Mondays Come Too Fast...

I honestly believe that I ask myself 'how is it Monday already' every single week. We like to stay busy constantly and even steal away sometimes and I think that keeping busy 24-7 is what makes time fly by too quickly. My fit bit logged in so many steps each day this weekend, I honestly thought that I was on a Disney vacation! Do you know how many miles you log on those trips?! One thing I ALWAYS do when we steal away is bring a bag of school work and books, the kids moan and groan about it, but late at night when we are in the room, they are often found snuggling up in bed with a book and reading or playing some type of game. TV is a luxury that sometimes gets turned on the minute we get into a room, but they love going back to the books after the initial excitement!

Joann Fabrics has these adorable sleighs made of wood that your children can paint and they are the PERFECT size for your elf pet and Elf on the shelf along with some friends!!

St. Nicholas Day came and as we read all about him, the kids had fun exploring their new goodies! Books and candy and games along with a few other goodies!

Our elf has been having a war with the nut crackers every year since he arrived and this time they caught him coming back!! He is in popcorn jail, but it worked out just right as he brought along a family movie and a bag of popcorn!!!

Our book of the day is Courduroy's Christmas Surprise by Lisa McCue. I have been a Courduroy fan since I was a little girl and am always eager to share a favorite story with my kids. My husband knows of him, but he was never a fan, I think it's great that as an adult he is discovering an old friend and seeing him in a different way!

The silly elf took our coloring book that ST. Nick brought and he started coloring the pages we left blank!!

Enjoy every minute my friends, it goes far too quickly!

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Sunday School Post #11

*warning: picture heavy post*

Happy Second Sunday of Advent! How is advent treating you? I cannot believe how quickly the week went by. I truly feel as though we are rushing through too much too quickly!! Today my youngest makes his first Reconciliation this morning, please pray for him.

As I mentioned earlier in the week, we get 1 new book a day to countdown to Christmas, READ about it HERE! Fitting for today was our Saint Nicholas coloring book that is also a storybook! It was fun reading through each page as the kids took turns coloring and listening.

These 6 books are our daily advent books this year and we are using them together as a family in different way. We absolutely love hands on things where we are not just reading but living out our holiday season. (click each title for more information on each book)

1. Daybreaks Daily Reflections

2. Advent Family Prayers

3. Live Advent at Home

4. Coloring Book About Advent

5. Every Day of Advent and Christmas

6. Advent All Along the Way

Our Jesse Tree is doing well, the children alternate things to do with the tree each day. One child will pick the ornament of the day and read the bible verse. Child #2 will color the ornament as we read the context from the bible and then child #3 will hang it on our Jesse tree! I discussed our ornaments in particular HERE for more information.

Our Advent Calendar had different verses on each day and each door we open holds surprises from candy to crosses and rosaries to random other goodies. These just remain on the ring as opposed to try and fold them up into the calendar, that way we can keep them on a yearly basis.

Our Advent Calendar and ring of readings!

As I get my final child through Reconciliation and First Communion nostalgia begins to hit me. I cannot believe how quickly he has grown up and how I feel like I am missing so much and yet I see them all day and every day...how is it possible to feel that way? Well here are the 5 books we used to prepare for Reconciliation, as well as a binder of activities I would print from throughout the internet. We worked on everything together and had so much fun doing it. We used a Brother Frances DVD as well and he is more than ready to go! We have a different round of books for First Communion prep and I will share those as well when the time comes. Even though a couple of these are story books, we would still read them daily to help him retain the information. We also practiced going into the confessional (minus the sins) and then he took turns reciting his prayers to everyone he would encounter from our family, to ensure he was able to speak to not just me but to anyone! What fun we have had preparing for such an important sacrament!

We are working on our Rosary skills once again this month and our Rosary box is quite full of fun stuff! I talked about our color as your pray Rosary Page HERE. We also have a sheet of Prayers of the Rosary and laminated oversized pages with the mysteries of the Rosary on them. Both of those sheets we found online and just printed them out. A book on how kids can pray the rosary as well as a ring with the mysteries on the rosary on it that has the description of each mystery on the back. The pill bottles each contain 2 rosaries and are so cute!! To feel better, pray 1 rosary a day!

A few smaller books and pamphlets round out our rosary box and offer us a variety when we pray our rosary. This way the prayers are not always the same and the kids learn different things as we go along. We also use a fabulous app every now and then called The Rosario. It has the songs as well as the rosary itself all read aloud. This is good to listen to when I am driving and the kids just want to listen and not read.

I only wish our coloring book would fit in the box, because this coloring book has been colored in by all 3 kids at different stages in their life. It is full and worn but I love it and we love to thumb through it for basic information.

How is it that I save the oddest things and yet always have a need for them? This brown bag is full of toilet tubes and paper towel tubes of all sizes.We ended up needing them for our Little Flowers Catholic Girl Club of Rockford this past week. The girls each made a 16 piece nativity set and they came out so beautiful!

