Advent 2013 - Days 19-24

Advent 2013 - Day 19

 The book for Day 19 was a classic Christmas story.  Who doesn't know the song or the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?  The kids enjoyed hearing it read out loud.

 They giggled when the elves couldn't see each other.

We followed up the book by singing the song together.  I did hold off singing the version my dad taught my siblings and me.  That version involves a cowboy, a gun, a foggy night, and a state penitentiary.  Not the most ideal Christmas song.  We will save it for another time.

Today's activity was to make gingerbread houses.  We didn't get a chance to work on them this day.

Advent 2013 - Day 20 

Laura Numeroff has written some of the cutest books.  I also enjoy Felicia Bond's artwork.  This is one of my favorites by them.  If You Take A Mouse To The Movies is an adorable book about a mouse who thinks of one thing to do and then that reminds him to do another thing and so on. 

This is the best snow fort!  It has carrots and branches as a defense wall because on the page before this the mouse was going to build a snowman.  

When we got to this picture about the mouse making ornaments, Blase commented "You can never have too much glitter."  That was a jab at his mother's comment when we were making snowflakes.

The story ends with the mouse wanting to go to the movies - which is where they started the story.

Today's activity was to "go to the movies".  We had a sleep out in the living room and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas.  I don't remember watching it all the way through before.  It was nice for the kids to have a sleep out with the Christmas tree lights on.  I hope it will be a good memory to recall in the coming years.

As you might recall we were suppose to have a Christmas tea on Day 17.  I really wanted to give them their special tea so we had a special lunch on Day 20.

 The girl had the last Cinderella plate from her birthday party.

 The boys had leftover Batman plates from some party.

 Stephen was pretty excited.  We listened to The Piano Guys  A Family Christmas CD.

 That evening we finally started the gingerbread houses.

 Gianna had a lot of help from her mother because it was so much more fun to EAT the candy than to put it on a silly house.

 Brech Earl did a lot more by himself and even had some suggestions on where Mom should put the frosting.

His finished house.

Advent 2013 - Day 21

 I was so excited when I found this book on our shelf.  I hadn't looked at since Brigid was born and had forgotten about it.  The kids were pleased to hear a story about their sister's patron saint.

The story is about when Brigid was a young girl.  While she was tending her sheep she pretended she was going to visit Baby Jesus in the stable.  That night after she put her sheep in barn she walked back outside to find that she was in the desert instead of her own Ireland.  

 In this part of the story, she was the daughter of the innkeeper where St. Joseph came to ask for a place for Mary to stay.  Brigid lead them to the stable where Jesus was to be born.  Brigid used her own cape to help keep Mary warm.  After Jesus was born Brigid heard voices calling for her. 

 They were the voices of her mother and other women who had been looking for Brigid.  Brigid's cape had been changed from an old raggedy one to a deep blue color with stars on it.  Brigid then started her story about how she had been in Bethlehem.

Today's activity was to put up Christmas lights and decorations.  We didn't get too many of them put up this day.  By the time we found time it was too cold to wash the windows to hang up the window clings.

 Rex did work on his gingerbread house.

 He had help with the icing, but all the decorations were add by Rex.

Advent 2013 - Day 22

Fourth Week of Advent

 Four candles all lit!

Today's story was:

 We have quite a few Tomie dePaola books on our shelves.  He has so many wonderful Catholic ones.  This is one of those.

 This is the story of Lucida.  When it was close to Christmas her mother ended up being sick and was unable to finish the blanket they were going to give as a present to the Christ Child.  Lucida tried to finish it herself, but only made a mess of it.

 This disappointed her so much.  Her family had nothing to offer as a gift.  In a last minute effort, Lucida picked the "weeds" around the road and brought them into the church.  This confused the people, why bring weeds as a present.

 As Lucida knelt to pray in front of the nativity scene, the weeds burst forth with beautiful red flowers.  This book was a great lesson in giving what little you have is worth more than anything if it is given with love.

