Santa Lucia Day
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| Saint Lucia Sweden |
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| Saint Lucia’s Braided Bread |
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| St. Lucia and Star Boy from Armadillo Dreams |
A Brunch on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Happy Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!
I hope you all had a blessed feast! Originally our plans for the day included the tutor here for five hours followed by a trip into town for a fundraiser/dinner at Chipotle for some dear friends. . . Due to the weather, and hazardous driving conditions, the tutor wasn’t able to make it and we stayed home all day. I was still able to pull together a fun brunch for the children in honor of today’s feast, while we all listened to the beautiful Mañanitas CD from Sister Servants and Matins for the Virgin of Guadalupe!
The brunch ended up being such a great alternative to what we have done in the past! (here and here)
We made my Grandmother’s and Mom’s “crepes” cut into the shape of tilmas with maple syrup, whipped cream and Marionberries for the roses, Aztec hot cocoa with Star shaped marshmallows, Bacon, Ham and Cheese Crescent Rolls, Oranges and Orange Juice. It didn’t take long to pull it all together while the children set the table. And I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee and read The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Empress of the Americas while they enjoyed the feast.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Heart of my Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe, I unite to thy purity, thy sanctity, thy zeal and thy love, all my thoughts, words, acts, and sufferings this day, that there may be nothing in me that does not become through thee, a pleasure to Jesus, a gain to souls, and an act of reparation for the offenses against thy Heart.
My Daybook :: The Second Week of Advent
Outside my window…
After all these years, my husband finally talked me into hiking the mountain in our back yard to watch the sunset! Totally worth it… (and hopefully all the poison oak is buried deep beneath the snow!)
I am thinking…
about my inbox. It is overflowing with emails and I can’t possibly respond to them all… I’m trying to let it go and hope everyone understands.
I am thankful…
that I survived yesterday. Here is a peek at our busy day from the photos I posted on Instagram and Facebook! 🙂
Learning all the time…
the boys made sure to keep up with their math lessons while waiting at the Dentist!
Celebrating the liturgical year…
so many feast days! This week we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the feast of Saint Lucy!
I gave this book to my husband for Father’s Day earlier this year and actually have a half finished post in my drafts folder with additional pictures… I should finish and post it sometime. It is such a gorgeous book!
From the kitchen…
lots of soup! The Beefed-Up Barley Soup my mom suggested when we were out shopping last week was so yummy! Perfect for these cold and snowy days after an afternoon sledding!
I am working on…
finding a few more stocking stuffers. I think the comments from this post might be a good place to start.
I am creating…
Santa Lucia’s Braided Bread, or at least I will be soon!
I am going…
to pull out another Noah’s Ark puzzle! The kids, especially Snuggles, have had so much fun working on this puzzle. I think they assembled it, and reassembled it, three or four times the other night alone!
I am hoping…
that our pipes don’t freeze again… That made for an interesting Monday morning. The weather has been so crazy for here, with lows around 0-8 degrees. Tonight we are expecting freezing rain, and tomorrow freezing fog. It doesn’t look like I’ll be going to town again anytime soon.
I am praying…
for Jenn, especially today!
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| A simple centerpiece for our dining table with Advent candles from past years. |
I am reading…
Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting.
Pondering these words…
from St. Augustine of Hippo:
I am listening…
to my husband read a story each evening after our family rosary.
We are still listening to Advent at Ephesus and Adventus. We also just started listening to Mater Eucharistiae, the beautiful Mañanitas CD from Sister Servants, and Matins for the Virgin of Guadalupe!
Oh! Today the kids were also listening to Fresh Flowers in Winter while they worked on our Our Lady of Guadalupe Puzzle once again. We had to start on something new since we finished the Noah’s Ark Puzzle so quickly!
Around the house…
- Celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception!
- Tutors on
Tuesday and Thursday– both canceled due to hazardous weather and driving conditions. . . - Dentist, Orthodontist, and Hair Appointments on Wednesday. . .
- Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!
- Celebrate Santa Lucia Day!
- Cut down our Christmas Tree, weather permitting. . .
- Prepare for the birthdays next week!
— Happy Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!
{this moment}
I quietly captured this moment from his bedroom door the other night without being seen… It always melts my heart to catch our children praying again on their own after being sent to bed!
Celebrating the Feast of St. Nicholas :: 2013
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| We had a beautiful snowy feast day this year! Eventually the snow was “well past St. Nicholas’ miter!” |
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! |
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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,
Giving money to poor girls, so marry could they,
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| This year’s St. Nicholas Cookies! I’ll try to post a few more pictures at Catholic Cuisine soon… |
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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 |
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| Our visitors during our St. Nicholas Day Brunch! |
—St. Nicholas Day Poem, Author Unknown
Bargain Priced Books :: Celebrating Advent And Christmas With Children {Currently Free For Kindle!}
Congratulations to Amy H. who won the giveaway for a copy of Celebrating Advent and Christmas With Children!
I also wanted to let the rest of you know that the Kindle Edition is currently FREE at Amazon!
If you are like me and prefer having a hard copy of these sorts of books, the Paperback Edition is also currently 43% off!
My Daybook :: The First Week of Advent
Note: I meant to publish this post yesterday and didn’t have a chance to finish uploading the photos before going out shopping with my mom all evening (before the snowstorm hit today)! I’ll be back with a few pictures from today, but in the meantime – Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!
Outside my window… It is COLD! We have a “Winter Storm Watch” with a 100% chance of snow on Friday, the Feast of St. Nicholas! It doesn’t snow here very often so the children are all very excited!
I am thinking…
about driving into town to pick up a few things, before the storm hits. Hot Cocoa, whipping cream, cherries, and some Nutter Butters, plus a few other things just in case we lose power.
