He Leadeth Me

Happy 2012 to Friends and Family Near and Far! The Lord bless you and keep you, The Lord lift His countenance upon you, And give you peace, and give you peace, And be gracious unto you, be gracious, The Lord make His face to shine upon you The Lord be gracious, gracious unto you. Amen. Lyrics: Peter Christian Lutkin

What is amazing about this Flash Mod is that you can't always tell who the "official singers" are because many shoppers join in. I love the looks on people's faces when "Mary and Joseph" arrive with Baby Jesus.

The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett My rating: 5 of 5 stars This children's book was hilarious and a must read for all my librarian friends. View all my reviews

Last weekend, David and I made a trip to Searcy, Arkansas for my nephew, Ryan's, wedding to Caitlin. It was a wonderful weekend because we got to see so many family members, but it was also lots of fun to walk down memory lane. David and I met at Harding in our freshman year, 1970. BEWARE: This post has LOTS of pictures. David in front of the Administration Building. The Ganus Student Center. This was the meeting place when we were students. David also helped build the Radio Station in the basement of this building. Patti Cobb Dorm where I lived as a freshman. Kendall Hall--my sophomore home. Cone Chapel is where the wedding took place. As you can see out the wall of windows the campus is beautifully lit for the holiday season. Lights over the Harding University arch. More lights. The lily pond. My mom also attended Harding. Doesn't she look young enough to still be a student? The famous Harding swing. Mom, me, Gail, Terry. Sweetie in a swing. We were missing some of the...

It has become a tradition for me to recap our year in the form of an "ABC" letter. It must be the teacher in me! I hope you enjoy a look back at 2011 at the David and Karen Gibson home. A is for Ann Hopkins, Mandy’s mom. Since we moved to Colorado, Ann and I have shared babysitting for the little Gibson boys on days when Mandy works. Ann kindly took over my duties while I was sick. Thank you Ann-Ma! I’m ready to share again. B is for boys. Our three grandsons, Caleb, Aaron, and David, kept me upbeat during my recovery. C is for Cancer. You don’t often see an ugly word like this in a Christmas letter. Cancer was one of my biggest fears. God has clearly demonstrated to me that He is Lord even over our fears. D is for David. I knew almost 40 years ago when I married this man that he was very special. During this eventful year of 2011, he has stood by me and taken care of me in ways that I, and I’m sure he, never imagined he woul...

The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy by Dori Hillestad Butler My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a well written book for early readers. It is written from the point of view of a dog and is quite humorous. View all my reviews

It is the custom at Penrose Hospital where I had my radiation treatments to ring the golden bell 3 times when your treatments are complete. Today was the GREAT day! The nurses and radiation techs who guided me through the past 28 days of radiation were there cheering me on as I rang the bell. I am so thankful to God that both my chemotherapy and radiation treatments are completed. What a wonderful way to celebrate a very Merry Christmas.

When you are a parent, you learn not to say things like "I'll NEVER do......" or "My child will NEVER ....." because often you have to eat your words. I have recently learned that the same holds true for grandparents. No offense to those of you who love inflatable Christmas decor, but I had always said, I will NEVER have an inflatable in my yard. The main reason is that I dislike seeing them deflated during the day. Santa just looks so sad in a heap in the front yard. But then along came grandchildren and I couldn't help but think how much they would love seeing a Santa waving at them when they came to Nana and Ducca's front door. Caleb and David like Santa fine, but Aaron is his biggest fan. No, that is really an understatement. As Mandy says, Aaron is obsessed with Santa. So obsessed, in fact, that when Aaron is at our house, we have to bring Santa inside because it is just too cold to hang out on the front porch with Santa and his 2 reindeer. Santa ...

Book Cover Courtesy of Goodread.com Like many people, I waited in anticipation for Brian Selznick's newest "picture book". His book The Invention of Hugo Cabret won a prestigious Caldecott medal and was ground breaking because it was considered a picture book yet was the size of a novel. Wonder Struck is just as great as Hugo in my opinion. Selznick created a 639 page picture book that tells two stories, one with illustrations and one with words. At the end, the two stories merge in a surprising way. Whether you are 10 or 100, you owe it to yourself to find a copy of this book and enjoy a really good read.