Focus 2013: The Year of ....

Last year I wrote a post about using Focus and Priorities to establish a new version of New Year's Resolutions.

For 2012 I chose to Focus on five areas of my life; my priorities for the year:

1. Husband

2. Son

3. Home

4. Spirit

5. Community

with a generally challenge to focus more on "Family" and less on me.

I'm surprised that I actually kept this in mind all year.  This was a year to help my husband start on a more healthy and productive path in his life after years of too much sacrifice in too many areas and to make my self as available as I could to my son.  I'm quite proud of how I spent my year with my "Focus" and shifted priorities in mind.

This year I wanted to do the same - set myself a focus and reevaluate my priorities.  Now this was a little challenging because my 2012 priority list is hard to change so I hope it can be unspoken that this year's list includes items that will always, naturally fall behind priorities like my child and husband.

After much hemming and hawing I've decided that 2013 is to be the Year of "Health" - within this focus word I have assigned my top 5 priorities (all related to my focus).

1. Body
2. Mind
3. Marriage
4. Friendship
5.  Home

Body - I need to find a way to give myself time to properly care for my own health, something I'm not so great at and something that fell to the side after a year of choosing to focus more on others - this will come from a variety of sources - examining my food and drink, exercise and finding ways to avoid the pitfall of  schlumpy-mommyness.  I feel fairly confident that sometime this year we were starting trying to expand our family and I want to be prepared.

Mind - Even though I've been out of school for years I want to find more ways to continue to learn - this might be expanding my reading or listening material and might also include less time spent online or following certain types of news.  A healthier spiritual life is also included in this priority.

Marriage - Ben and I can be very dedicated parents, but I want and  I think we need to find ways to refocus on the marriage part of the relationship a little more.  We're approaching our 5 year mark and I can definitely feel the need to reevaluate certain things, like how we spend time together, so that we can continue to foster a healthy marriage - not only for ourselves, but so we can set a good example for our children.

Friendship - I live a very family focused life, which I truly enjoy, but I do know that I need to better foster the friendships I have and maybe step out of my home a little more to expand my local social circle - I am extremely introverted in real life so actively seeking new friends of any kind is quite a big step for me.

Home - I want to continue to learn more about making my home a healthier place for myself and my family - I know we'll be putting in a veggie garden this year and I hope to continue to make more contacts and learn more skills that will support this goal of a healthier home.

So with all this in mind - I say goodbye to the Year of "Family" and say hello to the Year of "Health".

Are you setting a New Year's resolutions, choosing a Focus or reexamining your priorities for the year? Please tell!

Snapshots

Advent and Christmas Recap

Our Advent season is over and our Christmas season will soon be winding down as well.  I plan on keeping decorations and lights up until Twelfth Night if I can, but haven't really planned too much else - if there's one thing I'm learning about living out a more traditional liturgical year is that it's never good to force too many new traditions at once.

With that in mind I felt I wanted to share our ups and downs of our new practices and see what's made the cut for next year.  So without further ado our Advent Recap

The Advent Calendar:

• I liked having a system to count the days, but I didn't like feeling tied down to certain activities each day - often they felt rushed and it was a stretch not to feel bad for missing a good portion at the end due to illness and unexpected travel.  

• I think next year will be more of a count down of days with activities filled in as they naturally arise.

Advent Wreath:

• I'm glad we started this tradition, but it will probably take another year until we find it's right place in our day to day activities, but it's definitely a tradition I'll hold on to. 

• Maybe next year we'll even remember to light all the candles (that last weekend was a little crazy in our defense)

Feast Days:

• I really enjoyed starting a St. Nicholas tradition of books and chocolate - we'll be keeping this for next year!

• I really liked Haley's idea of setting out a new pair of shoes and will be considering this for next year as well - I'm playing with the idea that pair of shoes that gets set outside the door get donated to charity later that day.

•  We didn't do too many more Feast Day celebrations this month - I don't like to jump into ones that I don't feel called to at the moment so I'm glad I didn't push this.

Limiting Christmas During Advent:

• This was a challenge this year and I'm going to give and take different bits and pieces next year.

• I loved not putting up our tree until after 2nd Sunday and then only with lights.  We planned on decorating with Henry, but 4th Sunday Night rolled past so I stayed up late and put a few ornaments on the tree and decorations around the house while everyone slept.  Both Ben and I like the idea of of Christmas appearing overnight and it was great to see Henry's face when he saw the tree "magically" decorated the next morning.

