I intend to put some personal notes on this blog, for no other reason than if they are here, then they are somewhere more reliable than a scrunched up napkin or back of a receipt like usual. Maybe, I will feel a bit more organized. This month is rather busy with many things, but most on my mind are advent activities. (Because my husband moved and unpacked us so quickly, I am making it to my projects!)
Anyhow, we are reading many books these days, and it is wonderful. My favorite children's author is Tomie dePaola, and lucky for me he has many wonderful advent and Christmas books. Here is the list we are reading this month. The best part is activities you can create to go along with the stories. Actually, I don't do much creating....I "borrow" others' ideas!
Merry Christmas Strega Nona
Country Angel Christmas
Our Lady of Guadalaupe
The Legend of the Pointsettia
The Clown of God
Jingle, the Christmas Clown
Mary, the Mother of Jesus
Story of the three wise kings
The Legend of old Befana
Francis, Poor Man of Assisi
Hark Sampler
The Night of Los Posadas
I can't say enough about the quiet, cuddly time we have reading and discussing the stories.
The best advent book I have is Jotham's Journey by Arnold Ytreeide. I got it last year, but I think it is out of print now and quite pricey on Amazon. However, it is wonderful. It follows a shepherd boy on his month of trials and somehow he finds his way into a stable in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. It is a wonderful book on preparing for Christmas and anticipating the birth of the Savior. We read one chapter an evening, in a dimly lit room. Before the chapter begins, there is an Old Testament passage (usually Isaiah) that foreshadows the coming of Christ. It just so happens that most of these are included in Handel's The Messiah, so we listen to the appropriate song, if we can. Then when the chapter is over, we process to bed with candles singing Come, O Come Emmanuel. (The kids love the candle part). Anyhow try and get the book if you can. Our kids love the adventure story, and it blesses our family to focus on the real meaning of Christmas for the whole month!
I don't have any good prayer ideas for the advent wreath at dinner. We some Old Testament verses if we can.
I have used many ideas from this wonderful woman's blog.....check hers out for more ideas.
http://ebeth.typepad.com/reallearning/
More on St. Nicholas Day tomorrow!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Hot stuff
Have you ever seen 94 candles on a birthday cake? It is amazing. The smoke produced after they are blown out is even more remarkable. However, the best part of the event was the joy on Ms. Katie's face as she and 4 kids blew out the candles. The kids loved the party. The neighbors loved the party. And the birthday girl loved the party....all 94 years of her. She is hot stuff, as evidenced by a few blisters from lighting the cake. Luke is preparing for a return to the neighborhood in 6 years for a 100 year bash. Ms. Katie questioned the likelihood, but I don't. I have many pictures, but I'm too party-pooped to post.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Life is a party
Here was today's fun activity...a tea party with friends. As you can see there were yummy treats and most of the party was dressed to celebrate (7 year old boys don't dress for tea). There was even dancing. Tomorrow we have a surprise birthday party for our 94 year old neighbor. Life on this block is a blast!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
A month late and a dollar short.....
Or something like that... Here are pictures from last month. One is the kids with Grammy and Grampy when they were in town to babysit. The other is of their All Saint's Day festival. We had St. Stephen (Luke loved the blood), St. John the Baptist, and St. Therese the Little Flower.
Movin' on up
Here is the new house and some of the highlights. I didn't know "Mayberry" still existed, but I'm convinced I live there now. We love the house due to the layout, spaciousness, and lack of smell and rats and things like that. We also are surrounded by the best neighbors. They fix kid bikes. They explain the workings of sprinkler systems. They plant gardens (with children). They bring goodies for the kids. And they smile and wave, all the time. What a blessing. By the way, the kids love to do laundry. And watch the washing machine work...for quite a long time.
Humility at 4 am
I've been reflecting on my controlling nature over the past day. I'm pretty sure God is aware. That, and children are His way of making us humble. I gave up control for part of the night last night. The part where I was scrubbing puke off of the cream color carpet. Did I mention we had a pizza celebration last night? And as I sat there, scrubbing, I had to smile. I get it. It isn't about me. It is about me serving them. That is how God plans to make me more perfect. So I scrub, I do laundry, I get drinks (well, not drinks, more like liquid swishes), I do more laundry, I get the bucket. And I pray for the grace to serve well.
