On the 10th day of Christmas, my favorite thing would be...

I wanted to feature a few of my all-time favorite Christmas books, and what better to start with than

THE POLAR EXPRESS?

I love, love, loved this book as a child, and I love it even more as an adult. Last year (when Kort was four) was the first time I decided to read it to him aloud. Much to my great surprise, I couldn't even finish the last page! I was so choked up, and it caught me completely off guard! (Kortland looked at me like I was nuts!) I never realized that it would affect me so deeply and differently as I read it to my own child. I think it's because I was one of those kids who got really caught up in the magic of the season. I still remember laying awake (and very still) on the night before Christmas, waiting to hear sleigh bells and reindeer feet on my rooftop, and to this very day, I still believe in magic. Sure, it's not exactly the kind of magic that Santa Clause has, but I really do believe that the amount of magic present in each of our lives is directly correlated with what we each believe we deserve. If you choose to see the good in people, you'll soon find yourself surrounded by goodness. If you believe that you deserve to be happy, to have true love, and a happy family life, you open the doors to that possibility. If you choose to believe that life is beautiful, then indeed, you will find that it truly is. How does a person pack so much meaning into so few pages?

I wish I knew his secret.

On Christmas morning

my little sister Sarah

and I opened our presents.

When it looked as if everything

had been unwrapped,

Sarah found one last

small box behind the tree.

It had my name on it.

Inside was the silver bell!

There was a note:

"Found this on the seat of my sleigh.

Fix that hole in your pocket."

Signed, "Mr. C."

I shook the bell.

It made the most beautiful sound

my sister and I had ever heard.

But my mother said,

"Oh, that's too bad."

"Yes," said my father, "it's broken"

When I'd shaken the bell,

my parents had not heard a sound.

At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years

passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas

that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown

old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe.

***

UPDATE: CRISIS AVERTED!

A Crayola Glow Station! Done! Thanks to all of you for your support and suggestions! I waited a few hours, armed myself (with your ideas) for battle, and brought it up again, and wouldn't ya know it- the kid totally forgot that he wanted me to be surprised for Christmas! He just sat down at the table and wrote out what he wanted in a letter to Santa! If there was ever any doubt that he was mine...(which, admittedly, there wasn't) that doubt would certainly be resolved now! He officially has my little lemming brain(I don't technically know from a scientific/zoological standpoint that lemming brains are inferior to the brains of other animals...or even at all forgetful for that matter, but I just like the sound of it. "Lemming brain"...it's just so... ME!) I can't remember what I said/wrote/did five minutes ago. Every couple of minutes brings a mental reset - it's like ground hog day (only many, many times a day) and Kort seems to have inherited this blessed, blessed trait! So, if you need me today, I'll be at Walmart, wrestling the last available Crayola Glow Station away from other mothers who have children that believe in an omniscient Santa Clause!

Oh, and please accept this as my early Christmas gift! (Thanks Celeste - she gave it to me - it was all I could have ever wanted and more!) For those of you who don't know what I thought of Twilight, click here.

I agree with Celeste - the beginning is a bit cheesy, but the ending MORE than makes up for the over-all chees-i-ness of its humble beginnings. You're welcome.