• I either need to find more Advent music next year or go back to listening to Christmas music - Ben commented how strange it was not to have it in the house this year and it just didn't feel right.  Rather than part of the celebration I think Christmas music is part of our "preparation" so more Christmas music will be back on the table to keep spirits bright.

Limiting Commercialism in Christmas:

• I still feel like I fail a lot in this category - I want to make more by hand and buy more local and fair-trade, but I feel this will come in time so I'm not stressing too much at the moment.

• Another successful year of limiting gift giving - our PJs, Stocking and 3 present rule still feels like plenty and it's great to see my side of the family begin to embrace it.  I'm finding we're giving more thoughtful, needed or really wanted items and I think I can feel the difference between quantity and quality in our gift giving.

• We did stretch the 3 gift rule a little for Henry, because what we wanted to give him came had so many parts - but I was so happy to see it come together with pieces we already had, things given to him by other relatives and a lot of second hand to fill in the rest.  I think his train and track collection will be a gift we'll be passing on to grandchildren some day. 

• Even though I thought that my giving of second-hand gifts last year was thought strange by most of my family I was thrilled to see it embraced by my parents and in-laws.  Henry's train collection is about 90% second-hand and 10% gifts from others.  Henry's gifts from my in-laws were fantastic (and non-train related) and I think 100% second-hand - a couple toys and small stack of books for our collections.  They eagerly boasted of their finds and I love that they are comfortable with our ideas of gift giving enough to do something like that.

• Even with our limits on gift giving Henry still came away with a great collection of trains and accessories no one was denying this and it opened up a great conversation about limiting the gift giving for his 2nd birthday in February - I now feel that a request of "presence not presents" will be warmly received and even thought of as a sign of prudent parenting by our parents and grandparents.

Encouraging Christ in Christmas:

• I take the blame, but also admit that my crazy work schedule got the best of me and Christmas Eve Mass was a wash.  Next year we plan on starting to take Henry to the early children's Mass so we can guarantee we get to church.  Not having to work next Christmas morning will help this immensely too in case something comes up.

• I'm thrilled to see how attached Henry became to his little Nativity scene that has rested by his bed all month and while I know he doesn't really understand the Holidays yet (at all) I can't wait to see how far he comes next year.

• I've got a list of books that I want to get a hold of for next year for personal or family prayer and reflection - bringing prayer and the like home is still a struggle, but one I'm facing up to as best I can.

Overall I think it was a lovely holiday - we ended up having a few unexpected events including weather and a death in the family which kind of threw a kink in the works a little and my work schedule made for an interest pattern of Christmas Days, but overall I'm happy.

I'm thrilled that, barring anything unforeseen, I will have my first real Christmas Day off with Henry in 2013, and tried not to dwell on the fact that I had to work  - I offered it up as a prayer, as best I could, for the folks at my hospital who didn't get to go home at noon or who had to celebrate the entire holiday in a hospital room.  We got our "Christmas morning" as a family the day after, but it was our first Christmas Morning together so it was worth the wait.

P.S. Are you on Facebook - Follow MollyMakesDo  and remember you can link up any of your Advent and Christmas post this week thru Saturday Night - Go HERE!

Wishing everyone a joyous and peaceful Christmas season - I'll be back in a few days!

The link up will be open until Saturday night so no one needs to rush back from their festivities to share a post!

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We are three Catholic bloggers who love to observe the liturgical year to deepen our families’ faith and build up the domestic church. We would love to hear about your family’s celebrations and traditions! Please join us in “redeeming the time” in this Year of Faith by sharing your posts about feast days, liturgical seasons, etc. in this new linkup. We are starting at the beginning of the Liturgical Year: The Season of Advent!

Today Tammy and Hannah @ DualingMoms are hosting the link-up! 

Don't forget to stop by my wonderful co-hosts Haley@Carrots for Michaelmas and the wonderful Mother/Daughter Duo Tammy and Hannah @ DualingMoms for more great posts and ideas today and throughout the week.

Todays link-up will be live until Midnight Friday and your always welcome to leave a message on Twitter or in comments of any posts if you'd like a post to be added to our Little HolyDays Pinboard.

