Christmas Daybook

For today, December 31, 2008

Outside My Window... It's dark out...evening. The weather here lately has been nothing but rain for weeks it seems and then this week gloriously the sun has returned. It is refreshing. Temps have dropped again as well.

I am thankful for... A beautiful season of preparation behind us and now the celebration of Christmas in full swing. I'm so glad we can embrace and live the season of Christmas for 12 days. And we are living it. That's why I haven't posted much at all lately - I'm so grateful to be living this season so richly with my family.

From the kitchen... The dishwasher is humming. I spent today emptying my pantry and re-organizing it...pics later!! :) What a joyful relief to walk into a tidy pantry. My kitchen is woefully inadequate in some areas, but it boasts the loveliest, large walk-in pantry...and I confess I'm far too proud of it. Rows and rows of pastas and beans and flour and peanut butter. It's all so pretty. There is enough room in my pantry to designate zones...I have a food pantry zone (this is the majority of my pantry), then a paper products/housecleaning zone, and a food storage container zone. My pantry is the shining jewel in my kitchen and goes a long way towards helping me with contentment in a room with 4 feet of counterspace...'cause I've always got my walk in pantry. Enough gushing. Suffice to say at midnight tonight, I'll walk in the kitchen, open the door to my pantry, flip on the light and sigh contentedly. Isn't that romantic?

I am wearing... jeans, a peachy-pink sweatshirt and socks...I know that sounds sloppy, but I *was* climbing around in my pantry all day!

I am creating... an organized, streamlined, simplified home. Really. We come home from a flurry of visits with family and all of the lovely Christmas goodies are spilling from one end of the house to the other. I started upstairs this week helping the children each envision a new, more organized version of their room. We put away some older toys, agreed to give a few others away, all in order to make room for some lovely new things in rooms. We open every drawer, look under the beds, open the closets....I have to do a lot of extra deep breathing exercises when I find that cookie cutter I was looking for 3 weeks ago tucked in the lego bin. I so enjoyed finally tidying my sewing area - it looks so welcoming and lovely now with all of my fabrics gently folded and waiting. And today, as you know was pantry and kitchen day. The learning room had a complete overhaul just before Christmas. So, the house is refreshing and purged of excess and all of our supplies are tidied and put away in their places. Lovely. We won't mention what the garage looks like right now....I had to put the excess **stuff** somewhere! I'll be working on the garage Friday.

I am reading... Radical Hospitality - Benedict's Way of Love. I hope to make my way through a better part of the book tonight. I love what I'm reading so far....

"When we speak of the depth of hospitality, we are proposing something scary and radical. But it's worth the risk. Unless we find a way to open ourselves to others, we will grow even more isolated and frightened. If we do not find and practice ways of hospitality we will grow increasingly hostile. Hospitality is the answer to hostility. Jesus said to love your neighbor; hospitality is how."

I am hoping... LSU wins the ballgame tonight! Victory seems assured at this point in the game.

I am hearing... the aforementioned ballgame on tv. The children are preparing our Victor Borge (Netflix) DVD for viewing. They love inflationary language!

Looking to the rhythm of the liturgical year... tomorrow, the Feast of the Circumcision, or Mary, the Mother of God, presents us with a lovely invitation to pray the Litany of Loreto as a way of calling to mind Our Lady's many names. We'll read together Mary, The Mother of Jesus by Tomie de Paola. I have to admit, I'm looking forward to a slowing liturgically after the intensity of Advent and Christmas.

Around the house... I've been cleaning and tidying and organizing and purging and I'm almost ready to sit back and just enjoy the uncluttered, beautiful and functional look of it all. A house that works for me. A must.

I will claim a moment for myself... tonight...reading. And, I might spend some time looking through some of my other delicious books I got for Christmas....with a few chocolate covered Macadamia nuts (a gift!) and some milk.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Well, since tomorrow's a Holy Day, I won't be continuing with my massive home re-org. I confess to you that it will be a great sacrifice on my part NOT to finish up and get in the garage and work. But, the house does look lovely inside now, so I'm giving myself permission to rest in that and enjoy the day thinking of my sweet heavenly Mother.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Wishing you all Christmas blessings during this Holy Season.

