What We’re Reading Wednesday: Installment #3

Welcome back for installment #3 of “What We’re Reading Wednesday.” See previous posts here. As always, please comment and share what you’re reading!

The Field Mouse and the Dinosaur Named Sue (by Jan Wahl)–I was excited to find this book at Goodwill a couple of months ago. 🙂 It’s taken us that long to read it. ha! 🙂 Our family went to Chicago last year for vacation. We visited the Field Museum, so I wanted to read this with the boys and learn more about Sue. If you’re heading to Chicago and the Field Museum in the future, this book is a great way to introduce “Sue” to your kiddos before you meet her in person! Just a disclaimer that I had to do some “editing” on the fly as we read it. It tells of how many millions of years old the dinosaur bones were.

Time for Bed (by Mem Fox)–This sweet bedtime book is a classic that we’ve just now discovered! My parents were in town when we got this book, and my Dad was able to read it to my boys. My boys will always remember this book as “Pop’s book” that he read to them. 🙂 I love how books create lasting memories with loved ones.

Books by Lois Ehlert–As I mentioned in the last installment of “What We’re Reading Wednesday,” I have introduced a principle into our family since reading Honey For A Child’s Heart. Once I discover a recommended author or an author my kiddos idolize, I check out copious amounts of books written by him/her. One of this week’s “clean off the library shelf” author selection was Lois Ehlert.  We checked out about 10 of her books! We have enjoyed Color Zoo, Color Farm, Pie in the Sky, Nuts to You!, and Snowballs this week. I enjoyed the nature themes in the books that we read, but most of all, I adored the vibrant colors, unique mediums used to create the illustrations. To say that they were pleasing to the eye would be an  understatement. These books are written toward a preschool audience, but even my school agers enjoyed them! We haven’t read it yet, but I’m hoping to read Leaf Man by Ehlert with them this week. We actually used leaves to make a man during Fall a couple of years ago. (Thanks to Pinterest!) Now, I know that the idea was probably inspired by this book.

The Moon Shines Down (by Margaret Wise Brown)–Our second “clean off the library shelf” author for the this week was Margaret Wise Brown. If you’ve read only one children’s book, there is a high likelihood that it was Brown’s Goodnight Moon, clearly a classic. We have read lots of Margaret Wise Brown’s books; she wrote heaps of books. I was drawn to The Moon Shines Down because the book’s cover indicated it was a lost work of Brown’s. The book is based upon the prayer, “God bless the moon, and God bless me.” A little koala embarks around the world, visiting various locations. The koala’s trek around the world was especially joyous to read with my boys because of the numerous connections with the Geography locations we learned this past year in Classical Conversations Cycle 2. So, so fun! Here is a list of other books by Margaret Wise Brown, including two others that we enjoyed this week–The Sailor Dog and Four Fur Feet.

Who Was….? Series (by various authors)–My oldest son has been devouring these books! He adores history, and he also adores reading on our family Kindle. He broke his arm last week, and it was his writing hand, which has impacted some of our schooling plans. 🙂 Therefore, he’s had lots of free time on his hands, so he’s wanted extra time on the Kindle. When any of our boys ask  to read, we try not to squelch it! 🙂 He has gotten into these “Who Was…?” books, and we can check out the Kindle version of many of them via our local library. Who Was George Washington?, Who Was Davy Crockett?, Who Was Paul Revere?, and Who Was Jackie Robinson? have been some of his favorites. If your child is eager to start “chapter” books on his/her own, these might be a good place to start.

Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother (by Carolyn Mahaney)–I am reading this with some younger women from my church. It is based on Titus 2 and walks through 7 virtues of a godly wife and mother. I read it 7 years ago when I was a young mom, and I loved it. I’m enjoying reading it as the “older” mom with the younger moms. This is a great read for any woman! If you are a young woman and desiring to be mentored, grab this book and an older, godly woman and read through it together. Or, if you’re an older woman and desiring to mentor younger women, this would be an excellent resource for you. There are study questions at the conclusion of the book that can be used to guide small group discussion.

Audio books that we’re “reading”

With the past two Friday Favorites posts (read them here and here) about our love of audio books, I thought I would include audio books in our “What We’re Reading Wednesday” series. Our boys are enjoying these books this week: How to Eat Fried Worms (by Thomas Rockwell) and two Boxcar children audio books: The Boxcar Children The Great Bicycle Race Mystery and  The Boxcar Children Collection Volume 43 (by Gertrude Chandler Warner).

So, that’s a wrap for Wednesday! Please comment and share with all of us what you’re reading this week!

This post contains affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure policy here.

