The Quest for Quiet

Anyone who has tried to sit through an hour of church with a toddler understands--engaging activities are a must. Once again my friend Stephanie rose to the challenge and helped me create a "Quiet Book"--one for me, and one each for both of my sisters (and their kids).

I presented them in person when in Arizona and my sister Monique nicely took some pictures of her book.


Left-hand side is "The Garden of Eden." The 'leaves' have velcro on the back and attach/detach to/from the tree (and can be stored in the pocket below, disguised as a bush). The 'petals' can be taken off the flower-shaped buttons. The right-hand side is the 'Family' page. The pocket labeled 'family' has many photographs of the extended family.

The left-hand size is 'Noah's Ark,' with foam animals attached to blue ribbons that can be placed in the pocket (disguised as the body of the boat). The right-hand side is 'Jonah' and, as you can see, there is a little Jonah that goes inside the whale (and the mouth zips shut).

On the left is the right inside of the cover. I attached a little pocket I removed from an old jumpsuit of Mayumi's (this pocket features a little turtle, Monique and Leah's favorite animal). The right-hand side is 'Joseph and the coat of many colors.' The coat opens up and ties shut.

The left-hand side is the 'Tithing' page. I should mention that pattern for many of the shapes/images in the book were drawn by Nate. The piggy bank is one of those images. The left-hand side is the inside of the cover. I attached the buckles of the old jumpsuit for just one more little activity.

This photo did not load properly. Sigh. Well, the left-hand side are a bunch of funky belts with fun buckles. Simply an 'activity page.' The right-hand size is the 'Helping Hands' page; there's a beaded bracelet around the wrist of the hand, and three images--a bar of soap with suds (I attached pink and white beads for texture), a bed with a 'blanket' that can be removed and attached via velcro, and building blocks (from which letters that spell the name/s of the kids in that family attached to ribbons hang). It is really too complicated to explain clearly--unfortunately this picture just didn't work out.

Thank you to Stephanie for designing the book and guiding me along each step! Thank you to my mother for helping fund the books. Thank you to Nate to gave endless validation and moral support!