The Jesse Tree

Another tradition we are using this Advent is the Jesse Tree. A Jesse Tree is a project which helps to track the ancestors of Jesus. It is called a Jesse Tree after Jesse of Bethlehem who is the father of King David. This project helps to teach you quite a bit of Old Testament history, something that I know we can all stand to learn a bit more about.

With our older two, we are using the Jesse Tree kit from Illuminated Ink. With our younger kids, we are using the Jesse Tree images available on the Advent CD from Holy Heroes.

The Holy Heroes DVD also gives us short videos to use every night to explain the history of each symbol. If you also use their on-line program, you receive direct to your inbox each day word searches, cross word puzzles, coloring sheets, a decade-a-day audio, and audio version of the Angelus and much more. We are combining both the on-line version with the DVD because I like to be able to play the videos on the television rather than just the computer. It's not too late to sign up if you missed doing so earlier.

Celebrating Saints and Seasons

I am always looking for a few new ideas to add to our schedule to help the children understand the liturgical year better.  Heck, I love finding ideas for the adults in the family as well since we both grew up without truly celebrating the liturgical year.  The book Celebrating Saints and Seasons is full of easy yet fun ideas to try with your children.  Many of the activities would be appropriate to use in a classroom setting so they would be great for religious ed classes but there are also plenty of activities that are best for a home setting.  This book also has ideas for drawing attention to some secular accomplishments in each month such as the lunar landing.  The inexpensive price makes this a wonderful book to add to your library.  I am looking forward to using the ideas in the book to add a little something extra to our religious education studies this year.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Celebrating Saints and Seasons . They are also a great source for first communion gifts and baptism gifts.

Kids in the Kitchen

While Alan was making dinner, the little ones decided they wanted to help cook. 

Jotham's Journey

We try to focus on some seasonal read alouds during Advent. We've started this book twice before and gotten distracted by life and not finished it by Christmas. The goal this year is to make a point to read this book every night with the kids.

Jotham's Journey is a family devotional book divided into short chapters for each day of Advent. This book follows 10-year-old Jotham as he tries to reunite with his family. Obviously, the boy learns some valuable lessons along the way.

This book is part 1 of a 3 book trilogy. Hopefully next year we can delve into the next book in the series.

The Making of the Advent Candles

We try every year to make our own Advent candles.  Some years it goes better than others.  The past few years we have purchased a kit from Illuminated Ink to make beeswax candles.  This is a wonderful project for the kids to do mostly on their own.  The only negative to using these candles from my view point is that they are only supposed to have about 4 hours of burn time and we usually try to light them every night so we buy 2 kits and hope they last.  I think we may try something a tad different next year but for now, these work well.  Hopefully we will be able to get the candles blessed tomorrow.  And I have to say I really prefer the smell of beeswax candles to regular ones. 

Hopefully over the next few weeks we will be able to share a few more of our Advent traditions since we do our best to focus on Advent and never Christmas until the Christmas season actually starts.

Glory Stories

We love using audio books around here.  They are great for car trips, reluctant readers and getting kids to listen to stories that maybe they aren't quite old enough to read on their own.  The folks at HolyHeroes sell two great series of audio stories that are perfect for teaching your children about the faith.  The Altar Gang series teaches children about the sacraments (and I am constantly getting requests to put those cds back in the van to listen to on our trips) and the Glory Stories series teaches children about various saints.  Right now they are offering a free copy of one of their Glory Stories CDs.  You just pay shipping.  This free CD covers Imelda Lambertini and Juan Diego.  Blessed Imelda is considered the patron of first communicants so this would be a perfect cd to give to any child preparing for First Communion this year.  Check them out and while you are there, consider ordering some of their advent resources as well.

Why Enough is Never Enough

As a family, we have been focusing on paying off all of our consumer debt over the past 2 years so when I was given a chance to read the book Why Enough is Never Enough: Overcoming Worries about Money-A Catholic Perspective, I jumped on it.  This book is not about teaching your how to manage your money or spend your money, but rather about how to make peace with your finances.  It's about learning to be at peace if you have $1000 left at the end of the month, are $200 short or fall somewhere in the middle.