PS: Does anyone have any carpet tricks?
PS: Does anyone have any carpet tricks?
The long road to heaven
I am a control freak by nature. I love order, cleanliness, organization, and to-do lists. Thankfully, God in his wisdom, saw fit to give me a husband, three kids, and a dog. But sometimes the monster returns and I find myself longing for control and order.
Most unfortunately this becomes evident with regard to my kids from time to time. Like yesterday......which was a very big day for Luke, and for Patrick and I, actually. Yesterday, Luke celebrated a sacrament of the Catholic Church. He made his first reconciliation. Being the control freak that I can be, we practiced the prayers involved. We practiced the rite itself. We studied why we do this as Catholics. We studied our consciences. We studied, we discussed, we read. And all of these things are needed. But the list, well, that was a bit too "controlling". What list? Well, I encouraged Luke to take a written list into confession. I am a list maker. I have a poor memory. But, looking back on it, I wanted some sense of control over Luke's interaction with God. (How pathetic). I wanted some assurance that mistakes wouldn't be made, things wouldn't be forgotten. In addition, I didn't want to let go. I didn't want to go of my little boy, who is now seven years old. My little boy that I used to bathe, dress, feed, sing to, and play with is now capable of doing most of those things himself. And so the list was my protection. It was a way to control the situation but also a way in which to see Luke as that little boy, not the young man he is becoming. A young man who is learning his faith, who knows much of his faith, who can question and think and discuss, and most importantly a child who genuinely loves God.
After reflecting for a day, I realize that my controlling nature gets the best of me....a lot. All we can do is what we are already doing. (granted we can work on implementation and value here) We try our best to live the faith. We read, discuss, and do faith activities. We go to Mass. We celebrate the sacraments. We pray. We try to make our family a domestic church. And then the hard part, we need to let go. We need to pray that God will finish what we haven't. We pray that God and each child will establish an everlasting relationship of love and forgiveness. And that one day we will all rejoice with the saints and angels in Heaven.
Upon leaving the confessional, Luke looked at us and smiled. "Father told me I don't need a list next time. I should just think and know my sins in my heart, " he said. A lesson for a mom as well as her son.
Most unfortunately this becomes evident with regard to my kids from time to time. Like yesterday......which was a very big day for Luke, and for Patrick and I, actually. Yesterday, Luke celebrated a sacrament of the Catholic Church. He made his first reconciliation. Being the control freak that I can be, we practiced the prayers involved. We practiced the rite itself. We studied why we do this as Catholics. We studied our consciences. We studied, we discussed, we read. And all of these things are needed. But the list, well, that was a bit too "controlling". What list? Well, I encouraged Luke to take a written list into confession. I am a list maker. I have a poor memory. But, looking back on it, I wanted some sense of control over Luke's interaction with God. (How pathetic). I wanted some assurance that mistakes wouldn't be made, things wouldn't be forgotten. In addition, I didn't want to let go. I didn't want to go of my little boy, who is now seven years old. My little boy that I used to bathe, dress, feed, sing to, and play with is now capable of doing most of those things himself. And so the list was my protection. It was a way to control the situation but also a way in which to see Luke as that little boy, not the young man he is becoming. A young man who is learning his faith, who knows much of his faith, who can question and think and discuss, and most importantly a child who genuinely loves God.
After reflecting for a day, I realize that my controlling nature gets the best of me....a lot. All we can do is what we are already doing. (granted we can work on implementation and value here) We try our best to live the faith. We read, discuss, and do faith activities. We go to Mass. We celebrate the sacraments. We pray. We try to make our family a domestic church. And then the hard part, we need to let go. We need to pray that God will finish what we haven't. We pray that God and each child will establish an everlasting relationship of love and forgiveness. And that one day we will all rejoice with the saints and angels in Heaven.
Upon leaving the confessional, Luke looked at us and smiled. "Father told me I don't need a list next time. I should just think and know my sins in my heart, " he said. A lesson for a mom as well as her son.
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