For years, I have endeavored to make December—Advent—all about the soul. It’s going to be busy, but that doesn’t mean it has to be harried. Advent is a time to turn inward and till and fertilize and basically make my heart fertile ground for the presence of God. This search for stillness has been part…
Read MoreAll articles filed in Advent/Christmas
Holding on to the Mystery
I’m beginning to realize how brief is the period of time in which the kids both understand the magic and believe in it. We spend so much time trying to get kids to grow up–talking responsibility, bigness, and so on–that it’s hard to switch gears and ask them to stay little so that things like…
Read MoreNothing Says “Christmas” like a Gingerbread House
It’s one of the critical memories of my childhood. No year went by without gingerbread–it was the single indispensable Christmas cookie. And not very many went by without some sort of gingerbread construction. Well, last Saturday, our daily Advent activity was…making a gingerbread house with Grandma! Sorry you can’t smell it (or taste it. But the…
Read MoreMotherhood Moments in Pictures
One thing about Advent activities: it translates to a lot of “moments” with your children. Moments like feeding goats, camels, and a wildebeest (I kid you not): Moments like watching my son ride a camel: Or how about getting to share a brand new baby cousin with them? Then there are the ubiquitous pictures with…
Read MoreFriday Advent Adventures: Chrismon
I thought by the time I’d done enough research to write a book, a dozen or two blog posts, and a research-heavy article, I’d know about everything there is to know about Advent and Christmas. Well, guess what? Thanksgiving weekend, I learned something new, and very cool. My mother-in-law and I were looking at Christmas…
Read MoreFriday Advent Adventures: The Advent calendar
Welcome to Friday Advent Adventures! For the next three Fridays, we’re going to break open a topic and compare notes from our experiences in reclaiming Advent. (The fourth Friday is Christmas Eve, and even I’m not bigheaded enough to think you all want to talk Advent with me on Christmas Eve.) This week, let’s talk…Advent calendars! As…
Read MoreBlog Tour!
It’s Blog Tour day for Joy to the World: Advent Activities for Your Family, hosted by FIRST Wild Card Tours. This is a new experience for me, and I hope you’ll check out some of the sites that have posted reviews: Ruth at This That & The Other Thing Creative Madness Mama ElCloud Homeschool Adventures…
Read More7 Quick Takes
___ 1___ Well, folks, it’s early, but it’s not too early to be making plans. Advent is coming. How are you going to celebrate? Here’s the first book review of my book, Joy to the World: Advent Activities for your family. ___2___ Speaking of Advent, I’m planning to host a weekly roundup for anyone who is using the…
Read More7 Quick Takes, vol. 83
1. Last night I started a Wilton cake decorating class. It’s very interesting to see how, uh, passionate, people get on the subject. Myself included. There could have been a knock-down, drag-out fight over icing recipes in the aisle of Michael’s last night, but we all managed to control ourselves. 🙂 2. As far as…
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Kathleen M. Basi 