Happy Santa Lucia Day!

Our morning got off to a rough start for a number of reasons, but after a quick trip to town for donuts sweet rolls and a BIG mocha for me, the day got much better! Twinkle Toes was so excited to wear her Santa Lucia crown and serve our teatime snack.

 

All the children really enjoyed the special treat.

 

We read Hanna's Christmas which we happened to run across at the library. It was such a darling book, and I highly recommend it!! (That is, if can find it at your library, since it is out of print, and quite expensive.) The kids did a bit of copywork and colored the beautiful picture of St. Lucy found in Fenestrae Fidei. This is our FAVORITE coloring book. The kids all love coloring pictures from it, plus I LOVE that you are allowed to copy pages for use within your family. (A HUGE plus in my book!)

  We are adding these colorings along with the ones for our Jesse Tree to our New Liturgical Year notebooks! Did Captain do a nice job? And I just have to share one more picture... I know, your thinking, enough already! But here is one last one of Chiquita trying on the Santa Lucia Crown...

  Next year I think I will definitely be making two! Oh! And if you have a second... Click here, here and here to see todays Santa Lucia posts from a few of my favorite blogs! I just love the Catholic Church and it's many traditions!

Relying on Your goodness, O God, we humbly ask you, by the intercession of your servant, Saint Lucy, to give perfect vision to our eyes, that we may serve for your greater honor and glory. And we pray for the salvation of our souls in this world, that we may come to the enjoyment of the unfailing light of the Lamb of God in heaven.

St. Lucy, virgin and martyr, hear our prayers and answer our petitions.

Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebration

Yesterday we went to an Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebration put on by the small catholic high school that a few of my siblings attend.

It started with Mass, at which the students led the music singing beautiful Gregorian Chant hymns.

Afterwards, we went out to the school for coffee and snacks.

My boys with their uncle, my little brother.

While there, the students gave a presentation to the children about Our Lady of Guadalupe.

My sister is the second from the right.

We got to see a recent project the students did on hell. It was very interesting to hear them explain their displays. The following three were done by my siblings.

Then they had a pinata for the younger ones, which, of course, was a hit!

As well as pictures of Our Lady of Guadalupe for the kids to color.

We were even able to talk the students into singing us a few Christmas carols in Latin and Spanish.

My twin sisters are on the left and one of my brothers is on the right.

It is such a blessing to have this school available. They are offering a solid Catholic education, and have 7 teachers for the various classes, most of whom home educate their own children. It is such a blessing for these kids to be able to be receiving such a wonderful education.

Dressing Up

Last night, while I was getting ready to leave for my monthly "Bunco" night out, the kids decided to dress up, and act out, the nativity. I was running late, and my flash card was almost full, so I was only able to get a couple pictures... I wanted to share them just the same.

The kids were very creative at finding things to use around the house. Above is "Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus."

I just loved that they used Snuggles blanket and a yellow stacking ring for the veil and halo! Isn't that cute!

I missed getting a picture of the shepherd and the angel... They were really sweet as well!

OH, and Bunco was a BLAST! I even won a prize for the "Most Wins!!" That makes 3 months in a row that I have won a prize... even if one was for the "biggest loser." :)

Our Santa Lucia Crown

December 13th is the Feast of St. Lucy. In Sweden this feast day is called Luciadagen. The tradition is, that the oldest girl in the family wears a white dress with a crimson sash and stockings, as well as a wreath crown with white lighted candles. Then, at dawn she would wake the rest of the family with hot steaming coffee and Lussekatter, or some other sweet bread.

I must admit, we have never celebrated this feast in the past... So, this is going to be the year we start this tradition. I thought it would be fun for the girls to watch me make Santa Lucia Crowns! Now, I have been wanting to make one like Jennifer's or Matilda's... But, that is going to be next years goal. This year, due to lack of talent necessity, I need to keep it simple.

I found these templates for candles and leaves. I printed the candles out onto cardstock and cut them out. I then used the leaf pattern to cut leaves from scrapes of colored scrapbooking paper. I also cut out yellow flames to add to the candles, and red circles to be used as berries. I made a ring out of cardstock, and stapled the ends, then with glue dots applied the leaves, berries and candles. Overall it was very simple and made completely from things we had on hand... A definate plus.

