Advent Week 2 ~ Peace

We ate by candle light for the 2nd time on Sunday evening.  It's so very peaceful for me; however, the kids don't feel the same way.  Truthfully, they whined a little about having to eat in the dark.  They actually said it reminded them of the pilgrims eating in the dark on the Mayflower so as not to see the bugs in their food.  Really?  They need to get a grip.  Anyway, last week we focused on HOPE.  We have hope because we trust in the Lord.  This week we focus on PEACE.  Our hearts can find peace because we have hope.

May you have a PEACEFUL week as you prepare for Christmas.

And for the record, sometimes peace is a little hard to come by around here.  Take for example last night's sing along.  Warren brought out his guitar and we had an impromptu sing along.  I caught a little footage of the moment (in the dark).  Most of the singing is drowned out by one child whistling and if you listen close enough you'll hear another child scolding the whistler.  

The lights turn on, the phone rings, the singers were a little off key.

Let there be PEACE on Earth!

Tis the Season to Shop.....or Not

Shopping, shopping, shopping!  This is the time of year for it.  Or is it?

As I made a Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping list, I was given a gentle reminder that all the gifts in the world don't make tiny tots happy.  See, as I was trying to decide on which tights Maria would like better and what type of gun Peter would like, plastic or wood, they had their own idea of what fun really is.  At first, their fun looked like a collection of trash bags from the bedrooms and bathrooms.  Really?  We have bins of animals, blocks, Duplos, cars, a play kitchen and I'm trying to decide what else to buy for their toy collection and they play with garbage.  

Once I took a closer look and asked, "What in the world are you doing?"  did I realize that this little game of theirs was actually quite sweet.  They were wrapping stuffed animals in plastic bags and tying them with rubberbands. These were all presents for me.  One look around and I counted 18 of these presents and they wanted me to open each and every one.  I obliged with oohs and aahs and then convinced them to help me with the clean up of all the bags, rubberbands, and stuffed animals.

Little kids don't need much.  Save your money for those big kids with big wants.  After this little escapade I tossed the Black Friday list and decided to keep Christmas VERY simple for our little ones.  Simple for them translates to simple for me.  A win-win!

HAPPY ADVENT

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.  Desmond Tutu

First Snow

We've had a few flakes, but nothing that's really accumulated.  Until today!  We woke to a couple of inches of wet snow.  So after a morning of lessons, laundry, and lunch (warming in the crockpot) we headed outside to enjoy the snow.  It was quite wet, and didn't lend itself to fast sledding, but we still had fun.

Fuel for us.

Fuel for the horses.

The girls convinced Nick to help them place Christmas lights on the barn.  They've been wanting to do this for years.  I'm happy for them and am excited to see it tonight.

The weather forecast is calling for another warming trend, so it looks like the snow will be gone by Friday night.  This snow has helped to put everyone in the Christmas spirit.  I've been thinking about gifts and cookies and wrapping and appetizers and decorations.  Trying to keep my focus on Advent, though.  I placed the Advent wreath on the dining table and we are lighting the HOPE candle at dinner each evening and praying:

O Lord, stir up our hearts

that we may prepare for

your only begotten Son,

that through His coming,

we may be made worthy to 

serve you with pure souls.

Through the same Christ

our Lord.

Amen.

Happy Advent to you all.

Pause and Watch - Advent Plans 2010

Advent is here.  A time to pause.  A time to watch.  A time to be deliberate in our daily reflections on faith.  Prepare.  It's the hot word of the season.  Prepare wish lists and cookie platters.  Prepare gifts for shipping and outdoor decorations.  Prepare Christmas letters and Christmas cards and Christmas photos.  Prepare holiday outfits and hairstyles.  Prepare the wallet for stashing cash and the closet for stashing gifts.  Prepare for St. Nicholas' feast day and Santa Claus' morning.  Prepare for traveling and for snowy winter nights at home.  Prepare.  It can get overwhelming if it's all done out of obligation.  That's where Advent comes in.  Advent is a time of waiting for Jesus, baby Jesus.  And who doesn't love waiting for a baby's coming.  This baby is different though.  There's no sheets to wash and crib to set up.  There's no layette to buy.  Big sister and big brother gifts aren't necessary, either are birth announcements or candy cigars.  Sounds easy to prepare for baby Jesus, but it isn't.  Sometimes the heart and mind are the hardest to prepare.  Our hearts and minds are filled with anger, hurt, disappointment, stresses of all kinds including Christmas preparations.  Jesus has a hard time finding his way in when there's no room for him, but don't despair he'll find a way.  Just like Mary and Joseph persevered when there was no room in the inn, Jesus perserveres today.  Take a moment to push aside some of the mental clutter and make room for Jesus.....the real reason for the season.

