Sunday before the Nativity (Sunday of the Ancestors)

Hello all! I can hardly believe it's just a few days before Christmas, wow! And this week we did make it back to Divine Liturgy after a few weeks back at Mass in our home parish. 

And I was so thrilled that this particular weekend was the one that we were able to attend, because it is one of two special themed Sundays leading up to the Nativity after mostly counting up the weeks since Pentecost for quite some months now. This last Sunday prior to Christmas is called Sunday of the Ancestors (I see it on our specific church bulletin as Sunday of the Holy Fathers) and I could immediately see why once the liturgy began: the Gospel reading was the genaeology narrative from Matthew. It was lovely, so perfect for the Sunday before the Nativity!

We hadn't been back for a few weeks, and thus had not yet seen the church decorated for the upcoming feast with a big, beautiful nativity scene and a lit Christmas tree. It felt very festive, and it was so special to be there and a part of it all. Everyone in that small 9 am Divine Liturgy congregation welcomed us back with open arms, expressing how happy they were that we were back. And we were, too!

Meanwhile, I've been duitifully following along in both Nativity fast/Advent traditions (aside from the dietary recommendations, not brave enough for that yet 😂) and have been enjoying the heck out of it:

I have to say, center stage this Advent has been my time with the Liturgy of the Hours Morning and Evening Prayer. Although I do own a gorgeous 4 volume set of the breviaries, I have subscribed to the Word on Fire monthly booklets, and they make it so easy that I've gotten quite addicted to them. The booklet is so easy to toss in my work bag, and with no flipping around to figure out what Propers I need for the day, it makes it ideal for never missing an installment of Morning Prayer:

But I love blending both traditions into my life. Liturgy of the Hours, plus some candlelight and Advent incense. Life is good for this Catholic Nerd!

Next week I'll be back to talk about the Nativity! 😍 We were planning on attending Mass at our Latin rite parish (the Divine Liturgy times didn't fit well with our hosting of Christmas eve dinner/our Christmas morning traditions with the kids) but the bummer news is that we are currently experiencing a blizzard of quite epic proportions, and are currently under a travel advisory. 😬 The bishop has given us permission to say in this weekend and is encouraging parishes to live stream their liturgies. So I'm thinking that we might not be able to make it to Christmas Mass in person, which makes me incredibly sad! But it is what it is, I'll be reporting in regardless, because life will still be quite Catholicy in the house of the Catholic Librarian, even during blizzard conditions. :-)

Second Sunday before the Nativity (Sunday of the Forefathers)

Hello everyone, and hope that your Advent continues to go swimmingly. :) I'm having a lovely Advent, to be sure, but our Byzantine journey has been thwarted a bit these past few weekends in that we haven't been able to get to Divine Liturgy. This past weekend, both children were feeling under the weather. It's been a rough winter for illnesses, to be sure! I was bummed, because these two Sundays leading up to Christmas have special themes in the Byzantine rite, and we weren't able to explore this Sunday of the Forefathers. I do think we'll be able to attend this coming weekend, so I'll definitely be reporting in! Our beautiful Eastern style Advent wreath has been getting quite a workout since November 15th, nearly all the candles are now lit. I believe I mentioned last week how much I've been enjoying having the wreath right in the middle of our family dinner table, it really brings the season to the forefront. I'll definitely be keeping this tradition going int he years to come.

*heart*

However, I was able to attend Mass on my own for Gaudete Sunday, and I have to say it was a DELIGHT. It's so lovely to see our parish full of people and life again, and I adored seeing the three Advent candles, including the rose one, lit at the start of Mass.

I was sad the kids weren't with me, but it was nice to get to Mass again. Gaudete Sunday always feels so fresh and new, that the Christmas season is soon to be upon us amidst the cold winter air. I even wore pink to Mass to commemorate the occasion.

💟

I will return next week with hopefully an actual Byzantine rite update! But so long as this journey involves growing in my faith, I see it all as a very good thing. :)

Twenty Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (and the 2nd Sunday of Advent!)

Hello all, and happy 2nd week of Advent in the Latin rite! I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely season of expectation. 😊

We're still going strong with our Eastern style Advent wreath (and also our Latin rite one, see below). So in the Byzantine rite, we now have four candles lit, with two to go, plus the large white candle for Christmas day. We've made great progress! I definitely like having a longer time to enjoy the wreath and candles in our family dinnertime space. I'm not as connected to the colors as I am with the purple and rose of my childhood (though I do love the blue one in honor of Our Lady, and the Eastern reference to her as the Theotokos is SO SWOON!), but this wreath has a fond place in my heart as a reminder of how much I'm enjoying exploring this part of our faith with my kids. 

This week, though, we did not attend Divine Liturgy. Due to all of us having events Saturday evening, we decided to sleep in (Divine Liturgy requires us to get up at 8 am Sunday mornings) and instead go to Mass at our home parish at 11 am. It's been a while since we've been there, many months at this point, because, with very few exceptions, we've been exclusively going to the Ukrainian parish since the summer. I have to say, it was lovely to be back!

