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Our Christmas Wishes and New Nativity Displayed

December 24, 2008 By Laura 1 Comment

It’s Christmas Eve! So just a quick note to you all: Our nativity set that Fr. Reed and CatholicTV gifted us with is all set up, and we wanted to share some photos of it with you, just as we promised to. And what more appropriate day to do so? You can be sure, we will treasure this nativity set for all of our family history to come.

Michael designed and built the stable (I stained it! : ), that so beautifully displays these exquisite figurines, that depicts so well the birth of our Savior. It truly sets the holy scene that means SO very much to us all.

My favorite piece is the angel. Every time I look at it, I think of my mother. Not because she was an angel on earth, ; ), mind you. But because she loved angels so very much.

To each one of you, and your families, from our family-

We wish you all a blessed, peaceful and joyful Christmas!

Enjoy every moment!

We Interrupt This Advent Season, for Daddy-Boy’s Birthday!….

December 20, 2008 By Laura Leave a Comment

……Just as we do EVERY Advent Season. What a time to have a birthday, right before Christmas! Huh?? Birthdays are so important to us, and Michael/Daddy joined me in the 40 Club yesterday! So it was extra special. But every year, I always feel like we’re ‘squeezing’ his celebration in, amidst the preparations for Christmas. Switching gears and temporarily redirecting our attention, pretending we’re not frazzled by it. I feel guilty! There is usually lots of nonchalant planning for the rest of our birthdays in our family here…which are all in the summer and fall. But 6 days before Christmas we’re all just pre-occupied with last-minute-things-to-get-done. (And we have SIMPLE Christmas’s next to most anyone we know.) But when I realize his birthday is in a few days, I’m afraid I’ll forget! (Good thing I have the kids…they would never forget such a thing.) I’m just saying….I wish his conception was at least a month or so before it actually was. Just so we’d be able to give him the absolute undivided attention he SO deserves. But you know….what’s ‘done is done’. And we know who did it. ; )

So he did want a low-key day anyway, as a snow storm was due to come in, and he didn’t want plans to go anywhere in a blizzard. {A} actually got up early to make his birthday breakfast of our traditional birthday pancakes. And I actually jumped out of bed early to help her. I was the one that made the coffee and burnt the sausages. : ) But breakfast together was very nice! I don’t think the kids took their eyes off the windows the whole time though, waiting for that snow to start falling. They also gave him their cards they made for him. Note: {A} has called her Daddy, ‘Daddy-Boy’ since she was 3 or so. And she still does at 11. The story of that is a post for another time. Just thought I’d mention it in case you’re puzzled by that.

We THOUGHT we’d at least have some snow fun on the way that day. So we got packages ready to send out that morning, and got those to the shipping place. But it didn’t even start snowing until almost 3:00, right before it started getting dark out, and Michael had decided by then he really wanted to go visit his 96 year old friend, and make sure he didn’t need anything before the storm really came. So he went and had a nice long visit with him. This sweet old man is dear to all of us. You may remember our post about him, Mr.Bill, on Veteran’s Day. But Michael has become especially close to him, and goes to his home to visit with him 1 or 2 times a week if he can. Michael completely enjoys Mr. Bill’s company in a very sincere way. He’s there for hours sometimes, and comes home smiling with lots of stories. And the same happened on his birthday. Which is nice. Even though I was worried while he was gone because he was still out in blizzardey conditions. But he came home safe and sound, cheerfully telling us how, in light of his birthday, Mr. Bill shared tips with him about how you live to be his age. While was gone, {A} baked his cake. (She insisted. She insists on making her own on her own birthday. I know I’m starting to look really bad here, and I’m afraid it gets worse.)

Then it was time to start preparing his birthday dinner of choice. Well….the thing is, what he really wanted was his own specialty dish….his family’s pizza. (There is a pizza recipe/tradition in his family) So yes….<gulp>…..he pretty much made his own birthday dinner. I really tried to get him to choose something else that I could make but he said no, that he didn’t mind at all. (He never minds making his family pizza. I think it’s a bit of work, since he even makes the dough. But…. it’s a family tradition.) He’s really not about that ‘special treatment’ on his birthday. He doesn’t ask for foot rubs like I do, or anything. He’s ‘all set’. The pizza was good though, as ALWAYS. Doesn’t it LOOK good??