Here you can see the finished version, and Twinkle Toes trying it on... She is really looking forward to wearing it Thursday!

For breakfast Thursday, there are a number of recipes available online for Lussekatter. Another easy idea is to place birthday candles on the top of glazed donuts... My kids would love that! My plan is to, hopefully, make the recipe for "Santa Lucia Crown" found in Cooking with the Saints. It looks delicious!

You can read more about St. Lucy and find other ideas here and here.

Or scroll through all of our St. Lucy posts in the archives!

A Christmas Rose

The Christmas Novena to St. Therese begins tomorrow, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 12 days before Christmas. One is to pray the novena 12 times per day for 12 days to honor the 12 years of Christ's childhood. May you receive a Christmas Rose of many blessings this Christmas!

MYSTICAL ROSE NOVENA

Remember, O Gracious Little Rose Queen, your promise to spend your heaven in doing good on earth and even, if necessary, to come down to help those who ask your aid. If it is God's Holy Will, and my dispositions are pleasing to Him by their honesty and true desire for goodness, keep your promise to shower roses and send me some visible sign of your heavenly friendship for me and for those I love. In memory of the great interior enlightenment you received on a certain Christmas of your early life, ask God for a ":Christmas Rose" for me in these my urgent needs, that I may experience an increase in faith, hope and confidence. (Meditate, here upon your petitions so that St. Therese can understand why your are asking her to assist you.) I desire to know and to accept real objective truth about life and death. Give me assurance that you understand and will remain my heavenly friend, so that one day we may be together with God. Keep your promise to give some answer! Amen.

St. Therese of Lisieux ~ Pray for us!

While cleaning the boys room...

... I ran across the following pictures. I asked Captain if he drew them. He said, "No, (Rascal) did." I thought I would share:

This is Daddy or "Dade" (were still working on phonics!) back in his college, bull riding, days.
You can see the bleachers, with people and a flag in the background.

This is daddy and the boys dressed like commandos.

I'm always finding little drawings like these laying around that Rascal drew... Captain calls him our "artist"! Aren't they cute?

Thank You...

... Miss Regina, for the darling hat! It's a tiny bit small for Twinkle Toes, but it fits me perfectly! I love it! Can you please teach my mama to crochet so she can make sweet things for us?

Party time Recipes

Yesterday afternoon I hosted an Arbonne Skin Care Party for a dear friend of mine. I booked it a few weeks back, and thought, "I have PLENTY of time to get my house in order!" Well... Plenty of time is NEVER enough when you have 5 little ones running around!

So, needless to say, I was totally stressed out not quite ready, with just a couple hours till party time. But... THANKS to 3 of my SWEET SISTERS,

it all came together at the last second! We were even able to get a few yummy treats made and I thought I would share the recipes since they were all SO delicious and would be perfect for all the Christmas parties coming up!

The first recipe is a favorite around here... Especially of my hubby's... He loves anything that contains cherries! It is so easy and so festive that I usually make it for with our Christmas brunch!

Cherry Cheese Coffee Cake

Cake & filling
2 (8 oz. each) pkgs. refrigerated crescent rolls
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
21 oz. can cherry pie filling

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unroll crescent dough and arrange 12 of the triangles in a circle with wide ends toward the outside edge of the Large Round Stone - the points will not meet in the center. Lightly flour and roll out the seams making a 14" circle with a 3" hole in the center. Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg & vanilla and spread over dough. Top with pie filling. Cut each of the 4 remaining triangles into thirds (starting at the wide end opposite the point and cutting lengthwise to the point). Arrange over filling evenly in spoke-like pattern. Press ends to seal at center and outer edges. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly. Mix powdered sugar and milk until glaze consistency and drizzle over coffee cake.

I figured with a house full of women I HAD TO HAVE something made with chocolate... So, I decided on this delicious brownie recipe. It was also very easy to make as are most Pampered Chef Recipes. (I LOVE Pampered Chef!)

Triple Layer Brownies

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped

1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 package (19-21 oz.) fudge brownie mix (plus ingredients to make brownies)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Additional chopped peanuts (optional)

Prep time: 10 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray Rectangular Baker with nonstick cooking spray. Chop peanuts using Food Chopper. Combine oats, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, and peanuts in Small Batter Bowl. Add butter; mix well. Press oat mixture onto bottom of Baker. Bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven.

