12 Stories from the 12 Days of Christmas

After soaking in two more days of Christmas break (thank you, Arctic Blast), I decided to come up with my top 12 stories from the 12 days of Christmas.  To be technical, these stories did not all come from December 25th- January 5th, but I thought you might get a little tired of something akin to:
"Awoke.  Did not change from pajamas.  Made something crafty while watching 1/2 of an entire TV show season.  Repeat."

But really, this was one of the most restful Christmas breaks I can remember having.  Lots of down time with my family, lots of sleep, lots of finished (fun) projects, with still enough checked off my to-do list to make me not feel like I wasted the whole break.  (Let's not mention that I probably got more done in the last two days than I had all of break...procrastination can be my best friend.)

In no particular order, here are 12 stories from my Christmas season:
(Note that picture taking was not on the 17 day agenda.  Forgive the few and poor shots.)

1. I received some lovely and thoughtful gifts from my students.  Here is a photo of some of them, and you might just catch a theme.  The owl coffee mug and owl candle holder and owl pencil pouch didn't make this particular picture, unfortunately.

2. I had a couple of occasions to sport an ugly Christmas sweater.  With joy, I rocked this teddy bear Christmas vest.  This particular wearing was also part of a white elephant gift exchange.  No one else seemed quite as happy with their presents as I did with my World Series Math game.  Yay for math facts!

3.  I wrote a lot of Christmas cards.  A lot.  And had to go to the store for more.  This stack (of about 100) was finished during a How I Met Your Mother marathon at S & S's house.  My puppy-nephew Zeke licked all the seals. (not really-don't get grossed out).

4.  On that note, I irrationally decided to still hand make my Christmas card this year.  However, I am really very happy with the result.

Here is the inside:

Before you ask, yes, the inside of the card is lined with a page from a Bible.  A real Bible.  And yes, I wrestled with Catholic guilt about using pages from a Bible. For over a month.  And maybe still a little bit now.
My rationalization?
-I saved the Bible from the garbage.
-The page is intact and readable, and therefore sharing the Gospel.  It couldn't do that from the garbage.
-It is pretty, much prettier than garbage.
-It spreads the real meaning of Christmas in a different way.  Unlike garbage.
-I am all about upcycling.
- Please don't tell the Pope.

5. Chex Mix is my favorite holiday food.  That and apple pie...and mashed potatoes.  But chex mix is one of my favorite things to snack on during holiday gatherings.  The night before the night before Christmas, I was packing everything I needed to take to my parents.  About midnight, I thought, I should make some chex mix!  Great idea!...but no way would I have all the ingredients...however, I dug in my cupboards and pantry and found enough of normal chex mix ingredients to pull it off.  I was so proud to be prepared for the holidays and to bring something else to share at the festivities.  I however, did not read labels very carefully.
Looks like chex mix.
Smells like chex mix.
But tastes like chex mix made with cinnamon flavored cereal.

I don't recommend amending your normal recipe to match mine.

6.  I mentioned a lot of crafting.  Emily and I  made these beauts the day after our TV day (NCIS marathon, no one allowed to change of our pajamas).  The boys were tired of being cooped up, so they went outside to shoot and blow up things. (You might think that I am joking.   I am not.)  The girls moved into the dining room (gasp! sitting at a table?)  and crafted.  For most of the day.  It was better than awesome.

If you were worried that we were missing prime uninterrupted TV season viewing during this time, you need not stress.  As soon as the boys were clear, we popped Call the Midwife into a laptop on the table and watched while painting.  I am not sure why the boys promptly went back out to shoot things when they saw what we were doing.

7. Just in case you are afraid that my eyes will fall out from all of that TV viewing, I made plenty of time for reading too.  Among the books, I re-read for the thirdish time The Book Thief.  I love it more and more each time.

8.  However, it is killing me that I didn't get to see the movie in theaters.  By the time the freedom of Christmas break rolled around, it wasn't in theaters around here anymore.  I will just have to wait until it is out on DVD and buy it.  There is not much difference between buying a movie ticket and the actual movie, anyways.

I did get to see this one, however, and it was great.  Elphaba, I mean, Elsa, I mean, Idina Menzel, made the music awesome.  It reminded me of the kind of Disney movies I remember from when I was little. And that made me love it.

9.  I got really dressed up for New Year's Eve.  And went to a real grown up party.  And maybe used a really too much amount of hairspray.

