Advent Traditions

I wanted to have a list of our family traditons to reference in the future and so thought this might be a good place to do so. These are what we like/try to do. They are in no particular order.

Christmas Countdown Chain
Put up and Decorate Tree
Decorate house
Gift shopping
Shopping trip with Mom and Maureen
Christmas Cards
Family letter
Buy Christmas stamps
Secret Santa
Light up night
Zoo lights
Chrsitmas Parties
Christmas concerts
Cookie Baking
Gather Advent/Christmas books
Watch Advent/Christmas movies
Drive around and look at lights
Puzzle/Games

The 12 Days of Christmas... Day 6

Christmas Day has come and gone but here we are trying to continue in the celebration of Christmas. This is easier because Gary has the week off work and so the days have a different feel to them. Tonight the girls are spending the night with friends, the boys are playing the Wii (surprise, surprise) and so I find myself with a few minutes to enojoy a wine cooler and blog. Christmas this year had a special feel to it. I am not sure why but I felt less stressed. Maybe as the years go by I am finally accepting that things will never be perfect. There will never be a perfect Christmas day where everything is done, I have completed all that I wanted during Advent and everyone behaves perfectly. Instead I enjoyed the presents I did find even if they weren't homemade and/or wrapped beautifully. I treasured watching Thomas in the Christmas play before Mass in spite of the fact that I forgot my camera and couldn't record the event. I relaxed on the drive to my mom's knowing whenever we arrived was fine with everyone there. It was so special to spend Christmas Eve with my wonderful husband, our excited children, my generous mom and stepdad and of course my brother and sister and their families. With the exception of the year of the ice storm that caused us to lose power for a number of days I think we have spent every year since our children were little at my mom's. In the past people have asked if I feel like I am missing out by not being in our own home on Christmas Eve and I can answer "no" we don't miss out on anything because when we come home we have our own special Christmas morning. Instead we gain the special memories of the children opening the presents that fill their stockings with granny and papa looking on and then everyone lounging while I sit with a cup of tea and visit with my mom. I am truly blessed! We are truly blessed!

Gaudete Sunday

Just a quick post tonight.
This past week was a busy one and so no time to blog, or clean or grocery shop, or other regular things that somehow I need to catch up on this week.
Here's the week in review:
MONDAY Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Mass in the evening ADVENT WREATH LIGHTING AND COUNTDOWN CHAIN
TUESDAY (St. Juan Diego)Youth Group Christmas party ADVENT WREATH LIGHTING AND COUNTDOWN CHAIN
WEDNESDAY RC Meeting in Columbus and Dentist visit w/ a quick visit to our old (and still favorite library, and a visit with the Starrs family ADVENT WREATH LIGHTING AND COUNTDOWN CHAIN
THURSDAY Familia and John's monthly elluminate session with his K12 teacher Upward BB evaluation and calling hours for the Lindsay's grandma Rosie. ADVENT WREATH LIGHTING AND COUNTDOWN CHAIN
FRIDAY Feast Day of our Lady of Guadalupe, Mass and catch up on lessons ADVENT WREATH LIGHTING AND COUNTDOWN CHAIN
SATURDAY (ST Lucy) My once a month Adoration, Mass and spiritual guidance. I think Ahhhhhh!!! pretty much covers it. In the evening we enjoyed our parish Christmas party with food, games, caroling, a visit from Santa and most importantly fellowship. We ended the evening with a visit to Christmas Wunderland at the Fairgrounds. We returned home late and missed our evening prayers.
SUNDAY Cookie day at Aunt Maureen's ADVENT WREATH LIGHTING AND COUNTDOWN CHAIN

As we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath and take a link off the noticeably shorter Countdown Chain I am filled with a mixture of excitement and concern about having everything ready for the big day.
I need to be reminded daily that JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!
God bless,
Theresa Anne

Advent 2008 Begins

We began Advent one week ago today with some Korte family traditions. First we dug the the Advent Wreath out of the basement and set it up on the table. Next on the list was the Christmas count down chain. We make a construction paper link for each day of Advent and write a prayer intention on each one and then staple them together to make a chain which hangs from the light in the eating room. I am fond of the countdown chain because it is a daily visual reminder to me of how long till Christmas. Each night we take a link off and pray for the intention listed. We also pray for anyone we receive a Christmas card from that day.
Last Sunday we also put up the tree. No decorations, just the tree. I have discovered I like decorating the tree in stages. We also baked our first batch of Christmas cookies.. snickerdoodles with red and green sugar! Yum!

Highlights of the rest of the first week of Advent:
MONDAY: Light up Lexington with donuts and hot chocolate, a live nativity with animals, music and Santa arriving on a firetruck. He and Mrs Claus flip the switch to officially Light up Lexington for the Christmas season. We finish the evening by visiting the Richland County Historical Museum here in Lexington. Back home we lit the Advent Wreath and took a link off the countdown chain
TUESDAY: Put lights on the tree. Advent Wreath and countdown chain
WEDNESDAY: Advent Wreath and countdown chain
THURSDAY: Advent Wreath and countdown chain
FRIDAY: First Friday Mass, Adoration, and making monkey bread with the Phillips
SATURDAY: FEAST OF ST. NICHOLAS It snowed all day! Today was Gary's work Christmas party for the kids with bowling, video games. and pizza . The boys and Colleen went with him, Michelle worked and I went Christmas shopping all day. Saturday night Youth Group had a spaghetti dinner and talent show fund raiser. It was a good time. We are blessed with an amazing youth minister. We closed the day with the Advent Wreath and countdown chain.

I pray you and your family will enjoy these days of preparation and as my brother reminded me yesterday. Don't forget the reason for the season!
THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD AND SAVIOR!

God bless,
Theresa

Thanksgiving...a day late

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving with Aunt Sue and Uncle Matt. We all had our fill of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie with whipped cream and a few other goodies. We spent time after eating sitting around the table telling stories and laughing. The boys enjoyed video games on the big screen TV and the girls spent the afternoon in Samantha's room enjoying each other's company. As the years have gone by our lives are busier and less intertwined so we treasure these times when we are together. The hour drive was pleasant. It is comforting to me when we are all together in the van traveling. On the way home we drove by our old house and discovered a family is living there. It was so nice to see after four years of sitting empty someone is calling the little farmhouse home. I was reminded of how grateful I am that we sold the house within a reasonable amount of time. It was a wonderful little home for us and I pray it will be for the family living there now.

We have so much to be grateful for. I am reminded of a poem I have read with the children. I first saw it in one of those little Golden Books for children and I remember it is beautifully illustrated. Here is one of the verses.

For each new morning with its light,
Father, we thank Thee
For rest and shelter of the night,
Father, we thank Thee
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything thy goodness sends,
Father in heaven we thank Thee
Ralph Waldo Emerson

As a family in 2008 we grateful for:

family and friends,
our Catholic faith, Resurrection Church, Fr. Beaver, Miss Tidball, Mrs Smith and Rel Ed classes, our parish family,
homeschooling and St. Peter's School
all creation and it's beauty.
our home, electricity, heat, water, and food,
our health,
jobs,
ands the greatest of these...LOVE!

That sums it up.
Happy Thanksgiving... a day late.

beginnings

My son has been asking for months if I would start a blog as we enjoy reading other people's blogs. I often tell the kids when we set off somewhere and they ask where we are going that we are taking off on an adventure. I like the idea of not knowing where some adventure might lead us. Who knows what awaits us around the corner. So on a wintry November afternoon as we enter the week of Thanksgiving we will begin the adventure of blogging.
Ready, set, go!