Epiphanies of Beauty - Crown Him With Many Crowns

*Sunday is for Epiphanies of Beauty, Christine's photo link up.  When you are done go visit over there  for more Epiphanies of Beauty posts.

Crown him the Lord of love;
behold his hands and side,
rich wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified:
no angel in the sky
can fully bear that sight,
but downward bends his burning eye
at mysteries so bright.

Crown Him With Many Crowns - Matthew Bridges

The Baking Girl: Apple Fritter On A Snow Day

Whew! What an exciting busy week we are having. On Monday we had the first official snow day, in November, before Thanksgiving!  It was exciting for the kids, they love snow. I love it too but only when I don't have to drive in it.  So on Monday I loved it because we had nowhere to go.  The kids played out in the snow while I cleaned the basement.  Since our sunroom changes from playroom to mudroom in the Winter, the basement then becomes the playroom. The cleaning is also part of getting ready for Thanksgiving as we are back to hosting it in our home this year.  We skipped the hosting last year.  But before that we have a wedding to attend over the weekend.  We're very excited about this because we haven't been to a wedding in a while and certainly not to a Catholic wedding for nearly a decade.  The kids are very excited, they do not remember what a Catholic wedding looks like.

Anyhow, to take a break from this crazy busies (not a word, I know) The Baking Girl treated us to a new recipe - apple fritter!!!  The bonus for the oldest is that it is egg-less.  It was yummy although I would prefer to skip the glaze, my "personal trainer" will not approve LOL. The original vegan recipe is here - http://www.killerbunniesinc.com/2013/09/vegan-apple-fritters-recipe/

As we are not vegans, The Baking Girl used regular milk (as opposed to almond milk),  butter in place of margarine and all-purpose flour instead of cake flour.  She wants to try it with cake flour next time.  This was an easy recipe for the girl and it was a hit with the brothers.  I have to admit it's a hit with me too.  Definitely a keeper.

The kids are armed with their chore list for the rest of the week and I am hoping not to have anymore apple fritter cravings :-)  I hope you're all warm and not too busy getting ready for your Thanksgiving feasts.

Delicious photos to share -

I do not have pictures of batter preparations, I was busy cleaning the basement

golden crunchy goodness on the outside

the glaze is almost not necessary, that's my guilty conscience speaking about the sugar I should be avoiding

an homage to my Aggie niece who gifted me this cup;-)  she is graduating in December right before Christmas

oh did I tell you the battery on our van died?! the husband showed the kids how to replace it

the oldest child shoveling snow

lovely sunset capping off a lovely snow day

Epiphanies of Beauty - If I Were King

*Sunday is for Epiphanies of Beauty, but I forgot to hit publish yesterday, so here it is a day late.  And when you are done here go visit Christine for the rest at Epiphanies of Beauty

I often wish I were a King,
And then I could do anything.

If only I were King of Spain,
I'd take my hat off in the rain.

If only I were King of France,
I wouldn't brush my hair for aunts.

I think, if I were King of Greece,
I'd push things off the mantelpiece.

If I were King of Norroway,
I'd ask an elephant to stay.

If I were King of Babylon,
I'd leave my button gloves undone.

If I were King of Timbuctoo,
I'd think of lovely things to do.

If I were King of anything,
I'd tell the soldiers, "I'm the King!" 

If I Were King - A.A. Milne

Nineteen Days

An email reminded me today that there are only nineteen days until the new liturgical year.  Sigh.  Actually that was an excited sigh, if there was such a thing.  I have been thinking about Advent lately, not in a homeschool-planning kind of way but in a personal devotion kind of way.  There's a desire in my heart for that road to Emmaus moment - "“Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”(luke 24:32)

I have yet to unpack what that all means, there is all of Advent to figure it out. For starters I bought this book:

It is a compilation of various (short) talks and statements of Saint Pope John Paul II with prayers, Scripture passages and a suggested activity for each day.  The action for the first day is to think about and write down  a few thoughts on what one specifically hopes to achieve this Advent season. I just want my heart to burn within me with a fire of that Love.  I'm sure I will think of other things.