I am thankful…
for our wood stove fireplace insert! It helps keep the house so warm and cozy.
Learning all the time…
We are back to school this week following our Thanksgiving break… In the past we have tried to take all of Advent off of our formal schoolwork to focus on Advent and preparing our hearts for Christmas, however as the children get older it has gotten harder to take that long of a break during this time of the year. If all goes as planned we will still be able to take a few weeks off beginning with the feast of St. Lucy on December 13th! Now if we can push through the rest of this week and next….
Celebrating the liturgical year…
as we always do during Advent!
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| Adding the Noah’s Ark ornament to our original Jesse Tree |
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| My “baby” is getting so big! |
From the kitchen…
I had a little helper making cookie dough the other morning!
I am working on…
praying for and doing extra special things for my “Christkindl!”
I am creating…
St. Nicholas Coins for the feast. I found the bag of Belgium Chocolate Coins at Costco, printed out the images, and quickly cut them out with a Fiskars Circle Punch!
I am going…
to start wrapping some more Christmas gifts! This and this arrived this week (I had pre-ordered them for the boys) and this* arrived for Bud (*just the figurines – at a great sale price!). I don’t know who is more excited about Christmas, me or the kids?!? I can’t wait to give them these gifts!
I am hoping…
that I will find a new source for Advent candles that I love as much as the ones I always purchased from the Abbey… How I wish the monk would have been able to continue making these gorgeous candles. My favorites were the round pillars, but this year we are using a set of square pillars I purchased a couple years ago (the very last set available in the gift shop) when I found out they wouldn’t be carrying them any longer. How hard is it to learn how to make candles? 😉
I am praying…
Advent prayers each night with my family. These few pictures were taken just after our wreath was blessed (by my husband, while I lit the first candle) and we prayed our St. Andrew Christmas Novena and Family Rosary on the First Sunday of Advent.
I am reading…
Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting.
Pondering these words…
from Mother Teresa:
I am listening…
to Advent at Ephesus, Adventus (Tracks 1-5 for the First Week of Advent), and Legends of Nicholas.
Soon we will start listening to Mater Eucharistiae, The Story of Christmas (First songs including Ave Maria, Angelus, Breath of Heaven, and Magnificat…), the beautiful Mañanitas CD from Sister Servants, and Matins for the Virgin of Guadalupe for the upcoming feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe!
I am also considering purchasing a copy of Voice of Joy, after reading Melody’s recommendation!
Around the house…
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| If you are searching for Baby Jesus you might have to scale a wall… or at least a baby gate! |
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| The Wise Men took shelter under the rosemary bush and noticed a beautiful fragrance. (It is said that the rosemary’s fragrance arose after Mary hung her linens to dry on its branches!) They also spotted “a star in the East!” and started climbing to get a better view! |
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| “Okay! Who spilled the beans? It looks like we aren’t the only ones searching for Baby Jesus!” |
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| After hearing so much about Noah on the 4th day of Advent, the Wise Men decided to stop by the Ark and say hello… If only they could get to the top without slip-sliding down all the rainbows! As for the camel, he’s busy catching up with some old buddies! (You can find Noah’s Rainbow Race at Amazon or at Catholic Child.) |
- Mrs. W tutoring on Thursday
- Celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas! Unfortunately with the snow storm we won’t be able to make the drive for Friday morning Mass…
- Spend Saturday at home playing in the snow, assembling puzzles, and enjoying our time together as a family!
- Mass for the Second Sunday of Advent
A little peek at my day…
Metal Earth {3D Laser Cut Models}
I keep forgetting to share these pictures from a couple weeks ago! Rascal had so much fun putting together a Metal Earth 3D Laser Cut Model one Sunday afternoon!
The Manuafacture recommends them for ages 14-18, but our 11 (almost 12) year old didn’t have any trouble assembling his ship.
We are planning on purchasing a couple more of these little models to include in the older boys Christmas stockings…
Perhaps the Wright Brothers Airplane, the P-51 Mustang, or the Sherman Tank?
The Neuschwanstein Castle looks really neat too… I really wish they had the Vatican or some Catholic Cathedrals! 🙂
There are so many great options… which to choose? If anyone has built these before I’d love to hear your favorites!
A Jesse Tree Ornament Swap
Thank you to Karen for hosting this swap along with a second swap as well! That is over 60 sets of ornaments to sort and mail, and all during her first trimester no less… Amazing!
Preparing for Christmas :: Seven Fun Finds for Advent
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| My St. Andrew Chaplet from Mary Devotions |
As cute as the vinyl dolls are, I really LOVE wooden toys! This past summer, during a special sale, I purchased some more wooden dolls from Armadillo Dreams. I’ve posted pictures of our sweet Santa Lucia doll in the past. St. Nicholas will arrive on December 6th and the Star Boy will join Santa Lucia on December 13th. I also had just enough in my Paypal account (from All About Learning affiliate sales – thank you!) to also purchase the Nativity Set at the discounted price! I am planning on giving that to the family during the O Antiphons for “O Emmanuel.”
I love that Advent begins on December 1st this year and so nicely coordinates with our favorite Advent Calendar! Along with our original Jesse Tree, this Advent Calendar (pictured above) was one of our very first Advent traditions… It is still a favorite!
Our family really loves to assemble puzzles during Advent! In 2010 we assembled the Our Lady of Guadalupe Puzzle. In 2011 the kids loved The Nativity in the Woods Puzzle, followed by the gorgeous Holy Family Jigsaw Puzzle and the They Come Bearing Gifts Puzzle for Epiphany. Last year we assembled the beautiful Glorious Nativity 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle and this lovely stained glass puzzle.
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