The REAL Night Before Christmas

Our 35 year-old Nativity set (hand-painted by my very talented Mother-in law). One of my favorite treasures!

*Just found this little story that we are reading tonight in great expectation…Had to share!*

The Real Night Before Christmas

By: Sister St. Thomas

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the town,

St. Joseph was searching, walking up roads and down;

Our Lady was waiting, so meek and so mild,

While Joseph was seeking a place for the Child;

The children were nestled, each snug in their beds,

The grown-ups wouldn't bother, there's no room they said;

When even the innkeeper sent them away,

Joseph was wondering, where they would stay;

He thought of the caves in the side of the hills,

Lets go there said Mary, it's silent and still;

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,

Made pathways of light for their tired feet to go;

And there in a cave, in a cradle of hay,

Our Savior was born on that first Christmas Day!

The Father was watching in heaven above,

He sent for His angels, His couriers of love;

More rapid than eagles God's bright angels came;

Rejoicing and eager as each heard his name;

Come Power, Come Cherubs, Come Virtues, Come Raphael,

Come Thrones and Dominions, come Michael and Gabriel;

Now fly to the Earth, where My poor people live,

Announce the glad tiding My Son comes to give;

The Shepherds were watching their flocks on this night,

And saw in the heavens an unearthly light;

The Angels assured them, they'd nothing to fear,

It's Christmas they said, the Savior is here!

They hastened to find Him, and stood at the door,

Till Mary invited them in to adore;

He was swaddled in bands from His head to His feet,

Never did the Shepherds see a baby so sweet!

He spoke not a word, but the shepherds all knew,

He was telling them secrets and blessing them too;

Then softly they left Him, The Babe in the hay,

And rejoiced with great joy on that first Christmas Day;

Mary heard them exclaim as they walked up the hill,

Glory to God in the Highest, Peace to men of good will!

Merry Christ-mas from our house to yours!

Hittin' The Home School In 2013!

OK, so I'm posting the "after" picture first...Don't you love before and after pictures?

As a Mom and Teacher, I sure do!

It helps me keep on believing that mountains can be moved:)

Take a lookie at the school room "before" our cleaning project:

*YUCK*

What a MESS!

Embarrassing, right?

It took us all day today to hit it...2 big, black, trash bags and 2 grocery bags full-of-trash-later...

Ahhhh, we ALL feel much better!

Now we can safely hit the books on Monday and be happy in our new, tidy, spaces:)

Dear Dad is working a 4 day stretch, bless his heart, so the rest of us are working too, in his honor.  My lesson plans are next on the list, a long with bedroom tidies and getting laundry done.  It's always nice to start a new learning period feeling fresh and on top of things, even if it's short lived sometimes!

It was fun to pull out this photo of Princess today on the feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.  

She worked hard on this project, that fit into the Colonial period that we were studying this past Fall.  
*A free packet from the Sisters of Charity is a valuable and fun resource for kids!* She got to present her project to a group of other home schoolers...It was great practice standing up in front of a group and speaking. (Which she doesn't like to do;)

Moments like this help me to appreciate our home schooling. Being able to weave our faith through our studies is always a main goal...Sharing it with others was an added bonus!  

I rarely bring up moments like this in fear of being bragidocious. Did I just make up a word? The point is that we all need inspiration to keep us going.  Being called to home school is not always easy for me.  Speaking for myself, it's far from easy.  For heaven's sakes, being called to motherhood and being open to life certainly isn't a piece of cake. But as most of us know, God doesn't call us to easy.  He calls us to things that are challenging, things that will strengthen our souls, things that draw us closer to Him. 
No cross, no crown.

Speaking of crosses, I am joining in prayer, with many others, for some Mamas who are bearing theirs right now. I was thinking about what an honor it is to pray for Kelly from the Careless Catholic and Jennifer Fulwiler from The Conversion Diary who are courageously living their faith, the gospel of life, and suffering for it.  Jessica has a beautiful prayer posted for both ladies and all pregnant Moms.  If you follow Kelly, Barbara is organizing some CARE for her.  I don't know either of them in real life but I have gotten to know Kelly from our contributions at Catholic Cuisine, as well as her inspiring blog about her family.  
I am storming the heavens! 
(Including all of my other expectant friends here in the bloggy world and beyond:)
Speaking of crowns...