For the three of us, this link up is a way in which we plan on exploring and deepening our Catholic faith, but we would really love to hear from bloggers of all denominations and practices.

We welcome you to share your own feasts, festivals, and celebrations as they fall within each week of December. 

Please take a moment to visit the other linkers and leave a short comment to let them know you were there! 

As moderators of this link up, we will reserve the right to remove any offensive or off-topic posts as we see fit, in order to maintain a positive and understanding atmosphere.

 

The Stockpile

My first year living in Oregon, in 2009 I was doing my weekly visit to the laundromat when I happened to start overhearing the conversation of two older ladies next to me.  It was a normal conversation for the most part - they were catching up and and in true Ashland-Hippie Style talking about all their latest forays into selfsufficiency and various Hippie type things.

I drifted in and out of hearing the conversation, but nearly dropped my book when on hippie lady said to the other this gem I'll never forget.

"Well I think we're pretty well prepared for 2012 - we got the garden by the house (up the mountain), some gas stored for the jeep and a satellite so we don't loose our internet connection... and of course we've still got a lot of that food leftover from Y2K...."

Folks I'm as glad as the next person that the world didn't end today.

But please, for all thing good and holy...

NOW IS THE DAY TO THROW AWAY YOUR Y2K STOCKPILE!

Last Minute Holiday!

 *Another repost from last year - one of my favorites - with some new additions*

Trying to figure out those last few gifts, but out of ideas, time or money?  Here's a few ideas that many of us could put together from odds and ends in the house -

For a  few links and Pins of these ideas Last Minute Holiday Pinboard!

• Fort Kit 
• Indoor "Sandbox"
• An EyeSpy Jar
• Dress up on a Stick
• Free Printable Coloring and Activity Books!
• Free Printable Flashcards
• Homemade Playdough  
• Indoor Racetrack
• Magnetic Paperdolls

If you're feeling a little crafty and need a reason to de-stash how about:

• A Scrap Bin Matching Game 
• A Scrappy Monster Toy or Doll 
• Homemade Puzzle Magnets 
• Felt Quiet Books  
• Coloring Tote Bag
• Super Hero Masks   

Have you done anything fun and homemade for the holidays?  Please share your projects with us!

The Reason for our HolyDays

On Friday, my husband, son and  I were attend the funeral of my husband's great uncle.  We walked together through the graveyard and visited the grave of my husbands Grandfather, two of my husbands Uncles and a baby Aunt who only lived in this world for a month.  Theresa, the little baby, was buried in a long line of children during a time when it was all too common for a family to know the loss of a darling little one.  Most of the stones only had one date to record.

We held the hand of our little boy tightly as we walked back to the car discussing our thankfulness for the times we live in and grief we have yet been spared.

We did not know, at that time, what had happened in Connecticut.

************

Oh my friends I wish had words of wisdom to impart even days after this tragedy has occurred, but I have none to give.  I have cried, held my little guy close and even curled up next to him while he slept just for a few more moments next to him.

I contemplated calling an early end to our link-up.  Celebration in the face of such horror never feels quite right, but instead of going quiet and dark we continue on and I hope you will join us for the rest of the week.

We - Haley, Tammy, Hannah and I did not start the Little Holydays idea as a way to brag about our crafts or fancy traditions.  We did not start LH to show off piles of presents or beautiful Advent Calendars.  We started Little HolyDays with the hope that we could inspire more parents and families to take a step back and savor the little moments that special times can bring.

Those of us who are mothers, in any sense of the word, know all to well the reality of being a parent - the worry and fear that so easily accompanies joy.  We know how precious and fragile life is.  There are no certainties in this life.

We must make joy when we can and so we continue on for the families of 27 precious souls.  We will find ways to make more of our days special and sacred while we can. 

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On Saturday night Ben and I went on a date rare date and saw "The Hobbit" and it couldn't have been a better movie to see at such as time.  It was an escape yes, but not without a little bit of meaning to me.  Ben reached out a gave my arm a little squeeze as Ian McKellan spoke these words and tears ran down my cheeks knowing that it was all too timely an assessment.

"Saruman thinks that it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found.  I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… small acts of kindness and love."

And that is why we'll continue on with our Little HolyDay celebration because it's the little, everyday things done by ordinary people that have the power to overcome our darkest times. 

