I had a delightful time going through my mother’s stash of patterns and fabric — so lovely and inspiring. I did find about 10 different kinds of fabric and a few patterns that I bought many, many years ago that I’ve brought home to mix in my current stash.

And it was fun, too, to see my mother’s vision, and what she enjoys. We have similar taste, and it was neat to hear her plans for different fabrics.

The years do change perspective. I have always liked plaid, but I REALLY liked it a lot in my 20s. And corduroy. And royal blue. I still like royal blue, but I’m not as willing to wear the color in a skirt or pants.

I am pleased to see I’m consistent in my choices of natural fibers — cotton and silk all the way!

This is almost like free fabric, so no guilt in trying out patterns to make lightweight pajamas and robes for the family. All the fabrics are home to roost — I have to keep plugging at organizing the sewing corner. All in good time!

I have posted about our Epiphany celebrations, including our special books for preparation of the feast. All stories about the wise men, the journey, the camels, La Befana and Baboushka, the star — all these are slated for the Christmas season, building up to Epiphany. Two new titles we have added this year:

The Third Gift by Linda Sue Park and illustrated Bagram Ibatoulline I already mentioned in this post. This by far is the favorite new book of the year. We have read it several times already. My youngest has referred to the “the tears” all Advent and Christmas. It is so helpful to understand the origin of myrrh.

The Tale of Baboushka: A Traditional Christmas Story by Elena Pasquali is a lovely retelling of the legend of Baboushka. An added feature of this Baboushka is she makes toys, so she had toys ready to pack and give to the Christ Child. While it’s a lovely book, I like to incorporate the cultural aspects of Baboushka/Babushka (Russian origins).

Our favorite The Story of the Three Wise Kings by Tomie dePaola, has been reprinted in Joy to the World: Tomie’s Christmas Stories is a collection of 3 Christmas stories by Tomie dePaola, The Night of Las Posadas, The Story of the Three Wise Kings, and The Legend of the Poinsettia, with a few illustrated Christmas carols. The Story of the Three Wise Kings has been out of print for a long time, so this is a great opportunity to get a copy of that and two other favorite dePaola “must-read” stories.

I’ve updated our Epiphany ceremony for 2012: epiphanyceremony2012.

Every year we enter more deeply and understand more about the feast and its significance. Besides learning about the tears of myrrh, we also found out that the Three Kings have a last name. Our youngest refers to them to the “Kings OfOrientar”.

Do I need to confess how much time I spent browsing vintage patterns online?

Updating with a wedding photo. It’s not very clear, but it’s a 1930s silk satin dress.

That’s so easy to type the above. It’s so easy for the doctor to say “Okay, just avoid these foods.”

It’s not easy in practice. But we’ve had 8 years of practice. I think we have established good daily routines and meal plans and snacks and safe desserts. My son is super vigilant about every label and what passes through his lips.

Because of our success rate of very few accidental ingestions and reactions, sometimes I do think I have slipped into routine mode.

Last spring we had him retested. His reactions had been low enough to do food trials. He failed wheat, and then the dairy trial he had a terrible reaction just at the first step with his tongue in the milk. This was supposed to be his easy allergen!

So we packed up our hopes of outgrowing any time soon.

We’ve had a few accidents in the past few months, and most of them come from *ME* not rereading the labels carefully, and him trusting my judgment. He does very well in checking and reading.

The biggest example was imbibing in Hazelnut Ritter Sport Dark Chocolate bar. This is my ultimate favorite treat, and he has had in the past as his chocolate treat. But either the ingredients have changed, or his sensitivity to dairy has increased, he had some recently and had a bad reaction. I thought he was reacting to the hazelnuts, but I reread the label and read “butterfat” clear as day.

Can you say “Mom Guilt”?!

And how about the past two days while nursing my sick patient I decided to give him chewable ibuprofren. Fortunately he doesn’t have life-threatening reactions, but I gave him three (3) doses before I saw the “whey protein” on the ingredients. He kept saying he had an itchy tongue and throat after I gave the medicine ()which is his key reaction, but I thought it was his sore throat.

Can you say “Bad Mommy”!?

Mea culpa. Thankfully, God forgives me, he forgives me, there is Benadryl, and tomorrow is another day. I can see that I’ll have to keep to liquid dosing or teach him how to swallow pills (after I read THOSE labels). Sheesh!