We are looking forward to our annual Royal Epiphany Celebration.  We will be celebrating on Monday since Rod will be on duty until then.  We I am especially looking forward to receiving new patron saints:)  It will be a nice way to end our first day back to school!
+Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work I go+

All Kids In The CAV

It's been a glorious Christmas with all chicks back in the nest...College boy is home again after a 4 month stretch! Nothing makes a Mama happier than having all of her children home.  It's been the best gift.

College has been good for him and he is very, VERY, happy there!  It's an amazing experience to watch your children grow into their own individual lives...They are out in the world making it their own, making decisions that shape their future, without your daily guidance. It's a very strange feeling. Our prayers fly with them and we cherish when they make it back into the nest again.  They are always our children but new blessings come as we get to know them as adults.  We are all embarking on new and unchartered ground.  He feels the transition and so do we.

The best thing we did was load all kids in the CAV (Catholic Assault Vehicle) a week before Christmas and head to the snow...Just our family for 2 nights.  A fellow firefighter offered up his humble abode to us and we were able to spend quality (concentrated) time, together.  It was a time of getting to know college boy in a new way.  It was a time for college boy to reconnect with all of us.  Just 2 nights was all we needed for some good bonding with a little bumping and bickering grinding too:)

We couldn't remember this little one ever playing in the snow...It's been a few years since we've ventured out in the great white!  Isn't it wonderful when little ones fit right into their older sibling hand-me-downs?  

We had a couple of bins filled with old snow clothes and MIRACULOUSLY, we outfitted the whole family without a single purchase!  Yes, snow angels DO exist:)

We had fun watching movies, 

playing cards, and just hanging out.

A day of ice skating was a treat!

Everyone helped teach the littlest one how to do it!

Dad had to sit out due to some tendonitis going on...But the rest of us had a blast!

I did fall once and bumped my hip pretty good but luckily just a bruise! We had a day pass so we came back and skated at night:)

Thank you, Lord for a special time.

The scenery was spectacular at this lake that never freezes!

How funny that we were standing on a snow-covered beach...Playground and all!

It is true that the present moment really is the best present...In this sense, Christmas came early at our house.  

Come, Lord Jesus!

Since hearing the homily during the first Sunday in Advent, this little prayer aspiration has been my mantra for the past 4 weeks of Advent..."Come, Lord Jesus!"  It He has helped me survive during times of holiday stress and Advent sufferings to bear...In reality, it's the reality that He really is here with us and all we need to do is call out His name...And know wherever He is, He'll come running... Just like the old James Taylor song:) And He will come again in glory.

So we're finally here.  Advent closes tomorrow and the Christmas season is upon us...Christmas is just beginning in the life of our faith.  Christmas is not over. I am so thankful for that, grateful to be Catholic.  There's more time.  Time to bake the cookies I didn't get to, time to enjoy the decorations and Jesus in the manger, time to get back to my daily Magnificat readings that have been neglected in the bustling activity, time to reflect on the grace of God that appeared, time to dwell on the word made flesh, time to give glory to our Savior...Come, Lord Jesus!  

Here are a few ideas for celebrating a Catholic 12 Days of Christmas.

I'm hoping to grab some time to blog hop and wish all of you a very blessed and Merry Christmas.  Until I make my rounds, I am thankful for all of you friends here.  Each of you inspire me to live my faith stronger and better with each passing year. 

God bless you all as we celebrate the Good News...To us is born a Savior!  Together, we look forward in joy to the coming of the Lord. 

+Merry Christmas From Our Family To Yours+

Preparing A Catholic Advent

Now that Advent is all around us, many of us are busy preparing our hearts and homes for this special time of year.    

Not only am I always seeking to simplify things and not have it be a stressful time, it's always my heart's desire to bring out the sacred to counter the secular...To bring our faith into all we do.  Here some little ways to prepare for a Catholic Advent...
It's a few random sharings, using the basic premise of our faith...Aiming to know, love, serve God and one another!

Know and Love God...
 Bring out the Advent wreath and print out the nightly prayers ahead of time.  There are many free sources.  Family in Feast and Feria shares some beautiful Advent printables.  This year, I'm supporting a new booklet, O Radiant Dawn, by Catholic author, Lisa Hendey.  I think it's a whopping $1.50.

