Cottage Blessings

Mantel in Miniature

For years now, it has been a dream of mine to decorate a dollhouse for Christmas. The scene is set in my mind's eye--miniature presents wrapped in foil, lights twinkling in every window, infinitesimally small wax tapers, a beribboned tree teeming with angels shading thimble-sized nativity, and, of course, a table set extravagantly for a doll's Christmas feast.

Now, given the fact that we barely put up the life-size tree this year, you can just imagine how the dollhouse fared. Still, it occurred to me a while back that I could perhaps manage a piece of the dream, something to make the children smile and let the dolls know they have not been forgotten--a miniature Christmas hearth.

We started with an unpainted wooden doll's mantel, available in the dollhouse aisle at the craft store:

One coat of Folk Art paint in "parchment" added a bit of depth:

The stockings--created by ten-year-old Margaret with the greatest enthusiasm imaginable--were hung by the chimney with care glue:

I love Margaret's attention to detail. Each one is slightly different:

We added a beautiful miniature triptych, purchased a while back at our local Catholic store (this could easily be replaced by a cut out from a Christmas card or small nativity scene):

I can't resist showing you what the back of the triptych looks like:

Greens from the tree and red ribbon add a crowning touch:

Just for fun, we put the miniature mantel on the floor beside our real mantel for scale (it's too bad our fire had already burned to ashes, or this would have been a lovely picture):

Our mantel makes a timely display for the Feast of Mary, Mother of God:

An old friend of ours hopped right off the tree to check her stocking:

We are hoping to keep our minuscule mantel decorated for a while, adding new embellishments for Candlemas, Lent, Easter and May. [I say "hoping" because the things we strive for and the things we actually do are often quite different!] Another fine addition would be a miniature fireplace screen. Perhaps I will ask the production crew to work on one tomorrow.

Happy New Year's Eve, dear friends!

Then and Now

Eileen, Christmas 2006

Eileen, Christmas 2007

Where one more Australian sleeps

There's a Little Irish Mother that a lonely vigil
keeps
In the settler's hut where seldom stranger
comes,
Watching by the home-made cradle where one
more Australian sleeps
While the breezes whisper weird things to the
gums

--Father John O'Brien

God sends another precious gift for Christmas, this time to bless the land down under!

Christmas Eve, a photoessay

These pictures show the joy of Christmas Eve, although they leave out the visit to my mother after evening Mass. This was the first year since we have been married that she did not come to Mass with us, exchanging presents by our tree afterward. In many ways, this Christmas feels surreal and incomplete, yet, even in sorrow, there is great rejoicing--a time to laugh, a time to weep.

Daddy snapped this photo, although it would have been so much nicer if he had been in it. I love the way the little ones are tending to their crying Eileen. As you can see, I remain true to form, looking like a combination of Olive Oyl and Ruth Buzzi:

Usually, our tree is up about a week before Christmas, but this year we were putting ornaments on minutes before leaving for church:

After Mass, it was Marie's turn to put the Baby Jesus in our outdoor nativity:

We did not manage a "path lighted by candles," but our candlelight procession cast a warm glow on the cold winter's night:

The flames needed to be protected from winter wind while we sang carols:

And Marie tripped in the tangles beneath her feet, yet was none the worse for wear:

Warming up indoors, Daddy lit a fire and we exchanged our annual Kris Kringle gifts. Marie, my Kris Kringle this year, presented me with this lovely ornament:

And a picture worth treasuring:

Here is the newest tradition at our house--the Christmas Pyramid--a wonder of engineering given to me this year by Daddy and the children. It runs on the heat of three candles:

If you would like to see our new pyramid in operation, please click here: Christmas 2007. The children, right down to three year old Maureen, do a heartfelt and unrehearsed rendition of Away in a Manger. (They all think it sounds horrible, but I still love it, even with the little ones singing off key!)

Eileen's expression perfectly captures the warmth and joy we wish you this Christmas and always!

Glory to God in the highest!

Joyful Tidings

How fitting that this glorious feast of Our Lord's Nativity has brought news of another newborn babe!

Joy to the World!

