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| We had a beautiful snowy feast day this year! Eventually the snow was “well past St. Nicholas’ miter!” |
Holy Bishop St. Nicholas lived faraway
Near the Aegean Sea is where Turkey did lay.
Travel back with us now to a time long ago.
We will visit his country, his life we will know.
We will visit his country, his life we will know.
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| New slippers, picture books, oranges, candy canes, chocolate coins, and a small toy or two! |
We remember this saint, such a holy, good man.
Be like him in charity, do all that you can.
Many miracles Nicholas hastened to do,
Helping people in need with gifts that were new.
Bishop Nicholas traveled to Nicea town,
Where the Creed would be written, to us handed down.
During church every Sunday, we stand for the Creed.
Thank you Bishop St. Nicholas, for doing this deed.
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| The older boys each found a game in their new slippers (Spicy Farkle and LeftCenterRight – we’ve had SO. MUCH. FUN. playing these this past weekend!), Snuggles found a small lego set, the girls and Bud all found Shining Light Dolls (these have been such a hit!) and the two youngest also found Rudolph and Clarice. (I couldn’t resist when I found them on sale at a local bookstore – my little ones, especially Bud, love all deer!) Oh! And Bud’s cute new little booties were from Angela – if you have a baby, be sure to check out her Etsy store! |
Sailors tossed in the wind and the storms of the sea,
Saw a vision of Nicholas who guided them free.
Now patron of sailing, they remember him yet.
Many icons and pictures with fisherman’s net.
Giving money to poor girls, so marry could they,
Made our Nicholas famous, remembered today.
With dowry in hand, soon they were wed.
“God bless you and keep you,” St. Nicholas said.
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| This year’s St. Nicholas Cookies! I’ll try to post a few more pictures at Catholic Cuisine soon… |
Kid’s patron in Germany, Netherlands, too.
Asks that presents be given to children like you.
Their customs are different: they put out their shoes—
Filling them with toys, his coming’s good news!
Here stockings are hung by the chimney with care,
In hope that St. Nicholas soon will come there.
Dressed as bishop or Santa, he’s one and the same—
Jolly, friendly, good man, we’re glad that he came.
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| St. Nicholas Statue, St. Nicholas Wooden Doll, St. Nicholas Chocolate Coins, and the St. Nicholas painted by my little sister! |
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| Cherry Cheese Candy Cane Coffee Cake (That title makes me want to play Scattergories!) |
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| St. Nicholas Hot Cocoa with Homemade Whipping Cream |
Call him “Santa” or “saint,” they both mean the same,
For his nickname is Claus, short for Nicholas’ name.
Giving gifts was his custom—we still do today.
Deeds done in Jesus’ name forever will stay.
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| Our visitors during our St. Nicholas Day Brunch! |
Bishop Nicholas still is a hero to all.
Christmas Day, and all others we follow his call,
Bringing gifts and some joy to children in need.
Follow Nicholas today—do a good deed.
—St. Nicholas Day Poem, Author Unknown
That's so nice to have snow on the feast of St. Nicholas! We had cold rain all day that day here in Connecticut. Today we are having our first real snow, and it is beautiful! I love snow! God bless.
The cookies are LOVELY!!! Of course, everything is… beautiful. I wanna be a kid at your house!! 😉
Beautiful ! You and your family are amazing, Jessica!
Ooh, I get to be the first to comment! Beautiful St. Nicholas day – what fun to have the snow. We had a dusting her last night; nothing like yours! What a fun day!
We have enjoyed Left Center Right over the past year as well. I am hearing more and more people discovering this game.
Thank you for the 'shout out' on my Etsy shop. I really appreciate it! Have a great week!
Angela
Just lovely, Jessica! As a mother of eight, soon to be nine, I appreciate the familiar pictures of happy siblings enjoying family life. I know it's a gift and I am so very thankful for the goodness that is having many small children. It is a blessing to see the delight in your children's faces while celebrating our faith. God bless you! And also, I love that you were sledding!!!
