Happy New Year - a year older

07-08

Now for Christmas - or at least part

We spent the third week of Advent and Christmas Day in Colorado this year, with my mom's whole family and Blakes' parents and his dad's family (more of the Helgoth Christmas party to come later). Anyway, the first day in Colorado we visited my grandparents, Grandpa Bill and Grandma Ethel. Who RA affectionately calls Grandma and Grandpa Bill. So that the kids would have things to play with while they were there, Grandma gave them present early.

DG loves his Scrabble Jr.
RA loved her musical jewelry box so much she kept giving my grandma random hugs every time she looked at it.

I have taken a picture of everyone of my kids sitting in Grandpa Bill's lap. Here is PG.

More Colorado

I'll get around to Christmas, but right now more Colorado. On Dec. 23rd we went to the Airforce Academy. I think it was the only day it snowed (except the day we arrived) while we were there. But I love snow, so I am not complaining. My dad graduated from the AFA so we always visit when we go. And PG was so excited to see more planes. DG's favorite part was the pipe organ in the protestant chapel. I don't have a picture but it is huge. DG did get a t-shirt from the AFA gift shop that said, "AIR FORCE when you absolutly, positivly need something blown up overnight." We love it!PG & Blue Truck PG, Blue Truck, and Unc Eddie

My dad's (Blue Truck's) dormThe Chapel

Future Flower Girl

My sister is getting married in a couple of years (finishing grad school first). But while on our family vacation, she ordered her dress. We made a girl's day of it. Mom, Aunt Nancy, Katie (the Bride), myself, and RA went to the store. Grandma joined us later for lunch. RA got to try on flower girl dresses just for fun. We will shop for the real one when it is closer. I won't post pictures of the wedding dress. Matthew might visit my blog (not). But just in case only flower girls for now.
"And my favorite feature... is that it kind of swishes like a bell when I move."

Why I love (& miss) Colorado

Children's Museum again

Today we went to the Children's Museum because they are doing a performance of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe there. DG is obsessed with Narnia so it only made sense to take him. The whole family went and while we were at the show Peter played with some family friends who joined us. (Thanks again Packs!)

We got to the museum a couple hours before the show so the big kids could play some. And while we were in Science Works, we ran into some friends. What are the odds that they would be at the museum on the same day, same time and same exhibit and that we would see them. So the picture of RA in the front loader is with her favorite friend from Catholic Familyland and homeschool co-op.

The other interesting part of the day was when Daddy was on the first floor just under the balcony a child, with an oblivious (still now) parent, dropped a sippy cup right on his head. He has had a nasty headache ever since. It was a heavy, full sippy cup. DG wanted to know what would have happened if it had fallen from the 4th floor.

But still everyone had a good day.

"Me ride jaff"

So as you know we went to the Children's Museum last week. Two nights after PG - the two year old- wakes up in the middle of the night. He wanted me to rock him. I was holding him and he looks at me and says, "Me ride jaff! Tars spin round." It took me a second but I figured it out.

"Yes PG, you rode a giraffe at the museum and the star spun around on the ceiling."

"No, me ride jaff!!! (angrily)"

"Oh you want to ride the giraffe, now?"

"yah!"

"PG, the museum is sleeping, now." It was 2AM. "We will go again a different day."

"Otay Mommy."


So today we went to the children's museum.

Feast of St. Nicholas

I know this is late but:

In many places St. Nicholas is the main gift giver. His feast day, St. Nicholas Day, is December 6, which falls early in the Advent season. Some places he arrives in the middle of November and moves about the countryside, visiting schools and homes to find out if children have been good. Other places he comes in the night and finds carrots and hay for his horse or donkey along with children's wish lists. Small treats are left in shoes or stockings so the children will know he has come.
Where St. Nicholas is prominent, his day, not Christmas, is the primary gift giving day. Parties may be held on the eve, December 5th, and shoes or stockings left for St. Nicholas to fill during the night. Children will find treats of small gifts, fruit or nuts, and special Nicholas candies and cookies. St. Nicholas gifts are meant to be shared, not hoarded for oneself. - this is from the St. Nicholas Center http://www.stnicholascenter.org/

So my kids get their stockings on the feast of St. Nicholas. They don't think they are from him just in honor of his gift giving legacy. Here are some pictures of the event. Oh RA and DG got Sacrafice beads since St. Therese has played a big role in RA's life since Oct. and since DG really needs help making sacrifices. Daddy even got Godiva coffee. Mommy got her traditional chocolate orange.

Christmas ?s

From Beth
Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate, with Pepermint schnapps.

Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? No Santa but Epiphany presents are wrapped under the tree on Epiphany morning. - unless they are too big to be wrapped.

Colored lights on tree or white? Purple till the third Sunday of Advent then colored.

When do you put your decorations up? Advent-the 1st Sunday/Saturday night of Advent, Christmas -the 3rd Sunday of Advent

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Mashed potatoes

Favorite Holiday memory as a child: My dad is a physician and one year he knew he would be at the hospital all Christmas day so he and my mom woke me up early on Christmas morning to open gifts and then the thought was I would go back to bed - yeah right. Anyway, I always thought it was neat that my parents had to wake me up.

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was really old - 10. I was an only child untill 13 and I never had anyone say anything to me until I asked my mom.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I always got to open 1 gift. And my parents would usually suggest something and it would end up being pajamas.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? My mom saved all my Christmas ornaments and gave them to me when I got married.

Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it!!! Although I don't love that it melts and turns brown in Indiana.

Can you ice skate? I don't fall often, but my husband played hockey as a kid and one of my favorite things is going skating with him

Do you remember your favorite gift? Christmas gift-that is hard. Hmm, I got knee high black boots in highschool. Those were pretty cool.