This is our completed Nativity out of toilet tubes! I love how it turned out! We thank Catholic Icing for the printable!

 

These are the last pieces we will be doing with the toilet paper tubes. I printed them out from a Google Search and then cut each one out. Each child will paint their tube any color they would like and as they dry the Angels will be colored and then glued onto the tube. Hmm...I wonder which Angel Gabriel will pick?! Each child will then research each Angel and give me 5 facts about each one. I love when they can learn through hands on activities! I will be sure to share the finished project in the future!!

Enjoy every minute my friends!

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Tis the Season for Giving!

The end of the week should always be seen with excitement of what is to come, but this week has been full of a lot of testing and boring work and it had started to drag! Instead of hitting the books at home, we packed up and headed to the local Dunkin' Donuts to not only do our work but to spread good cheer! We arrived armed with coupons and cash for each child and after settling into the booth we began our work and say quietly so that we could listen to each person order and as they were just about done 1 child would spring up, grab their cash and head to the register to pay for them! Spreading good cheer was not only fun and teaching the kids that giving feels so much better than getting BUT it kept them silent and focused on their work too! Double Win!

This morning our Elf Pet, hot coffee, was found in the Elf Club House that the kids made. It's still not ready, they were waiting for the glue to dry, but they plan on making it into some kind of scene. I love when kids get crafty!

THERE HE IS!!! It took a bit of searching to find Charlie this morning, but that could be because he was up high in our mistletoe ball! What a silly elf sending out kisses to all!

The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuvler was our read for this day. I only wish a book this magical could be read on a day when there was real snow outdoors and not a 40* day that has us outside with only light sweaters on!

Look what we found!!! The perfect sled for elves and their friends. This will be gifted to the elf once the children have painted it and made it 'elf ready'. Head over to Joann Fabrics for this awesome craft that will be sure to have your children working together and brainstorming!

Enjoy every minute my friends!!

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Hello December?!

Thanksgiving came and went in no time at all and before I knew it, we were putting up the tree and welcoming in the month of DECEMBER?!?! I think I reflect on this every year, but I really do feel as though these years are just being swept away so quickly that I will be an empty nester before I know it! I am sorry that my blog goes days and sometimes week without action but life seems to take over. My kids are older now and we are always on the road. We are not so much as crafty now but more explorers. I try to get away from the camera and put it away in general so that I can be IN the moment with my kids. Soon they will be gone and off on their own lives and living with their families and then I will be able to say that I do not have one regret, that I gave them all my time and now it is time for them to do the same with their family. Then it will be time to get to know the newer, older, wiser version of my husband as we explore more of the world together in a different way. Life changes daily and I am trying to take my own advice and not miss one minute!

One tradition that started with our elf and will continue for as long as I have children under my roof, is the 25 books of Christmas. Charlie brings wrapped books that we can share together as a family by the tree with our evening tea and cocoa. Each unwrapped book elicits smiles and cheers as the kids clamor around to read aloud or listen quietly to what is to come. They are usually holiday books for the most part both religious and secular but some other books sometimes sneak their way in too! They are all picture books, because NO ONE can outgrow a picture book and they are just the right length for kids to snuggle up with a parent, no matter how big they get! I will try to post daily about the elf and his antics as well as what book we unwrapped that day as well, otherwise I will catch you up if I can, as I am doing tonight!

Our elf is still up to his crazy ways as he tries to sneak a ride in the car on our way to an Elf adoption event! When the kids got in the car, they noticed new jammies brought just for them from Charlie! He doesn't always bring gifts, but when he does they are always something the kids have been needing.

December 1st brought us The Little Snow Plow by Lora Koehler

This book is absolutely wonderful and even my oldest kids looked over each photo and listened intently.

Our elf was caught scaling our fridge to get into the top where we hide all the candy! At the bottom of his rope was his pet Hot Coffee holding the rope steady!

December 2nd brought us The Very First Christmas by Paul Maier. I was hoping to hold onto this one until it was a little closer to Christmas but it's size made it an easy one to grab. Next year we have to be sure to leave a note for the elf to number the books!! A beautifully illustrated book that helps remind the kids what this season is all about.

Oh Look at who we found here! Charlie the elf was found in the living room reading to all of his friends! It was a good thing that no one had to use the screen porch this day, because we would not have been able to get to the door!!

December 3rd brought us Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney! Oh boy do we love this llama, he has been a family favorite for many years now and we don't see ever letting him go! He is up to his typical antics in this book, but always with a heartwarming close!

Well now look who is in the bathroom!!! Charlie has taken off his sweater and made himself into a toilet paper snowman! His smile tells us that he knows wasting toilet paper is a bit naughty but he just had to do it to make sure the kids are brushing properly and washing their hands!

Enjoy every minute my friends!!

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