Songs and Books

Barrett and I have found a great appreciation in Children's Books lately. Well, let's be honest, I have always loved children's books (I was an elementary teacher afterall), but Barrett has recently grown into loving some as well. It all started with a few books I had purchased from the Scholastic Book Clubs when I taught school. They were books created from songs: The Ants go Marching, and America the Beautiful. Now, the first one was no big deal, but America the Beautiful has made more sense to us as we look at the pictures and sing it to Damon. Plus, Damon loves it. Then, my mom bought us this sweet little board book of God Bless America. Wow, doesn't that song make a lot more sense too when you read/sing it page by page. We sing that one a lot and I often hear Damon singing it to himself sometimes. How precious...and quite patriotic, I might add:) I got a little book one day at the library of Over the River and Through the Woods. Some phrases finally made sense to me in that one! The best one yet, is our current find: The Little Drummer Boy. I just happened upon it at the library last weekend. I have to say, I've never really liked the song too much and thought it was super funny how Angela, from The Office, was a big fan of the song. I just didn't get it. Well, both Barrett and I have really come to love this song. It must be a mix of the beautiful illustrations, actually reading the words, and singing it softly to Damon. Whatever the cause, the beauty of the message of this sweet little song has made it one of my favorites this year. I try to imagine if I was that little boy going to see the newborn king with no tangible gift, but one of given talent. What a special time of year to reflect on the birth and life of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for his example and love for all of us, and for giving each of us gifts and talents to share with others---like the authors and illustrators of these books and the songwriters who were inspired to share their talents.