Happy 5th Birthday Ryan

My dearest Ryan,

What a year this has been!  You continue to surprise and bless me every day and you make our lives so much fun.  As we celebrate your 5th birthday I want to take time to reflect on lots of the fun things that we did this past year!

We started the year off with a big treat as you got to ride the Zamboni at the Minnesota Wild hockey game with your Dad!  You have always loved Zambonis and hockey so this was an amazing experience for you!  You were beaming and had SO much fun.

 

 

We were living in Minnesota until July of this year and we survived the Minnesota winter together.  There were many days that were -40 F in temperature and LOTS of snow until April, but you made the best of it and always had so much fun!

 

 

We actually had a lot of fun living in Minnesota for the year and your favorite parts were getting to hang out with your Great Grandparents and other extended family, going to the lake and also the Mall of America!

 

 

We had a very special Easter this year and it was so much fun to also watch you learn about and take in the Easter story.  You love Jesus so much and asked so many great questions about what happened to Jesus.  You even asked why a doctor like Daddy didn't save Jesus why he was dying on the cross!  We explained to you that it was in God's plan for Jesus to die, because he loves us so much!

 

This spring you had your first time under anesthesia for your ears.  It made me so nervous, but you and your Daddy went together and you of course were a rock star.  Plus you looked pretty adorable!

 

 

 

Spring continued to be a crazy time for all of us as we sold our first family home, the home that we took you home from the hospital in!  It was really emotional for us all (especially Mommy), remembering all of the special things that happened in that home, your first steps, first Christmas, so many firsts!  You still talk about our "Pinkney House" often and I hope you have lasting memories of it.  Thankfully, you also love our new home and I look forward to all of the fun memories we make as a family together in our home.  This past year has really taught us that it is not the physical house, but the people who make it a home!  The moving process this summer was pretty hectic, but you always made it lots of fun and were our big helper! 

 

 

One thing that I love about your is your amazing imagination and also your memory.  You love to play dress up, and anyone who you see you want to be JUST LIKE THEM!  You love mailmen, doctors, firemen, UPS men, priests, construction workers, janitors, etc!  You wore your mailman outfit for probably 7 months straight since you got it on your 4th birthday.

This summer was lots of fun and you spent most of it on your bike or playing outside.  You have so much energy and are so much fun to play with!  We also got to go on a fun camping trip as a family for the first time!

 

 

 

We started homeschooling at the end of this summer and you continue to simply amaze me.  The speed at which you learn things is remarkable and the questions that you ask are so much fun.  I was so worried to teach you to read, but you are doing fantastic and it is our favorite thing to do together now!





 

You also started taking Tae-kwon-do at the Homeschool Learning Center and it is your favorite activity.  You are so much fun to watch and take it so seriously.  I cannot wait to see you continue as you get older.

 

 

You love being active and all sports, especially football.  When we went on a family vacation this fall to Wisconsin and you learned about the Green Bay Packers your little life changed!  You are a mega fan of Aaron Rodgers.

 

We had such a fun fall!  One great thing about homeschooling is that we can adjust our school schedule to allow for other fun activities.  We started going to monthly plays at the Children's Theater here in town, went apple picking and had fun at Vala's pumpkin patch many times!  You also were a fireman with your brothers for Halloween this year!

 

You are the best big brother and do such a great job helping take care of your brothers and teaching them new things.  I think God knew that you were the best one to "lead our pack"!  Your brothers are your best friends and favorite playmates!

 

 



 

You love God so much and love learning more about Jesus, the Saints at the Church.  You love to dress up as a priest and lead our family in prayers or a decade of the rosary.  I cannot wait to see your faith continue to grow as you get older.

 

 

Happy 5th Birthday to our sweet, caring, charismatic, independent, hilarious, loving little boy!  I look forward to seeing what adventures await for you in the coming year!

Love,
Mommy

7QT- Our Christmas

This week's 7 quick takes are in photos and stories of the fun we have had this Christmas!  I hope that your family has had a wonderful Christmas as well celebrating the birth of Jesus and the love of family!

--- 1 ---

Christmas Around our Home

I love walking around our home in the dark with the only illumination from candles and the Christmas lights.  Every where I go I am reminded of different parts of the nativity story and brought closer to the birth of Jesus.

--- 2 ---

Beauty in the Silence

 

Do you remember how I said that I am learning that there is true beauty in the silence?  Well, one thing that I have learned to truly appreciate is some quite prayer time in our Little Oratory.  Since my husband was working Christmas Eve night I put the boys to bed, turned on my favorite Advent/Christmas music (Marian Grace's : In the Bleak Midwinter) and had some time for prayer.  It was the perfect time to do my Advent reading for the day and prepare my mind and heart for Jesus's birth. 

 

--- 3 ---

New Traditions

 

We started a new tradition this year for Christmas morning!  After careful deliberation we decided a few years ago that we do not celebrate Santa Clause on Christmas morning (no judgment at all for people who do!!)  Our children believe in St Nicholas, and sometimes exchange the name St Nicholas with Santa Clause, but they know that St Nicholas lives in heaven (like other saints) and likes to give children presents like the dowries that he left for the girls.  We celebrate St Nicholas's feast day in a BIG way on December 6th with putting out the cookies and milk, writing letters for St Nicholas to bring back to Jesus in heaven and St Nicholas leaving gifts in the children's stockings and some extra treats and gifts. 