There were FAR more people there than I have seen in a long time (resulting from the pandemic, I'm thinking) and it was nice to feel a part of a larger community again. The English liturgy congregation at the Byzantine rite parish, while incredibly kind and welcoming, is extremely small. I also enjoyed seeing the Advent wreath flikering up on the altar, and all of the purple accoutrements that accompany Advent in the Latin rite. I happily picked up a bulletin and a church calendar for next year.

To my surprise, Anne perked up with interest when they announced that Children's Liturgy of the Word was back (had not resumed since before the pandemic last time we attended Mass there) and she went into the sacristy with the other kids for that. At 11, she's a bit "old" for that, lol, but I figure if she's interested in something faith related, I'm not going to complain! Even if she ends up just helping out the Religious Ed. coordinator, that was totally fine with me.

We got to see the new (granted, temporary) pastor for the first time, and he was quite nice and an excellent homilist. We all had a wonderful time, although (of course!) the children both commented on how Mass was longer than Divine Liturgy. 😂 And I think that this is something that is unique to the specific Byzantine rite parish that we are attending in that the English liturgy there is not chanted. Everything is traditionally chanted in the Byzantine rite, but the English language congregation is so tiny there that there isn't a choir/anyone to lead the chanting. If it were chanted, I think that it would be much longer, as we encountered the one time we attended when the two liturgies (English and Ukrainian) were combined, as they have someone who leads the chanting in Ukrainian. The Mass last Sunday was not particularly long, but the kids have gotten used to the (quite short) spoken Divine Liturgy. 

Where do we go from here? I have absolutely no idea. I have to be honest and admit that if it were up to me, although I do love the Divine Liturgy and the Eastern traditions we've encountered such as iconography and those divine beeswax candles, I would go back to regularly attending Mass in the Latin rite. But I want to continue to encourage the more open conversations the kids and I have about our Sunday worship now, so I'm going to continue to pray and discern and we'll see where this journey takes us. :)

How is your Advent going so far, dear reader?

Twenty Fifth Sunday after Pentecost and a little Advent talk...

Hello everyone, and happy Advent to all Roman Catholics (including me! 😁). I always look forward to this season of preparation and the traditions surrounding it. This year, I'm very much enjoying our new Eastern version of the Advent wreath, and as of last Sunday, we're to three of the six candles. Because we only have five Sundays between November 15th and Christmas this year, I lit one the day that the Nativity Fast began, and then one each Sunday (including the blue one for the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple). Three weeks to go until we light the center Christmas candle! 

This weekend we were back at Divine Liturgy after the snowstorm amidst talk of the rescheduled Christmas Bazaar. So it turns out that we didn't miss it after all! We'll be headed there tomorrow to support the parish and eat some delicious Ukrainian food for lunch. 

Interestingly, our Byzantine rite parish is not decorated any differently for Advent. I'm not certain if this varies parish by parish, or if this is true throughout the East, though I'm guessing the latter. The Nativity Fast is emphasized as a time of penitential preparation, hence the traditional abstaining from dairy and meat throughout the season. Whereas in the West, Advent, while a time of spiritual preparation, has more of a joyful hope and expectation focus, both in decor with the wreath, candles, and nativity sets minus baby Jesus, but also in the responses and antiphons throughout the liturgy. I find this all so super interesting!

But in that vein, although I'm VERY MUCH enjoying everything that I'm learning about the full Catholic experience, both East and West, I'm still quite attached to my Latin rite experience of Advent, so in my house we have two wreaths:

Last weekend was the First Sunday of Advent in the Latin rite, and I am here for it! How has your Advent been going so far, friends? 🤗

Twenty Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Nativity Fast Week 1

Well, it was a bit of an anti-climactic first week of the Nativity Fast for our household, in that a snowstorm hit our area, and the bishop dispensed us all from our Sunday obligation as a result. 😬 In my immediate area, we didn't get as much snow as others, but we had high winds with blowing and drifting snow, making driving a touch hazardous. We were still under a travel advisory Sunday morning (and actually, our Latin rite parish cancelled all of the weekend masses, because the priest couldn't get out of his driveway to make his way over) and thus no liturgy for our household this past weekend. This also meant that we missed the parish Christmas Bazaar, which was a great disappointment. 

However, I'm eagerly learning as much as I can about this preparation time for the feast of the Nativity in the East. We lit our beautiful new Eastern style Advent wreath for the first time, and since I'm flying blind over here, what you see in the photo is what I came up with. 😂 The number of Sundays between November 15th and Christmas varies from year to year at either five or six, and this year we have five. I figure when that happens, we can light the first candle at the start of the Fast on the 15th, and then light the other five on the Sundays, so that's what did this year. Thus, why we already have two candles aglow. And Monday was the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple, so I lit her blue candle since it was the vigil of that Great Feast! And speaking of the feast day, here is the icon:

I now have this full set of icons of the Twelve Great Feasts, so we'll be breaking these out together throughout the year as the feast days come round. The next one is the Nativity!

This coming Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent in the Latin Rite, and I have to admit I'm feeling a little nostalgic for that tradition I've loved my entire life. But this has all been such a beautiful time of reawakening and learning in my faith, and I'm savoring every minute. Treasuring things from both traditions is so, so rich. We'll continue on this journey and see where it takes us at the end of the Eastern liturgical year!