I hope you will continue to share with us your little celebrations from last week and any of them in the days to come.  I hope that you will continue to take little moments from your days and weeks to make the memories that support us during our darker days and I know you will continue to hold your dear ones close during this holiday season for yourself and for those who now can't.

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We are three Catholic bloggers who love to observe the liturgical year to deepen our families’ faith and build up the domestic church. We would love to hear about your family’s celebrations and traditions! Please join us in “redeeming the time” in this Year of Faith by sharing your posts about feast days, liturgical seasons, etc. in this new linkup. We are starting at the beginning of the Liturgical Year: The Season of Advent!

Today Tammy and Hannah @ DualingMoms are hosting the link-up! 

Don't forget to stop by my wonderful co-hosts Haley@Carrots for Michaelmas and the wonderful Mother/Daughter Duo Tammy and Hannah @ DualingMoms for more great posts and ideas today and throughout the week.

Todays link-up will be live until Midnight Friday and your always welcome to leave a message on Twitter or in comments of any posts if you'd like a post to be added to our Little HolyDays Pinboard.

For the three of us, this link up is a way in which we plan on exploring and deepening our Catholic faith, but we would really love to hear from bloggers of all denominations and practices.

We welcome you to share your own feasts, festivals, and celebrations as they fall within each week of December. 

Please take a moment to visit the other linkers and leave a short comment to let them know you were there! 

As moderators of this link up, we will reserve the right to remove any offensive or off-topic posts as we see fit, in order to maintain a positive and understanding atmosphere.

 

Meaningful and Memorable

 *This is an new version of a similar post from last year.  I felt the message still rang true*

Stuff.

I don't know about you, but I know very few parents who really like extra stuff.  Figuring out how to celebrate the holidays and birthdays were on the top of my list when I found out I was going to get to be a parent.  How to make things memorable, but keep the stuff at a minimum.  How to make things meaningful and not material.

We have one year under our belt so far; rather successful in keeping the "stuff" to a manageable amount.  One of the keys to managing stuff, around the holidays, in our home is to stay a beat ahead of everyone else.

When trying to figure out the holidays last year I had a bit of a revelation ... I can't control other people.  I can beg, plead and make all the overarching announcements I want, but I really can't control what Henry's grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles get him or in what quantities.  We will always try to offer up suggestions like giving experiences and "Please for the love of all things good and holy no "My Own Little Ipad", but our influence on others stops there. 

There will be things brought in to our home that wouldn't chose ourselves, but the intention is good and that's what I need to honor as a wife, mother, daughter and daughter in law. 

I might sigh at the big hulking plastic contraption that now takes up a good amount of space in my living room, which some how continues to make noise despite all my best efforts, but I can't deny the thought that went into the purchase.  Someone loves my son.  A friend or family member chose that out of a desire to make my son happy.  There are children around the world that would love to have such a thought directed towards them.  So in the end I learn to love whatever they give.

However, we can control what we do and what we bring into our own home. 

After much hemming and hawing we have arrived at a plan for Christmas (and a trial run last year).  While I don't love copious amounts of unnecessary stuff, I do love the Holidays - I love stockings, Santa, presents and everything in between and it's been a challenge to find the right balance between memory making and stuff piling.

We could give into every whim and spend a couple K that we don't have buying things that we'll only have to upgrade in sixth months when the Ghost of Steve-Jobs-Past issues out the next best do-hickie the world can't live without.

Or we could forsake the holiday as an evil pagan tradition and shut up our home to the blinking lights and toss the plate of cookies out the front door, saying "Get behind me, Santa!"

Yeah... not so much.

Instead, we'll do Advent and we'll do charity.  We'll do Midnight Mass and Nutcracker Ballets.  We'll do thoughtful Holy music and silly secular songs.  We'll do Santa and family and way too much food and we'll do presents.

We've got a plan for that last part and this is what it's come down to-

• Christmas Eve Pajamas - a new set of pj's for each member of the family to be changed into after Christmas Eve service.  We like to cuddle up to our favorite version of A Christmas Carol in something comfy.
• A Stocking and Santa Presents - A couple small presents and treats - perhaps a book or movie or small toy and definitely new socks and underwear. (Santa is highly practical in our home).
• The 3 Gifts - Mom, Dad and each kid will get three main presents off their Christmas list.  Kids (and adults!) can make a list of more than 3 items, but will understand that 3 is what they will get come Christmas Day.  We hope to tie this into the gifts of the Three Wise Men.
• While our kids are young we also take advantage and give them a variety of used and new gifts - at the moment Henry doesn't know the difference.  If someone else playing and outgrowing something means I can give my child a better quality toy and break a bit of a consumer cycle than I'll do it.  Not everyone thinks this is great - I'm not sure all my friends and relatives "get it", but for now I'm a mother with a budget who's trying to do right by her family.

