Saint Lucia - a celebration!

Saint Lucia (or Saint Lucy) is traditionally feasted on the 13th of December. However this year it falls on a Sunday, so many will move their celebration to Saturday before or Monday after. Would you like to join in the celebrations? Read on for history, a description of how we celebrate, a recipe, and other ideas for her feast day. . .


:-: History :-:
In the days of early Christian persecution, St. Lucia is said to have carried food to Christians hiding in dark underground tunnels. To light the way she wore a wreath of candles on her head. Spurning marriage and worldly goods, she vowed to remain a virgin in the tradition of St. Agatha. An angry suitor reported her to the local Roman authorities, she was sentenced to death, and subsequently she became a martyr.

St. Lucia Day is celebrated on December 13th. In Scandinavia, a young girl in each family is awakened early in the morning, dressed in a white robe with a red ribbon around the waist and crowned with a wreath of candles. Her duty is to bring breakfast to her family: Special sweet buns flavored with saffron and coffee.

Because her name means “light”, she is a special saint to the Swedes who have a very long, dark winter. She is often called the “Queen of Light”.


:-: How we celebrate :-:
We choose to honor her in our family since she represents the two of the heritages in our family: Italian (my side) and Swedish (hubby's side). (Since she is an Italian saint who is especially celebrated by the Swedes.) And she also represents how living a sacrificial life allows Christ’s light to shine through us.

Our celebration this year will be on Monday. Early in the morning, I'll wake my eldest daughter (7) and dress her in a white cotton dress and red sash. In the past I've made her a "candle wreath" with glittery pipe cleaners. I suppose I'll do the same. Although, I've had thoughts of a real wreath with those flameless tea lights. (You can also make a a lovely paper St. Lucy crown..) She'll deliver saffron buns and hot cocoa to her brothers and father and then she and I will return to the kitchen for our own candlelight breakfast - just the two of us.


:-: A Recipe :-:
Here is the recipe I use for saffron buns. The dough is made in a breadmaker and then hand-shaped and baked in the oven.


The following recipe comes from The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook :

Add the ingredients in the order specified in your bread machine's manual. (Mine is wet first, then dry, then yeast)

Liquids:
3/4 c. plus 2 T milk
1 lg. egg

Dry:
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1/3 c. granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp powdered saffron (if you can only find saffron in "threads", just pulverize these as best you can then measure out 1/4 tsp. A trick I just learned is to use a bit of sugar as you pulverize with your mortar and pestle.)
3 T unsalted butter

Yeast:
2 1/4 fast-rise yeast

Place all in a 2-cup capacity breadmaker and set on "dough". At the end of the rise, punch down the dough and let rest 5 minutes before hand-shaping.

To handshape:
Lightly sprinkle work surface with flour. Divide dough into equal peices: 2 for 2 large breads, 4 for small breads, 6 to 8 for smaller buns. Lightly sprinkle with flour. Dampen hands and roll each piece into a rope. (18 inches for the 2 large pieces, 9 inches for the 4 pieces, etc.)

Lay a rope on a lightly-greased baking sheet. Curl each end, toward the center, into a coil. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush bread with egg wash (1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. water). Bake for approx. 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

This bread freezes well and is excellent served toasted with orange marmalade. (We serve small buns on St. Lucy's Day and freeze a larger bread for Christmas morning.)


:-: Other ideas for celebrating St. Lucia :-:

:: Consider an Italian feast for dinner (she was a Roman martyr) or traditional Sicilian "cuccia" - which can be made MANY different ways (sweet or savory). (HT: Catholic Cuisine)

:: No time for saffron buns? Make or purchase some delicious muffins instead.

:: Instead of breakfast in bed, consider a candlelight breakfast for the family.

:: Decorate with traditional straw ornaments (St. Lucy is often associated with wheat and Scandinavians love to decorate with straw at Christmas) make a lovely addition to your tree - or on their own small tree.

:: A nice book to share more about these traditions is Kirsten's Surprise in the American Girls series.

:: Here are some other ideas from various countries.


If you post about your St. Lucia celebration, please leave a link in the comments!

Part 4 - Keeping Advent

The Family Calendar
The Advent Season is filled with delightful mini-celebrations that ease our anticipation and kindle our devotion. However, to celebrate or observe every one would be a burden for us. So, we have carefully chosen a few that have particular meaning for us.

The Advent Season is preceded almost directly by St. Andrew the Apostle’s Day. Some people fast on this day in preparation for the beginning of Advent. We’ll have a modified “fast” in which we serve a “feral” meal. “Feral” meals, being the opposite of “Feast” meals, are simple and modest. Instead of our usual Friday night pizza, we’ll have a simple soup and salad meal.

Dec. 1st - today we’ll do the minimal Advent decorating: an heirloom Advent banner and the Advent wreath. The banner is a simple cross-stitched on linen with little loops on which to hang candies – one for each day of December.

Dec 2nd – first Sunday of Advent: We will have our first Advent wreath devotion and light the first candle. We will do this before we go to church rather than at dinner time, because our church now meets in the evening and has a potluck dinner afterwards. Each Sunday, we’ll do the same!

Dec 6th – St. Nicholas Day: We’ve done away with the secular “Santa Claus” and restored St. Nicholas! Our shoes are set out beside the fireplace the evening before and St. Nicholas leaves a small present or two and some goodies. We have a big family breakfast – Daddy even takes the morning off! In the past, we’ve spent the day baking and decorating gingerbread men and bishops. But this year, we might make them a few days ahead of time and then spend St. Nicholas day delivering them to friends with notecards telling about St. Nicholas. This just seems more in the spirit of the day and the saint!

We’ll bring out some of our “St. Nicholas” (or Santa Claus) decorations today. Not too many, just a few. I like to put them all on one table or shelf to make a St. Nicholas display of sorts.

Dec. 9th – Conception of the Virgin Mary (Theotokos): In lieu of the Roman Catholic observance of the Immaculate Conception (on the 8th), I’m choosing to adopt the Eastern Orthodox day. Regardless of what you believe about Mary, this is certainly a good day to spend some time honoring her through prayers of thanksgiving.

Perhaps, we’ll bring out our nativity Mary and Joseph and let them begin a procession around the house until they arrive in “Bethlehem” on Christmas Eve.

Dec. 13th – St. Lucia Day: My MIL’s family is Swedish. She was born there, but her parents immigrated to America when she was quite young. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed learning and adopting some Swedish customs. St. Lucia (or St. Lucy) is a particular favorite of mine because she was an Italian (part of my heritage is Italian). You can read a bit more about how Swedes traditionally celebrate the day and about St. Lucy.

