Seven Quick Takes: November

1. Goodness, here we are at the end of November and the doorstep of Advent.  This Fall has been a whirlwind.  A good one albeit, but a whirlwind nevertheless.  I don't expect Spring to be any different, except maybe more whirlwind-ish.  I just love November.  It's magical.  Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays and the Advent season immensely, but there is something magical about the anticipation that November brings.  The one-of-a-kind sky (have you ever really looked at the November sky? There's just something so November-y about it.), the slanty light, the changing weather, the beautiful trees, the anticipatory waiting for holidays to come.  This book sums it up pretty perfectly for me.  Some day I'll purchase our own copy, but honestly I think I may love it more than the kids do, LOL.
2. Thanksgiving break was nice.  It was different this year, as I had inservice on Monday and Tuesday, but the kids had an awesome time at the sitter's and the rest of the week was a relaxing, enjoyable time with family and just hanging out around the house.  On Saturday, I believe I wore my pajamas until 4pm.  Then I changed into something equally pajama-ish to cut the boys' hair. And then I showered.  And put my pajamas back on.  Now that's the life!  Speaking of clothes (sort of), I ordered some more "maternity" clothes this past week from Old Navy while they were having 50% off.  I put maternity in quotes because none of them were actually specifically maternity items. I finally broke down and ordered some leggings (oh my word, no one told me how warm and comfortable leggings are, holy moly) and some dresses that I wouldn't wear non-pregnant because they'd look like too-short potato sacks on me, but they actually work great on me+baby belly with the leggings, so I think with what I ordered I may have just stretched my professional wardrobe up to baby-time (for the most part).  Hopefully.
3. I've set up a bunch of Christmas specials on the DVR.  All the usuals (Charlie Brown, The Grinch, Rudolph, etc. etc.) Even though some of them have already recorded, I told the kids they need to spread them out and wait until closer to Christmas to watch them.  We did watch Frosty and Frosty Returns yesterday.  Oh my word, Frosty Returns is horrible.  It is the epitome of low-budget, plot-less 1990's sequels.  I deleted it as soon as it was over (and wish I would have deleted it five minutes in).  For something new this year I am recording The Polar Express, which they've never seen.  Actually, I don't think I've ever seen it either.  I can't decide on Elf.  That is one of those movies that I laugh so hard at every year, and could seriously watch it over and over and not tire of it, just not quite sure if I'm ready for the kids to watch it yet (at almost 9, almost 7 and 4.5).  I am curious to hear others' thoughts on this, because IMHO, that one deserves the title "classic" (or at least modern-day classic) in my books, but I'm just having trouble gauging age-appropriateness (and I probably err on the side of caution more often in that department).  Gemma gets to go see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever with her class at a local live theatre, so I have requested the book from the library to read (still debating whether to read to just her or all the kids).  I remember my mom reading this book to us every year (it seems like, maybe it wasn't that often) and just loving it.
4. I am getting wordy.  Here are some pictures from our first day of Thanksgiving break.  It was cold (really the first COLD cold day of the season) so we had hot-chocolate after school, and Kolbe  made us a turkey soup recipe (which interestingly enough had beef, not turkey in it. but it was delish never-the-less).
    
5.  I have hit (and passed) the halfway point of this pregnancy.  See aforementioned whirlwind.
   
6. Much to my dismay, the kids have inherited a ridiculously large collection of bottle caps.  So ridiculously large that they have been ordered to keep them in the garage.  I will say, they do keep them ridiculously entertained....
    
7. And here we are at Advent!  I always love the Advent season.  This year we will be using the book Welcome Baby Jesus at the breakfast table.  I've used this book two or three times before, and it was actually sent home from school to all families this year so it was definitely meant to be.  We will be using the same Jesse Tree as last year (which I loved, using a combo of the regular RSV and our Children's Bible) and while I haven't gone through our books and assigned one for each day like other years, we will definitely be doing a loose version of picture book a day again this year.  With the growing our home library has slowly done each year, and the addition of six more Christmas hardcovers from St. Nicholas here in a week-and-a-half, I only ended up requesting about a dozen-and-a-half Christmas books from the library this year!  So fun!!  Our wreath candles I ordered last year still have another year in them (at least).  No countdown/Advent activity chain this year.  Hopefully the kids don't mutiny...  What does Advent look like at your house?  Richest blessings of the season to all, and as we were reminded in today's Gospel, stay awake!  He is coming!!  For more SQT click here.  PAX!
   

