Jesse Tree - First Thursday in Advent

On the first Thursday of Advent we are reminded of the promise made to Abraham by God to:
"... make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing." This event is symbolized with a tent and here is the link to Domestic Church with their symbols for this week.

Here are the readings:
Genesis 12: 1-7
Genesis 13: 2-18



IGNORE
Read more!

Anonymous Comments

As of today anonymous commenting has been blocked on this blog. I am sorry for this as I know some readers are not registered with google and, as such, will no longer be able to comment unless they register. However, I have yet to receive a nasty comment (and I mean NASTY!) that was NOT anonymous.

I am tired of cowards.

One of the more recent nasty comments was like a kick in the stomach and took my breath away. I could not understand what I had done or written to unleash such a vicious comment. I don't like that an anonymous person was able to leave such a stain on my day. And, as I believe that all nasty comments that are left anonymously are left by cowards... I sincerely doubt I will have to moderate any more nasty ones. These individuals simply will not have the courage to leave their name attached to their ugly words.

I have no problem publishing varying views from my own and I don't mind publishing comments that are critical of me. I have done so in the past. But some comments are just plain ugly and not deserving of being published and so my readers have not been subjected to them. But I am no longer willing to subject myself to them because, you see, while I have not published the ugly nasty comments - I have still had to read them.

Now if someone wants to be incredibly rude, offensive and/or vulgar... they will have to do so while leaving a trail that can be followed. This will allow me to be able to report them to Google should I warrant it necessary.

Again I apologize to the readers who have taken advantage of the anonymous comments to leave positive, interesting and sometimes critical comments while also including a first name. I am sorry that the cowardice of others has forced me to take this route. I hope you will understand.

ignore
Read more!

Jesse Tree - First Wednesday in Advent

This, the first Wednesday in Advent, takes us back to the 40 days of the flood and Noah and is typically represented with a dove over water with what I think is an olive branch in its beak.
Click here to go to Domestic church to find the matching symbol.

Readings
Genesis 6:11-22
Genesis 8: 6-12




IGNORE Read more!

Jesse Tree - First Tuesday in Advent

The reading for today is about the fall and the resulting expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Some like to represent this with an apple - especially one with a bite out of it. Others will use a serpent. The Domestic Church combines the two images.

Here is the reading for today which is Genesis 3: 1 - 24









IGNORE Read more!

Jesse Tree

Last year I was a lot less active than I am right now... as I was quickly advancing to my due date so we took the season of Advent off last year to focus on preparing for two babies... baby Jesus and our baby - who was due so very close to His birthday. We were blessed with Cecilia's arrival after about 36 hours of labour at home during the Christmas season but thankfully not on Christmas day! (In truth, though long - it was a very easy labour. Delivery was a little tricky and recovery - a nightmare, but Praise be to God, Cecilia was a very healthy baby!)

As a result of the hiatus we were on I had time to create many posts for the Jesse tree advent activity. I am going to repost these for the readers who wish to use them again this year. I hope you find them helpful... and I apologize for being late with Sunday's. As you know we have been ill most of November and I think (and pray) we have turned the corner...

So here is the link to last years introduction and let the waiting begin!

ignore
Read more!

Jesse Tree - First Monday in Advent

God's Creation; the reading for this day reflects the first days of the creation so many different symbols can be used. Some prefer to use a symbol of God, others of the wonderful earth that God created.

Here is the reading , which is Genesis 1: 24-28.

Again, to use the symbols for this week from the Domestic Church, click here.





Ignore Read more!

Jesse Tree - First Sunday in Advent

The Jesse Tree is similar to a family tree - in this case Jesus' family tree. This tree, with its symbols, takes us through what some refer to as the first Advent. The long wait for the Messiah, our redemption, which started with Adam's and Eve's fall from grace through to the incarnation and the first Christmas in Bethlehem.

So the first symbol chosen is the tree which symbolizes the family tree we are building during Advent.

Here is the reading for the first Sunday in Advent which is 1 Samuel 16: 1-13

I am using the Domestic Church website and following their readings and symbols. To use their symbols for this week click here. To see their page about the Jesse tree click here.