We celebrate the day with special St. Lucia buns, which are rich, saffron bread (like a challah bread). I make small breads for each child and drizzle some icing on top. This year I’ll wake my daughter up and let her help me prepare the special “candlelight” breakfast. We’ll probably serve it in the kitchen, but we might get adventurous and serve breakfast in bed. Later, I make larger St. Lucia breads which are served with orange marmalade rather than icing on Christmas morning.

In the evening, we’ll put up our Christmas tree. The tree is hung with lights and that is IT! No decorating until Christmas Eve. We will also put lights at the windows and other selected locations in the house. (Lucy’s name means “Light” – and we’ll talk about how she reflected God’s light to those around her.)

Dec. 21st – St. Thomas the Apostle Day: This is a new celebration day for us this year, and a particularly Anglican one, too. (Roman Catholics celebrate his day in July.) Besides learning about St. Thomas this day, we will put out the final decorations around our home, including the rest of our “nice” Nativity scene. (Mary and Joseph have been traveling here for sometime, but now they will be getting much nearer!)

Dec. 24th – Christmas Eve: Tonight we begin our Christmas feast with a very full day. We will decorate our tree, remove our Advent wreath (replaced with the Christmas Pyramid), enjoy a festive meal, open a few special gifts, and enjoy the first glass of Svenska Glogg. I know this isn’t really a traditional or Anglican way to spend the day before the Christmas Vigil, but it is an accommodation to my MIL who loves to have a big Christmas Eve feast (Swedish tradition).


In the past our parish has often had a late afternoon family church service. We’ll either go to that or Hubby and I will sneak away (grandparents will stay home with kids) for midnight mass. Maybe both!

The Advent that almost wasn't

Advent almost got put by the wayside this year for my family. Me, a die-hard devotee of all things liturgical, almost said, "Advent is just too much for me this year."

I almost let it slip away....

It has been a very wild year for our family - but especially so this Fall. The thought of pulling out all the Advent items, thoughtfully planning our Advent activities, and keeping up with our various Advent celebrations...well, it all just seemed too much. We needed low-key, we needed normalcy, we needed quiet. Advent was too much work - or so I thought.

What our December would look like - would it be devoid of all things Christmas, sort of a non-Advent Advent? Or would it, as so often happens when something is removed, just fill up with what our pop-culture considers an appropriate pre-Christams hysteria? That doesn't sound too low-key, or normal, or quiet.

Then, it hit me...Advent is low-key, it is normal, and it is quiet. It is exactly what we need.

That is one thing I adore about the Liturgical year - when it becomes a part of your family culture, it can have a stabilizing affect. As life swirls around us, we have the familiarity of the same activities, traditions, smells, sounds, words to keep us anchored. And what better to be anchored to than the Church - the Bride of Christ and, as the Bride of Christ, Christ himself?

We will have a beautiful, low-key, normal and quiet Advent this year - with it's bright spots of St. Nicholas Day, St. Lucia Day, Gaudete Sunday, and other pre-Christmas planning. It will probably be a little less planned out than previous Advents in our family, but that is one of the joys of the liturgical year in the home - the more you do it, the less pre-planning it takes!

I encourage you - if you think Advent is just too much, reconsider! If you've never celebrated or kept Advent before, start simply. If you've done it for many years, scale down if you must. But don't miss it. It is a season of quiet joy and expectation. You'll find that it properly places Christmas at the pinnacle of the season, rather than on a precipice.

Need some ideas for keeping a simple Advent (whether it is your first or fortieth?) Read on.

How do you plan a simple Advent? What are the essentials? Well, there are as many different traditions of Christian worship as there are "essentials" of Advent. But, since you are here, I'll share my family's essentials.

• Using an Advent Wreath - Some families are diligent to use their Advent Wreath every day, we are not so diligent...and to be honest, even some Sundays we find ourselves a bit worn out from a full day with our Church family. But pick a night of the week, Wednesdays or Fridays might be logical, to do your Advent Wreath lighting and devotional. There are many suggested devotionals online.



• Celebrating St. Nicholas Day - If you have children, I highly encourage you to celebrate St. Nicholas Day. Even if you still have "Santa" on Christmas Eve, you can have a celebration on his feast day and let St. Nick come fill up stockings or shoes with some little treats. Come back on Monday and I'll share our celebration ideas for this upcoming feast day (Dec 6th).



• Limiting Christmas decorations - There are many schools of thought about decorating for Christmas, but if you are going to truly put Christmas at the absolute pinnacle of the season rather than the precipice, I recommend finding some way to limit your decorations. The goal being to save the most flamboyant decorations for Christmas Eve, Day, and the Twelve Days. Some people hold off on any decorations until Christmas Eve, while others bring out certain items on certain days slowly decorating the home over the Advent Season. (We bring out St. Nick decorations, the Scandinavian ones on St. Lucia Day, we light the tree on St. Lucia Day - but no ornaments, and then on Christmas Eve we decorate the tree and put out the rest of our fun decorations.)



• Special Advent Family Reading - Find a lovely story or devotional that you might read together as a family during Advent. There are some nice devotional stories that you might use...or even something classic like "A Christmas Carol", "The Gift of the Magi", or books with wonderful Christmas scenes in them like "Little House on the Prairie", "Wind in the Willows", "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew", or "Little Women". What I love about these types of books is that the story can be timed to reach the Christmas scene just before Christmas arrives - or just after.

However you choose to celebrate or keep Advent, I pray it will be a truly blessed one for you and your family! Come back in the following days, for more ideas - including St. Thomas Day, St. Nick's Day, St. Lucia, and more.

Be sure to read more of this year's Anglican Advent Traditions Carnival ! Want more, check out my series of posts from last year's carnival!

Still want more? See my book suggestions for Advent reading and ideas.

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Repost: The Advent that Almost Wasn't

In November of 2008 we were at the tail-end of our adoption.   Each day brought new forms to complete and our to-do list was growing exponentially.  We expected to get the call to travel on any day.  It was a very busy and hectic season and it was also almost Christmas.  I'm sure many of you have found yourselves in a busy season and wonder how to add "Advent" to it.  I sure did...

Advent almost got put by the wayside this year for my family. Me, a die-hard devotee of all things liturgical, almost said, "Advent is just too much for me this year."

I almost let it slip away....

Yesterday we pulled out the Advent box and spent
some time deciding what we'll do this year.