If you are looking for a book full of budget sheets and investment ideas, this book is not for you.  If you are looking for a book that will remind you that money does not define who you are, then keep on reading.

Our society today gives us a lot of mixed messages about finances. You should never allow yourself to get into debt but you should also never allow yourself to appear as if you don't have an infinite amount of wealth.  Never, ever mention that you are trying to stick to a budget so you simply cannot buy the latest gadget for your brood.  We've all known the person who seemed to believe that a person's worth could be measured by what they do for a living or how much money they had in the bank rather than by examining their character.  We are all bombarded by messages from the media to focus on things in our attempt to be accepted by family and friends.  These messages are especially prevalent during the holiday season.  Just yesterday I saw commercials telling people that before you have your family over for the holidays, you must buy new furniture, whiten your teeth, buy new clothes and get a new car.  Why we seem vulnerable to these messages is easy to figure out.  You want to impress your relatives and make it appear as if you have gotten somewhere in life.  But I have to wonder if we have all forgotten some very important ideas. Several quotes from the book jumped out at me in regard to these ideas.

"The main spiritual problem we have in America today is that as a society we have confused what we do with who we are."

"It is impossible to make peace with money until you make peace with God."

"Wealth invites us, ever so slowly and with great cunning, to spend more time on  things rather than people. Wealth is deceptive."

This book was a gentle reminder that when we turn off the worry and trust in God's providence to take care of us, a great burden will be lifted from our shoulders.  But we must be willing to make a few hard choices along the way and perhaps ignore the societal urge to keep up with neighbors or the relatives.  I'll happily trade having the perfect appearing life for that sense of peace anyday.  For those struggling to gain control of their financial life, don't neglect to read a book of this nature.  Wealth is one thing, peace is another.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Why Enough Is Never Enough and be sure to check out their great selection of baptism gifts while you are there.

Unlikely Spiritual Heroes

I just finished reading the book Unlikely Spiritual Heroes by Brennan R. Hill.  I have a feeling that this series of books will be added to our required reading list for our kids during jr high/high school.  I won't say the writing was absolutely excellent. It did drag a bit in places.  But the stories of the ordinary people who made a major difference simply by living their lives as they should be lived were inspiring.  The kind of stories that always leave me wondering if we have folks (myself included) in society today who would be willing to stand for what is right even if it meant certain death, ridicule and criticism.  Super quick read and a good book for starting one of those discussions with your kids.

This Kid Makes Me Smile

Smart Martha's:Catholic Guide for Busy Moms

 I recently read Smart Martha's: Catholic Guide for Busy Moms.  This wonderful little book is chock full of tips and ideas to help you in your vocation as a mom.  Many of us struggle with finding a balance between having a neat, organized, perfect looking home and finding time to spend time with our children.  The more kids you add to the family, the harder this balance is to maintain.  In this book, Tami Kiser gives you lots of small ideas to help keep things running smoothly.

One of the best reminders for me in this book was the thought that you only have one chance to raise your children.  This reminder was coupled with the question of what do you want your children to remember of their time in your home.  We all hope for the perfect home on some level but even more important is to stop and spend time with your kids.  If you take the time to implement just a few of the suggestions in this book, you will find that you are able to more easily relax and spend that time with your kids.

This book was reassuring to me as we prepare to welcome our ninth child.  With each new child comes a bit of concern over how we will be able to manage to meet the needs of all of our children without having the house fall down around our ears.  We have already started to use a few of the tips in this book and hope to implement a few more in the weeks ahead.  More importantly, in some way this book gave me permission to sit down guilt free with the kids and simply enjoy being with them.  Even if there is still laundry to fold or a room to clean up somewhere.  For parents everywhere wondering how to manage to the demands of family and home, this book will be guaranteed to have at least one tip you can use to make things easier on your family.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Smart Martha's Catholic Guide for Busy Moms and be sure to check out their great selection of baptism gifts while you are there.

New Sweaters

The kids have been asking for weeks it seems when their new sweaters would arrive.  Yes, they get a bit excited about their new sweaters each year.  Even more excited when they get to put in requests for colors and patterns.  The sweaters arrived today and the kids are all thrilled.