How are your Advent preparation plans going? 😎

Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost, and the start of the Nativity Fast

Hello all! Happy...Advent? It's super interesting living between two different traditions with regards to liturgical seasons, let me tell you. 😂 Advent is a Western Church tradition (both Roman Catholic and Western rite Orthodox) but the East has the Nativity Fast, which begins 40 days prior to Christmas, meaning that it lands on November 15th every single year. So in our Western perspective on things, we refer to this as the Eastern Advent, as it were. 

We attended Divine Liturgy this past weekend like usual, and there was no mention of the upcoming change in liturgical season, although it is noted on the monthly bulletin. I'll be looking forward to seeing what changes, if any, are present in the sanctury this coming weekend, the first Sunday of the Fast. I'm going to be honest and admit that I'm not yet brave enough to research and implement the recommended dietary restrictions. Baby steps for this Latin rite gal. 😂

Although the Byzantine rite does not have Advent in the way that we are used to, there is an acknowledgement of the popularity of the Western style devotions in this regard. I purchased the wreath you see above from Legacy Icons, an Orthodox company that I love. It came with this adorable daily devotional:

...and it describes an Eastern take on the Advent wreath thusly (I'm summarizing):

The Orthodox/Byzantine rite has no liturgical season exactly corresponding to Advent in the West. That does not mean that there is no preparation in the Eastern tradition for Christ's Nativity. In the East, the Nativity Fast begins on November 15th, forty days before December 25th. While there is no weekly "theme" on pre-Nativity Sundays, the season is marked for the penitential singing of "Alleluia" at Matins (Morning Prayer) and other features. As time goes on, more and more Nativity-related hymnody is added to the services. The second Sunday before the Nativity is dedicated to the Ancestors of Christ, and the Sunday before the Nativity is dedicated to the Forefeast, which begins in earnest on December 20th. The Advent season was originally tied to the Epiphany (in the East, the feast of Theophany, on January 6th), with the Birth of Christ being a lesser feast. In the Orthodox West, Advent was first established in 380 as a three-week preparation for Epiphany. Inspired by the development of Lent, by 581 Christians in Western Europe began the Advent fast on Matinmas (November 11th). In other places a period of five or six Sundays was established. After the schism, this was reduced and standardized throughout the West to four Sundays.

The Advent wreath originated among German Lutherans in the sixteenth century. Over time, it became a staple of Advent devotion throughout Western Christiantity, both Protestant and Roman Catholic. While the Advent wreath devotion has no connection to Orthodox/Byzantine rite Christianity, it is deeply ingrained in Western culture. The Eastern forty day Advent season can fall over the course of five or six Sundays, so the focus is on daily rather than weekly devotions (scripture readings, prayers and feast days). It's a private devotion devised to count down to the Nativity. The candles are colored according to the traditional colors of the liturgical season: red for the Nativity Fast, and one blue candle for the Entry of the Theotokos (one of the 12 Great Feasts, and that actually is coming up quite soon!). 

I'm quite excited for this coming Sunday! The Christmas Bazaar is also scheduled for this weekend, but we're getting a bit of a snowstorm in this area over the course of the entire weekend, so I'm not entirely sure what will happen with events such as this. I'll keep you posted!

Quiet Advent joy, and some blog re-freshening for the New Year...

 

Happy 3rd Week of Advent everyone! (I know my photo is outdated, but I forgot to take one this week. :-0)  How is your Advent going?! Mine is going quietly well. We're busily Christmas shopping and prepping our holiday menu over here. Work is nice and quiet, both kids are doing great, and we're all looking forward to spending time with friends and family this year. The O Antiphons start today, and I'm so excited to bust out my breviary later to have some prayer time! I haven't kept up with morning and evening prayer as much as I would have liked, but I have prayed them on Sundays, plus I have kept up with the daily devotional I chose for this year. 

Over my holiday staycation, I'm also planning some lovely crafting time, lots of couch time with Barney curled up watching holiday baking shows while sipping coffee, and preparing for some upcoming dance shows! I'm very, very excited about all of this. :) Speaking of Barney, he is the focus of my December piece for Catholic Mom. ;-)

I've also been doing a bit of planning with regards to this blog. I've been finding myself forgetting about it some weeks, in the fray of teaching and parenthood, and contemplated whether that meant that the time had come for me to cease blogging. But I ultimately decided that although daily (or currently, weekly) posts are not necessarily in the cards for me at this point in time, I want this blog to continue on. 

I think what I'd like to do is plan some series in the new year, which is the type of thing that excites and inspires my creativity the most. It also keeps me accountable to not only posting with regularity, but to the spiritual goals we are trying to achieve together, a win/win! So I'm thinking: 

• New Year's Resolutions and Winter Ordinary Time.
• Lent. Book club perhaps?
• Summer with the Saints.
• Liturgy of the Hours. That could work for Lent, or perhaps Summer Ordinary Time. 😀

And in addition to that, I'll post when I feel inspired to share something, which is how I think blogging works best for both author and reader. Would you agree?

What are you looking for in a blog in this post-blogosphere universe? I still think blogs have their place for avid readers, but the landscape has definitely changed. Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Thanksgiving, Advent 2021 begins, and lots of puppy snuggles...

