll which she waited a long time to get. Her mom and dad wanted her to be old enough to appreciate the significance of an American Doll.  I think they were right.  They've taught Hadley

that sometimes you have to wait for good things, but the waiting is worth it.

And, Hadley is an out-doorsey girl who took her first steps in Florida holding Grammie's hands, wanting to go outside

to touch flowers!

She's in love with flowers and the outside. She has a veggie garden. She takes wilderness walks with her dad and mom.  Her mom runs marathons and her daddy recently told her,

 "See that, Hadley.  Watch your mother. She's just run a 20 mile race.  She can do anything, and so can you!"

Which just goes to show Hadley has awesome parents to model her parenting!

Her daddy runs marathons for charity, too.

And, Hadley collects her toys and gives lots to children who need them every year.

She also has a baby brother, Gardner, whom she has never shown a moments jealousy about.  She's been loving, patient and nurturing toward him, even though he's a happy-go-lucky and rambunctious little guy! 

 Hadley isn't.  She's quiet and artistic.  She'd rather Gardner would leave her dolls and art supplies alone, but she never

is unkind to him about it. 

Hadley knows how to play kindly and nicely with her friends.  She's also a sweet-hearted and thoughtful child to a grammie who lives very far away.

When she gets sad or upset she runs to her daddy, who knows just how to comfort her.  She tells him she needs a moment to download, and she's off and running again!

I know someday she's going to be a wonderful, loving mother.

So, this day I dedicate to Hadley Davenport Duncan...the best future mother I think I'll know...

Happy Pre-Mother's Day, Hadley!

Love, Grammie Debi

Mother's Day Week~Honoring My Only Daughter, Jessica

The very best mother I've ever known is my only daughter, Jessica Layne Duncan Magill.  She is the mom we all wish we had.  Devoted to her son, Kellan, she spends endless hours making sure he has all the best in everything.  Jessica wasn't supposed to have children.  Through prayer and a tremendous effort on her part, she was able to complete an IVF and have our darling boy.

When she was 34 years old, Jessica was told she couldn't have children. Her physical problems had overwhelmed her body, rendering it impossible to carry a child to term, let alone allow her to get pregnant in the first place.

 Since being a mother was her life's and heart's desire, Jessica refused to accept that diagnosis. 

 She asked for a miracle from God, and asked all of us to pray for one.

She insisted her doctor perform surgery on her to prep her for the possibility of a pregnancy even if it wasn't going to happen.  The kindly old doctor from South Florida relented, though he kept counselling her that it didn't mean things would change since she had multiple issues.  He did encourage and support her, though, and told her anything was possible, and that he would do his best to insure she had a wonderful ground to "grow on."

Once that was prepped, she began a series of hormone treatments to stabilize her system which was completely out of balance and malfunctioning.  It had been for years, which was unbeknownst to us.

Then, after several months, she and her Coastie (Coast Guard) husband got permission for funding from the Guard, rallied support from her family, and sought a fertility clinic.

At the clinic, the doctor and nurse assistant looked over her chart and were skeptical.  They considered all she'd been through and all she'd done to set the stage for her conception.  However, the doctor said he had a 95% success rate and he would do all he could to make a baby happen for Jessica and Kevin.  They were fully committed to the Magill Team "In It To Win It" goal.

The nurse practitioner, Lynn, was Jessica's biggest supporter at the fertility clinic.  Encouraging her when the shots and medications hurt Jessica tremendously, leaving her body battered, black and blue...welted and sore.  Lynn would call, taking a personal interest in her, telling her she would make it and not to worry.

Jessica never lost hope or faith.  She endured all with a warrior woman's strength.

She would have her baby at all costs, and she wouldn't be denied.

Even after the loss of her first IVF fetuses, she kept up the battle.

The second try worked!  And, though Kellan was a preemie, he came through with flying colors.  A C-section baby...he had surgery on his lungs and was in the NICU for 3 weeks, but he was the strongest child there and came home perfectly well and happy.

