An amazing gift of love

Christmas presents are always wonderful.  My mom has always been a very thoughtful gift giver, but this year may take the cake...

Growing up we had this Nativity set of bean bag dolls that would be out for us to play on.  When we were little we would move them around, play with them, and on Christmas Eve act out the Christmas story as Dad read it aloud from his grandma's Bible. 

Since being at home, I've asked my mom repeatedly to teach me how to sew by making my own set for D.  She's put me off over and over again telling me that the project was way too advanced (true statement) or that she didn't have time, etc. 

When we opened presents Christmas Eve, I was AMAZED to find these sitting the box:


Not only had Mom made me my own set, BUT each of the dolls is dressed in fabric from some member of my family that Mom had made over the years.  Some are clothed in fabric from Mom's maternity clothes, jumpers from grade school, my prom dress, outfits from concerts, and even part of my great-grandma muff!  The jewels on the wisemen are from my wedding tiara and my sister's wedding tiara.  Below are some close-up pictures of these.  They are AMAZING and I'm so grateful to my mom for making these and making them EXTRA SPECIAL! 

The Angel - wearing part of my wedding dress

The Shepherds - one of the scarfs is a blouse of mine from a concert in 8th grade.

The Wisemen - The blue one is my prom dress, the yellow one is my bridesmaid dress, and the flower one is from pillows from our house in Doylestown.  The muff on the yellow dress was my Great-Grandma Rudolph's.

The Baby Jesus

Joseph and Mary wearing maternity clothes of my mom's or sister-in-laws.

All of them.

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love Christmas time!  I love the lights, the music, the chance to catch up with family and friends  through Christmas Cards, the silly little traditions that infuse this time of the year and make it special.  I'm looking forward to watching Galaxy Quest with my dad this week (a tradition we started when I was in college), playing endless amounts of board games, and being silly. 

Christmas this year was fantastic!  My little guy, John, and I enjoyed some of these time honored traditions this year.  I love that D understood that some parts of this time of the year were different.  Whether it was "pretty tree" or "yummmm" or "lights" he loved all the sights and sounds.  As usual he loved the music and Michael Bubble's version of Feliz Navidad was his favorite! He also helped us decorate Christmas cookies and deliver them to our neighbors!

So many good books, so little time...

When I "retired" this year from working, one of my vendors in the library (Junior Library Guild - who I LOVE) gave me a FREE subscription as a staying-at-home gift to The School Library Journal.  I LOVE this magazine because it's keeping me current and up-to-date on the world of books.  The past two years I've been a little bit behind, but I've been catching up all summer and fall.  Here are just a couple of my new favorite books:

Matched by Ally Condie  The sequel Crossed was good too, but more predictable and you can tell it's just a stepping-stone book to the third one.

Divergent by Veronica Roth - I read this before I read the Hunger Games Trilogy and I think I might like this better!  Can't wait till the next one!

Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes - I think this book is wonderful.  The artwork is delightful, the story has endless possibilities as a writing springboard!  It made me wish I was still teaching kindergarteners! 

King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently - So cute!  I love this book for D, but he didn't seem to into it yet - not enough cars and letters and numbers.  This is one I'll want to remember!

Blue Chicken by Deborah Freedman - I like this book enough I really think it could be a contender for the Caldecott or at least a honor... so creative, the artwork is awesome!  Again, multiple follow up activities with students are just spinning in my brain after reading this!

Neville by Norton Juster - Great little story - would be good when moving or at the beginning of the school year!

America is Under Attack:  September 11, 2001 by Don Brown - As a teacher and librarian I've been looking for a book to explain 9-11 to students for years that was factual, personal, and not super scary.  Finally, this book fits the bill.  It will make a great way for people to also share what their stories are that day.   I will actually be buying this book for my personal collection.  I wish it would be a contender for some award, but I don't really think it will really fit any of the categories. 

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet- Such a good book to read before Thanksgiving!  I love parades and this book tells an amazing story.  I also thought the illustrations were thoughtful and matched the story well. 

I've read a bunch of others, but those are the cream of the crop.  I have a HUGE pile on my kitchen table to also read.  I love that I have the time to read again.  No cable really helps!