 Hello everyone, and happy Advent 2021! I always LOVE and look forward to this season and a fresh start to our liturgical year, and this year, I have a brand new Advent wreath and candles! 🙌

Wreath is from Vermont Christmas Company

Our old one was porcelain, and various nativity scene members had lost limbs over time, so I thought the time was nigh to procure a new one. I did keep the centerpiece with the white candle for Christmas day from that set though, I always loved that, and don't see it in most Advent wreaths!

Besides decorating for Advent, we spent a lot of time just hanging out together and having fun cozy time over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. 🥰

Matching family and doggie jammies are from Muk Luks :)

Because who doesn't want to match their dog, am I right? :-0 Of course, I also did a little Black Friday shopping, one of my favorite pasttimes. ;-) And look what just came from Sock Religious!

3 Wisemen socks

I also have nativity socks and liturgical year black dress socks on the way. 😎 Definitely check out their seasonal offerings, such fun! And new cozy socks were especially helpful this week, when I was laid up for a few days:

Lots of knitting, Barney snuggling, and binge watching of Holiday Baking Championship on The Food Network. 😂 It was all quite delightful. 

How is your Advent starting out, everyone? So far, I'm keeping up with devotional reading and absolutely loving it!

Pre-Advent preparation and anticipation...

 

ooo, it's getting to be late November, friends, and that means that Advent is imminent. :-0 I posted last week about the new Advent devotional book I'm using this year, and I.Am.In.Love. 😍 It's based on an Eastern model of a 40 day fast leading up to Advent, so the readings begin on November 15th. The very first reading is about the history of his tradition in the East, and from that moment on, I was captivated. This little book is so delightful, detailing the rhythms of life in a monastery throughout autumn leading up to Advent and beyond, and the vibe it gives is so incredibly peaceful and soothing. I highly recommend it! I purchased the print copy, but you could easily download this instantly to view on your Kindle or Kindle app on a device of your choice!

In other fun Advent prep news, sign up today for Shauna'h's amazing free Advent prep workshop! The live workshop is tomorrow, November 20th, but there are also ongoing tools included, like a digital calendar and weekly planning emails. You can also sign up for her email list to assure you don't miss any of the details of any of her projects focused on the liturgical year. 😎

For my part, I'm busily searching for a new Advent wreath, and contemplating an order for seasonal incense and icons for our special Advent prayer space. 😁 The devotional really has me inspired on an Eastern theme!

How are your Advent plans coming along? I would love to hear about them in the comments! I will be on Thansgiving break next week, but I'll be back with you the first week of December for an Advent week 1 recap!

A Monastery Journey to Christmas...

 

Happy Friday everyone! I'm having such a lovely November, and hope that you all are, too. 😊 The intense weeks of my teaching semester are over, and I'm into Happily Anticipating The Holidays Mode. :-0 Even though I enjoy teaching, it's always a relief to get to this point of the semester. It's hard to really focus on other things with my daily schedule that tied up, and it's nice to have more of a balance back. I've been enjoying time with family, more crafting time, and preparing for upcoming dance events! How is your November going so far?

This week, my monthly piece went up on Catholic Mom, and this month I chose to discuss planning for upcoming Advent devotions and traditions. Someone left a comment recommending the Advent devotional that they use year after year, and it got me so jazzed, I immediately ordered a copy for myself! This is A Monastery Journey to Christmas, and check out this description:

Based on the ancient Christian tradition of meditating throughout the 40 days before and after Christmas, this small monastic book follows the rhythm of the Advent and Christmas journey as it takes place in a particular monastery, a place as small and tiny as Bethlehem itself. This book offers a meditation based in a liturgical, biblical, traditional, or literary text for every day from November 15th to January 13th and then February 1st and 2nd.

Best-selling author Br. Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette will help you fill Christmas with moments of quiet prayer. Experience a deepening faith while awaiting in joyful expectation for the Savior's coming.

It starts November 15th! 🙌 This is apparently an Eastern custom, and if anybody has the full scoop on the background of this tradition I would love to learn about it! But I love the focus on monastic living tied into the Advent theme, and I'm soooo excited to use this this year! I couldn't order it fast enough, the Amazon Prime truck delivered it just a few days later. 😁 It's also available for a few dollars cheaper as a Kindle download for anybody that is hankering to start with me on Monday!

Do you have your Advent devotional for 2021 all picked out and ready to go? I'd love to hear about which one you're using in the comments!

4th Week of Advent: Baking and dancing towards Christmas...

Hello everyone, and I hope that your Advent is wrapping up beautifully, just as mine is. 😊 I have allllll of my wrapping still to do, but otherwise am in good shape. I made cookies this week, I should have taken pictures for photographic evidence, ha! Because I am not the best baker, but these turned out well. Most of them have already been consumed by children living in my house. ;-) We made Peanut Butter Blossoms and Italian Chocolate Balls (we put chocolate chips in instead of walnuts, though!).

We were also excited to light the final candle in our Advent wreath:

I wasn't feeling well on Sunday morning after a terrible night of sleep, so we watched the 8 am mass that my parish had streamed for the 4th Sunday of Advent. I have us reserved for the 10 am mass on Christmas day, so hopefully that all goes without a hitch!

