Advent Archives

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who is already looking towards Advent! It doesn't happen every year, but this year, I did get the jump on things and plan to be mostly finished with Christmas preparations by the time Advent starts.  Anyway, I thought I'd pull these posts out of the archives and make them easier to find for those of you also getting a jump on things, or for those of you who need a little push to get you going! We have company coming this weekend to celebrate a birthday so don't be surprised if things are quiet for a while but be sure to check out Jessica's wonderful resources for Advent (scroll down to where it says "Advent") for more inspiration!

~Advent Crafts~

Advent Plans and Decorations (2009)
Advent To-Do's:: followed by
Um... about that Advent Calendar and Advent Calendar Fixer Upper (2008)

O Antiphon Craft :: start collecting your Altoid tins! (2009)

Silhouette How-To :: a tutorial

Christ Candle (2009)
O Antiphon Activities (2009)
Martha Who? :: Gingerbread houses (2009)
O Oriens (2009)
No Flame Advent Wreath (2008)
One way to hang an Advent Wreath (2009)
PSA: Advent Wreath (2009)
Snow Day :: not necessarily Advent related (2008)
Jesse Tree Swap (2007)
Advent is here! (2007)

~Feasts of Advent~

Happy St. Nicholas Day (2007)

St. Nicholas of Myra (2009)

St. Ambrose of Milan (2009)

Feast of St. Ambrose (2008)
Feast of St. Ambrose (2007)
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (2009)
Under Her Starry Mantle :: Our Lady of Guadalupe (2008)
Our Lady of Guadalupe (2009)
Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe (2007)
Happy St. Lucy's Day (2008)
A moment :: St. Lucy's Day (2009)
Sunday Ends :: St. Lucy's Bread (2009)
More Monday Inspiration :: a St. Lucy Crown (2007)
My little Lucias (2007)
St. Lucy Day Recap (2007)


~12 Days of Christmas and Candlemas~

Candlemas (2010)
Ideas for the 12 Days of Christmas (2009)

Coffee, Tea and Thee ~ Candlemas (2007)
Candlemas Post Update (2008)
Loveliness of Candlemas (2007)

Candlemas

Morning light

Past thoughts:
The Loveliness of Candlemas 
Coffee, Tea and Thee: Candlemas
Candlemas Centerpiece

Candlemas Post Update

Kira alerted me (thanks!) to the fact that in this Candlemas post, the link to Katherine's post on the saintly table decoration was no longer active so I went ahead and updated the post to include more specific information on how I made last year's Candlemas lantern. I thought I would post it here for anyone who might be interested.
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We borrowed Katherine's amazing idea and made this table centerpiece. I made a line drawing of Simeon's Moment and the turtledoves and then copied them onto a piece of transparent vellum. I also made a copy of each of the original pictures on the vellum and cut them down to fit in the mats.

I used black 5x7 mats and chose to make ours four-sided. My original hope was to do three line drawings colored by each of the children but The Professor really doesn't like to color and I didn't feel like forcing him so we devoted 2 sides to St. Simeon and 2 sides to the doves. The picture in the middle was taken when the shade was half done so you can see the inner workings. A three sided shape like Katherine's probably wouldn't shift as much as this one does but I like having a little more room between the candle and the paper.

Coffee, Tea and Thee - Candlemas

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright;
Come Winter, have another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain;
go wit and come not again.

As we still had some snow flurries scurrying around us after Mass, hot chocolate was the order of the day. We read Angelo and Days of the Blackbird. The children asked to wait for Husband to come home so we had our treats after dinner. I let them use the pretty dishes (I'd call it fine china, but it isn't really)! In fact, it is the china we chose after we were married when we realized that the fancy china we had been talked into registering for was too hard to find. The few pieces that were ordered for us by family and friends never arrived!

Anyway....(back from left-field) I read a very thought provoking post from my dear friend, Red Cardigan, about materialism and it made me remember that the reason we chose the china we have now is because it seemed a better choice for a family. I remember saying to my new husband, "I want china that can be dropped by a child without reducing me to tears thinking of the replacement factor." And yet, here it is 11 years later and I was still saving it for "special occasions". What is it about the label "the good dishes" that screams "don't touch"?

