Jesse Tree Treasures for Advent

Can you believe that Advent begins in just 20 days?!?  This weekend I spent some time trying to check the first couple things off of my list, including finding a set of Advent Pillar candles (the ones I have purchased these past few years aren't available this year) and deciding on a "Nativity Stocking" for our newest little guy (our boys all have nativity themed stockings and the girls have angel themed stockings), who might just decide to arrive in time for Christmas this year.

Anyhow, those of you that have been visiting here for any length of time know just how much I love all of our family traditions for Advent and Christmas.  One of our favorites, ever since our oldest children were just toddlers, has always been the Jesse Tree.   I made our Jesse Tree and Ornaments out of felt, and even though it was a ton of work that first year, we have re-used it every year since.

This year I am so excited to add a new ornament set to our collection!   I was recently asked to review this beautiful wooden set of Jesse Tree Ornaments, along with a set of gorgeous O Antiphon Ornaments, made by Jesse Tree Treasures.  I couldn't be more happy to recommend them to you all and am so excited to have these extra sets to use with my own children this year!

As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, "Advent is a period beginning with the Sunday nearest to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (30 November) and embracing four Sundays." That means that the First Sunday of Advent can fall as early as November 27 or as late as December 3, resulting in a maximum of 28 days leading up to Christmas Eve.  The Jesse Tree set comes with 28 beautiful wooden ornaments, giving you enough symbols for every day of Advent, not just the 24 days of December!

In addition to the beautifully decoupaged ornaments, the set also includes beautiful gold cards with all of the scripture references.

Instead of the actual bible verses, we usually read the corresponding bible stories (I'm working on this year's list) from the New Catholic Picture Bible, which works out nicely for our family.  This year I plan on having my older children read the bible story each day to the little ones...  For some reason reading aloud is so hard for me during my last trimester! ;)

Note:  A companion booklet for this ornament set is also available here. 

Jesse Tree Ornaments - Rustic Wooden - Advent Purple

(also available in Crimson)

"Each ornament measures 2-3/8" in diameter and 1/4" deep. Ivory yarn for stringing is included. The ornaments come in a white gift box and include a card with scripture references and a devotion for each day. They are made with Jo Sonja's paints which was carefully selected to be safe and lead-free."

**In order to recieve these Jesse Tree Ornaments by the beginning of Advent, all orders must be placed by November 15th.

Another one of our favorite traditions is celebrating the O Antiphons!   Every year I come up with some sort of treat for each day (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) and a couple years ago we also made an O Antiphon House.    These Gold O Antiphon Ornaments from Jesse Tree Treasures will make such a lovely addition to these special days leading up to Christmas:

O Antiphons - Golden Ornaments

"These stunning wooden ornaments reflect the light of Christ coming in the darkest part of winter as an infant in a manger. They are handpainted a beautiful gold which is the "O" in the antiphon. Then lovingly decoupaged with a beautiful handpainted image that reflects the meaning of each antiphon.  These ornaments are made with Jo Sonja's paints which are made from the finest quality pure pigments, the colors will remain vibrant and true for generations. The paint was carefully selected to be safe and lead-free.  Each set of seven ornaments also comes with a devotional booklet. The antiphons correspond to a verse from the traditional hymn "O Come, O Come Emmanuel". These verses are included in the devotional, as well as the corresponding scripture and a short devotion."

**In order to recieve the O Antiphons Ornaments by December 17th, all orders must be placed by December 7th.

Thank you to Jesse Tree Treasures for the sets that were given to us, in exchange for this honest review here at Shower of Roses!

UPDATE:  Jesse Tree Treasures has made a few minor changes to the sets pictured in this post. They have also added customizable sets as well! 

If you would like a set for your family, be sure to place your order soon.  Advent begins on November 27th! 

Note: Currently a limited number of sets are listed as available over at Etsy, but Angie let me know that she will make as many as needed. So, if it says that a set is sold, just send her a note and she will be sure to make you a set. Thank you Angie!!

Highlights From This Years O Antiphon Activities

Despite all my planning, we still weren't able to do everything I had hoped to do this past week, and I did need to improvise a bit... Nevertheless, it has been a lovely week of prayers and fun activities as we've counted down these last days till Christmas with the O Antiphons! Here are a few pictures from the past week:

December 17th

O Wisdom that comest out of the mouth of the Most High, that reachest from one end to another, and orderest all things mightily and sweetly, come to teach us the way of prudence!

