We visit Norway, France, and Mexico in the "If you were me and lived in..." series

More books in the “If you were me and lived in…” series by Carol P. Roman. First, we start with Norway. A country in Northern Europe known as the Land of the Midnight Sun. Their currency is called the kroner which is a small coin with a hole in the center. While living in Norway, one can see the aurora borealis or the northern lights. They celebrated Syttendde Mai on May 17^th as a celebration of the signing of Norway’s constitution. There are parades and costumes.

Second, we travel to France located in Western Europe. Its most famous city, Paris, is known as the City of Lights because it was the use to use gas lamps in 1838. The most famous landmark, the Eiffel Tower and the famous crepes which are served as a breakfast food or dinner and even dessert. They celebrate July 14^th, known as Bastille Day as their independence day. It signifies the beginning of the French Revolution.

Lastly, we visit Mexico. The largest city is Mexico City which is home to the Palacio de Bellas Artes or the Palace of Fine Arts. In Mexico, we learn about the Chichen Itza, a Mayan temple which has 365 steps one for each day of the year. Mexico celebrates Descubrimiento de America which honors the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, similar to America’s Columbus Day.

I love these books. As this is my four review of the series. I highly recommend these books for any family and classroom!

All the “If you were me and lived in…” titles are available on Amazon for $9.99

Friendship poems

Lately, I’ve been thinking about friendships. Why some friends remain in your life through thick and thin and why others drift away. Instead of writing an essay about it, I wrote these poems. 

Seasons of friends

Every friend has its season

This I know

Spring, new, fun and sweeten

Summer, we talk, laugh and grow

Some circle back after winter’s cold

Some are gone forever in days of old

Strangers with memories

You used to be my friend

What times we had

But just around the bend

Distance grew, all things turned bad

No friends with victories

We are now strangers with memories

Friends turned family

We met so long ago

Though distance was far and wide

We never let go

After the crashing waves of life’s tide

You are my family

Sister of my heart happily

On Green Diamonds Pursuing a Dream by Tom Tatum: a great book about life, love and baseball

On Green Diamonds Pursuing a Dream by Tom Tatum is a wonderful story about a young man who meets a retired baseball player and both their lives are never the same again. The story opens with Gabe “Fireball” Nelson, a retired professional baseball player, who is settling into a normal life with his wife, Heather, when a widowed woman and her son move into the neighborhood.

The Nelsons are immediately drawn to the grieving family. Tyler is a shy and withdrawn 8 year old whose only love is baseball. Gabe is able to use his knowledge of the game to help Tyler improving his baseball skills as well as deal with his father’s sudden death. Gabe and Tyler soon become like grandfather and grandson as Gabe teaches Tyler more than baseball. He teaches him the 22 rules to live by that his father gave to him. Gabe teaches him the importance of the Lord in his life and how to be a generous and thoughtful man to others. Through triumphs and setbacks, Tyler learns the importance of being a great leader on the field and off. Will Tyler achieve his dream of becoming a professional baseball player? What sacrifices must he make to get there?

I loved this book. I’m usually not a big baseball fan. I’m more a football fan. I normally watch baseball during the playoffs and the World Series. With the limited knowledge of the game, I was still able to enjoy this book and cheer Tyler on as he pursues his dream of green diamonds. I loved how Gabe’s 22 rules are applied throughout the book. I loved Gabe’s fish analogy of “a keeper” when discussing the birds and the bees with Tyler. Even though you may not be a baseball fan, I recommend this book. You will enjoy the journey of Gabe and Tyler through their love of baseball. The characters are real and relatable. I wish that I had a grandfather or father like Gabe Nelson. I highly recommend On Green Diamonds Pursuing a Dream by Tom Tatum. You will love it!

On Green Diamonds Pursuing a Dream is available on

Amazon in hardback for $29.99 and one the Kindle for $3.99

Don't be afraid of your emotions

Have you ever had a conversation start with “Now don’t get mad” and you or someone is immediately on the defensive because what is about to said will probably make you or them mad? Our emotions are natural and God given feelings. To tell someone, “don’t get mad” is denying them their natural feelings. However, our emotions can get us in trouble if we don’t learn how to manage them and deal with them in an appropriate manner. Your emotions are what make you human. Emotions can build and build until they can’t be held in anymore and there are wrong ways to express anger.