The one thing I did think about is to purchase Advent candles! Now that's progress. I have even purchased two Christmas gifts and the customary Christmas ornament for each child. So you see I'm not exactly falling behind (yet).  

Nineteen days.  Are you ready?

Epiphanies of Beauty: This Time Last Year

*Sunday is for Epiphanies of Beauty, Christine's photo link-up. When you are done here don't forget to visit over there for more Epiphanies of Beauty posts.

"A tingling, misty marvel
  Blew hither in the night,
And now the little peach-trees
  Are clasped in frozen light. 
Upon the apple-branches
  An icy film is caught,
With trailing threads of gossamer
  In pearly patterns wrought. 
The autumn sun, in wonder,
  Is gayly peering through
This silver-tissued network
  Across the frosty blue. 
The weather-vane is fire-tipped,
  The honeysuckle shows
A dazzling icy splendor,
  And crystal is the rose." 
  Evaleen Stein, November Morning

That Extra Hour

I am going through 31-days of blogging withdrawal! Each day I find myself wondering what I should blog about only to remember that the challenge is over now that November is here.

November. How do I love thee?  Only when it's this beautiful outside ;-) The clocks fell back an hour over the weekend.  Unlike in years past, I would have squandered that hour staying up late only to regret it the following morning.  No such frivolity this year.  Instead, my life went on as usual which meant I woke up an hour earlier (as if the clock did not change) moving my exercise time from evening to morning. I am happy to say I love this change in rhythm.  I used to be a lover of slow mornings, savoring the quiet before the rest of the household rises.  But this new rhythm is equally satisfying. Our schoolwork is getting done faster, our chores are up to speed and I can even sneak in a nap here and there. There was no impetus nor forethought over this change. As much as I would have loved to sleep in an extra hour I knew my body will not let me anyway so I figured it couldn't hurt to re-do certain things.  Maybe I'm just getting old ;-) 

Another thing that my body won't let me do anymore is drinking copious amounts of caffeine.  It seems that aversion sets in around Fall which is when I usually switch to tea (darjeeling and rooibos being my two favorites).  For this indulgence (yes I think tea is more indulgent) I asked the Baking Girl to knit me a tea pot cozy to keep my brew hotter, longer.  With this request comes a realization that I have entered a stage in life where I do not have to do everything for everybody anymore.  The kids are taking in more responsibilities in running the household and doing things that are normally on my list or my husband's. This allows me more time for personal pursuits like reading, watching movies (Return to Cranford is on the queue), and praying.  

the kids took over the yard work

There is so much to pray for these days.  The Memorare, being my usual intercessory prayer, seems to be on constant loop in my brain.  My Laudate bookmark is beginning to fill with different prayers for different people and intentions.  There's the novena for three friends whose husbands are suffering the ravages of brain cancer, a private beatification novena (Ven. Solanus Casey) for various healing needs among my friends, a couple of perpetual novenas for general intentions, we also picked up praying the St. Gertrude prayer for the Poor Souls in Purgatory this month. Chances are if you are related to me or you are my friend I am praying for you, if you belong to a forum (homeschool and otherwise) I am a part of, I am praying for you, if no one is praying for you I am praying for you ;-) Please pray for me.

my Fall altar where many petitions are being raised up

For that extra hour, a gift of time I hope not fritter away, I am truly thankful.  I hope you got to sleep in on Sunday morning.

Epiphanies of Beauty - Holy Ground

*Sunday is for Epiphanies of Beauty, Christine's photo link-up. When you are done here don't forget to stop over there for more Epiphanies of Beauty posts.

“Your faith spoke for this child. Baptism for this child was only delayed by time. Your faith suffices. The waters of your womb-were they not the waters of life for this child? Look at your tears. Are they not like the waters of baptism? Do not fear this. God’s ability to love is greater than our fears. Surrender everything to God.”

St. Bernard of Clairvaux in a letter to parents who lost their child through miscarriage.