The other night we drove by the neighbor we shared our St. Nicholas basket with and saw they had a snowflake on their door - we were so excited to know they were spreading the cheer :)
So last night I went to meet a friend I have not seen in over 4 years (probably more like 6!). As I pulled out of the driveway I noticed the neighbor across the street had a snowflake on their door!! I felt like a little child on Christmas morning and called my girls to let them know - they found me amusing - and just as I was about to hang up I spotted yet another snowflake! Then they started getting a little excited :) I decided to drive through the neighborhood when I came home and I found 5 for sure snowflakes and a couple of others that could be! Now I'm really excited to do this next year much earlier in the season. The girls really want to do at least 2 baskets next year ... I don't know, maybe ...
On another note, Terry and I had the children clean out their closets as they had been piled high with stuff and junk and even trash from where we would tell them to clean their rooms. So last night I went in to go through all the clothes and weed out any that were too small, etc, as well as put away a whole load. I was flabbergasted - the children had made a huge pile of clothing that had been stuffed in the closets outside in the hall by the washer and we just sort of assumed the closets were halfway decently straightened up - WRONG!
I know you're thinking - does this have anything to do with St. Nicholas cheer - yes. Yes, it does...... So I had them come in and pull *everything* out of the closets and we all went through the piles together. I told them to start pulling out stuff they don't like, don't play with, don't want, and put it in a pile. They asked what we were going to do with the pile and I said the decent toys will be given to other children who have no toys and the broken ones in the trash. All of the sudden they really started weeding out those toys. Toys I never thought they would part with suddenly had phrases like "Another kid would probably enjoy that more I do" attached to them.
We wound up with a huge garbage bag full of toys and two smaller backpacks full of smaller toys. I'm going to go through them carefully and pull out any broken things and then I'm taking the bags to the women's shelter in town. They always need toys for the children to play with since they basically escaped their situations with nothing but the clothes on their backs. I was moved to tears at the giving hearts my children displayed. May they grow to have wonderfully giving spirits all the year long for all of their days!
Showing posts with label St. Nicholas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Nicholas. Show all posts
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
St. Nicholas Day
{{I need to make mention that I have several posts up from the past several days and am working on more to get all caught up from this week!}}
Yes, I'm late getting all of this up ... I've been busy with Church, my father's side of the family's Christmas gathering (eatin' meetin' as my cousin has dubbed it), visiting my father and allowing the children to visit, taking care of sick family, cleaning house, baking cookies for presents, a little shopping, gymnastics, Horse Quiz Bowl practice, mailing presents to the son that won't be able to make it home for Christmas, and taking the teen girls to Matushka's so that Matushka can pack while they watch after the children. I'm just now sitting to do something for myself :) Isn't that the way it always is with mamas?
Anyway, here are a couple of shoes with their goodies that the children got to celebrate St. Nicholas day.
So the children were able to see their little gifts but they weren't happy about not being able to eat them since it was Sunday morning and we had communion. Oh well, yet another lesson in not getting what you want instantly.
We chose a new place to stand in Church to see about getting some of the unruly behavior under control - it dampened much of it but then again I need to wait for the newness of it to wear off before deciding that it's done much good. I had to get Isaiah up out of the chair several times - he would sit there with his coat on backwards and the hood over his face.
I tell you this because of something he said to me the night before as we left Church a different way as we needed to get gas. Nearly right across the street (we are in a curve and this is right around the curve where you can't visually see it) is a protestant church. So we turn right instead of left and Isaiah sees this church and exclaims, "UH, there is another church right close to our Church!" Me- "Yes, there is. There are a lot of churches in this area." Isaiah- "Huh, well, I still wanna go to St. Mary's cause that one isn't as Orthodoxic as St. Mary's."
All I could do was grin as my heart swelled.
