November 19, 2015

Shine Blog Hop #74

Welcome and happy Thursday friends!

Before we start this week's hop, we want to announce that there WILL NOT be a SHINE Blog Hop next week since it's American Thanksgiving. We will return December 3rd (and that's when we'll announce the featured posts from this week's hop)!

Let's begin shall we?! The SHINE Blog Hop is a weekly link up of family friendly posts that have been posted on different websites around the internet. You can add your links (if you’re a blogger). If you’re a non-blogger, then please feel free to visit the featured posts and/or visit any of the links that are of interest to you. Comments on this or any posts are always welcome!

SHINE Blog Hop #71

We would love to connect with you on social media!

Hosts for the SHINE Blog Hop

Tiffany | A Touch of Grace can be found on:


Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom can be found on:


Maria | Collecting Moments can be found on:

   {Facebook}  {Pinterest}  {Instagram}  {Google+}  {Twitter}

Feel free to grab one of our fancy buttons too!

<div align="center"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://thedeliberatemom.com" title="The Deliberate Mom" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/deliberatemom/SHINE225.jpg" alt="The SHINE Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

So without further delay, here are the top viewed posts from last week's SHINE Blog Hop:

November 12, 2015

Shine Blog Hop 73

Before we start this week's hop, we want to take a moment to pause and reflect on the loss of a beautiful member of our blogging community. Melissa from Wading Through Motherhood died suddenly over a week ago. She leaves behind her husband and two small children. If you're so inclined, a collection has been set up in her memory - you can donate HERE.

Melissa has shared many wonderful posts here at the SHINE Blog Hop and has been such a kind, generous, and supportive member of the blogging community. If you have a moment, please take a look this lovely post of hers:


May you SHINE on Melissa. We will miss you greatly.

On to this week's hop.... The SHINE Blog Hop is a weekly link up of family friendly posts that have been posted on different websites around the internet. You can add your links (if you’re a blogger). If you’re a non-blogger, then please feel free to visit the featured posts and/or visit any of the links that are of interest to you. Comments on this or any posts are always welcome!
SHINE Blog Hop #71

We would love to connect with you on social media!

Hosts for the SHINE Blog Hop

Tiffany | A Touch of Grace can be found on:


Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom can be found on:


Maria | Collecting Moments can be found on:

   {Facebook}  {Pinterest}  {Instagram}  {Google+}  {Twitter}

Feel free to grab one of our fancy buttons too!
<div align="center"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://thedeliberatemom.com" title="The Deliberate Mom" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/deliberatemom/SHINE225.jpg" alt="The SHINE Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

So without further delay, here are the top viewed posts from last week's SHINE Blog Hop:

A Guide for Enjoying the Little Years with Your Kids: A Book Review

A Guide for Enjoying the Little Years with Your Kids: Stop and Smell Your Children Book Review by Collecting Moments Blog


I’ve learned many things since becoming a mother. I’ve learned patience, for my daughter and for others, empathy for other moms who are equally trying their best, and acceptance for imperfections and mistakes I’m inevitably going to make.

In the exhausting, yet satisfying reality of motherhood, I’ve also learned that it can be lonely. To have days where nothing goes your way, where you lose part of yourself to someone else completely, you can’t help but feel the solitude; that you’re doing it all by yourself, that no one else feels that agonizing dichotomy between sacrificing everything to be the best, and craving that old self to help you become THE best.

That all changed when I read Leah Spina’s Stop and Smell Your Children. Suddenly, that parenting solitude that always hung above my head was lifted slightly. Sharing her parenting experience, from the birth of her first child, potty training and everything in between, offered me a different mindset as a mother. It showed me that despite the chaos, I wasn’t alone in my struggles and triumphs, that there were other parents out there (Leah included) who were experiencing the wild ride of parenting in the very same way I am. Finally my insecurities were validated. For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t asking myself, “Is it just me? Am I the only mom that does this, that reacts this way?”

Through her words and natural humor, Leah Spina made me realize that insecurities, fear, and mishaps were all part of the new my new normal. And rather than wallowing in self-pity that I can’t do it all, I could simply cherish the little moments parenting brings instead.  