Ignore
Read more!

Needing God's Armor

Since man's life on earth is a time of trial, and all who would live devotedly in Christ must undergo persecution, and the devil your foe is on the prowl like a roaring lion looking for prey to devour, you must use every care to clothe yourselves in God's armor so that you may be ready to withstand the enemy's ambush. - Saint Albert of Jerusalem (1149-1215)

And how do we clothe ourselves in God's armor: prayer, fasting, frequent reception of the sacraments and feeding our minds with good materials, whether spiritual reading or movies about the Saints and/or religious documentaries. What things do you do to keep yourself clothed in God's armor? Any good movies or documentaries you can suggest, reading materials? Feel free to leave your ideas in the comment section.

In the meantime I pray you all have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving. We are still struggling with illness and now have a 4 year old who might be having a response to a recent MMR vaccination which only 5% of the population experiences.

ignore

Read more!

illness abounds

It is feast or famine for us with health and sickness and right now we are in 'the revolving door at the doctors' phase. Currently we are waiting on blood tests in hopes of revealing the newest culprit to knock us off our feet. Keep us in your prayers please as we wait and hope for a simple explanation for some rather serious illness in a few of our children.

Details later - but if I am away for a few days it is because we are really snowed under with sick children. I am working on a post about it all ... but... it might be a few days before I have the time to finish it and post.

God Bless and I pray for a Happy and HEALTHY Thanksgiving for you and yours!

ignore Read more!

High fashion

Today I am wearing my baby and I can think of no other fashion accessory that could outshine this beautiful jewel that is clasped to my chest. Thank you Jesus for this priceless treasure which is adorning me and warming my heart and soul with her beauty and innocence.

ignore Read more!

Tired to the point of being tearful and feeling guilty...

The dishes are piled up and despite the fact that I really, I mean really, want one of my own freshly baked molasses cookies I am "making do" with a Nonni soft baked almond cookie that is store bought. Gasp - did I really say 'making do' to one of those delightful cookies? Yes, I did because what I really want is a home made fresh from the oven molasses cookie and I am too tired to make them, despite being bed by 9:30 pm last night. (Could this possibly be because of the countless end to end doctors appointments, keeping track of several antibiotic prescriptions and attempting to jump start our schooling program after a two weeks sick hiatus??)

And I feel so guilty because instead of teaching math to my four year old who pleaded with me to let her do her math sheets - I cuddled my sleepy 10 month old who, after weeks of cat naps (a total of maybe four in the past week, each lasting a total of possibly 20 minutes, tops) crawled into my lap and voluntarily fell asleep. Could she possibly have done this because out of desperation the past 2 days we have put her down to sleep in, gasp, a crib - alone, and let her cry herself to sleep?

When she crawled into my arms and fell asleep I pushed away the guilt because after all she is most likely the last baby and how many more times will I have the opportunity to cuddle something so small and precious that is all mine. Regardless of why this clever little one decided to take a nap, I allowed myself the time to enjoy her warmth against my chest, the limp weight of her body in my arms and her head on the side of my neck as well as her baby fine hair smooth on my cheek. The dishes could wait, the baking could wait and the guilt could flee.

We are hours behind what I "wanted" to do. But the rest of the day is still here waiting to be filled and it can be started anew at any moment.

So I will try to ignore the fatigue & brush the guilt aside like crumbs off my lap as I have a cup of tea, enjoy my tusani cookie and then I will pull out the math sheets and also do a phonics lesson with Nathaniel. After lunch I will maybe try baking my craving and plan dinner.

It is never too late to start the day fresh...

Babies don't Keep...

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

~Ruth Hulbert Hamilton~

The full poem can be found here and the 8th comment (left by Sherry Goodwin) is particularly moving...

ignore Read more!

A Truely Blond Moment

Younger brother to older sister as they drove by the local college:

"Hey - that's a really pretty church, have you ever been in it?"

Older sister to younger brother:

"Ah yeah - I got married in it..."


Ummm - yeah, and we have attended Mass there numerous times...

ignore
Read more!

Oh MY G O S H !!!!