Preparing our Hearts and Nesting With Mary

Any time we women anticipate a big event in life, we nest. The nesting instinct is most visible if you enter a woman's home somewhere towards the end of her pregnancy, though I'm convinced we women "nest" to some degree throughout our lives. The phenomenon of nesting is really barely understood by the men in our lives, but they do recognize it quite well. Characteristic of any nesting are long lists, and conversations beginning with, "Honey, I've been thinking about..." Nesting provides for a woman a burst of superhuman cleaning powers and bionic eyes capable of spotting dust, grime and disorder in locations not visible to the human eye. Postponed nesting results in frustration and a desire to compensate - imagine having those superhuman powers of seeing and spotting but not being able to act. Life is stepping on supermom's cape preventing action.

Immersing my heart in Advent allows me to ponder how Our Lady went about nesting and preparing for her Son's birth. I'm certain she wanted to freshen the home, wash a few simple linens, tidy and arrange her cooking supplies. I imagine she wanted to make her nest as beautiful and comfortable and secure as she possibly could in anticipation of HIM. Instead, she packed a tiny bag and started the journey towards Bethlehem. I cannot imagine what my own anxiety and frustration and worry might have been. Well into the end of a pregnancy, and full of grace, she no doubt knew the fullness of time was at hand. Yet, instead of shuffling about her home, she was bouncing toward the unknown. How then could she nest?

It's a beautiful thought to imagine Our Lady spending that entire long, grueling, physically uncomfortable journey to Bethlehem preparing her heart for His arrival. Home would be wherever He was, and He was always with her. I think of this every time I pray the Rosary and think of the angelic salutation to Our Lady, "...the Lord is with you". We wonder like the shepherds how it all happened, how she did it, but Luke 2:19 tells us that "Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart." To ponder...to think about something carefully with great reflection, to contemplate. These thoughts and memories were her treasures and they didn't need to be dusted or folded, regrouted or polished. They were beautiful and perfect and illuminated her heart. That is how she nested - she pondered in her heart.

She must have continued on the Flight into Egypt. With a baby in arms and surely a great desire to just go home, she surrendered her will and the safety of her family, the safety of HIM to the protection of her husband, St. Joseph. Scriptures imply that they fled quickly, for it was night when they fled. There would be no sweeping, no rug shaking, no scouring of the oil lamp - just riding and cuddling and treasuring and pondering this great mystery she now held in her arms. Grace transforms worry and anxiety into trust and adoration - her fullness of Grace allows her to express this perfectly. She could look tenderly at the Mystery of the Incarnation, the Word Made Flesh, I AM, the second person of the Holy Trinity. She didn't just contemplate the mystery, she was a participant in it. He was there enfolded in her arms and looking into her eyes. She could ponder in her heart every tiny wrinkle, soft curl and penetrating gaze along that journey under cover of night. There was no desire then to sweep or tidy and nest - for Grace enabled her to trust and trust opened her Heart to Love. The greatest desire of her heart was simply to love HIM with every breath, every thought, every glance, every touch.

So this Advent, as we make our preparations and tidy and clean and nest and we try to ready our hearts to receive Him, let us ponder with the Heart of Mary. Let our nesting be as hers, in our hearts. There may be chaos all around us, a grueling, physically uncomfortable journey may be before us, but we sit with her in awe of the great mystery she awaits and shelters within her womb. We wait in joyful hope and anticipation with her.

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

Advent Plans ~ 2008

I'm a little embarrassed to post these plans...as we are already 2 weeks into Advent! But, I confess that I so enjoy peeking into your homes to see the different family traditions you all have and the different and creative ways you bring them into your homes. It is inspiring to me! So, I'll share what we do.

