Christmas 2010

Christmas morning was pretty magical. It was neat seeing John's excitement, though he definitely was not expecting all the gifts and treats. We got up early and went to the 8:15am Mass. We had to wake John up because he usually sleeps in until 9am (I know, I am one lucky mama!). The first video below is of John after we got him dressed for Mass. He wasn't sure what to make of all the presents under the tree.

After Mass we opened our gifts to each other and then went upstairs to be with my parents, brother, and grandpa. One of the best moments of the day was when we walked into my parent's house. Andrew and I were greeting my brother and mom, but John ran past us. He made a mad dash for the tree and fell half way there, only to quickly rise to his feet to continue his sprint. We thought he was just excited to see more presents, but he had his eye on a gift that was not wrapped. My parents got him a Strider bike! He grabbed the bike and swung his leg over the seat - as if he's known how to ride a bike his whole life. It was the cutest thing! His raw joy and excitement was contagious to all of us.

We all opened gifts to each other, ate yummy food, and played games together. Christmas was very special this year because we had an honored guest with us - my grandpa. He lives in Oregon, so I do not get to see him much. It was quite a treat to celebrate with him. He is known for his ability to recite long poems from memory, so listening to his recitations added to the perfection of our Christmas day this year.  

 

 

 

Advent & Christmas Crafts

My goal is to do a few crafts each year so that a lot of our Christmas decorations will eventually be homemade. This year I made a tree skirt that was inspired by this pattern.

I also made a stocking for John.

I made a few batches of cookies and attended a cookie exchange. I really think cookie exchanges are the best way to get a great variety of treats with the least amount of effort! John even joined in my cookie decorating efforts! I got the idea from Life as a Mom. She suggested using pastry brushes, but I didn't have any so I used baby spoons. I think brushes would have worked better - I had to help John a lot! Mom St.Hilaire told me that she used to have her kids paint the cookies before they were baked with an egg yolk mixture, which looks neat when baked. I think I will try that next year!

We did not have an Advent wreath last year or for most of this year. I ordered one from Bronners, but it didn't come until the 4th week of Advent. To tide us over, I drew a wreath on the chalk board in our kitchen and added a flame each week. We also hung the cards that we received around the boarder:

Advent

Advent Party: John and I hosted a party for our friends and we made paper chains to countdown the days till Christmas. It was fun to have a big crowd at our house! John didn't really get the idea of ripping off the chains each day... maybe next year!

Advent Calendar: Last year (2009), Grandma and Grandpa St.Hilaire gave John an Advent calendar that has a piece of the Nativity scene for each day. It took a little time and discipline, but he quickly learned to take the piece out of the pocket and place place it on the scene above. I also put a candy cane kiss in each pocket - which he enjoyed very much. It wasn't long before he knew what the words "Advent calendar" meant. Whenever I said those words he would get a huge grin on his face and run to it!

Waiting: This year we made a concerted effort to hold off on our celebrations until Christmas. As a child, I was always hauling out the boxes of our family's decorations the day after Thanksgiving. So waiting was a challenge for me. I wasn't sure if we would just hold off on our tree or on all decorations, until I recognized that our church does not decorate at all until Christmas Eve. I want our home to reflect the church, so I decided it would be best to only have our Advent calendar and wreath out until Christmas Eve.

The best part of waiting to get the tree is that we got our tree for a dollar at Rite Aid!! It is still standing proudly in our living room, but we will be taking it down later today and putting all our decorations away. I definitely was very excited to put it up on Christmas Eve, but it made for a very busy day... Andrew and I may do it differently next year. It is fun figuring out how we want to celebrate these holidays in our own family.

Craft Time - Making a Clubhouse

John is getting more and more hands-on. I bought him some toddler crayons which are a little advanced for him, but he likes trying to use them anyway. We put the crayons to use on this box we got from Costco. We had a few crafting sessions, and (with a lot of help from me...) in a short time, we made this clubhouse for John. He really loves sitting in his box clubhouse!

Toddlers only - cause there's no way I would fit in it!!

He liked trying to put stickers on the box

Who knew you could have so much fun with a lettuce box!

St. Maximilian Kolbe Novena Begins Today!

I'm posting for Star of the Sea today:

"If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion." ~ St. Maximilian Kolbe

St. Maximilian Kolbe's (1894-1941) feast day is coming up on August 14th. That means that the novena invoking his intercession begins today!

Here are some ways you can celebrate his feast day on the 14th:

Read more...

Celebrating St. Jean Vianney's Feast Day

I'm blogging for Star of the Sea today:

"I tell you that you have less to suffer in following the cross than serving the world and its pleasures." ~ St. Jean Marie Vianney

Tomorrow, August 4th, is the feast day of St. Jean Vianney - patron for parish priests. We named our son after this great Saint, so we hold him dear to our hearts.  Here are some ways that you can celebrate his holy life with your family:

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Happy Baptism Day, John!

On Monday, July 26th, we celebrated the day John was baptized! We had a small party, which included eating barbecued burgers, lighting John's baptismal candle and (of course) eating cake! It was a special day. I hope to make it a tradition in our family to celebrate the days of our baptisms.

John, may the Lord bless you abundantly during this next year of your life 

and may you grow closer to Him each day! We love you!

The cake

Singing - ♫ ♪ Happy baptismal day to you...♪ ♫

He sure enjoyed himself!