Every Who down in Who-ville,

the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!

He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

Friday was the last day of school before the holiday break and all the 1st graders dressed as Who's. I know she may not look like much in this photo, but her sweater had a little fringe on the cuffs and she wore fuzzy slippers. Her hair looked really cute - I had to convince her it wasn't too much!

Merry Christmas, Stranger-Friends!

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

I've been meaning to post this picture to share our celebration of the Feast of The Immaculate Conception but life has thrown us a few curve balls. Last Monday both kids were sick so I scheduled an appointment with the pediatrician and turns out they both had strep throat. This is a new occurrence for Jaedon, but unfortunately this was the 5th time since October 3rd for Caela. Poor baby is miserable! We visited the ENT and he has scheduled surgery for the 29th. She is very nervous and so am I! She hates hospitals and I can't say that I blame her, but I know she will feel so much better when her tonsils come out. The ENT said that there is very little space between her tonsils and her uvula. Nighttime breathing has become a challenge and she is extra 'fussy' these days. Please remember her in your prayers.

Back to our 'celebration'...We (the Coach and I) had a white dinner and I made white cupcakes that I decorated with white icing and clear sprinkles. Caela colored the lovely portrait you see above just shortly before she fell out. :) As I'm sure you can imagine, our evening ended early...

Father, You prepared the Virgin Mary to be the worthy mother of your son. You let her share beforehand in the salvation Christ would bring by his death, and kept her sinless from the first moment of her conception. Help us by her prayers to live in your presence without sin.We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever.

St. Nicholas Likes Hot Cocoa?

Saturday night we celebrated the feast of St. Nicholas. This was our first year to do this and it was a lot of fun. The kids were so excited to participate in all the activities I had planned. I did not accomplish all I had on my list, but next year I will be 'on my game' and better prepared.

Jessica, Catholic Mom Extraordinaire, is soooo gracious and always shares her fabulous plans. Now that I am working fulltime - outside the home - MOST days I feel completely overwhelmed and underprepared. I love that I have Jessica as a resource. So it is with that disclaimer that I share what our family did on Saturday night. :)

We made St. Nicholas Hot Cocoa (cocoa was said to be his favorite drink), and the kids turned chocolate santa's into chocolate St. Nicholas'...

I really wanted to read, St. Nicholas The Wonder Worker, but I had a hard time finding the book (when I had free time to look). Note to self: Next year order online in advance!

At bedtime, the kids set a shoe at their doorway and woke to a nice surprise...

Altogether, I'd say it was a good evening.

God of joy and cheer, we thank you for your servant, the good bishop Nicholas. In loving the poor, he showed us your kindness;in caring for your children,he revealed your love. Make us thoughtful without need of reward so that we, too, may be good followers of Jesus.

Happy Birthday LaLa!

We celebrated my mom's 56th birthday with a Tex-Mex dinner & cupcakes at our house. My brother gave her this t-shirt...She LOVES the Cowboys!!



Part II of her gift was spending some time with her newest grandson...(my brother's son)...

My PawPaw was able to come to the party and he also got to spend some time with his namesake...and 10th great-grandchild...

I love family names. My grandmother, mom & sister shared the name Catherine; my brother shares his name with my dad and grandfather and my kids share middle names with The Coach and I. Do you have a family name? Did you pass one on to your child?

Isaiah 53:5 (New Living Translation)
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

Luke 24
The Resurrection

1 But very early on Sunday morning[a] the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 3 So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

5 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man[b] must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

8 Then they remembered that he had said this. 9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. 11 But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. 12 However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.

He has Risen, Stranger-Friends! He has Risen Indeed!

Easter Fluff

I can vividly remember the Easter dresses of my childhood. Mainly because each one is permanently documented in the traditional photo...

(let's not talk about the mullet hairstyles! :-))

I can also remember coloring eggs at my grandparent's house, hunting eggs in their yard on Sunday afternoon and the candy-trail left by the Easter Bunny from my bed to my basket. But...I can only recall one specific religious memory of Easter past. I can remember, in broken segments, the youth group at our church doing a passion play for the sunrise service. One particular young man, Todd, (whom I thought was quite cute - he was 16 or so...I was 7 or so!) played the part of Jesus and he hung on the cross they erected in the yard behind the church. It was quite realistic (at least to the 7 year old eye).

My point (and I do have one) is that the vast majority of what I remember was completely "fluff". I don't think my parents did anything wrong by spending a fortune buying us dresses, shoes, hose/tights, purses, hats, and pounds of candy, but I do think there's another way.

I'm striving to live a more simple life. A life with less fluff. I admit that it's not always easy. The girl with the most stuff wins, right? To voluntarily take yourself out of the game is contradictory to society as a whole. It frustrates me to think of myself as a pawn in the game of consumerism, but apparently that is what "they" intended all along.

from SortaCrunchy...

