Woo Hoo!

I won a draw... I don't think I have EVER won anything in my life. I certainly can not remember ever winning anything! Do you remember Scribbit's week long giveaway? Well - I won one of the items and here it is!. Awesomeness! Thank you Scribbit!

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Some really Cool Advent Calendars...

...a little too late for this year but maybe next year? To check them out click here. I found the link on Danielle's site so you might have already checked them out. I really like the magnetic one - but I Have to wonder how long before we managed to lose some of the magnets. We have done well in the past with calendars but still - I wonder - magnets are so fascinating. "Will it stick here, how about here or here - oops - guess not!"And this little manger scene is adorable and so affordable! It would make a great distraction for the youngest magnet tester in my family. I need to remember to check out this site after Christmas and see if they are offering any of the Advent items at a discount.
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Some calendars we made for Advent

We made a couple of Advent calendars for ourselves. One was based on Bethany's idea that since Advent is a time of waiting wouldn't it be a good idea to have a calendar that gave us little sacrifices to do as we wait as opposed to treats. Now we didn't have any calendars with treats but I guess she has noticed the ones for sale that have a little chocolate for the person who opens the door that day.

I thought that was an excellent idea so I went to work on it that very night - it was jsut a few days before Advent was to start - so I did not have a lot of time.

I ultimately created two calendars, one with little sacrifices and activities for us to do that helped one to focus on the quiet spiritual side of Advent and another with the fun things we were planning on doing, such as crafts or baking we need to get finished in time to give away for Christmas.

I only have pictures of the calendars before we started to use them, but I thought I would share them anyway. At some point today - I hope to take a picture of the chains so we can see how we are coming closer to the removal of our bondage.

So enjoy the pics and look forward to some more as we come closer to the light of the world being revealed to us all in a little manger in Bethlehem.



The one above is the calendar with the prayers and sacrifices we are doing daily to help draw us closer to the Infant Jesus.
The one below is the fun stuff we are doing. Remember that you can click on the pictures and they will open up allowing you to study them closer - if you would like.



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Happy Feast Day, St Nickolas!

We love to celebrate Saint Nickolas (or Nicholas) Day in our home. Years and years ago we replaced the secular image of Santa Claus with Saint Nick and our children just adore him and the little ones have a great respect for St Nickolas' assistant, Black Peter . In fact, as I type this up - the two youngest girls are helping Bethany to clean their room as they were reminded that Black Peter would be letting St. Nick know what shape their room is in.

Some fun articles to read and recipes to check out.

An interesting article about the variations of Saint Nicholas is here.

Here is a brief article that introduces some of the various names St Nick is known by around the world.

A wonderful page filled with cookies and treats for St Nicholas' day is here.

Interested in buying some cookies cutters shaped like the famous saint - click here. I will be looking into getting some of these.

And two more links to some baking ideas are here and here.

Enjoy and have a wonderful feast day.

On a different note - while my Advent Jesse tree posts will be consistent and I have a few posts already and pre-scheduled to post, any actual real time posting may come to an end, for a short time, soon as I am struggling both with pre-term labour symtoms, and severe back ache.

I am almost ready for Christmas and am thankful for the distraction of preparing for it, this has helped tremendously. While the Chiropractor has done wonders to keep me mobile I am finally reaching that point (that I usually reach much sooner) of just not being able to walk very well. Sitting is even becoming hard on my back so prolonged times at the computer have become painful.

Prayers are very welcome as I seek the graces I need from our Lord to be patient at a time of my pregancy when I am typically not patient!

Blessings to you all and we will let you know when this bundle of joy arrives and in the meantime enjoy the Jesse tree postings and the additional ramblings I have pre-posted. (Is that a word?)

Oh, and I am still trying to get the contest for this month up and running so keep an eye out for that, eh? I already have a wonderful book rounded up for possibly January, and another for later in the spring!


(Found the picture above of St Nick here.)

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is THIS my baby????

Where oh where did my baby go?