Hello, Shirley Temple.

10.  Just in case you were wondering, there were also more crafts.  Like this one:

11.  And this one.  If you think that I slacked on the crafting, just check out the goods available in our small time business.

I think that this creation might have been during the NCIS LA marathon, but I might be mistaken.

12.  I would be remiss to not document my view of the Arctic Blast, which imprisoned me (let's be honest, it was the best thing ever) in my apartment for two days.  Here is my view out of my frozen window:

Which really looked something like this nationwide:

And you can't tell me that it didn't make you think of this:

Seriously.



And now, 12 stories later, I am already on my way to failing in all of my goals for the first day of school.  They sounded something like this.

1. Get to bed before midnight.
2. Get to school early since you haven't been there in over two weeks and have no copies made and your lesson plans are all messed up because you had two frozen weather days and you know that the day is going to be a mess.
3. Try to not nap. Do not nap.
4. Survive.

Cross number 1 off the list.  I'll let you know how 2-4 go after tomorrow.


I hope that you and your family had a wonderful, restful, homebound, blessed Christmas season!

My Gift- Celebrating Epiphany

A few years ago, our parish family "Christmas" celebration actually took place on Epiphany, the celebration of the Wise Men visiting the Infant Christ.  Because time for rehearsing a play was out of the question, we instead did a kind of readers' theater with some of the older kids acting as readers.  It worked very well, was simple, and shared the message.  I think that it could be easily adapted for use with a smaller group or in a classroom.

Supplies Needed:

• Cards with each of the readers’ parts on them. (Script and card printables below)
• Song sheets or song books with the songs for all participants
• Eleven empty boxes wrapped with Christmas paper
• Something to use as a manger
• Strips of yellow paper
• Markers
• Costumes for the readers are optional

Here are some of the details for how we made it work: 

• Line up eleven readers- they don’t even have to practice ahead of time.  Give them their cards to look at and sit them in the order that they will speak.  I had them in a row of chairs with their wrapped present sitting underneath to keep things flowing smoothly.
• Have yellow strips of paper available with markers on all of the tables for kids and parents.  Before the intro, have them write down something that they did during Advent to prepare for Baby Jesus coming.  This part could also be done throughout Advent and collected during CCD/Sunday School/in the Classroom/at home.
• Have everyone face a central “stage”- a table with the manger on it, a stack of straw bales with the manger, etc.
• When each reader says MY GIFT, have them place a wrapped Christmas present near the manger, and then return to their seat during the song.
• We took the opportunity to pass out the CCD students’ gifts after the program, emphasizing the connection between our gift giving and the first gifts given to Jesus at Epiphany.

Click here for a copy of the supplies, instructions, and script, including the songs that we sang in between each reader.

When I did this, I simply cut up a script and glued it on index cards for the readers, but I decided to make it a little nicer for you. :)

Click here for the printable of the readers' cards:

Happy Epiphany!

Nativity Photo Booth

 Do you have some Nativity costumes lying around your church or school for those one-time-a-year Christmas plays for the kiddos?

 How about the props for the plays?  You know, gifts of the Magi, animal ears, angel's halos?

Does it seem wasteful to only use the costumes and props once a year and then put them in storage?

I thought so.  I also was looking for a main activity for our Advent Family Celebration last weekend, so I thought I would play off of the the photo booth trend and use all of these great costumes for some family fun.

Cue time for a backdrop:

We were having this event in our Youth Group room, which is a wonderful space, but doesn't have a single blank wall.  So I used my favorite ambiance changer, the plastic table cloth.  They are amazing and cheap.  You can create many of the same effects that you might want to do with fabric at a small fraction of the cost.

I bought a roll of black plastic table cloth (cheaper and can be cut to length than individual table cloths).  I picked a corner of the room and cut long pieces of the plastic.  I love drop ceilings for this purpose, because it makes it so easy to hang things.  We just lifted the tile a bit and shoved (gently) the plastic in.  It doesn't budge, and you don't have to worry about tape on the walls.  When you are ready to take it down, you just lift up the tile and the plastic drops.

To make the background a little more interesting, I added the star of Bethlehem using a foil star from those Christmas play props and some yellow crepe paper.

Zoomed in, it worked as a backdrop for a fun photo booth.  Zoomed out, it was just a corner of a basement room. 

Add a baby Jesus, and you are ready to go!

This guy's name actually used to be George, I think.  