Unfortunately we had to leave directly after communion, instead of sharing in the feast, as we had to head across the state straightaway to get to the Maner Family Christmas. For the very first time we were the first ones there. We had most everything set up by the time the next people started showing up. Only 28 were there :( For such a large family, it's always sad to see but about half (27 were missing). My dad of course was in the hospital. My uncle is in the hospital in Tennessee so his family stayed there to be near him as he is really bad off right now (I'm sadly anticipating another funeral soon)... that's 6 more. My brother had to work and his wife and children are sick (still) - that's 6 more. One of my cousins and his family simply didn't show up - said they were coming and then just didn't - no explanations and they are alright... that's 5 more. Then there's the cousin who shows up with her family if she doesn't have other social obligations to attend - which is unutterably sad to me.
After a fun-filled afternoon and simply reveling in the younger generations of cousins hanging out my little family went to see my father. It was the first time all of the children save Tamara have seen their grandfather since he went in the hospital over 2 months ago. We had to take them in one at a time. I stayed with him the whole time while my mom brought each one in to say hi for a few minutes. I love my daddy so much and it is so upsetting to see him like this. All I could do was cry as we walked out the door of the hospital. The children were somber as we left. They now understand how sick he is. And all because of a surgeon's mistake. I try so hard to remember that doctor's and surgeon's are also people and make mistakes just as the rest of us, but sometimes I still get upset about it.
I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Nicholas Day.
Yes, I'm late getting all of this up ... I've been busy with Church, my father's side of the family's Christmas gathering (eatin' meetin' as my cousin has dubbed it), visiting my father and allowing the children to visit, taking care of sick family, cleaning house, baking cookies for presents, a little shopping, gymnastics, Horse Quiz Bowl practice, mailing presents to the son that won't be able to make it home for Christmas, and taking the teen girls to Matushka's so that Matushka can pack while they watch after the children. I'm just now sitting to do something for myself :) Isn't that the way it always is with mamas?
Anyway, here are a couple of shoes with their goodies that the children got to celebrate St. Nicholas day.
So the children were able to see their little gifts but they weren't happy about not being able to eat them since it was Sunday morning and we had communion. Oh well, yet another lesson in not getting what you want instantly.
We chose a new place to stand in Church to see about getting some of the unruly behavior under control - it dampened much of it but then again I need to wait for the newness of it to wear off before deciding that it's done much good. I had to get Isaiah up out of the chair several times - he would sit there with his coat on backwards and the hood over his face.
I tell you this because of something he said to me the night before as we left Church a different way as we needed to get gas. Nearly right across the street (we are in a curve and this is right around the curve where you can't visually see it) is a protestant church. So we turn right instead of left and Isaiah sees this church and exclaims, "UH, there is another church right close to our Church!" Me- "Yes, there is. There are a lot of churches in this area." Isaiah- "Huh, well, I still wanna go to St. Mary's cause that one isn't as Orthodoxic as St. Mary's."
All I could do was grin as my heart swelled.
Unfortunately we had to leave directly after communion, instead of sharing in the feast, as we had to head across the state straightaway to get to the Maner Family Christmas. For the very first time we were the first ones there. We had most everything set up by the time the next people started showing up. Only 28 were there :( For such a large family, it's always sad to see but about half (27 were missing). My dad of course was in the hospital. My uncle is in the hospital in Tennessee so his family stayed there to be near him as he is really bad off right now (I'm sadly anticipating another funeral soon)... that's 6 more. My brother had to work and his wife and children are sick (still) - that's 6 more. One of my cousins and his family simply didn't show up - said they were coming and then just didn't - no explanations and they are alright... that's 5 more. Then there's the cousin who shows up with her family if she doesn't have other social obligations to attend - which is unutterably sad to me.
After a fun-filled afternoon and simply reveling in the younger generations of cousins hanging out my little family went to see my father. It was the first time all of the children save Tamara have seen their grandfather since he went in the hospital over 2 months ago. We had to take them in one at a time. I stayed with him the whole time while my mom brought each one in to say hi for a few minutes. I love my daddy so much and it is so upsetting to see him like this. All I could do was cry as we walked out the door of the hospital. The children were somber as we left. They now understand how sick he is. And all because of a surgeon's mistake. I try so hard to remember that doctor's and surgeon's are also people and make mistakes just as the rest of us, but sometimes I still get upset about it.
