Friday, December 2, 2011

Advent Storybook

I wanted to share with you all a book that our family has been reading since 2009. I wanted to have my children focus more on the birth of Jesus and what the season is REALLY about instead of PRESENTS, PRESENTS, PRESENTS!!!! I found this really cute story book about a bear who follows a star to Bethlehem. There is a page reading everyday with a picture so it's really short. I also wanted to add bible verses so I read the book and added verses to read each day which go with the theme. Below is a picture of what the book looks like and I added the link so if you wanted you can take a look inside the book on Amazon.com. Just click on the picture below and it will take you there!

I couldn't stop at this! I wanted something visual that we could all see to symbolize each reading and the journey the little bear takes. There are titles to each days reading like: The Eagle, or The Star With A Tail!  So I made a huge Christmas tree out of felt with 24 spots for an ornament each time we read the book. The christmas tree turned out REALLY BIG!!! Bigger than I expected!!!! I would probably make it smaller next time but that would mean my ornaments would have to be smaller too! It was so much fun making these ornaments with the kids. I even had help from the kids I nannied for at the time! We all had fun making this. (A shout out to one of my BIGGEST helpers: Thanks for the help Sarah!)

I know December has already started but you can still go out and get the book and catch up a few days reading on the first day. If you enjoy it, next year make a tree with ornaments that match each reading! It doesn't have to be Martha Stewart style! Just do your best! It's better when it has it's own family FlArE! =)
Here is a picture of our tree and below I will put the bible verses I added to our book which match the reading for the day!
I made it like a scroll so it can be rolled up each year and the ornaments just Velcro on to the tree.
If you want more info on how I made the ornaments and/or what I did for a specific day, just leave me a comment and I will reply! =)

These are the verses I found that go along with each days reading. If you think of one that I didn't put down, USE IT! The more verses the better. I have a feeling as years go by we will just keep adding verses to each day of reading. I can't wait for the day my kids will be able to look them up and read them to us! Happy Advent!!!
  1. The Star with a Tail: Hebrews 13:5
  2. The Eagle: Deuteronomy 32:10-14 & Exodus 19:4-6
  3. The Blind Man: Psalms 27:1 & Psalms 119:105
  4. The Giant: 1 Samuel 17:32-51
  5. The Ant: Matthew 21:21-22, Matthew 17:19-20, & Mark 11:22-26
  6. The Man in Red: 1 Kings 17:12-15
  7. The Rosebush: Romans 8:38-39
  8. The Beggar: Acts 9:36-42 & Galatians 6:2
  9. The Well: Psalms 86
  10. The Pear Tree: Psalms 136
  11. The Angel: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 & Proverbs 27:17
  12. The Lamb: 1 Corinthians 13:4
  13. The Dog: Titus 3:14
  14. The Robber: Mark 2:1-12, Numbers 14:18, Psalms 103, & Ephesians 4:31-32
  15. The Cane: Joshua 1:9
  16. The Crown: Luke 15:24
  17. The Precious Stone: Proverbs 15:1-7 & Proverbs 4:6-7
  18. The Bird, the Hare, and the Squirrel: Ephesians 6:18-20
  19. The Wolves: Proverbs 24:17 & Proverbs 25:21
  20. The Donkey: Hebrews 11:6
  21. The Animal Train: Isaiah 9:6
  22. The Apple Tree: Matthew 8:23-27
  23. The Ox: Exodus 34:10 & Psalms 103
  24. The Manger: Luke 2:13-18
UPDATE!
A sweet man named Eric commented below that he made document with all of the verses typed out for each day of the advent and he shared the link with us! I will be the first to say, THANK YOU SO MUCH ERIC!!!
Click HERE to be taken to the document to print it out to add to your Advent book!

11 comments:

  1. You put so much work into this! We'll have to save it for another year!

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  2. This really did take a lot of time! I think I started in the beginning of november to get it done for december first!! But the book is so cute and if you decide you like it then you can make the tree for the coming years! I have to admit, it's one of my favorite things to pull out when decorating because of all the work that went into it! My kids LOVE it, which makes it even more fun! It's a great tradition and I can't wait to see if my kids do it with theirs!

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  3. This is great! I got here from your amazon review, and w/the added Bible verses from you I am definitely getting this book. Really like the tree idea too!

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    1. Yes Morgan, The book really should have the verses with each day! It is a very short read...After doing the work to find the verses, this is the PERFECT book for advent! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

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  4. Thanks so much for sharing, I am really excited to start this Christmas tradition with my kids :)

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    1. You're welcome Laura! I hope your family enjoys this like we do!

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  5. I found your blog from your comment on the Amazon review too, we're ordering the book & I plan to make a tree similar to yours. It is absolutely AWESOME!! Did you ever do a blog post about how you did each ornament? I would be really interested in that as I have not one creative bone in my body lol =)

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    1. Thank You!! I'm so happy you found me! And no I haven't done a post on he ornaments.... I just basically found things that went with each day. I hope you can come up something fun!

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  6. i got here via your amazon review too. what picture did you use for each day? i love the ornament idea.

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  7. Hi,

    I saw your review on Amazon and the link to this page. Thank you for sharing! I took the liberty to make a document with all of the scripture verses on it. I am giving the book as a gift to my goddaughter and wanted to have this tucked into it. Thought I would share. Thanks again.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0f17QMfN9zec08xbUZfNXQyTmc/view?usp=sharing

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    Replies
    1. Eric, this is amazing!!! I'm totally going to use this and if it's ok I will add it to my blog post for others! Thank You!!!!

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