Friday Favorites: Audio Books For Children

This is the 1st post in a series about Audio Books and children. See the last two posts here and here.

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When our oldest son was about three, my husband and I were on a mission to find an age-appropriate children’s Bible. Our hunt led us to many favorite children’s Bibles, but one, in particular, left an imprint on our family that we weren’t anticipating.

I still remember the day that we were in our local bookstore. Our beloved friend worked there, and we had solicited him for our mission. (He chose to accept it. 🙂 ) We were desirous of a children’s Bible that had an accompanying set of CDs with it. This book introduced to me the idea of having a child listen to the Bible while following along in his/her corresponding paper copy. So, the mission commenced, and our friend directed us to The Word & Song Children’s Bible , which had a Bible and coordinating cds. We immediately bought the Bible and cds and began letting our son listen to them during afternoon nap time and at bed time.

To say that my husband and I were flabbergasted as we discovered how much of the Bible our son was comprehending would be….an understatement. For example, one morning he wakes us up, all decked out in warrior fashion with his homemade weapon, which consisted of a cell phone charger cord tied around a yard stick. “Dad, I need to kill the people who don’t worship God.” My husband, the sage that he is, begins explaining to our son why, according to Scripture, it is wrong to kill other human beings. Our son quickly retorts, “But Dad, God had to destroy the Edomites because they didn’t worship Him.”

My husband knew that our son was referring to the story from the Minor Prophet book, Obadiah. Who had been teaching him stories from the Old Testament?!?!? It wasn’t us, and it wasn’t his Sunday School teachers. After a few minutes of racking our brains, we remembered the Word and Song Bible cds. Yup, that was it; the culprit was the Bible cds. He had soaked up the story of Obadiah by listening to it on a cd. In that moment, we didn’t consciously vocalize the decision, but from then forward, we began using cds as a means of exposing our oldest son (and, now, all three of them) to literature.

I write often about books that we read aloud as part of school or together as a family. If it were up to me, I would read aloud to my boys all day long. However, the piles of laundry, mounds of dust bunnies, and stores of uncooked food in my fridge thwart my read-all-day plans. Sigh. Wish that I may, Super Mom, I am not. As we learned from our oldest son’s early years, audio books can be used to “read” to my sons, even when I am not able. As a result, audio books have become a significant medium in the life of our sons, and our entire family, frankly, whereby literature is introduced. So, today, for this edition of Friday Favorites, I share this family favorite, audio books, with you and why we love them so much!

Why I Love Using Audio Books With My Children

1) Audio books expose my sons to great stories that are above their reading level.

In the book, The Core, by Classical Conversations founder Leigh Bortins, she recommends that children read consistently on three different levels: below, at, and above their reading level. One way that I have my boys “read” above their reading level is by listening to audio books. Of course, my heart’s desire is to read every book known to man to my sons, but time does not always permit that. Audio books have helped me stretch the amount of time each day that my boys are being “read to” above their reading level. The audio books that I select for them fall into that category 99.9% of the time. They could not independently read the book they’re listening to, but they can easily comprehend it. An audio book gives them the opportunity to “read” classic literature now at ages 8, 6, and 4. They would have to wait 5-10 years to be able to read such books independently, but why make them wait that long when they are fully able to understand them now? Audio books assist significantly with this.

2) Audio books expand the “Mosley Homeschool” classroom.

Two years ago, we started The Story of the World as a history curriculum. With additional subjects that had to be completed and adding a second child to our homeschool “classroom,” the time that I had to read aloud our Story of the World chapters was diminishing. I checked out one set of the Story of the World audio books from our library, and my boys devoured it. They listened to the entire book in a week! This was the same book that was taking us months to read through together. I eventually bought all 4 volumes of Story of the World audio books, and my boys have listened to them multiple times. The audio books allowed my sons to independently take on a segment of their school, which freed  me up to focus with them individually on the subjects that only I could teach. If you are a homeschooling family, perhaps an audio book is available with curriculum that you are using or one can be used in a strategic way with an existing subject that you are teaching.

3) Audio books increase fluency and vocabulary.

A dear friend is a public school teacher, and she introduced me to the Barnes and Noble Online Story time website, which has 16 books being read aloud with simultaneous video footage of the book. She used the website in her classroom and was the first person to explain, from an educational perspective, the benefits of audio books. Audio books aid a child in increasing his/her fluency, which is the ability to smoothly, correctly read while simultaneously comprehending what he/she is reading. Audio books also expose a child to new vocabulary and introduces it within the context of a story, which increases his/her grasp of the new words. I, naively, assumed that audio books were handicapping my sons’ reading ability when in actuality they work just the opposite! To read more about this, peruse this article or this article.

