new tradition

So the story goes... there was a poor man with three daughters, but he could not afford a dowry for them. They would probably reamin unmarried and have to find work as "slaves". Another man heard about the situation and anonymously dropped gold coins down their chimney, which happened to land in the stockings that were hanging by the fire to dry. This would be the origin of St. Nicholas, later to become the Santa Claus we know today. There are traditions in other cultures that have the children leaving their shoes outside the door to be filled with goodies will they slept. This story has been very comforting to Katie as of late because she so desparately still wants to believe - there was a man who did good things for people, and we carry that tradition on today. Simple, but very true.

I've always thought this would be a fun way to add something new to our family traditions, but we've never quite made it happen. This week, I suggested maybe instead of leaving our shoes out for candy, we just go shopping for new shoes. The girls each got a new pair at the beginning of the school year, but they're already looking rather worn. Here are the ones they picked out today...


Bethany has several pairs of hand-me-down shoes that she wears, one of them being a pair of Keds that both Katie and Anna wore. I updated them with new laces earlier in the year, but I think they've had it now. Baby needs a new pair of shoes!