Advent and Christmas aren’t meant to be only for children. Here are some ways adults can participate in the season of preparation.
THIS LOOKS SO SCARY.
Or maybe not. Who cares? Oh man, we love Godzilla. Anyway, it has Bryan Cranston, who, I don’t know if everyone’s saying this or not, but he plays pretty much the same character on Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad. Right? Good for him for cashing in.
The only thing that could make me more excited right now is if they used that magnificent Godzilla theme music:
Take note: This is what I want played at my funeral.
Archangel Radio is rebroadcasting my live hour
This was tons of fun to do, so I’m glad the’re rebroadcasting it. If you hear “Catholic radio” and think “borrrrrr-ing” then you need to listen to the live hour on WNGL. These guys are hilarious. There was shouting. Shouting about NFP.
The show I was on will air tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 10 from 7-8 a.m. CST and again at 9-10 p.m. CST. You can listen online here.
Advent reading?
Most of my Facebook friends are Catholic, so I often see quotes about spiritual matters on my feed, often with the comment, “Needed to hear this today!” And then the quote is something like, “We must strive to love each other always!” Okay, sure, fine, I guess I needed to hear that. Or sometimes it’s like, “You say to me, ‘I wasn’t feeling up to putting on eyeliner today!’ and I say to you, ‘You weren’t feeling up to glorifying God in all things. Shape up, loser.’”
BUT, sometimes I hear something that is genuinely helpful and seems to apply to my actual life, with a combination of compassion and realism, and with encouragement to do better because God knows me and loves me. And every single time, it turns out to be a quote by Francis De Sales. So I finally broke down and bought one of his books,Introduction to the Devout Life. It just came this morning. I am seriously looking forward to this book. There’s still plenty of Advent left!
How about you? Reading anything good for Advent? What’s the most helpful spiritual reading you’ve done?
Let the little kittens come unto me
File under Things Jesus Would Be Okay With:
[E]very year, a colony of feral felines seizes control of a nativity scene organized by two Brooklyn sisters. As soon as the creche comes out, with its hay bale and warm lights, the cats take up residence.
PIC nativity scene with cats
more photos here
A boy is a boy is a boy. . .
. . . and always has been.
Almost a thousand of the perfectly preserved documents, scratched on the bark of birch trees, have been recovered from the deep layers of Novgorod’s anaerobic clay soil over the past century… The birch-bark documents date from the 11th to 15th centuries and include tax returns, school exercises, wills, IOUs, marriage proposals, prayers, spells and curses … The most charming, however, are a series of 13th century drawings by a boy named Onfim, who was about 7 years old when he drew them around 1220 AD. Onfim was supposed to be learning to write, but his daydreams got the better of him and his spelling exercises are mixed with doodles. In this example, Onfim has diligently copied out the first eleven letters of the alphabet in the corner of the page, but got bored and drew a picture of himself as a warrior, sword in one hand and impaling an enemy with a spear in the other – he even labelled the figure on the horse as ‘Onfim’.
PIC Onfim the warrior
In another example, he drew a picture of himself as a wild beast (which he identified by writing “I am a wild beast” over it).
Onfim the Wild Beast would have gotten along just fine with my son Elijah — who, when he was two years old, came down the stairs in the morning growling to himself, “Here – come – wi-ld – Ji-jah . . . ” Here is something Elijah (now 9) recently doodled, apparently while taking a break from making a Christmas wish list:
New technology, same old boys.
Barbie alternatives!
We are doing some Christmas shopping today, and I just discovered that Melissa and Doug make what look like very nice dolls for girls. We’ve always had good luck with Melissa and Doug products. They are sturdy and pleasant. (Not a paid endorsement or anything. We just like Melissa and Doug.)
These dolls are 14″, so a few inches taller than Barbie – but Barbie clothes wouldn’t fit anyway, because the M&D dolls aren’t rail thin with giraffe legs. Don’t get me wrong. With seven daughters and steadily declining standards, we have collected approximately 3,487 Barbies, including mermaid Barbie, fairy Barbie, chef Barbie, vet Barbie, surfer Barbie, miscellaneous fashion Barbie, and of course several incarnations of that perennial favorite, Soulless Streetwalker Barbie.
So, no judging. I would just rather see my kids playing with this:
instead of this:
Melissa and Doug have several 14″ dolls besides the bride: ballerinas, princesses, etc.
Are you buying dolls this year? Come across anything nice?
Don’t forget, if you shop Amazon, please consider going through my links above. There is also a blue Amazon ad on the right sidebar, and if you can’t see that, I’ve added a page called “Shop Amazon Here!” at the top of the blog. Thanks so much!
