Saint Nicholas' Day

Today and over the past two weeks we have been preparing and celebrating St. Nicholas at home and in our Waldorf homeschool co-op. When I began this Waldorf journey, the saints days that they celebrate in their schools really intrigued me. A few of them I had heard of (St. Patrick and St. Valentine) however many were totally new to me! I love new traditions and holidays, especially when they have a religious background that syncs with my beliefs. 

In this first semester of our co-op, we have celebrated Michaelmas, Martinmas, and now St. Nicholas' Day- followed by St. Lucia's Day next week. Each celebration has been totally new for me and exciting. Delving into the stories of these saints and using them as vehicles for imparting biblical truths to my children have been truly joyous for me and them. 

The neat thing for Craig and I concerning St. Nicholas' day is that Craig actually knew about it and celebrated it as a little boy when he lived in Germany! He also celebrated Martinmas! So needless to say being able to include him in our celebration, and even letting him take the lead with St. Nick's day was so much fun. 

Tonight we celebrated and had hot cocoa with cookies. Of course we left some for St. Nick and his horse. We also read stories about him and sang his hymns. I think most importantly for Deirdre was our conversation  on specific ways we could show God's love and kindness to our friends and family this Christmas, like St. Nick shows us. She had some good ideas and we also have some planned opportunities. This year at our church on Christmas Eve, instead of a traditional service we will be packing meals to send to school children in North Africa. Our goal is to pack 40,000 meals. Deirdre will be with me that night helping as much as she can. 

So I will leave you with our photos of tonight and some resources that we've used this year to help us celebrate! 

Always, Nicole 

Resources: 

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/germany/

This entire site is chock full of songs and crafts. You really need not look any further. 

Weekending

Is it already Sunday? Please pinch me then because it feels like Friday!


This weekend we celebrated our firstborn's, Deirdre Cosette, fourth birthday. Her actual birthday is December 18th, one week exactly from Christmas day. So for the past 3 years now we've celebrated it at the beginning of the month to not crowd Christmas- and the other way around. 


Her party this year was a gnome party. It is what she wanted and I was happy to oblige! I think gnome are precious and I tend to shy away from marketed characters. It was a fun day, followed also today by her good friend's birthday party too! In our group of friends we all seem to have winter babies, so it can get crowded! We're happy to share though. 


I will blog more on Monday about the party specifics, how we did it, and why we celebrate birthdays the way we do. I did not have to take pictures at the party either, thanks to my Mother in law. So once I get those photos I will pass them along.


In the meantime I will leave you with a special photo of Deirdre and I on our first day home from the hospital back in 2007 when I was 21 and a newlywed. It is a special photo to me because after I had Deirdre I was in terrible pain for 6 weeks and could not walk. I was eventually diagnosed with pubic symphysis diastasis and the pain did go away, but it still to this day haunts me. 


However despite the pain, I was blessedly totally smitten and in love with my baby. I still wish I could have enjoyed her newborn moments more and been pain free, but this is what I have and they're still precious memories to me. 


So hug your little ones extra close tonight for me. They sure do grow quickly. 

Daily verse or quote: 

A son is a son till he takes him a wife, a daughter is a daughter all of her life.  

~An Irish Proverb

::right now::

Lovely and happy co-play- it warms my soul. 

Co-op Martinmas- minus Jonas who was running around like a crazy man! 

Fake snow courtesy of the Yankee Candle store! 

::right now:: a tradition birthed by Soulemama 

Right now, I am...

:: surrounded by signs of the holidays in my home, city, and daily rhythm. And I love it!

:: sewing up a store. I have two Christmas quilts to finish (see below photos), and a birthday gnome quilt to bind by Saturday! 

:: thinking up last minute ways to decorate for Deirdre's 4th birthday party this Saturday. She is having a gnome party and well if you hadn't noticed stores don't carry gnome party supplies. While this usually is not a problem for me, being sick and pregnant for the greater part of the past three months has taken a HUGE toll on my productivity! 

