A New Springtime

All Bounced Out

Yummy!

 The kiddos enjoyed making personal pizzas today. They had so much fun they want to do it again next week. I love doing hands on things that are wholesome with my children. Baking and cooking are not my greatest talent and sharing the job with them makes it so much more rewarding for me. They thought it was the shizzel!( a movie word I heard the other day).

 

Warmth and Softness...

 

Diligent...

 

Concentration...

 

Industrious...

 

 Masterpieces...

  

Yummy! 

Lil' Rascal

 

 Eliana is already 7 months old and she is Miss Personality Plus. She bounces in her bouncy thing, she claps, she has two bottom teeth and yesterday was the first day she did this. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Time flies so fast.

It's Just Begun

Today , a women in church asked me if I was glad that Christmas was over. I looked at her and kindly said, " Oh no it's just begun." With a large family it is such a blessing! It is really a time of fulfillment. Everything is full. The tree was full of lights and decorations. Underneath it was full of presents. The stockings were full of tiny treasures and sweets. The children were full of excitement.

 So many preparations, and then it happens. Christmas comes and brings with it  greatness and the Glory of God himself. The Word was made flesh and dwells among us. How exciting this is and how we should remember a little Christmas everyday of the year. For now though we will celebrate Christmas for at least twelve days as the Church directs us to do. How blessed we are.

 

Gathering together around the evergreen to see what surprises await us.

I wonder if there are two front teeth in that stocking?

Grammy and Jellybean! Jelly is wondering what is going on.

The boys patiently wait while mom and dad get a cup of coffee.

Abba-Do with the rainbow puzzle her siblings made her. We have all been enjoying the handmade and the other gifts we have received. We are looking forward to the rest of the Christmas season to fill us with many good times and memories. May these first days of Christmas bring you and yours many many joy filled moments. ENJOY!!

Enter In

Enter into the mystery and the wonder of what is to come! There are many wonders upon us in these last days of advent. Miracles all around us, God is at work showing us His glory in the beautiful treasures of Christmas that is to come.

Enter in: to our home and share some of our special blessings.

 

The wonder of the tree and beautiful lights twinkling, lighting the way for the upcoming event!

 

  Enter into the nativity scene to remind us of humility and simplicity.

 

 Enter into the beauty of  Christmas ornaments that are windows into what God is about to reveal...

 

seeking a great treasure that is in our midst.

 

 Enter into adoration of God himself who becomes a gift to us,what an awesome and loving God we have!

 

Enter into the love put into this gift, a  special new addition to our tree, given to us by a wonderful women in our church. This angel is made out  of all natural materials. It is a pine cone angel with milkweed wings, birch bark arms, a wooden ball head and jute hair. It is the most beautiful gift I have received and it represents advent so well. It is an image of humility and simplicity and is a great messenger of both of these virtues.

 Enter into the graciousness of a snowflake that  fills my heart with peace. I was filled with awe as my daughter discovered the miracle of snowflakes.We watched them as they fell, so intricately designed and we became aware we were part of something very special. I was able to experience the immense love God has for each one of us. Like those delicate unique snowflakes each one of us has also been created one of a kind.  May you experience and enter into these mysteries and many more as God is born and enters into the world!! Have a wonderful ADVENTure these last few days before Christmas. 

A Labor of Love, Waldorf Style Christmas Dolls

I am finally finished the big sewing project for the girls. I saw these dolls at Magic Cabin and thought they were so cute. The price however was not so cute. I can understand why they cost so much, the time put into them and the uniqueness of the product makes me want to buy the doll but the budget just won't allow it. It is definitely not the type of toy you can get at your local  discount store. I am so thankful to God for the gift of being able to sew and create something similar. My grandmother passed down her talent to both me and my mother and it has been a blessing for the both of us.

 

These dolls are for my two daughters. I always wanted to try to make these Waldorf style dolls but I never knew how they got the heads shaped the way they are. I used this tutorial.  For the most part I was pleased with the way they came out.

 

This one is my favorite of the two. Her face is a bit sweeter and the colors are not as bold as the other one.

 

The neck on this doll I sewed closer to the body so it wasn't as wiggly as the other one but then she looked a bit wider than her "sister". It was good they are a bit different so there will be no question as to whose is whose.

 

 

The breakdown of supplies was as follows:

• cotton blend jersey $ 12.99/yd -I used yd for 2 dolls
• pom poms for hat and boots $0.99
• cotton for $3.00 total- skirts and undershorts out of 1/4 yd. for each doll
• red felt square $0.50- 2 pair of boots
• fleece for sweaters $5.09 yd- Christmas fleece on sale 60% off- I got 3/4 yd. for 2 dolls. I have some left over
• 3 different pkgs. ric rac $1.49 each
• wool yarn for hair- $4.00 did 2 dolls with some left over
• velvety hat material 1/4 yd. 60" wide,total 2.00 for both with leftovers
• stuffing poly-fill $1.99 bag- 1 bag will do 2 dolls

Total for two dolls around $34.00. Labor involved about:

• 1 hr to cut  out and sew  each doll
• 1 hr to stuff each doll
• 3 hrs total to cut yarn and sew on for hair
• 1 hr to make each skirt
• 1 1/2 hrs. to make each sweater
• 1 hr for each pair of shoes
• 1/2 hr each hat

About a total of 10 1/2 hrs of labor but it is worth it for my girls. A labor of love. I hope they enjoy them!

