Advent Quote

I read this quote today from Pope John Paul II --

"Advent keeps alive our expectation of Christ Who will come to visit us with His salvation, fully establishing His Kingdom of justice and peace. The annual evocation of the Messiah's Birth in Bethlehem renews in believers' hearts the CERTAINTY that God keeps His promises. Advent is therefore, a powerful proclamation of hope, which deeply touches our lives.

Obstacles, disputes and difficulties of various kinds burden our life and sometimes overwhelm it....It is especially at these moments that hope comes to our rescue. The Mystery of Christmas assures us that God is EMMANUEL-God with us. That is why we must never feel alone. He is close to us. He shared our pilgrimage on earth, guaranteeing us the attainment of that joy and peace to which aspire from the depths of our being."

A mission is starting this week at our parish. I probably won't be able to attend, since there's no childcare option, but the priest who will be speaking this week spoke at today's mass. The theme is Hope and Faithfulness and he reminded us all that if we live in FAITH, we cannot live in FEAR.

It's an important reminder right now for me, as we struggle (again) financially. I don't believe that living in faith means giving up. I believe that we have to do what we can to help ourselves. I do know that worrying (instead of action) is draining and depressing. I can spend my days in worry, or I can spend them in prayer and effort. At the end of the day, I will have accomplished much more if I haven't wasted time in worry.

It's a good message to start the Advent season. I worry quite a bit, and I need to work on my faithfulness. It's something I have been working on, but this is a reminder to me that I can't stop striving for more.

A Few of My Favorite Etsy Shops

I love etsy! It's a wonderful site to find wonderful home-made items and interact with some amazing people. I have a few favorite shops I thought I'd highlight today in case you're looking for gifts this holiday season.

Sister Mary Martha's shop is full of bracelets, keychains and necklaces with an amazing number of saint medals. Each item arrives with a card explaining more about the saint. I have a St. Gerard bracelet and have gifted more of her bracelets to friends. She also has an interesting blog.

Andrea of Quirky Bags has a shop full of cloth bags. She made a custom order for me of small bags for all the kids at my parent's family reunion a couple years ago and they were absolutely perfect. She is a delight to work with, and has the most interesting fabrics. She has bags in a variety of sizes to fit all your needs of shopping, gifting and toting library books. They are extremely well-made and are a much better alternative to plastic bags.

I haven't purchased anything yet from Juicy Bags, but I have my eye on 2 wallets for the boys. She uses empty Kool-Aid pouches to create wallets, gift card holders, purses and laptop bags. They are so very cute!! I follow her on twitter, so I know she also does custom work.

Those are the etsy shops on my mind this morning. Go check them out and if you can't make gifts yourself, consider giving hand-made by someone else.

St. Nicholas Novena

Today's the day to start a novena to St. Nicholas that will end on his feast day (December 6) We always celebrate the feast day with some treats left in the kids' shoes, and reading The Legend of Saint Nicholas.

This will be the first year I've prayed a novena to St. Nicholas. I recently read about an idea to write your intentions on a piece of paper each day of the novena, then burn them at the end of the novena. I think the kids and I might do this.

I'm excited for Advent to begin on Sunday, and think this is a nice way to lead into the season.

Review: Madagascar 2 Wii Video Game (& Giveaway!)

Last weekend, my family and I went to see Madagascar Escape 2 Africa at the movie theater. We loved the first Madagascar movie, and looked forward to the sequel. It didn't disappoint, and we all laughed throughout the movie. As long as we kept feeding L mini M&M's, she was happy to sit and watch as well.

So, it was a great treat when we received a package earlier this week from MomCentral with the game Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa for our Wii to review. The boys couldn't wait to try it out and were immediately drawn in by the graphics that were very similar to the movie. The characters were funny, and the boys were challenged by the game.

