Tracey Haider-Sprague, a home-schooling mother of two, is also the Training Director for Small Beginnings, a Lay Ministry Training Organization in Seattle, Washington where she researches, writes, teaches and counsels. She, along with her entire family, began their low-carb lifestyle in April 2003.

Tracey posts as Mamasita on the Talking Low Carb Forums, where she proves an inspiration for us all!

The lady in front of me hefted her holiday turkey onto the store's black conveyor belt, looking a little weathered from her shopping trip. She turned to me with a tired smile, and said, "and this is just the beginning!" We laughed, and gave each other knowing nods as we imagined all the shopping that was to come in the next few weeks.

Later, I stood at the deli counter as the harried deli lady rushed from one customer to the next, until it was my turn. As she doled out my sliced lunch meats into small plastic bags, she struck up a conversation with me about the holidays. As we commiserated on the upcoming work to make the holidays pleasant for others, she said, "I would be more than happy if we just cancelled them this year!"

I completely understand their feelings, because after years and years of decorating and preparation, it can get old or maybe I just got old! Sometimes I think that the only reason I "dress up" the house is for the kids. They love it so much and it is worth it to see them get so excited.

As my kids get older, I would expect certain traditions to start losing their appeal; but to my surprise, there are things the children want to see and hear over and over, without fail. Heaven forbid I should neglect to read them their favorite story, or forget their favorite food or game! I'm wondering if they will appear on my doorstep someday, married with children, expecting the same goodies and the same stories as they had when they were children.

I would like to share some particularly good stories I've read to my children over the years. Each book has Chanukah as its theme, but the lessons taught are universal.

Written by Eric Kimmel; Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

As the title implies, it sounds more like a ghost story for Halloween, but it is one of my children's favorite books. Every night of Chanukah, they make me sit on their bed and read it to them. I give each character its own peculiar voice: growling, whimpering, sneaky, squeaky and just plain mean and nasty.

As the story opens, Hershel of Ostropol wanders into a little village, hoping to join in the Chanukah celebration. Instead, he finds the town dark, and the people tense with fear. As he comes across the villagers, he learns the old synagogue at the top of the hill has been overrun with goblins. These monsters sabotage and destroy all attempts to observe the festival. Menorah lights are blown out, latkes are flung to the floor, and dreidles are broken to bits. Hershel, feeling someone has to do something, announces, "I'm not afraid of goblins. Tell me how to get rid of them."

The town rabbi warns him of the dangers, but tells him what he must do to rid the synagogue and the town of the beasts. Given some meager supplies, Hershel sets off, up the hill, to do the impossible.

The rest of the story is engaging, as the goblins try to manipulate, trick and threaten Hershel each night that he stands guard over the Chanukah lights. The illustrations throughout are both scary and funny.

Eventually, his final battle of wits is with the King of the Goblins, who gets his just reward.

The story is funny, exciting, and sends a message of hope and light. I would strongly recommend this for children five and up. My only reservation is that some children can be easily frightened, so it would be up to the parent to screen the illustrations prior to showing them to their particular child.

Written by Norma Simon; Illustrated by Leonid Gore

Beautifully illustrated, The Story of Hanukkah is both educational and entertaining. It remains faithful to the ancient tale of the Jewish peoples' fight to rid themselves of tyrannical Antiochus of Syria. The story can be read by a parent to a small child, as there are full-color, full-page illustrations on every other page. An older child may want to read it on their own.

Instructions on how to play the dreidle game, a recipe for potato latkes, and the Hebrew calendar are displayed in the back of the book. I keep this book up and away from our kids, as I want to keep it nice from year to year. We pull it down and read it the first night of Chanukah and it helps to prepare their minds (and mine!) for the coming week.