It has been a very wild year for our family - but especially so this Fall. The thought of pulling out all the Advent items, thoughtfully planning our Advent activities, and keeping up with our various Advent celebrations...well, it all just seemed too much. We needed low-key, we needed normalcy, we needed quiet. Advent was too much work - or so I thought.

What our December would look like - would it be devoid of all things Christmas, sort of a non-Advent Advent? Or would it, as so often happens when something is removed, just fill up with what our pop-culture considers an appropriate pre-Christams hysteria? That doesn't sound too low-key, or normal, or quiet.

Then, it hit me...Advent is low-key, it is normal, and it is quiet. It is exactly what we need.

That is one thing I adore about the Liturgical year - when it becomes a part of your family culture, it can have a stabilizing affect. As life swirls around us, we have the familiarity of the same activities, traditions, smells, sounds, words to keep us anchored. And what better to be anchored to than the Church - the Bride of Christ and, as the Bride of Christ, Christ himself?

My eldest daughter delivering
St. Lucia buns early in the morning.

We will have a beautiful, low-key, normal and quiet Advent this year - with it's bright spots of St. Nicholas Day, St. Lucia Day, Gaudete Sunday, and other pre-Christmas planning. It will probably be a little less planned out than previous Advents in our family, but that is one of the joys of the liturgical year in the home - the more you do it, the less pre-planning it takes!

I encourage you - if you think Advent is just too much, reconsider! If you've never celebrated or kept Advent before, start simply. If you've done it for many years, scale down if you must. But don't miss it. It is a season of quiet joy and expectation. You'll find that it properly places Christmas at the pinnacle of the season, rather than on a precipice.

Need some ideas for keeping a simple Advent (whether it is your first or fortieth?) Read on.

How do you plan a simple Advent? What are the essentials? Well, there are as many different traditions of Christian worship as there are "essentials" of Advent. But, since you are here, I'll share my family's essentials.




:-: Using an Advent Wreath - Some families are diligent to use their Advent Wreath every day, we are not so diligent...and to be honest, even some Sundays we find ourselves a bit worn out from a full day with our Church family. But pick a night of the week, Wednesdays or Fridays might be logical, to do your Advent Wreath lighting and devotional. There are many suggested devotionals online.



:-: Celebrating St. Nicholas Day - If you have children, I highly encourage you to celebrate St. Nicholas Day. Even if you still have "Santa" on Christmas Eve, you can have a celebration on his feast day and let St. Nick come fill up stockings or shoes with some little treats.

This was an easy but very pretty Advent
centerpiece. 

:-: Limiting Christmas decorations - There are many schools of thought about decorating for Christmas, but if you are going to truly put Christmas at the absolute pinnacle of the season rather than the precipice, I recommend finding some way to limit your decorations. The goal being to save the most flamboyant decorations for Christmas Eve, Day, and the Twelve Days. Some people hold off on any decorations until Christmas Eve, while others bring out certain items on certain days slowly decorating the home over the Advent Season. (We bring out St. Nick decorations, the Scandinavian ones on St. Lucia Day, we light the tree on St. Lucia Day - but no ornaments, and then on Christmas Eve we decorate the tree and put out the rest of our fun decorations.)

My messy kitchen in the middle of making yummy
Christmas treats.

:-: Special Advent Family Reading - Find a lovely story or devotional that you might read together as a family during Advent. There are some nice devotional stories that you might use...or even something classic like "A Christmas Carol", "The Gift of the Magi", or books with wonderful Christmas scenes in them like "Little House on the Prairie", "Wind in the Willows", "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew", or "Little Women". What I love about these types of books is that the story can be timed to reach the Christmas scene just before Christmas arrives - or just after. Here are some other book suggestions for Advent reading.

However you choose to celebrate or keep Advent, I pray it will be a truly blessed one for you and your family! 

St. Lucia Bread

We enjoy celebrating the Swedish custom of St. Lucia (or St. Lucy) Day. One of my favorite parts is baking the delicious saffron buns that are traditionally served on St. Lucia's Day. I make mine using my breadmaker and then handshape and bake. They really aren't hard, want to give it a try?

The following recipe comes from The All New Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook:

Add the ingredients in the order specified in your bread machine's manual. (Mine is wet first, then dry, then yeast)


Liquids:
3/4 c. plus 2 T milk
1 lg. egg

Dry:
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1/3 c. granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp powdered saffron (if you can only find saffron in "threads", just pulverize these as best you can then measure out 1/4 tsp. A trick I just learned is to use a bit of sugar as you pulverize with your mortar and pestle.)
3 T unsalted butter

Yeast:
2 1/4 fast-rise yeast

Place all in a 2-cup capacity breadmaker and set on "dough". At the end of the rise, punch down the dough and let rest 5 minutes before hand-shaping.

To handshape:
Lightly sprinkle work surface with flour. Divide dough into equal peices: 2 for 2 large breads, 4 for small breads, 6 to 8 for smaller buns. Lightly sprinkle with flour. Dampen hands and roll each piece into a rope. (18 inches for the 2 large pieces, 9 inches for the 4 pieces, etc.)

Lay a rope on a lightly-greased baking sheet. Curl each end, toward the center, into a coil. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush bread with egg wash (1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. water). Bake for approx. 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

This bread freezes well and is excellent served toasted with orange marmalade. (We serve small buns on St. Lucy's Day and freeze a larger bread for Christmas morning.)


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In the early morning light . . .

In the early morning light, our little Sankta Lucia made her rounds. No Lucia buns this year (maybe in time for Christmas morning), instead we had iced orange rolls (you know, right out of the Pillsbury tube).

Here she is:

Daddy is up early in his office working, so he's the only one not served in bed:

Serving big brothers in bed:

Then when everyone came down for seconds, we enjoyed this traditional and authentic Sankta Lucia:

The Advent/Christmas/Epiphany Binder - in 5 easy steps

Did I sound all uber-organized when I mentioned the Advent/Christmas/Epiphany binder?  Hmm.  Let's correct that....because I'm really not *that* organized.

Over the past few years I've been collecting resources for the holiday season.  I have a great make-ahead Thanksgiving menu that I clipped out of the newspaper in 2007 and have used ever since with a few adjustments to suit my family.  A Santa Lucia bread recipe.  Several cookie recipes.  Lists of books and movies we own (so I won't forget them).  A large stack of activity pages I found on various websites to keep the kids occupied while I wrap gifts.  Lots of scraps of ideas scribbled down. A plan for an Epiphany house blessing.

