Very long story short, two year old George has been hospitalized with bacterial meningitis since November 7th. We started at Urgent Care, were sent to the ER, admitted to Intensive Care, and then to a regular hospital room. He was a really, really sick little guy....
Hey guys! Advent is JUST around the corner. In fact, today is the feast of St. Andrew, which, for us, kicks off our Advent traditions. (Even though Sunday is the actual beginning of Advent.) The very first thing I recommend in the Catholic All Year Compendium is the...
First off, thank you guys for liking the book. I mean, I hoped you would. But you just never know. It's been great seeing your social media posts and Amazon reviews (if you've got it will you leave one?) and getting your messages and talking to folks in real life...
Advent starts tomorrow! And that means tonight is Catholic New Year's Eve, so break out the champagne! If, like me, you are not quite ready to, um, get ready, I thought I'd share this quick and easy Advent Wreath that is our go-to every year now. We've had lots...
I had every intention of not wading into the Elf on the Shelf debate, because it's really not a matter of faith and morals, and is therefore something about which good Catholics are free to make their own choices, and follow their own consciences, and disagree. But...
As someone somewhere in this blessed country is getting knocked unconscious over a discounted Keurig Machine, I plan to be observing Black Friday by continuing our family tradition of watching all of the Lord of the Rings movies (and none of the Hobbit movies) over...
Every year, I see rabble rousing Christian websites trying to get folks to boycott businesses that use Happy Holidays in their advertising. Obviously, I support people's right to do as they please with their own money. But as for me, I'm not a boycotter to begin with,...
Keep reading all the way to the bottom for the winners of the two most recent Advent giveaways, and my next to last giveaway of the season, which just might help you enjoy these Netflix recommendations a little more. Speaking of that . . . As I've written about here...
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you have already seen some grainy iPad mini photos of our big Camping Thanksgiving trip to Utah. But NOW, I'm going to virtually trap you in my living room and show you my vacation photos like an aloha shirt grandpa with a...
Don't you just love this song? I do. But naughtiness isn't why there's not going to be much under our tree this year. It's just that there are plenty of reasons my kids don't need any toys. Seven, in fact. Here they are . . . 1. We Have a Lot of Stuff We have a...
--- 1 --- . . . by a Saint Happy St. Nicholas Day! Think Santa is all pipe-smoking and belly-laughs? Think again. Dude totally punched a heretic in the face AT THE COUNCIL OF NICEA! Seriously, you're going to want to read all about it here: When Santa...
Here's a little glimpse at what the first few days of Advent have looked like at our house . . . Journey to Bethlehem (the board game) It's pretty much the best advent-themed board game ever. But it's a very limited edition, since Jack made it when he was in the first...
Reading this post from Haley at Carrots for Michaelmas and this post from Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda has made me realize that I really, really, really want our family to have 24 Advent/Christmas picture books that we love. Books that are pretty to look at and fun...
A few weeks ago, I wrote about our family's advent philosophy, but now that advent is actually upon us, I wanted to share a little more about our three favorite advent family traditions. 1. Little People Nativity We have many nativity sets. We've got a big outdoor...
There's still time before Thursday at 9pm Pacific to enter to win the giveaway. (To enter by leaving a comment on the original post go here.) The giveaway is over, thanks to everyone who entered! In case you didn't win, some of you wanted to be able to make your...
Advent is fast approaching, preceded by Thanksgiving of course, and (around here anyway) a new baby. Last week, I shared how Advent traditions have changed in our family. We really try to focus on Advent as a time of waiting and preparation. So, rather than watching...
Now that Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls are behind us, I'm going to make like the mall and jump right in to Christmas. Thanksgiving schmanksgiving, amitrie? (I'm kidding, we do celebrate Thanksgiving. In fact this year we'll be having 15-16 family members at our...
