Wednesday, November 9, 2011

When I Grow Up


I spend a lot of time searching for and reading good books with my children.  This activity has brought me some of my most wonderful experiences as a Mother and has helped me to teach them what is right and what is good. It has helped me to prepare them for changes and new experiences. It has helped me to teach them that they are loved, that they are of worth, that they have great potential.

I often think about the phrase I hear tossed around that children don't come with a "user manual", but in my experience reading to children, with them tucked under my arm, out of the very best books (and the scriptures), you can get as close to a parenting manual as you can possibly get.  I am so thankful for good books.

And today, I'd like to tell you about one.

"When I Grow Up, I'll Go On a Mission" is the first in a series of books by Valine Vikari that explores the ins and outs of life as a full-time missionary serving around the world.  Vikari uses photos of real missionaries to help the reader catch the spirit of missionary work.  She shows that missionaries serve "in any condition", "eat local delicatessen" so as not to be rude, serve the people they teach, learn to be responsible, cook for themselves, study, pray, and even have fun doing it.

The thing that I like about her decision to use photos instead of illustrations is that young children really look up to older kids...especially missionaries.  She also shows a great deal of women serving, and people with specials needs, demonstrating wordlessly that even children with limitations can grow up to serve others and that each of God's children can grow up to do a great work.

I'm going to be giving my copy to Guy for his 6th birthday next week, but I could see this book as a great Baptism gift or Christmas gift.  

If you'd like to WIN a signed copy of this book for a little future-missionary in your life, do any of the following:

1.  Follow me.

2.  Tell me what you are thankful for.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

(PS - I can't wait to see the book "When I Grow Up I'll Be a Mother"!!!  
Maybe we'll all contribute photos to that one!)

I will announce the winner next week.






UPDATE: So many of you have asked where you can buy this book!
You can buy it online...just click here.


The website for this book/author is: http://www.whenigrowup.org/


If you haven't already, you should really read the author's back story about how this book came about!

114 comments:

  1. Um, that may be the cutest book I have seen in a long time! I'm grateful for a great many things, but if I had to boil it down - I'd say I'm grateful for my beautiful, little family.

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  2. I follow your blog. I sure hope I win... I have four little boys!

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  3. I am thankful for a fantastic husband!

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  4. Such a cute book. Today I'm thankful for a little boy who makes me laugh.

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  5. I am thankful for a son who will be submitting his mission papers in a couple of months.

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  6. I'm thankful that you keep finding all these great books for me! And I'm grateful for the totally awesome neighborhood my family lives in; I'm surrounded by wonderful people and I love it:)

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  7. That book looks so great!! I'm thankful for my two boys and my hubby, my missionary men :)

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  8. I am so thankful for my amazing family, especially my wonderful husband. Without him, I would go crazy.

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  9. I am thankful for delicious fall food like soups, bread, and pies!

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  10. I am thankful for delicious fall food like soups, bread, and pies!

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  12. I am thankful for a Church that encourages study and understanding. what a great gift!

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  13. That book is adorable, and I'd love to see a mother version. :)

    I am thankful that it hasn't rained for a few days, it's always nice to have a break from the constant pacific Northwest drizzle

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  14. I just checked Valine's website (http://www.whenigrowup.org/about.html) There IS a mother version. :-) I know what I am putting on my Christmas wish list for ME!

    I am grateful for WAY SO many things! But for this comment, I am grateful that many young members of our church devote 18months to 2 years of their lives to go on missions. As a convert, I am a product of their sacrifice and hard work. (Just celebtrated my 20 year Baptism anniversary!)

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  15. I just checked Valine's website (http://www.whenigrowup.org/about.html) There IS a mother version. :-) I know what I am putting on my Christmas wish list for ME!

    I am grateful for WAY SO many things! But for this comment, I am grateful that many young members of our church devote 18months to 2 years of their lives to go on missions. As a convert, I am a product of their sacrifice and hard work. (Just celebtrated my 20 year Baptism anniversary!)

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  16. P.S. Entry #2 -- I already 'follow' you!

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  17. Oops, one more comment:
    In our home, we never say "IF I go on a mission." It is always, "WHEN I go on a mission."

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  18. I am thankful for this post and the reminder it served about some things in my life.

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  19. I am thankful that my 8 week old twins slept 7 hours in a row last night!!!