I bet you have some of this bits and pieces, too.

Mine were all stuffed in a folder and dropped in the Advent box.  It was good to have them in one place, but they got pretty mussed up in that folder.  Last year, I decided they needed to be organized so that they would be more useful.  It was easy and certainly has made this Advent start off more organized.

Here's how you can have a binder, too:

Step 1.  Gather all your bits of paper, clippings, print-outs, inspirational photos, recipes, etc.  Sort them into piles that make sense to you.  (Mine are: the current year's calendar, activity sheets, special instructions (wreath, jesse tree, etc), TV/events, Recipes, previous years' ideas/plans, lesson plan ideas, and poetry - see the bottom of this post for some links.)

Any old binder will do, no need
 for a new one! Save your money
for those stocking stuffers.

Step 2. Find a binder and binder dividers.  If you are like me, you have plenty of these around the house.  They just need to be gathered and cleaned out.  Label your dividers to match your piles.

Step 3. Hole punch your pages.  If you have something smaller than a full page, you can paste it onto a piece of paper.

Step 4.  Make a calendar for this year: Nov 30 - Jan 6.  Donna Young has tons of blank calendars.  This year I'm using her one-page month calendar (full-sized).   Mark your calendar with important dates (parties, local events, feast days, etc).

Step 5. Use it and then don't forget to store it in your Advent box for next year, or whatever box will be the first you open to get ready for Christmas.

Some links to things we have in our binder:

:-: Turn a chocolate Santa into St. Nicholas

:-: Lots of St. Nicholas coloring pages

:-: St Lucia of Syracuse  Santa Lucia and the Star Boy (coloring pages)

:-: Highlights Kids has fun winter and Christmas Hidden Pictures (you'll have to search a bit through the 2 pages of pictures, but there are a good number of them for this season!)

:-: JanBrett.com has lots of coloring and activity pages to go along with her books, many of which are perfect for winter and Christmas.

I just love the old claymation TV specials!

:-: A Jesse Tree coloring page

:-: "Company is Coming" crossword puzzle  (there are probably updated files for this year - dig around there are many more resources here!)

:-: TV listings for Christmas specials

:-: Rosetti's seasonal poems




See, wasn't that easy?

Celebrating Saint Lucia Day

In the days of early Christian persecution, St. Lucia is said to have carried food to Christians hiding in dark underground tunnels. To light the way she wore a wreath of candles on her head. Spurning marriage and worldly goods, she vowed to remain a virgin in the tradition of St. Agatha. An angry suitor reported her to the local Roman authorities, she was sentenced to death, and subsequently she became a martyr.

St. Lucia Day is celebrated on December 13th. In Scandinavia, a young girl in each family is awakened early in the morning, dressed in a white robe with a red ribbon around the waist and crowned with a circle of candles. Her duty is to bring breakfast to her family. Special sweet buns flavored with saffron are served.

Because her name means “light”, she is a special saint to the Swedes who have a very long, dark winter. She is often called the “Queen of Light”.

We choose to honor her since she represents two of the heritages in our family: Italian and Swedish. (Since she is an Italian saint who is especially celebrated by the Swedes.) And she also represents how living a sacrificial life allows Christ’s light to shine through us.

Last year was the first FULL celebration of St. Lucy's Day with my daughter acting as St. Lucy by delivering goodies in the wee hours of the morning to her brothers and father.

Have you considered celebrating St. Lucy's day on December 13th? Last year I posted my favorite recipe for St. Lucy's Buns...here is a repost of that:

St. Lucy's Buns: saffron-scented buns in the shape of an "S".


Swedish Saffron bread (or Saint Lucy's Bread) is one of my favorite Christmas treats. I love the smell of the saffron and the gorgeous golden color! In fact, I've got this year's first batch in the breadmaker right now! So, I thought while I wait, I'd post the recipe I use. The dough is made in the breadmaker and then shaped and risen a second time on cookie sheets.

The following recipe comes from The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook :

Add the ingredients in the order specified in your bread machine's manual. (Mine is wet first, then dry, then yeast)

Liquids:
3/4 c. plus 2 T milk
1 lg. egg

Dry:
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1/3 c. granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp powdered saffron (if you can only find saffron in "threads", just pulverize these as best you can then measure out 1/4 tsp. A trick I just learned is to use a bit of sugar as you pulverize with your mortar and pestle.)
3 T unsalted butter

Yeast:
2 1/4 fast-rise yeast

Place all in a 2-cup capacity breadmaker and set on "dough". At the end of the rise, punch down the dough and let rest 5 minutes before hand-shaping.

To handshape:
Lightly sprinkle work surface with flour. Divide dough into equal peices: 2 for 2 large breads, 4 for small breads, 6 to 8 for smaller buns. Lightly sprinkle with flour. Dampen hands and roll each piece into a rope. (18 inches for the 2 large pieces, 9 inches for the 4 pieces, etc.)

Lay a rope on a lightly-greased baking sheet. Curl each end, toward the center, into a coil. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush bread with egg wash (1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. water). Bake for approx. 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

This bread freezes well and is excellent served toasted with orange marmalade. (We serve small buns on St. Lucy's Day and freeze a larger bread for Christmas morning.)


Instead of using a wreath with real candles (or investing in an electric one), you may wish to substitute a lovely paper St. Lucy crown. No time to make the saffron buns? Subsitute muffins or another favorite breakfast bread.

Want to do more to celebrate St. Lucy's day? Consider an Italian feast for dinner (she was a Roman martyr). Traditional straw ornaments (St. Lucy is often associated with wheat and Scandinavians love to decorate with straw at Christmas) make a lovely addition to your tree - or on their own small tree. Here are some other ideas from various countries. A nice book to share more about these traditions is Kirsten's Surprise in the American Girls series.

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Daybook - Monday, Dec 21st

outside my window . . . the sky is just slightly orange over the tops of the houses, fading to a clean, pale blue. A slight coating of frost is on the grass and the puddles from this weekend's "storm" (we got nary a flake) are edged in ice.

in the kitchen . . . Christmas cookie decorating today and my favorite Christmas bread tomorrow, Santa Lucia Bread. (scroll down for the recipe)

around the house . . . the decorations are up and lovely. All that is left are the tree ornaments and the Christmas Pyramid, both which will make their appearance on Christmas Eve. Today the Christmas dishes will come out and replace our everyday dishes.

from our studies . . . finishing up A Christmas Carol and enjoying some other Christmas stories.

thinking about . . . whether or not my mother-in-law will be able to make it out of her driveway. She lives south of DC in Virginia and got well over a foot of snow. Living at the end of a mile-long, gravel drive deep in the woods makes it hard for her to get out when she's been snowed in.

~~~

listening to. . . NPR's Morning Edition.

thankful for. . . Our Supper Club group. Our Supper Club has been together for quite a few years (some of us close to 7 years), and the friendships are dear between the adults and the children.

reading . . . my newest editions of First Things and Southern Living. Somehow that little reading list sums me up.

creating . . . just finished up 4 gift memory albums (digital) for Christmas and I'm now working on our family's annual album. Need to finish up another strand of crochet snowball garland.