I didn’t update the days for last year’s Alphabet Advent, but I did add a few new books in the list. I know there are a lot of books for each day, but they are just a guideline. There are some days we just read and read and read, and others we’re only reading one picture book before bed. We like having variety, and having so many choices also means that not every book will be revisited, so it will be fresh and new the next year.

I have a plan to refine my list to make it easier to follow, plus include our Christmas reading. Maybe for next year it will be done!

I like to keep my eyes open for new treasures to add to our Advent and Christmas reading. Discussions at 4Real such as New Christmas Books for 2011 and Christmas for Boys help me fill out a wishlist. I do try to preview books before I buy them now. I have so many books I want to be very deliberate that the new Christmas book is very special and will be reread every year. This is my list of “keepers”, although we did read some fabulous new ones this year that I’ll check out from our library.

The Story of Christmas by Pamela Dalton. I fell in love with the Pennsylvania Dutch style illustrations in her Brother Sun, Sister Moon which we read for the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, so I knew I had to get this book. The black background contrasted with the brilliant colors is just a feast for the eyes! There are repeated patterns and images that my boys like to search for on each page.

The Story of Christmas taken from the Gospels, illustrated by Jane Ray. This is another beautiful one, printed in 1991. This will be harder to find a copy, since it’s out of print, but well-worth it.

Strega Nona’s Gift by Tomie dePaola is his newest Christmas book, and it’s a gem! It’s so wonderful how it describes Italian Advent and Christmas customs attached to certain feast days — St. Nicholas, St. Lucy, Christmas Eve, St. Sylvester, Epiphany Eve, Epiphany… Big Anthony again steals the show with his antics, making this book loved by my boys, but the weaving of the Catholic traditions aspect is what appeals to me.

I hesitated a few years on trying Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman. I decided to try it because there were such rave reviews on how it appeals to young boys. I wish I hadn’t waited so long — it’s a wonderful story, with Christ at the center, with the illustrations that captivate the boys. They were thrilled to see depicted all their favorite toys: Legos, Playmobil, marbles, etc. strewn all over the floor in the various pages.

Another mouse Christmas, much older (1972), is Mousekin’s Christmas Eve by Edna Miller (another review). My friend Mary has been singing praises of Mousekin, but I was slow to convert! The story weaves in nature information, beautiful natural drawings all while bringing in the birth of Christ with the creche scene. Delightful! I am now hooked on all the Mousekin books, as they are a naturalist’s dream!

Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon, illustrated by Henri Sorensen. I’m disappointed our library doesn’t carry this one. This is one I got through interlibrary loan (for $3.00) just to see it. Based on the true story of the Christmas Eve during World War I with the Germans and Americans, this story truly touches the heart. Because it’s factual and full of soldiers, this is so appealing to boys. I should have bought a copy right away!

The Third Gift by Linda Sue Park and illustrated Bagram Ibatoulline is another to add for preparation for Epiphany. I decided to not divulge any clues about this book before we read it together. My sons were both enraptured by the illustrations, and listened carefully as the boy talked about collecting the tears or resin from trees with his father and selling these “tears”. It wasn’t until the three men dressed in fine robes mentioned that they have already purchased 2 gifts — gold and frankincense — that my oldest son gave out a gasp. He figured out these tears were the gift of myrrh. My four-year-old also figured it out, saying “Those are the three wise men!” After we finished, the little one kept saying he wanted to read more about the tears. It is such a wonderful story to understand the Gospel reading about the wise men from the East with their gifts.

Corgiville Christmas by Tasha Tudor. By no means is this a new book, but our library doesn’t carry it! We have our Tasha Tudor collection especially for Advent and Christmas, and this book is mentioned in a few of her other books, and so we need to complete the puzzle. We also added The Dolls’ Christmas to our reading. An exclusive thought of “dolls are for girls only” comes to mind, but I’ve found that stories about dolls and their “lives” are captivating to both boys and girls — it is not only a feminine imagination that can enjoy the adventures.