I asked my mom to dig through our old toys for a doll, and she brought a Cabbage Patch.

I can imagine that Baby Jesus had cute chubby cheeks, though. Can you?

The event went great!   I had whole classes act out a scene from the Nativity, and families pose for a picture, and some of the kids come back time after time and try on just about every costume.  Who doesn't like dress up, right?  Hopefully this inspires you to think of a new way to use those Christmas Program costumes you have!  

Feasting with Archbishop Sheen

Today marks the unofficial feast day celebrating Venerable Fulton J. Sheen's birth into heaven.  While not yet named a Blessed or Saint, God willing, Sheen will be declared as such by the Church very soon, at which time his feast day would become official.  At the very least, we can honor him now as a man who loved Christ and His Church and desired for all souls to have that same love.  So while unofficial, I will still be celebrating today!

Bonnie at A Knotted Life has been posting a novena leading up to Sheen's Feast Day, and hosting several guests who share a love for Sheen.  Bonnie and Sheen are pretty tight, considering she and her family believe that it was through his intercession that God miraculously healed their stillborn (pulseless for 61 minutes) son.  You can read all about that here (trust me, you have to hear this story!). 

Bonnie and I are good friends in real life, and while I knew about Sheen and had read a book or two of his before, my desire to "meet" him was kindled in the witness of what God worked in their infant son.  In the past few years, I have read many of his books, watched his You Tube videos, listed to Mp3s and CDs of his talks, and I have gotten to the point where I feel like we are friends.  That friendship between the people of God's Church here on earth and in heaven is something that I am so grateful to have an understanding of.   And last year, it became something that I wanted to share with my 5th grade students.  I created a curriculum to teach them about his life and about the things that he taught.  Today, this year's class of kids is going to begin their Fulton Sheen Notebooks and get an introduction on the upcoming journey that we will share with Archbishop Sheen.

Bonnie asked me to come over and be a guest (her first) on her very fun new blog video series, which she is calling the "Knot Bad" Videos.  I love it.  Kuddos to Bonnie for making this video so professional looking, because between a lost and found camera, lots of dead batteries, an ipod, two laptops, five kids, five non-overlapping nap times, and about five hours (not really), I was pretty sure she was going to call me later to say we had to do it ALL again.  She did an awesome job, and I appreciate her asking me to share some ideas for celebrating Sheen's Feast Day as a family or classroom.

So give the video a watch, visit Bonnie, and maybe try some of the crafts that I mention in the video: A Sheen Lapbook, the Pop-up Marian Shrine, the Monstrance Craft, and lots and lots more.

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, Pray for us!

Hello, Advent!

Advent is here!

A time for waiting and watching, as we look toward Christ's coming at Christmas as well as His coming at the end of time

Here are some ideas for you to use with your kiddos this Advent:

Seeking our Savior: An Advent Detective Journey based on Scripture, showing how Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Christ.  Printable coloring book, Scripture cards, mini craft projects, and a leaders guide.

 Advent Jeopardy Trivia games here and here.

 Party Like a Saint- A December-Saint-Themed Advent Party with crafts and games.

What if they had email?  Youth Group Advent lesson idea putting the Christmas story in a new perspective.

 A Stocking For Jesus: Activities to go along with the book, including some Advent printables.

More to come this month, including starting a new tradition with your Wise Men, teaching the Names of Jesus as part of Advent, and the O Antiphons!

Empowering Kids to Help with Tornado Relief in Illinois

I am sure that most of you have already heard about the devastating tornadoes that hit Central Illinois last Sunday.

Today I saw first hand a small portion of the damage done in Washington after the F4 tornado, and it just makes me sick. You cannot even imagine the destruction, and pictures don't do it justice.  Washington is getting a lot of news coverage, as it well should, but Pekin, the town where I teach, was also hit by a tornado from the same storm system.

First thing Monday morning, less than 24 hours after the tornadoes, I drove to work in Pekin, not knowing what to expect.  Again, I only saw a small portion of the damage, but it was astounding.  I didn't know what I would encounter as my students were dropped off at school...but praised be to God, they are all ok and basically unscathed.  The same is not true for all of the homes of the families at my school.  It took a good portion of our morning just to hear each student's update on where they were, what they saw, and how they were dealing with the tragedy.

What to think in the face of such devastation?
I am currently thinking of the ways that people are pulling together.
The way facebook is connecting tornado victims with their lost belongings miles and miles away.
The way rival football teams don't seem to be rivals in the face of something bigger than a game.
And the way I saw hundreds of people out cleaning debris today, despite the freezing temperatures.