Afterwards, we had cake. Which happened to be the Thunder Cake we posted about, from our studies of Patricia Polacco, because that’s what he wanted. Just so you don’t think that I really did NOTHING, I did frost the cake, and sliced the strawberries (and let’s not forget about the coffee making and sausage burning in the morning). Doesn’t it look lovely??

It tasted good too!

The rest of the night we spent generally parenting. You know,…helping the kids with their showers getting to them to bed, and taking care of some Christmas stuff. It surely wasn’t the day of fun int he snow we thought we were going to have, but he enjoyed his day none-the-less. Had a nice long visit with his friend, got all of his favorite foods, etc….what more could a birthday boy want?

I am sure you’re thinking…”Are there any pictures of the birthday boy in this post? And to that I have to say….Of course there is!!!

He’s a looker, huh?? Even handsomer than the days we were ‘courting’, as he calls it. He’s getting that distinguished look, that comes with age. He is just so handsome. Ask my sister.

Anyway….today, the day AFTER his birthday as I post this, we DID get the fun in the snow we were looking for!! The kids….the big one and the 4 younger ones, went sledding, and I took photos. I’ll be sharing photos of that in the next post. Just need to go through them and be reasonable about how many to keep and/or post. Sure was fun taking photos of them having a (snow)ball!!! (I know…OH BROTHER!!) I’m a witty one, huh??

Happy Birthday, Daddy-Boy and Love of My Life!!

An Early Christmas Gift, from CatholicTV

November 21, 2008 By Laura 1 Comment

So {A} expressed her wishes in her last post, that she hoped we would blog about our wonderful, unexpected, fill-our-hearts with joy, early Christmas gift. And since I took photos, why not!?

After Mass on Sunday, Fr. Bob Reed, who is Director of CatholicTV, and who also helps out with Masses at our parish, asked us to stay after Mass as he had something for us. Once we all went outside, he proceeded to transport a huge wrapped gift from his trunk, to our van! We were so confused. He said it was an early Christmas gift for us from himself and everyone at CatholicTV. Now, as many of you may know, we willingly let them film our family for a new series on Catholic families, for their TV station. We were the first family to do this, so maybe that is why they have expressed their gratitude many times, which was enough for us!! But here, we had this gift from them.

I asked if we should wait until Christmas to open it, but he said “Oh no!! Open it TODAY!!”. Now our plans were to go shopping from there but……you can bet those plans got a little rearranged. We went home first to open the gift.

Now, we are thankful for anything. Or nothing. From anyone. But as I looked at this box, I had an inkling. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. It my heart, I was a little bit hoping and praying, that it was just what it turned out to be. Hold on.

So here are the kids waiting to open it. Daddy was in the other room doing something, or something. I forget. But we were waiting. And wondering. Hmmmm.

Then we let them tear it open, which took all of 1/2 second.

Next, Daddy had to open the stapled box, and carefully cut the tape of the styrofoam box as well. Clearly it was something breakable. (That was a good sign to me!! lol)

He lifted off the cover, and though each piece was wrapped in plastic, it was clear enough that my little prayer had come true. The kids cheered! Can you tell what it is??

Here is a better look. The beauty of each piece is just……….

I can’t tell you how HAPPY this gift made us. So how did I have an inkling of what it was?? Many weeks ago, when that man from Bethlehem was selling religious wood goods at our parish, I told Fr. Reed how we need to get a nativity set, and soon. I told him we’ve never really had one, except for the Fisher Price Little People set our little ones had. He then mentioned a place he knew that made beautiful sets, but then told me to be sure we didn’t get one. Now WHY would a priest tell you not to get a nativity set? I was just about to ask him where he recommended, since he said he knew of a great place.

We even used that Little People Nativity Set last year, even though our youngest ones were 5 years old and a little old for it! We figured, hey, it was better than nothing. The thing is, our home was always too small before, and lacked a good display area for a nativity set. We couldn’t really afford one, anyway. Later, we added on and had more space, but then with 3 toddlers thrashing about the house, I didn’t want anything get get broken, IF we had one. But it was definitely time, to have a REAL one. Michael and I have wanted one ever since we’ve owned a home, and it was always sadly put off, for one reason or another. A nativity set IS what Christmas is, and we wanted it to be part of our home, for every Christmas season from now on.

