To Be Still...Together~read-alouds to savor with your family this season...

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I admit that December feels magical until about December 3rd. This year that is when I hit my first "wall"~ completely overwhelmed, somewhat discouraged, and exhausted. So much I want to do, so much to do, and so craving to just be, to sit, to be still...to savor.

I read enough to know that pulling everyone together for a family reading time can be challenging. There is a certain extra exhaustion in reading aloud that is different than reading on my own. In spite of this, with my whole-heart, I recommend picking one book to read together this Christmas season.

Put cider in the crock pot, heat cocoa on the stove or brew a pot of tea. Grab lap blankets, rest in the glow of twinkling lights and snack on Christmas cookies (we like Trader Joe's seasonal varieties!) or sliced oranges and apples (my son's winter treat of choice). Be still...together, for a few moments each day.

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas reads:

This year for an "official" Advent read, my husband is reading through Ishtar's Odyssey: A Family Story for Advent. In past years we've read through Jotham's Journey, Tabitha's Travels, and Bartholomew's Passage from this series. Dear friends surprised us with Ishtar this year and it has been wonderful. Also, as a bonus, Ishtar's Odyssey is a journey through food with Persian food suggested for each day and each week. Theme food is my favorite.
 

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Wonderful picture books abound for Christmas, but these two have topped my list for many years: Mortimer's Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson and The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado.

Mortimer is a house-mouse looking for more comfy quarters, so he continually is kicking each Nativity statue out of the stable. This is an adorable and creative telling of the Christmas story--love the illustrations too!

Some day I may be able to read The Crippled Lamb without crying. Joshua, a sweet lamb who has trouble keeping pace with the other lambs, sees how his limitations give him a very special gift during a monumental moment in history. 

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For any age, really, but great for Elementary...not just for girls!

Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John—Written in 1948, set in Switzerland, the author felt that her country needed a story to illustrate the power of forgiveness after the horrors of World War II. I recommend making “gingerbread bears” decorated with white icing to munch and savor while you read this soul-stirring book.

Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald~Two orphaned sisters, living in a less-than-wonderful boarding house are determined to not spend another Christmas in this cruel place. You'll love these two girls~we picked this book for our mother-daughter book club several years ago and my son (then 11) was quickly sucked into the story.

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Tween to teen family read-alouds:

A Redbird Christmas: A Novel by Fannie Flagg—Quirky, captivating, hilarious, and heart-warming, this book features Mr. Oswald T. Campbell who upon hearing that he has only months to live, heads from Chicago to a small town “...deep in the southernmost part of Alabama.” My son finished it in less than a day. I recommend it to everyone. And next year, I think we'll make it a family affair.

I saw my FIRST red bird this September in Manteo, North Carolina when my husband and I were celebrating our 15 year anniversary. It was magical.

A Wreath of Snow: A Victorian Christmas Novella by Liz Curtis Higgs—Liz Curtis Higgs does historical fiction so very well and this novella is no exception. A wounded, hurting family and a man desperately seeking forgiveness are thrown together on Christmas Eve, 1894 in Stirling, Scotland. Best enjoyed on a gray and snowy evening with a steaming pot of Scottish Breakfast Tea and a piece of Scottish shortbread (sneak a peak in the back of the book for a recipe).

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens~I know nearly everyone has seen the play or watched a version of the movie, but there is something about reading the original.

“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well..."
Be Still...together...happy reading!

300 days of beauty, day 34 [Barzi]

It's a happy birthday to our sweet, cuddly, stuffed-animal-esque fluff-muppet! We love our pup and she has been a happy encouragement and comfort to us over the last four years. 

We frequently call her "Barzilocks" because she searches for the most comfortable sleep spots in the house. She's always on the lookout for an upgrade. Last night she plopped down in D's room as he was getting ready for bed. She stealthily waited until D had fallen asleep, and then she jumped up to snuggle down for the night on his very soft and roomy queen-sized bed. She has done this several times and when D realizes she is there, he nudges her fluffy-opportunistic-self onto the floor. For her birthday present today, D let her keep sleeping through the night and into the morning.



[Barzi: short for Barzillai, a man who encouraged and refreshed King David in the desert when David was on the run. My husband loved Barzillai in the Bible and thought to give D that name (or as a middle name) when we were choosing names for our child-to-be. At this point, my husband was given pet-naming rights for our first dog. We shortened it to Barzi to make it more girly sounding, still praying that our dog would be a refreshment and encouragement to our family. She is. She's perfect for us.]

300 days of beauty, days 25-30 [basking]

This whole week we've been basking in Super Bowl glory. Glorious. It's only appropriate to allocate six days of my 300 for our basking euphoria. Our family trekked to the World Championship parade on Tuesday with one million others.

Amazing. 

For me, better than the Oscars, my red carpet spectator moment...or orange in this case.

I may have shed a few tears. Make fun if you will, but I just loved it.

Thunder! Belle was excited. I thought the phones in the picture were amusing.

Von, Peyton, Demarcus, the Lombardi Trophy...to name a few...

 

A little bit closer and you can see Kubiak, Mosely Manning and almost Elway...

Emmanuel and DT!

Talib...

McManus and Colquitt plus cute kids...

Number 77, Karl Mecklenburg, aka the White Rhino...throwback to the Broncos Defense in the 80's plus Terrell Davis. We love TD.

I don't know...

The State Capitol and the fringes of one million...

Did this guy get a ticket? I think the cops were so happy that they only had one incident in all of this, they might have just let it go...not sure though...

[I love football, but I've always wondered why it was called a "World" championship. It's like we try and pretend that soccer doesn't really matter...but I digress.]