~~~

to foster rhythm and beauty . . . we spent the weekend digging through the Christmas decorations and getting the house all lovely for this week. On Christmas Eve, we'll let Christmas really blossom with our festive Christmas Pyramid and all the tree decorations.

to educate faithfully . . . part of a good education is having time off to let all that learning soak in. We are enjoying a week of well-earned time off!

~~~

one of my favorite things . . . My "Twelve Days of Christmas" mugs. They are waiting patiently in the cabinet for Christmas day to be here!

a few plans for the upcoming week . . . Today: my mother should arrive. Tuesday: all last minute shopping and mother-in-law should arrive. Wednesday: off for a day trip to Biltmore (our family gift). Thursday: Christmas Eve dinner, service, and hopefully, glogg-making. Friday: Merry Christmas!

a picture thought I'm sharing . . .

Baby L enjoying her new favorite treat: a candy cane!

** Updated to add links to Santa Lucia recipe and info on Christmas Pyramids.**

Enjoy more Daybooks at Peggy’s!

Daybook - Monday, December 20th

outside my window . . .  watching our little Louie stalking something - a blowing leaf, probably.  The trees have mostly shed their leaves and now we look out to a forest of gray bark which is beautiful in its own way.  

in the kitchen . . .  today we are making St. Lucia breads and Peppermint Mocha syrup for our friends.  Tomorrow we make bread for our Christmas company.

around the house . . . cleaning and sorting and decorating.  All of our storage closets are now  sorted and organized: broom closet, coat/storage closet, linen closet, and I'm setting up one storage closet as a little prayer retreat.   The house is all decorated for Christmas, except for the tree - lights only.  We'll decorate it Thursday evening with our family.

listening to. . .  hubby wrestle the breadmaker off the top shelf of the pantry. 

thankful for. . .  a successful youth Christmas party last night.  There was a good devotional,  wonderful conversation, lots of laughter, and delicious food.  The highlight was the  hysterically funny human Christmas tree decorating contest.


one of my favorite things . . .  toasted St Lucia bread with orange marmalade on Christmas morning.  Can't wait!

milestones in the past week . . .  

:-: Little L's speech has taken a wonderful turn for the better.   She's begun putting lots of words together and trying new ones regularly.

a few plans for the upcoming week . . .  

:-:  Baking, Cleaning, and getting the house ready for guests that arrive on Wednesday.
:-:  Visit to a Gingerbread House exposition on Thursday, decorate the tree.
:-:  Visit to Biltmore House on Friday
:-:  And of course, Christmas Day on Saturday!

If you think of us, pray for my eldest son who has come down with the flu in the past 24 hours.  Pray for his quick recovery and that we'd keep it from passing to the rest of us (and our guests).

Preparing for Advent - 4 ways

Remember, links in the text are re-linked at the bottom of each post.

So, it is time...time to begin seriously preparing for Advent.  Are your candles ordered?  I scoured Amazon and decided on these.  They are solid color candles and are supposed to be dripless. If you don't have your Advent candles (and you plan to use them in a wreath) order or get to the store quick!  (Michaels and Hobby Lobby often carry Advent candle sets.  Of course you don't have to buy them in a set, you can buy individual colors.)

That's one thing you can do to be prepared (and often the thing I forget until Saturday before Advent!!)...but what else?

Create a Holiday Binder

Over the past few years I've been collecting resources for the holiday season.  I have a great make-ahead Thanksgiving menu that I clipped out of the newspaper in 2007 and have used ever since with a few adjustments to suit my family.  A Santa Lucia bread recipe.  Several cookie recipes. Poems to read. Lists of books and movies we own (so I won't forget them).  A large stack of activity pages I found on various websites to keep the kids occupied while I wrap gifts. A list of our favority holiday shows to record. Lots of scraps of ideas scribbled down. A plan for an Epiphany house blessing.  I bet you have some of this bits and pieces, too.

•  Find a binder and binder dividers.  If you are like me, you have plenty of these around the house.  One just needs to be found and cleaned out. I use, and recommend, a 3-ring binder with several pocket inserts.  You can divide it up into seasons (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany) or by topic (recipes, crafts, fun stuff to do around town, etc - I find this the most useful for me). 

• Print a blank calendar.   This year mine runs Nov 30th - Jan 7th (Feast of St Andrew to the day after Epiphany).  Mark your calendar with important dates (parties, local events, feast days, etc)

• Use it and then don't forget to store it in your Advent box for next year, or whatever box will be the first you open to get ready for Christmas.

Make a plan to attend local events  

The holidays are such a good time to get out and get to know your neighbors and community.  Make good use of local events!  We will be going to our local small town tree and town lighting, a gingerbread contest that benefits a local charity, several particularly well-decorated homes, ice-skating in an outdoor rink, for example.

• Try to find several events that can be attended during Christmastide.  Our culture does most of its celebrating before Christmas even gets here, so it can be challenging to keep celebrating after the 25th.  I usually try to find several events or activities that will be ongoing after Christmas and save them for the 12 Days of Christmas.  

• Look for events on small town websites and in newspapers. Ask around, check out facebook pages, and pay attention to signs and other analog notices (posters in store windows, for example).

Get the house cleared and ready  

This is a good Advent activity for the whole family.  Start thinking about where decorations, the tree, etc will go.  Clear surfaces to make way for those decorations.  Plan where you'll move that furniture to accommodate the tree.

So many years I've left this for too late into Advent and felt harried.  While you don't have to do all this BEFORE Advent, it certainly helps to begin before Advent and have a plan for getting this done.

• Give the house a good deep-cleaning.  Then you'll just need to do touching up and some minor cleaning as the season progresses.  Clean out the coat closet a bit to make room for guests' coats.  Encourage the kids to do a purge of their rooms for give aways and junk.

• Clear out pantries, fridge and freezer.  And stock up on food storage supplies.  You'll probably be doing lots of baking and making ahead, so be prepared and get these ready.

Begin a good devotional practice for your family 

Obviously, this is the MOST important thing you should do to get ready for Advent.  And while purchasing a devotional is helpful, it isn't the only way.  You can find free ones only...or just plan to spend some good time in bible reading and prayer with your family. If you do decide to purchase one, there are so many good ones out there for kids, kids and families, adults, teens.

In a separate post, I'll recommend some we've used (purchased or free), but don't let yourself get too bogged down trying to find the "perfect" thing....you won't find it.  Maybe all you can do this year is light Advent candles and say a few words of prayer - that's ok!  Just select a book or activity that seems like something you can easily stick to for the season ahead and give it your best.

• Make that devotional time a priority.  It can be hard to find the time in a busy schedule.  Think about your days - when are you all gathered as a family naturally?  If you homeschool, first thing in the morning might make sense.  If your kids go to school, perhaps just after dinner.  If you can't do it every day at the same time, that's ok - even a few times a week is great!

• Make that devotional time appealing.  What will your kids enjoy (and what makes sense for the time slot you've selected)?  Snuggling on the couch in front of the fire?  In the morning gathered around the table with hot chocolate or tea?  At night with dessert?  Maybe sitting by the Christmas tree with only the tree lights on?

Be watching for a follow-up post with suggested devotionals and activities.  (Here you go!)

Above all, take a cue from the Grinch...

"He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!" 

That goes for Advent, too!

Links:
- Advent Wreath Candles
- Christmas Poems from Christina Rosetti
- Christmas TV listings
- My suggestions for Advent devotionals

Daybook - Monday, Dec 7th

Pearl Harbor Day

outside my window . . . Dimly gray, cold day. The trees are almost completely bare. . . but there are still a few hangers-on. My hummingbird feeder, hanging sadly from its tree branch, needs to be thawed and cleaned and put away for winter.

in the kitchen . . . the clutter of the weekend is still lingering. I have thoughts of making gingerbread in the next day or two.

around the house . . . do I say this almost every Monday? I think I do. . . my laundry is mounting. Time for a load or twenty.

on my iPod . . . I'm listening to some freebie downloads: The 4-Hour Work Week (interesting and with some good ideas, but on the whole mostly what you'd expect: how to get rich or at least live like the rich. Not quite my goal in life. But I do wonder if some of his ideas can't be used to create income that would allow one to do mission or charity work, or even just travel more with

the family. ) and The Brothers Karamazov.

from our studies . . . starting our Advent studies officially this week. Memorizing 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, reading old Advent hymns for poetry, enjoying reading a number of Christmas stories and reading about St. Nicholas.

thinking about . . . Christmas presents - I'd enjoy Christmas shopping more if my budget weren't so tight.