There are only 11 more days to the first day of ADVENT!

Do you have your


???


(GULP - I don't... BUT I know where my wreath is... I think!)

ignore Read more!

Over at Good Remedy...

... Peggy has found a great menu planer that is saving her dollars. And in this economy THAT is nothing to sneeze at. Want to check out her review? Here is her original post about E-mealz and here is her first review after trying it for a week. It's looking good! I'm even thinking of trying it even though I have created my own three week cycle of planned meals complete with grocery lists that is largely based on using a crock pot through out the week. The idea of throwing some ingredients in a pot early in the morning and not thinking about dinner again until its time to serve dinner is extremely appealing to me.

Still - I am looking forward to some new recipes without having to work hard to find them, print them and then create a matching grocery list... and this E-mealz even matches its meal plan/grocery list with the current sales from various nation wide stores. How can you beat that? So check out Peggy's post and see what you think. Hope to see you later over at E-mealz!

IGNORE
Read more!

Ooops!

If you're gonna mess with the settings on the electric hair trimmer and not tell your mum - you shouldn't be surprised when you end up with a buzz cut. I'm just saying... you know!


ignore Read more!

Check this out!

Hey - have any of you heard of Catholic TV? I have heard some murmurs that are lodged deep in my memory banks but had not gotten around to actually looking into it. Well - here is a blog that I am checking out that is all about it. So far I don't know if this is something free or something you have to join - but it looks good. Come on over with me and check it out! And for those of you who were already in the know - ok - I'm square and I admit it! Read more!

Drat!

I got up this morning and not finding anything to satisfy my finicky appetite I thought of my husband's secret stash and stole over to the closet in hopes of stealing one last cookie from the box only to discover the smart devil silly man had taken them to work with him. I had to satisfy myself with a healthy whole wheat English muffin and peanut butter. Sniff!

(My husband is an incredibly generous man and if he knew I was pining over his cookies, he would have taken one or two cookies to work and left the rest of the box for me to enjoy!)

ignore
Read more!

Confession 101

Psssst - what to hear something terrible?! I have a confession to make. I hope you are all sitting down. I am feeling so miserable (thats my line and I'm sticking with it!) that to seek a little comfort I am .... listening to Christmas Music! I know, I know - it's not even Advent, heck we don't even have the Thanksgiving shopping out of the way yet.

But there is something so comforting in the joy of Christmas music. Besides I have made one concession, I am only listening to Josh Groban and John Michale Talbot. And as Elsa put it so aptly several times since getting sick:

"Oh Mummy... I am SO tired of being like this!"

Me too, sweetheart, me too!



ignore Read more!

Oooops!

I have a plan. My plan is to:
finish eating breakfast,
drink some coffee,
wash the breakfast dishes,
drink some more coffee while calling the Dr for an appointment for Elsa,
and then jump start school while still sipping coffee.
Somewhere in there I am also considering breaking into my husbands stash of soft baked tusani. (While the cat's away the mouse will play - did I mention he jumped ship left for a teacher's conference yesterday morning?)

So I have a great to do list for the day. However - I am a little worried that my body might have a different plan.

You see while I was doling out syrups for fever, pills for coughs and taking temperatures I forgot one rather important daily job I have to do... take my life sustaining thyroid meds and I'm feeling the draggy effect the lack of these meds this has on one.

So far I can add a check beside the raiding of the tusconi box and sipping coffee... the rest of the list well, we'll see how it checks off. After all who knows how long the Dr visit will take. Nor have I run this list by the 10 month old - whom I suspect has a different to do list than mine. Hers starts off with;
Cuddle with mummy
followed by
cuddle some more with mummy


ignore Read more!

New Discoveries and Little Disappointments

Cecilia had just finished a wretched coughing session but still had some phlegm in her throat. This resulted in a low growling noise when she forced air through her throat - much to her delight and she experimented with this for a minute or two until her efforts actually caused the phlegm to move. Suddenly her efforts to re-create this growly effect resulted only in a silent whistle. The disappointed surprise on her face caused the whole room to errupt into laughter.

ignore Read more!