Prior to the bad night of sleep though, I had my online Christmas themed dance show, and that went great! Picture me dancing in a bright red gown in the middle of our living room, which was cleared of all easily movable furniture, a camera mounted on a ladder, and my family marooned in their bedrooms. 😂 As the organizer wrote to us later, she appreciated our hard work, especially because she knows it isn't easy prepping a piece, setting up your own "stage," and being your own grip and director. There's certainly an unnatural element to performing solely online, with the lack of dedicated performance space and audience/performer energy exchange, but we're all getting a bit more used to it in the dance community, and making the best of it for the time being. I've finally gotten to a place wherein I've accepted that this is the way it is for the time being, and I might as well find the joy and new opportunities that these online shows present until we can go back to in-person shows. I'm lining up some opportunities for the first part of the new year, and really looking forward to working on some new pieces. I will say that performing online means that I have become more choreographed and artistic in my approach to what I present in dance, since there is no crowd energy to feed off of for improvising. It's different for me, and challenging in the best way possible, so I'm seeing that as a positive!

In terms of holiday/wintertime crafting, I've been a busy bee. I promised an update on the Advent gnome, and so here is my in-progress Gnutmeg!

The stitch marker is holding the spot for a belt buckle. The final clue is out today, and I can see that we will be assembling some of the other pieces we knit (nose and beard, various icords for limbs, I'm assuming) onto the gnome, and also adding some final surprises! I'll post a photo after the holidays when I have him all finished. 

I also worked a bit more on Frog:

Creepy, I know, with the disembodied eyeballs. 😂 Terrifyingly, the pattern calls for you to *cut out holes for the eyes* and then stitch them on in a way to create eyelids. I have the spot marked out with stitch markers, but have been too chicken so far to proceed. I'm picturing unraveled green yarn all over my couch, and me in tears guzzling wine off to the side. Someone may have to come hold me afterward. 🤣 I'll post an update after the new year!

Speaking of, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and happy New Year! I'll be posting again the week following New Years Day, and using the time to recharge and think of creative new things we can chat and pray about in 2021! 

*virtual group hug*

Third Week of Advent: Preparation and Peace

Happy Friday everyone, and happy Third Week of Advent! I'm always excited to light the pink candle:

...AND our parish is still open, so we were able to attend our favorite 11 am Sunday mass! They announced this week that Christmas masses would be by reservation (to assure that the capacity restrictions won't be a factor) so I called and made ours for Christmas day at 10 am, also our favorite mass for that occasion. I know Christmas eve is a favorite for many, but there is a serenity on Christmas morning that has really taken hold of my heart in recent years. Plus, there is way less demand for attendance at that one, so it's always quiet and peaceful. :-)

Our Advent calendars continue to thrive! Here is our magnetic one, we're progressing right now through animals, shepherds and stars:

The Holy Family, of course, is reserved for the spots of honor. ;-)

Soooo, I am very much not a huge fan of the Elf on the Shelf tradition (it's just odd to me, but to be fair, I suppose one could say that about any number of holiday traditions), but Anne LOVES IT and has talked nonstop about the elf they have in her classroom at school. Mike lives for this kind of stuff, so he bought an elf, and he and Anne have been guiding this thing around our house for the past few weeks. Apparently, elves "just appear after Thanksgiving", rather than being bought at Target, I almost screwed that one up. 🤷🤣 At any rate, Felix the elf has become a member of the family, and he even helped me photograph my Christmas doily this week to submit in a class in my online crafting community:

Weird, but true

In other crafting news, I'm making my nephew a frog:

Pattern is Frog and Toad from From and Cast

Looks like a green blob right now, but I promise, it'll be a frog. :-0 He's green, so kinda Christmassy? Won't be able to say that about the accompanying toad, we'll save him for New Years. ;-) I'll make it my goal to get caught up on my Advent gnome this weekend, and photograph him for next week's post!

Speaking of New Years, there's obviously no belly dancing this year owing to all of the restaurants being closed for indoor dining right now (amongst other factors), but I'm in an online Christmas themed show this weekend that I'm *really* looking forward to! After that is done on Saturday evening, I'm excited to relax into the holiday season with some cookie baking and wrapping the next day with the kids. 😍

How was your Third Week of Advent? Look for next week's post a bit early, given how the holiday will fall in the week, I'm thinking Wednesday!

Second Week of Advent: Re-developing a winter routine, and settling into serenity

Hello all, and I hope that your Second Week of Advent is going well! We're hanging in over here, and looking forward to some cozy hygge time coming up as we move into the coldest part of winter. This week, we lit the second candle on our Advent wreath:

...AND we were able to go to mass in-person, which was delightful! Our parish is doing some fundraising for repairs to the stained glass windows, so I purchased a CD of our magnificent music minister singing hymns that we enjoyed on the drive home. The kids have also been keeping up with our variety of Advent calendars, and everyone is quietly having a good time with those. 

That morning also heralded the feast of St. Nicholas, and as always my kids left their shoes by the hearth, and were rewarded were some chocolate gold coins and boos. 😎

We did not practice this tradition when I was growing up, but as a parent I have always been on the lookout for ways to draw Church traditions into our home life in ways that would capture my kids' imagination and help them to carry their own faith into adulthood. I have really enjoyed this one, and I know that they do, too.