Living liturgically: morning prayers

Recently I read this post on Living Liturgically as a family, and it got me reflecting on the things that our family does to live liturgically throughout the year in our little domestic Church.  I think my favorite part of this article was the very first point she made: it takes YEARS to build up traditions and become familiar with the liturgical year.  True. That.  I remember being a young(er) mama with a toddler and a baby and feeling so.overwhelmed. at all the different things that we could be doing but weren't doing.  But slowly over the years we have added this, tried that, quit doing something else because no one would cooperate, etc. etc. etc.  And now, what may seem like a lot for someone from the outside looking in, is simply the rhythm that our family lives throughout the seasons of the Church year.  Do we have it all figured out?  Nope.  We're still adding and molding and forming, and I am amazed how traditions evolve through the years as the kids get older.  I may have gotten a little teary last year when there was really no reason to sing our little "Jesus is Coming" toddler-song around the Advent wreath.  But I think that's the key to traditions, letting them evolve and take the shape they need to for your family wherever you're at, and realizing that traditions can change (or go away) over the years as children grow, and that's OK.  

I also liked her point #2: living liturgically happens year round.  I noticed this year, profoundly, that it didn't seem like we were doing much for Advent...and then I realized we were doing all our "regular things" but since the liturgical year has become such a natural part of our lives year round, Advent was more-or-less a bit of a change-up in the regular things we do daily instead of the "radical switching of gears" she mentioned.  

The rest of her points are good too.  Seriously, check out the article.  But I'll stop now and get on to the point of this post, which was supposed to be family Morning Prayers.

One of my favorite liturgical-living traditions that our family has added recently (past 6-8 months or so) is using the Prayer found at the end of Morning Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours (I use the one volume version, Christian Prayer) at the end of our family morning prayers.  Our morning prayers typically consist of the Bless us, oh Lord prayer (since we pray them before breakfast), the traditional Morning Offering, stating the Holy Father's monthly intentions and also praying for a specific priest or seminarian from our diocese each day.  We also add any family member/friend who may have a birthday or anniversary (or something else going on) that day.  We pray a simple prayer that goes along with whatever the month's theme is (did you know that each month has a particular devotion in the Catholic Church?  See here for more on that...) for instance, a Hail Mary in October or the Act of Contrition or Act of Love during Lent (this is also a great opportunity to help the kids memorize their rote prayers).  Then I say the Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours (which takes all of 10 seconds) and we're done.  I love adding this Prayer because it is such a simple way to focus on what is happening liturgically on that specific day, be it a Church season like Lent or Advent, or a feast day or memorial, such as the Transfiguration or the Feast of St. Luke.  And full disclosure: my oldest still grumbles most days that I had the audacity to change our regular morning prayers by adding this (apparently excruciating) ten seconds of recited prayer.  But I'm sticking with this one.  ;-)

God is good...all the time.  May he continue to bless us, everyone, as we live His love throughout the year.

Journal: midway through November

TODAY

Out my window: Cloudy and cool.  We had a nice rain last night and currently it is starting to rain again and there are little ice balls mixed in every now and then.  Weird.  It was sunny for a bit around lunch today, but Sunday and Monday were cloudy as well. Looks like we may have our first freeze of the season later this week.  I hear our weather is marginally better than Denver though.  So my sources say.... 

Around the house: We put the finishing touches on Gemma's upstairs room this past weekend.  I think we will still look for a mirror for above the dresser, but it turned out really nicely and I love having her back upstairs.  It's cozy, and amazingly there is room for the dog (yay?).  If we had it to do over again I suppose we should have just kept her upstairs in the first place, but we really thought we'd have another baby in that room by now. It's funny how things don't always work out how we "plan" them...

The kiddos: Looking forward to the week off school next week! We have a few fun things planned and the more relaxed mornings are always usually nice.  They've been playing a lot of games, their favorites lately are Trouble and Blam-o (which is Aaron's made-up version of war). I am holding my breath though, they've been playing out doors a looooooot and I am curious how things are going to shake out once it's too cold and dark to go out daily....