I was worried last year that our present "limit" would amount to a scarce looking assortment of gifts under our tree but I'll tell you - 9 presents, a Stocking, plus the gifts to and from our immediate relatives spread from under our little 4 ft. tree and across the fireplace with no hint of mean parenting or childhood deprivation.

And in my humble opinion a little deprivation might be worth the trade off in the future as I take my own advice and spend less time in the stores, less time with stuff and more time with my friends and family trying to make the HolyDay meaningful and memorable .... without the Stuff.

How to Have a Simpler Holiday Season {Without Being a Wizard}

One of the main reasons we started the Little HolyDays Link-up, with it's focus on the Advent Season and it's surrounding holidays, was that Haley, Tammy, Hannah and I are part of growing number of people who desire a little more meaning and simplicity in the special days of the year.  There are a lot of tips and hints about how to make the holidays more meaningful and special, but so many of those great ideas seem to have a caveat - being a great cook, a great crafter, an orator and quite possibly a wizard.

Seriously, how great would it be if we could just summon up sumptuous meals, perfectly decorated trees that would make Martha drool with envy, perfect presents and beautiful coiffed and perfectly mannered children?

But sadly the most any of us have gotten from platform 9 3/4 is a serious bump on the noggin, and my fireplace is definitely note a method of transportation. 

The following list are my ideas to help you to a better, more fulling holiday season... without needing to be a graduate of Hogwarts.

1. Turn Off the T.V. - I'm not saying the cherished Christmas movies are off the table, but turn off the T.V.  In fact, start doing this in early November as often as you can.  Toss the mailers and newspaper inserts and limit the influence of the marketing world telling you and your kids what sole, magical item will earn their complete happiness on Christmas morning.
2. Go to Church - Seriously folks, go to church weekly or maybe an extra day or more during the month of December.  Let it fill up your calendar.  For those not affiliated with such a group, make your own - no need to start your own religion, but rather gather at a set time and date every week for a month.  Keep it simple, but dedicate your time to getting ready, traveling and attending said event each week. And I support this bullet completely as a mother who's child is convinced he needs to personally show the entire church why individual seats (not bolted down) instead of pews were not a good idea.
3. Pray a Little More - Dedicate a little time each week, or challenge yourself and go for each day.  Pray for the world, pray for your husband, your kids, your family, your neighbors, that stranger online with the sick child or catastrophic illness.  Pray, meditate, send out good vibes or good karma - how ever you do it.  If you don't know where to start search Google for prayers or meditations on something you feel called towards - for the sick, the grieving, the lost, the alone.  Search until you find something, anything, that speaks to you and pray.
4. Say No - Doing Step #2 will most likely cut at least one or more day a week out a good part of you social calendar already, but take it a step further.  Say no to everything that won't bring you some kind of peace and happiness.  Choose one day a week that you'll attend Christmas Parties or extra events or say no all together.
5. Limit Your Giving - Set a limit on the amount you will spend on friends and family.  Consider setting a present number limit or a dollar amount.  Go through your friends and family and figure out who really loves receiving gifts and who would be equally happy getting a card, an invite for coffee or a nice long phone call.
6. Limit Your Receiving - Go through your Christmas list and cross out anything that you couldn't feasibly attain for yourself at any time during the year.  Leave only things that have meaning - a special gift from a spouse or family member - and bring people together.
7. Give More in a New Way - Give more those who really need it.  Take some of your Christmas budget freed up by #4 and send it somewhere else - a international charity, a local charity, a retirement home or lonely neighbor.  
8. Let It Be - Let it be when the cookies burn.  Let it be when the tree topples over.  Let it be when nothing goes right and tempers get short.  Let your holiday be just what it becomes no matter the grand plan.  Burnt cookies, toppled trees and all sort of Christmas catastrophes are what the holidays are made of.  The worst thing you can do is wish yourself in another persons holiday.  

