Santa Lucia VII

Happy St. Lucy's day! This year definitely had to be the easy route. We are running on empty with our darling boy coming two weeks into the school year and all that entails, as well as a week of school concerts and dance demonstrations on top of the normal hustle and bustle. Daniel grabbed two cans of orange rolls to reshape (they look like the traditional lussekatters, but definitely aren't, obviously). The girls bounced out of bed and brought the rolls in to Mlada's room. She didn't budge, even when we sang. ha! She was excited when she woke up about an hour later to see that her sisters had left her some rolls, and insisted that we light the candles and sing for each roll. Jude celebrated by getting a good stare down in with the tree lights.

St. Lucy, pray for us!

Our sixth Santa Lucia Day

Our St. Lucy's day this year was a test of stamina.  My usual helper is dealing with a cough and the asthma issues that brings with it, so I was on my own when I hopped out of bed at a quarter to five to start the dough rising for St. Lucy's crown. Our lussekatters were yet again a product of the refrigerated dough section of the store, but I did manage to make our braided bread from scratch (thank goodness for this really easy recipe!)

Because Anni needed to be to school early for her class' recitation of The Night Before Christmas, she wore the rather floppy crown (I've got to figure out how to fix that!) but no traditional white dress and red sash this year. I am looking forward to 2020 (yes, I looked it up) when we can have a weekend St. Lucy's day to throw another tea party! 

Daniel is actually the first one of us up usually, so this was a rare chance to let him "sleep in" a little. (I still refuse to refer to 6:30 as sleeping in, but it *is* a lot later that his usual 5:45!)

Then, because we had heard Mlada start to stir anyway, we headed into the little girls' room, where Mlada immediately burst into tears and Colette jumped up to blow out the candles and asked, "Is it my birthday?!"

Here's to a very sweet St. Lucy's day to you all. My she ask Christ to bring light to your darkness.

St. Lucy's Day V

Our Santa Lucia traditions has had to adjust a bit with Anni being in school. While we are looking forward to the day St. Lucy's Day will be on a weekend again and we can resume our community tea parties, we don't want Anni to miss out, so we have actually become a bit more traditional in how we go about things.

Anni and I woke in the wee hours to make some lussekatter... or rather some canned orange rolled re-shaped to look like lussekatter, because sometimes you've just got to do what you've got to do, and saffron is not always in the grocery or liturgical celebration budget.

Then we snuck and sang to Daddy, who then came out and read our St. Lucy book to the girls before we had to get Anni off to school.

Simple, yes, but I'm glad we still managed to keep our tradition somewhat. It's one of my favorites!

St. Lucy, pray for us!

Santa Lucia Tea Party IV

Santa Lucia Day! The wonderful thing about having this tradition pretty well established (four years is established, right?) is that it pretty much plans itself. At 38 weeks pregnant, that's almost a necessity. Things were simple and small this year as we had three families who ended up staying home at the last minute due to illness. The three mamas who were there (including me) are all rounding the end of their pregnancies, so while we missed the other families, we were grateful their germs stayed home!

We had the quintessential white dress with red sash and candle crown for our eldest, and a white(ish) dress and sweet headband for her little handmaid.

I stuck with my stand by braided cinnamon bread and reshaped orange rolls from the refrigerated section as our "lussekatters". "Tea" was some yummy juice, and we were set to go. I love how easy it is to please a group of little girls and honor a wonderful Saint.  

St. Lucy, pray for us!

St. Nicholas Day

I'm grateful for a long line of traditions to make St. Nicholas Day easy. I always know what I need: oranges, chocolate coins, and maaaybe a few other chocolates. We added a sweet Saint doll for each of them this year as well (Our Lady of Fatima for Colette and St. Anthony of Padua for our Antonia).

Anni was so sweet and patient when her sister slept in quite a bit longer than her. She actually waited for her to open her stocking! When Colette did get up, she was really excited, buuuut not entirely sure as to how to get what was in her stocking. Some quick upside dumping action help and she was set.

I love how excited they each got about each and every thing... including the clementines!

Our cloth Advent calendar is holding on strong (well, I think we might be missing one figure... but otherwise), especially with Anni being old enough to remember each day... and look ahead to see which days she wants to do.

Happy Advent!

