Valentine's day

Tomorrow is Valentine's day and I thought it might be nice to see if any one can take this challenge. Tomorrow many current and past military members will be taking their sweet hearts out on the town. I want to challenge all who read this to find one of those men or women and tell them thank you for their service or go the extra mile and pay for their meal or movie, or even just a desert they can take home with them. They may be hard to spot but if you look close for real dog tags of a shirt or hat that may give them away as a soldier or veteran I know you can find them! GOOD LUCK!

Cooper and Me and the Military

I was contacted and asked if I wanted to review this children's book, I got really excited about this opportunity and couldn't wait for it to come in the mail!
Well today it came! Bryn (my daughter) and I went to check the mail and there along with the bills was the package containing the book. Once inside Bryn and I sat together, opened the package, and read the book together! As I came upstairs to write my review my 2 1/2 year old daughter told me "That's my favorite book!" It is also the first book she has ever let me read to her from beginning to end without trying to grab it from me or turn the pages before I could finish reading what was on it.

As for the book it nearly brought me to tears (in a good way). As a spouse to a military member I know all too well how it feels to have your loved one deployed. This book like a lot of things brought some of those feelings I had while my husband was deployed to the surface again.

The book series is about a girl and her dog Cooper. In this book we are introduced to Cooper's friend Trooper, a retired military dog who stays at home with a brother and sister while their mother and father are deployed. It shows one way that the siblings coped while their parent's where away, by sending their parents a package.

Both my 2 1/2 year old and I really enjoyed this book. It also has questions at the end to help your child connect and learn from the story. I think this book is great for any child but especially any child with a deployed loved one or a child who may be having trouble understanding why their friend's mother or father is over seas while their child is at home and missing them. It is hard to explain to a child why a loved one has to leave and go to a dangerous place to protect people that the child may never know. This book can help you start the discussion, and maybe help your child understand the feelings they are having and help them understand that it is okay to feel sad and miss whoever is gone. It may also help you understand how your child is really feeling.

If you would like to find out more about the 'Cooper and Me' series or order this book just click here.