Congratulations, Courtney and Amber!

In honor of my two oldest who got great joy from the Random Number Generator, I decided to give away two Advent:Lighting the Path to Christmas e-books instead of one.

Congratulations to Courtney from Zuzu's Perch and Amber at Green Love! You each won a copy of Seasons of Joy Advent book!

I enjoyed reading all of your Advent traditions and aspirations. We do have a "Cyber Monday" special going on right now. For a limited time, you can get the Advent and the Winter books for only $20!

Thank you so much for participating. This was my first giveaway, and it was a lot of fun. I'll definitely have to do it again.

Cyber Monday Special!

For one day only, you can get both Advent: Lighting the Path to Christmas and Winter Seasons of Joy for only $20! Just visit the Seasons of Joy store here.

Also, it's not too late to enter the giveaway. I'll close the post down to comments and draw a name tomorrow afternoon when we're finished with school.

We had a lovely first Sunday of Advent. Church was beautiful. I love singing the Advent hymns while the acolyte lights the first candle. The angel tree was up in the lobby so we could choose an angel and help a child have a Christmas. In the afternoon, I dropped the three oldest children off at church to rehearse the Christmas pageant and I ran to A C Moore for some craft stuff we'll need this week. Then it was back to church for choir rehearsals. My little cherubs sound so sweet singing "Walk Softly, Walk Gently" and "The Camel Song". Our Chapel Choir was excellent. They learned the song they'll be singing with the grown-up choir in a clock tick, and their own song, Advent Celebration, is wonderful. Finally, I met with my teen choir. We spend as much time laughing as we do rehearsing, but it's worth it.

Back at home, we had dinner and lit the Advent wreath and said evening prayer. We also read a short devotional about Dorothy Day, one of my favorite saints. The Advent calendar door was opened, and little stones and gems dot the road upon which Mary and Joseph are beginning their journey. And tomorrow is another day, ready to be filled with adventures and love and Advent joy.

Advent Spaces

The family blanket we made several years ago and a basket full of Christmas books


A few Christmas toys: a basket full of Nativity figures, a nesting St. Nicholas, a basket of Christmas lacing shapes, and a Santa bucket filled with Christmas-themed Peek-a-Blocks. More toys to come!


My absolute favorite Christmas decoration, a small Nativity transparency


A little corner in our school room


Another Christmas favorite-- a Christmas plate from Wendall August Forge given to me by the chorus at Grove City High School when I was finished student teaching


Some lights and a little St. Nick on the piano


The mantle. I was happy to find Advent candles and an unused Advent calendar in the attic, although the candles were a tad bit bent. Ah well, it adds character!


Joseph, leading Mary on her donkey towards Bethlehem


The creche, waiting for its occupants


The Advent nature table with the stone path laid out. Last year, it was on a smaller shelf, and I'm a little disappointed that my starry sky doesn't cover the whole background.

There's still lots more decorating to do, but you know the best part? There's a whole month to make the house lovely for Christmas!

It's a Thanksgiving Weekend/Black Friday SALE!

Tonight through Sunday, buy the $50 4-seasons set, and get the Advent book FREE! You can read more here.

Also, don't forget our Advent book giveaway! We'll choose a winner on Monday.

Finally, have you become a fan of Seasons of Joy on Facebook? I'm posting some great links to wonder-filled Advent activities as I find them.

I hope you had a peaceful and relaxing Thanksgiving day. We had a lovely day, filled with family and good food and good times. And then tomorrow, I do the shopping marathon to finish up the Christmas shopping. One of my Advent goals is to have everything bought that needs to be bought in a brick-and-mortar store by the first Sunday of Advent. I really strive to have my children not step a foot in a store throughout Advent, because the commercialism seems to cause a bad case of the gimme's, even in the nicest of children!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our family, to you and yours-- have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Free Giveaway! Advent: Lighting a Path to Christmas

In Thanksgiving for finishing up the book in time for Advent (and it was dicey there for a while, let me tell you!) I'm going to give away a copy of my newest ebook, Advent: Lighting a Path to Christmas, which I posted about here. You can also read an except here.

Want to enter? Just leave a comment letting me know your favorite Advent tradition. Don't have one? That's OK! Just let me know what your goals, hopes, or wishes are for Advent. If your contact information isn't included as part of your profile, please leave your email address so I have a way to contact you.

