Kayla's Story: Going Home Early


Book Description

GOING HOME EARLY Annette Watson grew up in Caney, Oklahoma and married Ronnie Watson in 1983. They made a wonderful life for themselves in the country, in southeast Oklahoma, where they raised four beautiful children, two by birth, Kayla and Matt (25) and two by adoption, James (22) and Charisma (9). Annette also has a wonderful stepdaughter, Kary Watson Johnson of Dallas, TX. Annette spent fifteen years working as social worker for the Oklahoma Dept. of Human Services (DHS) in the Child Protection Division and is currently employed as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Life was wonderful until tragedy struck, when a car accident instantly took the life of her beloved daughter, Kayla, in 2004. Kayla was 21 at the time, and on her way back to college at SWOSU in Weatherford, OK, where she played basketball. Through Annettes heartfelt words, you will experience Kaylas life and legacy of faith as well as learning how Gods grace helped their family survive the unimaginable pain of having a child Go Home Early. Kayla and Matt (25) and two by adoption, James (22) and Charisma (9). Annette also has a wonderful stepdaughter, Kary Watson Johnson of Dallas, TX. Annette spent fifteen years working as social worker for the Oklahoma Dept. of Human Services (DHS) in the Child Protection Division and is currently employed as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Life was wonderful until tragedy struck, when a car accident instantly took the life of her beloved daughter, Kayla, in 2004. Kayla was 21 at the time, and on her way back to college at SWOSU in Weatherford, OK, where she played basketball. Through Annettes heartfelt words, you will experience Kaylas life and legacy of faith as well as learning how Gods grace helped their family survive the unimaginable pain of having a child Go Home Early.




Kayla's Story


Book Description

GOING HOME EARLY Annette Watson grew up in Caney, Oklahoma and married Ronnie Watson in 1983. They made a wonderful life for themselves in the country, in southeast Oklahoma, where they raised four beautiful children, two by birth, Kayla and Matt (25) and two by adoption, James (22) and Charisma (9). Annette also has a wonderful stepdaughter, Kary Watson Johnson of Dallas, TX. Annette spent fifteen years working as social worker for the Oklahoma Dept. of Human Services (DHS) in the Child Protection Division and is currently employed as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Life was wonderful until tragedy struck, when a car accident instantly took the life of her beloved daughter, Kayla, in 2004. Kayla was 21 at the time, and on her way back to college at SWOSU in Weatherford, OK, where she played basketball. Through Annette's heartfelt words, you will experience Kayla's life and legacy of faith as well as learning how God's grace helped their family survive the unimaginable pain of having a child "Go Home Early." Kayla and Matt (25) and two by adoption, James (22) and Charisma (9). Annette also has a wonderful stepdaughter, Kary Watson Johnson of Dallas, TX. Annette spent fifteen years working as social worker for the Oklahoma Dept. of Human Services (DHS) in the Child Protection Division and is currently employed as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Life was wonderful until tragedy struck, when a car accident instantly took the life of her beloved daughter, Kayla, in 2004. Kayla was 21 at the time, and on her way back to college at SWOSU in Weatherford, OK, where she played basketball. Through Annette's heartfelt words, you will experience Kayla's life and legacy of faith as well as learning how God's grace helped their family survive the unimaginable pain of having a child "Go Home Early."




To Light Their Way


Book Description

Prayers to guide your journey of raising kids in a complicated world. In an age of distraction and overwhelm, finding the words to meaningfully pray for our children--and for our journey as parents--can feel impossible. Written with warmth and welcome, To Light Their Way gives voice to your prayers when words won't come. Filled with more than 100 modern liturgies, this book guides you into an intentional conversation with God for your children and the world they live in. From everyday struggles like helping your child find friends or thrive in school to larger issues like praying for a brighter world rooted in peace and truth, these pleas and petitions act as a gentle guide, reminding us that while our words may fail, God never does. At the core of To Light Their Way is the deepest of prayers: that our children will experience the love of God so deeply that their lives will be an outpouring of love that lights up the world.




