Jan Butsch is an Atlanta native, raising two children. She has taught parenting classes and has written a parenting column since 1995, for which she has received three finalist awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and is the editor at Schroder Publishing in Atlanta.
Patricia K. Cameransi was born in Eugene, Oregon, and graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in communications. After graduation, she moved to Washington, D.C., and worked in public relations and government. For the past ten years, Patricia was a marketing director in the architectural/engineering industry. She currently resides in Florence, South Carolina, with her husband and son.
Bill Canty’s cartoons have appeared in many national magazines including the Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, Woman’s World, National Review and Medical Economics. His syndicated feature All About Town runs in thirty-five newspapers. Bill can be reached at P.O. Box 1053, S. Wellfleet, MA 02663. Phone and fax: 508-349-7549. He can be reached by e-mail at:
[email protected] or visit his Web site at www.reuben.org/Canty.
Dave Carpenter has been a full-time cartoonist since 1981. His work has appeared in a number of publications including Harvard Business Review, Barron’s, Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, USA Weekend, Saturday Evening Post, Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping and several Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Dave can be reached at P.O. Box 520, Emmetsburg, IA 50536.
Jacqueline Carrico is a forty-two-year-old wife, mother and nurse. She and her husband have a wonderful fourteen-year-old son. Jacqueline believes being his mother is her true job in life. This is her first submission for publication.
Liane Kupferberg Carter is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times Syndicate, McCall’s, Parents, Child, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, New Parent and Newsday. She lives in New York with her family, where she is a community activist for children with special needs. Reach her at
[email protected] Susanna Burkett Chenoweth has enjoyed working in many areas of nursing over the years, but has always considered her most rewarding role to be Mom. Blessed with two daughters, both grown, she lives in Danville, Indiana, with Roy, her husband of twenty-four years. She has been previously published in religious and children’s magazines.
Robin Clifton lives in New Hope, Minnesota, with her husband, Jerry, and their four children. She grew up in the Minnesota river town of Red Wing, where her story takes place. The proud grandparents (her parents), Bob and Genene Gordish, still live there today.
Helen Colella is a wife, mother, former teacher, and freelance writer. She lives in Colorado with her family. She enjoys reading, traveling and being with her family and friends. And after twenty years, still marvels at the beautiful and majestic scenery of the Rocky Mountains.
Ron Coleman began cartooning while in junior high school, selling his first cartoon at age fourteen. He is published in hundreds of publications and is the creator of two cartoon Web sites: http://cartoonfactory.com and http://belvederecomics.com. Currently he is involved in the creation of Flash animation projects for the Internet.
John Conklin is thirteen years old and attends Owosso Middle School. He lives with his mother and two brothers; David who is ten, and Michael, who is nine years old. John wrote this poem in school when his mother was pregnant. He saw Michael during an ultrasound and got pictures of him while he was in his mother’s womb.
Kristen Cook works as a reporter in Tucson, Arizona. To prepare for impending parenthood, she and her husband practiced diapering and burping their two Australian shepherds. And happily, she did finally stop throwing up.
Scott Cramer lives near Boston with his wife and two daughters. He works as an Internet communications manager. He also writes general and travel freelance articles and children’s picture books. He recently designed and is ready to market a kid’s board game, Alley Cats. He can be reached at
[email protected] Sharon Crismon, a wife and mother, resides in Dorr, Michigan. She enjoys spending time with family and friends. Sharon lost her dad on March 8, 1977. Her daughter, Samantha, was born December 16, 1998. Without words being said, these two touched so many lives. Sharon felt a strong need to tell her story, to give the world faith in miracles.
Eileen Davis is a writer of poetry, short stories and novels. She has completed a collection of reflective, short stories titled “Of Me I Sing,” and a novel Yesterday I Woke Up Dead. Eileen is president and CEO of two wholesale food and distribution corporations and is presently working on a collection of business-related short stories and a cookbook.
