Too too cute in her tutu

Emerson had ballet tonight. They are preparing for a mini Christmas dance and party. She was so excited to wear a new tutu that nana had gotten for her.

Reality Check

Alarm went off...ugh Monday back to school as vacation time over. I really appreciated the break from routine and opportunity to get some pre-winter organizing done. Now it is back to books, back to work, and back to reality. There is an air of excitement with the kids as we prepare our advent angels today. We all draw pictures of angels and we draw a name of another family member. All month up until New Years we become secret angels to each other. Mysteriously your bed gets made, dishes put away, a piece of candy in your shoe, and my favorite was when an angel laid out my pjs and slippers one night! It is fun sneaking around trying to secretly do good. On New Years we reveal who our secret angel was and present them with a homemade gift!

Purple was the color of day

Advent banners, homemade bird feeders, bingo, a play, and more....

Advent Fair

Today our church kicks off advent with a fair after mass. The vestments will be purple and because of that Emerson decided to wear her purple dress as well! She encouraged me to wear my purple sweater and because it is hard to resist her smile I did! At the fair there will be card making, a cupcake walk, games, an advent play and some good old fashioned fellowship with friends. I think the fact that we get to experience it all again thru Benedict's eyes makes it even more special.

MSU Children Garden

Rabbit Show was really neat it is amazing the different breeds of furballs. Emerson lucked out as they had a horse show going on at same time! Afterwards Tony took us to MSU garden and kids played! Tony found a xylophone stepping stone that made music and became a pro at hot cross buns!

Bunny Show

Advent officially starts tomorrow but the kids and I set up our wreath yesterday! We started a Jesse Tree tradition which not only teaches the kids the lineage of our Lord but also the anticipation of his birth. One of the first stories is Creation! A favorite amongst the animal lovers in house. They all want to draw on their ornament animals that God created. As a special treat we are off to MSU to a rabbit show! Sponsored thru 4h it is perfect activity that ties into our advent celebration. I just hope we can get home without any additional bunnies!

Black Friday

Comments from the kids: "will we lose our power on Friday?" said Emerson
"my favorite ornaments are the sparkly ones that are old like grandma" said Blaise
"can rabbits hang stockings?"
"Barbie needs a Christmas tree she has everything except that in her house"(Emerson)
"the only leftovers I like are from Thanksgiving" (Julia)

It is beginning to look alot like...

Christmas!
It is noon and the decorating is done! Inside that is! The kids decorated their own trees and I decorated the great room tree! Fun was had by all except poor Benedict who was not sure what to make of all commotion. He hung out in my arms and took it all in. It was sweet to see the joy on their faces as we talked about our favorite ornaments and our memories of years before. Blaise was excited to show off his tree he decorated all by himself!

Honey it is time...

There has been a tradition in my family as far back as I can recall that the day after Thanksgiving is when we always decorated for Christmas. I remember my mom decking out the entire house in a plethora of ornaments, greenery, and Christmas decor! This notion of decorating has been one tradition I still do today! The girls and I have always done it while Tony is at work. I can't recall a black Friday that he hasn't gone into work only to come home to a transformation. Voila! It's Christmas! This year I also introduced the tradition of each child having a special tree in their room. Blaise felt so proud having daddy carry up his little tree and lighting it up. They all have personalized ornaments to put on the trees that people have given them! It is hectic and overwhelming to do this but it begins the most important part of our faith....the birth of Christ! I really steer clear of any secular symbols of Christmas as Tony and I try to focus on the truth. It is a challenge and it is hard with all the ads and people asking the kids what the jolly fat man is going to bring them? Huh they say? But I unwrapped my nativity set today from Italy. It is a gift I treasure and will pass to my eldest some day. I get all choked up and Blaise asked me if I had a boo boo? No honey, just the greatest Christmas present ever!

Stuffed

Well we had our feast and we played our talking spoon game! Everyone enjoyed the food and laughter. I am amazed at how one whole day of cooking ends in less than an hour of eating! A big thank you to my Emerson who helped wash every single china plate and dry it! She even said it was fun! Blaise ate well I am thankful for that and we managed to find time to go on a brisk walk before eating pie! Benedict slept thru his first thanksgiving but that is ok because for once I could sit down at table and eat! We had some awesome fun and great memories! This attitude of gratitude was best thing girls suggested! Our advent celebrations start soon and I already am excited about it!

Girls

Julia and Emerson are thankful for learning a new card game!

Tony

Tony is thankful for watching football with his boys!

Homemade sweaters

Benedict is thankful for homemade sweaters and hats!

Blaise

"Blaise what are you thankful for?"
"legos"

Bacon

Good morning! We kicked off our day with Tony making his famous b.e.l.t
Bacon bagel egg lettuce and tomato sandwich
I made cinnamon rolls and we are going to watch parade soon!

Pre Turkey Day

We played our legos, we had our fun and yet it still seems like something is missing! Crafts! The girls wanted to dress up as Pilgrims and Indians this year for dinner. So we got the paper and tape and scissors and got busy! The boys will be the Indians and the girls will be the Pilgrims.

Day to Play

My neighbor has two adorable little girls that Blaise plays with. We had planned a morning playdate set with pancakes and coffee. She texted last night her little one has pink eye so we cancelled. Blaise was devastated. He woke up at 2am anticipating his pals coming over. Such disappointment for a little boy. I was feeling bad and then realized I had nothing planned for today. A whole morning to be thankful for. Blaise and I got to work making plans and decided we would play legos, build a fort, and then read some stories. Normally my type A personality would tell me there are a zillion other things I should be focusing on. But the idea of getting on the floor with the kids and playing sounds like pure bliss. I hope the neighbor girl feels better soon but I am sort of a little teeny bit thankful for pink eye!

Potholder dance

Ok so this has nothing to do with my whole attitude of gratitude theme this month. It simply makes me smile! My husband loves making his kids laugh! Last night he came home and cranked up the kids bop songs! Next thing I knew they were all jamming and he was dancing with a potholder!

Reading stories

I am so thankful that Blaise has learned to read. I was fearful about this endeavor as I have been forewarned by many homeschool moms that boys are harder to teach. They are easily distracted. I prepared myself for the worst and imagined large tutor bills and sending him off to college with his Dr. Seuss books hoping someone would read to him. Well a few months ago he surprised me with his willingness to sit at his desk and want to learn. So I went with it and like a little sponge he picked it right up. What makes me so thankful about this is that he wants to read to Benedict now. So I have another little helper to entertain baby. Thank you Blaise for reading to brother last night so I could help your sisters get homework done!

Giving Tree

I promised not to talk about Christmas until after Thanksgiving but I can't resist this one! Yesterday at church they introduced the giving tree. It is sponsored by St. Vincent and it supports the needy families who may not have anything over Christmas! The kids got to go up and pick a tag. On their tag is description of a child, senior, or widow in need. In past we always picked one whole family to shop for. This year Julia wanted to shop for a widow and senior. Emerson wanted to shop for a little girl that loved barbies like herself. When we sat down Blaise was pouting he wanted to pick his own tag too and what about baby Benedict! Oh my the generosity was catchy! We kept getting up and down and genuflecting every time! I keep laughing because when I finally sat down I was breaking a sweat! Now the excitement is in the shopping for the people. Julia wants to add a few pictures for her widow and senior. Emerson wants to donate some barbie outfits to the doll she will buy! I am thankful for this giving tree as it teaches thoughtfulness and humility!