St. Nicholas! And a New Advent Resource

We had such a busy day that I didn't get a post up about St. Nicholas. He did, however, drop by for a visit sometime in the wee hours. For each of the girls he left the usual cute socks, delicate ornaments and delicious chocolates.

And I still rely on this wonderful site, the St. Nicholas Center, for fun history, activities and pictures for Ramona. If you haven't visited it, be prepared to stay too long. And just because St. Nicholas' feast day is drawing to a close doesn't mean you've missed your chance. It's never too late to learn more about a saint.

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The older girls spent the morning at the food pantry, helping unload food and stock shelves. My friend gave them a ride over while I babysat her three-year-old and reminisced about what it was like to have a preschooler in the house. (They're so short. And incredibly cute. Particularly cute when they happen to be boys and want to play "Pretty, Pretty Princess." Yes, he has plenty of sisters.)

I spent a delightful bit of time chatting with Pat Gohn from Among Women (more info coming soon on the interview she and I recorded today) and later I even managed to get homemade bread on the table with dinner, thanks to the Artisan Bread in Five folks.

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In addition to our usual Advent prayers, we've added a new (to us) resource at dinner time as we light the candles on the Advent wreath. The girls are taking turns reading prayers and thoughts from Advent Reflections: Come, Lord Jesus by Archbishop Timothy Dolan. Lovely and lively and relevant. It hasn't happened every night, and I'm sure we'll be somewhat hit-and-miss with it, but it's a welcome addition, especially for my older girls.

Happy feast of St. Nicholas!

Looking forward to the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception ....

(St. Nicholas clipart courtesy of Two Hearts Design.)