~~~

listening to. . . my kids play outside.

thankful for. . . a new part-time job that I can do at home on my own time and will give us a little extra cash each month.

pondering the words . . . from our Advent Lessons and Carols yesterday: Behold I will create a new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. Isaiah 65:17-18

creating . . . I finished my first strand of crochet Christmas Tree garland. It was so easy and fun! Instead of the star garland, I did a little puffball garland, so it looks a bit like mini-snowballs. I'm starting on an experimental crochet neck warmer that I made up when I ran out of yarn for a scarf I was working on. I'll let you know how that turns out.

~~~

to foster a sense of rhythm, reverence and time. . . there is something wonderful about pulling out old familiar Advent and Christmas items: books we've read many times, an antique advent banner cross-stitched with love, the playmobil nativity set, the familiar countdown chalkboard.

to live the liturgy . . . listening to Advent music while watching the candles burn and listening to the day's Jesse Tree reading. We finally (better late than never!) changed out our family altar colors. . . now we are all in purples.

to educate faithfully . . . trying to keep my eldest motivated in the last week or so before his Christmas break. It is hard when even the teacher (me) wants to just have that break!

~~~

one of my favorite things . . . my red crochet neck warmer (the accidental creation I mentioned above).

milestones in the past week . . . Baby L has a NEW WORD! She has started saying "Brubbie" for Brother! We all enjoy watching her work so carefully on forming that "B" sound - it comes out soft and cooing.

a few plans for the upcoming week . . . finishing up painting at our rental property today and tomorrow, holiday dinner with the ladies from my new job on Wednesday, Children's Theatre and playdate on Thursday, Girls' Bible Study Christmas Brunch on Saturday, Date Night with hubby to see Messiah (free at local church with a FANTASTIC choral group) and getting ready for St. Lucia Day (we'll celebrate on Monday).

a picture thought I'm sharing . . .

My advent centerpiece on our dining room table.

Enjoy more Daybooks at Peggy's place!

Saint Lucy's Bread

St. Lucy's Day is coming up on Thursday, Dec. 13th. It is a favorite pre-Christmas festivity in Scandinavia. My husband's mother is Swedish, so we've adopted a few Scandinavian customs. One I love is Saint Lucy (Santa Lucia) Day. A very traditional way to celebrate St. Lucy's Day in Sweden is to enjoy delightful, saffron-scented buns in the shape of an "S".

Swedish Saffron bread (or Saint Lucy's Bread) is one of my favorite Christmas treats. I love the smell of the saffron and the gorgeous golden color! In fact, I've got this year's first batch in the breadmaker right now! So, I thought while I wait, I'd post the recipe I use. The dough is made in the breadmaker and then shaped and risen a second time on cookie sheets.

The following recipe comes from The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook :

Add the ingredients in the order specified in your bread machine's manual. (Mine is wet first, then dry, then yeast)

Liquids:

3/4 c. plus 2 T milk

1 lg. egg

Dry:

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 pinch salt

1/3 c. granulated white sugar

1/4 tsp powdered saffron (if you can only find saffron in "threads", just pulverize these as best you can then measure out 1/4 tsp. A trick I just learned is to use a bit of sugar as you pulverize with your mortar and pestle.)

3 T unsalted butter

Yeast:

2 1/4 fast-rise yeast

Place all in a 2-cup capacity breadmaker and set on "dough". At the end of the rise, punch down the dough and let rest 5 minutes before hand-shaping.

To handshape:

Lightly sprinkle work surface with flour. Divide dough into equal peices: 2 for 2 large breads, 4 for small breads, 6 to 8 for smaller buns. Lightly sprinkle with flour. Dampen hands and roll each piece into a rope. (18 inches for the 2 large pieces, 9 inches for the 4 pieces, etc.)