I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Nicholas Day.
Monday, December 20, 2010
We made St. Nicholas's!
Just a little something I made for the children for St. Nicholas Day! I definitely learned a lesson ... you must use tacky/elmer's glue and NOT super glue! I thought it would be faster to use to glue on the staff's but unfortunately I wound up with a lot of mess and fingers covered in dried super glue :( Live and learn
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
In the Spirit of St. Nicholas Day ...
we did something new and anonymous to share with the neighborhood. The idea came from stnicholascenter.org. And I just realized we did not take a picture for me to upload :( Ahh well, you're imaginations will just have to be used for this one :)
I went shopping for a few St. Nicholas Day treats for the children and for a few items to make a basket for a family in the neighborhood. Then while at the library I printed out a little story about St. Nicholas. At dinner I brought out all of the supplies much to the children's confusion as nothing is ever at the table except prayer books, the Bible, devotions and study guides. This is a time that we keep focused on the family which is kept focused on our Lord.
With all of the children looking expectantly toward me with wide eyes (yes, even the teenagers!), I explained that we were going to make a small basket for a family in the neighborhood and then ... play ding-dong ditch! That got their attention!! LOL After they calmed back down I explained that this was similar to how many in the neighborhood play "You've been boo'ed!" by placing a note and bag of candy on someone's porch. Only we were spreading the good cheer of St. Nicholas!
I pulled the small basket I had found in front of me and then the paper I had printed and read the story of St. Nicholas and the instructions to the next family to hang the snowflake (that we were going to make after dinner) on their door or mailbox if the door was hard to see from the road, make a small basket of goodies for another family in the neighborhood with a copy of the story and instructions in their basket, and leave it for them to find the next evening. The kids all thought this was grand fun and had so much fun helping me put the basket together and making snowflakes ... we only needed one snowflake but couldn't decide which to put in the basket so we put them all and will let the family choose which to use!
After we made the basket ~ which had a loaf of bread, some bath gels for the little girls of the house, some butter toffee covered peanuts all wrapped up in pretty wrap and ribbon, some hot chocolate for the little girls, our story and instruction sheet, the snowflakes, and a bottle of sparkling cranberry juice (mainly for the grown-ups) to sit beside the basket - we all bundled up (cause it's still in the low 20's/upper teens here) and headed out the door. We all walked down to the neighbor's house. DD12 and DS10 took the goodies up to the porch while the rest of us hid behind the bushes at the street ... the two children tip-toed up on the porch, put the goodies down, rang the doorbell and RAN! Then we all waited, anxiously shivering, for them to discover our gifts :) It took a little bit but finally Mr. Neighbor came to the door, looked around, looked down, saw the gifts, looked around again, slowly picked up the basket and bottle, looked around again, and turned to go inside. We waited another 3-4 minutes before I finally gave the go-ahead for the youngers to run back home. The older girls and I walked as we're known to do :)
I have to say I'm pretty impressed. I honestly didn't think my children could stay quiet for that long ... or still! The older girls actually want to make a couple more baskets and give to a couple of other families in the neighborhood since it is so close to Western Christmas - therefore not a lot of time to spread the cheer. We just might do that. As it might not sound like all that much but it was fun. I can't wait to start this next year - the day after Thanksgiving AND I want to include more details about Saint Nicholas in the story, so I'll need to work on that.
Tomorrow we're making (yes, I know a little late, but I just discovered it!) a 40-day Advent calendar! I'm so excited about discovering things that make Orthodoxy seem so natural and "normal" to the children. Living in an area of 90% Protestant, 9% Catholic, and 1% Other is sometimes difficult - especially since we are old calendar, we fast, and no one has a clue what Orthodoxy is when they speak of it. So it's nice to show them that it's not as foreign as they may think it is... we're not really that 'different' so to speak.