Phyllis DeMarco is the mother of two great boys and a freelance writer with short stories published in The Star, True Love and True Story. The Staten Island Advance and Staten Island Parent Magazine have published her articles and two of her stories were recited by the S.I. Shakespearean Theater Company.
John Drescher was born and raised near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He is married to Betty Keener and they are the parents of five grown children. He has authored twenty-eight books among which are Seven Things Children Need, If I Were Starting My Family Again, Now Is the Time to Love, Spirit Fruit, When You Think You Are in Love, Meditations for the Newly Married, Why I Am a Conscientious Objector and If I Were Starting Our Marriage Again. John has written for more than 100 different magazines and journals. His books have appeared in ten different languages. He has spoken at numerous conventions, retreats, and seminars—particularly in the area of family life.
Martine Ehrenclou has a four-year-old daughter and an eighteen-year-old stepson. She survived being a new mother and has gone back to graduate school to finish her masters in psychology at Pepperdine University, Los Angeles. She is a freelance writer and is at work finishing her first novel.
Lori Elmore-Moon is forty-two years old and married to Marcus Moon. They reside in Burleson, Texas, with their two sons from a previous marriage, David Joshua Elmore and Nicholas Wayne Elmore. Lori currently works as a freelance journalist/writer, photographer and artist. She has previously been employed as an editor in the newspaper industry.
Jackie Fleming is a native Californian and her age is somewhere between forty and death. She has three grown sons and, at last count, ten grandchildren. Her hobby is traveling the world by freighter. Jackie’s publishing credits are mostly in newspapers, since she wrote a column for two weekly publications for six years.
Patricia Franklin is a very happily married mother of five; three boys and two girls. She resides in West Virginia with her husband and three youngest children. She is very proud to share the story of her husband’s bravery as they prepared for the birth of their third child.
Allison Yates Gaskins is the coauthor with her mother, Susan Yates, of Thanks, Mom, for Everything, from which this excerpt was taken. She also coauthored Thanks, Dad, for Everything and Tightening the Knot. She currently lives in Springfield, Virginia, with her husband and their two young children.
Dianne Gill is a freelance writer for Woman’s World and First Magazine for Women. She has two grown children and resides in Long Island, New York, with her husband, Steve. Her hobbies are reading, gardening and photography.
Randy Glasbergen is one of America’s most widely and frequently published cartoonists. More than 25,000 of his cartoons have been published by Funny Times, Glamour, Hallmark Cards, Woman’s World, America Online, Good Housekeeping and many others. His daily comic panel The Better Half is syndicated worldwide by King Feature Syndicate. Randy is also the author of many cartoon books, including Oh Baby!, a collection of cartoons for new parents. You can find more of Randy’s cartoons online at www.glasbergen.com.
Gilbert Goodmanwas born Gilbert Jay Goodman in Lansing, Michigan, on May 12, 1935. He grew up in Michigan and in 1954 joined the Marine Corps and came to California. He married Joan Crass in 1957, and has held careers with Pacific Telephone and IBM. He retired in 1996 and now spends his time traveling and enjoying his four grandchildren.
D
ebbie Graziano lives in the Chicago area with her husband and two wonderful children. She was born and raised there but spent many years on the West Coast. She is a second grade teacher and in her spare time she loves to have fun with her sons.
Judith Hayes was born in Culver City, California, in 1949 and has been married to Michael since 1970. Judith and Michael have two daughters, Sarah, a registered nurse and Annabelle, a professional make-up artist. Judith was a Bradley childbirth instructor for eighteen years and taught childbirth classes at Northridge Hospital for thirteen years. She was also the program director for a home for unwed mothers. Judith coauthored Create in Me a Clean Heart, published by Thomas Nelson Books in 1995. Judith spends her time freelance writing.
Caroline Castle Hicks is a former contributor whose work also appears in A Second Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul. A former high school English and humanities teacher, she is now a stay-at-home mom, freelance writer, poet and frequent public radio commentator. She lives just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, Dana, and their two children, Mariclaire and Ian. Her e-mail address is
[email protected] Barbara Hoffman never quite got over “Harriet the Spy” and became a newspaper reporter. These days, she roams New York City with her pen and pad. Occasionally, her son Sam joins her. Happily, he’s become a lot more tactful.