There is a main storyline adventure type game, as well as a bunch of individual mini-games that can be played. The main game is a single player game, but most of the mini-games can be played by one or two players. It is a safari-type adventure, with all the characters from the movie. Colin has declared the game a ton of fun, and has eagerly played it every day since we received it. Nate has enjoyed a memory-type game the most.

They do wish that more of the game was for 2 players. We did have some trouble saving the game for future play. We found that the game did save, even when the screen warned you that it didn't.

Overall, though, it is a fun game that we're glad to add to our library of games. I was impressed with the graphics, and the kids loved the range of movement possible for the characters. I struggled a bit making the characters jump and run, but the boys had no problem at all! After some practice, I finally got the hang of it.

The official website for the game has more information, downloads, and sample games you can play on the computer. The game is also available for DS, PSP, XBox, Playstation and PS2.

I also received a voucher for a free ticket for the movie in theaters. I'd love to give it away to one of my readers! The voucher is good only in the USA and expires on December 7. Because of the expiration date, I'd like to get it in the mail ASAP! Please leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite character or scene from the first Madagascar movie (or just say HI!) I'll draw a winner tonight (November 28) at 11:59PM. In addition to the giveaway of a voucher, I also have 4 dogtag necklaces of the main characters to send the winner. These would make a fun stocking stuffer!

ETA: The ticket voucher and dogtags are in the mail to Valerie! Thanks for entering the giveaway!!

Review: Fresh Evergreen Wreaths

I don't have the opportunity to smell many pine trees living where we do in Arizona. I was fortunate enough this year to receive a fresh evergreen wreath from Wreaths Direct to hang on our front door. When I opened the box, it smelled like Christmas!

The picture to the left is the wreath I received hanging on my front door. You can see how full and large it is, and what a wonderful decoration it makes!

Wreaths Direct is a family-owned company from Oregon. This wonderful Italian-Catholic family has been caring for trees for five generations! The family lives in a farm house built by the family in the 1930's. They care for 500 acres of land full of douglas and fir trees in Oregon.

A brother and sister run the business now, along with help from their young children. The family started making and selling wreaths about 20 years ago, and provide fundraising efforts as well as direct sales.

Denise, one of the owners, shared that the business keeps her busy year round with marketing and planning with a real rush this time of year with sales. It doesn't take away from her being full-time mom to her 4 & 7 year olds, though!

She also shared that she loves "the Pacific NW and loves the legacy our farm and business has created for yet another generation to come."

I know my boys would be excited at the thought of living on a farm, and my N would be beside himself at the thought of all those pinecones! (He collects pinecones, and they are pretty precious to find around here!)

Wreaths Direct offers 24" wreaths as well as 20" table centerpieces. They are absolutely lovely and I am thrilled that one graces our door this year.

You can have one on your door by visiting their website, or calling them at 888-449-9485. You won't be disappointed! These wreaths would also make a wonderful gift! A wreath like the one hanging on my door would be only $29.95.

As a special offer to readers of this blog, you can receive FREE UPS GROUND SHIPPING by using the code W0834.

As an extra bonus, if you leave a comment on this post, you will be eligible for 2 different drawings! One commenter on this post will receive a $5 Starbucks gift card, and one commenter from all the blogs participating in this blog tour will receive a gift bag full of goodies. So, leave a comment and share your favorite Christmas decoration!

Many thanks to Wreaths Direct for the beautiful wreath for our home!

Gift Idea: Scentsy Wickless Candles

B doesn't like most candles, because of the soot they put into the air. When I saw these Scentsy wickless candles, I was intrigued! They have 80 different scents, and there are no wicks to create soot. Warmers melt the wax, and release the fragrance into the air. The warmers are very attractive and would fit into anyone's home.

I was expecting them to be expensive, but was pleasantly surprised that the Scentsy warmers were $15 - $30, while the bars of Scentsy wax were $5. These would make a nice gift for anyone on your list this year.

Of the 80 scents, 4 include cinnamon, which is one of my favorite scents. I think the hardest thing would be choosing which scent to buy to get started! Scentsy also offers car candles and room sprays in their 80 different scents.