First, do not bottle up your emotions. Allow yourself to be angry, to feel sad. Your emotions are a part of you and are a part of what makes you human. Jesus expressed his emotions freely. He expresses his emotions freely. He wept and grieved at the death of his friend (John 11:35). He showed his anger at people’s disbelief and stubborn hearts and turned that anger to heal a man before their very eyes (Mark 3:5a). He expressed his anger at the men exploited people’s attempts to worship at the temple (Matthew 21:2, Mark 11:12-19, Luke 19:45-48 and John 2:14-15). The Lord understands the emotions you are feeling. Come to him in prayer and expressing your emotions. Tell him how angry you are, He understands. Tell him how sad, hurt, depressed you are, He knows.

Second, denying yourself to feel any emotions, especially negative emotions can lead to sinful behavior. Just like a soda bottle that has been shaken too much, eventually the pressure will become too much and you will explode. You may say or do something that you will regret. You may hurt others with your words or actions in a way you never meant to. Job openly grieved for the loss of his family (Job 1:20-22) and says “Therefore, I will not keep silent; I speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul” (Job 7:11). Keeping emotions locked in can lead to a bitter and angry spirit.

Third, there are many examples in the Bible of how anger is expressed in the wrong way and lives ruined when anger is not managed properly. Cain, jealous that his brother’s offering was honored by God, turned his anger toward his brother and kills him (Genesis 4:1-8). The result? He is condemned to walk the earth as a restless wanderer (Genesis 4:12). Sarah mistreats Hagar out of jealousy and anger. Hagar was able to get pregnant when Sarah could not (Genesis 16:6). Sarah was angry at herself and her infertility and took it out on her maidservant who was just following orders. Haman, angry at Mordecai for not kneeing in his honor, plots to kill the Jews (Esther 3:5-6). The result? Haman ends up tangled in his own web and is hanged on the very gallows he prepared for Mordecai (Esther 7:10). Anger can be very dangerous when we place on anger against someone else.

In conclusion, do not hide your emotions. Emotions are a part of what makes you human. It is not sinful or inappropriate to express them. Express them in a way which is healthy and safe. For me, I pray and cried out to God. Sometimes simply saying through my tears, “Please, God.” I also write. I write about my anger, my fears, my sorrows and my joy. Talk about your emotions to a trust friend or relative. Believe me, when you give your emotions a voice, the negative emotions lose their power and hold on you and you’re able to think clearly. Be careful to direct your emotions at the right person. Deep breathes, think before saying or doing anything. You have the right to feel your emotions; however, your emotions do not have the right to own you. 

Stillwell a haunting on Long Island: a great mystery that will keep you on your toes

Stillwell a Haunting on Long Island by Michael Phillips Cash is a haunting story about a sudden death and the impact it has on the ones left behind with a great ghost story weaved in.

The story opens with Paul, a recent widower who is preparing to restart a life with his three children. His wife, Allison, dies after a sudden and fast moving illness which has left everyone unable to understand it all. The entire book takes place in one week. Starting with Sunday as his kids return home from his sister’s. His oldest children, 13 year old twins Veronica and Jesse, act out as teenagers will do. His youngest child, Stella acts like a 9 year old would, holding on to childish fantasies. Paul returns to work as a successful realtor when he agrees to sell Stillwell Manor for an old friend. The mansion has recently been involved in a murder-suicide and has a dark past. Strange occurrences begin to happen at the manor and at home, that leaves Paul questioning his sanity as well as wondering if someone is truly trying to communicate with him from beyond the grave.

I really enjoyed this book. The struggles of Paul and his children felt potent and very real. I enjoyed the ghost story of Stillwell Manor and the resolution of the hauntings is great. I would recommended this book if you enjoy a good ghost story intertwined with a real human experience.