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  20. What a great book. I'm thankful for 3 boys and a girl who all want to serve missions one day.
    Emily
    familysuds(at)gmail(dot)com

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  21. I'm grateful for 3 sunny warm days in a row- and lots of playground time!

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  22. I follow your blog.
    Emily
    familysuds(at)gmail(dot)com

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  23. I'm thankful for wonderful friends who constently inspire me to be my best in everything.
    I am thankful for sister Missionaries we have in our ward so my girls see that sweet, beautiful, strong women can serve a mission to.

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  24. I'm already a follower and I'd love to win the book!

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  25. I am thankful for the daily reminders Heavenly Father gives me to let me know he's there and that He loves me.

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  26. I like the use of real pictures, too. I especially like that one on the cover.

    Of course, I don't need to tell you that I follow the blog...but I will!

    ;)

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  27. And there are many things I am grateful for. In fact, I wrote a post about them today.

    The first is a loving Heavenly Father.

    =)

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  28. I am grateful for my son who is currently serving a mission and will be returning home in just a few weeks! I am equally grateful for my two older sons who each served and for my son who is awaiting his call! That reminds me.....has the mail come today?!??!

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  29. I follow your blog and would love a copy of this book for my three future missionaries!

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  30. I follow your blog. I just joined it? I think that's the same thing?

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  31. I am grateful for, at this moment, procrastination. Otherwise I'd be writing that history paper I'm putting off instead of following your blog and entering a give away contest...

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  32. What a great book! Can't wait to see the others in the series, too.

    I follow your blog.

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  33. I am thankful for the joys of my life: my sweet husband and my two amazing children. And the patience that they are helping me gain. :)

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  34. My husband and I both served missions and that is what really brought us together on our first date. I am so grateful for the experiences God gives us, even when they are difficult, so He can prepare us for greater things!

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  35. I follow your blog and you on facebook :-)

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  36. I am thankful for my family and the gospel :-)

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  37. Today I am thankful for modern technology. My parents are on a mission in Uruguay, and I just skyped with them long enough to let them know that my sister needs them to e-mail her! Not even 5 minutes!

    Thanks!

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  38. I am so grateful to be a grandma and would love this book to give to a sweet grandson!!

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  39. I'm grateful for my missionary! And the next one leaving in about 9 months.

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  40. I follow your blog! And love it!!

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  41. I am thankful for a beautiful, peaceful, and sunny afternoon.

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  42. I am thankful for so many things! But especially the knowledge that my family (who I am also so grateful for) can be together forever and this life is not the end!

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  43. I am grateful for getting to stay home every day with my 3 cute kiddos.

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  44. I am a follower of your blog and have been for awhile now - love it!!
    beth lee
    bethlorr@hotmail.com

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  45. I am thankful for my husband and the sacrifice of time he is making while going to college to become a nurse (a career change)...it will pay off in the end!
    I'm also thankful for the opportunity I had to serve a mission in Spain and my husband in Brazil...and our two sons and daughter are all looking forward to when they can go!
    Beth Lee
    bethlorr@hotmail.com

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  46. I'm thankful for sons and grandchildren who are following the gospel path and for good health.

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  47. I follow your blog. :) What a great book!

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  48. I'm thankful for the time you put into this blog, and for chocolate!

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  49. I am thankful for being able to see the sunrise every morning that I take my boys to early morning seminary - it's a glorious experience. I am grateful to have 'one' more fall in the South and love to see all of the wonderful colors in all of their glory. Everyday they change and get better. I love watching the leaves swirl in the wind. I am grateful for my sight and for the gift that it truly is. I am grateful for my wonderful family; for the opportunity to be a mother and a wife. I am grateful to be a daughter of God. I am grateful for rainbows after storms and knowing that I don't ever walk alone. I am grateful for those who have gone before to mark the path for me. I am grateful for my Savior and for His infinite atoning sacrifice for me. I am grateful that He is my friend... I am grateful for this wonderful, marvelous life that I have been given. :0)

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  50. I follow your blog...LOVE it!! :)

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  51. I'm grateful for my mission...it really set the stage for my life!

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  52. Awesome! My 4-year-old is completely planning his mission to Disneyland, so I hope there is something in there for him :) Looking forward to the mother one! I follow you.

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  53. I am thankful to live in a place that enjoys all the seasons fully! Trying to be positive here!

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  54. I am so thankful for my four little boys (yes, I NEED that book--I've got 4 missionaries to send off!). It's amazing how much I can love all of them more than I could ever imagine!

