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You are here: Home / Archives for Books

Books

An excerpt about bangs

Books, Diary

Last spring we filmed various people reading excerpts from Church of the Small Things for me to share leading up to its official release on October 3. There was a time that I regularly posted videos of Caroline, but those days are long gone now that she's a teenager and not really interested in being on any kind of social media unless it's her own. However, she agreed to read an excerpt from the Read More

Fashion Friday: Edition It’s August! And how to get a signed copy of my book

Books, Diary, Fashion

So I'm excited about this today. Not about this video of myself because I hate watching myself and, let's be honest, that still shot is unfortunate. But I am very excited about the information contained therein. And in case you're all like "I do not care to watch this video", here's the big news. BARNES & NOBLE HAS EXCLUSIVE SIGNED COPIES OF CHURCH OF THE SMALL THINGS: The Million Read More

Church of the Small Things Ebook for only $4.99

Books, Diary

Maybe you've heard I have a new book coming out October 3.  And as we were talking about all the things we'd like to do as it goes out into the world, someone said, "What if we give everyone a chance to pre-order the ebook version for only $4.99 for 24 hours?"   (I wasn't that person, but I totally would have been if I had known such a thing was possible.)   Here's the deal. You can Read More

Coming soon to a city near you (maybe)

Books, Other

Well if you've been wondering what I've been up to over the last couple of days, I'll tell you. Trying to get over this. Nothing in my life really prepared me for that. Our entire weekend basically consisted of either watching Caroline play soccer or driving Caroline to her soccer games. She had her last games with her school team in addition to playing in a tournament with her club Read More

And, yet still, Nobody’s Cuter Than You with a giveaway!

Books, Other

***The giveaway is now closed and the winners have been chosen at random and notified by email! Thank you!**** Random Integer Generator Here are your random numbers: 404 1483 763 519 831 To say I have been overwhelmed with your response to Nobody's Cuter Than You is the understatement of the year. In the last two days, I've laughed and I've cried and I've had to put my head between Read More

Nobody’s Cuter Than You – Now in a bookstore near you or online near you

Books, Other

Well. It's weird how you have a date marked on your calendar for so long and it seems so far away and WAY IN THE FUTURE and then all of sudden it's here. That's April 7th for me. Which is today in case you aren't clear. This is the day that my third book, Nobody's Cuter Than You, is officially out in the world and I've had it circled on my calendar for almost a year. Actually, I don't Read More

Nobody’s Cuter Than You – My new book and a fun request!

Books, Other

So I believe I've mentioned that I've been working on a new book. And also that it was due yesterday. The bad news is I'm not quite finished with it, the good news is the nice people at Tyndale are giving me a little bit of grace and I have a few more days before they follow through on their threats to lock me in solitary confinement until I finish. But today I get to tell you a little bit Read More

Some things you might want to know and a book giveaway!

Another day, Books

This is going to be quick because I'm trying my best to get a lot of writing done this week along with the 684 other things I have going on because May is trying to kill me and I apparently said yes to way too many things at some point when I felt wildly optimistic about my time management skills. 1. Focus on the Family broadcast Way back in January I flew to Colorado Springs and taped an Read More

In case maybe you have a book club or something

Books, Other

Here's the official update on stomach plague 2014: Caroline went back to school yesterday. P ate a whole bag of chili-cheese Fritos. I spent the day feeling queasy and out of sorts. What I'm saying is that one out of the three of us appear to have escaped unscathed. Because, let's be honest, chili-cheese Fritos are a bold gastronomic choice on even the best days. Meanwhile, Caroline Read More

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Who is Melanie?

Melanie ShankleMy name is Melanie and, in some strange twist of fate, I’m also known as Big Mama because I started this blog in July of 2006 when my daughter, Caroline, was not quite three years old and I was in the process of convincing her that BIG girls use the potty and BIG girls don’t have pacifiers, thus she thought BIG was the highest compliment in the land and began referring to me as BIG MAMA.Read More

