This morning we went to a local school performance of The Nutcracker. Is it me or is that show just WEIRD? How funny that it has become such a Christmas classic. Nothing says the birth of Christ like lifesize attack rats, scary magic uncles, and creepy toy soldiers coming to life.
The boys loved it, though, and have spent much of the day vying for who gets to be the evil rat king and who gets to be the good king (a.k.a. the nutcracker).
Then we came home and went fishing in honor of St. Andrew...
Dinner was panko encrusted swai (which is a type of fish I have never heard of but it was next to the tilapia in the freezer case and I was feeling adventurous. Just stick with the tilapia.)
And lest you feel intimidated by my liturgical prowess, know that this was yet another totally not worth the effort type of meals. Several children wouldn't eat it and really, it was not impressive. I should have just made tuna cheesies, the boys' favorite, and called it a win. But we're talking about me here.
We ended our evening by beginning the St. Andrew Christmas Novena together, which is not actually a prayer to St. Andrew but addressed to God Himself. It begins today and is prayed every day until Christmas. We've prayed it as a family the last few years after learning about it through Elizabeth. It is such a beautiful prayer and I encourage and invite you to pray it with us!
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.
In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother.
Amen.
(Pray 15 times either throughout the day or at once.)
See Lena for a tutorial on making a beaded chaplet to help keep track. Ours are just simple knotted cords. I love that hers have the prayer attached for easy reference!
See Lena for a tutorial on making a beaded chaplet to help keep track. Ours are just simple knotted cords. I love that hers have the prayer attached for easy reference!
Hope to be back this weekend to share some of our Advent plans for this year!
Of course The Nutcracker is weird - it's a fairy tale! These stories are designed to get kids acquainted with good v. evil archetypes, so - mission accomplished!
ReplyDeleteJust tonight, I was reading Snow White to my 5yo. You know the part about the huntsman taking Snow White out in the woods to kill her, but spared her life and killed a wild boar instead? In this version, he brought back the boar's heart and the queen ate it. Yuck! I left that part out!
Really, though, The Nutcracker was Tchaikovsky's least favorite ballet. It's popular because it serves as a cash cow for most ballet companies. Even Handel's Messiah is better suited for Easter, but usually performed in December because it's a draw and people like their Holiday traditions. Makes them feel . . . traditional.
Yes, some of those fairy tales are cuh-razy!! Cool info on The Nutcracker...I know so little about classical music and ballet, it's embarrassing. They may take my homeschooling card away soon...
DeleteOh I love the fishing! How cute!
ReplyDelete