Many faithful folks use the rhythm of the liturgical cycle to renew their commitment to prayer life.  I know that I sure do!  There are a few novenas this time of year but my favorite has already started, the Immaculate Conception Novena.

I can't say enough about the Magnificat Year of Faith Companion guide...I absolutely love it!  If you haven't picked it up, it's worth every penny:) It's a beautiful compilation of short mediations written by different spiritual authors.  I'm sticking with this instead of the Advent Companion this year.  Here are my other personal picks this year for 
Advent Devotional Reading:
Magnificat
Magnificat Year of Faith Companion
I noticed they also have a Kindle addition!
The Little Way of Advent
My husband is reading:
Exploring Advent With Luke

Consider giving Godparents (or other special people) a little early present by giving Advent spiritual reading, coupled with this holy popcorn made by Benedictine Nuns! (Plus it gets some Christmas shopping and gift-giving done early:)

This is a small gift bag of Chocolate Peppermint Patty Popcorn, it is the perfect gift size, and it's only $4.00! I might add that this company is extremely efficient and my order was sent [almost] as fast as Amazon;)

Consider doing a mini-Advent retreat with your family during Advent, committing to daily family prayer, and a focus on the true reason for the season.  Many families read books together.  We have many favorite picture books that we don't always get through! But we do our best each year...

A family need not make a purchase to bring more prayer into the home. I absolutely adore the free prayer resources at this Praying Advent site!  It's chock-full of good stuff...Hallelujah!

A Jesse Tree Study?
This could also serve as a family Advent retreat...We are giving it a try!

This year, we are using this Jesse Tree Study Guide offered by Sanctus Simplicitus, thanks to Lena at Joyfilled Family, who offered the tip:)  It looks like a detailed study of the geneology of Christ with prayers and discussion suggestions. I am looking forward to this enhancement to our Advent home schooling days!   Sanctus Simplicitus also has some other wonderful resources at their blog!

There are 2 other family Advent books (Designed to read aloud together~One chapter per night) that we love!
1-The series by Arnold Ytreeide (Jotham's Journey) and
2-Destination: Bethlehem


Two-thumbs up for these Christmas cards...

I finally found some Catholic Christmas photo cards!  (Also fairly reasonable in price:)  They are offered by Printery House.  The prices were right too...Some as low as .85!

December 6th~This year, I am keeping the feast of St. Nicholas shoe gifts simple...chocolate coins and candy rosaries!  Real Life Rosary makes these for $3.99 and they are offering to put your children's names on the labels for St. Nicholas day or stocking stuffers.

Serve God and One Another
Service?
There are so many ways to serve throughout Advent and Christmas.  To me, the goal is to continue to serve beyond the season! 
Sometimes the little things we do can be positively habit forming.  I stumbled upon this site that sends a daily e-mail with a kindness act to perform for each day of Advent. Giving it a whirl;) It's called Advent Acts of Kindness.  This will also help cushion our manger for baby Jesus!

One other idea...Our family collects alluminum cans and bottles for the whole year.  As a family, we turn them all in during Advent and give the money to a child or family in need through our church or community.  Last year, we were able to donate a generous amount from all we had saved:)

Gifts?
It's better to give than receive.

I'm trying to buy more faith-based gifts this year.
Did you know the Miraculous Medal Shrine has a gift shop?  I don't want to give any gifts away  (some of my friends might find out what gifts I bought for them;)...So let's just say I love their jewelery:)  The gift shop also offers to personalize Christmas Mass cards, also one of the best gifts to give!

The Marian's of the Immaculate Conception also have a sweet little gift store.  These cute little guys are only $4.00:)

 And this beautiful antique holy family necklace, a mere $9.95! 

Have you heard of the Immaculate Waters natural soap and lotion products made with Lourdes Water?  They are a little pricey but I love them and they make great gifts:) You can find them at The Catholic Company or Monastery Greetings.

Catholic Embroidery also offers some unique items and they were another extremely prompt and efficient business, getting the order out immediately. I bought the cutest book bags for my girls.  I just love to promote quality faith-based companies that are customer-service oriented and this is one of them!

