Wordless Wednesday -- Happy Baby

Lego's gone Catholic

(built and created by our very own Mario!!)

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

He just can't get enough of her....

 It's moments like this that I just want to pause time.  

When Rose was first born, Max begged and begged and wanted to hold her like everyone else.  He was just done quicker than everyone else though too.  We'd hand her to him, and before we knew it, he'd say "I'm done now".  

But now....  it's a little different.  

He is totally in love, and she's in love with him.  He can't get enough of her.  He can't even look at me when I take a picture of the two of them.  There's something much cuter to look at.  He knows that.  

And, there are 5 other siblings that can't get enough of her either.  I'm just in awe of the love that the big brothers and sisters have for our sweet little girl.  

Thank you, God, for the many times a day when you show your presence to me in precious moments like this!

I am WAY blessed!!!  

 

12 Days of Christmas

In the Church, we celebrate 12 Days of Christmas from Christmas day until the eve of Epiphany, with Epiphany being the 13th day.  We actually continue our celebrations in our home and leave up all our decorations until the feast of the Presentation of the Lord or Candlemas, which is February 2nd.  

There is beautiful history in the song - "The Twelve Days of Christmas", where each of the twelve gifts symbolize a teaching of the faith.  So every day during the twelve days of Christmas, we sang the song and did the motions after our morning offering.  It was a good way to get us all moving and wake us up in the morning!  We used the 12 Days of Christmas lapbook that the kids made a couple years ago as a reference.

On the twelfth night, we had a themed party and feast where we served foods that symbolized each of the 12 gifts.  Of course, we began our meal with singing the actual song, motions and all!  Then one by one, the kids took turns bringing each of the "12 gifts" to the table and announced the gift and how it represented a part of our faith.  
 **I made notes on what food items we used below each picture

"On the first day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...    

a partridge in a pear tree."

(partridge in a pear tree = Jesus, the Son of God)

(1 pear)

"On the second day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...      

2 turtle doves."

( 2 turtle doves = the Old and New Testament)

(2 turtles/dainties from Lago's and 2 Dove chocolates)

"On the third day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...     

3 French hens."

(3 French hens = 3 theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity)

(3 Frenchy chicken breasts:  chicken baked and smothered in French dressing - a longtime favorite in our house)

"On the 4th day of Christmas, my true Love gave to me...    

4 calling birds."

(4 calling birds = 4 evangelists/4 Gospel writers)

(4 bugles to symbolize the 4 Gospel writers proclaiming the Good News)

 "On the 5th day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...     

5 golden rings"

(5 golden rings = first 5 books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch)

(5 onion rings)

"On the 6th day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...     

6 geese a laying."
(Six geese a laying = 6 days of creation)

(6 EGG salad sandwhiches)

 

 "On the 7th day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...   

7 swans a swimming."
(7 swans a swimming = 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit and the 7 Sacraments)

(swans swim in water, so we offered water to drink)

"On the 8th day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...    

8 maids a milking."
(8 maids a milking = 8 beatitudes)

(8 Milk Maid candies and chocolate milk to drink)

"On the 9th day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...     

9 ladies dancing"
(9 ladies dancing = 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit)

(9 Pirouette cookies since a pirouette is a ballet dance)

(our little lady had to show off her TUTU that her aunt gave her to dance around in)

 "On the 10th day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...     

10 lords a leaping"

(10 lords a leaping = Ten Commandments)

(10 Scoops tortilla chips since they have jagged edges like a crown for a "king" or "lord")

 
"On the 11th day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...     

11 pipers piping"
(11 pipers pipings = 11 faithful apostles)

(Piping hot bean dip)

"On the 12th day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...     

12 drummers drumming."
(12 drummers drumming = 12 points of the Church doctrine in the Apostles Creed)
 

(drumstick ice creams - although I didn't choose the actual "Drumstick" brand - I liked these mini's better)

 ***I printed the numbered flashcards here.

We have loved to incorporate fun  feasting and themed foods while celebrating and learning our faith.  We are SO grateful for Jessica for her beautiful example and for graciously sharing all the feasts that she celebrates with her family.  

3 is a wonderful age to be!!

Pookey had a birthday right before Christmastime and turned 3 --  what a wonderful age to be!!

Since his birthday is so close to Christmas, we know we still need to make a big deal about a day just for HIM, and not let it roll right into all the Christmas celebrations.  Last year, Neil took the day off work and we all went to a museum and out for lunch (which rarely happens in our large family - too much money and too much work!).  It was such a fun day!!  We were wanting to celebrate in the same way with lunch and a museum for his 3rd birthday, but we had a huge snowstorm/blizzard the day before his birthday.  This was the first real snowfall of the winter and all the kids, including the birthday boy, wanted to stay home and enjoy the SNOW!  So, that's just what we did.  Thank goodness we stayed home too because many of the schools were even cancelled on his birthday - we would have had a hard time just getting out the door and to a restaurant and museum safely. 

Here's our sweet 3 year old the morning of his birthday - all smiles!!!

Now for breakfast time....  snowman pancakes (thanks to Jessica for sharing her cute idea).   These were so much fun and chocolate chip pancakes are always a favorite in our house! 

And, for the SNOW fun....

And, his super cute, snowman birthday cake with WAY too much frosting to make the chubby snowman.... 

May God bless our Pookey with many more 

HAPPY and BLESSED birthdays.  

We love you Pookey!!!