In the kitchen: Holy moly, I cooked up a storm yesterday.  Beef stew, chicken chili, chicken parmesan, focaccia bread, a white chocolate cheesecake (I actually made that on Sunday), spaghetti in red sauce and some steamed carrots.  I think that's all...  (this was for us and for my job, we don't eat THAT much around here).  We are going to work on some leftovers, since Aaron also had a big smoking project over the weekend.  On the menu for the rest of the week are tacos and my take on Alton's Baked Stuffed Flounder.  Starting to think about menu-planning for next week.  Broccoli salad for one of our get-togethers is the only thing I've got as of now.

Learning:  I have a whole stack of Christmas books from the library, and another one coming in a few days, so I'm looking forward to working on this year's Picture Book a Day plans. I found some new-to-us titles in this post that I'm excited about!

Reading: 

Some fun ones we've read of-late that aren't in this stack:
The Gift of Nothing
Exclamation Mark

The Quiltmaker's Gift 

and of course Turkey Trouble 

Clement was also very excited to learn there is a whole series of Mousekin books.

I've been working on Theology for Beginners; The Imitation of Christ; Deep Conversion, Deep Prayer; Introduction to the Devout Life; and Searching for and Maintaining Peace.  Links can be found over on my Bookshelf tab.

As far as chapter book read-alouds with the kids go, working on The Moffat Museum with all three and First Farm in the Valley with G.

Watching: Some Gold Rush, Booze Traveler, a bit of Bourdain and Zimmern here and there.  Nothing much of note.

Bringing me joy: Books. Prayer. November. Family. The kids. "Dates" with Aaron after the kids are in bed.

Thinking about: Inner peace.

Pictures to share:  

I got nothin' aside from what I shared above. 
PAX!

Our 2015 Jesse Tree

We have done a Jesse Tree -- in one way or another -- for a number of years now, but it has never been terribly organized.  I really really like our Lenten Cross readings (see bottom of linked post) every year and have known for a few years now that I should be more intentional about our Jesse Tree readings/symbols.  We've done the Holy Heroes DVD once? twice?, and while I like it a lot, to be honest I really like just reading straight from the Bible with the kids as much as possible.  The fact that Advent is not a set length was somehow stressful to me when it came to planning, so this year I found a Biblical reading list from Catholic Culture that simply starts on December 1st.  It is obviously not as all-inclusive as the ones that start on the First Sunday of Advent, but it is going to work for us.  I also like that it ties the O Antiphons in starting on December 17th.  Two for one!!  We will use my RSV and our Children's Bible (which is NRSV text with beautiful illustrations and a few extras) as our sources.  I actually used the printable ornaments that are on the Holy Heroes DVD and correlated them with my set of readings, colored them (that took awhile!), laminated them, and rather than hanging them on a tree, we will actually just hang them on our pantry door in the shape of a Christmas tree.  I have seriously oogled over some of the felt ornament sets out there, but I am simply not that crafty and refuse to spend that much, so what we have will work.  And I am excited about delving in this year!!  What are some of your favorite Advent traditions and prayers?

Advent Wreath 2013

I thought I would join in the Catholic Mom Advent Wreath link-up today!  I made our Advent wreath last year after getting plain tired of the taper candles and the messes they caused (and the sheer number we went through).  We like to leave our wreath lit during all three meals, and that turned out to be a lot of candles!!  Plus, as our children have grown and become more, um, eager in blowing out the candles all that hot wax just became a little messy.  I ordered some 3x6 inch pillars from an online store and used an old wreath and some embellishments hot-glued to one of those charger-plate things you can get at the craft store.  I love how it turned out and we are on our second year of the same candles, so even though they were a little pricey to me it was worth it.  We are also using O Radiant Dawn for the second year now as a family prayer/mediation each night.  This book is so simple and wonderful.  The Advent season is my favorite of the year...the newness, the anticipation and preparation.  I love the rhythm the prayers and traditions bring to our days as well.  Some of our other favorite family Advent traditions are:

• Reading a Picture Book a Day for Advent and Christmas 
• The Holy Heroes Jesse Tree DVD
• Lovely music to listen to like Handel's Messiah and Advent at Ephesus
• The children love their nightly story from the Advent Storybook

Blessings to you and yours as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior.