We add one new tradition each year, or we might build on something we already do taking it deeper and adding new meaning or new symbolism somewhere. This year, I had hoped that my very busy husband would have time to make us a simple wooden manger, a large one for under the tree. Alas, he has been so busy and his time already spoken for...mostly by us. But, it worked out because I spent some time working on and polishing up our Jesse Tree which I think has come out wonderfully well. Our Jesse Tree no doubt looks quite different from most of yours...


Here it is - empty and waiting. We used to use a wire tree to hang our symbols on, but last year, I was inspired to make something new that provided more of a visual for the children to see the long wait of the people of the Old Testament. Their Advent was 4000 years long. Boy, I'm glad I don't have to be that patient! Anyway, the march of time begins with Adam and Eve. Mary rides on her donkey on the way to Bethlehem all the way through time and along our little Jesse Tree to show that all along God had plans to meet humanity as a person, as a baby, on a night piercing cold, in a stable.

Last year, I could not figure out a way to get my handmade, laminated ornaments to stay on the pegs - this year I figured it out. Those are teeny, tiny little clothespins from Michael's craft store superglued onto each peg. Perfect for holding anything!

Sparkly enjoyed jumping through time quickly and adding all of the ornaments just as they will look on Christmas morning so that you could see a finished product of our Jesse Tree. Our little Lord is placed at the highest point on Christmas Eve.

We use Jesse Tree symbols from the first day of Advent through the 16th of December. At that point, we sing together the O Antiphons, one each night. Many thanks to Mary Ellen Barrett for her wonderful site, O Night Divine (which is a treasure of new ideas to store away for each year!) and Jennifer Miller, whose original post on the O Antiphons really sunk into my heart last year and inspired me to incorporate these into the daily rhythm of our domestic church during Advent in a more meaningful way.

Rob has been working out the chords to O Come, O Come Emmanuel on his guitar and Sweet Pea and I have been practicing the Latin verses (oi'!) so we'll be ready to start on the 17th. The boys will take turns adding the symbols for each O Antiphon to our Jesse Tree which I printed from Jenn's post at O Night Divine and colored and laminated. I decided to color and use the star as well and I think it adds a nice touch for Christmas Eve as it seems to hang right over the tiny manger on top of Jesse's Tree.

I *may* add more clothespins to the pegs for the 17th -24th of Advent if the children decide they want to continue adding Jesse Tree symbols on those days as well. Fortunately, the stature of the pegs on those days allows me to superglue :) more mini clothespins along the peg.


Here's where we were as of the taking of this picture (late last week). In the center of my cabinet is the tiny little manger we fill for baby Jesus with our good deeds. This is a favorite practice during Advent which helps the little ones to really hunger for the Feast of Christmas. They offer all of their little sacrifices and good deeds in the form of soft straw. Each time they make a small sacrifice during Advent, they place a piece of straw in the manger to make the bed as soft as possible for baby Jesus when He arrives on Christmas!

So, that's the kitchen - Advent wreath with candles, Jesse Tree (has to be kept up high because tiny little Doodlebug hands are just starting to walk about the house and wreak havoc....everywhere!), and baby Jesus' manger awaiting our good deeds and treasures to make it soft.

On to the other parts of the house....

A quick stop in the learning room shows the winter table set up and a small wooden Nativity (one of three in our house) set out. This one is soft around the edges, and all non-toxic wooden so the Doodlebug can gnaw...I mean meditate on each piece of this Nativity. I keep the small basket next to it filled with the pieces and Peanut and Sparkly enjoy arranging and imagining the Holy Night.


This is the Feast Table set up in the living room.

Father Oak is dressed in Advent colors (thanks so much to my sweet friend Jill who freed us from the peeling gold lame' on the front of Father's vestments and embroidered the Chi-Rho for us on each of Father's chasubles).

The Stable is set up and waiting in darkness. We arranged a tiny set of lights inside the manger which will shine when the Light of the World arrives! Mary and Joseph slowly travel across the Feast Table during Advent.