Well, I think that's about it for a few random sharings:) I'll leave off by sharing a lovely Advent prayer.  Wishing you all a peaceful and joyful Advent season, through knowing, loving, serving God and one another! 

Dear Jesus: I look forward to Sunday and this new season. But all around me are the signs rushing me to Christmas and some kind of celebration that equates spending with love.
I need your help. I want to slow my world down. This year, more than ever, I need Advent, these weeks of reflection and longing for hope in the darkness.
Jesus, this year, help me to have that longing. Help me to feel it in my heart and be aware of the hunger and thirst in my own soul. Deep down, I know there is something missing in my life, but I can’t quite reach for it. I can’t get what is missing.
I know it is about you, Jesus. You are not missing from my life, but I might be missing the awareness of all of the places you are present there.
Be with me, my dear friend. Guide me in these weeks to what you want to show me this Advent. Help me to be vulnerable enough to ask you to lead me to the place of my own weakness, the very place where I will find you the most deeply embedded in my heart, loving me without limits. Amen.

Catholic 12 Days Of Christmas~(Days 7 & 8)

Day 7:  (December 31)

Feast of St. Sylvester I

New Year's Eve

Read and Reflect upon John 3:16 and St. Sylvester. It's the last day of the year so we will pause to be thankful for God's greatest gift of salvation, through the birth and death of His only Son.  We are also grateful for personal blessings received throughout the year, including the challenges that are inevitable gifts.  Discussion:  What are we most grateful for this year?  What difficult things have we experienced that have helped us grow closer to God?

Respond:  It is a New Year's Eve tradition in our family that we rotate through our Parish 24 hour Adoration.  It is the perfect way to pause and return thanks to God as we express our love to Him, ringing in a new calendar year.  

Prayer: For the adults and older children, there are beautiful meditations and prayers in the Magnificat that are perfect for the Adoration Vigil, concluding with this prayer: (Note: Magnificat has a wonderful Iphone/Smartphone App...I believe it's still free for a trial period:)  

"I waited, I waited for the Lord, and he stooped down to me...He put a new song into my mouth."~Psalm 40:2,4~

Happy New Year!
I also thought I'd share 3 New Years articles that I enjoyed from other places:
National Catholic Register "Pope Gives Thanks to God"
Integrated Catholic Life
Jeff and Emily Cavins

Day 8: (January 1~Octave Day of Christmas)

Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God

Read and Reflect: upon Mary as the Mother of God.  Read Luke 1:38 when Mary proclaimed her "Yes" to God: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.  Discussion:  In what ways can we renew our own "Yes" to God as we enter this New Year?  In what ways can we renew our faith? 

 How can we have the faith of a little child?

"Mommy, last night I dreamed about Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus and ALL the angels..."

My response:  "Wow, Mommy would love to have a dream like that!"

Respond: Last year we made Blessed Mother of God Brownies.  My wheels are still turning on this one:)  

Pray the Rosary as a family and the Magnificat prayer.

"In thanksgiving for the time that has been,

in hope for the time that is to come,

Let us pray through the intercession of Mary,

the Mother of God:

We praise you, O Lord, and we bless you."

Catholic 12 Days Of Christmas~(Day 5 & 6)

Day 5: (December 29)

Feast of St. Thomas Becket

Theme: The Nativity of the Lord

Reflect and Read the Nativity of the Lord, as a family, from the Gospels (Matthew 1 and 2 or Luke 1 and 2)  We will be following a long with the beautifully illustrated picture book, The Nativity.  The focus of our discussion will be the angels and shepherds.  The angels first proclaimed the Good News and the shepherds made haste, or rushed in from the hills, to see God's promise fulfilled with the birth of the Messiah.  

Discussion questions:  How can we be heralds of the Gospel?; Have we seen God's glory in our own lives?; In what ways can we rejoice with the angels: "Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!"~Psalm 96~  How can we move closer to the Lord, keeping the shepherds in mind: "The shepherds went in haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the Infant lying in the manger."~Luke 2:16~

Respond:  Make an angel craft AND a Gingerbread Manger.  We used this Usborne book as our guide for this hand print angel art.

Angel Baby in action...

I am not a "messy Mom" so I always have to relinquish my desire to keep things neat and clean.  This is a struggle for me and something I always have to work at!