Christmas Bookmark Craft

A Catholic Child's Picture Dictionary

December 18th

O Adonai, and Ruler of the house of Israel, Who didst appear unto Moses in the burning bush, and gavest him the law in Sinai, come to redeem us with an outstretched arm!

In addition to bringing our sweet little baby girl HOME to meet her siblings for the first time, we also made little mini gingerbread houses!

December 19th

O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at Whom the kings shall shut their mouths, Whom the Gentiles shall seek, come to deliver us, do not tarry.

Root Beer was all I was able to pull off today, but my children were not complaining. I even had some ice cream in the freezer so they were able to make their own root beer floats! (Thank you Charlotte for the idea!)

December 20th

O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel, that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, come to liberate the prisoner from the prison, and them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.

Why do I wait until December 20th each year to serve this Key Lime Pie?? Oh, it is SO yummy!!!

December 21st

O Dayspring, Brightness of the everlasting light, Son of justice, come to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death!

I had to take our little "Rose" to see the doctor this afternoon/evening since I was worried about her jaundice... So, I wasn't home for dinner/dessert and was too tired to go back out to look at lights... Instead, we surprised the children with some small christmas trees, covered with white lights, to set up in their bedrooms!!

December 22nd

O King of the Gentiles, yea, and desire thereof! O Corner-stone, that makest of two one, come to save man, whom Thou hast made out of the dust of the earth!

Rice Krispie Crown/Wreaths to go along with

the King of the Golden City on CD.

December 23rd

O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and salvation thereof, come to save us, O Lord our God!

Look at those smiles! Can you tell how excited they were

about this playmobil nativity set?

Ero Cras!

O Antiphon House

I have been meaning to post a picture of our finished O Antiphon House all week, but haven't had a chance until this morning. (I contracted for about 12 hours most of Thursday, from about 3 am until just before dinner, and then fell asleep right after dinner, exhausted! Thankfully I am still pregnant since I was NOT quite ready to deliver yet... On the plus side, it did get me to finally pack a bag for the hospital!  Though I am now horribly behind on emails, etc...)

Anyhow, I am excited to add this little O Antiphon House to our traditions this year. In the past we have just hung an ornament on our Jesse Tree representing each of the O Antiphons and then presented the family with a special gift or activity each evening.

I was inspired to make this last year, from a thread on the 4 Real Forums.  The girls helped me spray paint the house and blocks during "H" Week and I finally finished it up in time for Advent.

I ended up keeping it very simple, but am happy with how it turned out.    I only wanted to have 7 empty slots for the 7 blocks (representing each of the O Antiphons), so I filled in the two side boxes with 7 painted wooden stars and the top with the words "Ero Cras" which means "Tomorrow, I will come!"

The Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one - Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai,Sapientia - the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, “Tomorrow, I will come.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, “Tomorrow, I will come.” So the “O Antiphons” not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion.

For the blocks, I printed out an image of the O Antiphons reduced to 45% on Gold paper and (very carefully using Mod Podge) glued them to the blocks.

I think I may add the dates to the back, turn them around, and stack them in the side boxes with the stars until each day approaches, but for now they are just stacked next to the house ready and waiting for the 17th of December!

Celebrating the O Antiphons ~ Our plans for this year!

There is an old monastic custom of providing special treats, representing each of the "O Antiphons," leading up to Christmas. This has been a tradition in our home for a number of years now. It is such a fun way to teach the children about them and increase their excitement as Christmas gets closer! You can see what we have done the past couple years in either my Feast Day Plans post or under the "O" Antiphons label. There are even more great ideas over at Catholic Cuisine!

This year, since I don't know if I will be home or in the hospital, I have tried to keep our plans fairly simple (read: can be done whether or not I am home). Other than a couple of things that will have to be done on the particular day, I am all set for this year. Here's what I have planned for our family:

December 17th

O Wisdom that comest out of the mouth of the Most High, that reachest from one end to another, and orderest all things mightily and sweetly, come to teach us the way of prudence!

Since the symbol for wisdom is a book, this year I purchased a craft kit from Oriental trading for the children to make Christmas Bookmarks. Since we generally add a new Catholic Prayer Book or Catechism to our collection this day as well, this year we'll be giving the children A Catholic Child's Picture Dictionary which was originally published in 1956 but has recently been reprinted. I was flipping through it the other day, before wrapping it up, and it looks wonderful!