Want extra entries? Just blog about the giveaway, tweet about it, or post a link on Facebook, and you can leave a separate comment for each additional entry.

A winner will be chosen at random on Monday, November 30.

An excerpt from Advent: Lighting a Path to Christmas

The first light of Advent is the light of stone--.
Stones that live in crystals, seashells, and bones.

The second light of Advent is the light of plants--
Plants that reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.

The third light of Advent is the light of beasts--
All await the birth, from the greatest and in least.

The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind--
The light of hope that we may learn to love and understand.

This lovely verse has been attributed to Rudolf Steiner, although I have not been able to verify this, nor have I found who translated it into English. Regardless, it captures the evolution of the season—from Advent to Christmas, from sedentary and thoughtless rock to active and thought-full people, from darkness to light. Advent, from the Latin word adventus, or “coming,” carries us through the dark of winter and into the coming of Christ.

Advent is traditionally a time of preparation for Christmas. We prepare not only our homes, but our hearts, for the coming of the Christ Child. It is my hope that this guide will help you to create a peaceful and gentle Advent season, both for you and your children. This is especially important in this consumer age, when Christmas decorations are on display before we’ve even passed Halloween! You may find yourself at odds with what the world is selling, but Advent is a time of in-breathing and introspection. Outward, all is still, but inside, we’re doing great inner work.

As the days grow shorter and colder, I invite you to walk this journey with me. Quiet your heart and your mind, and trade in the busyness and meaningless noise of the season to create a more meaningful and peaceful Advent for your family. I promise you won’t forget it.

While writing this seasonal guide, I’ll confess that I had a niggling fear in the back of my mind. I worry that already overtaxed mothers would read this and add a whole new list of “musts” to their already crowded lives.

Please do not see this as another thing on your to do list. This guide is meant to be a jumping off place, a one-stop shop for ideas and inspiration. It is not intended to be one more thing to stress you out. More important than any of the doing is the striving to create an atmosphere of peace, light, and anticipation.

If it seems overwhelming, or if the practice of keeping Advent is new to you, I would suggest just choosing one or two things to do each week or each day. Perhaps you’ll make or buy an Advent wreath or calendar, or maybe you’ll choose to set up a nature table. I personally think the most important thing you can do is to follow the “inner work” section in the Appendix, because centering yourself and understanding the “why” behind keeping Advent is essential if you are to pass the spirit of Advent on to your children.

I’d also like to encourage you not to let perfection be the enemy of the good. If you can’t afford beeswax candles or 100% wool felt, don’t let that stop you from setting up a wreath or making a craft. Those expensive wooden Nativity figures are wonderful, but so, too, are little table puppets made from cardboard tubes and scraps of paper. If you don’t have time to make sugar cookie dough from scratch, the world won’t end if you buy cookie dough in a tube.

Most of all, have a gentle Advent. In these days of cold and darkness, strive towards warmth and light, and may it bring joy, hope, peace, and love to you and your family.

Advent: Lighting a Path to Christmas

The first light of Advent is the light of stone--.
Stones that live in crystals, seashells, and bones.

The second light of Advent is the light of plants--
Plants that reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.

The third light of Advent is the light of beasts--
All await the birth, from the greatest and in least.

The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind--
The light of hope that we may learn to love and understand.

Centered around this verse, Advent: Lighting the Path to Christmas gently walks you through the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms, ending with a celebration of family and humankind. At this time of year when darkness and cold prevail, we hope this guide will help you create a peaceful and warm home, leading up to the celebration of Christmas. This book does have Christian elements, although secular alternative have been offered when possible, and does not cover the typical Advent saints' day celebrations (St. Nicholas, Santa Lucia, etc.)

$10 for the ebook, which will be delivered to your in-box within 24 hours (possibly longer over the weekend)

Come visit our Advent page at the Seasons of Joy website to purchase.

No more letters to Santa...

but I can't help but think that this is even sweeter.

FROM: Michael F*****
TO: Chip & Annette F*****
SUBJECT: Christmas Gifts

Dear Mom and Dad,
Please get me one or more of the following. A Maverick Nerf Gun, a new basketball (Wilson brown leather please), a few packs of football cards.

A gift certificate for Toys R Us, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, or Nerf Strike Elite (Wii Game).