Lay a rope on a lightly-greased baking sheet. Curl each end, toward the center, into a coil. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush bread with egg wash (1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. water). Bake for approx. 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

This bread freezes well and is excellent served toasted with orange marmalade. (We serve small buns on St. Lucy's Day and freeze a larger bread for Christmas morning.)

Let me know what you think!

Countdown to Advent

11 days to Advent!  

(said in a slightly enthusiastic and slightly overwhelmed tone) 

I am so unprepared.  Can I even find the Advent box?  I remember seeing it somewhere at some point in this move, but where it has ended up is not so fresh in my mind.  Perhaps hubby knows.  I sure hope so.

So, anyway - a countdown to Advent, or rather, MY countdown to Advent.

1. Find the Advent box (makes a good number one, wouldn't you say?).

2. Determine if my candles are in good shape for this year's wreath or if we need fresh ones.

3. Decide if I want to use the pewter wreath or one with greenery this year...I do have a lovely holly bush this year.

4. Think about other ways to decorate the house for Advent (less, more, or the same as previous years?).

5. Consider other celebrations for this year's Advent...or just keep to the ones we know and love.  Also, I hope to focus on the penitential nature of the season by keeping a modest fast, so I'll consider what that will look like, too. (personal only or with the family and how will we fast?)

6. Gather my St. Nick and St. Lucia books, recipes, etc and organize our plans for those celebrations.

7. Make a shopping list for supplies needed (candles, baking needs, wreath needs, decorations).  Shop for those we need before the start of Advent.

8. Make the advent wreath, or at least just dig it out of the box. Then decide where to place the wreath: dining room table, kitchen table, buffet (in kitchen), or somewhere else.

9. Torture myself by downloading someone's "get ready for Christmas" calendar that starts in September, in a
fit trash it and make my own.  Surely, 27 days is plenty, right?

10. Plan Advent season meals (we will try a modest fast for Advent).

11. Breathe deeply and remind myself that a little is better than nothing, then: Celebrate our first evening of Advent! 


What are you doing to get ready for Advent...something I've missed?

Nativity Carnival: Keeping Advent -- Dec 4th

Welcome to the Nativity Carnival: Keeping Advent

Each Sunday, Advent through Epiphany, a new "Mr Linky" will be posted for you to share your Nativity Season-related ideas and thoughts from your blog.  (Just copy the link to your post and paste it into the Mr Linky box below.)

Also, please add a link on your post back to this page, thanks!

(My computer is dead and with it my pictures and plans for this post - just a power cord issue.  So, I'm stuck begging time on my son's computer.  I hope you don't mind a post of links!)


Artemisia said to me yesterday, "I wonder if the animals understood what was going on when Jesus was born in the stable."  What a sweet thought to contemplate.   What do you think?

While you think about that...how about some Advent music? 




Did you read about our Saint Nicholas feast yesterday?  Next week, the 13th, is Saint Lucia Day (and this one).  We'll be celebrating that, too.  Maybe both girls will get to deliver early morning goodies to their brothers and dad this year!

What are you doing to observe Advent this week?


If you are reading in a feed reader, please click through to the blog for the Mr. Linky posts! 

For those submitting links: So that others might enjoy the carnival, don't forget to add a link on your post back to this page, thanks!

Nativity Carnival : Keeping Advent -- Dec 13th

Welcome to the Nativity Carnival: Keeping Advent

Each Sunday, Advent through Epiphany, a new "Mr Linky" will be posted for you to share your Nativity Season-related ideas and thoughts from your blog.  (Just copy the link to your post and paste it into the Mr Linky box below.)

Also, please add a link on your post back to this page, thanks!

 Feast of Saint Lucy Daybook

outside my window . . . robin's egg blue sky, with wisps of pink, but not from my window.  I'm actually sitting in a small local coffee shop.

listening to . . . Christmas music, a quiet conversation from a couple sitting nearby, rustling of paper from behind the counter.

wearing . . . dark tan sweater with bright red top under, brown "swishy" skirt, bright red knee socks and ankle boots.

so grateful for . . . my husband's much needed vacation!  He's not had one all year (he traveled with us to Arkansas, but worked each day while we played), and he's been working VERY LONG hours for quite a few months.

reading . . . Winter Pascha by Fr Thomas Hopko

thinking . . . about how behind I am on Christmas preparations this year.  My house is still half decorated (we can't find the rest of our lights!), I had to be out this morning (taking Athos to driver's ed), so no St. Lucia delivery by the girls, a good bit of shopping left to do, and still haven't even taken a photo for our Christmas card.

creating . . . made Artemisia a hat (crochet) and now working on a matching one for Kalliope.

around the house . . . the upstairs sitting area has most of our Christmas decorations laying about waiting to find their home.  I do have a lovely Saint Nicholas mantle and the Julbock has found his home on the half wall between the dining room and the family room.  I've got the nativity on the mantle and made a pretty crochet garland to hang the Swedish straw ornaments on (at the mantle).

from the kitchen . . . Maybe Saint Lucy's Saffron Bread today, or at least this week sometime.

real education in our home . . . I'm counting driver's ed as school.  The kid spends 6 hours in class for 5 days this week.  He's learning...that's school, right?

rhythm and beauty in our home . . . regardless of how behind I am, the Christmas decorations I have out do make the house look so lovely.  I just love it!

one of my favorite things . . . crochet garland - so easy, and they have a sweet old-fashionedness to them that I love.

recent milestones . . . Athos started DRIVER'S ED this week.  I am very conflicted about this, of course.  :)

the week ahead . . . bible study Christmas party last night (with awesome opera singers, decorating contests and good food), making Saint Lucy bread today, another Christmas party tomorrow, a special lunch celebration Thursday, and a trip to a historic plantation for their Christmas event on Saturday.

picture thoughts . . . (coming soon) - I needed to get this post up and haven't downloaded photos, yet.  :)

If you are reading in a feed reader, please click through to the blog for the Mr. Linky posts! 

For those submitting links: So that others might enjoy the carnival, don't forget to add a link on your post back to this page, thanks!

Looking for Advent?

Are you looking for Advent ideas or resources: Advent wreath, Advent calendar, Jesse Tree, St. Nicholas, St. Lucy or others?

:-: Keeping Advent in 5 Parts

:-: Advent books for families and individuals

:-: Saints for Advent: Saint Nicholas and Saint Lucia

:-: The Advent That Almost Wasn't - be sure to scroll down for links to simple Advent ideas.