Hmmmm, I feel myself getting into the spirit of Nativity finally. For awhile there I didn't think I was going to find it this year. I am so glad God directed me to OrthodoxMom.com, The Liturgical Year for Little Ones, and so many more via MyOCN.com (My Orthodox Christian Network). Even though I wish I had found them earlier, this honestly was the best time for me to find them - the ideas and inspirations are really helping me and if I had discovered them prior to entering a depressive period the effect would not have been the same at all. God truly knows exactly what we need, when we need it. Glory to God!
I went shopping for a few St. Nicholas Day treats for the children and for a few items to make a basket for a family in the neighborhood. Then while at the library I printed out a little story about St. Nicholas. At dinner I brought out all of the supplies much to the children's confusion as nothing is ever at the table except prayer books, the Bible, devotions and study guides. This is a time that we keep focused on the family which is kept focused on our Lord.
With all of the children looking expectantly toward me with wide eyes (yes, even the teenagers!), I explained that we were going to make a small basket for a family in the neighborhood and then ... play ding-dong ditch! That got their attention!! LOL After they calmed back down I explained that this was similar to how many in the neighborhood play "You've been boo'ed!" by placing a note and bag of candy on someone's porch. Only we were spreading the good cheer of St. Nicholas!
I pulled the small basket I had found in front of me and then the paper I had printed and read the story of St. Nicholas and the instructions to the next family to hang the snowflake (that we were going to make after dinner) on their door or mailbox if the door was hard to see from the road, make a small basket of goodies for another family in the neighborhood with a copy of the story and instructions in their basket, and leave it for them to find the next evening. The kids all thought this was grand fun and had so much fun helping me put the basket together and making snowflakes ... we only needed one snowflake but couldn't decide which to put in the basket so we put them all and will let the family choose which to use!
After we made the basket ~ which had a loaf of bread, some bath gels for the little girls of the house, some butter toffee covered peanuts all wrapped up in pretty wrap and ribbon, some hot chocolate for the little girls, our story and instruction sheet, the snowflakes, and a bottle of sparkling cranberry juice (mainly for the grown-ups) to sit beside the basket - we all bundled up (cause it's still in the low 20's/upper teens here) and headed out the door. We all walked down to the neighbor's house. DD12 and DS10 took the goodies up to the porch while the rest of us hid behind the bushes at the street ... the two children tip-toed up on the porch, put the goodies down, rang the doorbell and RAN! Then we all waited, anxiously shivering, for them to discover our gifts :) It took a little bit but finally Mr. Neighbor came to the door, looked around, looked down, saw the gifts, looked around again, slowly picked up the basket and bottle, looked around again, and turned to go inside. We waited another 3-4 minutes before I finally gave the go-ahead for the youngers to run back home. The older girls and I walked as we're known to do :)
I have to say I'm pretty impressed. I honestly didn't think my children could stay quiet for that long ... or still! The older girls actually want to make a couple more baskets and give to a couple of other families in the neighborhood since it is so close to Western Christmas - therefore not a lot of time to spread the cheer. We just might do that. As it might not sound like all that much but it was fun. I can't wait to start this next year - the day after Thanksgiving AND I want to include more details about Saint Nicholas in the story, so I'll need to work on that.
Tomorrow we're making (yes, I know a little late, but I just discovered it!) a 40-day Advent calendar! I'm so excited about discovering things that make Orthodoxy seem so natural and "normal" to the children. Living in an area of 90% Protestant, 9% Catholic, and 1% Other is sometimes difficult - especially since we are old calendar, we fast, and no one has a clue what Orthodoxy is when they speak of it. So it's nice to show them that it's not as foreign as they may think it is... we're not really that 'different' so to speak.
Hmmmm, I feel myself getting into the spirit of Nativity finally. For awhile there I didn't think I was going to find it this year. I am so glad God directed me to OrthodoxMom.com, The Liturgical Year for Little Ones, and so many more via MyOCN.com (My Orthodox Christian Network). Even though I wish I had found them earlier, this honestly was the best time for me to find them - the ideas and inspirations are really helping me and if I had discovered them prior to entering a depressive period the effect would not have been the same at all. God truly knows exactly what we need, when we need it. Glory to God!
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