Dear One,

There are amazing things happening for us these days. Julie has had the great privilege of working with the ministry for special needs children at our new church. One of her passions is to see that children are accepted and get a sense of belonging no matter what is going on with them. She also wants to help peers and teachers realize how much of a blessing they are receiving by embracing all children into their worlds. She is enjoying working with a leader who has a HUGE heart for the children under her care.

We have had meetings with several different organizations who are beginning conversations about folding what we do into their work in some form or another. It is always exciting to us to spread empowerment to parents in many different places.

On a personal note, we are thrilled that our firstborn daughter and our son-in-love are coming with their four footed baby to visit for a few days next week. It has been too many months since we have been together. To add to the excitement, our son and daughter-in-love are moving from their first apartment as a married couple into a duplex here in Lynchburg. Suffice it to say that we will be pretty busy folks with work and ministry and family and are so happy with the thought.

Up next in this eZine:

• A Simple Tip to a Calmer Kid
• News about our next no-fee Webinar
• A brand new Blog Post - Is It My Parenting?
• Upcoming Events - Roanoke bound on August 6, 2015

Much love to you and yours,

Tom and Julie

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Don't Miss our next no-fee webinar:

4 Tips to Turn

Your Struggling Reader into A Confident Reader

Got a struggling reader at your house? You will want to check out this webinar. For more information and to register: 

MarchForthFamily.com/webinar

Date Your Child

Tom and Julie Meekins

Recently we saw the most adorable video of a Daddy ringing the doorbell of his home. The door opened to a precious little girl of about 6 years old. The little girl was dressed up in a party dress, with pretty shoes, and adorned with sweet little girl jewelry. She was looking quite proud of herself. Her father asked if she was ready for their date and off they went to spend some time "out on the town" together (and by out on the town, I think they may have been going for ice cream).

Do you date your child?

No matter how old they are, children love one-on-one time with their parents.

Here are some tips to consider:

1. Find out what your child really likes to do. Is it going to the library or a bookstore? Is it getting ice cream? Is it taking in a sports game? Is it going to a park and playing on the playground? Is it going to see a play together or going to the movies? When our children were little, we often took them for ice cream. When they got older, coffee shop dates, minor league baseball games, music concerts, and camping trips were on the agenda.

2. Schedule a regular time each month to date your child. This is important because it gives an added positive anticipation for your child as he or she looks forward to your time together. Do whatever you can to keep your date. You are communicating to your child that he or she is important to you and you are showing that you honor and respect them.  

3. Create some kind of momento and give it to your child so they can remember your date times together. This can be in the form of a photo, a ticket stub, a play bill, etc.

It is important to build a strong relationship between you and your child. Dating him or her is a wonderful way to add a log to the fire of that relationship. Dating your child will bring peace and a wonderful knowing of belonging which will also cause your child to be calmer within and without.

And there you have another Simple Tip to a Calmer Kid.

Our Books: Check out our book on Amazon, 

Melt the Meltdowns. The booklet form of our very popular talk of the same name. Check it out on Amazon today. Only $11.

Click here

We have written 4 eBooks. Julie's is available on Amazon. It is available for the Kindle for $2.99, Every Mom's Checkist - Five Point Focus. 

Our second eBook is available for no cost on our website. For our current readers of this newsletter, a link is provided HERE to get the PDF version of the book right now! Just click this link to get Happy Moms Peaceful Homes - 3 Tips to Survive Overactive Children. You may also want to save the book to your computer to access at anytime. And be sure to direct your friends to our website to sign up and get their copy! Contact us about receiving our third and forth eBook. We would love to share it with you!

Classes: We teach live online webinars on a regular basis. Stay tuned to these newsletters and the EVENTS tab of our website for dates and times! AND we have recorded online classes for listening. Visit our website and go to the "Our Services" tab. You will also find a list of our services and fees.

http://www.MarchForthFamily.com