Journal: early Advent

TODAY

Out my window:  Dark.  Cold.  Wiiiiiiindy.  Twinkly Christmas lights.  

Clothing myself in: pass

Around the house: Most of the Christmas decorations are up.  The kids actually helped with the ornaments on tree...all three of them (well, Clem played with the purple shatter-proof ornaments that don't match the red and gold on the tree)...and it went really well.  I think they are OCD like me (scary, yes? no?) because I only had to move like three ornaments.  They did a really good job.  Aaron got a bunch of icicle lights and lined the outside of the house with them.  In years previous he has just done our two evergreen trees, but he decided the kids were getting old enough to think that was kind of lame.  ;-)  It looks really nice.

I need to write our Christmas letter.  Sigh.  Starting is always the hardest part.

 

The baby: Cute cute cute.  My parents have this dancing monkey thing that sings Jingle Bells and he started rocking. out. to it on Thanksgiving evening.  Never seen that kid, or ANY kid, dance with the moves he had.  In footie-jammies no less.  I got some video on my phone, but it is horribly awful quality.  Kind of makes me want to cry.  OH well.  Maybe he'll do it again.  I treasure the memory.  He has started shaking his head "yes" when you ask him a question.  When he has to poop he grunts and looks at me and holds my hand while we walk back to his "poop chair".  He doesn't talk much but he definitely communicates.  Oh, and he LOVES the big slide at the park and can climb up to it and go down it all by himself.  I usually guard him because I am paranoid and over-protective but he can do it on his own.  The other kids weren't doing this until they were sneaking up on two.   Oh my.

 

The kiddos:  I enjoyed Gemma's week off school, it really was nice having her around all day and I loved seeing her get to just play.  But it is nice being back in our usual routine this week too.  I am excited for Christmas break and so is she.  Not much else new.  I have been getting more "okays" and less fits when I ask her to do something, or answer something she asks, even if she isn't particularly happy about what I ask or answer, and that has been nice.  She is growing up, have I mentioned that?  

Kolbe's speech is improving so much.  He has been working on initial /k/ and is learning how to say his name!!!!!  I am noticing that he is starting to use sounds that he learns/works on at speech in his everyday conversation and I think that's so cool. 

In the kitchen: This week homemade pizza, chicken picadillo, meatloaf, chicken noodles and baked salmon.  Steamed veggies, some stuffing, tortilla chips, cheesy bread and fried rice for sides.  We have also discovered ground pork at the local meat locker and have been subbing it for beef in some things and it is really tasty! 

Crafting: We made pine cone turkeys for Thanksgiving!

I have been working on Christmas shopping (mainly online, although I did get out on Saturday for a bit...no Black Friday shopping for me this year!) and thinking about wrapping.  Lest anyone think that I think shopping is crafting, I do not.  I just had nowhere else to put that.  Progress is being made.  WHEW, this late Thanksgiving is really throwing me for a loop.  Tomorrow is the 5th?  Of December??  holy crap.

Learning:  Advent is in full swing, and I love our activities.  I was telling a friend the other night, Advent just brings such a nice rhythm to our days.  The kids are watching the Holy Heroes Jesse Tree DVD each morning during breakfast and coloring an ornament for that.  We light our Advent wreath during mealtimes.  Our Picture Book a Day selections are being enjoyed by all and we are using O Radiant Dawn (I really love this book) for family prayertime/meditation/discussion each night.  The kids also have a story each night before bed from The Advent Storybook. It is very sweet.  We are also using our activity chain again this year and I am liking it, as are the kids.  It's a fun visual to count down the days and the activities are simple yet meaningful.

Reading: bleh. nothing.  I really should pick up something.  Should. 

Watching:  This and that some evenings.  Enjoying this season of Gold Rush immensely.  

Bringing me joy: Advent.  I think this is my favorite time of year, liturgically speaking (and maybe otherwise as well).  Shopping for the kids for Christmas.  Listening to Handel's Messiah.  (Buy it.  You will not regret this purchase.)  Kolbe singing Christmas carols.  The beginnings of Christmas traditions in our family...it is really fun that the kids are getting old enough to remember things we've done other years, and I love how excited they get about some things.  Kolbe thinks Christmas lights are THE BEST, and gets so excited when he sees them. 