December 18th

O Adonai, and Ruler of the house of Israel, Who didst appear unto Moses in the burning bush, and gavest him the law in Sinai, come to redeem us with an outstretched arm!

The past couple years, we have emphasized the word "house" in this Antiphon, and have made our Gingerbread houses this evening. This year, I found a darling little village of houses made by Wilton which I purchased for the children instead. (I've seen it at both Wal Mart and Michaels for less than $10! If you use a coupon at Michaels, it would only be $5-6!) This way they will each get to decorate their own. Isn't it cute!

December 19th

O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at Whom the kings shall shut their mouths, Whom the Gentiles shall seek, come to deliver us, do not tarry.

I was so happy when I received an email from a visitor letting me know that the main provider of Poinsettia's was removed from Life Decision's boycott list! Yay!! So, this year we will go back to purchasing our Poinsettia today and we will also read The Legend of the Poinsettia. (Speaking of which, have any of you read The Miracle of the First Poinsettia? It's not available at my library right now and looks good too!)

For dinner we will have Hearty Beef Stew, which is full of root vegetables. I even have it in the freezer, all ready to go into the crock pot, in case the baby has been born! And for dessert, maybe Carrot Cake.

December 20th

O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel, that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, come to liberate the prisoner from the prison, and them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.

Since this is initially a monastic tradition, and on this night, the monk in charge of the wine cellar would provide a special bottle of wine. We will also be having some special drinks with dinner. Costco has a great package of delicious fruit spritzers which I picked up.

I also plan to serve a Marie Calendar's Key Lime Pie which is already in the freezer!

December 21st

O Dayspring, Brightness of the everlasting light, Son of justice, come to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death!

For dessert I'm hoping to make "O Dayspring Ice Cream" inspired by a Blue Bunny recipe:

6 small tangerines, peeled

1 1/2 cups Vanilla Ice Cream

6 teaspoons orange marmalade

Place six freezer safe dessert plates in the freezer 30 minutes before serving. For each serving, gently pry segments of a tangerine apart. Place on dessert plate in a "spoke" like circle.

Place a 1/4 cup scoop of vanilla ice cream in center of tangerine "spoke"; top with 1 teaspoon orange marmalade. Repeat with remaining tangerines and serve immediately.

After the kids are in there pajamas, we will surprise them with a trip to town to see some of the Christmas lights! This is always such fun, and we all look forward to this little outing!

December 22nd

O King of the Gentiles, yea, and desire thereof! O Corner-stone, that makest of two one, come to save man, whom Thou hast made out of the dust of the earth!

There are lots of crown cakes to choose from over at Catholic Cuisine, but I think it would be fun to bake and decorate some of our Christmas sugar cookies as crowns!!

Needless to say, baking cookies, on December 22nd, probably won't happen this year, so I also purchased the King of the Golden City on CD. I'd been looking for an excuse to buy it anyways! ;) We do have the lovely cassettes by Simonetta, and the book and study guide from CHC, but I was so excited to see that Pro Multis Media has produced it as an audio dramatization with a talented cast of children actors! (It is also available from Catholic Child.) I can't wait to listen to it!

December 23rd

O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and salvation thereof, come to save us, O Lord our God!

This is the last of the O Antiphons... Tomorrow will be Christmas Eve! The treat for today is going to be another new Nativity Set for the kids to play with during the Christmas season. I purchased two this year, one which I gave them on the first Sunday of Advent (saving baby Jesus for Christmas of course) and one for this day. I just ran across another children's nativity set I love... I'm trying really hard to refrain from purchasing it as well!


You can also listen to the O Antiphons beautifully chanted in Latin here.

I am also considering purchasing An Advent Processions Based on the Great O Antiphons . Have any of you heard it before? Would you recommend it?

O Clavis David ~ O Key of David (Dec 20th)

O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel; qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel, that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, come to liberate the prisoner from the prison, and them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.

The plans for tonight are the same as last year:

Since this is initially a monastic tradition, and on this night, the monk in charge of the wine cellar would provide a special bottle of wine. We will be having some special drinks with dinner! If I can get to the store we may even have a key lime pie!

I picked up some special sparkling non-alcoholic drinks and a Marie Calendar's Key Lime Pie! There are so many simple treats that you can incorporate into the O Antiphons! Isn't it fun?!?