Aside from her comforting words, and her honest humor, Ms. Spina also included one of my favorite features in her book-- a reflection section in every chapter. After every tale, she encourages her reader to “stop and smell” an experience from motherhood.  Whether it’s nursing, playtime, or even sleep deprivation, she inspires her readers to relish these moments with questions, advice, or just words of encouragement.  It’s fantastic way for new parents to gain perspective, to see things in a different light,  and to focus on the little things that often gets lost in the chaos of parenting.

So to say that I loved Spina’s collection of stories would be an understatement. Every experience she shares,  from the downright humorous to the tearfully truthful was enlightening and eye-opening.  I learned more from her tales than from the countless of parenting websites and magazine articles I reference almost daily.  She offered her readers an unprecedented look at motherhood--its joys, its triumphs, its hardships and its sacrifices. In 31 chapters and 176 pages, Ms. Spina manages to affirm that motherhood is more than just dirty diapers, scattered toys, and constant demand from children.  It’s an identity women wear proudly and a calling that we  fulfill selflessly.


Sharing my post here

November 5, 2015

Shine Blog Hop 72

It's my second week hosting #SHINEbloghop with these two wonderful ladies! Thanks so much for all your beautiful words of support last week. I couldn't be happier to be an even greater part of this community.

For those of you who are new and just joining us: Welcome! Pull up seat, say hello and stay a while. We're happy to have you :)

Now Let's Shine....

The SHINE Blog Hop is a weekly link up of family friendly posts that have been posted on different websites around the internet. You can add your links (if you’re a blogger). If you’re a non-blogger, then please feel free to visit the featured posts and/or visit any of the links that are of interest to you. Comments on this or any posts are always welcome!

SHINE Blog Hop #71

We would love to connect with you on social media!

Hosts for the SHINE Blog Hop

Tiffany | A Touch of Grace can be found on:

Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom can be found on:

Maria | Collecting Moments can be found on:

   {Facebook}  {Pinterest}  {Instagram}  {Google+}  {Twitter}

Feel free to grab one of our fancy buttons too!
<div align="center"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://thedeliberatemom.com" title="The Deliberate Mom" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/deliberatemom/SHINE225.jpg" alt="The SHINE Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

So without further delay, here are the top viewed posts from last week's SHINE Blog Hop:

November 1, 2015

An Author's Insight on Writing and Spirituality (My interview with author, Trudie Hayes)



Ms Hayes is the author of the science fiction novel, Convergence, and today, she shares with us her love for the philosophical, and how the theme of spirituality shaped her recent work. Despite our conversation being so brief, I discovered plenty about the art of writing and the intricate craft of story telling.


How did you discover your knack for writing?
TH: Well, I've always had a gift...although some might disagree...for crafting words and sentences. Not necessarily for writing a book, but a way of stringing words together. Turning a noun into a verb or vice versa, and a passion for singing.

How do you describe your writing process?
TH: It's all about storytelling and how well you craft your tale. As with acting, it's taking the reader or viewer away from their 'now' sending them on a journey to anywhere and everywhere--real or imagined. And the beauty is upon return, their lives are forever changed having digested the words. Like a good meal one is titillated by the aroma/setting the stage; lost in the savor/the plot; released into the afterglow/closing the book covers.

I've noticed your use of philosophical and spiritual words in your works. Is that a theme in your writing?
TH: Yes! I've always considered myself a student of the metaphysical. Devouring literature from the greats: Napoleon Hill, Claude Bristol, readings from Llewellyn, including the greatest book I have ever read--Shakti Gawain's Creative Visualization.

Convergence was released in August of this year. Was this your first published work?
TH Actually, no. In 2008 I self-published a children's book Of All The People In The World To Be...I Am Glad That I Am Me!"®. A long title title that became the first of 5 trademarks that I have.

Earlier, we spoke about using spirituality and philosophy in your writing. Is it safe to say there’s also a spiritual theme in Convergence?
TH: Yes, there is. While it follows the paths of three pre-teens, their pitfalls / their success, it is their belief in themselves that allows them to conquer anything put before them. Some of what they confront is out of this world, but the theme is consistent.

The ending to the book was quite shocking. Is there a plan to write a sequel?
TH: Initially I planned on a trilogy. I have to see where it goes and have others in the work as well. One of which is a lot more riveting and for a more adult genre

Want to know more about Convergence? Read my book review here
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