
But the real reason I chose this day of all days to host the Blog Advent Calendar is the Saint Nicholas Day surprise that I received 12 years ago. My youngest daughter, Julia, was born December 6. She was due to arrive December 23, and I was stressing out about the possibility of spending Christmas in the hospital. Julia had other ideas and, like Saint Nicholas, decided to make an early appearance. I guess Saint Nicholas decided I’d been good that year; she has brought our family tremendous joy ever since.
Happy Birthday, Julia!

8 December - Nymeth (Things Mean A Lot)
9 December - Raidergirl (An Adventure in Reading)/ Chris (Stuff as Dreams are Made on)
10 December - Dewey (The Hidden Side of a Leaf)
11 December -Suey (It's All About Books)
12 December - Chris (Book-a-rama)
13 December - Jill (The Well-Read Child)/Stephanie (The Written Word)
14 December - Robin (A Fondness for Reading)
15 December - Alyssa (By The Book)
16 December - Rachel (A Fair Substitute for Heaven)
17 December - Literary Feline (Musings of a Bookish Kitty)/ Stephanie (Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic)
18 December - Dev (Good Reads)
19 December - Callista (S.M.S. Book Reviews)
20 December - Tiny Little Librarian (Tiny Little Librarian)
21 December - Carla (Carla Nayland Historical Fiction)/ Susan (Reading, Raving, and Ranting by a Historical Fiction Writer)
22 December - Carolyn Jean (The Trillionth Page)
23 December - Booklogged (A Reader's Journal)
24 December - Kailana (The Written World) / Carl V. (Stainless Steel Droppings)