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For What to Read Wednesday this week I was thinking about family and Thanksgiving being tomorrow and Christmas soon to follow. It made me think of how much I love this time of year and how much I love my family. And not just my family that is with me on Earth right now, but my family that has passed on and the family to come in the future. I love knowing that we're all connected as a family. It reminded me of how sometimes when I write in my journal I think about the things I want my posterity to know about me, about our time, or just some truths I've learned in my life. Of course not every time I write is with them in mind because I definitely have gone on angry, unbecoming rants in my journals, or talked extensively about the mundane day-to-day of my life.

And one year I had a goal to write in my journal everyday and some of those entries are just "I'm tired." Though those two words were a pretty accurate portrayal of my life. But I digress.

I have been writing in a journal since second grade. Not continuously everyday, or week, but I love writing in my journals and even more I love going back and reading my journals. It's fun to see what was important to me when I was eight or nine years old, what impacted me as a teenager, and what life lessons finally got pounded into my head as a college student. I truly love reading my own journals! I also enjoy reading journals of my ancestors or other people who lived before me. If you can't learn from the past you're doomed to repeat it, right? (This is probably why I also love non-fiction so much). 

So I thought I would encourage you to write In your journal more, or to get a journal and start writing because no matter where you are In life you have wisdom and personality to share with those who will come after you. I have gathered a list of journals and pens that I love and that will help you (I hope) to love journaling as much as I do. Or I think they're perfect gifts for anyone in your life too. A way of saying "I think you have something awesome to say."

• 5-Year Journal. If you feel you're not the most verbose or don't know what you would write in your journal this is the perfect journal for you. The 5 Year Journal asks you a question for everyday of the year. Underneath the question is a place for you to write your answer for the next five years. This makes it easier for you to go back and read what you wrote (because when the year is over you start at the beginning again). And the room for writing isn't extensive so you can keep your answers short and sweet. It's a fun journal I've been eyeing for years. 

When it comes to writing in  journals you definitely want to use a pen. Pencils fade immensely over time and then your memories and thoughts are lost. While any pen will work, I personally prefer a fine point pen and will recommend a few of my favorites here that won't break the bank. 

• Pilot G2 gel pens. These are reliable, write smoothly, and are refillable.
• Sharpie Art Pens. I love, love, love the fine point on these and all the fun colors they come in.
• Zebra Pen Journaling Set. This comes with pens and double ended markers. They make journaling a more fun and creative art project than just writing down your story.
• Pigma Micron pens. These pens are the most expensive of my list at $1/pen but there's a reason. They're awesome! My husband got me these last year and I have loved how smooth they write and the fine lines they make.
• RSVP Pentel Pens. My last rec is the cheapest (less than $4 for an 8 pack) but an old reliable. The RSVP pens come in fun colors and write smoothly. The lines aren't the finest but if you just need a good pen and nothing fancy these are great pens. Also great to give to kids who lose things often as they are cheap to replace. My favorite color to write with was the turquoise and the purple from this set.

I hope that you will consider taking up journaling even as a casual hobby. Would you like to hear more tips for journaling? Let us know in the comments below!

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​For What to Read Wednesday this week I have a different kind of post for you, a roundup of my favorite children’s Christmas/Winter themed books. 

Some I love for the stories and some for the illustrations and some for both! Since there are 24 you can read one a day before Christmas in December!

These are listed in no particular order, just 24 that I love!

1. Pick a Pine Tree- I love the illustrations in this book and how it captures the magic of picking the perfect tree for
     Christmas!
2. The Polar Express- Classic 
3. The Night Before Christmas Pop-up- I kind of collect different versions of Clement C Moore’s classic poem but this pop-
​     up version is on of my favorites! It’s really beautiful, intricate, and interactive. 
4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas- honestly I’m not a huge Dr Seuss fan but I still love this classic. 
5. Olive the Other Reindeer- really cute!
6. Little Critters: Merry Christmas Mom and Dad

7. Merry Christmas Daniel Tiger- A life-the-flap board book! My kids love it. 
8. The Christmas Miracle of Johnathan Toomey- a quite touching story. 
9. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever- the classic chapter book has been adapted into a picture book for younger audiences!!
10. The Legand of Old Befana- I love Tomie dePaulo books. I especially enjoy this Italian Christmas Story brought to life with
​       his unique and beautiful illustrations. 
11. Who is Coming to Our House- a nativity story from the animals perspective. 
12. ‘Tis The Season: A Classic Illustrated Christmas Treasury- a collection of poems, excerpts, and songs about Christmas
      accompanied by beautiful illustrations. 