:: wondering if it will snow on this Saturday like it did last year on Deirdre's birthday. I sure hope so! 

:: letting go of my grand plan of hand making all my Christmas gifts. I had to outsource some of my gift-making to other sweet Etsy mothers. But, as I wanted, all my children's gifts and most of my immediate family gifts were handmade- and fair trade. A few were also made by yours truly! (By the way check out three places I bought from on Etsy: Natural Earth Farm and Fiber Studio , Christina Guenther Artisan Jewelry, Wyoming Rose!)

:: praying my family and I remain cold free this winter. When I am pregnant my colds linger much longer than I prefer. 

:: planning the rest of my co-op curriculum this month. My partner and I decided to not buy one this month and make our own since we don't really need extra help coming up with stories and crafts. Here's hoping the kids love it! 

:: dreaming about my new baby as my body continues to gently remind that indeed there is a baby coming this Spring. 

:: reading the winter edition of Rhythm of the Home magazine. My new article on handmade holiday soaps is posted in it as well in their 'Warmth' section, so check it out!  

:: listening to Paradise by Coldplay and letting it take me to a nice melancholy place that I sometimes like to visit. 

:: treasuring the fourth year of marriage Craig and I will celebrate tomorrow. My degree, research, awards, scholarships, publications-basically any achievement I have- pales in comparison to the amount of work a happy and healthy marriage takes. And I am proud to say I consider our marriage my (and our) greatest achievement. Even more so than the effort we put into parenting. I just love Craig so! 

:: backtracking a lot past co-op adventures that in my hyperemesis haze forgot to tell you all about- see our Martinmas photo above! But rest assured I will get there. We are still loving every moment of co-op! 

:: and finally wishing you and yours a blessed week! 

An Adieu to Autumn

Ah my favorite time of year- next to the holidays- Autumn! I am not sure what it is exactly about this season that I love so much. As a child and teen Summer was my favorite time of year by far since I lived at the beach.

I have spent some time recently reflecting on why I love the Autumn so much now. I believe my new found love is because it was during Autumn six years ago that I fell in love with my husband. Something about the first crisp breeze and the smell of fallen leaves just brings me subconsciously back to that time. 

I also now do not live close to the ocean and spend most of my Summer keeping the little ones sunburn and bug bite free. Our last Summer in Virginia was long and sweltering with a ridiculous amount of mosquitoes to top it all off. Autumn is just a break from that for us. We can go outside and spend hours out there, not having to worry about sunscreen or bug spray (none of which I really like using on my kids, even the toxin free kinds). My kids also notice the seasons changing more acutely now that they are a bit older, and they too love the rhythm of our days this time of year- before the holiday craziness. 

So as another Autumn ends, I am sad to see it go. This one, as lovely and short as it was, holds a special place in my heart. 

My son discovered his love of puzzles and how to say yes and no in his own way. His personality just keeps budding and I love every bit of it. I also love how much he still loves and needs me. I won't ever complain about that. 

My daughter continues to soak and bathe in the new knowledge that she is gathering about our world and our God at co-op. Her creativity continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Deirdre's new favorite thing to do is make up songs and crafts. She also is impartial to her baby dolls and playmobil these days. 

My husband continues to amaze me with his steadfast work ethic despite conflicts at work. He totally pampers me and adores our kids. He also took the lead in our first joint attempt at producing our own meat- thanks to our male goose. It was a respectful success and endued a new sense of respect in me for him and our animals. 

And finally my unborn child continues to grow and thrive despite my rough hyperemesis at the beginning of my pregnancy. This little one is kicking up a storm much to my relief and delight. I cannot wait to meet this new precious soul. This also makes 3 out of 4 Autumns that we've been married in which I have been pregnant. So maybe that is another reason I love Autumn? 

At any rate, I am sure my time in this place will continue to be sporadic but hopefully more regular now that I feel better. However with the holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays looming, who knows? 

Blessings, Nicole 

Daily Verse or Quote: 

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” 

― Emilie Buchwald