Reading is a part of the life of our family.  I liked reading to the girls at an early age, and
I loved when they would curl up beside me and together we would escape into storybook
land.  I am grateful also to the wonderful elementary school teachers who instilled
the love of reading to them.  To this day, I am so thankful whenever I see big or little
ones, captivated by the pages of a book.

In the above picture, my husband and I were babysitting one Saturday evening for our
daughter and son-in-law.  He was pleasantly surprised at the rapt attention they gave
to the book he chose to read to them.  My sister-in-law gave the book to me, "The Tale
of Three Trees", a traditional folktale retold by Angela Elwell Hunt and illustrated
by Tim Jonke, as a gift, and I would recommend to you too.  It's message is simple,
and yet so profound.
 

On Thanksgiving evening, when our family was together, this is the scene I found on
our living room sofa, after the meal.  Three very tired little girls, were drawn into
the story, their mother and aunt, was reading to them.  My heart was blessed by
this sight.

And, a few minutes later, this is the sight that was discovered.  Our oldest granddaughter,
who is thrilled to be learning to read, was delighted with her tiny audience.

Speaking of books, look what I found in one of my quick trips to Michael's Store.  Boxes
made to look like old books. 

When I opened the boxes, I discovered the inside was as pretty and real looking as the
outside.  And the best part, the price was marked down.  I purchased three of them,
knowing exactly what I would do with them.

I had some boxes of cookie mix at home, and I must tell you, that whether you like to
bake from scratch, or you are okay with the good kind of mixes, these cookies are
delicious! They taste homemade, especially since I added 1 tea. of vanilla, and a half
cup of chopped walnuts.  Thank you "Krusteaz" for creating this product for people
like me.

I baked all of these tiny cookies from one box of mix.  I knew they had to be small in
size to fit in the individual boxes.

I lined each box with cellophane, and then a folded piece

of waxed paper.  The cookies fit in perfectly.  I covered

them tightly with the cellophane, and closed the lid of the box.

Added a ribbon, a stamped tag, and a piece of faux evergreen.  Three simple, inexpensive
gifts, for three dear ladies in my life who also love to read.  Two of them are our church
librarians.  Hopefully they don't read my blog:)  If you wanted to, you could add a gift card
to your local "Barnes and Nobel" Store.  Or, you could eliminate the cookies and just add
the gift card.

The bonus...there are cookies left over to freeze and use in other ways.  Unless, you stop in
to see me, I promise I will share some with you:)

Books...what a valuable part of daily life, no matter what form they take.