And...of course, the Advent Calendar is out. This year, Sweet Pea and I went shopping at The Fresh Market for special goodies to place inside the Advent Calendar. Usually, I just fill each of the days with Hershey's Kisses - delightful in their own right! - but this year Sweet Pea and I took special care to fill each of the compartments with tiny, symbolic treats that coordinate with the symbol and reading for that day's Jesse Tree ornament. So, for Adam and Eve there was a shiny red apple candy, Noah's day had a gummi fish, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception had white candy covered almonds (almonds are a symbol of Our Lady's purity and the white...well surely you know that one), and on and on. You can see that in a nice candy store you could have lots of fun with this one! We found so much to work with, and the kids get so excited to see the surprise awaiting them behind the door of the Advent Calendar. This is definitely something we'll continue each year.

This is our Mary Candle - new for this year. I made it out of a pure beeswax candle (which is why it's not white and has a sort of cheesy, honeycomb appearance...but it's what I had), carving a small niche for the baby Jesus to be tucked into. Then (and, I knew I would somehow destroy my work before I was finished tweaking...) I had this brilliant idea to use the lighter and sort of melt the wax in the niche to smooth it - not a good idea. The wax did smooth, but what was left behind was a black, sooty mark inside the niche AND above the niche. Waaaaaah!!!!! How could baby Jesus sit in a niche when it looks like the flames of hell have been licking the candle. Waaaaaaah!!!!! My ever-encouraging husband tried to reassure me that it looked just fine, but I was not convinced. Picking up my carving tools, I attempted to carve away the sooty, black remnants above the niche and within - thus the attempted halo/rays of light emanating from the baby Jesus' niche. sigh.

The candle was veiled in a small embroidered linen (embroidered by my Granny, I believe - I thought it would make a perfect veil for our Mary Candle with its blue flowers).

Here is our Mary candle unveiled on the Solemnity with the children's Garden Enclosed shrines on the mantle for our Lady. I think their offerings each look so lovely!

Finally, the book baskets...
(This picture was taken before the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception - so no Enclosed Gardens are on the mantle and you can see our Mary Candle is still veiled.)


In the left basket are catalogs for assisting internet shopping on cold evenings with the fire cheerily blazing, my husband watching some ball game or maybe a holiday movie whilst I shop happily filling my digital shopping carts all from my happy little macbook. :)

The middle basket contains all of my treasured books for helping me live out the liturgical year (if my house was burning I would grab my kids and this basket!)...

**Note: many of these treasures are out of print now. If you are persistent though, you can find a good used copy searching on the used side of Amazon, or used book sites such as alibris and abebooks.** oop = out of print**

~ Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family by Maria Augusta Trapp (oop)
~ Cooking For Christ by Florence Berger (original book published 1949 oop)
~ Feast Day Cookbook by Katherine Burton and Helmut Ripperger
~ Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs by Fr. Francis X. Weiser (oop)
~ The Year and Our Children by Mary Reed Newland
~ A Book of Feasts and Seasons by Joanna Bogle
~ A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz
~ My Nameday, Come for Dessert by Helen McCloughlin (oop)
~ Year of Grace by Pius Parsch (oop)
~ The Holy Bible
...and right now I'm reading my tattered, printed copy of The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy so it's sitting in the back of the basket.

And finally, the basket on the right contains all of our Advent picture books. Many thanks to Cay Gibson who opened up so many of these covers to us through Catholic Mosaic and Christmas Mosaic. My basket isn't nearly as big as hers...

The titles (mostly in the order they are read):