Today's fun activity was to go look at Christmas lights.  We really intended to do this, but the weather was bitterly cold.  We have this rule that we don't take the little girls out if the weather is below zero.  It was below zero this day so no Christmas lights.    

 After the bigger kids and Darren got home from Mass we finished up the gingerbread houses.

 I had plenty of practice piping icing icicles on Cormac's house.

 Stephen didn't want to do a house because he was afraid I'd make him eat it.  He doesn't like the taste of gingerbread.

 Stephen used mostly candy on his.  I made Blase and him so their own icing so it was as easy it as it could be.

 Blase was not happy about making one either.  He would have rather just ate his and called it good.

 In the end he spent the most time of anyone.  He expanded his to include a partial frozen river in the backyard, a row of trees, a yellow trail leading from the house to the river, and shingles on his house.  Wow. That's a lot of work.  He hated to admit that he did have fun decorating it.

 Our completed Gingerbread Village.

As soon as I took the above picture, the kids started eating their houses.

Advent 2013 - Day 23

 No Christmas book list is complete without adding some type of Christmas Carol.

 The book follows the movie very closely.  My favorite part in the movie is when Marley (Goofy) falls down the stairs and does his famous falling cry.

 I just love Tiny Tim.  He's so stinkin' adorable!

 God bless us everyone!

Today's fun activity was to watch the high recommended 

I personally enjoy movies in black and white, but the kids are too quick to judge a movie based on its lack of color.  They weren't too excited about the movie as it started.  In fact, it was mentioned that it would have been better to watch the Mickey Mouse version.  The Ghost of Christmas Future was probably the scariest part for the kids.  I think they liked the movie.  There were a few tears shed when Tiny Tim died.  Yes, some of them were from my eyes.  I had not seen this movie before either.  What an Advent season this has been. So many Christmas movies I hadn't seen that we were able to watch and enjoy.

Advent 2013 - Day 24

Christmas Eve

 My very, very, very, very most favorite Christmas story is The Animals' Christmas Eve.

 It is the story of Jesus' birth told by animals.  I love the fact that it is also a counting book.  It starts with one small hen and goes all the way to eleven puppies.

This book combines all the things I enjoy in a book.  It has cute pictures, rhyming, and learning (counting).

The book ends with:

"Twelve chimes ring out from far away - 

The lovely bells of Christmas Day.

And every beast blows low its head

For one small babe in a manger bed.

I always cry at the end of this book.  There have been many books I have cried over this Advent.  I guess it is the season for me to be sentimental.

Advent 2013 - Days 16-18

Advent 2013 - Day 16 

The book for Day 16 was The Little Match Girl.  Simply stated - this book is a treasure.

This story is about a young girl who has to sell matches to earn money for her family.  If she comes home with no money her father will beat her.  She is walking through the streets with no shoes on because they had fallen off earlier.  You can almost feel the cold when you look at the pictures.  Finally she is too cold to go another step so she sits down in a corner.  She dares to strike a match for a bit of heat.  She starts seeing amazing things when the matches are lit.  First she sees a warm stove - then it disappears when the match burns out.  Next she sees a lovely table full of warm, delicious food. 

 When she lights the third match she sees a wonderful Christmas tree.

 She notices a falling star in the sky.  Her dear old grandma used to tell her that meant someone was dying.  She lights another match and this time she sees her grandma.  She wants to go with her grandma because the girl knows she will disappear when the match burns out.  In a last attempt to keep her grandma there, she lights all the rest of the matches.  Her grandma reaches out for her and carries her to heaven with God.

 The last page in the book shows the sweet girl, frozen to death in the night.  It is about this point when one of the kids always asks if that means she is dead.  It is about this point in the book that I try my hardest NOT to cry.  It is ALWAYS this point that I wish there was more we could do for the poor and hungry.