4) Audio books make free time constructive.

Most afternoons in the Mosley casa, you will find our 3 sons enjoying some quality rest time in their rooms. Though nap time is long gone for my sons, the need to quiet themselves and have some time alone is still a reality. (There Mom needs this time too!) Rest time is also known as “audio book time” in our home. The bulk of my sons’ audio book listening occurs during their afternoon rest time. We may not be sitting at our school table plodding along through a school subject, but rest time in our home is wonderfully educational. This is the time that my boys have listened to the Story of the World audio books and other classics like Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, Charlotte’s Web, and (a family favorite!) The Chronicles of Narnia.

Beyond rest time in our home, our family enjoys a good audio book while on a long trip. When we plan to travel an hour or longer, I make a special trip to our library to stock up on multiple audio books before we depart. Because our boys have grown accustomed to listening to audio books (remember, it won’t happen overnight!) for entertainment, they enjoy passing the time in the van with an audio book. On such occasions, I, personally, enjoy that we are listening to the same thing, which affords us great conversations as a family based on the book. I love how books can be used to create unity in our family. (Thank you, Honey for a Child’s Heart for letting me in on this little secret!) Of, if my husband and I want to have a conversation, a “date” in the car if you will, we turn the speakers to the back of the van. They listen to their audio book, and we enjoy time “alone” together. 🙂

5) Audio books cultivate a love of  literature.

“Readers are leaders,” was a quote my Dad preached when I was a young girl. It has always stuck with me. I think about it often with my sons. Exposing a child to a vast expanse of literature ensures that he/she will find stories, an author or genre that the child enjoys. The child begins to associate positive sentiments and associations with reading; thus, a love of literature is being cultivated. I have no idea what God will call my sons to do, but I know one of the best ways I can prepare them for their unknown future is to cultivate within them a love of literature. To accomplish this, I read aloud with my boys…a lot, and I let them listen to audio books.  Audio books, as a parent, have enabled me to introduce my sons to a variety of books that I may not have been able to read to them otherwise. In doing so, I have observed, first hand, their eyes dancing with joy and their talking-so-fast-I-can-hardly-understand-them summary about a book’s hero; they love books. As a disclaimer, this hasn’t always been the case! However, their love of books has grown through the intentional exposure to and the investment of time with books–being read by me and my husband or by a narrator on an audio book.

So, the next time you find yourself at your local library, ask the children’s librarian to direct you to the children’s audio book section. Let your child pick out a couple of audio books and  create time in his/her life to listen to them. Remember that it may take several books for it to “click” with your child. Let them have some alone time in their rooms, listening to an audio book and building with Legos or playing Barbies. Pop in your child’s favorite book on cd in the car rider line at school or en route to soccer practice. Look for creative ways to incorporate audio books into your child’s life. You’ll be glad that you did!

HeartFELT Truths Easter Banner (& a Coupon Code!)

Whitney from HeartFELT Truths graciously gave our family an Easter Banner to use last year. Awwwwwwwwwww, we love it!

The Easter Banner is for use during Holy Week. Day One begins on Palm Sunday, and the Easter Banner concludes on glorious Easter Morning! For more detailed information, aka “the girl version,” read my review of the HeartFELT Easter Banner.

Here’s the finished product with all pieces on the banner:

Whitney has multiple options for her Easter Banner.

Option #1: You can download FREE instructions for her Easter Banner on this blog post (Scroll to the bottom of the post to see “Free Instructions” in a downloadable .pdf form.)

Option #2: You can order the complete Easter Banner or a DIY Easter Banner kit from her Etsy Shop. Suzanne Shares readers get 10% off when you use this coupon code (expiration: 3/27):

EASTERSHARES

If you have problems with the coupon code working, mention it in the “Order Notes” box and Whitney will refund them the difference after your purchase.

I love having this wonderful resource to purposefully engage our family with Scripture during the Easter season! I’m excited to share this resource with you!

Friday Favorites: Honey for A Child’s Heart

Last week’s Friday Favorites was about a devotion book that our family uses during Lent to focus on Christ. I decided to keep this second edition of Friday Favorites in the literature genre as well. Today, I am delighted to share about a book that has helped me to love books and to unearth quality literature–for my children and myself–from the thousands of books on the library’s shelves. Enjoy!

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One day I almost turned in my library card. Yes, you read that correctly. The gal who writes profusely about books that she adores almost gave back her free library card to the librarian. This same gal almost vowed to never darken the doors of a library again. At the time, I was a mother of two wee ones, ages 3 and 1, and I was doing what I thought all “good” mothers did. I took them weekly to the library for storytime, and after storytime, we would check out books. Again, all “good” mothers read to their children, right? So, I followed suit and let my boys pick out books. I remember one of my college roommates had an entire class on Children’s Literature. Being the social work major that I was, that class wasn’t on my radar. Since my extent of children’s authors included Dr. Seuss and no one else, I wasn’t very instrumental in their selections. Plus, I thought letting my sons pick out the books that they wanted was so very gracious of me.