~ The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean (we read one a night - this is a treasure!)
~ Wenceslaus, the Eternal Christmas Story by Geraldine McCaughrean
~ Good King Wenceslaus (the carol illustrated) illustrations by Jamichael Henterly (oop)
~ The Miracle of St. Nicholas by Gloria Whelan
~ Saint Nicholas, the Real Story of the Christmas Legend by Julie Stiegmeyer
~ The Real Santa Claus by Marianna Mayer
~ Mary, the Mother of Jesus by Tomie de Paola**
~ The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie de Paola**
~ The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Anderson (**warning** kleenex a must!)
~ The Clown of God by Tomie de Paola**
~ Our Lady of Guadalupe by Father Lovasik
~ The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe by C. Lourdes Walsh
~ The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola
~ The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett (just 'cause we love Jan Brett's winter stories!)*
~ The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
~ The Hat by Jan Brett*
~ Saint Francis and the Christmas Donkey by Robert Byrd
~ Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett*
~ Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett*
~ The Greatest Gift by Melody Carlson
~ The Mitten by Jan Brett*
~ The Nutcracker illustrated by Don Daily adapted by Daniel Walden
~ The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
~ The Donkey's Dream by Barbara Helen Berger (this is a must have in your basket!)
~ The Night Before Christmas by Jan Brett*
~ Mary's First Christmas by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
~ The Nativity from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke illustrated by Ruth Sanderson
~ Christmas in Prose and Verse (Platinum Press, Edited by Allison C. Putala)
~ A Christmas Treasury of Yuletide Stories and Poems (edited by James Charlton and Barbara Gilson)
~ Dorling Kindersley's The Night Before Christmas

Jan Brett has a wonderful website with so much to offer - free printables, coloring pages and activities that coordinate with ALL of her books! Recipes too!

And finally, this year, I decided to start using my new best friend, ical, to pull it all together for me. Obviously - the times on the calendar mean nothing, but I do like being able to list the picture book for the night, the Jesse tree readings, any craft for the day, the feast of the day, special cooking that coordinates or ties in the feast, special teas to celebrate the feast. I have started pulling all of my plans together in this way and it sure has made the planning and celebrating in Advent simpler for me. I uploaded a page so you can take a look - these will be added to and polished each year to print and help keep us marching to the rhythm of the liturgical year....without my plans tied together, I fear we're always marching about 10 steps off and always off-time. Typical. At least, this way I can look to the day, choose what we can do, and if a few days are thrown off by the festive visit of a virus bedecked in all its generosity, we can just pick up whereever the Church happens to be at that time. It is a help as well in planning and shopping for crafts and cooking at the beginning of the season. Consider using a calendar - ical or google cal - to pull your plans together. Click on the image to blow it up and view it.


That's it for our plans this year! Whew! This was a long post, hope you enjoyed a peek in at our Advent days!

May your days of preparation be joyfully rewarded on Christmas morning with the coming of the tiny baby Jesus into the hearts of your families and the heart of your home! Gaude!

Advent Daybook

For today, December 9, 2008 - the Feast of St. Juan Diego

Outside My Window... it's very breezy today. The wicker bench on the front porch has already blown over and threatens to land in the Mary pond if I don't go out and rescue it soon.

I am thankful for... the 2 hour long sanitary cycle on my front loading Whirlpool Duet washing machine. Don't ask why.

From the kitchen... I put together a two week menu plan to squeeze food out of my one week food budget. Fortunately, I had really stocked my pantry within the last month. I hate to whittle through some of those stores, but the van repair/maintenance last week (mega-ouch!!!) necessitates a little creativity. To cheer myself after really jogging my brain cells and coming up with a frugal plan, I completely cleaned my kitchen and restocked my bake center. I took pictures in the sunlight - I'll share them below!

I am wearing... a flannel jumper with a cream turtleneck. It's chilly!

I am creating... Advent memories. Each Advent lived in our home becomes richer in our celebrations. It's just beautiful. I have a whole post on our Advent plans and some of the things we're doing...but living these Advent plans really means I'm present in those moments...not here on the computer, so my posting has been sparse lately. Hopefully I'll get some pics up before the end of Advent - just 'cause I like seeing what other people are doing, so I'll give you a peak at what we're doing. :)

I am reading... a lot of Advent picture books.

I am hoping... that we'll be able to enjoy a family movie or two this week. My wonderful Uncle Ray (an incredible Disney fanatic) sent us some cherished old Disney's to watch - Big Red, Tale of Two Critters, Yellowstone Cubs and others! We love the old Disneys - I have such neat memories of watching them as a little girl when they came on on Saturday night right after Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. It's a treat to share them with the kids and they love them! And! I've never seen my cousin Victoria sing and her choir, the Lafayette High School Choir, was selected to sing in Disney's Christmas program this year and she has a solo. Uncle Ray sent the DVD of the performance! Thanks Uncle Ray! We can't wait to see her!