The Thirty Nine Clues Book 2 and 3. A few Matt Christopher books. The Red Badge of Courage.

Sincerely,
Michael F*****

PS. I will still love you a little if you do not get me this stuff.

I am a crazy mad genius

If I do say so myself.

While working on the Advent book- and it's almost done! YAY!- I suddenly had a brainflash about my dirty beeswax crayons. Complete non sequitor, I know. This is the way my brain works.

Anyway...

I thought to myself, if Goo Gone works to remove crayons from the tables, walls, other toys, and whatever else my toddler decides will make a good substitute for paper, maybe it would work to clean up my grungy crayons.

And OH MY GOSH! it did!

You can definitely see a huge difference between the before and after. And they still color beautifully. I think tomorrow night I'll tackle the stick crayons. I may need to buy more Goo Gone, though.

Beeswax crayons are lovely, but expensive. However, they're definitely worth it. We've had these for almost 5 years now! The biggest problem is that they bump up against each other in the basket and mark each other up. I do have a felt crayon holder, but it was frustrating for my little ones to get the crayons in and out of the tiny compartments. Now, we keep them in a lovely Longaberger basket.

How do you store and clean your crayons? I'd love to know.

Circle Time: A Thankfulness Circle

This week we'll be doing a thankfulness/gratitude circle.

Generally, I like my circle times to last two to three weeks, perhaps adding something here or there or taking something away to keep it fresh. I'm hoping to show this to you next month with our four Advent circles.

November, however, was a bit of an odd month, with Martinmas the second week and Thanksgiving the last, so we ended up starting out with a Harvest Circle Time, then Martinmas, then the story of The Little Red Hen, which I felt went with the harvest mood of the month. And now we'll wrap things up, returning to the harvest and focusing on a spirit of gratitude. Unfortunately this isn't a terribly active circle, but it's also not terribly long.

Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow (Because Daniel REALLY likes this one!)

Sing and Do (A Child's Seasonal Treasury)
Sing, sing of the Harvest Wreath binding,
Sing, sing of the Harvest Wreath minding.
Sing of the wheat and the oats and the rye.
Sing of the ribbon to hang it up high.
Sing, sing of the Harvest Wreath.

Sing, sing of the threshing of the corn,
Sing, sing of the threshing of the corn.
Sing of the barley, the wheat and the rye.
Sing of the flail and the husks flying high.
Sing, sing of the threshing of the corn.

Sing, sing of the candle a-glowing.
Sing, sing of the candle a-glowing.
Sing of the fire, the wax, and the tin.
Sing of the wick and the dipping in.
Sing, sing of the candle glow.


We have a gratitude bowl, and at the time each day, we'll think of something for which we are thankful, write it on a piece of paper, and add it to the bowl. Some people also do a tree. There's a lovely one over on Zach Aboard. Then, we'll sing:
Let's give thanks for what we've got,
Whether it's a little or whether it's a lot.
It may be something simple or maybe not,
But we're thankful for all we've got!

And a small bit from a favorite John McCutcheon song:
Thankful for the food,
Thankful for the company,
Thankful for the things that we do and say.
Thankful for the friends,
Thankful for the family,
Glad to be together on Thanksgiving Day.

May the way that we treat others
Be the measure of our worth.
May our memory be a blessing
On the future of the earth.

Thankful... etc.

Thanksgiving Time (A Child's Seasonal Treasury)
When all the leaves are off the boughs
And nuts and apples gathered in,
And cornstalks waiting for the cows
And pumpkins safe in barn and bin,
Then Mother says, "My children dear,
The fields are brown and Autumn flies,
Thanksgiving Day is very near
And we must make Thanksgiving pies."

Table Stretches (A fingerplay)
Every day when we eat our dinner,
Our table is very small.
Show size with hands
There's room for Daddy
Hold up tall finger
And Mother
Hold up pointer finger
And Baby, that is all.
Hold up pinky.
But when Thanksgiving Day comes
You can't believe your eyes.
For the table stretches and stretches and stretches
Stretch out arms
To an enormous size.

This Is the Way...
This is the way we set the table,
Set the table, set the table,
This is the way we set the table
On Thanksgiving Day.

This is the way we...
(pass the food, eat the food, clear the table, wash the dishes, etc)

Hearth and Fire
Hearth and fire be ours tonight (today)
And all the dark outside.
Fair the night (day) and kind on you,
Wherever you may bide.