But to receive such a BEAUTIFUL set, as a GIFT, from Fr. Reed (whom we adore), and CatholicTV, just adds sentiment to this set, that we will always treasure. The children will always remember how, when, where, we got it, and it just makes it that more special. It’ll be a family treasure, for many, many generations to come.

Michael will be building a stable that is just right, to accommodate our new Nativity set. We are all very excited to set it up in a place of honor. I’ll be sure to take and share photos.

To Fr. Reed (if you’re reading) and Catholic TV — THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts, from our whole family here “at #19”. Your beautiful, thoughtful, amazing gift will never go unappreciated, and will always mean more to us than you will ever know.

And here is the STAR of the show! The very reason we celebrate every Christmas…..

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HALLOWTIDE; All Souls Day – Part III

November 9, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

We’ve finally arrived at the last part of our Hallowtide theme – Part III. (You can check out all of the fun we had, in Part I HERE, and Part II HERE.)

Our All Souls Day (Nov 2) began with Sunday morning Mass. We most always go to the last Mass of Sunday mornings, as we did on this day. What a beautiful sight it was walking into the church, with what was left of the vigil candles aglow all over the altar, each burning for each soul of every parishioner who passed away in the last year. Each burning candle had the name of the individual on it, and were meant to be taken home by the families of the lost loved one. We can only imagine how much more spectacular and moving the first mass of the weekend must have been, before any candles had been taken home, by the families they belonged to.

Later in the afternoon, we gathered around our table together, and talked a bit more about the history and purpose of All Souls Day. We also focused a bit more, on the lives and souls closer to home for us; those who have perished, who were a great influence in our life, or made a mark in some way. Those we personally knew in some way, and those who we loved so deeply and dearly, and lost, such as close family. We discussed how as Catholics, we are to pray for the souls of those people, that their souls may be purified and released from purgatory, and into the Kingdom of Heaven.

In that light, we began a new tradition. We created a scroll, listing the names of the souls of those in our lives who we have lost, and beside their name, the year of their death. This includes family and friends, and anyone who had been a significant part of our life or family in some way. This of course required really going back in years, and while we have many names down, many exact years are forgotten and still need to be researched.

This list of souls is part of our seasonal altar (or table) we have. This table area changes with the liturgical year, as well as the earth seasons. The scroll of names/souls we remember, will remain there throughout the month of November, as it is the month to remember and pray for all souls. Each year it will be brought back out in tradition, and sadly, be updated, including the new souls we must pray for. Later, we added the remembrance cards we happened to still have, to the table as well.

Then we got to making dough, for soul cakes. Soul cakes (which are more like hot cross buns) have Christian history in Halloween, and in fact are the root of how ‘trick or treat’ began. In short, these soul cakes were exchanged for prayers by the recipients of the soul cakes, who were mostly beggars and whom went to the doors of the wealthier, for the loved ones lost in the family of the givers. As the saying went:

A soul, a soul, a soul cake.
Please good missus a soul cake.
An apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry,
Any good thing to make us merry.
Up with your kettles and down with your pans
Give us an answer and we’ll be gone
Little Jack, Jack sat on his gate
Crying for butter to butter his cake
One for St. Peter, two for St. Paul,
Three for the man who made us all.

How costume wearing came to be, is also tied into this practice that began long ago, and has interestingly evolved into what it is today.

As Daddy added sprinkles of flour to prevent sticking and to get the dough to a consistency just right to form the soul cakes, the kids mostly took turns kneading the dough….

….but not always…….

Once the soul cakes were done, we enjoyed them nice and hot, with our dinner.

That concludes our Hallowtide festivities report, which in real life, concluded a week ago today! Come back again soon to see what we have in store for our blog about next. As quiet as you all are in the commenting department : ( , we know you are all out there, reading along. ; ) We appreciate your visits.