While still on the table, directly after the C-section, the doctors operated removing a benign tumor they had though was cancer all during her pregnancy.  One which she had refused to let them take when her Kellan was 4 months in utero because it would jeopardize his life.  She said she would take her

chances that it wasn't cancer for the sake of  having her baby.  Her courage got her Kellan home safely, and her own good report.

She insisted they save her uterus in the surgery, as well, so she could have more children, if possible.

Amazing girl, amazing mother.

Now, Kellan is nearly 4 years old.  His intelligence has been tested at a 7-9 year old level.  He's a kind and thoughtful child who loves to read and play with his iPad daily.  Read with his mother, I mean.  She reads him about 10 books per night!  He insists...and this doesn't mean baby picture books.  He wants to hear chapter books, and has since he was about 2 1/2.  He's a brilliant child in every subject.  And he's very strong willed just like his mother!  :]

Those plethora of vitamins and supplements she took to insure a strong and brainy child must have worked their own miracles!

Jessica believes in her heart that Kellan will not be an only child.  And though her body fights against her on every avenue, she will not be beaten.

She's a brave heart.  She's the one who will not take "no" for an answer.

I think she's gotten this from the Scottish side of her heritage.

She's a mother of real strength and compassion.

Jessica is also a trained professional in the work of teaching developmentally delayed children, and those with autism and asbergers.  From the time she was 12 years old she's volunteered and worked with disadvantaged and institutionalized children. 

She has a heart for children, and I believe she has been a mother to many.

Jessica Duncan Magill is the finest of any mother I know.

I'm very proud to call her my only daughter on this Mother's Day.

Deborah/TheBookishDame

Mother's Day Week~Honoring the Scratchy and Prayer

This is my grandmother, Charlotte Flowers Triplett Riggs.  She was a scratchy lady.  You'd think a Southern lady from Lenoir, NC, would be warm and welcoming, sweet, soft, huggie and loving to children, grandchildren, friends and all family close and far.  She wasn't.  My darling grandmother was a reclusive, distant, very standoffish woman.  She didn't emote.  :]  

 She didn't like to hug, and she didn't say, "I love you." She was a Victorian. 

 What she did do is serve.  She gave of herself.  She baked delicious meals, cakes, pies, cookies and canned goods which she made sure found their way into the hearths and hands of everyone she did love, and whom she found with a need both physical and emotional.  What she did was pray.  She was a prayer warrior...those who understand what that means will be in awe of that.  And what she also did was take in a child like me who had lost a daddy and mother at the age of 5.  Even though she had already raised 9 children of her own, and I'm sure she was desperately tired of having young children around, she took me in as a full time "child of her own" for nearly 3 years.

When she was dying at a relatively early age of 70 years old, she called for me and told me she loved me.  Told me she loved me and hugged me, tightly.

Here's what she taught me, too:

*The Bible~scriptures by the day in our daily walk.  She would quote scripture as she did housework...

*Songs.  She sang all the time.  She loved to sing. I love to sing, too.

*She taught me to pray and how God would always hear our prayers.

*She taught me The Lord's Prayer.

*She taught me The 23rd Psalm...."The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want..."  When I was afraid or couldn't sleep at night, she told me this would always help me.

*She took me (along with my Uncle Dude) to church every single Sunday, placed me in my Sunday School class--took me to Wednesday night prayer meetings and made sure I knew that

Jesus loved me.

*She taught me to be kind to others no matter what, and to always "turn the other cheek."

*She taught me to "Judge not, that you be not judged."

*She taught me about plants, and about crocheting and books.

*and she kept a journal!

I loved my Grandmother Riggs above anyone on earth when I was a little girl, and I still hold her in a very special place in my heart today. I look forward to the day I'll be rejoined with her in Heaven.

So, on this day of Mother's Day week,

I want to honor my very scratchy

Grandmother Riggs~ Charlotte Flowers Triplett Riggs

one of the great loves of my life.