I am hearing... the Doodlebug reading a book. She is able to intuit untold truths by gumming to death small books made of cardboard. Amazing, is she not? I can't tell you the wisdom she consumed from a small paper edition of "Anybody at Home". I *can* tell you that most of the wisdom from that book apparently was hidden in the corners which no longer exist. Still no teeth.

Looking to the rhythm of the liturgical year... St. Nicholas day was wonderful here - stockings were filled and the children had a wonderful day. Peanut consumed an entire package of mentos gum in one day - the entire package.

St. Juan Diego's Feast is today - and Our Lady of Guadalupe's Feast is this Friday - this means Rob is dancing for joy as the menu takes on a decidedly Mexican flavor. Yum.

Around the house... I really, really, really need to get upstairs to tidy my sewing area. It's still a mess from the All Saints Day costume sewing frenzy. There is so little time left in a day though, and after lessons and laundry and dinner and dishes and reading and prayers and, and, and...I feel like I sometimes just collapse. Maybe this weekend I'll get my sewing area in order and it will look inspiring again. Right now, the sewing machine is draped with a foil covered anchor and a brown tunic and it looks like a monastery exploded all over the floor with black and brown mantles and robes everywhere....sigh. I must get a bit more organized. We're into the second week of Advent and All Saints stuff is still out.

I will claim a moment for myself... Lately, the only moments I'm claiming are the ones I proclaim will be full of relaxation on the couch for reading or watching something with Rob and then I promptly fall asleep. Depressing.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: See sewing room plans/whining above. Add to that lots of fun reading about Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Mexican Lasagna, Juan Diego's Fajitas, an Our Lady of Guadalupe Tea with powdered sugar cookies shaped like crescents and you've got my week.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

The bake center above was created out of necessity - my kitchen was woefully designed with 4 feet of counter space. Try cooking on that for a family of 6. I was inspired many, many years ago by Marilyn Shannon when she wrote a column on nutrition for CCL. She talked about how she had a bake center set up so that everything she needed to make their daily bread was within arm's reach. Voila.

This is my kitchen. It's a cheery room to be in, and actually a very large room (there is a whole side you can't see in this picture - I'll have to do a whole post on my kitchen one day) but so poorly designed. Sigh. Many lessons in contentment here. I do have a wonderful, large pantry in my kitchen - just to the right of this shot next to my ovens. I keep very little on my counters - more out of necessity than anything else. Anyway, frugal meal planning and executing always seem cheerier in tidy spaces - so...I wiped, scrubbed, restocked and polished. :) Now...(I can hear my husband saying with much hope)...I just have to cook! :)

A Garden Enclosed - Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Craft Idea

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception falls right within Advent, and it is not out of place. Our Lady, conceived without original sin, preserved from stain from the very moment of her conception was the dawning of our redemption. Isn't that a lovely thought? How else could God send His own Son to us if not in a vessel pure and immaculate. He could not.

Advent is so full of wonderful and rich opportunities for living out the liturgical year, but this year I wanted to come up with a craft to honor Our Lady's Immaculate Conception. It would have to be something simple - crafting in my home is like herding cats. I thought and prayed for a long while before Advent and in meditating I kept coming back to a verse in the Song of Solomon Chapter 4, verse 12:

"A garden enclosed is my sister, my bride, a garden locked, a fountain sealed."

I just love that imagery, don't you! A garden enclosed. In digging around a little more I found that this is one of the oldest symbols of Mary's sinlessness and immaculateness. It was even included in the original Litany of Loretto (which I'll include at the end of this post - it's lovely to pray and would make a fitting prayer on the Solemnity.)

