Inspired By Piet Mondrian...

Photos of the artwork my little ones did at an art class though our county's art league.

Saint Herman of Alaska...

Joyful North Star of the Church of Christ,

Guiding all people to the Heavenly Kingdom;
Teacher and apostle of the True Faith;
Intercessor and defender of the oppressed;
Adornment of the Orthodox adornment of the Orthodox Church in America:
Blessed Father Herman of Alaska,
Pray to our Lord Jesus Christ

For the salvation of our souls!

:::::

The Saint Herman Learning Basket can be found HERE.

Six!

I cannot believe that Little Man is six years old today!  May God Grant You Many Years, Blue Eyes!  We love you!

Late Autumn Nature Table...

I finally got around to freshening up our nature table yesterday.  We've been so fortunate that the previous owners of this house put in so many evergreen shrubs.  I can always find something fresh and pretty to take a few branches from.  Things are starting to really look more Christmassy and wintery around here...  I can't wait to make paper snowflakes for the windows this coming week!

Yarn Along: The Lion in the Box

All I can say is that I have *something* on the needles. 

We are reading my very favorite Christmas book, The Lion in the Box.

What are you knitting and reading?

Things on the Walls...

Peanut Butter Cookies...

I have had this recipe for ages, but can't remember making these cookies much in recent years.  Today was another cold and rainy day (which was a little frustrating because *everyone* else was getting lots of snow!) and we needed a bit of a pick me up.  I quickly mixed these cookies up, chilled the dough, and baked them while the little ones chased each other around the house.  They slowed down long enough to gobble a few cookies down before dashing off to play again!  These are definitely crisp cookies...  I like them fresh from the oven.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients
1/4 cup soft shortening
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup soy or almond milk
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method
Mix together the shortening, margarine, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, and almond milk.  Sift in the dry ingredients.  Chill the dough for half and hour.  Roll dough into balls the size of walnuts.  Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and flatten the balls with a fork dipped in sugar.  Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

The Nutcracker...

 

For the second year in a row, we were able to go to see a local performance of The Nutcracker.  Our older children really enjoy it and even Button was interested for the beginning half before he started to get antsy.  The music is so lovely and the dancing was magical.  Someday, I would love to take them to see a performance with an orchestra and a professional ballet troupe...  for now though, this is perfect for my wiggly little ones!

Reading...

Mrs. Willet is small and pale and yet she is 'always on the go' as she herself will tell you.  The fact that she can do so many things, and takes enormous pride in doing them well, is, I think, the secret of this apparently inexhaustible energy.  There are so may different activities to engage her, that when she tires of one, there is another to which she can turn and get refreshment.  From turning her heavy old mangle in the wash-house, she will come in and sit down to stitch a new skirt.  She will prepare a stew, and while it simmers on the hob, filling the little house with its fragrance, she will practice her part in Mr Annett's new anthem, ready for the next church festival.  And-this perhaps is the most important thing-she sees a satisfying result from her labors.  the clothes blow on the line, the skirt is folded ans put away in the drawer ready for next Sunday; Mr Willet will come in 'sharp-set' and praise her bubbling stew; and, with any luck, Mr Annett will congratulate her on her grasp of that difficult passage just before the basses come in."

Village Diary

Miss Read

Tradition and the Twelve Days of Christmas...

 by Fr. Hans Jacobse

What happens when we try to secularize Christmas, and why Orthodox Christians need to remain faithful to their traditions.

In the Christian tradition of both east and west, the twelve days of Christmas refer to the period from Christmas Day to Theophany. The days leading up to Christmas were for preparation; a practice affirmed in the Orthodox tradition by the Christmas fast that runs from November 15 to Christmas Day. The celebration of Christmas did not begin until the first of the twelve days.

As our culture became more commercialized, the period of celebration shifted from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day. Christmas celebration increasingly conforms to the shopping cycle while the older tradition falls by the wayside. It’s an worrisome shift because as the tradition dims, the knowledge that the period of preparation imparted diminishes with it.

Our Orthodox traditions — from fasting cycles to worship –exist to teach us how to live in Christ. The traditions impart discipline. These disciplines are never an end in themselves but neither can life in Christ be sustained apart from them.

The traditions only make sense only when they have the Gospel as their reference. If we forget that these traditions are given to us to help us lay hold of Christ, then they appear to be superfluous and the disciplines they encourage us to do seem to serve no real purpose. We start to evaluate the discipline by the values of the dominant culture — by a cost-benefit calculus, rather than seeing them as ways to morally reorient ourselves towards Christ.