Now onto the Advent plans for this year.  We of course have our Advent wreath.  It's pretty humble as of today.  Just four candles on a pizza cardboard.  Hopefully I'll get out to cut a few boughs later today.  We're using this for our daily reflections.  Short and sweet.  Emily and Nick will look up the two bible verses earlier in the day and mark them to speed up the reflection.  Sounds like an oxymoron, but when 7 hungry people are waiting at the table reflecting needs to be kept to a minimum.  On Sundays we'll read from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1 and 2.  I also printed this for Sam, we read the square and then he crosses it off.  It's a nice tangible way to address the "how many days until Christmas?" question that comes up just about every day.  I also printed off this Advent chain, but forgot that I have it set up to print last page first.  I put the paper in the wrong order and used my last 3 sheets of violet paper.  I can't guarantee this idea will go any further.

What do you do during Advent?  What are your traditions?  I'd love to hear.

Week Before Christmas School

When last minute Christmas preparations sneak up it's time to relax the math, spelling and language and go heavy on art (sewing, cutting, gluing, framing, glitter, wrapping), physical education (sledding, ice hockey) and of course daily living skills (dusting, scrubbing, tidying, slicing, chopping, mixing, baking). We haven't forgotten about reading though. I bought lots of new Advent/Christmas books this year. We're also listening to A Season of Gifts.

And when Amber and Sam are feeling the need for a little phonics practice, Starfall always delivers. They love it and so do I. Amber was trying to spell Claus as in Santa yesterday and when I prompted her with au sounds like? She said oh I learned that on Starfall and immediately spelled it correctly.

Post Thanksgiving Shopping

When in the right mood, I love shopping. This mood doesn't come very often - usually starts the end of November and ends right around Christmas. Today was a perfectly sunny and crisp day to embark on a shopping trip. Since we had to take my mom home, Grace, Lou, Grandma and I made a few stops along the way. First up was Walgreen's. I love Walgreen's! Just the right size. Just the right amount of choices. Just the right sale prices and I love their coupons and rebates. In the past I've received $40 worth of rebate gift cards, enough money to purchase my entire Walgreen's list for the next month. Then I rebate again and the cycle continues. The most prized item purchased at Walgreen's was by Lou. She finally got the Fart Putty she'd been wanting for her entire life of November.

Then we headed off to McDonald's where, once again, Lou was in her glory. I encouraged her to drink all her milk, play and then take her food in the van to eat on our way to Kohl's. She looked at me like I'd lost my mind and said "Are you sure you want me to play before I eat all my food?"

At Kohl's I found exactly the items I was looking for and they were all 50 and 60% off and mom had a $10 coupon. Jackpot! Just two more stops and Nice As New and Target and then to take mom home. It's amazing how fun shopping can be when the boys stay home. Not that they're naughty, they'd just rather not be there, and it shows.

The Salvation Army red kettles are out. The stores are jammed with customers. Christmas songs play 24 hours a day on certain radio stations. Christmas is upon us, but let's not forget Advent. The very message of Advent is preparation. There's gift ideas, wrapping, baking, cleaning, writing cards, decorating and so much more. But let's not forget to prepare a place for baby Jesus in our hearts, homes and lives. Confession, weekly Advent devotions, well chosen Christmas stories - these can help us to prepare everything with love for Jesus' sake.

Preparations

Cranberry harvest, vacation week 1, Thanksgiving and deer hunting are over. This year the calendar is being very good to me. There is a full week between Thanksgiving and Advent, which will allow for some extra special plans. Of course, I have to clean the storage room in the basement in order to find all the Christmas decorations, first. I bought Christmas Mosaic from Hillside Press and am impressed with the number of books highlighted. I put together a Christmas Mosaic Advent Fun Packet. The plan is to work through a number of the books during the month of December and early January, using the packet as a learning guide. I prepared packets for each of the kids, according to their level, which will serve as a place to keep all their Advent reflections, devotions and coloring/art work. I am extremely pleased with how the packets turned out and will post more about them as we start the month of Christmas Mosaic.

Coloring Contest

For a fun way to introduce the O Antiphons, click here. You will find a coloring contest printable picture and a simple explantion of the prayers and when they should be prayed. Send in the colored picture and you might win a prize package from Illuminated Ink.