:-: Rethinking the Christmas Craze - my rant, or not.

Part 1 - Keeping Advent

The Foyer
The foyer sets the “tone” for your home. During Advent the tone in our home is “quiet preparation and hopeful anticipation”. Would you like to read more about the season of Advent?

Our tradition, developed over a few years of being totally overwhelmed by homeschooling, is to put out a few special bits of the decorations on certain days (St. Nicholas’ Day, St. Lucia Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day –more later). The rhythm of the season was so nice, we've kept it up on purpose! It is lovely when the season slowly and gently unfolds before us.

The Study
Praying with Anglican prayer beads has been a wonderful spiritual practice for me. I find that these “rote” prayers are beautiful meditations and encourage me to remove myself from the focus of prayers and place that focus on the Lord. I find these prayers are particularly helpful when the mind and the will are tired and weak. During Advent, I’ll be using some prayer bead prayers specifically for the season. (I printed this out and am now having trouble finding the link. I'll post it as soon as I find it, so check back!)


For personal devotions and contemplation, beyond my daily office, I’ll be using Advent and Christmas With Thomas Merton. This is a Roman Catholic publication which includes a few Marian devotions. These I could skip, but instead I’ll read them with an Anglican “eye”. (Expressing thankfulness for her rather than prayer to her.)

The Dining Room
On the dining table, you’ll find our Advent Wreath as the centerpiece and this is where we will have our Sunday Family Advent devotions. As much as I’d like to have a nightly devotion, I’ve just not been able to pull it off. So, instead of setting a high bar and failing, we are setting the bar at a level that is reasonable for our family.

Our Advent wreath is a simple pewter one with the traditional purple and pink candles. Last year, I added some rosemary sprigs from my garden for evergreens. I enjoyed this because when they got dried out, I could easily renew them. The pewter wreath with loose evergreens is much easier for me to handle than making a fresh wreath every year and keeping the greens misted.

The Advent wreath will be replaced with a traditional Christmas Pyramid on Christmas Eve. It has the Nativity figures on three different levels. We go from the simple to the madly decorative!

Daybook - January 17th: The Big Thaw

outside my window . . .  the Big Thaw is on and in a heavy-construction neighborhood (there are 8 houses currently being built, a few more lots being cleared and prepared) with a giant mud-pit in the middle of the road (stalled road repair) that means a lot of RED CLAY mud.  Yuck.


I am listening to . . . Diane Rehm's story about Mark Twain's biography.  He wouldn't allow it to be released until 100 years had passed since his death.  Not a lot of money for books right now, but this is one I might have to splurge on.  And the 3 at-home kids are busy at the kitchen table drawing and being silly.

I am wearing . . .  jeans (I know, I really need to branch out), colorful striped wool sweater, my favorite Dansko Almandine Tiger's Eye clogs.  I've heard people say that the new ones that are made in China are not as comfortable as the ones from Denmark.  It's hard to say.  My old ones are so comfortable, but I think that is because they are wonderfully worn in.  The "fancy" leather probably has less give than the plain, too.  But now that I've had them for a few months, I think they are just about as comfortable as my old ones.

I am so grateful for . . .  my husband's prayer/accountability group.  He gets up early each Monday morning and meets with two other guys he's been friends with for a long time.  They've helped each other through a lot.  I'm hoping to have the same thing someday soon!

I'm pondering . . .  my mid-year educational re-adjustment.  Seems like the cold winter days tend to make me feel the need to assess what is working and what isn't.  The basics are getting done, but I'm feeling the need to get back to including those enriching areas: nature study, poetry, art, music.

I am reading . . . my new First Things arrived this week!  It is still temptingly-wrapped in its plastic wrapper.  Still plodding through The White Queen (frivolous historical fiction).  Plato's Friendship.  The Reasonableness of Christianity by John Locke.  I'm enjoying the Plato.  The Locke is a very, very slow reading.  This may be on me "reading" pile for some time.

I am thinking . . . about friendship itself and my word for the year "Worth".

I am creating . . . my menu plan for Epiphany Season (Ordinary Time).  I sat down last night and wrote out my plan for the next couple of months.  Enough repetition to make my job easy, but enough variety to not be boring.

on my iPod . . . I've decided that in addition to my Orthodox podcasts, I'll balance out with some Reformed podcasts.  So, I've found a couple...my favorites right now are: The White Horse Inn and Ordinary Means.  I've noticed a decided difference in attitude between the speakers from each church background.  Orthodox speakers, even when very intellectual, have this amazing undercurrent of humility.  I've found the Reformed speakers less so...but I am enjoying getting a better understanding of the Reformed theological perspective.

around the house . . . laundry to be put away, Christmas decorations are taken down and waiting to be boxed up.

from the kitchen . . .  we have some bananas that are well on their way to being ready for banana bread.  I've also got some leftover rice I might make into rice pudding for dessert.

real education in our home . . . Well, as I said, I'm doing some thinking about our home school.  With the move we pared down to just the basics while we got the house settled and haven't quite gotten back to full steam, if we ever were there.  I am one to err on the side of letting my kids explore a new game or interest rather than pushing through with my own school plans.  This can be taken too far...but how far is too far?  Right now my kids are enjoying making a shadow puppet show in our coat closet.


rhythm and beauty in our home . . . we are trying a new schedule to accommodate Toddler L's needs.  Instead of trying to do one-on-one school while she is up with us, I am getting my older daughter (8) up early to do school before Toddler L awakes.  We then do the "fun" school subjects: history and science reading, projects, etc while she is awake.  Then after she goes down for her afternoon nap my younger son (11) and I get his school work done.  We've only done it for a few days, but it seems to work pretty well.

the church year in our home . . . looking ahead into the Epiphany season.  Considering what saints we might want to read about and what days to celebrate.


one of my favorite things . . . this will sound silly, but my mom and step-dad gave me the most delicious jam for Christmas.  It is called "FROG" jam - fig, raspberry, orange, ginger.  It is just heavenly!  I enjoy it on my leftover St. Lucia bread each morning.  And sometimes in the afternoon, too!

the week ahead. . .
:-: school meeting (eldest son's high school) tonight.
:-: a church meeting Wednesday night.  Need to think and pray about that one.
:-: L's adoption day anniversary Thursday (2 years since we passed court in Ghana)
:-: friends over for dinner on Saturday

picture thought . . .

My boys posing in front of a statue in downtown Fredericksburg, VA on our Thanksgiving trip.
I just love this photo.  H (on left) is 11, S (on right) is 14.