Sunday was a busy day, as it was also pickup day for the poinsettia and wreath fundraiser at Anne's school. The red ones this year are particularly spectacular!

We seem to have settled into a happy Advent routine, and I'm pleased about that. In terms of other  winter things, we're trying to make things as joyful as we can. The kids are both back in school after being on remote learning for a week, and things are going great. They both are content and happy. 

I've also been crafting, and finished a Christmas doily for a gift this week!

Pattern is Eversong

I just love the color. And...

*drum roll*

I FINALLY finished Mike's cabled cardigan that I've been working on for like 10 years. 😂

Isn't he so cute?!

It's a success! He loves it, and I'm SO GLAD to have that out of my work-in-progress basket!

I'm also working on a few dance projects, including preparing for an online show next weekend, and that all has given me a much needed sense of purpose and nervous excitement! These are all good things, and right now, we need to focus on the good, for sure.

How has your Second Week of Advent been going? I would love to hear about it in the comments!

First week of Advent: Acceptance, traditions, and Hallmark Christmas movies...

 Happy Friday everyone, and I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week (where applicable ;-)). We truly did; it was quiet, but lovely. And I did enjoy my Black Friday of online shopping and movie watching from my couch, that's pretty much what I do every year anyway, hee hee!

This month, I thought we would quite naturally focus on Advent each week, and we're now nearly to the end of the first week of this liturgical season. My family put up our Christmas tree last weekend, decorated the house, and of course got out our pleaothra of Advent activities. Advent week 1 candle lighting was a GO!

Everybody is ready for some fun, we did have to glue on an angel wing this year, something untoward happened in the box during the off season :0

Action!

I was glad to have a home Advent wreath more than usual this year, since once again, our parish did not offer mass this past weekend. :( Father did announce that we will have an in-person option for the remainder of Advent, so I can't wait to go this weekend! But back to Advent Week 1. The kids were a bit unenthusiastic about my Advent joy, but I gathered them round to light the candle (Anne did perk up a bit to wield the candle lighter thingy), and we read the reading and short prayer from Lisa Hendey's book, which is excellent:

We also have a multitude of Advent calendars, from chocolate to magnets to Playmobil Back to the Future. I've been exerting quite a bit of energy rallying the troops, because my kids don't seem as into it this year, which makes me sad. They are now 15 and 9, I suppose it isn't a huge surprise, but they've always loved Advent traditions. I do think this year has taken a toll in this regard, we're all having to try harder to do things that we've always loved, it's the underlying depression and anxiety of our current situation taking hold, I believe. So I just pressed on, hoping that they'll come round as the weeks go on, and I do see some Advent calendar activity here as the week draws to a close, which makes me happy.

Overall, I think that I've come to a sense of acceptance and resignation that for the time being, our lives are different than usual, and instead of wallowing in the mourning and despair, I can try to find ways to still make things fun and bright. So I really put aside any impatience I would normally feel when we were decorating the tree and the kids inevitably started arguing or carelessly broke an ornament, and just treasured the experience and joy of it, because the children *truly* love this season and are building memories from these types of family moments. I made hot cocoa for them, and had Henry select a holiday playlist for us to listen to as we decorated. From things that both have said to me, I know that they remember these experiences fondly, and I want to give them both as special a Christmas this year as possible.

I'm also slowly coming to terms with the fact that this may be our last Christmas with a true Santa experience. Anne is 9, and still wholeheartedly loves and believes in this tradition (by this age, Henry did not) and so I'm trying to just enjoy every moment instead of getting melancholy about eventually losing this unique magic. We never know what is in store for us, and so why fret about next year when next year isn't even guaranteed? It really still is magical with her, and I want to treasure every single second. 

The other thing that has been making me smile this Advent season is Hallmark Channel Christmas movies. Each weekend, I record the new ones that catch my eye (we have both Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) and then watch them when I have free moments during the week. I use their app to keep track of which ones I want to catch, and check them off after viewing. This type of organization really appeals to my innate librarian qualities, and the whole experience makes me so happy. 😍 The Hallmark Channel offerings are lighter, sometimes funny, just true romcom. On Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, the themes are more serious and heartwarming, and I kid you not, I have cried during a few of them. I dare you to hold it in when a parent finalizes the adoption of their beloved child on Christmas eve! Good stuff, truly. 

That was my First Week of Advent, and hoping for continued peace as we move into the second. How about you? 🤗

Tea Time for Advent 2017 - Episode 2!

Virtual high five everybody! I'm back for a second week in our Advent Tea Time series!

Today in What's Happening, I talk about Christmas gift buying progress (*snort* it's not going all that well), and lots of dance news. We review the Blessed is She Advent Journal, before moving into our book club chat for chapter 2 of The Christmas Quilt! I thought this chapter was much more emotional than chapter 1.