Corrine
Absolutely lovely! And the deer in the snow…just like out of a fairytale. 🙂
A box of cookies is on it's way to your home! 🙂 I wish I could have gotten them in the mail in time for them to arrive for the feast of St. Nicholas… I hope the kids enjoy them!
It occasionally snows here, but it rarely sticks! This is the most snow we have gotten in years and we are still stuck at home! (The local schools have been closed since Friday, and are closed again today, and our local Masses for Sunday and the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception were both cancelled, due to hazardous driving conditions.) Yesterday our pipes froze, but thankfully they thawed by the afternoon and we have been able to keep them from refreezing. The children have been loving the snow and having a blast sledding!
Cookies are AMAZING! LOVE the mold! St. Nikolaus is a favorite here for us but unfortunately no snow – yet! We had snow for Thanksgiving and then melted – hope we get a white Christmas! Looking forward to Santa Lucia on Friday – thanks for the link for the Lucia soft crown – we got one and it will be a surprise for my 8 yr old this year! Can't wait!
Blessings!
Beautiful Post!
You are such an inspiration to me. 99% of what I do with my kids comes from your suggestions. I didn't grow up living the Faith this way, but I want my kids to enjoy the beauty of their Faith so we celebrate the saints and seasons now! I am forever in debt to all your hard work on this blog. It helps me daily!
Anytime I make a purchase of your suggested items, I follow your links! Thanks for being a holy example to families everywhere.
Many Blessings this Advent!
What a special way to celebrate such a great Feast Day! Love the photos of all of you having fun in the snow. Your youngest looks so grown up in the ones taken of him looking out the window! Enjoy your winter wonderland! Bernadette 🙂
Lovely, once again! Saint Nicholas bless you all! Will add some things to my wish list for next year! Thank goodness shopping is long since finished! -Genevieve
Beautiful, inspirational pictures…thank you for sharing glimpses of your life with the rest of us. I especially liked seeing you sledding! I bought a pair of those precious booties for a friend that just had a baby–I finally found the gift I wanted to send! So thanks for sharing the link!
Blessings, Marisa M
Hello Jessica, Your family Saint Nicholas celebration looks enchanting! Each photo is so special and how wonderful that you had snow for this most special Advent Holy Day! Your children look like they are having so much winter fun. Your photos bring back such fond memories of my childhood sledding down big hills and climbing back to the top. My sweet Mom always had hot chocolate and peanut butter sandwiches ready for us when we came inside after a fun filled afternoon of sledding. I just wanted to mention that in the new printed version of Kersti and Saint Nicholas the full names of Kersti's sisters were not included in this new text. I am of Dutch ancestry and so fascinated by the beautiful Dutch names and I thought that your daughter might like to know what their full names were in the original Hilda van Stockum book of 1940. "Bettekee" is Elizabeth Cornelia; "Mintje" is Araminta Antoinette Sophie; "Gerda" is Gerarda Margriet Nella; "Truda" is Geertruida Anna Marie; Willemien is Willemien Barbara and Siepertje is Siepertje Henrietta Alida…and of course little Kersti was just Kersti…whose personality was bigger than all of these names combined. I just know your daughter is enjoying this story. Oh my what a little stinker Kersti was throughout the story! I just love her character and I continue to read this book every first week of December. Thank you for your delightful post. Sincerely, Debbie
I just began following your blog. Thank you so much for sharing your stories and faith with Catholic moms and all! You are an inspiration to me and have become a wonderful resource to guide me in raising my family in our Catholic faith!
Your Saint Nicholas celebration was wonderful, as well. Your details make everything memorable and meaningful for your family.
Thank you ~ Claudine
I love your sweet pictures of St. Nicholas Day! What a special gift that you had a snowfall on that day– I'm sure your kids will remember it as one of the best St. Nicholas Das ever! The picture of the deer out in the snow looks like a beautiful Christmas card–it gave me a cozy feeling. Wishing you all many Advent blessings.