Do you remember that Easter Pageant soldier?

The one who almost played the Blessed Mother, but fit the soldier costume instead?

Well, here she is again--this time beaming in blue!!!

Happy Fourth Sunday of Advent and Merry Christmas!

Eyes open

The house is not at all neat, so much so I have already announced to the children my resolve not to let the clutter get me cranky. I am going to turn a blind eye to it, remembering that a day will come when we will miss this evidence of fast-paced family life.

The tree is not up, and the large Nativity scene is not alight outside our window. Our Christmas cards are not yet mailed, and an alarming number of my gifts have not been purchased. Maureen and Eileen still need black shoes for Christmas Eve, and I have decided the Christmas village does not need to make an appearance this year.

A couple of days ago, I asked myself why things were so scattered this year. Why is the house so difficult to maintain and all the usual Christmas preparations so far behind? Of course, I realized the answer almost instantly, ashamed to have even asked the question. Needless to say, it is because my mother is not here! How often must she have tidied up without me even noticing--and I thought things were under control because we were all so neat. How many errands did I run leaving her home reading books to the little ones--and I thought things were getting done because I was such a good planner. How many times did she show up with stamps and drop off a bundle of mail for me on her way home--and I thought my cards were out on time because our family had thought ahead!

Now this post may sound like a pre-Christmas downer, but it is not at all meant to be. I make these observations with a grateful heart and unblemished smile, laughing to realize that, grown woman though I may be, I still had a bit of childish obliviousness toward all my mother was doing around here. She would say it was nothing, but the absence of nothing would not be so keenly felt, would it?

So thank you Mom, for four decades of dedication second to none. I hope I can do half as much for my seven children as you've done for me!

Rock on, Santa, rock on

A year or so ago, I saw an amazing sight--a sight so welcome and unexpected I had to blink and rub my eyes to be sure it was not some sort of holiday hallucination. (I've been known to hit the egg nog pretty hard this time of year.)

My children were watching the Disney channel, yet there--flickering across the screen and unmistakable--was tremendously beautiful Catholic imagery, including extensive actual footage of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.

It was all part of the Wiggles Christmas special, "Santa's Rockin'." Don't let the secular title fool you (as it did me at first, and, evidently, the executives at Disney)--it is a marvelous special worthy of EWTN. The special has another treat in store as well--actual footage of the members of The Wiggles with their wives and babies. Talk about heartwarming!

Please say a prayer for the very talented Greg Page--within this past year, he made the heartbreaking decision to leave the group because of a debilitating (but non life threatening) medical condition.

A Bonny Birthday

"Whatever hour
God has blessed you with,
take it with a grateful hand
nor postpone your joys from year to year,
so that in whatever place you have been
you may say that you have lived happily."

--An Irish Birthday Blessing

If there is one thing I have learned from my beloved friend Lissa, it is how to live in quiet joy, not shrinking from setbacks, but turning a smile toward each new morning [not to mention every child] and its promise for good.

Happy Birthday, dearest friend, and thank you for these past eleven years. I walked into the Romi Bakeshop for a scone, but left with something infinitely sweeter.

[In the fine tradition started by Margaret in Minnesota, I hope you will sign Lissa's card below!]

Scenes from the Feast of St. Nicholas 2007

Last year, we shared pictures of a day spent at a friend's house crafting and baking for the Feast of St. Nicholas. We continued the tradition this year with many of the same activities, but a few new twists as well.

There were cookies to cut:

Mexican God's Eye Ornaments (the perfect simple and inexpensive craft to make in advance of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe):

We brought our traditional sled full of cookies:

And taught the children how to make these easy Take Along Mangers in Miniature reminiscent of last year's craft. (For details and materials, please see today's post at O Night Divine):

This little project was engaging for the older ones, but simple enough for a three-year-old:

And speaking of simple, my friend Mary taught the children to make these religious ornaments--cardboard discs embellished with holy images and trim:

Look how the baby has grown! It made me laugh to realize she is wearing the same outfit, only now she has grown into Maureen's dress from last year!

St. Nicholas, patron of children, pray for us!