So, with the rich imagery from Solomon and the wisdom of the Church, I decided to come up with a little enclosed garden shrine for Mary. This was so simple to make and the children are very excited to make their own. It is simple enough for a small child to accomplish with a little help and these mini shrines would make lovely holy reminders on the children's dresser throughout the year as well as for other Marian Feasts.


Supplies needed:

::Small pot (I found some tiny terra cotta pots at the thrift store)
::Styrofoam (A small piece to fit inside the pot to hold the flowers)
::Spanish moss (This is optional. You could use a little felted wool, or if you have enough flowers you need nothing at all. This is just to disguise and cover the styrofoam in the bottom of the pot.)
::A craft stick (available in a myriad of colors at any craft store...you can see mine is blue)
::A picture of Our Lady or a Miraculous Medal
::Small flowers with wire stems (these can be found in the wedding section of any craft store. I chose roses and lilies for our gardens as they are traditional symbols of Our Lady's purity.)

Putting this together couldn't be simpler. You might want to complete a couple of steps in advance of the children arriving to prevent spanish moss from decorating your couch and floors for the next century - not that I would know anything about that!

1. Cut the styrofoam piece to fit snugly inside your pot. You don't want the styrofoam to come to the top of the pot - leave about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of space so your flowers once "planted" will seem enclosed by the wall of the pot.

2. Glue or otherwise affix your holy card or Miraculous Medal to the craft stick you have chosen. Don't glue all the way to the top - you want the image to be just above the flowers once you arrange them.

3. Push the craft stick into the styrofoam.

4. Add the spanish moss - it won't take much. In retrospect, I think I would have left this step out or used the felted wool - it's so much easier to work with. In any case, if you use it, just squish it in around all the corners of the styrofoam and on top of the styrofoam of your little pot.

5. Now, arrange the flowers in the pot.

6. If you have some stickers you could add them to the pot. The children will add a small sticker of the Divine Child Jesus to the front of their pots as a reminder that Jesus is the fruit of Mary's womb. Another idea is to get some of those tiny baby Jesus figures and nestle Him amongst the roses and lilies in Mary's garden.

With your older children you could discuss the connection between another garden enclosed - the garden of Eden. Intended to be a place of paradise and beauty and grace, the garden of Eden was lost as a result of Adam and Eve's disobedience. Lost to us by our first parents, God restores it to us through our Mother, Mary. Mary, the new Eve, was humble and obedient enough to accept God's own Son into her womb, thus opening for us the gates of the eternal garden enclosed - Heaven.

Our homes, too are to be enclosed gardens - havens of peace shut away from the dangers of a culture permeated with ugliness, a garden fertile and rich for growing vocations and multiplying grace.

I found this beautiful original Litany of Loretto along with a wonderful explanation of the current Litany and the original at Rubrics and Ritual. It would make a perfect Litany to offer on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison

Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis
Sancta Dei Genitrix
Sancta Virgo Virginum

Mater viventium
Mater pulchrae dilectionis
Mater sanctae spei
Paradisus voluptatis
Lignum vitae
Domus sapientiae
Porta coeli
Desiderium collium eternorum
Civitas refugii
Gloria Hierusalem
Sanctuarium Dei
Tabernaculum foederis
Altare thymiamatis
Scala Iacob
Speculum sine macula
Lilium inter spinas
Rubus ardens incombustus
Vellus Gedeonis
Thronus Salomonis
Turris eburnea
Favus distillans
Hortus conclusas
Fons signatus
Puteus aquarum viventium
Navis institoris de longe portans panem
Stella matutina
Aurora consurgens
Pulchra ut Luna
Electa ut Sol
Castrorum acies ordinata
Solium gloriae Dei

A cunctis periculis, libera nos Virgo gloriosa

Per salutarem Conceptionem tuam
Per sanctam Nativitatem tuam
Per admirabilem Annuntiationem tuam
Per immaculatam Purificationem tuam
Per gloriosam Assumptionem tuam

Peccatores, te rogamus audi nos.