This day's fun activity was to watch Miracle on 34th Street.  The kids watched it later in the evening.  I still have not watched the movie, but I really intend to.  There always seems to be something to do to keep me busy in the evenings.

Advent 2013 - Day 17

I have no picture of the book we read that day.  Believe it or not it has disappeared.  That most likely means some child thought it was a fun book and wanted to read it again.  They probably left it in whatever corner they were in.  I have yet to locate that spot so you will have to use your imagination.  The book was called Jingle Bells.  It is about a bear family who, along with their friends, help Santa deliver the presents on Christmas Eve.  They have supper with Santa and Mrs. Claus and then head home singing "Jingle Bells."

This day's activity was suppose to be having a Christmas tea and listening to Christmas music.  Well - something called laundry got in the way.  Also two sweet girls who were just that much more needy as well.  Both of those leave little time for Mom to be hosting a Christmas tea.

Advent 2013 - Day 18

 Our Advent calendar is looking quite full now.

 Today's book was The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree.  This is another one of the new books I bought.  The story takes place in Appalachian Mountains.  I loved the fact that the book was written as someone from the Appalachian Mountains would say it.

"We shall have a balsam Christmas tree, my pretty young'un," said Papa.  "The balsam grows up the rocky craigs where only a venturesome man may go.  The balsam is a perfect tree.  It grows up high, hear to heaven."

Isn't that just the sweetest?  I have to admit I tried my best accent, but it sounded more like a butchered version than "best."  The story is about a young girl whose family is in charge of getting the Christmas tree for the church.  Early in the spring the father and daughter find the perfect tree.

 Then the father is called away to fight in a war across the sea.  All year long the mother and daughter work hard to have enough food to eat.  Come Christmas time there is no money for a new dress for the daughter to play the Christmas angel for the play.

 Her dear mother cut up her wedding dress to make an angel's dress for the girl.  The mother also made a matching angel doll for the little girl as a Christmas present.  The mother and daughter climb up to the craig and cut down the perfect Christmas tree and surprise the church.  Not many expected them to be able to provide the tree with the father gone to war.

 The boys were tickled when St. Nick gave some of the children (and adults) lumps of coal for being bad that year.

 After the Christmas play the little girl had a great surprise because her father was home from the war.

Today's activity was to decorate the Christmas tree.  Today was also my 35th birthday.  I told my mother I wasn't going to do any cleaning on my birthday.  Well, you know how I am.  I never do anything half way and I never do it the easy way.

 Here is what we started with.  See that massive dark spot on the floor by the couch?  Yah, how could you miss it, right?  Well, it finally irritated me enough that I decided it needed to be cleaned.  Darren said he would shampoo carpets while he was home after the babies were born, but you know how that didn't go as planned.  I figured he could probably do that during Christmas break.  Well, smart me remembers you can't clean carpets with a Christmas tree in the way.  So I decided to clean the carpets in the living room.  Yup, 'cause I'm that crazy.  Then I hauled in the Christmas tree from the shop (where it was defrosting), set it up with Blase's help, and started decorating.

 This is what the corner looked like just before bed.  We still need to put ornaments on the tree.  Cormac did a GREAT job of picking the perfect Christmas tree for us.  Such a lovely shaped tree compared to years past.  Oh and the smell is wonderful too.

 I did notice that someone was messing with the nativity set tonight.  I moved it down onto the fire place for Christmas.  I guess Baby Jesus isn't there yet so the sheep are still taking advantage of the manger.  Gosh, I love my kids and their creativity.

I have to show you this picture though it has nothing to do with Christmas.  Brech came with me to the doctor's appointment for the girls on Monday.  Afterwards we went shopping for a few things, including Christmas dresses for the girls.  We saw this black bow tie and he HAD TO HAVE IT, please.  So I bought him this cute little tie.  He has NOT taken it off since. He sleeps with it on, he eats with it on, and does every other thing with this bow tie on.  He's a keeper!!  (Gianna is being a bit of handful lately - bet you didn't gather that from the picture.)