Encouraging Kids to Wash Their Hands

Just a few tips to help your kids wash their hands, and maybe avoid some illness this winter! My latest Prevention post: Encouraging Kids to Wash Their Hands

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Giveaway! Come back Friday!

Come back Friday for a quick giveaway! I have a ticket voucher to see Madagascar 2. It expires on December 7, though, so the giveaway post will go up on Friday and the winner drawn Friday night, so the voucher can go in the mail ASAP.

Don't forget to come back!!!

Review: Zenses Ocean & Zenses Rainforest

I was lucky enough to receive copies of Zenses: Rainforest Edition and Zenses: Ocean Edition to review. These are both Nintendo DS games, geared towards adults (and I'm guessing females.)

All the boys in my family have Nintendo DS's, so I was able to borrow one to try out these games. One of the annoying things (to me) about most DS games is the music. I'm always asking the boys to turn down (or off) the sound when they are playing games in the van. I was pleasantly surprised by the music for these 2 games, however. It was gentle and soft, with no jarring sounds. I preferred the music and sounds on the Oceans game a little bit more, and was surprised there were no rainforest sounds on the Rainforest game.

The games themselves were fun. I was afraid that both games would offer the same puzzles with different backgrounds, but the puzzles for each were different. They offered different ways to use your brain. The games could be played for 5 minutes, or 20. I liked the fact that they were fast, and didn't require much time. I also liked that they offered a bit of a challenge.

Both of these games have you use the stylus, and no button pushing is necessary. The games had easy to understand rules and kept me entertained. Since I received them, I have played all the puzzles for both games multiple times. The game is marketed as a stress reliever, and I think that's accurate. Playing is a nice diversion, and something that I did while riding in the car as well as waiting for an appointment.

These games may even encourage me to get my own DS, and stop borrowing my husband's! I'll be adding that to my Christmas list this year.

If you're looking for a DS game for a teen, or adult that isn't necessarily into traditional games, I would definitely recommend these 2 games. They are both rated E for Everyone and retail for $29.99.

Thank you to Game Factory for sending me the games to review!

Review: Knit Two by Kate Jacobs

Last year, when I finished Kate Jacob's novel, The Friday Night Knitting Club, I desperately wanted to know what happened next. I fell for the characters, and I cried with the characters, and I didn't want the book to end.

I was very excited when asked by Mother Talk to review the sequel, Knit Two, which is being released today. When the book arrived at my door, I immediately sat down with a big glass of iced tea and began to read. I was glad that the book came during L's nap. It took me a couple days to read, because I forced myself to put it down so I wouldn't finish it too fast.

This sequel didn't disappoint. The characters I grew to love were there, with new problems and triumphs. The close knit group was still there. I think the thing I most appreciated about these two books is the close female friendships portrayed. She writes of a group that I think any of us wish we could find, or if we have a similar group in our lives, it makes us appreciate it even more.

The story starts up five years after the first one ended, which gives all the characters time to develop more of their lives. The camaraderie is still there, the fierce friendships, the loyalty, the honesty and the absolute comfort in knowing that others have your back. I loved this book as much as the first, and hope there's a third coming out in the future.

The book makes me want to take up knitting. Well, no, not actually. What it does is want me to work towards building the friendships around me and taking time to develop them more fully. To take the time to truly care for others and make the time to spend time together. In our busy lives, it's sometimes difficult to carve out time for friendships, but this book gives me a push to work harder at caring for my friendships.

I heartily and completely recommend this book -- and if you haven't read her first novel, this book stands by itself. I do think you should read both, however. You won't be disappointed. If you're looking for a gift for your favorite girlfriend this holiday season, this would make a great gift!

Check out Kate Jacobs' website for more information about her, her books and her future plans.

Many thanks to Kate Jacobs and Mother Talk for sending me a copy of the book and giving me a chance to review it.