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Christmas Baking

Are you looking for some new ideas, tired of baking the same cookies every Christmas? Well this year we decided to buy a magazine for the price of a book! Not something I often do but I really wanted to try some new recipes this year. It is fun perusing the pages - but sitting here bored... drinking herbal teas and taking herbal tinctures to stop early labour... I started googling and came up with a really nice site. I am still exploring the site but thought I would share it so that others who might be looking for new ideas could have some fun too.

If you like to bake and want to try something new, or are just looking for some tips on how to make some of your traditional cookies look a little more professional - click here and have fun!

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A complete week of giveaways at Scribbit's place.

Scribbit is having a weeks worth of giveaways so jump on over to her place and try your luck! I put my name down for a nursing camisole. Can't wait to see what else she has to give away!

Best of luck to you all! Oh and she also has a link on the left side called the Message Board where you can see other giveaway blogging events that are going on. So check that out too.

Keep in mind that in a few days I will have Decembers giveaway up and running. This time it is a hand crafted gift - just ideal for that little girl on your Christmas list.

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We were privileged to enjoy...

...THIS tonight as we drove home from Raleigh. It was an awesome thing to see - even though we were not too sure exactly what was happening. It was clear though that some astronomical phenomenon was happening. However, not all of the family was with us - and it is possible that tomorrow another view, though not as clear as tonights, will occur. So perhaps we will take an after dinner drive tomorrow and like the bear who went over the mountain - see what we can see. After all, this will not occur again for another 247 years.

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Chef and Music critic...

Elsa appears to be both master chef and music critic at the ripe old age of 3 as determined by the following observation she made while deftly mixing up pumpkin bread while I added in the ingredients. We had Christmas music playing in the background and a particularly pretty piece had just finished playing when Frosty the Snowman came on. Within seconds Elsa sagely stated as she solemnly stirred without spilling a fleck of flour:

"That is not a beautiful song, Mummy."

"Well - it is a happy song, even if a little noisy, isn't it?" I asked her.

She nodded her agreement as she continued to studiously and carefully mix the flour into the wet ingredients.




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Following our Advent progress...

Well - we squeezed it all in today. Hugo left for a business trip with Nathaniel this after noon and we baked pies and then some gingerbread forms for 2 churches we hope to build. Then after a quick supper - we cleaned and tidied and did our advent readings, got the Jesse tree ornaments pasted on trees and each child broke a link off of his or her Advent chain.

I will include pictures as we progress in these projects! The first batch is of some of our chains which we constructed yesterday and of our Advent wreath, before the candles fell in. Tuesday I will head out and buy some candle holders. This happens EVERY year - my candles collapse. It is time to for some solid candle holders! Move over playdough... you are about to be replaced.

(These are two chains attached at the red links - which is for Christmas Eve. I attached them with a straight pin, simply to make them look more decorative in the windows where we hung them. I will continue to post pictures of this pair so you can watch them grow shorter!)
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The wreath... before the calamity hit....

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Playing with Static...

E L E C T R I C I T Y!

(I never know just what I am going to find when I check the gallery of photos on my cell phone!)

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Thank you notes...

I am at the beginning of a search for the perfect set of thank you notes to send out to the various people who have surprised with us with lovely gifts for the baby, and my search brought me to this little article on do's and don'ts of thank you notes. In this article the reader is asking about a wedding shower, but it was the last line of the answer that had me chuckling. CLICK here, if you would like to enjoy a light smile as well. Read more!

An answer for a comment ...

...that was left today below the Jesse Tree Reminder post by CP. CP pointed out that there are more ornaments/symbols to be put on the Jesse Tree than there are days in Advent this year and she wondered how best to handle that. I had noticed that as well. Originally I had decided to drop a few, picking the ones that are most relevant to the fast approaching nativity from the last 5 or 6 symbols.

Then as I contemplated my answer to CP's query, it struck me that this was a good teaching moment as to how the number of days in Advent change from year to year and that this 'calendar' of dates is based on starting the Advent season the fourth Sunday before Christmas and hence the difference in the number of days.