We took the books home and read them, week in and week out, but one day I finally had enough. The books that I had been reading to my boys were dull, seemed to all involve jokes about bodily functions, and were were simply lacking. Deep down I felt there had to be something more to this “reading to your child” activity. My heart yearned for more, but I didn’t know what or how. I was frustrated and unsure of what to do with said frustration, so I decided….to just be done with the library. I envisioned marching into the library, slamming down my library card and marching right back out again. Reading with my sons was a chore, a chore in the same vein with laundry, dusting, and changing dirty diapers. I did those things out of duty; there was no delight. Reading to my boys had become just that–duty with no delight.

As I was having this internal conversation, my mind recalled the title of a book that I had read about or that someone had mentioned to me previously, Honey for a Child’s Heart. Thankfully, at this point I had not marched into the library and relinquished my library card. I did what any good library patron would do when intrigued by an unread book. I scoured the card catalog for it. Good news; my library possessed a copy of it. I checked it out and devoured it. (Whew! Glad I still had that library card!) This book was just what I needed as it gave me list after list of book recommendations for children. Greater still was its gift to me in this–a vision for the active role that books can play in the life of my children and our family.

“Children have two basic needs…milk and honey from their parents. Milk symbolizes the care given to physical needs…. Honey symbolizes the sweetness of life, that special quality that makes life sing with enjoyment for
all it holds.”– Honey for a Child’s Heart

Gladys Hunt helped me identify what was missing with my interactions with my sons. There was much milk being offered by me on their behalf, but the honey was missing. I knew not how to get there, but thankfully, Hunt guided my steps with each page of the book. “Good books are rich in honey…” she wrote, so that was where I would begin. Instead of marching myself into the library to return my library card, I marched myself into the library with Honey for a Child’s Heart in hand. I would, literally, open it to the first page of the book lists and pick those books off the shelf. It became my BFF as through it our whole family was introduced to marvelous stories, unforgettable characters, timeless authors. No longer was reading to my sons drudgery; it was my delight. We were feasting on honey together, and it was uniting our hearts in a manner that was joyous.

Fast forward 6 years, our little brood now includes a third son, and we are half a decade in to the Honey for a Child’s Heart experiment. I count and measure my life by books, ones that have marked me, set my life on a different trajectory. This is, indeed, one such book. A diet of honey, drinking deeply from it, has introduced us to Charlotte and Wilbur, children who lived in a boxcar, a courageous Olympian and missionary, Eric Liddell and countless other people and tales that have left a little piece of themselves in our hearts.  The greatest imprint of Honey for a Child’s Heart on our family has come in what Hunt calls, “the pleasure of a shared experience” through literature. This particular chapter, upon first reading the book, drew me in. The idea of books creating shared experiences, drawing a family together made my heart want to explode out of my chest! This was my greatest desire, and so we jumped in to read alouds with school and together as a family. What started as an experiment our family has since become a reality. Feasting on honey has created commonality, laughter, shrills of “one more chapter, please, Mommy,” and joy. Just thinking about the memories of varied books that we’ve consumed together over the last 6 years, literally, brings tears to my eyes. What a journey it has been; so thankful.

So, if you’re wavering back and forth about whether or not you should turn in your library card, pick up Honey for a Child’s Heart. May it inspire and instruct you as it did me and our family to intentionally fill our lives, hearts, and minds with quality literature, honey, as Hunt calls it. The last half of the book is filled with page upon page of book lists including various ages, authors, genres. Use it to guide your book selections on your library storytime days, as I did and still do. (Yes, I still take my copy with me to the library to direct my steps! Or, even better, buy the Kindle edition and take it on your phone or tablet to whip out in the middle of the library! All the cool kids take books to the library. You didn’t know?!?!?) As I have begun adding honey, quality children’s literature, to our family’s diet, it has increased my appetite, personally, for rich literary prose. This led me to pick up Honey for a Woman’s Heart over Christmas. I’m looking forward to the unknown adventures and worlds to which it will introduce me. I’m sure it will mark me in the same manner the “kid version” has done. Come, join me in this journey; you and your family will never be the same.

This post contains affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure policy here.

