Customer Reviews

Bless Me, Father, For I Have Kids

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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How could I not buy this book? Susie has long been a favorite writer of mine in places like Faith & Family and I can add nothing to the praise of this book. It's funny, it's well-written, it's Catholic. What's not to love?

Well...I'll give that a try. Here's what I didn't like:

I didn't like that I snorted my coffee as I tried to snuggle up with it one morning.

I didn't like that I couldn't get comfortable while I was reading it, because I was laughing.

I didn't like the looks my husband was shooting me across the living room as I laughed -- OUT LOUD, FOR REAL -- and interrupted his peaceful football viewing.

I don't like waiting for my friend to finish reading it so I can reread it.

I didn't like that it ended.

Mrs. Lloyd has once again captured the essence of day-to-day family life, using her gift for humor to remind parents everywhere that God smiles on the good and the bad. I picked this little gem up after a rough day in the trenches and couldn't put it down. After about two hours and many joyful tears later, I was thankful that I hadn't woken my children up laughing out loud! I absolutely loved this book!

Susie Lloyd's book contains 30 chapters of fun. Sharing the secrets of trying to keep a large family under some semblance of control, she finds humor in the best (Mass) and worst (stomach flu) of situations. Her book reminds any Catholic mom to keep it light, even when things look dismal. I read her book in small doses, keeping it at my bedside table and savoring the stories after my kids were in bed. The stories were just the right length to keep me laughing before I crashed and burned.

If you need a little pick-me-up, the concern and love of a friendly neighbor, the humor of a fellow mom-in-the-trenches, you'll enjoy Bless Me Father, For I Have Kids by Susie Lloyd.

Normally it takes me a while to get into a book, but in this case I flew right through in one day. Unheard of with five kiddos and one of them being 4.5 months old at the time! Susie has an amazing talent to write what we're all thinking in a way that is laugh-out-loud hilarious. My kids and husband were all wondering what I was guffawing about and me, through tears, tried to explain and failed miserably. I think I enjoyed the honesty that Susie shared in her book. Too often we hear about homeschooling as the 'rah rah sis boom bah' and not enough of the 'there will be days when you want to hide in your closet' or 'you'll have days when you convince yourself that talking to yourself is just a Parent/Teacher meeting.' This book is a must have for any mom wondering 'is this normal?' with respect to the Faith and homeschooling. You won't be disappointed.

I just finished reading Susie Lloyd's Bless Me, Father, For I Have Kids a few days ago. Susie Lloyd is the Catholic home schooling mother of seven who amusingly writes about her life as such. Her book is entertaining and captivating. I picked up the book expecting to read a chapter or two and wound up reading about a third of the book in a very short time span. Then, I got up, did a few things around the house and found a few moments to dive back into the book. Before I knew it, I had read the entire book. It was the funniest book I've read in a long time and one I simply could not put down and stay away from for very long.

If you're a mom, you'll find yourself nodding your head in agreement as you read the about the antics of Susie Lloyd's adventures in mothering. The book is punctuated with many side splitting moments of hilarity.

You don't need to be a home schooling mother to fully appreciate this book. I think this book will likely appeal more to Catholic moms, but I think any mom with a sense of humor will thoroughly enjoy this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it to any mother who could use a good laugh.

I received a complimentary copy of Bless Me, Father, For I Have Kids from Sophia Institute Press in exchange for my honest review of the book.

I am a young wife and mother with two little girls and number three on the way. Susie Lloyd has helped me a lot as a mom. The things she says add perspective and a lot of humor, which help me to keep going and not take things (or myself) so seriously!!! ~Kristen L.

...and I didn't believe anything could top "Please Don't Drink the Holy Water". "Co-oping for CHICKENS" and "Taking Home Education on the Road" were probably my favorite chapters, even though I don't have teenagers (yet!)....it gives me insight into what my mother's life was like slightly with homeschooled teenagers. Lines like:
"None of us wanted to quit homeschooling, we just wanted somebody to do it for us."
"Call a professional driving instructor (this last step is performed in a darkened room, with your head in the Yellow Pages surrounded by aromatherapy and soft music." (after describing in hilarious detail teaching her daughter how to drive)
The final chapter is a poignant, sweet description of a mother's prayer -- the conversation with God interrupted at every minute by a child's voice, or a telephone at an unearthly hour of someone needing to speak to your husband "right away" -- while he's sleeping -- and you are doing three things at once -- but God is always there.
Buy this book!!

Susie Lloyd so perfectly captures the hilarious ins and outs of everyday family life when you are Catholic and homeschooling more than the average American family. It makes me feel as if I am not the only one out there struggling, trying to keep it together and keep a straight face when the reality of family life hits. I would recommend both her books to any mom, Catholic or not, homeschooling or not.

I just read this book. I couldn't put it down, and I couldn't stop laughing. The last chapter, I was laughing so hard I was crying and then I couldn't read the words on the page any more. It is GREAT! If you are a Catholic mom, or know one, order one right now, while supplies last!

Writing humor is difficult and to a large extent, can't be learned. Occasionally an author comes along who has that God-given spark of wit in their writing that catches the reader off-guard and causes him to spit a corn flake across the breakfast table. Dave Barry is one I can think of off the top of my head. Susie Lloyd is another. Her book, Bless Me Father for I Have Kids, is a jovial jaunt through the life of a busy Catholic homeschooling mom. Her observations, anecdotes, and mildly cranky tirades make for a quick and delightful read, perfect fodder for anyone living a Catholic lifestyle and enjoying it.

While Mrs. Lloyd's book is clearly aimed at Catholic moms, I enjoyed it just fine as a Catholic dad. I felt a certain affinity for Mr. Lloyd, and though he plays an integral part in this book, he is never ridiculed. This was so refreshing, particularly considering that ridicule of spouse, often in quite nasty terms, is an old mainstay of comedy. In fact, most of the humor contained in this book is amusingly humble and self-deprecating.

While all the chapters in this book made me laugh, the one that had me quoting sections out-loud to whoever happened to be in the room was entitled "Salvation by Scales" which is about the joys and agonies of piano recitals. This was not so much because my own kids are learning piano--they're not at this point--but because it reminded me of my own childhood experiences as a victim of the "Snoozboogie" series. Nothing bugged me more as a kid than having to learn jazzed-up version of the classics. I think U.R. Yawning may have been a St. Louis Jesuit.

I would definitely recommend this book to Catholic moms. And Catholic dads won't have to turn in their Knights of Columbus cards just for reading it, either. Bless Me Father for I Have Kids is good, lighthearted fun with a core of truth and honest observation underneath the humor. It should help all Catholics--not just homeschoolers--feel a certain comfort in knowing that others experience the same trials and are able to face them with a positive attitude and a good laugh.