Therefore I have decided that on the last days of Advent, I will double up the symbols that we place on our tree each day so that we end up with the nativity symbol being placed on the tree on Christmas Eve. Part of my reasoning was that since this is a "family tree' it was not right to drop any of the family off of it. This decision will also be reflected in my daily postings so that the symbol, its brief explanation and the accompanying reading will be doubled those last exciting days as we await the rebirth of our Saviour and Lord - the precious Baby Jesus.

I hope some of you will join us as we travel through the centuries reflected through this family tree that represents the original period of Advent - or waiting of the Messiah. And whether you join us or not - I have an important question - do you have your candles yet? I also have good news - I found my wreath! My regular readers know I have to hunt for it every year!


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Christmas Tree Poll

When do you typically put up your Christmas tree?

• Thanksgiving weekend
• Christmas Eve
• Second week in Advent
• First week in Advent
• Fourth week in Advent
• Third week in Advent

Created on Nov 4, 2008

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poll by twiigs.com

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Introducing a website...

...that I recently discovered. Brimful of Curiosities, I discovered it when we had our first giveaway on our blog for the book and Brimful of Curiosities uncovered our little event and posted it on her weekly announcements of free giveaways. But the author of this blog also writes book reviews. This week she reviewed a new book by Margaret Wise Brown (author of the famous Good Night Moon!) I am adding her to my side bar - just need to figure out what category to put her in - fabourite blogs & links I guess. At any rate, I have subscribed so I get an email announcing anything new on her blog so I can stay up to date on any new contests she is announcing - and did I already mention that all of them are free! A good place to hang out through out the week and see if I can win something! Check it out! Oh - and click here to read her review of M. W. Brown's new book and maybe even win a copy as she has three to giveaway! Good luck and may the best reader win! Read more!

Christmas is coming...

... and is clearly on Elsa's mind as evidenced by the following conversation between Elsa (3) and her older sister Bethany who is 10.

Elsa: Is Christmas everyone's birthday?

Bethany: No - it is just Jesus' birthday.

Elsa - sounding and looking rather distressed "Oh no - does that mean only He gets all the presents?"



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A poll just for fun.

When do you turn on the Christmas music?

• All year!
• We start Thanksgiving weekend.
• Whenever the radio starts playing it.
• Not until Christmas Eve.
• Sometime during Advent.
• Not sure, it's different every year.

Created on Nov 24, 2008

View Results

poll by twiigs.com

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GASP! Its how many days to # 13?

FOURTY SIX days... yes, that is D A Y S!!! The other evening, I glanced at my igoogle home page and thought 'wow only 46 days to Christmas' but then caught the actual title of the time ticker I had chosen and it was 46 days until baby to be!! (It was 36 days to Christmas.)

I almost fell off my chair - which in my condition would not be the smartest thing I could do right now. Fourty six DAYS??? Now of course - that is assuming she will be on time - which she most likely will not be, so I am trying to focus on mid January as the due date - but still.

You see, here is my to do list:

• Set up baby hammock...... check
• Find cartons of new born clothes .... check
• Go through and pull out OODLES of new born baby girl jammies and church outfits..... half a check.(Last two babies were born in Spring and early Fall -which down here means very warm to almost hot temperatures - so there was little fit for the winter season.)
  

• Return cartons to storage......
• Buy diapers.......
• Prepare changing area.....
• Buy baby laundry supplies......
• Buy baby bathing supplies.....
• Locate stroller and clean up......
• Locate baby swing and test that it still works....
• Buy Mylicon drops because ALL of my babies suffer from reflux varying from mild to severe....

Now ask me about my Advent and Christmas list and you get a very different story. I am almost completely ready for this upcoming joyous season, but clearly I am in denial about a new baby about to arrive on the scene.

FOURTY SIX DAYS???


UPDATE: I have tried THREE times to correct boen to born (hope it shows with an "r" and not an e here!). However blogger has decided it will not allow me to write newborn above.... Argh!
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Now you see her and...

NOW YOU DON'T!!

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