Because of this we really have been brainstorming of ways to truly focus on Jesus's birthday on Christmas Day.  We still exchange gifts as a family on Christmas and each person receives 3 gifts, representing the 3 gifts of the wise men.  We also light the Christ Candle in our Advent Wreath, make a birthday cake for Baby Jesus and also place Jesus in our sacrifice manger. 

We knew we wanted to go to mass first thing on Christmas morning and didn't want to be fighting the kids wanting to open Christmas presents.  We decided that all we were going to put under the tree for Christmas morning was our Baby Jesus in the manger.  Then AFTER church we bring out the gifts to exchange.  It was truly beautiful to see the lowly Baby Jesus under the tree as the true gift of Christmas.

  

 



--- 4 ---

Christmas Morning

It worked so perfectly to lay out Baby Jesus in the Manger under the tree.  I was not sure what our children's reactions were going to be not seeing presents under the tree on Christmas morning, but they did not even seem to notice.  Connor or middle child woke up first and ran downstairs and gasped in excitement!  "Mom!  LOOK Baby Jesus was born!! Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!!!" 

 

We have loved reading our Christmas stories throughout Advent from our "Book a Day" list and a lot of them talk about how Jesus is the best gift of Christmas.  Our oldest son after a while did ask where the presents were, but then said "Mom, I know that Jesus is the BEST gift of Christmas!" 

 

 



We went to 7:30am mass (my amazing husband had only gotten about 5 hours of sleep after working until midnight), came home and ate a yummy Christmas breakfast, lit the Christ Candle of our Advent wreath, let our youngest son nap and it continued that no one really asked for the presents.  It was so relaxing!  We eventually got to the presents around 10:45am and the children had a lot of fun with opening them as well.  Overall though, I think we all felt like we were able to put Jesus first Christmas morning to wish him a true Happy Birthday!

 



---5---

Christmas Day Craft and Story time

We have loved making our Advent Saint Ornaments from Catholic Icing all Advent season!  We made our Christmas ornament today to add to our Advent tree!

 

What a fun tradition it was to start reading a book a day during Advent!  We loved all of the stories on our book list this year and I'm excited to already be scouting out some new books for next year from Christmas Mosaic!  The boys love our read aloud story time each day and we had fun reading our last book Happy Birthday Jesus today!

 

Reading Happy Birthday Jesus from our Christmas Book List

---6---

Happy Birthday Jesus

 

Since what we are really celebrating on Christmas Day is Jesus's birthday we love to have a birthday party!  We have our Christmas tree up throughout Advent and then on Christmas Day we add Birthday decorations to our home as well!  We also have two family birthdays during the 12 days of Christmas, so we keep them close by to continue all of the birthday fun!

 

We bake a cake for Baby Jesus (this year our cake was a Christmas cake from my mother - in -law!) and we even use our "You are Special Today" Plate that we use for our Birthdays, Baptism Anniversaries and Saint Feast Name Days!  We sang "Happy Birthday" to Baby Jesus and had cake after dinner (we had an early dinner before my husband's evening work shift)! 

 

 

 

 

--7--

We Love you Baby Jesus

 

I asked our children what they wanted to do after Daddy went to work around 4:30pm and our oldest son immediately said "Let's go to the Prayer Garden!"  The prayer garden at our parish church is a place I take the children often and we love to sit, say our prayers and just chat about what we are thankful for or worried about in life.  I LOVE that it is the first thing he thought about doing on Christmas night!  We packed up in the car and headed to our church and spend about 45 minutes in the prayer garden and in the sanctuary just thanking God for sending his Son for us!  It was the PERFECT way to end our Christmas Day.

 

We then came home and switched out the Advent wreath that we had in our front window to the manger scene.  We will leave that up for the 12 days of Christmas to remind ourselves and our neighbors of the birth of Christ!

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!  Merry Christmas!

 

For more Quick Takes, visit This Ain't The Lyceum

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Children of the Church!  I hope that you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas with those who you love.  You are all in my thoughts and prayers this Christmas! 

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the town,
St. Joseph was searching, walking up roads and down;
Our Lady was waiting, so meek and so mild,
While Joseph was seeking a place for the Child;

The children were nestled, each snug in their beds,
The grown-ups wouldn't bother, there's no room they said;
When even the innkeeper sent them away,
Joseph was wondering, where they would stay;
He thought of the caves in the side of the hills,
Lets go there said Mary, it's silent and still;

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,
Made pathways of light for their tired feet to go;
And there in a cave, in a cradle of hay,
Our Savior was born on that first Christmas Day!

The Father was watching in heaven above,
He sent for His angels, His couriers of love;
More rapid than eagles God's bright angels came;
Rejoicing and eager as each heard his name;

Come Power, Come Cherubs, Come Virtues, Come Raphael,
Come Thrones and Dominions, come Michael and Gabriel;
Now fly to the Earth, where My poor people live,
Announce the glad tiding My Son comes to give;

The Shepherds were watching their flocks on this night,
And saw in the heavens and unearthly light;
The Angels assured them, they'd nothing to fear,
It's Christmas they said, the Savior is here!

They hastened to find Him, and stood at the door,
Till Mary invited them in to adore;
He was swaddled in bands from His head to His feet,
Never did the Shepherds see a baby so sweet!

He spoke not a word, but the shepherds all knew,
He was telling them secrets and blessing them too;
Then softly they left Him, The Babe in the hay,
And rejoiced with great joy on that first Christmas Day;

Mary heard them exclaim as they walked up the hill,
Glory to God in the Highest, Peace to men of good will!

By: Sister St. Thomas, B.N.D. de N

 
 

The Nativity print that we have hanging in our living room