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We began the second Sunday of Advent yesterday and it's been awhile since I've updated my little corner of blog land here.  I last posted about St. Cecilia's feast day on Nov. 22, then there was Thanksgiving (which was a blessing, despite our little one spiking a fever the night before Thanksgiving Day), then we had to deal with my 3 year old getting over being sick and coughing a lot and using our Kleenex box supply on her one tiny runny nose. :)  Before I knew it, it was the first Sunday of Advent on November 27!

Life is busy and life is full to say the least.  I've been updating my blog's Facebook page often and Instagram and Twitter accounts so sometimes the blog gets the back burner for many reasons.

But despite the juggling act of family life, I thought I would share some books we are enjoy during Advent because it is when I read aloud to the family that makes family life not seem so hectic (well, when I'm not telling my younger daughters to sit still a little better and to stop chattering while I'm reading or stop doing gymnastics off the couches. ;) ) 

Last year I listed many Advent traditions we do as a family and we are doing many of them this year.

On this post I wanted to share a new Advent book with you and list many of the Advent book read-alouds we use as a family.


I was first introduced to Bible Characters for Advent: The Stories That Brought Us Christmas because the authors and illustrators, Theresa & Charles Pobee-Mensah, are related to a friend of mine that I have known for several years.  Theresa and Charles were inspired to write this book because of the birth of their son (who was born on the first Sunday of Advent) and they wanted to "instill a Christ-centered focus in their Christmas tradition."

This is the first Advent book I've read that focuses on 25 Bible characters. Each chapter is short and a 2 page spread with brief information about the character and stories from Scripture that relate to the character.  With colorful, eye-catching illustrations this book appeals to young children, but even my older children and my husband and me enjoyed looking at the fun illustrations.  This book is only 58 pages long, which as a busy homeschool mom juggling a lot during Advent, the length is perfect and not overwhelming!  The book covers the more well-known characters such as Adam & Eve and Noah to maybe some characters we often don't hear a lot about like Jeroboam and Rehoboam. Here are a few photos I took of the inside so you can see how the book is laid out.


I especially liked that each Bible character's page has a reference to where you can find the story in the Bible, which encourages parents and children to connect this book with actual Bible stories and the faithful fun can be extended by finding the Scripture passage in your Bible.  In the Introduction Theresa and Charles give suggestions on how to read their book.  Since there are twenty-five characters that lead to Christmas, the authors state "you can read one each day starting on December first, or you can read a few at a time." Bible Characters for Advent: The Stories That Brought Us Christmas would make a great addition to your home and/or church library and it's a fun, meaningful way to have your children become familiar with biblical characters that center around the Advent season.

Be sure to Meet the Authors on their website My Jesse Tree. On Theresa and Charles' site you will find more information about their book, the Jesse Tree, printable Jesse Tree ornaments that go with the readings in the book and be sure to visit My Jesse Tree Shop that includes adorable My Catholic Saint magnets! My Jesse Tree is a wonderful resource and treasure chest to start or add to your Advent traditions and Bible Characters for Advent: The Stories That Brought Us Christmas is one of many treasures you can find there!  Thank you Theresa and Charles for sharing your gifts and love for our faith, family and Advent in such fun and meaningful ways!

Speaking of great books to read during Advent, we are continuing with our wrapped Christmas book tradition that we started many years ago where I wrap one Christmas book from our personal collection in purple/rose paper and my children take turns opening the books each day.

Here is our small, artificial Advent tree we put up on the first Sunday of Advent. I found my purple and rose decorations at the Dollar Store many years ago, but I recently found purple ones and rose ones on Amazon.   I also find purple and rose wrapping paper each year at the Dollar Tree.  The books wrapped in rose paper are those that will be read during the third week in Advent when the rose candle is lit on our Advent wreath.

I printed, cut and taped on the printable labels onto each wrapped book from Jessica at Shower of Roses.