Valentine’s Day tradition: Valentine’s “stockings”

I’m reposting this from last year. We introduced Valentine’s stockings in our home as new tradition. It was a HIT with our boys, and since I LOVE giving gifts, it was a hit for me, too! ha! I know people have mixed feelings about Valentine’s Day, but for my husband and I, it has become a fun day to verbalize, yet again, to our sons that we love them and are thankful that God gave them to us! Parents, kids never get tired of hearing that from their parents. (I’m a “grown up” and still find joy, security when hearing that from my own parents!) So, parents, lavish your children with words expressing your love of and for them on Valentine’s Day and every day!

Read the post to learn how to make these, or let them inspire you to make your own “bag” of some sort. Seriously, a decorated brown paper sack would suffice! Just do something FUN together with your family to remind each member that he/she is loved: 1) First and foremost by their Creator, God and 2) by YOU!

“We love because He first loved us.” I John 4:19

Come back tomorrow, and I’ll have a FREE Printable and some Valentine’s Day book suggestions. 🙂

Christmas Books that Our Family Loves

These are some of our favorite Christmas books, as well as a few new ones that we’re trying this year.  What I love about the books below is that they focus on the true meaning of Christmas–Jesus! With all of the competing voices SCREAMING at us during Christmas, my husband and I want to focus our family on Christ at Christmas, and these books have helped us with that. I hope these are helpful.

Christmas Came For Easter (Sharon Brunner)- As a parent, I desire for my boys to truly celebrate Jesus at Christmas. However, I feel like I’m leaving out half the story if I don’t tell them the importance of why Christ had to come to earth. He came to earth to live a perfect life so that those who put faith in Christ could take on His perfect life and be justified before God. Without Christ’s perfect life and death, salvation for humanity would not be a reality. So, if we only speak of Christmas, we are teaching only a portion of the story. Christmas came for Easter; it’s true. This short, beautiful book helps the children understand the bridge between Christmas and Easter. As a parent, I LOVE having this book to read with my boys. It is so wonderful to celebrate Christ becoming flesh, living among us, coming to earth. The greatest celebration, though, is His perfect life lived and sacrifice as the penalty for our sins.  This is a wonderful, kid-friendly way to delve into this wonderful reality with your children.

The Crippled Lamb (Max Lucado)-Is it safe for me to confess that last year was the first time I had read this book (and, consequently, my sons?!?!) Well, shame on me! It is a treasure, treasure, treasure! I had heard of it for years, but we’ve never read it! I know, I know, how tragic! I found it last year at Goodwill (score!), so I snatched it up. It’s the best $0.99 I’ve ever spent! You must read it this year!

One Shining Star: A Christmas Counting Book (Anne Kennedy)-Between 18 and 24 months, my oldest son had 3 books that he wanted read to him every day before naptime. This book was one of them. No, he didn’t care if it was before or after Christmas. The story goes from 1 to 10 with different elements of the Christmas story. I have this book memorized.  There are such sweet memories attached to it.

Who is Coming to Our House? (Joseph Slate)-This book is a delight! It’s written from the perspective of the animals in the stable.  They’re wondering who’s coming to their house…and what a joy when it’s Jesus!

Come and See: A Christmas Story (Monica Mayper)–I love the simplicity of this book. I love that each character is repeating the refrain, “Come and See!” Can you imagine beholding Jesus?!?!? Wow!

“The Legend Of” books (The Legend of the Candy Cane, Christmas Tree, St. Nicholas)-I love this series of books! As with most things, the origin of objects, traditions, etc. are usually lost over time. I love that these books do an excellent job of unearthing where certain Christmas “staples” originate. Did you know that St. Nicholas was a real person!?!? Do you know what the colors of the candy cane represent? Do you know where the tradition of the Christmas tree started? If not, you should read these books!

The Best Thing About Christmas (Christine Tangvald)-If you’ve never read any of the Happy Day books, I encourage you to check them out! They’re written from a Christian perspective. They have some GREAT books on the various holidays (We love their Halloween book, Let’s Shine Jesus Light on Halloween). This book is wonderful as it focuses on the greatest thing about Christmas–Jesus!

Pine Tree Parable (Liz Curtis Higgs)-If you haven’t read any of the 4 books in Liz Curtis Higgs’ Parable Series, you should!  This one is set on a Christmas tree farm and has a beautiful Christmas message.

Jesus, Me, and My Christmas Tree (Crystal Bowman)-I love all of Crystal Bowman’s books! This is another fun book that unearths the origin of the Christmas tree…in a fun, fun way!

A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)-Focus on the Family Radio Theater Series We LOVE the Focus on the Family Radio Theater audiobooks. (The Chronicles of Narnia is our favorite!!!) These audiobooks are not someone reading the book–BORING! They are fully, dramatized versions of the book; each character has a different actor/actress. It’s amazing! If you’re audiobook fans, check out this version of the Dickens classic.