Thinking about: Life and death.  My aunt passed away today and there is nothing like death to get you thinking about life.  May she rest in peace.  

This article, Choosing to Make the Coffee, was really good and since I don't think I will Food for Thought anytime soon I am just sharing it here.  And speaking of Food for Thought, I liked this one entitled Can Charity Hurt? as well and thought it brought up some really good points.  I am glad to see that those who oversee large charities are asking these challenging questions of themselves and others. 

Pictures to share:  

Happy Feast Day, Clement!

LEAVES!!!

Journal (13th edition)

TODAY

Out my window: Sunny and warm (for December).  It rained last night!  But there were only 2/10ths in the rain gauge this morning.  I suppose I should be grateful that we got any, but oh I was wishing for a gully-washer.

Clothing myself in: The usual.

Around the house:  Got lots of gift-wrapping done this past week.  Continually sorting through items and trying to live more simply with what we truly need and not so much extra "stuff".  That being said, I have some bumGenius 4.0 diapers with inserts, some 3.0 size large all-in-ones, some overnight doublers and some Thirsties size medium covers I am looking to sell if anyone is interested. Condition is used but still good.  Plain and simple, I just bought more than we needed.  Price is negotiable, I would just be happy for them to get some use. 

 

The baby: Oh goodness, he's so cute.  He's rolling and squirming all over now and starting to notice and be intrigued by toys.  He finds Gemma and Kolbe to be highly amusing.  I often wonder how Gemma ever got entertained...I don't know what Clem would do without his older siblings' antics, I am amazed (and grateful) at how entertained they can keep him for quite the long stretches at times.  Aaron has commented on how interactive he is getting, and I am glad to see Clem and daddy finally getting some special time together.  Those first 5-6 months are definitely all about mama, and while I treasure that time and am sad to see it go, I can't dwell on or live in the past so it is fun embracing this new phase of his babyhood.   

 

The kiddos: Gemma is sooooo into making pictures (and other homemade craft items...kites, crowns, frames, etc. etc. etc.) for people.  Oh my heavens we have piles and piles of envelopes and other odds and ends to take to people every time we go somewhere.  Seriously, she will spend an entire morning (and I am not exaggerating) making pictures for people, putting them in envelopes, and writing their names on them.  I don't want to hurt her feelings and just throw them away, (although sometimes I do without her seeing...and half the time she finds me out!) but by the same token I'm just not always sure what to do with the massive amount of things she makes for people (namely family and neighbors)...

In the kitchen:  Baked Ziti; Smoked Gouda and Spinach Chikcen (recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook); Mexican Chili; Chile Rellenos; hoping to make some peppermint bark today if I can find some candy canes with natural (or no) color, as Kolbe seems to have a food-dye sensitivity. 

Crafting:  Finished Kolbe's Christmas blanket, it turned out really great!  I have a lot of other ideas in my head, namely they involve the sewing machine.  I hope to tackle them within the decade.  We made these napkin poinsettias (after reading this book) for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  They were really easy and fun, Gemma could almost do them on her own.  We have started the salt dough ornaments!!  Waiting for them to cure so we can begin painting.  (Oh shudder...children + non-washable paint is sometimes a bit more stress than I can endure.  We don't do any serious cookie baking around here for the holidays though so I figure this is a good enough alternative).

Learning: See above.  Mainly Advent activities.  Spending some time on Scripture/Salvation History with our Jesse tree readings has been good.  Really liking the Advent chain.  

Bringing me joy:  Hearing Gemma sing at Mass.  Stopping by Church this week and hearing Gregorian Chant playing over the sound system in the Church and gathering space...totally totally made my day, maybe my week.  Hearing Clem laugh.  Kolbe talking.  Seeing the kids (especially Kolbe) get sooo excited about seeing Christmas lights.  Colombian coffee.  We had been on a week or two kick of "coffee surprise" (meaning, dump all the random coffees leftover in the cabinet together and muscle through them each morning).  Oh how grateful I was for a cup of straight Colombian when that was over.  The sweet stories in this book.  My family, plain and simple. 

Thinking about: Parenting...this post really got me thinking.

Pictures to share: 

He's getting sooooo big.

