Happy New Year

We've had a happy, full 2008! It was definitely a transitional year, as we made the leap from three to five children! The twins have brought joy to each of us, but with their arrival, life also became a little crazy ... and blurry. What actually happened between last November and June?

This summer, we slowly started redefining what family life looks like to us and how we are going to operate on a daily basis—a little at a time. And now that the twins are one year old, life is getting a little easier, but still very, very full!

As for the older girls, "the trio," as Greg calls them, they have been the best big sisters any set of twins could ask for! They transitioned beautifully, even though it was difficult at times. We are proud of them!

Our 6-year-old began Kindergarten in September. She attends a small Catholic immersion school that, you guessed it, immerses Catholic children in their Catholic faith, heritage, culture, customs and ambiance while providing an outstanding education. She continues to love books, especially now that she is reading a little on her own! She also enjoys music class and cannot wait to be in the spring play. This also was a big year for her in two other ways: She lost her first two teeth, and she rode her bike without training wheels!

Our 4-year-old attends preschool three days a week at a school directly behind our house. She enjoys playing with her twin brother and sister, and has a profound compassion for them. She is very helpful; it's in her very nature to be the first to tend to them if they are fussing and the first to greet them when they wake up from a nap. She also loves animals, especially lions, dogs, and her new favorite, horses. Guess what she got for Christmas!

Our 3-year-old is growing up before our very eyes! She cannot wait to bring her backpack to "real" school like her big sisters. This year, she is enjoying a special faith formation class once a week at our church called Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. She's in class with other 3-5 year olds, learning about the Catholic faith, especially the Mass. She loves playing house, dogs and horses, and also is getting quite good at coloring pictures and making beaded bracelets for her family and friends.

The twins, 1, really are amazing. They are so different in personality, and it is fun to watch two babies grow up next to each other. One of them gets a tooth, then the other. One of them starts crawling first, but the other one starts giving kisses first. Greg and I still look down at them and cannot believe there are two of them! Now, they are starting to interact more and chase each other around. I think we're in for double trouble!

Greg started a new job within the same company this fall. He is a consultant for a human resources operations team. He is enjoying the new challenge and using his technology background once again. Greg has been able to do a little video editing this year but actually more for his job than for fun. He also has grown in his interest in woodworking. I am sure he can't wait to do a "fun" project of his own, but he has sacrificed that desire to build beautiful custom shelves for his wife instead. What a guy!

I, Sarah, continue to enjoy scrapbooking. Out of necessity, I have actually started to enjoy cooking (but still prefer baking), and this year I started something a little different thanks to a new cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, which explains how to sneak vegetables into family meals. It really works, which has made it fun! I also have finally discovered Suduko and love it! It's a great coffee-break activity after a long day (or even morning) of being an at-home mom, a job that I am so blessed to have!

Warmest Christmas blessings and prayers for a joyful, peaceful new year!

Feast Days

In the Catholic Church, we are very blessed to have feast days and memorials. Feast days, or holy days, are celebrated by commemorating sacred mysteries or events in memory of our Lord, the Blessed Mother, Jesus' apostles, martyrs or saints. The day not only honors that event or person, but it also allows us to grow in excitement about our own spiritual life.

Two feasts that we have chosen to celebrate in a special way during Advent are the Feast of St. Nicholas on Dec. 6, and the Feast of St. Lucia on Dec. 13. There is much history about these two feast days, which I will not get into at this time. However, we have decided to celebrate these days in our family to keep this Advent season focused on the Lord and the beautiful and fun ways we can prepare for His coming.

At our house, we have designated St. Nicholas Day as stocking day. This is the day that the kids receive their stocking stuffers, as well as a new ornament signifying something that happened this past year. It allows us to take time to remember who St. Nicholas was, and how this popular saint became Santa Claus, without focusing too much on the secular Santa. This year, St. Nicholas Day was re-emphasized at our oldest's school which made it even more real to her. It's interesting, the whole Santa legend, we haven't said much to the older girls about Santa. But this year, they are sort of figuring it out on their own. We aren't making it a big deal, but they are creating their own ideas about who he is and if/when he comes. (I really think they wondered if St. Nicholas actually came to our house on Dec. 6!) Interesting ...

The feast of St. Lucia is an honored Swedish tradition. We have a little Norwegian in our blood, but no Swedish, and neither Greg nor I grew up with this tradition in our families. However, one of our daughters is named after this saint, and so her namesake day happens to fall on a really big feast day. (We celebrate each of our children's names on a feast day or saint's memorial day throughout the year.) As the children get older, I actually want to learn more about the customs of St. Lucia Day—the breakfast, the candle crown, etc. But for now, we celebrated with our daughter picking out what we had for dinner that night and a special dessert. We also took time after dessert to honor her for special qualities we love in her.

I am grateful for feast days. The Church has given them to us in order to celebrate our faith and praise God for all the blessings He has bestowed upon His people. We can look to the events or people of these feasts, and strive to grow in holiness and be enriched by our faith. Celebrating the feasts of St. Nicholas and St. Lucia are two more ways we can prepare for Christ's coming at Christmas.

O, Come, let us adore Him!

Advent 2008

A new (liturgical) year, a new hobby: a family blog! With this blog, it is my hope to document some of the everyday occurrences in our family. Let's begin with Advent ...

My husband, Greg, and I always have desired the focus of this time of year to be the real reason we celebrate Christmas! To remember, with gratitude, hope and joy, the coming of our Lord Jesus into this world to dwell among us and teach us the right ways of God. No easy task when all around us we are surrounded by toys, gifts, Santa, and sentiments such as "All I Want for Christmas ..." Believe me, it's easy to get caught up in the whirlwind! Of course, many of these aspects of the Holiday are fun and perfectly corresponding with celebrating Jesus' birthday, however, we strive for prioritization.

As the kids, now 6, 4, 3 and 1-year-old twins, are a bit older, we are able to share even more the deeper, more meaningful aspects of Christmas, and the proper way to prepare the way of His coming. Little by little, we are experiencing their excitement, not only in Christmas, but in Advent, the time of preparation before Christmas that allows are hearts and homes to get ready for Christ.

This year, we are doing a few new things:

My mom gave the kids an Advent Calendar last year, and we are using it this Advent to countdown the days until Christmas. Each day, one of the older girls opens the day's door to find little candies, and then we count how many days until Christmas. They get so excited as the number of days gets fewer and fewer.

We also made a small Advent manger out of craft sticks. We have a small bag of straw, and each time one of the older girls does a good deed, they are permitted to add a piece of straw to the manger. Our goal is to make a soft, warm bed for Baby Jesus by Christmas Day.

Lastly, we are reading a beautiful book, Destination Bethlehem by Sharon Altman and Christine Winkelman. There are 24 chapters, and we read one each night (from Dec. 1-24). It is the story of two boys, Isaac and Jediah, as they travel through Ancient Palestine. As the story unfolds, they find themselves at the heart of the Nativity Story and gradually realize the birth of the Messiah is at hand. Each chapter ends with a cliff-hanger and builds anticipation for reading the following one. Often my 6-year-old wants to keep reading, but I tell her that we have to wait for the next day.

As we enter this second week of Advent, my prayer is that our family grows in our own personal longing for the Lord in our lives; that each of us can grow closer to His loving desire for how He wants us to live together as a family. May our preparations--addressing cards, wrapping gifts, decorating the tree, celebrating with friends--enhance the true essence of this beautiful, hopeful and joyous Holiday.