There you go folks - no grand plans, no special recipes, no shelved elves or amazing feats of craftiness. 

There is no magic spell to be cast, but perhaps it might help someone to find a little more magic in their holidays.

p.s. The Jury is still out on whether or not my husband is hoarding an illegally transported dragon egg. ;)

A Call to Tremble Or What Scrooge Can Teach Us About "Keeping Christ in Christmas"

We hear a lot of folks, around this time of year, proclaiming from the hills and mountains to "Keep Christ in Christmas".  Folks get riled up about whether or not it's appropriate to use those really cute cards that say "Season's Greetings" or what to do about those tricky friends or family members who don't share our beliefs or traditions.  We have long winded debates about Santa Claus and the roots of our festivals and holidays and rarely, in those discussions, does anyone come out ahead.  We worry so much about what we're keeping in Christmas and then hastily pack it up on December 26th, not to be worried about for another year.

Now, don't get me wrong, we who celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday should be concerned about "keeping Christ" in it.  However,that discussion shouldn't end when we find the ideal Christmas card that will delight both the religious and secular among us.  It doesn't end with us refusing to say anything but "Merry Christmas" to friends and strangers a like.

It needs to go deeper than that.

Ebenezer Scrooge after his restless night of inner transformation fell down on to his own tombstone, the reminder of his own mortality and limitations, pleading to the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come:

"Good Spirit," he pursued, as down upon the ground he fell before it: "Your nature intercedes for me, and pities me.  Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me by an altered life?"

The kind hand trembled.

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.  I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.  The Spirits of all three shall strive within me.  I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.  Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone?"

Mr. Scrooge, the perfect example of a battered and frayed human nature, understands what is needed from him for a true atonement of his past failings.  It is not about changing his ways and keeping Christ in Christmas for the month of December, but for the entire year.  He not only opens himself to the truths the Spirits give to him about his own reality, but he opens his heart to the true Spirit of Christmas and his fervent desire to change his ways makes the grim, "unmovable" hand of Christmas Future tremble.  

Would he have received the same reaction for only promising to keep the Spirit Christmas in his heart for a day or even just a month?

So my friends, please do remember to keep Christ in Christmas.  Please consider your words and your actions in this upcoming season of Joy.  Atone for your past misdeeds and lay the path for works of grace and charity, but don't box it all up on Boxing Day.

During this time of the Advent season it is only right to reflect on our past actions and set a new course for our lives.  It is the perfect time to readjust our sights on the desire to keep Christ not only in Christmas, but in every day of the Year and do so with the determination and passion that would make our own Spirits of Past, Present and Future TREMBLE.

Keep Christ in Christmas.

Keep Truth, Justice, Compassion, Charity, Hospitality, Faith, Hope and Love in Christmas

   and when you do so

Keep Christmas in your Heart for all the Year so we might worthy of the simplest of all glad tidings 

"May God Bless Us, Every One." 

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We are three Catholic bloggers who love to observe the liturgical year to deepen our families’ faith and build up the domestic church. We would love to hear about your family’s celebrations and traditions! Please join us in “redeeming the time” in this Year of Faith by sharing your posts about feast days, liturgical seasons, etc. in this new linkup. We are starting at the beginning of the Liturgical Year: The Season of Advent!

Today I am hosting the Link - Up and would like to take a minute to point out a few of my favorite posts from last week.  Go HERE for the full list.

I enjoyed reading each one of the posts, but here are few (of many) which really stuck with me:

• The Beauty of Advent Music by Christy @ Fountains of Home
• Advent: Embracing the Season Fully by Sarah @ The Family of O
• How {Not} To Celebrate St. Nicholas' Day by Abbey @ SurvivingOurBlessings
• Observing Advent {Literally}: Notes from a Watchful Mennonite by Kathleen @ BecomingPeculiar

 Don't forget to stop by my wonderful co-hosts Haley@Carrots for Michaelmas and the wonderful Mother/Daughter Duo Tammy and Hannah @ DualingMoms for more great posts and ideas today and throughout the week.

Todays link-up will be live until Midnight Thursday and your always welcome to leave a message on Twitter or in comments of any posts if you'd like a post to be added to our Little HolyDays Pinboard.

For the three of us, this link up is a way in which we plan on exploring and deepening our Catholic faith, but we would really love to hear from bloggers of all denominations and practices.