Annie Leonard quotes Victor LeBeau's statement that in order for the consumerist model to work, as we "make consumption a way of life," we must "convert the buying and selling of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction in consumption . . ."

ugh. It is sooo irritating! "make consumption of way of life"...well, they've succeeded. We associate stuff with nearly every holiday. Halloween (something like #2 holiday for retail sales), Thanksgiving (do we really need all that food?), Christmas (need I say more?), Valentines (created for consumers I believe), St. Patrick's Day (can you say public intoxication?), Easter, blah, blah, blah. If we're not comsuming large quantities of food, we're consuming even larger quantities of stuff. What do we do with all the stuff when we tire of it? when we outgrow it? when it breaks?

Exactly how does all this stuff at Easter remind us of Christ's resurrection? I know Saucy would love to go shopping and pick out a new something for Easter, but today it's not a priority in our house. She can look cute & frilly in a dress that's already in the closet. Trust me, I'm all about the girly thing - bows, sweet little patton shoes, precious bucket hats with flowers on it - but who says I NEED to go buy new stuff for this particular Sunday?

So, this year I will rummage through the giant bucket of hand-me-downs that have been given to Saucy and I'll let her choose a dress. She will look as beautiful as the others. I pray Christ's light shines through her precious smile.

The bucket o'stuff

Our casual options...

Our fancy options...

A Goodwill find...$2 & Brand
New!

Her choice...

Happy Easter, Stranger-Friends!

Resurrection Cookies

Several years ago I found a recipe for "Resurrection Cookies" in an Easter issue of Faith & Family. I thought it was a fabulous idea and resolved to make them with the kids. Yea. Ok. So. Ummmm.... 2 years later, I'm REALLY making them on Saturday. I promise. Really. Even told the kids. (do you believe me??)

You will need:

1 cup whole nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc)
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
a pinch salt

1 cup sugar

a zipper baggy

1 wooden spoon

scotch tape

Bible

Instructions:

These are to be made the evening before Easter.

Preheat oven to 300F before you do anything else.

Place nuts in baggie and beat them with the wooden spoon until they are broken and in small pieces. Read JOHN 19:1-3 and talk about how Jesus was scourged (another word for beaten) by the soldiers.

Put one teaspoon of vinegar into the large mixing bowl. Read JOHN 19:28-30. Have children smell and taste the vinegar and explain that when Jesus was thirsty, the soldiers offered Him vinegar to drink.

Stir egg whites into the vinegar. Read JOHN 10:10-11. Discuss how eggs are a sign of life and explain how Jesus gave his life so that we could have brand new life.

Sprinkle a little salt into the bowl. Read LUKE 23:27. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers.

Now add 1 cup sugar. Read PSALM 34:8 and JOHN 3:16. Explain that Jesus' love for us sweetens the sorrow of His death. Mix on high speed until stiff peaks are formed (about 15 minutes). Read ISAIAH 1:18 and JOHN 3:1-3 and explain that the white peaks represent our souls when sins have been forgiven by Jesus.

Fold in the broken nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed-paper covered cookie sheet. Read MATTHEW 27:57-60 and talk about how each cookie represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was placed after his death.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and TURN OFF THE OVEN (this is very important). Give each person a piece of tape and seal the door to the oven. Read MATTHEW 27:65-66 and talk about the sealed tomb.

Read JOHN 16:20-22 and talk about the sadness Jesus' followers felt when they left Him in the tomb. Leave the cookies in the oven overnight.

On Easter morning, break the tape seals, open the oven and look at the cookies. Read MATTHEW 28:1-9. See how the cookies are cracked like the empty tomb. Have everyone take a bite of a cookie. Notice that they are hollow. Explain that on the first Easter, the women were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Give thanks for the gift of Jesus and the Resurrection!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Stranger-Friends!

We made cupcakes

...toasted with the kids (Ginger Ale) ...

...and I even got a pedicure!

Good friends, good food, family - what more could we ask for?

Quick! Time's Running Out!

If you're fast you can still make it! Laced With Grace is holding a great give-a-way that's sure to start the winners' new year off just right! Be sure to stop in and register.

Peace out, Stranger-Friends!

Did You Keep Track & Other Christmas Questions

Well, now that it's all over (around here there are several stops before Christmas Day even arrives!) and I've had a chance to sit back and reflect on it, I have one word...Wow! Even when we try to pare it down it seems so overwhelming as I sit amongst so much stuff. Next year, I want to be more like Meredith at Like Merchant Ships or Milehimama at Mama Says!

So, my question to you. Did you keep track of your spending? Did you stay in budget? I'm a little afraid to actually sit down and tally it up at this point. As usual Meredith did a fabulous job and I'm truly in awe of her abilities to acquire such fabulously frugal finds.

Which brings me to my next questions. How do you organize your kids gifts? Does Santa bring everything? Are some wrapped and some not? Are some from Mommy & Daddy? I'm curious how others do it. We've tried to stick with one from Santa and three from us and it usually works.

One last question, do you and your spouse exchange gifts?

Ok stranger-friends, let's hear it! How was your Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

I know I've been really quiet lately, but I wanted to take time out to wish you all the Peace of Christ during this holiday season. Regardless of what the year has brought to your life tomorrow brings new beginnings.

Aimee over at Historical Christian has a great post up about the struggle we all seem to go through trying to have the "perfect Christmas". It expresses my sentiments so eloquently.

Merry Christmas Stranger-Friends!