Instead of preparing for the birth of Christ through inward reorientation, we follow the direction of the dominant culture and skip any preparation altogether. We party instead of fast. We get caught up in the commercial energy of the season rather than wait on the Spirit of God.

It’s a dangerous path. Our culture is becoming increasingly secularized; the sacred dimension of creation is slipping from view. This loss of this sacred sensibility has grave ramifications for society that are expressed in many different ways such as the vulgarization of popular culture or the reduction of an unborn child to a commodity. If this view prevails our culture will inevitably view man as nothing more than an animal or a machine.

But man is more than an animal or a machine. The scriptures reveal man is created in the image and likeness of God, a phrase that means that man is not complete unless he partakes of God — God must be part of man’s life. This longing — this innate knowledge that man is created for God — never leaves man although a person can bury it if he so chooses.

A secularized mind is blind to the inherent holiness of life. Maintaining our traditions is one way to avoid this debilitating malady. Christmas is not just “Jesus’ birthday” (an impoverished notion heard more and more even among Orthodox faithful), but much more.

The birth of Christ and His baptism ought never to be divorced. Both events define the Christmas season. It imparts to the Christian the knowledge that Christ’s coming into the world and Christ’s sanctification of the waters makes our new life possible — a sonship by adoption accomplished through baptism.

When the link between Christmas and Theophany is broken (and by neglecting the proper preparation we break it), the cultural memory of the promise of new birth expresses itself in weakened and ultimately insufficient cultural forms. These forms function as a new tradition.

Religion is not the product of culture; religion is the source, writes philosopher Russell Kirk.
“It’s from an association in a cult, a body of worshipers, that human community grows…when belief in the cult has been wretchedly enfeebled, the culture will decay swiftly. The material order rests on the spiritual order.”

Orthodox Christianity can contribute to the recovery of the moral foundation of American culture by imparting knowledge that can strengthen and deepen that foundation. It won’t happen however, if the Orthodox faithful adopt the practices of the dominant culture in place of their own tradition.

A Nineteeth Century Christmas...

With Saint Nicholas Day comes a feeling that Christmas really is on its way.  We do try to keep things more somber (we prefer to celebrate Christmas for the full twelve days once Christmas Lent is over...  December 25th - January 5th), but we do take advantage of a few Christmassy things that happen around here before Nativity.  One we've had on our list this year, was to go to a local reenactment town for their Nineteenth Century Christmas celebration.  I was a bit disappointed with the event at first because I thought that there would be people talking about Christmas and the way that it was celebrated in the nineteenth century, but it was really a time to watch the artisans at work and hear about their craft (today there was a spinner, a blacksmith, a broom-maker, and a weaver).  They did have a lot of things for sale and offered Christmas cookies and cocoa to their guests, so I suppose that is where the Nineteeth Century Christmas came from.  At any rate, it was fun and we got to watch the blacksmith make a metal candle holder from start to finish.  We really enjoyed wandering around the grounds looking into the different artisan spaces, houses, gardens, and church.  It really is a lovely place!  

Reading...

 

It was a cold, gray day and a cold, gray street, but Mama said, "It's your inside weather that counts."  Sometimes she said, "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance."  And it was true.  If you turned up the corners of your mouth, you just couldn't help smiling."

The Lion in the Box

Marguerite De Angeli

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

Hymn to Saint Nicholas
(to hear the tune, click HERE)

O who love Nicholas the saintly,
O who serve Nicholas the saintly,
Him will Nicholas receive,
And give help in time of need:
Holy Father Nicholas!

He who dwells in God's holy mansions,
Is our help on the land and oceans,
He will guard us from all ills,
Keep us pure and free from sins
Holy Father Nicholas!

Holy Saint, hearken to our prayer,
Let not life drive us to despair,
All our efforts shall not wane,
Singing praises to your name:
Holy Father Nicholas!

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For the Saint Nicholas Learning Basket can be found HERE.

Two Years...

Two years ago today, our parish bought a house with a three car garage 

It was a gorgeous property, but everyone was a little dubious when Father John said that he wanted to renovate this garage into a chapel.

But with God's help (and Miguel's!), he did it!

Glory to God for All Things!

(If you would like to see the work in progress, click HERE)

Namesday Boy...