Journal (12th edition)

TODAY

Out my window: Sunny.  Cold.  Supposed to be mild(er) today, and then get cold (relatively speaking) tomorrow and into the first part of the week.

Clothing myself in: Aw, do I HAVE to??  Grey sweats, tank and navy sweatshirt that is too big but I wear it because it is comfortable even though I don't particularly like how it looks.  Yes, this is my life.  And I'm getting a cold sore.  Bummer.  It has been a long time since I've had one, I mainly have them under control it seems through diet/supplements, but alas...  Bleh.

Around the house:  Christmas decos are mainly up.  Advent has been nice so far. Trying to just slow things down and focus on what's important.  "People before things," in the wise words of my spiritual director.  As easy as this sounds, it's not always.  Trying though, and Advent has provided a great time and motivation to really focus on this.

In the past few weeks I successfully completed the mail merge and printed envelopes with addresses and return addresses for our Christmas letter (this is always a miracle in and of itself, I only do a mail merge once a year and I never quite remember how...pins and needles until it's actually done).  THEN, I finally decided to buckle down and write the letter.  Starting out is always the hardest part.  Once I did that it took about 10 minutes, a day to sit on it and tweak, printed it.  Got the pictures ordered with a really good deal from Shutterfly.  Got some professionals done of the kids (now I'm out of order on when I did all this, but I'm too lazy to go back and correct myself).  Folded, stuffed, stamped, SENT!!!  Whew.  Don't ask how many.  (115).  Seriously, I have tried to cut our list and I just can't.  Do I have a problem?

Hoping to tackle gift wrapping this coming week.  Done with shopping for the most part.  

Wow, that was all very random.  Sorry.

 

The baby: Is rolling now.  He had been going back to front for a few weeks (although I just actually SAW him do it for the first time earlier this week).  Just this morning he figured out the front to back thing.  Now I have to watch where I leave him!!  And the floor is just such a safe spot with an almost five and almost three year old in the house.  OH dear...

 

The kiddos:  

I'll start with Kolbe...HE DID IT!!!!!  I am ready to call "The Great Potty Adventure of 2012" a SUCCESS!!!  We haven't had any accidents for over a week, and only a few "false starts".  AND, I don't have to remind him to go.  He heads into the bathroom and does his business all on his own without being told.  YAY!!!!!!!!!!  He is still in diapers at night, and I've a feeling he probably will be for awhile, but by golly we've got days down!!  The big success was celebrated with a package of "Thomas" underpants from St. Nicholas.  

Yes, St. Nicholas.  He visited this week bearing adorable chocolate Santas, holiday t-shirts for the kids, some Xylitol gum, hair-things for Gemma, patron saint prayer cards and the aforementioned undies.  As tradition holds we read this book, and the kids watched the CCC St. Nicholas story (I DVRd it from EWTN) several times in the past few days.  Gemma was so excited for his arrival (and Kolbe too by default) that she wanted to put her shoes on the fireplace first thing the morning of the 5th.  I had to remind her she would actually need to WEAR them that day, and she could put them out at night before bed and it would be fine.  It's fun seeing the kids look forward to these traditions in our family.    

In the kitchen:  Chicken Linguine, Meatloaf (I really should blog the recipe, my neighbor brought it to us after Clem was born and it was awesome.  It's my new favorite meatloaf recipe), TACOS for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, maybe Salmon Noodles (from my Betty Crocker cook book), but I may change my mind by Friday on that one.  As of now I'm not feelin' it, but that's what the "menu" says....  I'd also like to make some parsley pesto (loosely following this recipe), a neighbor (different one) brought us some parsley from her garden and I've found this to be a great thing to have in the fridge.  And while I like basil pesto better, the parsley stuff is definitely more versatile.   

Crafting:  My kind neighbor (another one yet...we have the greatest neighbors) is letting me use her serger to finish the edges of a blanket that Kolbe will be getting for Christmas.  I tried it out the other night on some scraps, and plan to take the actual blanket over to finish some night next week.  It is fleece that I got on a SUPER good deal on Black Friday.  So excited about this!!!  I have some other sewing ideas bouncing around in my head, we'll see how soon they come to fruition. 