A few more that will be added next year, since I didn’t have time to review and buy them:

Our Lady of Guadalupe by Francisco Serrano, a beautiful pop-up book on Our Lady of Guadalupe. We love the Tomie DePaola version (which sadly just went out of print), and also The Story of Guadalupe by C. Lourdes Walsh, but since we read about this apparition for both Juan Diego’s feast day and December 12, we love having multiple versions. Our parish has a huge Latino population and there is a beautiful shrine built to Our Lady of Guadalupe every year by the parishioners.

The Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher by Robert Kraus is a reprint this year of a 1969 favorite! Our library just ordered a copy and I’m next in line! Read a nice review here.

Joy to the World: Tomie’s Christmas Stories is a collection of 3 Christmas stories by Tomie dePaola, The Night of Las Posadas, The Story of the Three Wise Kings, and The Legend of the Poinsettia, with a few illustrated Christmas carols. The Story of the Three Wise Kings has been out of print for a long time, so this is a great opportunity to get a copy of that and two other favorite dePaola “must-read” stories.

The books I’m borrowing from our library, but adding to our annual reading rotation:

Lighthouse Christmas by Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. This story was inspired by the true “Flying Santa program” which was established in 1929. It is a touching story and helps one see that making sacrifices for others does have rewards, and sometimes even more.

The Carpenter’s Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree by David Rubel. This is a touching story again placed during the Great Depression. It is a gift from generous carpenters that this man finding his calling and then gives in return the gift he received. I think this is a wonderful to tie in with St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, and a carpenter.

The final book I’ll mention (although I know I can add more) is The Christmas Tree Ship by Carol Crane, illustrated by Chris Ellison. This is based on the true stories of Captain Herman E. Schuenemann and the Schooner Rouse Simmons (“The Christmas Tree Ship”) on Lake Michigan.

If you’re sending a letter, email, note, or text that is hard-hitting, emotional, or a tough subject, Smiley Face Emoticons are not going to soften the blow. The wink won’t make it cheery, or make the receiver take the content cheerfully.

It might make the writer feel better, but not the reader.

Here are the rules:

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.
Tell your readers 7 things about yourself.
Give this award to 15 recently discovered bloggers.
Contact those bloggers and let them in on the news.

7 Things about Me:

1) Not surprisingly, I love books. I love talking about books. I love reading books. I love finding out about new (to me) books. I love collecting books for our family. I have not forayed into the world of digital books except on my computer. I requested an e-reader of some kind for under the tree, mainly to easily access those free out-of-print books. I’m wondering how this will affect or change my current obsession with books? Stay tuned to find out.

2) One of the subject areas I’ve been reading in a frenzy is the subject of Real Food, Natural, and Whole, and Local. My favorite books so far have been by Joel Salatin and Nina Planck’s Real Food. I found their ideas not too radical, and not foreign to what I learned from my mother, who followed advice from Adelle Davis with good results. I think I’ve mostly cooked from scratch all my life, but with food allergies in the family it’s a necessity, so advice in this area isn’t too radical for me.

3) Recently I decided to reduce my starch intake to lose weight. As I had gestational diabetes requiring insulin for both my pregnancies, I know I’m at high risk for Type II Diabetes, and I suspect that I’m showing insulin resistance. I found books by Rob Thompson and Gary Taubes provided some great guidance.

4) I had taken a little sabbatical this summer from blogging, and this post mentioned my feet problems. My feet were progressively getting worse. I was wearing orthotics, braces, taking pain medicine and more. I tried several doctors, one even proposed surgery. The pain was really debilitating and I was overwhelmed. After a 3rd doctor provided no help, I decided to take things in my own hand and wean off all my medicines, start losing weight by avoiding starch, and see what happened. It wasn’t hard, very little cravings, and so far 10 pounds in 2 months.

5) Not only am I losing weight, but my brain fog has lifted, my mood has lightened, and I have energy! And best of all, NO FOOT PAIN!!! I am still amazed especially about my feet! I didn’t make the connection until Thanksgiving, when I went back to eating some wheat and other starches. The pain began to return. I again went off the wheat, and the pain went away. I just finished reading Wheat Belly and found the author described my exact experience in giving up wheat. As I am not celiac, I probably won’t stay off wheat permanently, but will keep it only (special) occasionally, knowing that I can be a better wife and mother when I avoid it.

6) Advent is my favorite liturgical season of the year, and I think it’s my boys’ favorite, also. It seems every year we get a cold or some kind of sickness beginning in Advent. I pray we get better soon. My little one turns 4 next week, and he’s still not quite recovered.