2. Meanwhile, prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Gently spoon batter over partially baked crust; carefully spread to edges of Baker. Bake according to package directions for brownies (28-30 minutes). Cool completely.

3. Combine chocolate morsels and peanut butter in Small Micro-Cooker. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over cooled brownies using Large Spreader. Sprinkle with additional chopped peanuts, if desired. Cool until chocolate mixture is set. Cut into bars. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

The last thing I made were these DELICIOUS spring rolls. I can never make enough of them. EVERYONE left with a copy of the recipe, so that must say something for them! They take a bit more effort to make, but is well worth it, especially with "sweet sisters" to help!

Chicken Satay Spring Rolls
Ingredients:

Sauce
1 teaspoon peeled and finely grated fresh gingerroot
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Spring Rolls
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
1/2 small cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into julienne strips
4 (8-inch) round or square rice paper wrappers (see Cook's Tip)
1 cup packed fresh baby spinach leaves
8 ounces thinly sliced deli chicken or turkey
12 sprigs fresh cilantro

1. For sauce, finely grate gingerroot using Grater. In Classic Batter Bowl, combine gingerroot, peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, water, garlic pressed with Garlic Press and cayenne pepper. Whisk until smooth using Stainless Whisk; set aside.

2. For spring rolls, chop peanuts using Food Chopper; set aside. Score cucumber lengthwise using Lemon Zester/Scorer. Remove seeds using The Corer™. Using Ultimate Slice & Grate fitted with adjustable thin slicing blade, slice cucumber. Slice bell pepper into thin strips using Chef's Knife.

3. Cut carrot into long julienne strips using Julienne Peeler.

4. To assemble spring rolls, moisten both sides of one rice paper wrapper with water using Pastry Brush. Arrange one-fourth of the spinach leaves over wrapper, leaving a 1-inch space along edges. Top with one-fourth of the chicken and spread with a thin layer of sauce. Sprinkle with peanuts. Arrange cucumber, bell pepper, carrot and cilantro sprigs over chicken, allowing cilantro leaves to extend outside edges of wrapper.

5. Roll up spring roll tightly; repeat with remaining wrappers. Cut each spring roll into fourths using Serrated Bread Knife. Stand pieces up on Simple Additions® Rectangle Platter and serve.

Variation: Chicken Satay Tortilla Wraps: If desired, four burrito-size tortillas (11-11 1/2 inches), trimmed into 9-inch squares, can be substituted for the rice paper wrappers. Do not moisten tortillas. Spread peanut sauce onto one side of tortillas, sprinkle with chopped peanuts, then layer with spinach leaves and chicken. Proceed as recipe directs in Step 3.

**I really think that the Rice Paper makes them the best and is VERY unique! Rice paper wrappers are thin, round or square sheets that are made from rice flour. They have a translucent, white appearance and are shelf stable. Rice paper wrappers can be found in Asian or specialty food markets.

If any of you try these, let me know what you think!

Tribute to the Blessed Virgin

I wanted to share this beautiful video with you today since it is the Solemnity Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It was created by the same friend who made our All Saints video, and is "a tribute to the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her role in the plan of salvation."

Have a wonderful day!

Creating our Christ Candle

Today is the Feast of St. Ambrose! You can read about him here.

St. Ambrose is the Patron Saint of Candlemakers, among other things, so I thought it would be a good day to let the children decorate our Christ Candle in time to drape it with blue cloth tomorrow, December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. On Christmas Eve we will remove the cloth to reveal Christ and replace our Advent Candles with this one as we celebrate Christmas.

We really enjoyed reading the story of St. Ambrose out of wonderful book we just purchased titled Once upon a time Saints. The children were all quite captivated and I look forward to reading more stories from this book.

However, when it came time to decorate our candle, I was not quite sure what to use since the supplies I ordered ended up being out of stock and have yet to arrive... Captain had the great idea of using some nativity stickers I purchased last year! Now how easy is that! We tied a big gold ribbon around the candle and the kids got busy applying stickers.

I wish I would have made a yummy treat like Matilda and Meredith..these two women never cease to amaze me...but, alas, that was not to be. Definitely next year!

"There is no time of life past learning something."
St. Ambrose ~ Pray for us!