Advent
Angels and Candles
Today is the first day of Advent. I loved seeing the giant wreath at church with the giant candles. Back at home I prayed the Advent wreath blessing and lit the first candle. I found a good list of Advent music on YouTube that includes the lyrics and enjoyed singing along best as I could. […]
Ready For Advent
I had such a nice time with my brother when he was here. As always, he helped me out a lot at the house. But we also spent some time doing fun things. Yesterday he helped get a few decorations out. We put the creche and my mom’s caroler collection on the piano as usual. […]
The Angelus
Today my mom and I went out to deliver her sugar plum loaf. On the way home, we stopped by St. Gabriel Church to see the new statue they erected. It was the archangel Gabriel visiting Mary. It tied in nicely to what I heard today. Even though it is Christmas Eve, the Catholic Church […]
Sugar Plum Loaves
Today my mom and I made the Sugar Plum Loaves that she bakes and shares every year. It is a recipe from her 1976 “New Better Homes and Gardens” cookbook. I remembered the first year I helped her with them I was afraid, as I am not a bread baker and had no idea what […]
Making Christmas Spirit
I saw a quote today from TobyMac that I loved. “Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Forgive the guilty. Welcome the stranger and the unwanted child. Care for the ill. Love your enemies.” It occurred to me that no matter what is going on in our lives, or how […]
Enjoying the Lights
My neighbor put Christmas lights on our shared pine tree. My mom loves looking at them when she sits at the dinner table. Tonight she decided she wanted to drive around to see the Christmas lights in the neighborhood. Our first stop was Starbucks for hot chocolate. Then we went to our two favorite places. […]
Giving Tree Gifts
My son and grandson were also sick this week, but my daughter in law and other kids were able to pick out some gifts for the church giving tree. They brought them by yesterday and my mom and I enjoyed wrapping them. I was happy I felt well enough to go to church today and […]
Starting to Prepare
Today was the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Mom and I watched the Mass as I still haven’t been feeling well. We listened to the homily and then listened to the homily by Fr. Mike Schmitz as well. I find him very enlightening and relevant. Part of the message was how God reversed […]
Advent Ready
Last week I picked up an Advent calendar with a picture of baby Jesus on it that I thought my mother would love. I was right. We have it placed on the kitchen table with some purple flowers behind it where she can look at it a lot. Today we added the Advent wreath. We […]
Gifts For Elderly
Every year I choose 3 tags from the church’s giving tree at Christmas time. I have been choosing kids that are the same age as my grandchildren. Then my grandchildren come shopping with me to pick out the gifts. This weekend as I was perusing the tree, I learned that the parish chose to give […]
Still Finding God 