Gingerbread Houses on New Year’s Eve
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| “I want mine to look like Mommy’s!!!” – Bud |
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| We added roof tiles, using the cookies from the Dancing Deer Gingerbread House Cookie Kit we were given for Christmas, along with some other decorations (including a porch light like on Rose’s house) and he was happy. |
Gingerbread House Cookies
Mary, the Holy Mother of God
My parents weren’t the only ones who were given a new statue this year! Along with a few other thoughtful gifts (pearl earrings, a couple books, a new game, and some “Enjoy Life” chocolate!) my husband gave me a lovely statue of Our Lady of Fatima, complete with crystal eyes and a metal, jeweled crown! This is just like the statue (plus a little extra lipstick, which made me laugh since most of mine had just been stolen) that my Grandparents gave to my parents on their first wedding anniversary when I was just a couple months old. I loved that statue while I was growing up and have always wanted one similar for our family! She looks so much bigger in our home than she does over at my parents, but I’m sure we will find the perfect place for her soon. Isn’t she beautiful?!
A Statue of the Holy Family for Dad and Mom
Even though many of my siblings were not able to travel home for Christmas this year – it ended up just being three of my brothers and I out of the twelve of us, unlike last year when nine of us were together – I was still able to coordinate a special gift to give our parents when everyone came over on Christmas Eve! It was so much fun to plan and visit with all my brothers and sisters, currently spread out from Hawaii all the way to Australia, in a private group message on Facebook. It’s been way too long since we’ve all been together!
A Few Pictures From Instagram & Car Seat Update
December 23, 2015: Our bank wasn’t sure what to think of the grocery “shopping spree” I went on last night to Costco, Natural Grocers, and finally Trader Joe’s. It took me 30 minutes (9-9:30pm, they close at 9) on the phone with the fraud department to verify that it really was me using the temporary debit card (my only payment option at the moment) which I was issued on Monday, after my purse was stolen Saturday night. The employees at TJ’s were so kind, patient, and understanding. Then, as I was about to walk out the door, they tucked a bright and cheerful bouquet of flowers into my basket as a little gift! #ilovetraderjoes
We are still working on getting everything straightened out. It’s been such a mess. I kept way too much in that purse… We were finally able to pick up the car from the glass shop on Christmas Eve and I ended up having a little meltdown after cutting my hand on some glass. They said they “shop vac’d” what they could and I needed to clean up the rest… I took it to the dealership where I purchased it this past summer and they were so great. The service department pulled some of their detail guys off their current work projects and had them use compressed air to clean up some of the glass and they also pressure washed all the mats. I’ll need to schedule an appt with a body shop to get the rest of the glass out of the door – you can hear it every time it gets shut. Sean worked on it some more yesterday (finding even more glass!) and installed our new carseats for the little ones. I’m still working on a detailed list for the insurance claim, but we’re getting there!
December 26, 2015: I received such thoughtful gifts this year, including a few to replace some of the items that were in my purse when it was stolen last weekend… New makeup from my brother & sister-in-law, new pearl earrings from my husband, and a gorgeous new chapel veil from Robin Nest Lane!
A Little Request for Prayers & Car Seat Advice…
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| A picture from Bud’s 4th Birthday Saturday night, posted to Instagram on Sunday: Note to self: Next time DO NOT leave purse in car during high school hockey game, especially after getting paid for the month… Added to wish list: New drivers license, bank account, credit cards, replace shattered car window, new car seats, purse, wallet, chapel veils, favorite rosary, makeup, sunglasses, camera lens, and so much more… #workingondetachment #tryingnottoletitstealmyjoy |
In addition to some last minute Christmas shopping (a little hard to do with all my credit cards cancelled… Thankfully most of it was completed before Advent while I was putting together the list of Christmas Gift Ideas!), writing Christmas Cards (might not happen now this year, at least not before Christmas), and mailing gifts to the rest of our Godchildren, there was so much I was hoping to blog about – two fun birthdays, more on the O Antiphons (the treats and chocolates have been a hit!), last minute Christmas preparations, and that post about the books on the boys’ bookshelf that I started last year (you can find the girls books here) – but it is going to have to wait for now…
One of the next things I need to do, now that we have access to our bank funds again, is purchase new car seats for our two youngest who just turned six and four this past week. It’s been over four years since we have even looked at carseats and I was hoping some of you might have some suggestions/recommendations for us. The two carseats we have now were both gifts: a Britax (I’m not sure if it’s the Roundabout or the Marathon and (I think) a pink Graco 3-in-1, both older versions of course. I’m going to vacuum off the glass and look a little closer for the model numbers in the morning.
My question… If you had to go buy two new carseats with insurance to help cover the cost (they will pay the replacement value on new versions of the brands/models we have, we pay our deductibles and any excess if I choose different versions on all the items that were stolen) what would you choose? I’m so tired right now and would love some help deciding if anyone has a favorite to suggest. Thank you in advance!
The Great O Antiphons, The Golden Nights
Ever since our oldest children were very little, we have been implementing an old monastic custom in our home by providing special treats, representing each of the “O Antiphons” on the days leading up to Christmas. The O Antiphon prayers begin on December 17th and end on the 23rd, which is the last Vespers of Advent, since the evening prayer on the 24th is the Vigil of Christmas.
The Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one – Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia – the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, “Tomorrow, I will come.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, “Tomorrow, I will come.” So the “O Antiphons” not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion.
Each night, following our family rosary, we pray the O Antiphon for the day, sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel, which was inspired by this ancient tradition, and then give the children a special treat.