We welcome you to share your own feasts, festivals, and celebrations as they fall within each week of December.  Celebrations for this week might include Chanukah, the Feast of St. Lucy, or any of your Advent or Winter Holiday traditions.

Please take a moment to visit the other linkers and leave a short comment to let them know you were there! 

As moderators of this link up, we will reserve the right to remove any offensive or off-topic posts as we see fit, in order to maintain a positive and understanding atmosphere.

 

7 Quick Takes

I figured I'd jump over to Conversion Diary and add a few, very quick, Quick Takes to recap our Advent Season so far.

1. 1st Saturday of Advent - Went to church on my own with Henry.  Was not our best mass every, but the woman who took the time at the end to tell me "You did a good job.  You're a good mother."  nearly made me burst into tears.  Seriously, folks if you ever see a mother struggling with her kids in church, at a store, restaurant, etc. please don't give advice or derisive looks.  Please be the one to tell her "You did a good job.  You're a good mother."  Every mother deserve to hear that from a stranger.  {Also read the first quarter of "A Christmas Carol" out loud while Henry played.  My husband will make a great Scrooge some day.)
2. 1st Sunday of Advent - Lighting the first Advent candle, a little prayer, reading a Christmas book (The Polar Express because someone likes trains) and putting up our first advent "bookmark" after Mommy got back from Choir practice.
3. Monday - Painting snowflake ornaments for relatives.  Because everyone needs an ornament that looks like a small glittery elf was sacrificed on it.
4. Tuesday - Advent surprise; Grandma had another craft lined up and we made bagel birdseed feeders.
5. Wednesday - Hot Chocolate Night and more Christmas books.
6. Thursday - St. Nicholas stopped by with more books and gold in our shoes.  Henry kept saying "Food?  Shoe?  Food?  Shoe?"  He was very confused by the whole thing, but very excited for his new books at least.
7. So far so good this week.  We've kept it simple and haven't gotten too overwhelmed.  The next couple of weeks will be getting steadily busier, but I have faith.
8. *Bonus* We had a great kick off to our "Little HolyDays" Link-up and can't wait to see what gets shared when the next one starts on Monday!

St. Nick made a quick stop at our house - we tried to keep it simple this year since Henry still has little idea of what's going on with this whole holiday thing.  Other than reading our new books we didn't do much more and then he woke up with a fever of 102 that afternoon so I'm quite glad we didn't have more planned.

The first link-up was a grand success I would say!  Go HERE to catch up on any of the THIRTY-SIX posts shared on our first week - please take a moment to visit other posters and leave a quick message for them.  I'm hoping to see everyone back again on Monday!  If you need a little inspiration here are some ideas:

• Second Sunday of Advent
• A post on the subject of preparation (the symbolic meaning of the Second Sunday)
• The Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Gaudelupe, St. Lucy and other feast days of this week (remember you can post a link Monday - Thursday and are more than welcome to leave a link in the comments and we'll link you up on the Pinterest Board if you miss the cut off on any week!)
• Recipes and Crafts
• Charity Projects
• Any other traditions you might have during this time - need not be Advent related.
• Chanukah starts on Sunday and we'd love to hear from anyone who celebrates it in any way!

I'm excited to see what everyone comes up with next week!

Glimpses of our Season

I have come to bring you peace.
Not the peace of the season, for it is too fleeting,
Not the peace of the carol, for it is nostalgic,
Not the peace of the greeting card, for it is too slick,
Not the peace of the crib, for it is too wistful.

Rather, I have come to bring you peace,
Peace of the ordinary, the daily, the homely,
Peace for the worker, the driver, the student,
Peace in the office, the kitchen, the farm.

I have come to bring you peace,
The peace of accepting yourself as I fashioned you.
The peace of knowing yourself as I know you,
The peace of loving yourself as I love you,
The peace of being yourself as I am who I am.

I have come to bring you peace,
The peace that warms you at the completion of a task,
The peace that invades you at the close of the day,
The peace that sustains you at the beginning of the day,
The peace that reinforces you when you are reconciled with one another.
The peace that touches you when your family is in order.

Without peace, my coming is unfulfilled.
Without peace, my birth is forgettable.
Without peace, Christmas is a contradiction.
I have come to bring you peace.