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  55. I follow your blog, and I love reading what you have to say. :) Thanks for sharing.

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  56. I'm thankful for the chance I have to be a mother to three missionaries.

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  57. I am thankful for my husband, my 9 beautiful children, and most of all... knowing that we are an eternal family..

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  58. I am thankful for modern medicine so that my baby could live past 4 months old! (He's a year and a half now! :)

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  59. I might not be a mother or a wife just yet but I'm thankful for the loving family and friends that I am blessed with. Being a recent convert to the church, I have a special respect for missionaries. Without them I would not be where I am today spiritually.

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  60. I'm thankful I served a mission. Best experience of my life. Seriously. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

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  61. Awesome!

    But i think I love the book 'WHEN I GROW UP I WILL BE A MOTHER" and will wait for it to come out!!

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  62. I follow your blog- what a cute book!!

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  63. I am so thankful for my wonderful children that make me smile each and every day :)

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  64. Augh!!!!!! This is my amazing Aunt, Valine!!! This is a great book that every one should have! And I'm a follower! ;)

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  65. I'm thankful for my aunt, who is an amazing example of strength to me!

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  66. I am SOOO thankful for my missionary son. When I took him to the MTC I cried tears of joy at having achieved the goal of our first son serving. It was an amazing feeling to know we'd been successful! One down and three more boys to go.

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  67. I follow :)

    The Happy Wife/Danielle
    ldsmom2201 at yahoo dot com
    http://juanshappywife.blogspot.com
    Twitter: The_Happy_Wife

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  68. I am thankful for so much! For right now, I will say I am grateful for the life growing inside of me right now :)

    The Happy Wife/Danielle
    ldsmom2201 at yahoo dot com
    http://juanshappywife.blogspot.com
    Twitter: The_Happy_Wife

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  69. What a great idea for a book! Where did you find it? Right now I am grateful for health insurance as I prepare for surgery. I'm also grateful for a son who is a serving a mission. Another reason I want to be entered for this book. I want to share it with my grandkids when they are here at Christmas.

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  70. I'm thankful for my children. My children would love this book. Any time the doorbell rings they yell excitedly, "The missionaries!"

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  71. I'm grateful for all the bumps in life that have made me a stronger, wiser, more Christ-like person.

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  72. I follow your blog and love it!

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  73. I am thankful for music. It can inspire, teach, sooth, and many times just make me want to dance!

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  74. Today I am thankful for the beauty in the world around me, especially during this change of seasons.

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  75. I'm a longtime follower of yours. I'm thankful for my family and the gospel.

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  76. I have followed you on Google reader for a long time now

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  77. I am thankful for my son.He just turned 4 yesterday. For whatever reason, the Lord has not allowed us to have more children due to medical issues. Although I we are ready for another child if we should ever be blessed with one, we know what what a miracle our little D is. He is our greatest blessing.

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  78. I am grateful for my MOM who wrote this book! She is always an amazing example to me and I want to grow up and be just like her! Thanks for posting such a great review!

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  79. I follow you! I would love to give this to my little boy!

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  80. I am thankful for a healthy family!

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  81. I LOVE that she used real pictures. I HATE cartoony pictures in church books for kids! Then kids think that Book of Mormon people are just pretend and IT DRIVES ME NUTS. Sorry, that's one of my hugest things ever and why I buy almost zero church books, though I would like to own many more.

    I am thankful for indoor plumbing. It is and always will be the greatest invention ever.

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  82. Also I follow you. Like a stalker.

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  83. I am thankful for the missionaries in my life. Right now my daughter and parents are both on a mission. Love the book! It would be great to stick in a care pkg.

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  84. That looks like a great book! I'm thankful I got to go to Stake conference tonight with my husband.

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  85. I am thankful for my amazing children including my son who has special needs (autism and FG syndrome) and always talks about not going on a mission (he is 12) because he is to scared to be away. I am THANKFUL that someone wrote a book that I could read to him to help me teach him the many many ways to serve. Can't wait to buy it.....or win it of course :)

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  86. AND....I have been a follower of your blog for a while now. It always has a way of giving the exact messages I seem to need on certain days. Thanks!

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  87. I am thankful that Heavenly Father is watching over and blessing our family as my husband goes back to school to better provide for our family! :)

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  88. I would love to win this book! It is such a cute idea and I would love to give it to my son!

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  89. I am thankful for my family and good books as well!

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