Learning:  Mainly Advent activities.  We're using this Jesse Tree book as part of our morning prayers, and while we're not actually doing a Jesse Tree, I printed these coloring pages out and Gemma is coloring them to hang on the cabinet as we go.  It has been a really good opportunity to immerse the kids in Scripture a bit more (we're also reading the stories from our Children's Bible) and talk specifically about Salvation History and God's covenants with His people.  Still plugging away with reading lessons.  Gemma is making some great progress.  This week we will start working on our Salt Dough Ornaments.  We will. 

Reading:  I recently finished Unplanned.  The story itself was really remarkable.  I think the thing that resonated with me most though was its testimony to the power of prayer.  Very powerful.  

Bringing me joy: A clean oven, thank you MOM.  Yes, I have the coolest mom ever.  She totally cleaned my nasty-gross-gnarly-I'membarassedthatsheevenlookedinit-oven for me and it looks AMAZING.  It was a complete surprise too.  Long story but I went to put a lasagna in the oven for dinner on Monday and had to do a double-triple take.  I thought I had somehow been crazily transported to a mystical world where they have clean ovens. 

Some time away with the baby and hubby.  Aaron had some continuing ed about 3hrs away from home last Fri./Sat.  And my dear parents (yes, the same ones who cleaned my oven) took care of Gemma and Kolbe while we were gone.  It was their first night away from home (aside from when Clem was born) so it was kind of a big deal.  They had fun, my parents had fun, and the baby and I got some uninterrupted shopping time in the "big city" while daddy was in class.  Plus getting to visit with Aaron uninterrupted in the car was kind of amazing.  AND we went on a date to a restaurant where someone else cooked and cleaned up after the meal, AND they had live jazz music.  Who knew such things existed?! (haha)   It was relaxing, but as cliche as it sounds there really is no place like home.  

Advent.

My squishy baby.

Kids who play well together (no, it's not always this way, but boy when they do it is WONDROUS).

The music on this CD.

Thinking about: How long this post is.  Congrats if you made it to the end!!!  Any thought that I've had of late is probably summed up in the above paragraphs, so I'll spare you any more insights into my wacky head. 

Pictures to share: 

The kids in their St. Nick shirts.

 Clem.  Always amused by his older siblings.

Kolbe drew a person!!!

We did a "photo-shoot" with Max the dog one day when we were playing out at the park. 

Advent 2012

Below you will find a list of our 2012 Advent Picture-Book-a-Day selections (listed in order starting with 12/2...many of them correlate with feasts and such)...some new ones and some favorites!  It is getting more fun (and more difficult at the same time) to narrow these books down each year.

Click HERE for reviews of our 2011 books. 

We will also be reading a selection from Advent Storybook each night before bed.   

We will read a daily meditation from O Radiant Dawn as a family each night at dinnertime (I have very high hopes for this book).  I plan to use selections from Celebrating Christmas and Celebrating Advent with the Jesse Tree (even though we aren't actually doing a Jesse Tree) for morning prayers with the kids, plus some extra resources for the Advent Feasts.

We also have our Advent Chain that I ordered from Autom this year to count down the days to Christmas.  I read through the activities on each link as I was putting it together last night and was very pleased...most of them we will be able to do.  This accidental find totally exceeded my expectations.  I hope they offer these every year.

Looking forward to a peaceful, prayerful Advent.  

B is for Bethlehem
Christmas in the Barn
The Friendly Beasts
Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend
A Special Place for Santa
Great Joy
Mary
Under the Star: A Christmas Counting Story
Cock-a-Doodle Christmas!
The Legend of the Poinsettia
The Lady of Guadalupe
A Christmas Story
Bear Stays Up for Christmas
Usborne The Story of the Nativity
Christmas in the Big Woods
Off to Bethlehem
Silent Night: The Song and its Story
On This Special Night
Saint Francis and the Christmas Donkey
Four Friends at Christmas
Room for a Little One
The Little Drummer Boy
The Christmas Story (Little Golden Book)

Journal (8th edition)

TODAY

Out my window: I'm actually "cheating" and typing this on Friday night.  It's dark and the deck door is open with cool air coming in.  It's nice.  Last night Aaron and I sat out on the deck after the kids were in bed and drank hot tea and visited and it was just positively lovely.  It's so awesome being married to my best friend.