The “treats” have varied from year to year. Some years it has been little gifts or activities for the family, some years it is all food related, and some years it is a mix of both, depending on our schedule and budget. Sometimes the treats are a bit of a stretch, but my goal is try and find gifts that will either help increase our faith (Catechism books, holy family, saints, prayer, etc) or encourage family time (games, puzzles, going to look at Christmas lights, etc). You can find some of our past O Antiphon treats by scrolling through the archives and visiting Catholic Cuisine.
This afternoon the girls and I also made some simple candies for each day. I posted more pictures along with all the details here: O Antiphon Chocolate Coins
Our family loves this tradition. It is such a fun way to teach the children about these beautiful prayers of the church and also increase their excitement as Christmas gets closer. Oh, and since we have seven children now, they each get to unwrap one of the gifts!
This year I ordered A Pictorial Catechism, a brand new release from St. Augustine Academy Press!
“Despite its object “to inculcate the doctrines of Romanism” and its hearty recommendation by Cardinal Wiseman, even the London Art Journal in May 1863–amidst sidehand comments that its texts “differ from those in our authorized Bible”–saw fit to recommend this Pictorial Catechism for its “One hundred and twelve wood engravings, well executed, after the original designs of a distinguished artist of the Dusseldorf school.”
No such faint praise was to be heard from the Catholic world, however, as this was the first book of its kind to combine both solid catechism and the finest artwork with an affordable price. The Apostle’s Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Commandments of the Church, Sin, Virtue, the Sacraments and Prayer are all brought to life with illustrations and quotes from Scripture pertaining to the precepts being taught.
We have lovingly restored these engravings and have improved the original layout of the book, grouping the subjects into clearly demarcated sections. The table of contents displays the tenets to be learned, while an index helps the reader find images in chronological order as they are found in the Bible.
Best of all, the engravings make perfect coloring pages for children.”
(Note: One of our older boys unwrapped this book this evening and really enjoyed looking through it with some of his siblings. We really love that the book includes scripture passages for each topic! The book is filled with beautiful images, however some of them are definitely scary. I’ll be picking and choosing which pages to share with our little ones.)
In the past those books have included this illustrated book of saints, Around the Year: Once Upon a Time Saints, the beautiful A Catholic Child’s Picture Dictionary, Novena: The Power of Prayer, new children’s prayer books for Mass, a craft kit to make Christmas Bookmarks, and this new Catholic Trivia game.
Since this is initially a monastic tradition, and on this night, the monk in charge of the wine cellar would provide a special bottle of wine. We usually always serve a special drink with dinner. Sometimes I also serve a Key Lime Pie as well. One year I purchased a couple key hook rails from Target to use to hang our Rosaries (you can see them in our home in this post), another year we gave the children this Key Puzzle/Brainteaser, and last year it was tickets (the Key!) to A Christmas Carol at the theatre.
This year, in addition to a special drink with dinner, I picked out some Tiny Saints Key Hooks plus a copy of the Tiny Saints board book for our youngest. I had actually planned to put these in their stockings but they are perfect for this O Antiphon.
Our favorite tradition for this O Antiphon is to pile in the car after dinner with hot cocoa and drive around to look at all the Christmas lights. In the past we have also given the children this set of sun blocks, decorated our own house or tree with Christmas lights, enjoyed “O Dayspring Ice Cream,” added the Kurt Adler 10-Light Candle with Gold Dish Light Set to our Christmas Tree, or decorated our Christmas Candle using a tiny wax baby Jesus I purchased years ago along with Stockmar Gold Decorating Beeswax.
Back when I ordered this year’s Advent Candles, I ordered additional candles from the cloister as well. I ended up wrapping the Christmas Hearth candle for this O Antiphon and will save the Three Kings candle for Epiphany!
Bayberry Christmas Eve Candle from The Cloister Shoppe
Last year we introduced our children to the Polish tradition of Oplatki Wafers and are continuing that tradition in our own home again this Christmas Eve:
On Christmas Eve the Polish people celebrate a traditional vigil supper called “Wigilia” which means “to await”. The children of the family look for the appearance of the first star at dusk and then to begin the meal members of the family break up pieces of Oplatki and give them to each other with a blessing. Then the actual supper begins. (Read more at Aquinas and More.)
I recommend this set from Aquinas and More. I have also ordered this set (with greeting cards to give to extended family) from the large selection of Oplatki Wafers over at Amazon.
O Antiphon Chocolate Coins
I decorated two sets of coins and then turned the rest over to my girls to finish. They did a great job. It’s so nice having helpers! 🙂
Santa Lucia Day
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| St. Lucy made by Naturally Catholic from St. Nicholas Day |
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| Singing Santa Lucia from Lucia, Saint of Light |
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| Singing Santa Lucia from Lucia Morning in Sweden (we have the hardcover edition) |
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| Once our power was restored, we baked our annual Santa Lucia Braided Bread to serve Monday morning! |
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| Our oldest daughter received her new Christmas Eve nightgown a little early this year! The girls have been using the same Lucia gowns for years, but this year it was too small. She loves her new flannel nightgown! |
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| The star wands came in handy for waking up those teenage boys! 😉 |
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| A Special Nameday Gift – St. Lucia 11×14″ Print from Audrey Eclectic |
Snow Day
We woke up early this morning on the feast of St. Lucia, Saint of Light, to a power outage and our first snowfall since December 2013! #gaudetesunday #santaluciabreadpostponed #lightthecandles
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