Tonight all across the world, children are waiting for Santa with bated breath. They've made lists of wants and perhaps written letters addressed to the North Pole, baked cookies, set out milk, and dream of sugar plums dancing in their heads. But not my children. Well, maybe the dreaming of sugar plums part, but definitely not the white beard, chubby and plump right jolly old elf part. Even before my two biological children were born, my husband and I made the decision to not deceive them with the narrative of Santa, and in fact, not give them any gifts at all on Christmas. Intrigued? Infuriated? Here's why... My husband is from Guatemala and was raised Jehovah Witness , and one of the tenants of that faith is a strict adherence to not celebrating anything here on earth. This includes not celebrating Christmas or birthdays , and not giving gifts to commemorate these days. While he isn't a practicing Witness right now (instead we attend Celebration International Church

Every night, we read books together before Maya goes to bed. I like to read bedtime-themed books at bedtime, because it helps to set the tone and model good sleep routines for her. Usually we read one or two books in English, and one or two books in Spanish, and we switch them out periodically. See our list below of some of our favorite  Last night, we read The Going to Bed Book, then Goodnight Octopus, and finally Buenas Noches Luna, which Maya decided she wanted to "read" to me by herself. I was impressed with how many of the items in the illustrations she was able to identify, as she held the book and turned the pages, narrating what she could. But instead of saying "good night," or "buenas noches" to el globo rojo, la viejita, los tres ositos, la luna, los caletines, los gatitos jugatones y el ratoncito, she said "Hello!" to all of them! It made me laugh, and reminded me of when I would do running records and miscue analysis on my ESL s

Three years ago, our local Patch affiliate sent out an open call to spotlight local small business owners for Small Business Saturday. I worked with Francisco to recount his story, and it was published on Patch.com " Framingham Small Business Spotlight: Barrios Landscaping ." Here is my husband's success story as a rising emerging bilingual,   told by Francisco Barrios and composed by his wife. It's  evidence that bilingualism is a rewarding lifetime journey. I came to the United States from Guatemala 13 years ago with the American Dream. Nineteen years old and hoping for a better life and more opportunities for work, I had no idea then of the trials and challenges that lay ahead of me, nor of the possibilities for success that awaited me in the distance future. I knew not a word of English and began my American life as so many other immigrants--working two part-time jobs at two different supermarkets. It came as quite a surprise, actually, that I didn't