I’m a little bit obsessed with A Christmas Carol, so we also read the children’s version of the book and watch it on DVD each year. We read the Little Creatures version above of the Dickens classic the past 2 years. I loved that the story and message was clearly conveyed, but it was also in a concise form so that I could read it to the boys in one sitting. We also have a tradition of watching The Muppet Christmas Carol on DVD during December as well.

Song of the Stars (Sally Lloyd-Jones)- This book is written by the author of one of our favorite Children’s Bibles (click here to read my post about our favorite Children’s Bibles!), The Jesus Storybook Bible. I love her writing! We read this last year, and it was a hit!

The Little Drummer Boy (Ezra Jack Keats)-I love this story AND I love Ezra Jack Keats. Last year was our first year to read this classic, and we all enjoyed this book. Ezra Jack Keats is a timeless author, and this is a timeless story. Add it to your reading list this year!

New books that we hope to read this Christmas

Jotham’s Journey (Arnold Ytreeide)–A friend suggested this book to us last year, and I never got around to buying it. Our library didn’t have it. 😦 I broke down and bought it this year. We are DEFINITELY reading it this year! I also bought the other two Advent books by the same author, Tabitha’s Travels and Bartholomew’s Passage as well. I can’t wait to dive into these books!

What are your favorite Christmas books?!?!? I am always looking for new books to read with my boys!

This post contains affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure policy here.

Bethlehem Was Just Set Up On Our Table (20% off Little Peoples)

“We just set up Bethlehem!” our almost 4 year old screamed this morning! That only means one thing around our home. We have just opened our Little Peoples Nativity Set. This is probably one of our family’s favorite Christmas decorations. Our boys are 8, 6, and almost 4, and they squeal and scream when we get this out each year. “Oh, I remember this!” was their reaction when we opened the box containing it this morning. That’s one thing that I love about traditions; children come to expect them. Traditions give them a place and identity in a family. For our sons, being a “Mosley” means Little Peoples Nativity Set, and their faces light up each year when we unveil it.

I highly, highly, highly recommend the Little Peoples Nativity Set for your family. For those of you who participated in the Suzanne Shares Book Club in October, you will remember that Noel Piper mentions in her book, Treasuring God in Our Traditions, is the idea of having Nativity Sets all over your home, including some “play” ones that children are allowed to touch. We have taken that approach and actually keep 2 Nativity Sets that are from other countries out all year. We have enjoyed the Fisher Price Little Peoples Set as a set that our boys can touch and play with. One of my favorite memories when our oldest son was 2 was getting out the set and having him act out the Christmas story with the appropriate Little People as we read it from his favorite Children’s Bible. This was at age 2 1/2. No, my husband and I aren’t superstars or anything; we are just firm believers that little kiddos can soak in, understand and comprehend much more than is assumed. Surrounding our boys and our family with Nativity Sets at Christmas make it hard to ignore or forget the reason for Christmas. 🙂

This makes a great Christmas gift for a newborn or a young child. Our oldest son got this for his first Christmas (age 6 months). What a helpful tool it will be for you to use with your children to tell them the story of Jesus.

You can buy the set from Fisher-Price. It has been out of stock, so I’m excited to see that today they have it! Currently, you can also get 20% off your order and FREE SHIPPING with an order of $25 (which would be the case with this set) when you use the code: SUPERSALE. (Expiration is 12/1)

Enjoy Christmas, and enjoy teaching your children (and reminding yourself) of Christ coming to earth!

Is your Advent Calendar ready?!?! If not, huddle up–here’s your PEP TALK!

My sons are cheering for you! This is the year to celebrate Advent! 1-2-3 GO!

I’m pulling this out of last year’s archives. Christmas snuck  has sneaked up on me, hasn’t it you?!?! I’m still full from my Thanksgiving meal yesterday, but I’ve quickly gotta shift out of “Thanksgiving” mode and focus on Christmas. My 2 Advent Calendars are starting in 48 hours. Whew! Ready, set, Christmas here we come!

Last year I wrote a PEP TALK for my readers a few days before Advent commenced. I wanted to share it with you again this year. Pretend I’m sitting right beside you, pom poms and megaphone in hand, cheering you on as you gear up for Advent! As a Perfectionist-in-recovery, I write often for the other Perfectionists who read my blog. No worries if you don’t have all 25 ornaments made before December 1. Keep reading and see how you can tackle a few ornaments at a time. You can do it! I’m cheering for you and supporting you from afar! Just pick what you’re going to do for Advent and 1-2-3 GO! You’ll be so glad you did! Without further adieu, “Come on, Suzanne Shares Readers, you can do it, put a little power to it.”

