Who Wants a Christmas Card?

I’m not sure if I’m going to bother sending out Christmas cards this year. I haven’t bought any beautiful religious cards and our recent family photo attempts have been less than stellar. I don’t think I can even order custom cards at this point…unless I plan on mailing them out in January. I’ve been getting…

Making Charitable Giving Part of Your Advent

We’ve created a lot of great Advent traditions in our family. Now that we’ve gotten the hang of the wreaths and recipes, we’re working on remembering to make charitable giving a part of the season, too. Advent is a wonderful time to make the extra effort to give, but for someone like me, who grew…

{SQT} The Season of Preparation Before Advent Known As Panic

While sitting in the waiting room at my dentist’s office, eagerly anticipating a solid thirty minutes of enamel scraping, I had to endure last-minute election commercials and Christmas advertisements. I had to pause, look around, and ask myself, “Did I die in a car accident on the way to the dentist office? Where am I?” Is it…

No Addie, There Is Not A Santa Claus.

The other night, somewhere between Tony reading Sunday’s collect aloud and the beginning of our family rosary, Addie came to the sudden realization that Santa Claus does not exist. Perhaps it was our discussion of presents, as we have several family birthdays approaching, or it might have been related to the fact I let slip…

Twas the night before… My Sick Ode to Clement Moore

Twas the night before Monday, when all through my roost, all creatures stopped stirring once punishments were introduced. The laundry still hung on the clothesline with care, forgotten by Mama who’d been summoned elsewhere. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, the fun of the weekend still fresh in their heads. And Papa…