And I'd be the sun upon your head,
The wind about your face.
My love upon the path you tread
And upon your wanderings, peace.

Hearth and fire be ours tonight (today)
And the wind in branches bare.
O that the wind we hear tonight (today)
Would find you well and fair.

And I'd be... etc.

Seasons of Joy has a Facebook page!

Wow! That Advent book is almost finished. Almost, but not quite. There are still a lot of finishing touches to add on. Meanwhile, I've created a Facebook page for Seasons of Joy.

I have a lot of plans on the table. I don't know how many of them will come to fruition, but some of the things I'd like to do in the coming year include...

--completely redoing the web page and moving it to its own domain name (I think that's what you call it,LOL!)

--inviting readers of Seasons of Joy to share pictures of them doing the activities, which I will then post on the website

--writing an Advent saints book (the book I'm completing now does not include any of the saints' days celebrations)

--writing a 12 Days of Christmas book

--learning to use Twitter

--using social media like Facebook and Twitter to post links of interest, such as fun craft ideas from other sites

-- completely rewriting the Summer Seasons of Joy book

-- revising the other books to clean up any problems

-- creating a reader survey to help determine the direction Seasons of Joy goes

-- learning to add MP3 (??) files to the blog so readers can listen to the songs

Typing that out, it all seems rather ambitious!

I am also looking to create a logo for Seasons of Joy. I am not sure what the protocol is for this, but I'm willing to barter the complete $50 curriculum set, including the new summer book when it is complete, for a logo. I'd like something "waldorf-esque" that reflects the 4 seasons. Please comment or email me if you're interested!

Additionally, please be sure to check out my trade list on "yard sale" blog, The Gnomes' Home. I'm more than willing to barter Seasons of Joy for things on the list.

I think that's all the "business news" I have. Please do join me on Facebook. You can can always friend me on my personal page as well. I look forward to seeing you there!

An apology... and an announcement!

Unfortunately, I will not get my post on evening routines up today. I had one of the days where my to-do list was a mile and a half long.

But fortunately (I hope!) one of the things I am working on is completing the new Advent Seasons of Joy book! It's a four-week journey through Advent, with stories, songs, traditions, rhythms and routines, crafts and handwork, nature tables, recipes, and more. It doesn't include the Advent saints, but does have plenty to keep you and your family focused on traveling the spiral Advent path. Crossing my fingers and saying a prayer, it will be finished next week. I hope to have a bit of a sampler up early next week as well.

Workbox Wednesday: Nicholas

Once again, it's Workbox Wednesday, and we're back to Nicholas!

Because Nicholas is my first one-on-one "date" I've the school day, I've been experimenting with making his first 4 boxes things he needs a little supervision with. We started out with a large map of a Pilgrim village from Let's Find Out. Nicholas enjoyed tracing a path from one spot to another. He even insisted we hang the map up so he could look at it again later!

Next was Speechersize. I had tried making this an independent activity, but he's been struggling with it lately, so today we did it together. Here is Nicholas, making "Silly Faces".

We worked some more on our Harvest Counting Book.


Next we made some autumn spice dough from the Autumn Seasons of Joy. It smelled so yummy, and everyone enjoyed it. Even Big Sister joined in!


Next, Nicholas took a ten minute break. I'm not exactly sure what he thinks he needs a break from, but he has decided that every four boxes, he needs a ten minute break.

The next box had this little tape-and-color kit that I picked up at the Dollar Tree. Nicholas had fun, and it was a good small motor skill activity.

And then he moved on to a cut and paste activity.


Next was a box with seashells.

After listening for the ocean, he sorted them into large and small.

By now it was snack time. Nick followed me into the kitchen and made a little walnut shell turtle.


Which later found its way to the top of the gnome cave on the nature table.

We were going to have the rest of the crown cake for snack, but Daniel got to it while we were working on boxes 5 through 7. Le sigh.
I suppose I should be happy he didn't get to the knife.

After snack, bristle blocks!

I had these little linky-doos I picked up at a yard sale. I believe they're meant to be a math manipulative. I put them in a workbox mostly to see what he would do with them. He used them to stage an over-the-sofa escape.


And then he helped his brother over the wall.