Today was Little Man's Namesday!  He was an easy boy to please:  he wanted tuna subs for lunch, a pomegranate (the little ones have been wishing for one for a few weeks), and chocolate cake for dessert!  Next up is his sixth birthday on the twelfth.  Where did the time go?

Saint Felix and the Spider...

Two of our favorite topics in this house are saints and animals.  Often our days are filled with books, artwork, television shows, and little outings that reflect these two interests of the little people in our house.  Therefore we were delighted to receive a package from Dessi Jackson containing her latest book, Saint Felix and the Spider!

What a delightful story!  Mrs. Jackson weaves the tale of Saint Felix and his little spider friend, Fedelis, in a way that captivates both young and old alike.  We all loved the gentle style the author employed to tell the story of the spider that saved Saint Felix from persecution by hiding him with her web.  It was a joy to read this children's book!

The pictures in this volume are delightful.  Lydia Grace Kadar-Kallen is a first time children's book illustrator and I predict that many more authors will commission her work for their books.  The illustrations are colorful, vibrant, and exacting.  Our little ones poured over the pictures long after the story was over looking at every little detail.

With the Christmas season upon us, consider adding Saint Felix and the Spider to your shopping lists for the children in your life.  This story will be enjoyed by your favorite little ones for years to come!

Living and Learning: December...

Faith
Saint Alexander
Saint Nicholas
Saint Herman of Alaska
Saint Lucia
The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Homemaking
Finalize Plans for Little Man's Namesday and Birthday
Christmas Planning, Shopping, and Wrapping Gifts
Christmas Decorating
Christmas Tree
Nativity Preparations with Children
Perfect Stovetop Popcorn Recipe
Follow Cleaning Plan in Preparation for Nativity
Solidify Plans for the Twelve Days of Christmas
Decorate Kitchen with a Winter Jasmine Plant and a Potted Rosemary Plant
Enjoy Citrus Fruits - Oranges, Clementines, Tangerines, Grapefruit, etc.
Clean House for Nativity from Top to Bottom

Themes 
Gingerbread
Saint Nicholas
Winter
Christmas

Read Alouds
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Skylark
Christmas Book Basket

Special Days
Uncle Gregory's Birthday - 3rd
Little Man's Namesday - 4th
Auntie Kate's Namesday - 8th
Little Man's 3rd Birthday - 12th
Uncle Nicolas' Namesday - 19th
Full Cold Moon - 28th
Auntie Anna's Birthday and Namesday - 22nd
Lucy's Namesday - December 26th
Little Man's Hospital Homecoming Anniversary - 31st

Learning 
Practice being still and quiet during services and prayers
Practice Venerating Icons Properly
The Sign of the Cross for Button
Practice Chanting The Lord's Prayer
Clearing the Table after Meals
Tidy bedrooms each morning 
Tidy the playroom each afternoon
Put Away Own Laundry
Nature table scene
Christmas book basket
Watercoloring
Gingerbread House Party at the Bookstore
Christmas Parade
Winter Wonderland of Lights Display
Living Nativity
Puzzles
Decorating the Christmas Tree
Children’s Nativity Play Set
Encourage imaginative play by not over-scheduling our days
Take the children for walks in the woods
Polish wooden toys together
Attend a Performance of the Nutcracker
Attend a Performance of the Messiah
Celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas

Kindle a Fire...

If but ten among us lead a holy life, we shall kindle a fire which shall light up the entire city." 

St. John Chrysostom

Copywork and Speech...

I found an article on copywork as I was clicking around this weekend and immediately set out to work it into our day.  I have halfheartedly had Sugar Plum do copywork the past couple of years, but I am hoping to be committed to it on a daily basis now.  We are using sheets of paper for this week's work, but once Thanksgiving is over, I will buy the notebooks that the author recommends (I believe that I saw them at Staples).  My plan is to continue doing our regular schoolwork in the morning and then later in the day (at about 2:30 or 3 when my little ones start to get peckish) have a nice snack, a little classical music, and then do some copywork.  It worked out really well today and gives them something to do for a little while

We had the boys tested for speech therapy last week and I picked up the speech therapist's reports today.  The situation for both kids is more serious than we even thought, so the next month or so will be spent working to get them into the public school's speech program.  I was encouraged by the women at the county that I spoke to, so hopefully we'll get them situated quickly.

We've been working and playing by the fire all day today!  It's chilly out there!