The books that I have wrapped this year for our family's daily Advent read-aloud time are:

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I debated publishing my post here as I sit here shedding tears and praying for the Lenaburg family who is preparing to say good-bye to their sweet Courtney.  Courtney's life on earth will be ending soon.  :(  My heart breaks for them.  I've been following Mary's blog at Passionate Perseverance for several months now and her posts have touched my heart.  Mary's faith and strength is amazing and inspiring!  What a beautiful gift Courtney is to family, friends, and even to strangers like me.  Please pray for them during this sad time. 

But, I thought I would publish my scheduled post below after sharing with you about the Lenaburgs.

So now on to much, much, much less important matters now...

Unimportant Matter #1:  My blog redesign is coming along, don't you think? (It's still a work in progress) 

Unimportant Matter #2: The "O" Antiphons begin tomorrow,  December 17,  which means two things:
1) We will be pulling out our "O" Antiphons Lapbooks we started last year to learn and pray with the last 8 days of Advent and...
2) Christmas Day is almost here!

In previous years, I wrote blog posts about the 12 days of Christmas.  The 12 days of Christmas are the days leading up to Christmas Day right?  Not exactly.

I really never knew which days were considered  the "12 Days of Christmas" as I sang the "12 Days of Christmas" song as a child, but as an adult and a homeschool mom, I have learned that the 12 days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day and last for 12 days until the Epiphany, when the Wise Men visit the Christ Child. 

I thought I would share a great book series to help your family and friends "travel" through the 12 days of Christmas.   The series of books start with "The Twelve Days of Christmas in ______".  Fill in the blank with a US state (see list below) and you have a book that is fun, engaging, and educational too! 


I first came across the series when I gave The Twelve Days of Christmas in North Carolina to Patty at Reasons for Chocolate for a baby shower gift during Christmas time which was few years ago!   Patty does not live in NC so I thought I would give her a book from my home state as a way to share NC facts and fun with her and her growing family. I also thought it was cool to see that one of the cities highlighted was the city where I was born!  :)

Here's a little peek into the The Twelve Days of Christmas in North Carolina book that I am giving my nieces (one lives in New York and my other niece lives in Australia) and my nephew and Godson from Pennsylvania got a book too! 


Each book highlights the state with the popular landmarks and cities in the particular state.  The map  labels what each of the 12 days throughout the book are about.  I really like that this teaches geography in a fun way! 


Each of the 12 days is written in a letter format from a girl named Abby who is visiting her cousin, Mike, in NC.  Abby is writing back home to her Mom and Dad and telling about all her NC adventures with Mike.   Here on the 8th day of Christmas Mike gave Abby 8 kites a-flying so Abby writes in her letter all about Kill Devil Hills, where they flew their kites.  Kill Devil Hills is noted on the map above on the East Coast of NC.  She then tells her parents that they were pretending to be like the Wright brothers and goes on to give facts about the first NC flight.  Each page is full of color and fun facts like this. 


I have enjoyed reading our copy to my family and these books make great gifts!  Don't they Patty? ;)

But what if you don't live in North Carolina and I have peeked your interest enough that you want to look for a book in another state?  :) 

I've got the perfect suggestion! :)  Here is a list of these books about other states (in alphabetical order) in case you are looking for a last minute gift idea that is fun and educational too!

The Twelve Days of Christmas in....

Arizona

California 

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Louisiana 

Michigan

Minnesota

New Jersey 

New York City

Ohio

Oklahoma 

Oregon

Pennsylvania  

South Carolina

Texas 

Virginia

Washington

Washington, DC

Wisconsin

Don't see a particular state?  I have searched Amazon for quite some time trying to find as many states as I could, but I might have missed a few along the way.  Maybe if you search Amazon other states will pop up?

I would like to share this video of the group, Straight No Chaser, singing a creative and entertaining version called "12 Days of Christmas Medley."  I always enjoy watching this and so do my Cupcakes!  :)  Enjoy!