candlemas

today is candlemas, the last day of the season of epiphany, and the day we remember the presentation of jesus at the temple forty days after his birth. here he meets simeon, whose beautiful song we repeat in compline. simeon prophesies that jesus will be "a light to enlighten the nations," so on this night it is custom to celebrate light.

some friends came over tonight and we made simple candles together. we added bits of leftover candles to the mix of new wax, including the stubs from our advent wreath. we experimented with drops of essential oils: orange and lemon in some, and lavender in others.

God our Father,
Source of all light,
today you revealed to Simeon
Your light of revelation to the nations.
Bless + these candles and make them holy.
May we who use them to praise your glory
walk in the path of goodness
and come to the light that shines forever
Grant this through Christ our Lord.

christmas favorites

before we get too far into the new year, i want to share a few things that really helped make our advent and christmas special this year.

i made this bulletin board (just by covering some foam board with pretty white paper) and used it to display favorite christmas cards and images from years past. thanks to all of you for sharing your lovely images with us!

it was nice to have a special spot just for christmas pictures, in addition to hanging cards from a string across the living room. in fact, it was too hard to take this down after epiphany, so it's still up!


this was our advent calendar this year, which is a six-sided tissue-paper-lined light-filled scene. it begins on the first sunday of advent and continues through to epiphany. the pictures are gorgeous block-print style images of saints, martyrs, the holy family, etc. each window has a prayer and a meditation (in an accompanying book) for that day, activity ideas for special days like st. nicholas day, and sundays have an extra "feast day" window too.

there is so much great about this calendar: the aesthetics, the theology (focused on justice and honoring those who worked for justice), the longevity of the cycle (that it goes all the way through the twelve days of christmas) and the fun of opening all the windows and peeking at the secrets inside. we used an electric candle in the middle to light it, but a real candle would work as well. both noah and i really enjoyed this daily practice, and he really payed attention during the prayers and meditations.

this calendar was a gift from grandma. you can check it out here (though i think the version we had might not be available anymore). we will definitely be looking for this same type again next year!

and lastly, i love this nativity icon. i want to slowly build up our icon collection, trying to have one at least for each season. this is my favorite for christmastide.

twelfth night and epiphany

we had a festive twelfth night celebration last tuesday with some friends. i made felt crowns for all the kids. not very ornate, but they worked just fine. i found the pattern in this book.

our friend josh led the kids (carrying kings and gifts) in a procession over to the creche in their house, as we all sang "we three kings." then he lit the frankincense, which was a very exciting event. here are jessa, noah and rosa checking out the scene.

i made an apple spice cake for the event, in which i was supposed to hide a bean. traditionally, whomever finds the bean in their piece is the king (or queen) for the evening. i thought it might be a little hard for three year olds to feel okay about only one person being crowned, so in my cake noah and i hid lots and lots of almonds (which i thought might taste better than a bean). everyone got one, and everyone was a king. how very inclusive, eh?

the next night was epiphany. i told the epiphany godly play story at church (to grown-ups), which was a nice experience. telling these stories has been such a great way for me to focus on entering into the mystery of christmas myself. it really works!

i rushed home after church and got the house ready for aaron and the kids. they arrived to a cozy scene: candles, christmas music, cake, tea, the full nativity set, and presents under the tree. it was a calm, happy night, and a really lovely way to say goodbye to the mystery of christmas.

here's noah in his crown with one of his epiphany gifts: tales of trotter street by shirley hughes. if i haven't already mentioned it, we LOVE this author!

blessed epiphany

god of epiphanies,
we give you thanks for jesus,
who reveals your glory.
open our eyes to the surprises
that are your gifts to us each day.
in jesus' name we pray. amen.

new year, new special things

waldorf dolls made by grandma, one for each grandchild. isla's is on the left, and noah's is next to her. names are still being debated. aren't they so cute?

new doll gets ready for a ride in the new stroller. isla loves this little thing!

new handmade reversible jumper from sister-in-law jessica. apparently aaron has a hard time navigating the complexities of dressing little girls.

new painting to christen aaron's shop. i found the quote (from john calvin) and commissioned my friend christina to paint it. she did such a lovely job.

new teapot, new teacup (from irene) and new dining room table (for my birthday, from aaron). somehow having a round table makes such a difference! we all love sitting here for crafting, reading, eating, drinking tea, writing christmas cards...

new t-shirts from eugene and bellingham craft fairs.

new tiny tin of teabags (in not-new teacup from the wassells).

new custom-made puzzle from uncle colin and aunt nicole (with a picture of noah and aaron driving the excavator in the backyard). very cool!

on the first day of christmas...

isla with the nativity of our lord, at church on christmas eve.

mary and joseph have finally reached bethlehem! and a sleeping baby lies in the manger.

all the stars from mary's journey now light the sky.

new christmas jammies and a new flowery tea set (per request).

and a cold christmas outing to the park.

merry christmas, everyone!

into the woods...

in an effort to celebrate a more traditional "twelve days of christmas," we have waited until now to get our christmas tree. we were the very last customers at the tree stand we chose!


i had this idea that it would be fun to pretend we were hiking into the snowy woods, chopping down a tree and pulling it home on our sleigh. so last night we "hiked" down a busy street to the closest tree stand, chose a tree and towed it home in the wagon. it was pretty fun, and noah really enjoyed pulling the wagon. he towed the tree almost the whole way home!

recently

beeswax candle crafting

gingerbread cookie baking

snow! and the never-ending saga of lost mittens.

hard work. in overalls. which must be worn "over all."

chalkin'

advent candle lighting celebration with friends

advent candle walk pre-nightfall

happy sinterklaas!

happy birthday, little girl!

happy one to my lovely little girl!

noah and i took isla on a birthday adventure to fairhaven, where we hit up the bookstore, the toy store and the pastry shop. then we had a leisurely playtime at boulevard park and a nice walk home. it was a beautiful day to turn one!

the birthday princess waits for the bus

on the bus

much fun at the park

noah tried out the pirate's life

new birthday ball

crab crawl along the boardwalk

an attempt at candle-blowing-out

noah took over candle-blowing; this is hilarious

she's a fan of the cream cheese frosting, not so much the cupcake

new birthday artwork
(see http://www.idapearle.com/)

oh happy one!

messy party fun

noah's birthday party on saturday was lots of fun. it was a "messy party," an idea which we got from an old issue of mothering magazine. (the sub-heading for the article was, "in a world of no, the messy party says yes.) actually, the party wasn't really all that messy, though there were lots of opportunities for mess and general disorder.

aaron set up a few stations around the yard for digging in dirt, sandbox play, water play and slime play. the water station was definitely the biggest hit; it involved pulleys (boat hardware), buckets, pipes and pools. the whole thing is still set up, which is fun for noah but a bit of a hassle for the mailman.

aaron and i got noah a little wheelbarrow and some garden tools for his birthday, and on that note we asked people to bring plants as presents. we've been working on planting starts and seeds this week, and noah has really been enjoying digging, raking, watering, dumping wheelbarrow loads, etc. also finding worms. i'll post more garden pictures soon.

a big crew at the sandbox worksite

maryka and isla, not messy at all

nessa doing some chalkin'

jessa and evan at the digging station

grayson sliming it up

elliott and pearl and the water station

jessica, noah and grayson in a cardboard box/house