7) I watch Hoarders to get motivation to clean. It helps me be ruthless. I don’t have that much stuff, but even what I have weighs on me heavily. It affects my mood to have clutter and disorder. My big Advent work is to pare down greatly. I am even going to part with the baby clothes.

I won’t be linking all the new blogs I have discovered or am following, as they are mostly crafting, sewing, and cooking themed blogs. I need to pare down my blog reading, too. After Google Reader changed drastically, I made some major changes. I switched to Firefox, which I love, and my blog reader is Feedly. I still share items on my home page to Tumblr and Google Reader. But I still won’t be on Facebook and Google+ (tried the latter, hated it). I have joined Pinterest and Twitter (although I haven’t tweeted once).

So, if you’re reading this and want to join in, there’s nothing I like more than reading 7 odd bits about you! Link back to me so I can read!

My boys are so joyful, embracing all the Advent traditions and Liturgy. All the liturgy, all the customs, all the songs just marry into their eager anticipation for Christmas. The Church’s remembrance of the long awaited Messiah matches their longing for Christmas. It doesn’t feed the frenzy, but it nourishes their souls, and makes them filled. They are satisfied because their longing is matched and given nourishment.

They are dancing with joy, peeking in all our Advent boxes, remembering all the treasures from last year: the calendars, the creche, the empty manger, the Advent wreath, the candles, the Jesse Tree….

The New Year noisemakers are sounding, the boys making their own “Happy Advent and Happy New Liturgical Year” rejoicing.

They are singing all around the house different Advent songs: O Come, O Come Emmanuel, People Look East, Prepare, and Light One Candle.

The oldest lights the Advent wreath, and emits a joyful sigh as he watches the candle burn and sings his favorite Advent hymn, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

In living in this moment, imitating the child, all those excess worries that the preparation for Christmas brings disappear. Can I become like a little child? Can I be joyful and worry free like my little children?

I am pondering these moments all in my heart. Advent is a gift. And as a mother, I need to recognize that gift and accept it. I need to embrace it.

My Little Advent cards 2011
Printable Advent calendar 2011
Printable Christmas calendar 2011

I have created a 2-sided prayer booklet for the Advent Wreath. I wanted to incorporate the new translation of the Collect prayers from Sunday, and also incorporate the figures and themes of our Salvation History. Advent Wreath Prayers New Translation 2011

I have loads of posts for this season, but here’s a summary of highlights:

Activities:
My Little Advent Advent cards for each day in Advent and a printable Advent Calendar. The updated files are above.
Preparing the Manger
Loveliness of Advent various links

Advent Reading
Advent Reading for Adults
Prepare the Way of the Lord Advent plans
Alphabet Advent 2009
Alphabet Advent 2010
Short List for Advent Reading
Advent Catechesis: Biffi reading plan 2009
Advent Catechesis: Biffi reading plan 2010

Advent Wreath:
Advent Wreath Prayers above.
Decorating for Advent Suspending our Advent wreath
Salvation History Presented Through the Advent wreath
The Advent Wreath Prayer in Advent
Christmas Anticipation Prayer and Novena for the Immaculate Conception

Prayers:
Prayer in Advent
Christmas Anticipation Prayer and Novena for the Immaculate Conception
Praying the O Antiphons
Advent Wreath Prayers New Translation 2011

Music:
Our Advent Music Plan
The Ageless Story

December 4: St. John Damascene and St. Barbara
St. John and St. Barbara

December 6, St. Nicholas:
Saintly Example of St. Nicholas
Celebration Ideas
Reading for St. Nicholas

Immaculate Conception, December 8
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Miraculous Medal images to color and cut.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12
Spirit Child
Our Lady of Guadalupe

St. Lucy, December 13:
Lucia Saint of Light Book Review
St. Lucia
Lucia Dagen at O Night Divine

O Antiphons: December 17-23
O Antiphons
The Great O Antiphons
Praying the O Antiphons

Right now I’m eyeing Grammarland and Intermediate Language Lessons for next year, but I also having a hard time choosing the novels and Chesterton books. Problem is my budget is too small for all that I want!

Don’t miss the new edition of Fabiola. This is a wonderful and very readable version of this classic novel — I highly recommend it!