We Didn’t Want to Do This Alone

As Made to Fly Free gets closer to releasing, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to share it and wanting to do that in a way that feels right.

When I picture a typical book launch, it feels big. A lot of attention, a lot of promotion, a lot of energy around getting something out into the world.

But that’s just not what this has felt like for us.

This book came out of our real, everyday life. Homeschool days that didn’t look impressive. Time outside that almost felt like a distraction from what we “should” be doing. Moments I started writing down simply because I didn’t want to forget them.

Over time, those small things turned into a story.

This Started in the Middle of Real Life

Made to Fly Free didn’t begin as a plan to write a book.

It started with paying attention… watching what was happening around us, listening to the kinds of questions our children were asking, noticing how often the best conversations came when we slowed down, even just a little.

I began jotting things down here and there. Nothing organized or polished. Just small observations that felt worth holding onto.

Eventually, those notes became the foundation for the story. And now, holding the finished book, I can still see those early moments in it, and that’s what makes this feel personal.

Why We Chose to Invite Others In

We could have released this book and kept things simple.

Just added it to the shop, mentioned it a few times, and let people find it if they happened to come across it.

But the more I thought about it, the more that approach felt disconnected from how this story actually came to life.

This book grew out of family rhythms: our time spent together and conversations that didn’t feel rushed.

I started paying attention to what God was doing in ordinary days, so it made sense to share it in the same spirit. Not as a big event, but as something families could step into with us.

What That Actually Means

If you’ve seen us mention being “part of this,” I want to keep that simple.

It doesn’t mean signing up for anything formal or adding something new to your plate.

It might look like setting it aside for a summer read-aloud and coming back to it on a slower evening. Maybe it’s reading it one night and noticing your child has more to say than usual. Sometimes it carries over into the next day, when something outside catches their attention in a new way, or a question comes up that you didn’t expect.

Those are the kinds of moments I’ve been thinking about.

Not anything big or impressive. Just the small, meaningful pieces of family life that often end up mattering more than we realize.

What I Keep Coming Back To

The closer we get to May 19, the more I’ve been reminded that my role in this isn’t to make the book do well or to manage how it’s received. It’s simply to be faithful with what we’ve been given.

That’s looked like sharing it honestly, without trying to shape the outcome too much. It’s meant letting go of the need to have everything go a certain way and trusting that the right families will find it at the right time.

I don’t know exactly what will come from it, and I think that’s part of it. This whole process has required a different kind of posture… one that feels less like planning and more like obedience.

And honestly, that’s enough for me.

An Open Invitation

If you’ve been wanting to slow things down a bit in your home, or you’ve felt that pull to be more present with your children but aren’t quite sure what that looks like yet, you’re not alone. I think a lot of us feel that, especially in the middle of full, busy days.

You don’t need a new system or a perfect plan to get there. In our home, it’s usually been much simpler than that. It looks like reading together, letting a conversation go a little longer than expected, or noticing something small that we might have rushed past before.

That’s really the heart behind all of this.

As we get closer to May 19, we are also inviting a small group of readers to come alongside us in a more intentional way as this book releases.

That might look like reading an early copy, sharing it with your children, leaving a review, or simply helping us spread the word to other families who would love it too.

If that’s something you’d enjoy being part of, I’d love to have you join us.

You can learn more about that here.

And if not, you’re still completely welcome to follow along, read the book when it releases, and be part of it in your own way.