Bunny Hoest is one of the most widely read cartoonists today, reaching nearly 200 million readers every week. She has produced The Lockhorns, Agatha Crum, What a Guy! and Hunny Bunny’s Short Tale, distributed internationally by King Features; Laugh Parade featuring Howard Huge for Parade, seen by more than 80 million people every Sunday; and Bumper Snickers for the National Enquirer, with a circulation above seven million. This dynamic and versatile talent has twenty-five bestselling anthologies and a host of exciting new projects in the works, including a Lockhorns TV pilot and a Howard Huge animated feature in development with Merv Griffin Entertainment.
Melanie L. Huber was born off the coast of Oregon. Her family moved to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Idaho where she spent most of her childhood. Melanie went on to college in Kentucky after high school. She met her husband at Denny’s Restaurant where she was a waitress and he a cook. When her husband finished college, they moved to West Virginia. They have four children: Halee, Ashley, Benjamin and Analee. Melanie is a homeschooling mom whose inspiration for writing comes from her children.
Patsy Hughes was born to Eugene G. and Deborah L. Gilliam, and is an avid reader of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. She balances her life between being a single mother of two teenaged boys, Daniel and Jeremy, and a full-time legal assistant to Attorney Robert G. Robinson. Patricia has been an active member of her community.
Cynthia Hummel is a professional freelance writer living in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Kirk and adopted son, Joshua. She writes for newspapers and magazines on a variety of subjects, including adoption. Cynthia’s adoption stories focus on educating others about the challenges and rewards of adoption.
Francoise Inman was born in Madagascar and raised in France, Belgium and the United States. She is the mother of four boys, ages seven, four and a half, two and a newborn. She may be reached at
[email protected] Antionette Ishmael is a sixth-grade teacher at Visitation School in Kansas City, Missouri. She was the 1997 recipient of The Excellence in Teaching Award. She enjoys writing and coaching, but most of all, she loves being the wife of Phil and the mom of Patrick, Anthony and Dominic. You may contact Antionette by email at
[email protected] Kelli S. Jones is a freelance writer, editor and pastor’s wife living in Atlanta, Georgia. She shares her home with her husband Jeff and sons, Matt and Dan. Her latest project is entitled, “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Your Pastor But Couldn’t Dig Up.” E-mail her at
[email protected] Kyle Louise Jossi is a nurse in a busy ER in suburban Maryland. She also does trauma reenactments for high school students to illustrate the dangers of drinking and driving. She has two wonderful daughters, Kiersten and Meredith, who are proof that raising teenagers can be fun. She enjoys horseback riding, writing and spending time with her husband, David.
Anna Maria Junus is a homemaker and writer residing with her husband and seven children in Alberta, Canada. She is the author of several unpublished children’s books and has a poetry corner on the family.com Web site. She is currently working on a youth novel and has plans for several more, however she has no plans for more children. After writing Is That a Baby. . . . She delivered her last child, a healthy baby girl, who at the time of publishing, is gleefully tearing up the house. You can contact Anna at
[email protected] T. Brian Kelly is a freelance newspaper and Web editorial cartoonist, humor writer and general wise guy. He is the primary caregiver for his three children, ages four and a half, two and a half and nine months. He is looking forward with great expectation to the end of the diaper years. He lives and works in Oakland, California.
Crystal Kirgiss, a writer and musician, lives in northern Minnesota with her husband, three sons, 120-pound yellow Labrador retriever and seven-pound gray tabby cat.
Elisa Kayser Klein is a media consultant and stay-at-home mom. After her dramatic first pregnancy with Mariel, her dear friend and obstetrician, Dr. Sidney Prescott, went on to help her deliver two more healthy girls, Isabel and Genevieve. An ovarian cancer survivor, Elisa is now chairing a group of cancer support agencies working to build a Cancer Survivors Park in her native Portland, Oregon. Her husband Steven, loves being the father of three little girls.