Another yard sale find, wipe off "finish the picture" boards.

And a repeat of "Clip the Feathers on the Turkey".

And that was Nick's morning!

More than one type of noise...

Today I caught myself being short with my children.

Now, don't get me wrong. This is by no means an isolated event. But today, the realization of what it all meant hit me hard.

I have a lot of irons in the fire right now. I'm frantically trying to finish up an Advent edition of Seasons of Joy. I'm homeschooling a kindergartener, a third grader, and a fifth grader. I have a toddler underfoot. I have a short story I'm working on. I'm trying to work out at home or get to the gym anyway. And it's the Week of the Kitchen, so I'm trying to scrub out the fridge and scour the sink and clean the woodwork and degrunge the floor.

So when I went down in the basement to switch the laundry and put in a new load, I actually took a deep breath and lingered for a moment, enjoying the quiet and peace of being in the only level of the house with no children.

"Mooooo--oooooooooommmmmmm!!!!!"

And I have to admit, my response was a not very nice, "WHAT?!?"

And right away, I felt ashamed.

You see, the other things are important. The new Advent guide will (hopefully!) help pay for Christmas. A clean kitchen will help us all feel more peaceful. And the pesky state likes to be assured that I am properly educating my children.

But the most important thing of all is that I love them.

If I speak in the languages of humans and angels but have no love, I have become a reverberating gong or a clashing cymbal.

In that moment, it hit me. Those other things are important, but they're only a means to an end. In the end, I'm not commanded to write or clean or even to educate, but to love. Sometimes, all this business and busyness is nothing more than another type of noise.

So I went upstairs, and tried to breathe the busyness out. I snuggled the baby, read to my kindergartener, kissed my daughter, and took the time to listen to my oldest. And somewhere deep inside, my soul breathed a sigh of relief, recognizing that this was what I was supposed to be doing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

A Day in the Life

Good morning, and happy Tuesday! While the kids were waking up, I went downstairs and started the oatmeal.

Nicholas was the first one down. He likes to sit on the grate in the kitchen to warm himself.

Finally, almost everyone was down at the table and ready for breakfast.

Daniel was still in the living room, getting changed and dressed with Daddy.

Bowls were washed and stacked, and it was off to morning chores!

Katie Grace sorted some laundry, Michael took out the trash, and Nicholas worked on his room.

Next was devotions

Followed by circle time for the little ones.

Daniel enjoyed playing with the story basket after we'd moved on.

Michael and Katie Grace got started on their daily work.


And Nicholas and I did a little painting and some other work together.

As the older two continued, the littles and I made some flat bread rolls for snack, recipe from The Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book.

While they were baking, Michael did an experiment with Newton's Law of Motion.

And by the time that was done, it was snack time!

Everyone got back to business. Things were going so well, I even had time to put in a load of laundry
and organize two drawers,

Meanwhile, Daniel was hanging with his gnomies.

And Katie Grace was chilling with a puzzle after her main lesson was finished,

And Michael beat it outside as soon as he possibly could.
Meanwhile, Nicholas did a little painting

And a little dino wrestling.

And after a three-boy pile-up

it was time for a lunch of homemade chicken soup!

Here's where it gets kind of dicey-- lunch was cleaned up, a ten-minute tidy was complete, and Charlotte's Web was read. We all piled in the car to take Katie Grace to the elementary school for orchestra, and the two middle boys stopped at Wendy's to get their free Frosty's from Halloween. After Katie Grace came home, we read Story of the World and they designed their own cities, just like Peter the Great. I also popped in a cake.


Then I took a nap, because let's face it, today was exhausting.

When I woke up, there was an Uno game afoot and Michael had gone to the corner store for some Doritos.

While they were playing, I iced the crown cake for St. Elizabeth of Hungary's feast day.
Chip took Katie Grace to ballet, and Daniel climbed Michael's desk and did a little shadow boxing. For real. I heard him saying "Left! Block!"

Michael decided he would try to pass the final bridge in his Life of Fred book-- and he did!

I fit in a workout while dinner finished up, but it's hard to do crunches with a toddler on my tummy!

The boys were hungry, so I went ahead and fed them. Katie Grace and Daddy wandered in a few minutes later.

Then it was crown cake for desert and some quiet play and listening to books on tape, bath, story, prayers, and bed.

Good night!