HALLOWTIDE; All Hallows’ Eve – Part I

November 4, 2008 By Laura 4 Comments

As many of you know, Hallowtide is the 3 days of All Hallows’ Eve (better known as Halloween), All Saints Day, and All Souls Day, carrying us all from the month of October into November. These last few days have been full of festivities, fun, and more education for all us! I’ve mentioned to you all before, just how much our kids love to plan any festivities. I think you’ll truly get the gist of just how much they ‘get into it’, as you visit our blog over the next couple of days. For any celebration we have coming up, our oldest always loves to plan the menu items (as well as do a lot of the cooking and baking), and the little ones might have a say in that menu, lol, make decorations, plan the games, and stuff like that. They are all, always, never short on ideas. They are very enthusiastic party planners, even if it is just for us. But we sure do have a good time!! Suffice it to say, I took loads, and loads, of photos. I have been splitting my computer time between processing them all for family history and blogging, and working! I’ll only be sharing a fraction of them here, but still out of necessity (and sanity), this Hallowtide theme will be split into multiple posts. I hope you all enjoy our ‘little ways’.

The children woke up on All Hallows’ Eve to Daddy’s artwork on the fridge chalkboard (that still makes me smile,) seen below. If you can imagine him, he sat on the floor, drawing and coloring like a child, and having as much fun as one. Just when I thought he was done, he’d pick up another piece of chalk for a little finishing touch here, and then there. Then adding this and that. Truth was, he didn’t WANT to be done. He’s just so cute about these things, and I’m sure you’ll agree he’s quite the sketch artist. It didn’t go unappreciated by the kids in the morning either. No one erased it to do their own thing.

But as excited as the kids were to get to all they had worked so hard on planning, it was still a school day, first. Devotion was dedicated to another more thorough and deeper study of the meaningful and interesting ties of ‘Halloween’ to our Catholic faith. As committed Catholics raising our children in our faith, it’s our obligation to teach how our faith relates to everything, and there is very interesting history to be learned here. We learn more every year! In addition to this, as we follow the Liturgical Year, we acknowledge all of these holy days, with ‘Halloween’ meaning “Holy Eve’ in reference to the eve of All Saints Day, which in turn leads to the observance of All Souls Day. (Just talking, in case anyone doesn’t know these things yet. )

At any rate (as my mother would say), All Hallows’ Eve and All Saints Day was pretty much rolled into one broo-ha-ha for us. We stayed up LATE, carrying on with our antics. Having spent a good amount of time discussing the important meaning of all of the aspects of this seemingly crazy holiday, and how it ALL came about over the course of history, and why,….we then dove right into the silliness of it all.

So here come just some of the photos for Part I of our All Hallows Eve festivities. As we sat gathered at our table, schooling as the morning turned to afternoon, we started paying more and more attention to this menu {A} had set on the window sill beside us,…..

as our bellies began to grumble for lunch:

A bit after lunch and awhile of working for me, I had to run out to a client consult. But when I got home, the kids were all geared up to get the celebration rolling!! They got out shirts/sweatshirts, as did Michael and I, and we all decided what designs we wanted for them. Daddy cut our choices out of vinyl and put them on for us. They were ready to ….

…..eat again of course!

{A}’s Salty Bones! These were so good with jalapeno cheese dip!

Bat Wings!

{S} couldn’t get enough of these things!

And then they made their own ‘Monster Pizzas’.

Here’s {O} just sitting there looking cute, waiting for her pizza to come out of the toaster oven.

Finally, they were cooled down enough to bite into! {J} was happy about that!

It wasn’t long after we ate our ‘main course’ that {A} was in the kitchen again, making us some candy apples. (Here she’s at the stove, melting chocolate in a double boiler.)

She wanted me to take ‘how-to’ photos for you all. So go ahead and make some, and enjoy them yourself!

Michael/Daddy started cutting out cookies, too.Take note of the pumpkin on his shirt, which he was all excited about wearing. (No, I am not being sarcastic. )

That’s FAR from all. The party just got crazier from there, late into the night.

So stay tuned, if you dare……………
Check out the crazy-fun antics in Part II HERE!

We wish you all a blessed, peaceful and joyful Christmas!

Enjoy every moment!

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