Susan M. Lang loves learning. It’s a good thing, since her two daughters have shown her that parenting is a crash course in discovery. She is a freelance writer and ordained pastor in the ELCA, grateful for the partnership of her husband in their life together.
Jeanne Marie Laskas is a columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, where her “Significant Others” essays appear weekly. A contributing writer to Esquire, Good Housekeeping and Health, she writes for numerous national magazines. She authored The Balloon Lady and Other People I Know, We Remember, and her latest book, Fifty Acres and a Poodle, a memoir about her life with her husband and daughter, along with their dogs, mules, sheep and other animals on a farm in Pennsylvania.
Claire Simon Lasser is a mother of three and lives with her husband and their children, Catlyne, Chloe and Kyle in Wheaton, Illinois. She owns her own business in Chicago, Illinois, where she is a casting director for television, feature film and commercials.
Audrie LaVigne is a wife, mother, and the assistant director of an agency that works with developmentally disabled adults. She and her husband, Sean, adopted their daughter two years ago from Guatemala. She wrote “To Our Baby Girl” while living in Guatemala with her new daughter, waiting for the adoption to be finalized. She now lives in Northern California with her husband and daughter.
Sharon Linnéa is the producer of the Inspiration Channel at Beliefnet.com (where you’ll find lots more inspirational stories!). She and her husband, Robert Owens Scott, have two great, though slightly nutty kids, Johnathan and Linnéa. Sharon has enjoyed being a freelance editor for several of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, as well as being a staff writer for Guideposts and four other national magazines. Her most recent books are Princess Kaiulani: Hope of a Nation, Heart of a People; and Raoul Wallenberg: The Man Who Stopped Death, as well as the upcoming Great American Tree Book with Jeffrey G. Meyer. Sharon speaks often at writers’ conferences as well as to schools on kids’ needs for heroes. She can be reached at
[email protected] Barbara Mackey is a professional writer for international corporations as well as national women’s magazines such asWoman’s World. Her favorite topics are women who describe themselves as ordinary but act extraordinarily when challenged by life. Barbara lives in Dayton, Ohio, and Bellaire, Michigan and works worldwide. (Viva la modems!)
Ann Mainse is the daughter of an Army officer
and was born in Fort Sam Houston, Texas on September 21, 1963. She lived on various Army bases throughout her childhood and eventually attended Evangel University, in Springfield, Missouri, where she met and married Ron Mainse in July of 1984. Now a full-time stay-at-home mother, Ann volunteers in various Christian ministry-oriented projects, as well as lead a weekly ladies’ Bible study. She now resides near Toronto, Canada, with her husband and three children, a daughter and two sons, ages thirteen, ten and seven.
Bonnie J. Mansell lives with her husband and five children in Downey, California, where she teaches memoir-writing classes to help people capture their memories in order to share their stories with their children and grandchildren. She has taught junior high, high school and adult school.
Michelle Mariotti holds a degree in drama from the University of Southern California. She is a devoted wife and the full-time mother of two small sons. Her ultimate dream would be to return to acting, write a screenplay and have her children’s stories published. Michelle can be reached at
[email protected] Ami McKay lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, with her husband and son. She’s a contemporary bard who loves writing, singing and harp playing. Through her arts she hopes to help others recognize their own profound importance in life. To learn more about her current projects, visit: http://www.hopes.com or e-mail:
[email protected] Brenda Ford Miller, originally from western New York, now lives in Seminole, Florida. She is first a Christian, married to Jim Miller, and they share six terrific children, four grandchildren and a beloved cat named Abe. Newly retired, they are enjoying traveling among other interests. Brenda enjoys writing and basketry. She is grateful to God for a life full of blessings.
David Mittman is a cofounder of Clinicians Publishing Group, a medical communications company in Clifton, New Jersey. He is a very proud father and, along with his wife, Bonnie, recently celebrated his twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.