Okay, time for me to get back to my Cookies... I hope you are all having a great weekend!

O Radix Jesse ~ O Root of Jesse (Dec 19th)

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem Gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

O Root of Jesse, you stand for the ensign of all mankind; before you kings shall keep silence and to you all nations shall have recourse. Come, save us, and do not delay.

A peek at our plans for today:

Hubby and I are hoping that, despite the snowstorm, we can make it to town, since the boys tutor has bravely offered to babysit all of our children so we can finish up our shopping and go out to lunch! Since the symbol for today is the flower, our surprise for the children will be to pick up our first Poinsettia. Our Costco has some beautiful ones that the kiddos were eying the other day and begging me to buy!

Once we are back home, I am hoping that we will have enough time to make these Poinsettia napkin rings for with dinner. Our side dishes will be steamed carrots and garlic roasted potato wedges, both root vegetables! After our dinner we will read The Legend of the Poinsettia. Hope you all are having a great day!! God Bless!

O Adonai ~ O Lord and Ruler (Dec 18th)

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammæ rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

O Adonai, and Ruler of the house of Israel, Who didst appear unto Moses in the burning bush, and gavest him the law in Sinai, come to redeem us with an outstretched arm!

It is snowing like crazy outside!!! We have NEVER had this much snow in December. The local schools were closed today, and since hubby wasn't able to get to work, it looks like his Christmas vacation began a day early!!! He just finished trimming a bit off the bottom of our tree, and suggested lighting up the bottom branches and have a real "burning bush" here tonight and roast a few marshmallows! FUN!

I also thought it would be fun to tie in the part of the Antiphon "Ruler of the house of Israel" with putting together our own Gingerbread House House of Israel. I can't wait... The children will LOVE it!

Well, I am off to enjoy our snowy day. If you don't have snow where you live, and even if you DO, don't miss Charlotte's Texas Snow Day! It sounds like SO MUCH FUN!!!

O Sapientia ~ O Wisdom (Dec 17th)

O Sapientia, quæ ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiæ.

O Wisdom that comest out of the mouth of the Most High, that reachest from one end to another, and orderest all things mightily and sweetly, come to teach us the way of prudence!

There is an old monastic custom of providing special treats, representing each of the O Antiphons, after dinner each night leading up to Christmas.

Since the symbol for wisdom is a book, our "treat" for this first night is usually a book. I wish I would have ordered all those amazingly priced Father Lovasik books earlier... Anyhow, this year I choose Saints and Angels. The pictures are beautiful, and I am sure it will be a nice addition to our collection of Saint stories!

Celebrating the O Antiphons

Just like last year, Advent is flying by, and Christmas is almost here!!! Tomorrow is already the 17th, and we will begin praying the "O" Antiphons.

I have a half written post in my drafts folder with our plans for celebrating the O Antiphons this year, but I never did have a chance to finish it. In the meantime, Jenn was thinking along the same lines and put together a wonderful post for Catholic Cuisine! She is amazing, isn't she?!

If you'd like a few more ideas, you can check out my post from last year!

I hope you are all having a very blessed Advent!!

O Antiphons ~ Dec 17 to 23

This month is going by so fast! I can't believe that Advent is almost over and Christmas is almost here! Like many Catholics, we are currently praying the "O" Antiphons. An article on Catholic Culture put it so beautifully when they said that the O Antiphons are "the seven jewels of our liturgy, dating back to the fourth century, one for each day until Christmas Eve. These antiphons address Christ with seven magnificent Messianic titles, based on the Old Testament prophecies and types of Christ. The Church recalls the variety of the ills of man before the coming of the Redeemer."

Catholic Culture also explains that:

Beginning on December 17, as the final phase of preparation for Christmas, the Church recites or chants the O Antiphons preceding the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours.

The O Antiphons express the Church's longing and expectation for the Messiah, her startled wonderment at the fullness of grace which the Christ-Child is about to bestow on the world. Their theme is the majesty of the Savior, His wisdom, His faithfulness and sanctity, His justice and mercy, His covenant with His chosen people, who in their ingratitude broke faith with Him. They are concerned with His power and love as King and Redeemer of the world, His relation to every soul as Emmanuel, God-with-us. (With Christ Through the Year by Bernard Strasser)

According to Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one — Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia — the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, “Tomorrow, I will come.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, “Tomorrow, I will come.” So the “O Antiphons” not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion. (Fr. William Saunders)

There is an old monastic custom of providing special treats, representing each of the "O Antiphons," leading up to Christmas. This has been a tradition in our home for a few years now. It is such a fun way to teach the children about them and increase their excitement as Christmas gets closer! Here is what we have been doing so far... in addition to what we have planned for the rest of the week as we finish preparing for the Birth of Christ!