It took me a while, but I finally figured out that an evening sharing treats, stories, smiles and giggles with these precious people is a very special occasion!

I am up for any excuse to buy new cookie cutters! This dove shaped cookie cutter came in a pack that included a duck, a pig, a horse, a cat and a lion. Hmmm....when is St. Jerome's Feast Day?

By the way, I want to say "thank you" to Mary for the book suggestions. I was very moved by David Macauley's Angelo and the children loved the beautiful illustrations. We checked it out from the library but I think we will own a copy before too long. It is too beautiful to not have on the bookshelf permanently.

Loveliness of Candlemas

Simeon's Moment by Ron DiCianni

My grandfather was a wonderful man. He was responsible, funny, a good friend and had an incredibly generous heart. He was a poor farmer in South Texas who knew just how hard the rocks could be, just how dry the soil could get and just how fast the weather could change. Being the oldest child of his youngest child, I didn't know him in his working days. He was just my grandpa who could be as stubborn as the toughest mule and as helpless as the smallest child. He worried about everything. He worried about where we would find more good priests and the future of the Church. He worried about the fashions of the day and just what those crazy kids did for a whole week every spring in a sandpit called Padre Island. He worried about where the next generation of farmers would come from and if they didn't --- where would the food come from.

He could also tell stories that would make you laugh until you cried and gasped for air --- and he knew it! I loved the twinkle that would show up in the corner of his eye and the mischievous grin on his face when he realized that his audience had lost it.

For as long as I can remember, every day, he said,"I won't be around much longer" though everyone predicted that the man who had survived so many dangers (struck by lightning, twice!) and hardships (hurricanes and droughts) would end up outlasting all of us. When I think of St. Simeon I think of my grandpa and can't help but wonder if he did hang on so long to this world and his family just to make sure that everyone turned out OK. He saw most of his 13 grandchildren married and settled and was still alive when his 14th great-grandchild was born (my little Shortcake). He passed from this earth on the Feast of St. Isidore the Farmer and I pray that on that day, in an empty hospital room (he wouldn't have left a captive audience) he was also able to say,"Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace...."


When I think of my grandpa there are so many things to remember; however, two things stand out the most. First, was his incredible devotion to Our Lady and second was that he raised Ringneck doves (also called Collared doves). How could I not think of him on Candlemas when two of his loves coincide so perfectly?

The law dictated that Mary and Joseph offer a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons as their sacrifice. When I try to re-create the scene in my head, I think of the soft coo-coo-roo of the ringneck doves that used to wake me when I visited my grandparent's farm. The smell of the pen, the discarded, downy feathers that were stirred by the slightest breeze. I know that every bird has a unique call, but it is that sound I hear ever so softly.

So, we first went to the RSPB to learn about turtledoves. Be sure to listen to their call. (Sounds similar I think, but you decide.)

Then, we borrowed Katherine's amazing idea and made this table centerpiece. I made a line drawing of Simeon's Moment and the turtledoves and then copied them onto a piece of transparent vellum. I also made a copy of each of the original pictures on the vellum and cut them down to fit in the mats.

I used black 5x7 mats and chose to make ours four-sided. My original hope was to do three line drawings colored by each of the children but The Professor really doesn't like to color and I didn't feel like forcing him so we devoted 2 sides to St. Simeon and 2 sides to the doves. The picture in the middle was taken when the shade was half done so you can see the inner workings. A three sided shape like Katherine's probably wouldn't shift as much as this one does but I like having a little more room between the candle and the paper.

Lastly, I couldn't resist these Audobon Turtle Doves. They have lifelike designs and authentic bird songs! (If we have to have more stuffed animals at least they can be educational.) They are also going to replace two well loved, little pink birds that stopped chirping ages ago!

I hope you have a lovely Candlemas! If you have made it this far, I thank you for sticking it out--- my first attempt at loveliness.