Home Home


Book Description

Fans of Monday's Not Coming and Girl in Pieces will love this award-winning novel about a girl on the verge of losing herself and her unlikely journey to recovery after she is removed from anything and everyone she knows to be home. Moving from Trinidad to Canada wasn't her idea. But after being hospitalized for depression, her mother sees it as the only option. Now, living with an estranged aunt she barely remembers and dealing with her "troubles" in a foreign country, she feels more lost than ever. Everything in Canada is cold and confusing. No one says hello, no one walks anywhere, and bus trips are never-ending and loud. She just wants to be home home, in Trinidad, where her only friend is going to school and Sunday church service like she used to do. But this new home also brings unexpected surprises: the chance at a family that loves unconditionally, the possibility of new friends, and the promise of a hopeful future. Though she doesn't see it yet, Canada is a place where she can feel at home--if she can only find the courage to be honest with herself. "A hopeful story about finding one's place."-Kirkus Reviews, Starred review




Just Like a Mama


Book Description

Celebrate the heart connection between adopted children and the forever families who welcome them with kindness, care, and unconditional love in this powerful picture book from the author of Honey Baby Sugar Child. Carol Olivia Clementine lives with Mama Rose. Mama Rose is everything—tender and sweet. She is also as stern and demanding as any good parent should be. In the midst of their happy home, Carol misses her mother and father. She longs to be with them. But until that time comes around, she learns to surrender to the love that is present. Mama Rose becomes her “home.” And Carol Olivia Clementine concludes that she loves Miss Rose, “just like a mama.” This sweet read-aloud is, on the surface, all about the everyday home life a caregiver creates for a young child: she teachers Clementine how to ride a bike, clean her room, tell time. A deeper look reveals the patience, intention, and care little ones receives in the arms of a mother whose blood is not her blood, but whose bond is so deep—and so unconditional—that it creates the most perfect condition for a child to feel safe, successful, and deeply loved.




Fear Gone Wild


Book Description

A pastor's wife's shattering yet ultimately hopeful story of her husband's death by suicide, her journey to understand mental illness, and the light she found in the darkness. On August 25, 2018, Kayla Stoecklein lost her husband, Andrew--megachurch pastor of Inland Hills Church in Chino, California--to suicide. In the wake of the tragedy, she embarked on a brave journey to better understand his harrowing battle with mental illness and, ultimately, to overcome the stigma of suicide. Fear Gone Wild is her intimate account of all that led to that tragic day, including her husband's panic attacks and debilitating bouts of anxiety and depression. Despite their deep faith in God and the countless prayers of many believers, Andrew was never healed of his illness. Turning to Scripture for answers, she discovered that God uses wilderness experiences to prepare His children--including Jesus--for his greater purpose and to work miracles inside our souls. With a clear-eyed acknowledgment of how misguided and misinformed she was about mental illness, Kayla Stoecklein shares her story in hopes that anyone walking through the wilderness of mental illness will be better equipped for the journey and will learn to put their hope in Jesus through it all.




Chasing Sunsets


Book Description

A second collection of poetry by Kayla Kim about pursuing good, clinging to hope, believing in magic, seeing beauty in little, and chasing sunsets.




Mother In the Dark


Book Description

"Tender and unsparing, this is a novel to hold onto." —Crystal Hana Kim, author of If You Leave Me “A masterfully written novel, alive and lyrical, a hypnotic rendering of the mess and the tenderness of family life.” —Claire Lombardo, author of The Most Fun We Ever Had A novel about family secrets and a volatile relationship between a mother and her daughters. When Anna’s sister calls with an urgent message, Anna doesn’t return the call. She knows it’s about their mother. Growing up in an Italian American family in working-class Boston, Anna lives a simple but comfortable childhood--filled with homemade meals and front-porch gatherings in a close-knit neighborhood. She and her sisters are devoted to their mother, orbiting her like the sun, trying to keep up with her loving but mercurial nature. When their father gets a new job outside the city, the family is tossed unceremoniously into a middle-class suburban existence. Anna's mother is suddenly adrift, and the darkness lurking inside her ignites. Her daughters, isolated and trapped with her in their new house, do everything they can to keep her from unraveling. Alternating between Anna's childhood and her twenties, when she receives a shattering call about her mother that threatens to blow up her precariously constructed life in New York, Mother in the Dark asks whether we can ever return home when the idea of home is fraught with instability. This story about sisterhood, the complications of class, and the chains of inheritance between mothers and daughters delivers an unvarnished portrayal of the fragile horrors of domestic life and a young woman consumed by her past.




Anchored


Book Description

When Kayla Aimee when into labor after only 24 weeks, she felt as though once solid ground had turned to glass beneath her feet. As her newborn daughter struggles to survive, Kayla finds herself asking "Where is God in this?" As Kayla lays bare her struggle to redefine her faith, her marriage, and herself within the context of a tragedy she never saw coming, she uncovers a hope that holds her together.




The Bikini Body 28-Day Healthy Eating & Lifestyle Guide


Book Description

The new healthy eating and lifestyle book from the inspirational and widely followed personal trainer, Kayla Itsines.