Ut veram poenitentiam nobis impetrare digneris
Ut societates tibi peculiari obsequio devotas conservare et augere digneris
Ut Ecclesiae sanctae, cunctoque populo christiano pacem et unitatem impetrare digneris
Ut omnibus fidelibus defunctis requiem aeternam impetrare digneris

Mater Dei te rogamus audi nos.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: Parce nobis, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: Exaudi nos, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: Miserere nobis.

Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genetrix,
Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi

Oremus Pietate tua, quaesumus Domine, nostrorum solve vincula peccatorum, et intercedente Beata Maria cum omnibus Sanctis tuis, nos famulos tuos, benefactores atque loca nostra in omni sanctitate custodi, omnesque consanguineitate, affinitate atque familiaritate nobis coniunctos a vitiis purga, virtutibus illustra, pacem et salutem nobis tribue; hostes visibiles, et invisibiles remove, carnalia desideria repelle, aerem salubrem et fertilitatem indulge, amicis et inimicis nostris charitatem largire atque oppidum Lauretanum cum omnibus in eo habitantibus ab omni peste, infideliumque feritate et potentia illaesum conserva, et omnibus fidelibus vivis et defunctis in terra viventium vitam et requiem aeternam concede, et Pontificem nostrum N., protectorem, omnesque Praelatos et cunctum populum Christianum ab omni adversitate custodi, et benedictio tua sit super nos semper. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen

Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy

Holy Mary pray for us
Holy Mother of God
Holy Virgin of Virgins

Mother of the living (Gen 3:20)
Mother of fair love (Sir 24:24)
Mother of Holy Hope (Sir 24:24)
Paradise of pleasure (Gen 2:8)
Tree of life (Gen 2:9)
House of wisdom (Prov 9:1)
Gate of heaven (Gen 28:17)
Desire of the eternal hills (Gen 49:26)
City of refuge (Num 35)
Glory of Jerusalem (Jud 15:10)
Sanctuary of God (Ex 15:17)
Tabernacle of the Covenant (Ex 25; Ex 31:7)
Altar of incense (Ex 30:1)
Ladder of Jacob (Gen 28:12)
Mirror without stain (Wis 7:26)
Lily among thorns (Songs 2:2)
Burning bush not consumed (Ex 3:2)
Fleece of Gideon (Judg 6:37-40)
Throne of Solomon
Tower of ivory (Songs 7:4)
Dropping honeycomb (Songs 4:11)
Garden enclosed (Songs 4:12)
Fountain sealed (Songs 4:12)
Well of living waters (Songs 4:15)
Merchant’s ship bringing bread from afar (Prov 31)
Morning Star (Sir 50:6)
Rising Morning (Sir 6:9)
Fair as the moon (Songs 6:9)
Bright as the sun (Songs 6:9)
Army in battle array (Songs 6:3)
Throne of God’s glory (Jer 14:21)

From all dangers, deliver us glorious Virgin

By your saving Conception
By your holy Nativity
By your admirable Annunciation
By your immaculate Purification
By your glorious Assumption

Sinners, we beseech you to hear us

That you would graciously obtain for us true penance
That you would graciously preserve and strengthen the society which is singularly loyally devoted to you
That you would graciously obtain for the holy Church and all Christian people peace and unity
That you would graciously obtain for the faithful departed eternal rest

Mother of God we beseech you to hear us

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Pray for us, Holy Mother of God
That we might be made worthy of the promises of Christ

Let us pray Out of your kindness, we beseech you ,O Lord, loose the chains of our sins, and through the intercession of blessed Mary with all your saints, keep us your servants, our benefactors and our dwellings in all holiness; cleanse from sin all those who are joined to us by kindred, affinity and friendship, and adorn with virtues, grant unto us peace and salvation; remove our enemies, visible and invisible; curb our carnal desires; grant us wholesome and fertile air; bestow your charity upon our friends and enemies, and preserve the town of Loreto and with all who dwell in it from all plagues, and the wickedness and power of the infidels; and to all the faithful living and departed, grant life and eternal rest in the land of the living; protect our Pontiff N. and defend all prelates and all the Christian people from all adversity, and let your blessing be evermore upon us. Amen.