-Source 

Don't forget that the Little HolyDays Link-up will be active until Thursday - link up any of your posts old and new about your Advent, Christmas and December Traditions! HERE

Little HolyDays: Stir-up and Slow Down

Perhaps it's just the circles I'm running in these days, mainly the blogging circles - you all should know by now that I  don't get out much, but there seems to be an true desire for Advent emerging.  Folk are investigating old traditions and forging ahead with new ones.  They're taking a stand against the holiday creep, asking grandma for old recipes and taking a good, long looking at just what they're celebrating.  It's not just Christians too, anyone celebrating a winter holiday from Kwanzaa to Solstice and everything in between seems to be desiring their own Advent - a slow season of peace, patience and meaning.

When I was teenager I often wondered if I'd living to see the day when our ever-expanding world would start to shrink back.  I wondered when folks would get tired of always reaching for more and realize that they were ignore what was right in front of them.  As you can imagine my fellow sixteen year-olds thought I was quite strange, but I'm glad that it was not long after I started college that world threw it's collective hands in the air and began to say "I've had enough."  It started with the hand-made revolution and didn't let up steam as it collected more adherents who added value back to old ideas of domesticity and community.  Of course, for a while it was a fringe movement, but now thanks to the advent (no pun intended) of large blogging communities and the ever vigilant Pinterest it is easy to these mentality start to sneak in the backdoor of a more mainstream society.  The sixteen year old in me is quite proud of herself.

Our world flies at a mile a minute and we're starting to get motion sickness.  It is not so much a desire to hang on to the days of yore - very few of us want to vacuum around the flocked Christmas tree in heels and pearls and fewer still truly want to revert to Dickensian Christmas (unless all the poor orphans are cute and sing and dance in unison).  We don't want the big photo-shopped picture, but we do want the feeling.  We want to savor the tastes and smells of the season without such things being bland or tainted with the smell of gasoline.  We want to truly put our feet up and bask in the lights of our trees without knowing that we need to be everywhere in about two minutes.  We want to get to Christmas and actually be excited that it is Christmas, and not relieved that the whole ordeal is almost over.

We want "Joy to the World" to be joyous.

The first Sunday in Advent is traditionally known as "Stir up Sunday".  This is because the first words of the collect for the day are

"Stir up Thy might, we beg thee, and come..."

This year, instead of or perhaps along with your traditional plum pudding (Mr. Dickens' would be proud) I encourage you to "stir up" your Christmas season.  Pull on your big girl shoes and take a stand.  Take a good look at your traditions, see where they are rooted and if they truly line up with your hopes and ideals.  Take a stand against the pressures of a consuming society - consume less or at least consume differently.  Practice patience and savor the little moments of the days.  Decorate slowly and say no to the things and activities that don't bring you closer to reason for your holiday season.  Do more for others.  

This is my invitation to you, my dear friends to stir things up, go against the grain, slow down and settle in for many peaceful and long winter nights.

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We are three Catholic bloggers who love to observe the liturgical year to deepen our families’ faith and build up the domestic church. We would love to hear about your family’s celebrations and traditions! Please join us in “redeeming the time” in this Year of Faith by sharing your posts about feast days, liturgical seasons, etc. in this new linkup. We are starting at the beginning of the Liturgical Year: The Season of Advent!

Some topics we would be excited to read about during the Advent and Christmas seasons are (but not limited to!):

Sustainability and Responsible Gift Giving/Food

Food & Recipes

Simple Holiday traditions, crafts and activities

Reflections on the seasons

Charity

Teaching and Learning  about the Christian Year with Children

Today's Link-up is being hosted by the wonderful Haley @ Carrots For Michaelmas.  Please be sure to visit Haley and the amazing mother/daughter duo Dualing Moms to see what they have to say about the beginning of their holiday season!

This link up will be up until midnight on December 6th.

There will be a new link up open the following Monday, December 10th, and we will highlight some of our favorite links from the previous week in the new post, and on a Little HolyDays Pinterestboard.

For the three of us, this link up is a way in which we plan on exploring and deepening our Catholic faith, but we would really love to hear from bloggers of all denominations and practices.

We welcome you to share your own feasts, festivals, and celebrations that fall within each week of December.

As moderators of this link up, we will reserve the right to remove any offensive or off-topic posts as we see fit, in order to maintain a positive and understanding atmosphere.