The end results are usually worth it when hands and faces (and sometimes hair) are all cleaned up!

(Especially when art project turn out so cute:)

The older kids worked on this Gingerbread Manger with Dad:) Yep, I admit we bought the 'cheater' supplies so it was pretty effortless.  

The Claydough Nativity set can be found online here. By the way, mine came in a nice plastic encasement for storage and protection...That makes the price a little more bearable.  Plus, they sure are cute!

As I've mentioned before, Dad is pretty good at this stuff:)  He wanted to create a humble and simple manger, without any gumdrops on the roof.  You know what that means? More candies from the kit for the kids to eat right away:)

As you can see, they used Nutella for the frosting on the Gingerbread Manger....YUM.  "Somebody" got a fun sampling of the Nutella:)

We browned some coconut for the manger hay and this is the finished project, mostly edible! (Except for the claydough figures of course)

Pray:  Stations of the Manger that were created last year.

Today we also decorated our white Christ candle that we light each night during the Christmas season.  It was simple to add some Nativity stickers and glitter.  

Our parish bulletin had a nightly Christmas table blessing that I Mod Podged to the back of the candle for easy prayer access!

Just in case you are wondering if we are some "holy family", think again!  I always like to point out that we are not perfect by any means.  Striving for holiness is something we take to heart but we certainly have a long journey ahead with routine struggles:) For example, we no sooner get done with our pleasant angel discussion tonight and our 3 year old Angel Baby yells out from her bedroom: "MOM!  My jammie drawer is all jacked up!"  Well, it certainly wasn't a 'sweet as an angel' exclamation but I got a good chuckle anyway ...Hmmm, wonder where she heard that one?  Time for nightly Guardian Angel prayers! 

**Dad and 2 older boys are serving dinner at a local homeless shelter with our Parish Youth Group.  Praying this makes up for a few of our imperfections*wink*

Day 6: December 30th

Feast of the Holy Family

Reflect upon Jesus living a real human life with a Mother and Father chosen by God.  Discuss how our parents were chosen by God to raise and care for us.  How can we follow the example of Jesus as a child?  How can we follow the example of St. Mary and St. Joseph as parents?

Read the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians 3:12-21.  Discuss how we can treat eachother as St. Paul writes to the Colossians.

Respond: Do something together as a family today, even if it's just sitting down for a meal.  Today our Dad will be gone to work so the rest of us plan on attending daily Mass and getting donuts afterwards.  Didn't the Holy Family eat donuts?  OK, maybe not...But it's still a real treat for us:)

Three of our children served daily Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family. Army Dude helped Father T. give us all a good dousing of Holy Water for a blessing...Sure beats a shower!

  Our activity will be picking the name of a family member from a hat.  We will spend a little time writing about the great qualities of that person and why we love them.  The letters will be read in the evening around dinner or prayer.  Dad can e-mail us his letter from work!

Pray for all families, including those from our Christmas cards started earlier in the week.

"God and Father of all, you gave us the Holy Family to serve as an example of love and obedience.  Grant to all people, in family homes or alone, the grace to hold in honor the bonds of love and respect which bind the human race chosen for adoption as your children, through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

~Magnificat Morning Prayer~

Christmas Devotion to the Holy Family

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,

From the heavenly household on high

Look upon all earthly households today,

Pray for us!

Holy Family,

You were not welcome in Bethlehem;

Embrace those rejected by the world.

Pray for us!

Holy Family,

You were sheltered in a stable;

Protect those who have no home.

Pray for us!

Holy Family,

You heard the angels' song;

Sing to us of heaven's joy.

Pray for us!

Holy Family,

You faithfully observed the divine law;

Show us how to do the will of God.

Pray for us!

Holy Family,

Protected and guided by St. Joseph,

Pray for us!

Holy Family,

Cared for, looked after by Holy Mary,

Pray for us!

Holy Family,

Fulfilled by the Presence of Christ,

Pray for us!

Be our strength in life,

Be our hope in the hour of death.

Pray for us. Amen.

The family is a school which enables men and women to grow to the full measure of their humanity... 

" O God, who in the Holy Family left us a perfect model of family life lived in faith and obedience to your will, help us to be examples of faith and love for your commandments."~Pope Benedict XVI~