13. I Believe in Santa Claus- a wonderful book that explains the symbols of Christmas and how they relate to Christ.
14. Loud Winter’s Nap- A tortoise who hates winter is just trying to take a nap, but his noisy neighbors are keeping him
      awake!
15. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer- The classic tale written in 1939 by Robert L May about a reindeer with a shiny red
      nose who turns out to be the unlikey helper of Santa!
16. Little Golden Book The Christmas Story
17. The Gingerbread Man- Not technically Winter or Christmas except that's when we traditionally eat gingerbread.
18. The Legend of Saint Nicolas- A great way to introduce where the legend of Santa comes from and teach kindness and
      service as virtues.

19. Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale- Another Nativity story from the perspective of the animals in the stable
20. Merry Christmas Amelia Bedelia- who doesn’t love mixed up Amelia Bedelia
21. The Nutcracker: An Enchanted Pop-up Adaptation 
22. One Mitten- A girl is finding uses for her one mitten as she looks for its mate.
23. The Snowy Day- I love the illustrations in the book. So beautiful!
24. A World of Cookies for Santa- follow Santa around the world and see what treats are left out for him. Includes
      recipes! A great way to learn about different Christmas traditions around the world. 

​
​There you have it, 24 Christmas books I love to share with my children.  Have you read any of these? Did you find any new ones you’d like to share with your family? Let us know in the comments!

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. ​  But, all opinions expressed are my own.    ​​

      Lindsey and I were talking about Thanksgiving plans for this year and it got me to thinking about a special project to show my family and friends how thankful I am for them.  I decided it would be nice to do a little gift on each place setting this year.  I thought about hand lettering something at first, but that would take a lot of time with questionable results.  Then, I remembered the set of stamps that I purchased from the Target One Spot a couple of years ago.  I hadn't used it yet, but now I knew I had the perfect project to use them for. 

If you can't find these stamps at Target this year, there are of course a lot of others that you can find and use. For example...

     I had some little wooden circles left over from our Christmas in July projects.  I chose 3 colors of acrylic paint that I felt would coordinate with my dishes and tablecloths and painted the circles. Then, I used a black stamp pad to stamp the design on the light colored circles and white on the dark colored circles.  I love how they came out.  Even the spots where the ink is a little missing add to the rustic look. 

I decided to use jute as the hanger on these little ornaments.  I cut about a 6" length of jute and glued the ends with a glue gun to the front of the ornament.  Then, I tied a bow with another length of jute and glued that over the ends.  This way, there are no unfinished ends on the front or the back. 

      Now, on Thanksgiving, I want to slip them in a napkin on each place setting.  I want to use cream colored napkins, but I didn't have any.  I could only find white! So, I purchased some fabric and made my own.  

      A couple of years ago I had to purchase a new sewing machine.  I got a Singer Brilliance (that is a refurb version)  and I have loved using the special decorative stitches that it has programmed into it.  Here is the newest version, called Sew Mate.  These are nice machines at a reasonable price. 
      These napkins were simple to sew.  I just folded over the edges twice and used a decorative stitch to make them special. 

     Once the napkins are sewn and pressed, you are ready to fold them! Here is a gallery of pictures to show you how to do it. 

       If you know me at all, you know that I love dishes!  So, I am using two different dishes to try out a place setting to use these special projects on.  Which one do you like best?  

     If you don't want to wash napkins later, you could always use nicer paper napkins.  But, I am so happy with how these came out.  Here is a close-up of the decorative stitching. 

​Look what I found!