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Have you been googling “Advent Calendars” or perusing everyone’s ideas on Pinterest because you were wanting to start one this year? You may be thinking, “Well, it’s November 28, which means I have 2 more days to get this Advent Calendar made. In other words, that is too daunting of a task. I’ll do it next year.” Let me guess, last year you said, “I’ll do it next year,” and you haven’t made one yet. Or, are you’re lamenting the fact that you didn’t get to make your Advent Calendar made over the Thanksgiving holidays? No, I’m not a mind reader or psychic. I just know these things…because that’s how my mind works. So, lament no longer; it’s not too late! Here are simple steps to get your Advent Calendar made for this year! 

DIY: YOU CAN DO IT!

There is still time! You can do it!

DIY: Noel Piper Advent Calendar-You can make the Noel Piper Advent Calendar in a few easy steps:

1) First, download the script from the Noel Piper Advent Calendar on her blog here. In the script you will learn what objects/images you’ll need for your calendar.

2) Second, decide how you’ll layout your calendar and your images/objects for your Advent Calendar.

• Option A: You can download the patterns from the HeartFELT version of the Noel Piper calendar on her site. Isn’t that so awesome of her to have her felt patterns for the Advent Calendar available FREE?!?!?Or, you can buy her complete Advent Calendar on her Etsy shop.

• Option B: Make your own. THINK SIMPLE! If you’re not up for making the felt set, you can print images of each needed item on Google Images. Use a poster board, divide the board into a stable scene on the top 2/3 of the posterboard with 25 different sections on the bottom 1/3 of the poster board. Or, get your kiddos involved! Have them help you make the different 25 ornaments needed. Look at my picture of our Noel Piper Advent Calendar above to get an idea of how you can lay it out on a poster board, burlap, etc.

DIY: The Advent Jesse Tree-You can make the Advent Jesse Tree in a few easy steps:

1) First, buy the The Advent Jesse Tree book now so that you’ll have it shipped to you by Monday. 🙂 (Yes, it’s okay to start Day 1 on December 2. You can catch up by doing two nights in one!)

2) Second, download my document: Advent Jesse Tree ornaments, which lists all of the ornaments that you’ll need for your Advent Jesse Tree.

3) Make your ornaments! You have several options:

• Option A: Go to this post and see pictures of my 25 ornaments and let them inspire your creative juices to make your own.
• Option B: Use Google Images, old magazines, have your children draw pictures, get creative!

4) Find something to hang your ornaments on. We use a mini Christmas tree. I have friends who use a tree limb in a jar/flower pot. Again, get creative!

Our Advent Jesse Tree…waiting patiently to be adorned with ornaments!

FINAL TIPS: GO FOR IT

Question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time. This old adage is true of a DIY Advent Calendar. Take it one ornament at a time. 🙂 Here are some practical steps that you can take to be well on your way to having your own Advent Calendar this year!

1) Set small goals-I have 3 small children at home, so I know that I would NEVER START making 25 ornaments if I knew I had to get it done in the next 48 hours. That task seems too overwhelming. The good news is that you DON’T have to make 25 ornaments in 48 hours. You really only need to make one! Why not just try to make the first 6 ornaments between now and Friday? After all, you only need ornament #1 by Sunday! Once you get the first 6 done, set your goal to make the next 6 before December 6, the following 6 by December 12, and the last 7 by December 18. Or, if that’s too overwhelming, you simply only have to stay ONE DAY ahead! Do ornament #2 on Saturday before you’ll need it Sunday. Or, have your kids have “Advent Craft Time” each day starting Saturday. Have them make the ornament the morning that you’ll need it,  and then it’s ready to use that night! YOU CAN DO IT! YOU CAN DO IT!

2) Involve your children-My sons LOVE art projects! If I gave them the types of ornaments needed and gave them a half hour each day over the next 72 hours, they would have all 25 ornaments made! They wouldn’t be perfectly neat and tidy ornaments. They may not even look anything LIKE the object they’re supposed to be. However, you would have your 25 ornaments done, and you would have children who are EAGER to do the Advent Calendar each night because they have a stake, a vested interest in it. After all, they made the ornaments!