Stillwell a Haunting on Long Island is available on Amazon

 in paperback for $12.99 and on the Kindle for $0.99

Why I believe everything happens for a reason

During that past seven months, I have been involved in a grief support group online which focuses on parents who have lost child either through pregnancy complications or childhood deaths. While the group support have meant a great deal for me, there is one thing that bothers me. Many of the members hate the statement, “everything happens for a reason.” They hate the statement so much that they get angry when they hear someone say it. I fully believe that everything does happens for a reason. I believe it for three reasons: God’s will, consequences or results of a decision and the nature of the world we live in.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 tells us that there is a time for everything. God has a plan for all people and that we all must experience the cycles of life. The good and the bad. A time for life and death (verse 2) and a time to mourn and a time to dance (verse 4). I'm sure when people hear verses 1-8, they hear The Byrds playing in their head. I know I do. Many people would say then your babies were meant to die. Maybe they were because verse 11 says “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” We cannot see into the future or comprehend everything that God sees or understand. I fully believe with all my heart that the losses of my babies has strengthen my faith and trust in Jesus Christ, has brought my husband and me together and made us stronger and helped us appreciate the blessings that God has given us.

Judges 16 tells the story of Samson and Delilah. Samson, whose strength was greater than any man before, falls madly in love with Delilah and trusts her with his biggest secret. By telling her this secret, it led to his capture and his eventual death. The story illustrates that all our decisions have consequences for good or bad. God allowed Samson’s decision to follow its natural course and he suffered greatly for it. God does this in our lives today. Every decision will results in something. If we follow God’s plan and will, He will bless us but if we go against His plan and will, we will suffer the consequences of such a decision. We’re short on cash because we didn’t budget. We are having a fight with our loved ones because we decided to tell a secret or a lie. We worked hard at work and received a promotion. Bad decisions will yield bad results and good decisions will yield good results. Sometimes our situations are simply the results of past decisions.

Sometimes the events in our lives happen because of the fallen world we live in. Homes and businesses will be lost in a horrific storm. Certain weather patterns will form storms. There is no way to stop them or ease the damage they will cause. Earthquakes can occur at any moment and there is no way to predict them. We live in a fallen world and there is good and evil all around us. We can hope for the best but prepare for the worst. In life, there are no guarantees. There are no guarantees that everyone will live to see a ripe old age. God tells us in Job 14:5-7 that before we were even born, our days are numbered but God also tells us in Jeremiah 1:5 that before we were formed in the womb, He knew us and He has plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11). I believe that God has a plan when he took my babies back to Him. I may not fully understand why but I fully trust Him that He will reveal it to me in time.

In conclusion, I believe that everything happens for a reason. There is a season for everything. Decisions will yield good or bad results. This is a fallen world. My babies’ lives were cut short by our standards. But by God’s they lived as they were determined to. I realize now that if my first baby was born, my beautiful Abby wouldn’t be here now. I also realize that if Ziva had lived, I probably would not have started my blog and actively writing again. I don’t know the reasons why but I do know that God has a plan and I will trust Him with every breath. It may hurt to think that there’s a reason for everything but to me, something happening without a reason is even worst. 

Two new books about adventure and learning to do something new

Whaley’s Big Adventure illustrated by Alexander Luke and presented by Carole P. Roman, author of the “If you were me and lived in…” series as well as the Captain No Beard series. Alexander is her 5 year old grandson. In this book, Whaley is a blue whale who is on an adventure to learn about the different types of whales in the ocean. With each whale he meets, information is given about that whale. For instance, orcas are the fastest in the sea. They can swim up to 30 mph. Humpback whales who are known for their songs. Beluga whales who are very friendly and playful. Other whales are introduced.

The story is very fun with great educational information. The illustrations are great and impressive for a 5 year old. I recommend this book as a great addition to any family’s or classroom’s library.

Second, I want to do yoga too by Carole P. Roman is the story of a little girl named Hallie who wants to do yoga like her mom. She goes to the gym’s play center while her mom is in yoga class. While she is there, Robin instructs Hallie to pretend to be a tree or an airplane or a snake. All the while Hallie is insisting on doing yoga. When Hallie’s mom picks her up, she explains that she was doing yoga and Hallie wants to do it again tomorrow.

The story is great fun as the Hallie learns how to do yoga. It’s a great story to introduce yoga to young children.

Whaley’s Big Adventure is available on Amazon for the Kindle $1.99 and in paperback $8.99

I want to do yoga too is available on Amazon for the Kindle for $0.99 and in paperback for $9.25