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?

Journal: nothing much of note

TODAY

Out my window: Cloudy slanty light, but it's been another warm week, and temps are flirting with 80 today and tomorrow.  By looking at the forecast though, it looks like we're in for our coolest week yet this fall.

Around the house: Hmmm, not much.  Trying to fill in the gaps in the kids' wardrobes for the upcoming winter.  Gemma needed a new coat (I *LOVE* the ones they have at Walmart for kids, trim yet warm enough for this climate, we've bought them for years now) and some jeans for spirit day at school.  Kolbe needed a few more long sleeve shirts and long sleeve pants (as he calls them).  I picked up a couple rugs at Target, for coming in from the deck and the mudroom.  The ones we had were literally threadbare.  The backing was crumbling off of them every time I moved them and I don't think they absorbed or took anything off dirty feet they were so worn down.  For $20 it was a nice upgrade, and hopefully it will save us at least a little bit of mess this winter.  I have actually done a little bit of Christmas shopping as well, trying to keep things very simple this year.

 

The kiddos: Hmmm, not much notable really.  We're in our school year groove and everything is going smoothly enough.  I feel like I never take pictures anymore.  They are getting older and there aren't as many milestones and stuff and I just feel like it is rare that I think to snap a picture of something.  I am taking them for professionals this weekend though, so we will see how that goes.  Pictures stress me out more than they should. 

Kolbe went to his first birthday party this past weekend.  It was at a local science place and he had a really good time.  I was invited to stay as well, but he was very certain he wanted to stay by himself.  He is growing up so much.  He had a lot of fun and got to see (and hold and touch!) some really cool bugs and other animals.  Right up his alley.  We usually keep our social calendars pretty quiet around here, but I'm glad he got to do this.

In the kitchen: This week we've had chicken fajitas, cripsy chicken salads, beef stroganoff  with steamed green beans (I am seriously obsessed with this recipe, it is so good. The only thing I do differently is add a chopped onion and I use chuck roast).  The rest of the week is up in the air (hopefully we won't have to resort to the tears of our forefathers) and I need to menu plan for next week so I know what to buy at the store tomorrow.

Learning: I've gotten into the habit of looking at the kids' weekly newsletter from school over the weekend and then checking out books from the library that go along with what they are going to be learning.  This seems to be a great way to continue learning at home while doing something we really enjoy instead of just flooding them with more worksheets.  This week Kolbe is learning about spiders and Gemma read Cinderella in her reader, so I got several great illustrated versions of that fairy tale.  We read Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella last night and it was so.so.great.  Jan Brett never disappoints, but this one was particularly fantastic. We're continuing through the old testament every day at breakfast and our stories have sparked some really great discussion.  The Israelites have just reached the promised land, so I don't think we are going to get all the way to the end of the O.T. before it is Jesse Tree time, but that's OK.  And speaking of Jesse Trees, I am trying to figure out what we're going to do this year.  I have been oogling over some of the felt ornament sets, but I don't have the time or know-how to make one and really don't want to spend $50-$100.  I think I may just start on December 1 and use this list of readings this year.  I like that it has the "O Antiphons" at the end.  We have used the Holy Heroes DVD previous years (which I would definitely recommend), but I'm just not feeling it this year.  We've got in such a habit of reading straight from the actual Bible text, I'd like to continue that.  We'll see what I come up with.

Reading: I have picked Searching for and Maintaining Peace back up, and am trying to read a section (2-4 pages) from Introduction to the Devout Life daily, along with more focused Bible time and trying to get in a chapter from the Imitation of Christ each day.  I notice a direct correlation in the time I spend at prayer and the amount of interior peace that I have.  One of those "duh" things, but I still struggle with it.  In other news, we seem to have lost our copy of Turkey Trouble (sniff).  I keep our seasonal books packed away on a shelf only I can reach, and I went to pull it down and it wasn't there.  It was an ex-library copy, so I am wondering if I inadvertently returned it to the library last year.  Sad day.

Watching: MLB and it is FINALLY GOLD RUSH SEASON PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!  The 2hr season premier was last Friday, and we finished watching it last night.  It should be a good season.  

Bringing me joy: Autumn days.  Interior peace.  Wonderful husband.  Reading with the kids. Some recent stewardship opportunities that have fallen in my lap. 

Thinking about: Stewardship.  I have recently (past year or two), especially as our kids are getting older (read: not infants), felt like I have a little more time to give but just not really been able to find my niche in our parish.  It is something I have prayed about and thought about (and probably obsessed over) a lot.  Just this week, two different things literally fell into my lap and I think they should be a prefect fit.  I am so grateful.  Stewardship at its heart really is a grateful response to the gifts we've been given by our Creator.  It is wonderful to live in a diocese where this fact is no small matter.

Pictures to share:  

Some shots from our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.

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.