**To subscribe to the audio version of Tea Time with Tiffany, just search for it in iTunes or use this link to subscribe via Feedburner in your podcatcher of choice. Intro music is "Feelin' Good" from http://www.purple-planet.com

Items mentioned in this episode:

• Blessed is She Advent Journal (in digital download form).
• The Christmas Quilt (our Advent 2017 book club selection).
• Book Club schedule (next week we are reading Chapter 3, which is a bit longer than the previous chapters).
• The Quilter's Homecoming (Elm Creek Quilts Book 10, this is the installment with Elizabeth's story after she moves to California with her new husband).

Anne at The Nutcracker: 

How is your Advent going, dear ones?! Christmas shopping? Please do share thoughts on Chapter 2 of The Christmas Quilt, and I'll have the post up in the Facebook group as well momentarily!

Anticipating Joy: 4th Week of Advent....

Hi all. It is indeed a good day to anticipate joy. ;-) This is what my overnight sounded like:

2 am: *dramatic sneeze*

2:02 am: *trip to bathroom*

2:03 am: *loud sneeze*

2:04 am: *coughing attack*

2:05 am: *back to bed*

2:06 am: *toss*

2:07 am: *turn*

2:08:30: *toss turn*

2:09 am: *trip to bathroom for water*

2:10 am: *rustling of warmer clothes being pulled on in bedroom*

2:11 am: *back to bed*

2:11:30: *coughing attack*

2:12 am: *light blares on*

To be clear, this was not me. It was my adorable, lovable husband. Who I am ever so glad packed up his pillow and went downstairs to cough for the rest of the night. :0 I felt bad for him, but it was rough going with all of the sickness symptoms. He was down there for about 5 minutes when we hear:

"Dad. COULD YOU COME IN HERE?!" The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, with that one and nighttime wakings.

#longsufferingsigh

At any rate, I'm alive, here, and ready to talk about our prompt for the 4th Sunday of Advent.

*beatific beam*

Paul reminds us we are called to be holy. What am I doing this Advent to draw closer to God and others?

My response to this is that I have tried to be more aware of my faith in the midst of daily distractions, particularly this past week. In the 'keeping it real' category is the fact that this Advent hasn't felt as special and set aside to me as it usually does. I've been getting a lot out of these weekly posts and the journaling prompts, but that's pretty much it. I have forgotten to light the Advent candles every single week except this past Sunday (and technically Henry lit them), and the kids have been taking the reigns with the Advent calendars. I haven't been consistent with my Advent devotional reading, and I didn't make it to the Advent Penance Service.

#epicfail

That being said, for the past week or so it has occurred to me how much my faith means to me. Things had felt a bit dry, which led to a sense of complacency. When I started thinking about making more of a structured effort to get to confession and pick back up Advent traditions, that sense of peace and solace washed over me again. I'm not completely back on track, but I feel connected again. I think that over the Christmas season all will be well again. I feel a lot better about everything. And Mass this Advent has been WONDERFUL, especially with Henry in his new role as altar server. *beams*

What are your thoughts on the prompt this week?

Anticipating Joy: 3rd Week of Advent...

Happy Wednesday everyone! I woke up this morning feeling decidedly less than 100% (never a good thing when your first thought as you wake is why your throat feels so weird :-/), AND we are under a lake effect snow advisory here in WNY starting at 1 pm EST. I'm thinking that I'm going to be leaving work early so that I don't have to drive home in the worst of it. And I also have to order a pair of snow boots. :-( My cute dress boots aren't going to cut it for all purposes this winter, that's for sure.

At any rate, I'm feeling slightly diminished, but in good spirits this Advent weekday in our third week. I enjoyed Mass very much this week, with the rose vestments on full display, and the kids bringing up their little Jesus figurines for a special Gaudete Sunday blessing. Speaking of, I just ordered each of them expansions for their nativity sets: the 3 Kings for Anne, and a Bethlehem Village Blacksmith Shop For Henry. Henry has quite a developed little town in his room each year during Advent and Christmas. :)

Henry's nativity scene

Expanding Bethlehem Village

All right, so what is our prompt for the week?

Isaiah encourages us to be strong and fear not when God comes. What weaknesses and fears block my acceptance of God in my life?

Well, for me, this is an easy one to answer: fear of change and the unknown. This has been a lifelong issue for me, and all of these years later, it is still omnipresent. The sweeping reading this week from Isaiah reminds me that is something that I need to continue to work on:

"Courage! Do not be afraid. Look, your God is coming, vengeance is coming, the retribution of God; he is coming to save you."

Isaiah 35: 4.

Forge on I must, and my very favorite intercessor for this intention is St. John Paul II. In fact, he may be one of my favorite saints of all time. He certainly faced a number of challenges in his life, and yet he always held to his motto of "Be not afraid." Sometimes we do not know what is coming, but we must hold on to the hope that God will see us through, no matter what it is. Letting go of that fear will lead to peace. I know this, but it sure is difficult to implement! I'm thinking that perhaps another attempt at reading his biography would be a worthwhile endeavor for Lent.

What are your thoughts this 3rd week of Advent, dear readers? What fears are holding you back on acceptance of God in YOUR life?

Tea Time with Tiffany #76 - Advent tranquility & journaling...

Happy Thursday all! And happy feast of the Immaculate Conception! Thank you for joining me for another installment of:

This week I talk all things Advent and Christmas shopping, and we chat a bit about holy days of obligation. Join me!