At the Register: I’m Making a List
Ten Great Alphabet Books
I love, love, love alphabet books. There is something so satisfying about getting everything all squared away by page 26. Here are ten of my favorites:
–1–
Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod
So great. Each letter has its own superhero — no one you’ll recognize from Marvel or DC, but heroes like Captain Cloud, who calmly catches crooks, or Laughing Lass, who laughs loudly at lawbreakers (she’s a little looney). Funny and clever, and occasionally a little crude, but not sleazy!
–2–
A Is for Angry: An Animal and Adjective Alphabet by Sandra Boynton
Sandra Boynton is the best. It all looks like frivolous cartoon stuff, but Boynton has real talent for comedic timing — something that is lacking in so many kids’ books (authors think that kids just want the story to be silly or comforting or simple, and don’t bother to craft or shape the story).
–3–
I Spy: An Alphabet in Art by the enchantingly named Lucy Micklethwait
Such a great idea! You have to hunt for the word that starts with each letter — which makes kids slow down and look carefully at great art. A painless way to introduce some art appreciation to the young parsons.
–4–
Animalia by Graeme Base
I haven’t actually seen this one for a while, but I remember the kids all loving it. Lots of weird little details and solemnly intense images that most kids find fascinating.
–5–
Black and White Rabbit’s ABC by Alan Baker
Cute, cute, cute, without being cutesy. The rabbit kid wants to paint a picture for his mother, and he ends up with something nice — but not before ink is spilled, glue gets out of control, etc.
–6–
Anno’s Alphabet: An Adventure in Imagination by Mitsumasa Anno
Mildly trippy! Optical illusions, head-scratchers, and just some weirdness. I especially liked trying to identify all the obscure alphabetized items hidden in the borders (and there is a key at the end).
–7–
Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
What happens when a capable, businesslike zebra is trying to organize a nice orderly alphabet book, only to be stymied by a rather emotional moose who doesn’t know his place.
–8–
Of course Doctor Seuss’ ABC
Never gets old. This one has particular sentimental value for me because, on the first night my husband and I got together, I got drunk as a skunk and attempted to recite the entire book (under the impression that this made me charming and irresistible). I got bogged down on Many Mumbling Mice, and I forget what happened after that. I think we got married.
–9–
Little Dinosaur ABC Dover coloring book
Nothing really special about this one, really just a reminder that these little Dover books (they are about 4×6 inches) are invariably nice, and make good stocking stuffers. I also really like the Dover stained glass coloring books, make of translucent paper. If you color them with crayon or especially with marker, you can put them in the window for a lovely effect. Some of these are the 4×6 size, and some are full book sized.
–10–
A You’re Adorable illustrated by sweet Martha Alexander
An illustrated version of the popular 1940′s song: “A, you’re adorable; B, you’re so beautiful; C, you’re a cutie full of charms . . . ” So cute and nice, full of happy children playing with babies and puppies and the like. A nice present for a baby’s first Christmas. We have the sturdy board book, which has endured much fond chewing.
***
What’s your favorite alphabet book? And why are there no good Catholic ones? I see a few for sale, but the illustrations look a little feeb. Seems like it would be a natural, though — Athanasius to Zachariah. Right? Don’t steal this idea, I’m totally doing it.
Jennifer Fulwiler interviews me from aboard her TARDIS
No paradoxes were created in the making of this interview, in which Jen Fulwiler of Conversion Diary speaks from the perspective of her past self. She introduces the interview this way:
Seven years ago, I found myself in a place of great upheaval. I was in the middle of a profound religious conversion and found myself in a no-man’s land, adrift from my old belief system, yet not fully integrated into my new one.
Now this is the part that makes me blush:
Around that time that I came across a small blog by this woman named Simcha. She was a brilliant, hilarious writer on par with the famous names of the secular world…yet she was religious, describing herself as a Hebrew Catholic since she comes from a family of Jewish coverts to Catholicism. Reading her blog never failed to brighten my day (usually by making me laugh until I gasped for air), and her writing transformed my view of everything from motherhood to what it means to have faith.
About once a week I would think, “This woman’s blog needs to be much, much bigger!” and “When is she going to write a book?!” Seven years later, I got my wish.
Tons of frank, funny (and really difficult!) questions from the point of view of someone who can’t imagine why you would go to all the trouble of charting and abstaining, especially when you might end up having — ugh — babies anyway. Check it out, if only to read the phrase “boinking machine” on a Catholic blog.