3) Just do it! No, this is not a Nike commercial! I’m still talking about the Advent calendars! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Advent Calendars. They are used by God in my own heart to focus me DAILY on the meaning of Christmas. As I said earlier, so many other competing voices vie for my attention during the Christmas season (and many of them GOOD things!). I love that the Advent Calendars in our home re-focus my heart, mind, soul on Christ. My heart is prone to wander; I need our Advent Calendars at Christmas. So, if you’ve been toying with the idea of starting this wonderful tradition in your home this year–JUST DO IT! Your calendar doesn’t have to be cute, perfect and beautiful BEFORE  YOU or IN ORDER TO start. Just start!! You won’t regret it! You won’t regret the time you spend together as a family at Christmas. You won’t regret the time you spend together around God’s Word at Christmas. (Have I convinced you yet?!?!) I see the difference, the eternal fruit of Advent Calendars in our home; you will too! Go for it!

Come back and let me know how you’re enjoying your Advent Calendar!

If an Advent Calendar isn’t going to work for you, go to this post to see a schedule of Advent Readings with the Jesus Storybook Bible (one of our favorites!). Our check out this post with several book recommendations with daily Advent Readings. No matter what you do, celebrate Christ this Christmas by centering your heart, soul, mind and calendar around the Word each day of Advent! Come back and let me hear how it’s going!

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Yummy Sugar Cookies= “Decorate, Decorate” Christmas tradition is nigh!

We have a tradition that we stumbled upon over the last few years. Yes, I would like to admit that it was masterfully orchestrated and that I always think through the creation of such traditions. However, several years ago while putting up the Christmas tree, our sons asked where the cookies were and when we would decorate them. It was only then that I remembered that we had previously baked and decorated sugar cookies the same day we decorated our Christmas tree. At that moment, I quickly whipped up some sugar cookies and icing. A tradition was born. To read more about this marvelous adventure, read this post from last year’s archives.

Tonight, there is sugar cookie dough being made in my Kitchen Aid Mixer, which means only one thing this time of year…”Decorate, Decorate” day at the Mosleys will soon take place. On “Decorate, Decorate” day, we decorate our Christmas tree and follow with a sugar fest decoration fest involving sugar cookies and icing! Thanks to my 2 friends, Julie and Julie, for these wonderful recipes that I’ll share with you now. So, tomorrow we will unwrap boxes containing a tree and ornaments, crank up Behold the Lamb of God, make fun memories and try to actively put up our tree (so that I can burn off come calories from Thanksgiving. Whoazees!)

Yummy Sugar Cookies

my dear friend, Julie’s great-grandmother’s recipe

3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 T milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter*
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

 *Julie’s original recipe calls for 1 cup shortening. I didn’t have any, so I used 1 cup butter instead. The substitution worked fine.

1) Mix flour, powder, soda and salt.

2) Cut in butter/shortening.

3) Beat eggs, add sugar, vanilla and milk and add this all into the flour mix. (It works best to refrigerate the dough minimally for several hours. I make my dough one day ahead and chill overnight. After chilling for several hours to overnight, I remove dough and let chill slightly. This makes step #4 a little easier.)

4) Roll out dough and use your favorite cookie cutters!

5) Bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 min.

6) Ice and decorate to your heart’s content. (Icing recipe below.)

Sugar Cookie Icing
You can use store bought or make your own! It’s basically just a mixture of powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. If you’re like me, you need exact measurements.  Here’s an exact one from my other friend, Julie:

3 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. milk (approximately)
1 tsp. almond OR lemon OR vanilla extract

You basically just play with these 3 ingredients until you get the consistency that you want. If glaze is too runny, add more powdered sugar. If glaze is too stiff, add more milk. After I get the consistency I want, I divide into smaller bowls and add food coloring. I like Wilton’s the best! I used a 40% off coupon @ Michael’s to buy the Wilton set. 

Long Story Short: A Great Way to Start Reading the Word Together As A Family (FREE Kindle download today

For those of you who read Treasuring God in Our Traditions with the Book Club in October, you’ll remember that Noel Piper calls Bible reading and prayer and “Everyday” tradition. One example that she gave to incorporate this “Everyday” tradition is a family devotion. If this is something that you’ve been wanting to do–having a structured time where your family reads the Bible together-here’s your chance! Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God is a family devotional that takes 10 minutes–that’s it. We can all do 10 minutes a day, centering around the Word as a family, right?!?! We have friends who have this and have raved about it. In particular, my friend’s love with this family devotion book is that it reveals how God has woven His purposes through the actions and stories of the Old Testament. The connection between the Old and New Testament was something that I learned as an adult, so this has been of importance to me to pass along to my children, which is part of the reason we use the Advent Jesse Tree at Christmas Advent. I’ve been stalking this book for a while and have yet to purchase it, so I’m excited to get it today–FREE!

Download the Kindle edition FREE today through Amazon. NO WORRIES if you don’t have a Kindle. Download the Kindle App from the App store, and you can read it on your iPhone or iPad. Now, go download the book! That’s where I’m heading now…