St. Lucy's Day III

This past Saturday, we had our third annual St. Lucy's Day tea party. (You can see the first year here, and the second year here.) Because it was a Saturday, it was the largest group we've had yet, especially as this was the first time Daddies came along.

The girls wore sweet white dresses with red sashes (or some variation of) and made their own Santa Lucia crowns with (paper) candles. They were quite proud of them this year! Colette took to wearing hers upside down... so it's looking a little forlorn, but, still, so much fun. We attempted a Star boy crown for our one young man, but I had forgotten the right shape for it, so maybe next year!

I made a braided cinnamon bread (to represent St. Lucia's crown) and lussekatter (saffron buns). I did manage the cinnamon bread homemade... so I am quite proud of that. The "saffron" buns are actually pillsbury orange rolls (we also really like the Immaculata brand, but they were out). Right color, and nice and simple so I didn't make myself entirely crazy getting ready for something that is supposed to be a celebration. I bought a new book this year, Lucia, Saint of Light. I love it! It explained a few finer points of the celebration I didn't know, and has some recipes as well as a St. Lucia song in the back. I definitely recommend it for any of you that want to know more about the celebration! 

 While we had discovered the song in the back of the book, we stuck with the simple "Happy St. Lucy's Day to you", for the sake of including everyone in the singing. The littles quite enjoyed getting to blow out candles, eat yummy food, and chase each other around. Happy St. Lucy's Day!

Prayer to Saint Lucy

Saint Lucy, your beautiful name signifies light. By the light of faith which God bestowed upon you, increase and preserve this light in my soul so that I may avoid evil, be zealous in the performance of good works, and abhor nothing so much as the blindness and the darkness of evil and of sin.  By your intercession with God, obtain for me perfect vision for my bodily eyes and the grace to use them for God's greater honor and glory and the salvation of all men.  Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr, hear my prayers and obtain my petitions. Amen.

365 Photos in 365 Days: Week 48

Getting to snuggle a sleeping Colette is a rare and sweet treat. She randomly spiked a fever, and it made her quite cuddly and sleepy. I felt bad about the fever, but my mama's heart was thrilled with the extra snuggles.

The next day, we decided to go whole hog decorating the Christmas tree in order to battle a super crankerific morning. Usually we take the Christmas decorating a little slower, but since we'll be gone for the end of Advent and much of the Christmas season, we're bucking tradition a little this year. Plus, we have a brand-new tree this year, so the extra two plus feet of tree to decorate is an exciting concept around here.

 

The weather finally turned warm, so, despite a lingering cough in the eldest, and sniffly noses on the rest of us, we shoved outside as often as we could over the next few days.

I love St. Nicholas Day! I have such fond memories of finding our stockings when we were little, hung from random places in our house, always filled with apples, oranges and chocolates. (My mom always made sure I got oranges, they were always my favorite.) Continuing that traditing makes me so happy!

Annnnd, the girls have matching "fancy" coats. It's the little things, my friends. The little things.

The little gal in the middle has been best buddies with Anni since she was born. Now that she has a little sister, we have quite the foursome! Anni in all of her little mama ways, was so sweetly thrilled to get to snuggle the little lady.

And this. Today there was more scrubbing, and dusting, and moving Mary and Joseph on their travels. Anni is such a helper, and such a snuggler. She took such delight in getting to pull more pieces of our nativity set out today, ask me who they were, and find them their own spot. And Miss Colette? She picks them and finds them new places, until someone catches her. It's a happy time.

2nd Annual St. Lucy's Day Tea Party!

Happy feast of St. Lucy!  We continued our family tradition this year and had a little tea party with a few of Anni's sweet little friends (and their mamas, whom I just happen to be friends with, too, of course).  And my sweet girls?  Aren't they about as darling as they come? 

This year I actually homemade some braided cinnamon bread (no saffron rolls, two loaves of the one baked good and a breakfast casserole was enough for me!)  It was yummy (and pretty... as long as you don't look where I tried to join the braid!)  

We lit some candles (Lucy does mean "light" after all) and sang "Happy St. Lucy Day to you" (yes, to the tune of "Happy Birthday").  I had also picked up some little battery operated candles in the dollar aisle, so every kid had their own candle to take home.

Oh, and this darling little sunshine?  Isn't that smile just the best?!

Happy St. Lucy's Day!