Clothing myself in:  New black yoga pants from Kohl's...I got them a couple weeks ago and realllllly like how they fit.  They are so comfy.  And a t-shirt because it got warm again.  Almost warm enough to dig the kids' warm-weather clothes back out but I refused.  Enough already, I am very tired of all this back and forth, although I really like the warmer weather, in fact I think I'm ready for spring...

Around the house:  Continually de-cluttering and going through things.  After three babies it is becoming apparent the items (clothing, blankets, towels, etc.) we need and the ones that are just extras, so I've been going through things and saving what we really use, or could need for future babies, and have several bags to donate to our favorite pro-life charity.  I've really been thinking about living "simply" lately and tryig to reflect this in what I deem our family "needs".

 

The kiddos:  Had such a fun Halloween!!  More on that HERE.  They (and Aaron and I too) seem to be fighting mild colds.  Bleh.

The baby: OH I love him.  He is so cute.  I could just gush about him, really.  Poor guy seems to have picked up the cold as well.  He is taking it in stride though, bless his heart.

In the kitchen:  Spaghetti, Honey Chicken and Tuna Melts are on the list so far.  Probably steamed veggies for sides, we are so boring and predictable around here when it comes to side dishes it really is pathetic.  But hey, it's healthy and easy.  We also have a bunch of leftover pork shoulder that we'll probably use in wraps and/or pork and noodles.

Crafting: Yes, you are reading this correctly.  I actually have something for this category!!!!  Last weekend I crafted an Advent wreath for our family. We like to light our Advent candles all three meals a day during the season, and in recent years this has caused us to go through an insane amount of taper-candles in a four-week period, not to mention the wax mess from over-zealous toddlers blowing them out.  So I took our old wreath and pulled the wire candle-holder deal in it out, hot-glued the wreath (greenery) and some pretty purple and pink embelishments to a charger plate and am awaiting our candle order to arrive (the candles will sit in the middle of the wreath).  This was the most reasonable place I could find unscented pink and purple candles.  Apparently they are hard to come-by locally (unscented ones anyways, and I did not want scented Advent candles).  The shipping was pretty steep on this website, but I was able to get three purple and one pink 3"x6" pillar candles for around $28 shipped.  Not too bad and I'm hoping they'll last us for several years.  Once the candles are in our wreath will be ready (a month early, but glad to have this ready to go never-the-less)!

Learning:  Did some Halloween worksheets and workbooks this week.  Reading lessons are coming along, we're doing about half a lesson a day now, and interspersing that with some Green Light readers from the library.  Gemma really enjoys those, so it seems we've hit a good groove after our bump in the road.  Handwriting is coming along, I'm anxious to finish the preschool book and get started with the Kdg one as Gemma is already writing lowecase letters on her own, and I want to make sure she is doing her letter formation correctly.  At the rate we're going though we still have several more months (at least) of the Get Set for School book.  Gemma still grips her pencil incorrectly (like mother like daughter I suppose) unless I remind her a million times.  I'm almost to the point of just letting it slide since it doesn't seem to bother her and she writes fairly well...

We had lots of fun talking about the Saints while doing this craft on All Saints Day.  For the month of November we'll read a saint story each morning during prayers from one of our Saint books.

Reading: I checked out The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila from the library but haven't started it yet so the jury is still out.  I am sure it's a wonderful work, we'll see if it's right for me here and now.

Bringing me joy: Seeing the kids (and their daddy) have so much fun on Halloween.  Having the saints to inspire us and intercede for us in Heaven.  Listening to the Daily Readings each day on my phone.  I haven't had much luck being disciplined enough to read them each day even though I get Magnificat, but listening to them seems to be a really good fit, usually as I'm preparing dinner.

Thinking about: Advent...I can't believe it's less than a month away now.  I've traditionally made a paper chain of "Advent actions" for the kids, but this year I am saving the trouble and ordering this one.  The price is good but you have to order 36.  I may will be hitting some of you up...  Let me know if you're interested (if I know you personally)!  I am selling them for $2.50 which is a bit more than retail ($1.60) and donating the extra money to our local Carmelites.  You can find more details on my Facebook page.

Pictures to share: 

Oh my sleeping boys.  I just can't quit taking pictures of them.