Work Of Human Hands

We are finally finished !!  It was alot of work but we can take pride in the work we did with our own hands. We made a total of four nativities. One we will keep for ourselves, one is a gift for our Godchild, and the other two are Godparent gifts.

Making these gifts made me think of the part at Mass where we say, " Fruit of the vine and the work of human hands." What a beautiful statement of how Christ allows us to participate in creating. Even in the gifts that become His Body and Blood, He allowsus to create them.  I hope these wooden presents will bless those who will receive them.

 

For the manger we used Alene's tacky glue and a c-clamp, no nails involved. It dried over night and is very sturdy. This is the one we will keep. I hope the kids will play with it and treasure it for years to come.

 

This one is for our Godchild. I found the crate at Jo Anne's Fabrics for $3.99 and we added some  "hayish" looking stuff we also found at Jo Anne's $2.99 a bag. It's not Spanish Moss but I forgot what it's called.

 

This is the other version we made, a bit rustic and simpler.

 

We placed them in a basket with some tissue paper and "hay" and then wrapped them up.

 

Here is the next one. The arch is a bit smaller but it still works. the figures could be placed closer together so more of the arch shows. Either way would work.

 

Put in a basket and ready to be wrapped. They're all slightly different and that's what is special about hand-made gifts.

Advent School Day 5 & 6

 We have been hard at work the past two days. We are working on a new nativity set for ourselves and a couple for gifts for Godparents and God children. Our tool of choice is a scroll saw which I compare to a sewing machine. If you sew you can work this simple saw the blades are five inches long and about an eighth of an inch wide. The older boys and I love using it. You can make many things from toys to wall hangings, etc. It feels so good to be able to create and see the fruits of your labor. I have also been thinking of St. Joseph the Carpenter. We will read"Jonathan Toomey this week which will tie in perfectly our craft.  We will continue to study the Works of Mercy and scroll, scroll, scroll.

 

My dining room has become a wood shop!

 

Sawdust cleans up pretty easy and it smells wonderful.

 

 Here's our little  wood worker tracing the patterns onto the wood. We picked up these boards for 25 cents a piece in the clearance bin at the Bargain Lumber Center.

 

The finished wise men.

 

Some finished and some not finished pieces.

 

At the end of the day we had this much done. We will show the finished one tomorrow.

Choice = Fear = Abortion

 

   Choice equals fear. That is the word I recieved from the Lord at Mass today. Why do we want choice? It all stems from fear and its the opposite of trust. All of us have fear especially when we are in new situations and this is when we become tempted or vunerable to the snares of the world and to take matters into our own hands. I have experienced this fear many times in my life when facing a new pregnancy.  We now that love casts out all fear and that is what we must try to show  women who are at risk of excepting choice a new way. Being the Mystical Body of Christ it is up to us to help make people aware of how we can handle these fears by trusting in God as the Blessed Mother did at the Annunciation. People need to hear of our personal experiences and how we as Catholics have faced situations that were fearful to us and how God has given us His strength and Providence to be able to follow through.

 God is so loving and for some reason people today do not know this love. I think we need to EXPOSE 'choice' for what it really is. Choice = Fear. I want to have a bumper sticker made that states this. I want people to see the truth. Fear leads to anger. Fear leads to violence. Fear leads to depression. Fear leads to destruction. The opposite of fear is trust. Trust leads to happiness. Trust leads to love. Trust leads to life! I think this should be at the heart of the choice vs. life "debates". No one wants to be afraid and I know everyone wants to be able to trust.

 Women would really have to think about the whole issue of 'choice' at the most basic level when put in these terms.

Happy feast of the Immaculate Conception!!!

Advent School - Day 3 & 4

 

A natural at sewing, he learned to drive a go- cart at age 6.He's got great hand-eye coordination and is steady on the foot pedal. Yesterday we started a sewing project and finished them up today. I wanted to do something with stitching to tie into the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors. The children worked hard on their projects. They learned that a lot of decision making and love goes into a handmade item. They were all joking around saying, " This is made in the U.S.A." I think they are learning great lessons through these hands on activities and how we can use our God given gifts to bless each other.

 

I love the concentration that goes on during creativity.

 

My girl who loves to cut, she says she wants to be a doctor, I am thinking surgeon. They were so proud of themselves and their finished products. It was a wonderful sight to see them snuggle with and hold there new treasures. One of the boys decided to give his away as a Christmas present. What a guy!