Six Years Old

Happy birthday to my six year old son. Crazy day. Crazy party. Running, screaming, squealing. . . so much energy! Being six is so wonderful. Playing with action figures with many, small, movable parts. Learning to read. Loving the "100 board" at school. Eating as much sugar as possible on a daily basis-- or at least as much as Mom will allow. Listening to Dad read the 5th Harry Potter book each night. Loving music-- especially the Police and the Who. Dancing like no one else can. He is my crazy boy, and I love him so much.

The Snowy Day

It so rarely snows in Jackson, Mississippi. Today was a glorious reminder that all is possible.

Second Sunday in Advent

I'm having lots of fun creating collages through Picasa. They look like little quilts of photos and tell stories in different ways from single shots. Yesterday at St. Andrew's Cathedral, I took photos of things that struck me in their simplicity and beauty-- clay figures of Gabriel and baby Jesus that the children made in Catechesis, children playing music and working in the atriums, panels of the Aids Memorial Quilt that were on display in the parish hall, banners of St. Nicholas and the Tree of Life, and the light shining down through the courtyard onto the last remaining leaves of the pear tree.

I'm sure that folks "out-there" have already done this, but wouldn't it be interesting to make a collage for each day of the year to create a quilt-like photographic journal? This may be my new project for the coming year. . .

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!

Photo collage from St. Nicholas Day activities: Saint Andrew's Cathedral celebration and bell choir rehearsal from Wednesday night; making paper miters with my students at St. Therese; Saturday morning presents for my children; little birds for some special people; and hearth and home.

Lunch with friends

It was a "day-off" kind of day. I didn't leave the house except to pick up children from school or piano lessons. I did some tidying-up, made some chocolate chip cookies, cleared the dining room table from my sewing projects, and had some friends over for lunch.

I meant to do some Christmas shopping, but I never got out the door. Part of the problem is that I'm still trying to decide on what to give. I did a lot of online browsing and started more than one shopping cart, but I didn't make any commitments. I must be still in process mode.

Our Advent Calendar of Mini-Books

This is the advent calendar that we worked on over Thanksgiving. First, we folded little hot-dog books out of half sheets of 8.5 x 11 size paper. The instructions to make these are here. Then, we used pencils to carve Styrofoam from recycled take-out sushi trays. These became our blocks from which to print the numbers. (Numbers and letters must be carved in mirror-image. How many times did I get that wrong? Several). Then, we printed the numbers on the covers of the books. On the first Sunday of advent, we strung up the books with sisal twine and mini clothespins across the kitchen windows. Everyone in the family is encouraged to write reflections or daily happenings or draw pictures for each day. On some days, I'll put a clue in the book for a mini treasure hunt.

The light this afternoon was so beautiful, so I'm starting a new set of photos around the theme of advent light. The Japanese maple is almost done shedding it's brilliant, fiery leaves. Look who joined me to marvel in the carpet of drying leaves.

Making Way for Advent

Advent starts today. I can feel the tension building knowing how much needs to be done between now and Christmas-- for work, for home, for church, for friends. But, I'm going to resist the craziness with every fiber of my being.

Thanksgiving week was good practice. We spent most of our time in the house. Almost every table was always covered with an art project, craft, sewing, or food. This is how I would like Advent to be this year with lots of time for making homemade gifts.

Done alone, sewing and knitting are primarily quiet activities perfect for contemplation or just thinking about stuff. If done with others, sewing and knitting bring people together in a common endeavor of creativity and community. The children certainly experienced this. My sister and I did, too.