Today Asa pulled a blanked into the bathroom as I was brushing Lydia’s teeth. She thought this was quite funny and said, “Mommy! How does a blanket get into a bathroom if no one is carrying it?”

Me: I don’t know.

Lydia: It rides on top of someone! *bursts into laughter*

This hilarious joke began a whole slew of jokes following this same formula. “How does a panda get into a closet if no one is carrying him…how does a chicken get into a store…how does a cow get into a farm?” She giggled and guffawed for twenty minutes.

I honestly was hoping she’d never discover jokes because for whatever reason kids LOVE to make up jokes. And repeat them. Over and over again. But this joke was actually kind of (KIND OF) funny because she got it from a book called Miss Hunnicutt’s Hat.

My friend Becky bought me this book at her school’s book fair because Hunnicutt is my maiden name (TMI for the internet? Oh well, it’s on my facebook page…). And lucky for us, it turns out to be an adorable book regardless of the name! The illustrations are whimsical, funny and very detailed—you could look at them for days!

The story is what sparked my Lydia’s funny bone: Miss Hunnicutt is just a normal woman who decides to be very UN-normal one day. On the day the Queen is to visit her little town of Littleton, Miss Hunnicutt decides to wear a chicken on her hat. It causes quite a fuss as the entire town thinks she should remove it before the Queen comes to visit. Hilarity ensues as Miss Hunnicutt stands her ground. But what happens when the Queen stops to look at Miss Hunnicutt’s hat?

We haven’t read the book in months, so today when I got to the final page, Lydia laughed out loud at the ending! She thought it was hilarious. And it was still on her mind a few minutes later when she made up her “it rides on top of someone” punchline. Thanks to Miss Hunnicutt for letting her chickens ride on her head!

He will fill your mouth with laughter. Shouts of joy will come from your lips. Job 8:22

PS: I found this cute online joke booklet from Clubhouse Magazine. In case you want your kids to know some actual jokes: Lots O’ Laughs.

photo by malenga

I was not born with a concise spirit.  Truth be told, I like to ramble.  Especially when it’s a subject I love, or when I’m trying to explain something to my children…

Which is why I really appreciate God Gave Us Love and God Gave Us Christmas, both children’s books by Lisa Tawn Bergren.  Both handle big subjects with grace – grace I wish I had when I spoke to my children about them!

God Gave Us Love is a sweet book that has a little bear named Little Cub learning about love from her Grandfather – God’s love, family love, even love for those you don’t really want to love.  It has some great explanations about love, which I personally think is hard – because love is such a big subject.  The book does jump around a little bit (there’s not a long story or narrative, but how it gets from one explanation to the next is a little jumpy sometimes), but it still does a great job sharing with children about God’s love and how to apply it in our lives.

God Gave Us Christmas was the book Elias asked for again – and it was a joy for me to re-read it to him!  This book clearly points everything about Christmas back to God (and it doesn’t ignore or “ruin” Santa for those who choose to include him in their Christmas celebrations – we don’t, but Elias asks questions about Santa, and the book gave us another chance to talk about the character of Santa in Christmas celebrations today).  In this book, Little Cub and her mom go looking for God, and find Him everywhere!  The descriptions and explanations are fabulous in this book – my favorite of the two!

And here’s my disclaimer: these books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, but the opinions I shared are completely my own.

Now on to the fun part!  You can win a copy of God Gave Us Christmas just in time for Christmas – share this beautiful story with a little one in your life!  I am also planning to add a little handmade goodie or two into the box as I send it off… I’m just not sure exactly what yet, though…

To enter, leave us a comment on this post letting us know your favorite way to celebrate Advent… and for additional entries you can:

• Tweet about this giveaway (include @impressyourkids in your tweet – is that what it’s called?).
• Follow us on Twitter.
• Become a fan of ours on Facebook.
• Link to this giveaway on your own blog.

Leave a separate comment for each one you do, and on Wednesday, December 9th, we’ll randomly draw a winner from all entries received.

Are you enjoying our Advent activities?  Check them out – we’re having a lot of fun doing them!

I found the best Thanksgiving book at the library this year! It’s called Over the River and Thro’ the Woods. There are many different versions of this book but NONE are as adorable as this one illustrated by Normand Chartier.

Does this title sound familiar? That’s because you probably sing it every CHRISTMAS! But guess what? It’s really a Thanksgiving poem!

Once I read it, I knew I had to own it. I was tempted to “accidentally” forget to return the book to the library. But instead, I got it from one of Amazon’s partner sellers for $3. It’s in our bookstore now! Is it not super adorable?!

“I will praise God’s name by singing to him. I will bring him glory by giving him thanks.” Psalm 69:30 NIrV