I also learned more about my students this week.  That despite loss of power and water, major cleanup, displacement out of homes, living out of suitcases...each of them knew that it could have been so much worse.  And their first thoughts were "We're ok.  What can we do to help the people who are not?"

I know that there are lots of ways to be helping those affected in Pekin, Washington, and other locations.  Please do whatever you feel called to.  But please also remember to pray.  Pray for the injured.  Pray for those who feel lost.  Pray for those who are still in shock and will deal with emotions later when support might not be as available.  Pray for those working to clean up and rebuild these lives, especially in the conditions Central Illinois usually has in late November (today it was 18 degrees outside).  Pray for healing.  Pray in thanksgiving for the way that communities pull together to support one another.

Speaking of support, one of the first contacts I received checking on my school and students was from KidKnits.  I wrote earlier this year about KidKnits, which is our class service project.  Coupling the skill of knitting a hat on a round loom with handspun yarn made in Rwanda by impoverished widows, KidKnits has made a strong impact on my kids and my school.  It teaches that "you are never to young to change a life on the other side of the world."

However, KidKnits is also very much about changing a life right across the state, or town, or block.  We have a KidKnits community here in Pekin, and there is also a KidKnits presence in Washington.  Impacted by the tornadoes in both communities, KidKnits is currently raising funds to help.  You can read about their thoughts and reasoning here.  Donations of at least $10 will get the donor a KidKnits backpack tag kit, a cool reminder of remembering to think outside of ourselves.  What's even better?  KidKnits is going to take the donations towards tornado relief and let the KidKnits kids in Washington and my KidKnits kids here in Pekin decide how to best use the money- adonation to a family in need, straight to the Red Cross, etc.  The kids may not be able to make a significant donation on their own, but with the help of others, we can empower them to help those who need to be extended generosity the most.  If you are interested in helping with their campaign, please click here.

Georgia Peaches

Last month, I was blessed to visit these lovely people (my baby sis and bil):

Who now live in the lovely state of Georgia (ONLY about 15 hours away).

And now we typically only see each other using lovely Google Chat:

But it is so much better to be together!

After my quick and (delayed) but uneventful flight, I was picked up at the airport, hugged a lot, fed lunch, and ushered into their new Army Post home.

I was welcome by this lovely drawing, created by my (no-big-deal) sister, just because:

If you can't read it, the sketch is joined by the Fulton Sheen quote "Mary was not full of grace because she was beautiful; she was beautiful because she was full of grace."

And greeted by my lovely new puppy-niece:

We visited the National Infantry Museum:

...where I learned the basics of many things, including Airborne School...

...and almost got Luke kicked out of the Army.  (but not really):

We also saw this movie:
(Intensity alert: I don't think I have ever nearly jumped out of my seat as much in a movie theater, nor have I gasped as much in 134 minutes. Ho.ly. Cow.)

However, I was much more excited when I saw this preview, for a movie about a book that I love, that is being made into a movie that I didn't know was being made into a movie and I am so excited...take a breath (!)...it looks so good.

We ate some de-li-cious food at this place:
Luke and Emily also thoroughly embarrassed me at this restaurant, but that is a story for another time.

(Forgive all the double pictures...three people...means we were never all in the same picture at the same time.)

I enjoyed so much our spending time together eating and relaxing in their home, which does feel so much like a home.  (Good job housewife Emily!)

More good food:

And then...we left Luke and the puppy behind and flew back to Peoria

Em was so excited to have cool air, less humidity, and trees with changing leaves.

You know how there is always a formal and somewhat stern voice in airports that announces every 8 and a half minutes "Attention travelers!  Airport security requires that all passengers maintain control of their luggage at all times."

Emily was having trouble maintaining control of her luggage...

But it was still good to be back.

Later in the week, our other sister Steph joined us and we did fun things like celebrate our dad's birthday and paint pottery and watch Hallmark movies.  You know, sister stuff. 

I enjoyed my visit to GA so much, and also was glad to have (almost) the whole family back together for a few days.  All the togetherness was wonderful, and we were sad to put our baby sister back on a plane.  However, we took one more picture to document a first... something that we have always joked about doing but never actually done...

The three of us are now a blonde, a brunette, and a red head....feel free to comment with your favorite joke!