Happy New Year!!!

 

  

"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us."

Wishing you all the very best in 2013!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

For Christians, this Christmas carol is a catechism song.

It has two levels of meaning, the surface meaning and a hidden meaning. Each element in the carol is a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

My "true love" refers to God, and "me" is the individual.

 The "partridge" is the piece de resistance, Jesus himself, and the "pear tree" is the Cross.

The "two turtle doves" represent the two natures in Jesus:  human and divine or the two Testaments, Old and New.

 

The "three French hens" are the Three Persons in God or the three gifts of the Wise Men.

The "four calling birds" are the four Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John.

The "five golden rings" are the first five books of the Old Testament called the Torah which are generally considered the most sacred and important of all the Old Testament.

The "six geese a-laying" stand for the six days of creation.

"Seven swans a swimming" represent the Seven Sacraments.

The "eight maids a-milking" are the eight Beatitudes.

The "nine ladies dancing" are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit named in Galatians 5.

The "ten lords a-leaping" are the Ten Commandments.

"Eleven pipers piping" stand for eleven faithful Apostles.

Finally, the "twelve drummers drumming" symbolize the twelve articles of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

 The Twelve Days of Christmas celebrates the official Christmas season which starts liturgically on Christmas Day and ends twelve days later on the Feast of the Epiphany.

 I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas!

The best is yet to come!
 

           

Home for the Holidays!

Guess who's back?

Nothing makes me happier than the sight of this messy room!

 I have always said that seeing his face every morning was like Christmas!

 Now I know that's true!

Christmas has officially arrived at our house!

 This is one happy mom!

 I can't believe he is already a junior in college!

 And I thought High School went fast!

I used to go all out decorating his room at Christmas with a tree and everything.

 He still insists that I've turned his room into a "guest room" but I insist that I upgraded it to a more sophisticated bedroom paying homage to a future of world travel.

I couldn't help adding a touch of Christmas to it this year.

I found a trio of these vintage wooden reindeer at a garage sale a few years ago and thought one might be fun over his bed.

I filled a vintage fire bucket with Christmas greens and amaryllis.

 And placed a pair of vintage red ski poles topped with a glittery snow flake against the wall.

 I love seeing his clothes strewn about!

 I found this wonderful vintage bamboo trunk a few months ago which is perfect for holding his suitcase.

I purchased this ornament from Wendy Addison to commemorate his 1st Christmas as a Bruin.

I love ornaments that mark a milestone.
 

 He's a good sport letting me fill his room with my treasures.

 He knows how happy it makes me!

 My heart is full!!

Enjoy having your kids home for the holidays!!

Christmas Snippets

Christmas at our house...