What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Keeping Christ in Christmas and celebrating the whole season not just one day.

What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Cranberry pie - my husband's recipe

What is your favorite tradition? When I was a kid, Santa wouldn't wrap gifts so before we could go see what we got my dad would bring orange juice to the bed room and we would sit on my parents' bed and everyone would have to finish thier orange juice before we could go see what we got and my parents would torcher us by drinking their orange juice really slow.
As an adult, I love mid-night Mass.

Which do you prefer, Giving or Receiving? Giving!!!! I always want people to open the presents I got them more than I want to open what I got.

What is your favorite Christmas Song? The Gloria at Christmas Mass or Let Me Be Your Bethelehem by Danielle Rose or Breathe of Heaven by Amy Grant - I'm not very traditional. But if I could I would listen to Christmas music all year.

Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? I love red and white candy canes.

Ever recycled a Christmas present? Oh sure.

I'm tagging anyone who wants to play! Come on, you know you want to.

PG's phrases

Ope my white = Open my white playdough
Tank you = Thank you
Me George! = well he is P. George
Big in response to how old are you
Purhul = purple
Blue Truck = Grandpa Bowen
Tree in my (big breath) house (you have to hear this one)
mulk = milk
Gia = RG
Domic = DG
Naha = Nanna
down tairs = down stairs
my new toys = all the gifts he got for his birthday
no/nowing = snow/snowing
no downstairs = what he says when you tell him when he wakes up that it is snowing

No Christmas?

Tonight we were doing our tradtional Advent bedtime routine: family rosary, Jesse tree ornaments with Bible reading, followed by a chapter of the Best Christmas Pagent Ever (a little old for my kids and a litte too mean spirited but I love it too much not to share it with them). Before the Jesse Tree reading, RA said, "Mom, I have a question. Why don't we put all the Jesse Tree ornaments up on one night?"
I explained to her that it is to remind us that each of the people we talk about spent their whole lives waiting for Jesus (he didn't come quick) in fact none of them lived to see Jesus. She looked at me with really big eyes and said, "They didn't have Christmas?" She was agast.
I said, "No, their lives were all Advent."
Only a child can cause us to stop and meditate on the meaning of this season, in a way we hadn't thought of quite like that before.

Children's Museum

Recently we visited the Children's Museum with our friends the Packs: http://www.babypack.blogspot.com/

Everyone had fun. The museum (for those of you who aren't local) uses there large, curved staircase in the winter as a long slide. We all went down it with various forms of, "let's do it again" afterwards. My kids really enjoyed showing their old favorites to a newby -- at least new to the part we showed her. So much so that they couldn't wait for her to join us again. So this Sunday we are taking the dads.

Advent Traditions

So since Christmas isn't quite upon us the Helgoths have some Advent Traditions. First is the Jesse Tree. Our tree goes up the first Sunday of Advent and we decorate it with purple lights, ribbon, and snowflakes (I found them all three years ago at Target). Then each day of advent we add a Jesse Tree ornament. For the past two years, we have been part of an exchange so I think I have all the ornaments now. This is totally the way to do it, because then you just have to make two different types of ornaments for however many people instead of making 28ish different ornaments. Great chart for ornaments at http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html.
Then on the third Sunday of Advent we take down the purple and put up the Christmas lights and decorations. The kids like leaving the Jesse Tree ornaments. The 3rd Sunday of Advent is also when we start listening to Christmas music.
We don't do Santa in our house. Another day for the why of that. But on the feast of St. Nicholas (Dec. 6th) the kids get their stockings filled.
We also have a creche (crib) under the tree for Jesus. It is filled with good deeds. Last year, we put in straw for each of our good deeds as mom and dad saw them and took some out if the need arose (ok when the need arose). This year we have a sacrifice jar. Each night they chose a strip of paper with a sacrifice they can make the next day. If they do it, they get to put straw in the creche.
Our letters to Santa are letters to Jesus asking for gifts: material and spiritual. We exchange gifts as immediate family on Epiphany and if no extended family is around we open their gifts then too. Christmas day we try to have a birthday party for Jesus!
We also have an Advent wreath and there are these great seek and find Advent books we use each day. http://www.printeryhouse.org/ProdPage.asp?Prod=DYK&cat=226.
Oh and you can still sign up for Holy Heros Advent Adventure. They send a daily email with activities and videos. It makes it really easy! http://www.holyheroes.com/.
Happy Advent!

After the Birthday Party

After all the fun, my parents, myself, DG and RA all headed off to the high school state football game at Lucas Oil Stadium as Cardinal Ritter High school (where my dad teaches) were playing in the 1A division. They won! Go Raiders! RA spent the whole game cheering, every defensive play we heard, "Push 'em, back, shove 'em back, [big breath] way back!" The little kid in front of us started cheering with her in the second half.
As for PG and 'Daddy', they stayed home and played with "my new toys!"
http://www.wibc.com/IHSAA/2008/fall/boys/football/photos/11.28.08_1a.aspx

PG's 2nd Birthday

PG is now officially 2. Although if you ask him how old he is he says, "Big!" And if you ask him his name he says, "George." I think he is confused. We had a great day, since my mom had done all the cooking the day before we invited them over for a chili lunch, then we opened presents, and then we had cake. There is a gift that needs explaining. Ever since I was pregnant with DG, my mom didn't like the idea of being "a grandma". She was ok with the duties, just not the age. So she wanted to be called something else, she chose Nanna and it stuck. My dad was fine with Grandpa. Well now PG can say Nana or something that resembles it but he hasn't even attempted Grandpa. So the other day before his birthday I asked him who lived with Nanna. He said, "Blue Truck" (as my dad has a blue truck). So now Grandpa is "Blue Truck" so PG got a blue truck from Blue Truck.