One Last One for the Year

It's been a busy, busy year - full of big events and a lot of everyday nose-grinding.  Do you have New Year's resolutions set?  I have some ideas, but nothing concrete.  Hubby keeps reminding me, "Just decide to do something.  You don't have to re-work your personality."  Ah yes, but we melancholics are better at making grand resolutions and then feeling depressed when of course we can't achieve them.

It's a joy to still be in the octave of Christmas.  The Feast of the Holy Family Sunday yesterday (and every year) touches me and gives me a lot of hope.  Father talked about how being successful in family life (i.e. letting God be at the center of your family and seeking His help to love each other) is much more difficult than anything we think of in terms of human success.  It doesn't seem this way since family life is ordinary and familiar, yet reining in one's tongue is harder than writing a paper, somedays. 

Here's a little of how we've celebrated our Christmas season so far...

 Mass - Church was so pretty, all decorated.

 We spent Christmas Eve evening with my family.  Grandma K was able to come and it was lovely to visit with her.  Everyone was home except for Fr. Matt, but we were able to visit with him over the phone, which was great.  The Boy helped everyone unwrap and examine their presents.  

 Playing Legos with the uncles.  Pbpbpbpbpbptttt.

 The Boy taught Aunt M how to play Chess.  She beat him.

 The Boy was really excited about Santa this year.  Hubby took him to see Santa this year, and he had to make sure there were some cookies for Santa to eat.  Santa obliged and left only a few crumbs behind.  He was pretty tickled by that.

 Santa left him Star Wars pajamas!  Mrs. Claus thought they would be too big, but apparently she didn't realize how much he has grown in the past month or two.  He was so happy this Christmas.

 New Legos.  He built them 100% by himself.  We spent Christmas day with my Mother-in-Law and had a lovely time.  We played games, visited, and just enjoyed each others company on a cold, sunny Christmas.

In between the holy days, we celebrated our 9th anniversary - hard to believe next year is the big ten.  It doesn't seem like it's been nearly that long - just a few years of wedded bliss.  Sure, we've had to work at it harder than not some days, but that's part of the joy.  The fact is that we're stuck with each other, so we might as well make it for better than for worse (smile).  We got to go out on a date to celebrate - The Hobbit in 3D and yummy pasta to follow.

 The HS group had their Christmas pageant this weekend.  It was great fun to be part of the Mass, Rosary, potluck, and pageant.  The Boy was able to be a Magi and loved it.  All the children did marvelously and it was lovely to sing Christmas carols along with their pageant.

Today we went to Church to help the college kids get set for their big trip to FOCUS conference.  The Boy helped lay out bread for sandwich making and sort all the snacks.  Some family and friends are coming tonight for some food and games, although am certain we won't be partying late into the night!  

Best wishes for a blessed New Year full of hope and joy. 

Advent

Advent is well under way and the farthest we've made it is lighting the candles on our wreath most nights.  I've never been good at incorporating seasonal aspects into our family life, and the liturgical seasons are no exception.  So today is our day to reset, try to get back on track (story of my life...  story of the Christian life...).  I found a few simple resources that I think we can use, so decided to share them.

I'm sure everyone else is having a lovely Advent season, but enjoy the links if you fall into the same boat as us (smile). 

Jesse Tree ornaments and readings

Simple Advent traditions

USCCB Advent Calendar

Christmas Tree Blessing

O Antiphons (starting 12/17)

New Things to Make

 For school - a volcano (different types of lava, with hardening lava rocks at the base).

 The Boy's stuffed frog then moved in to the volcano, where he was a dragon and breathed fire at the knights in the neighboring castle, until he died an ignominious death at the hands of one particularly brave cardboard knight.

 Lego sheep.  

A friend sent us a tutorial for a Lego nativity scene, complete with magi, shepherd, and animal instructions.  Hubby has been helping The Boy with some of the pieces, but The Boy has been doing most of it on his own, making modifications as needed for pieces he doesn't have.

Pretending

The Boy has been pretending anything and everything lately.  He gets embarrassed if I notice what he is playing, but I just love watching and listening to his amazing imagination. 

 The Long Arm of the Law.  Don't mess with this guy.

 Darth Maul's eye-liner face.

 Darth Maul and his double light-saber.

 Mining for gold in the basement.

 Boba Fett.

 (Boba Fett, in case you were wondering).

New Photo Display

We got new family photos taken this summer by friends turned professional photographers.  The photos turned out great, especially of The Boy (to commemorate Kindergarten).  I made prints with Sam's Club online, and also pleased with quality and pricing.  We haven't had a new, official family photo since The Boy was a baby.  One more casualty of waiting for a baby ("maybe next year we'll have a baby, so we'd better wait to get a new picture). 

All our frames were different and just kind of scattered on the wall, so I found an idea for putting together our pictures in crafty (OK, crafty for me...) way.  This idea was from Pinterest - finally figured it out :-)  Found 4 identical frames for 50% off today at the fabric store, then took some not-too-expensive ribbon and an old curtain rod - and many thanks to my hubby for putting up the rod -