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The Latest on Instagram

Happy Easter! 💕 Happy Easter! 💕
At our house if you want the Easter Bunny to bring At our house if you want the Easter Bunny to bring you a basket, you have to dye eggs. I don’t care how old you are and that you’re leaving for college in 5 months.
When Caroline was three, I enrolled her in dance c When Caroline was three, I enrolled her in dance class. She hated it. And after the recital she announced, “I beat all those other girls”. Which made us realize maybe she needed to try a sport. Preferably one that burned a lot of energy. Thus, we discovered soccer. ⁣
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After twelve years of watching her play on fields all over the country, the ride ended last night. Her team fought so hard but came up short 1-0 in the last three minutes. ⁣
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For twelve years we have cheered as she ran on the field. I’ve washed more soccer jerseys than I can count. I’ve pulled cleats that smell like the devil’s footwear out of backpacks, iced injuries, given pep talks and yelled at refs. ⁣
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We’ve had the thrill of watching her score game-winning goals and the devastation of being in the orthopedic ER until midnight praying it’s not a serious injury. ⁣
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Like life, soccer has been filled with highs and lows. Victory and defeat. ⁣
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Caroline, soccer has developed your strong will, your character and your tenacity. It’s taught you to get back up when you’re knocked down. It’s taught you to be a leader on and off the field. It’s made you better, stronger, and more resilient than you’d have been without it. It’s given us car rides to games and practices that are some of my favorite memories. ⁣
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Your senior season was the one I wasn’t sure would even happen. Between a pandemic and lingering injuries, I went into this year knowing each moment was a gift. ⁣
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You’ve known for a while now that you were ready for a new season of life that doesn’t involve soccer. And the beauty of God bringing one season to an end is that He’s bringing a new one to life. I look at you and know the possibilities of what you’ll do next are endless because you listen for God’s voice and follow where He leads. Dad and I can’t wait to cheer you on in new fields and adventures. ⁣
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In the words of Winnie the Pooh, “How lucky we are to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard?” 💙⚽️💛
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Photos by @doubllel
Last night was Senior Night for soccer. Alamo Heig Last night was Senior Night for soccer. Alamo Heights won 5-1 but the real win was that I managed not to cry. Caroline asked me before it began if I was going to cry and I told her there was a 72% chance I could hold it together. ⁣💙
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(In fairness I did get teary earlier that afternoon and about ten minutes before we walked on the field)⁣
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Having a senior is a weird mix of emotions. I know I’m going to miss her like crazy, but there’s also a bigger part of me that sees how ready she is to go. She’s ready for new adventures and new beginnings and I want those things for her. ⁣💛
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I know from our brief tenure of owning hermit crabs that they eventually outgrow their shell and go in search of a new, bigger shell. I’m not sure why my mind goes to hermit crabs for parenting analogies, but that’s what this is like. She’s outgrown her shell and is ready for a bigger space with more room to move and grow. ⁣💙
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It’s this weird dichotomy of being sad to see the beginning of the end and being so excited for what she has ahead. As C.S. Lewis said “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind”. ⁣💛
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Photo by Mary Candee
I know I’ve over posted but two snow days in one I know I’ve over posted but two snow days in one week is truly a once  in a lifetime event. ❄️
I have to say it’s been snow fun and a week off school  and getting to share this with Caroline, knowing her time at home is coming to an end, feels like the most gracious of gifts. ❄️💙❄️
#onthebrightside #snovid21
I promise I’ll stop with all the snow pictures ( I promise I’ll stop with all the snow pictures (maybe) but Caroline and I started off our day determined to build a snowman. We found out it’s harder than it seems, especially because our snow was so powdery. ❄️⁣
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But we persisted. Or rather we waited until late this afternoon when the snow was a little easier to pack. ⁣
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And we were more proud of this modest little Aggie snowman than I really should admit. What she lacks in structure, she makes up for it in heart and Aggie spirit. 
👍🏻❄️💙

The Latest on Twitter

Melanie Shankle@BigMama·

It’s been a heck of a ride. 💙⚽️

Reply on Twitter 1375286284462084096Retweet on Twitter 1375286284462084096Like on Twitter 137528628446208409681
Alamo Heights Soccer@AHgirlsSoccer·

AH lady Mules Soccer will take the field against Cedar Park in round 1 of the playoffs tonight. Come out to Orem Stadium at 7:00pm to show your support for the Blue and Gold!!! 🐴 🆙

Reply on Twitter 1375094632992899088Retweet on Twitter 13750946329928990883Like on Twitter 137509463299289908812

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