December 17th

O Wisdom that comest out of the mouth of the Most High, that reachest from one end to another, and orderest all things mightily and sweetly, come to teach us the way of prudence!

Since the symbol for wisdom is a book, we purchased a new prayer book for our family... I ordered it awhile back and was worried that it wouldn't arrive in time! It arrived on the 17th! How perfect was that. The prayer book we choose this year is called Novena: The Power of Prayer. I have purchased it a few times in the past for gifts, but still didn't have a copy for us! I LOVE it! Not only does it contain many novenas, it is filled with beautiful pictures and stories of the saints as well.

December 18th

O Adonai, and Ruler of the house of Israel, Who didst appear unto Moses in the burning bush, and gavest him the law in Sinai, come to redeem us with an outstretched arm!

We planned on making smores outside, but, due to rain, I baked a pie while my husband lit a fire in the wood stove and then we all watched a family movie together. It's very rare that we watch a movie together with the kids, and we all really enjoyed it!

December 19th

O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at Whom the kings shall shut their mouths, Whom the Gentiles shall seek, come to deliver us, do not tarry.

Since the symbol for today is a flower, I usually buy our Christmas Poinsettia today. However, after reading this post, I decided to pass on the real poinsettias this year and maybe make paper poinsettias ... But, instead, my husband was such a dear and brought home some beautiful red cyclamens! As the kids were smelling the flowers, I heard one of my boys say, "I don't smell anything... except someones bad breath!" (I then sent them all to brush their teeth!)

December 20th

O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel, that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, come to liberate the prisoner from the prison, and them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.

Since this is initially a monastic tradition, and on this night, the monk in charge of the wine cellar would provide a special bottle of wine. We will be having some special drinks with dinner! If I can get to the store we may even have a key lime pie!

December 21st

O Dayspring, Brightness of the everlasting light, Son of justice, come to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death!

Since this O Antiphon refers to light, we will finish putting up our outside lights. (We wait to turn on our lights outside, as well as on our tree, till Christmas Eve. You can read my husband's post on this, if you'd like.) They are actually almost done, I just want to do a few trees in the yard and need a few extension cords. Actually, we are really lucky to have one of my brothers who actually installs Christmas lights for a living! (The rest of the year he does landscape lighting and events such as weddings) He is always super busy during the Christmas season installing lights, not only for homes, but city and business lights as well! A few years ago he had to leave my parents early Thanksgiving night "for work"... Anyways we drove home to find our house completely lit up! As one of our neighbors put it... It looked "awesome!" Each year since, he has put up our lights as a Christmas gift to our family. This year it is pretty simple, he just outlined the roof line, but still looks quite lovely!

After the kids are in there pajamas, we will surprise them with a trip to town to see some of the lights! This is always such fun, and I am looking forward to it too! :)

December 22nd

O King of the Gentiles, yea, and desire thereof! O Corner-stone, that makest of two one, come to save man, whom Thou hast made out of the dust of the earth!

Today I am going to surprise the kids with a new "king" puppet! Actually I purchased a 4 pack from discovery toys, but I am going to save the other 3 for Christmas. My kids love acting out puppet shows. Also, during craft time, I think we will be making these crowns!

December 23rd

O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and salvation thereof, come to save us, O Lord our God!

This is the last of the O Antiphons... Tomorrow will be Christmas Eve! The treat for today is going to be a couple new coloring books on Christ and the Eucharist. They are called Holy Name of Jesus and Eucharistic Adoration. We have the Mother of God Coloring Book from these publishers as well, and it is beautiful!





You can also listen to the O Antiphons beautifully chanted in Latin here.

Reading other blogs, I have found so many wonderful ideas that I hope to incorporate in the future. There is a wonderful post on the O Antiphons over at O Night Divine. Also, go check out Ruth's blog to see all her wonderful ways of celebrating the "O Antiphons." I just love her "O Antiphon" House. I definitely want to make one for next year!