**To subscribe to the audio version of Tea Time with Tiffany, just search for it in iTunes or use this link to subscribe via Feedburner in your podcatcher of choice. Intro music is "Tea Ceremony" from PlayonLoop.com

Items mentioned in this episode:

• Living with Christ Prayer Journal 2017
• Anticipating Joy series
• Goodness and Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas
• Holiday "tornadoing" post
• Nutcracker Nation: How an Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World

What are you up to this Advent? How are your Christmas preparations going? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

Anticipating Joy: 2nd Week of Advent...

Happy 2nd week of Advent everyone! I am feeling particularly joyful this week, and I think it's because Christmas is just a little bit closer. Or maybe it's because I finished my grading for the semester yesterday.

*trumpets blare!*

Never, in all of my years of academia, both as a student and librarian, have I EVER been happier for a semester to come to a close. Good grief!

At any rate, here we are nearing the halfway point of Advent. And I have my handy dandy journal prompt for us to delve into this week. Ready? Get your tea.

*pours*

John encourages us to change our lives to prepare for Jesus's coming. What changes do I need to make this Advent?

This week's gospel was the dramatic retelling of how wacky St. John the Baptist was living in the desert by himself, wearing some sort of camel hair garment (ouch! could you imagine sitting down in that thing?! :0) and eating locusts and wild honey. Confident and self-assured in his own eccentricity, John the Baptist was. ;-) And his message is quite bold:


"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"

 "Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

Matthew 3:1-12

The message from these passages is clear to me: John does not want us to be passive Christians in our relationship with Christ, and in our example to others. We need to LIVE the Christian message. Although John did not shy away from shouting out provocative messages, I do not think he is telling us that we have to be in anyone's face loudly reciting the Gospel message. He wants us to be bold in our proclamation by example.

So what does this mean for my life? I am a Nervous Nelly. I should be constantly at peace with my faith and my Lord, and yet am I? I am not. :0 I am always frittering about to and fro, anxious about this thing and that. And why, and for what? This is a useless exercise, and no amount of self-awareness on this issue has ever effected a long term difference. But Advent and Lent always offer us a fresh start in terms of self-examination and spiritual goal setting. This week, I am going to try and take John's advice. I am going to adopt peace as my aspirational Advent goal, living that out within my own little universe, and passing it on to others where I can.

That is the change that I need to make this Advent. What is your Advent goal this week? What small thing can you do to change your life this Advent? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

Adventures in the arts this 2nd week of Advent...

Happy feast of St. Nicholas everyone! :) I am coming off of a SUPER packed weekend with the kids, journeying to various productions in the performing arts. I just love this time of year. *heart*

Henry, in particular, had a REALLY big weekend. He was cast in a kids speaking role for our local community theater's production of "Get Smart," which had its opening weekend this past Friday. AND he had his very first ever experience as an altar server at our parish's 5 pm vigil Mass for the 2nd Sunday of Advent!

Henry in character ;-)

 

 

I was really worried about the play, because Henry is a more reserved child. On top of that, he has struggled with a speech disfluency (commonly known as a stutter) for a number of years now, and so this was a big undertaking for him. That usually is only an issue (when it even is an issue, which isn't all the time) in conversational speech, so I was cautiously optimistic for reciting memorized lines. And indeed, he did GREAT. We are all very proud of Henry. Going to all of the rehearsals, memorizing lines, helping out with scene changes, performing his role...that's a lot for an 11 year old. Very impressive!

And right before the Saturday show, he had his inauguration as an altar server. :0 Mike and I were beaming with pride as Henry made his way down the aisle as a candle bearer in the opening processional. He was shepherded carefully by a more experienced server, and he performed all of his duties perfectly. In a totally surprise move, we were asked by one of the ushers to bring up the gifts during the Mass, so the whole thing was just one big warm and fuzzy. Henry told me that he loved serving at the Mass and that it made the time fly by. ;-) I'm looking forward to seeing him thrive in this role throughout the year.

On Sunday, while Henry was performing at his matinee, Anne and I made our annual pilgrimage to see "The Nutcracker."

All dressed up and ready to go selfie :-)

Anne seemed much more into the story this year, and I REALLY enjoyed sharing it with her. We also did a bit of Nutcracker-related shopping, and to the surprise of absolutely no one, spent FAR too much on glittery wooden nutcracker dolls and marzipan Christmas tree ornaments. You only get to do it once a year, right? ;-)

Anne posing with creepy animatronic reindeer during the shopping portion of our excursion

"The Nutcracker" is very special to me. We go every year, and it is a tradition that I savor. It is so festive and cheery. I really hope that, even when they get older, I can drag a child/grandchild to it for the rest of my life. They owe me this. :0

After our busy weekend, the kids happily set their shoes out by the hearth last night, and sure enough, St. Nicholas came for an overnight visit!

He always leaves chocolate coins, books, and saint dolls. ;-) This year, Anne received St. Teresa of Calcutta, and Henry got St. Dominic Savio. Anne packed up both St. Teresa and Pete the Cat and toted both to school with her to show her teacher.  So precious.

How was YOUR 2nd Sunday of Advent, dear reader? I would love to hear from you. *beams*