On the eve of St. Nicholas, Gabriel was happily galloping around as he was setting out his shoes. He turned to Dominic and said, "I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas!"
We had to explain to him that in our home, St. Nicholas makes a special visit to little boys and girls who are observing Advent on the eve of his Feast Day. We set out our shoes in hopes that he will fill them with special treats. Since we do not have a fireplace (because, Southern California), we decided to put our shoes under our tiny Jesse Tree.
And as always, St. Nicholas did not disappoint. He even found our "Mr. Soleil" nightlight that we thought we lost in Las Vegas. Move over, St. Anthony!
Dominic's number one item on his Christmas wish list this year was "Almanzo boots", based on the character from Farmer Boy. This meant that rain boots, cowboy boots and snow boots would not do, and it is surprisingly challenging to find traditional leather-ish boots for little boys! We happened to come across some brown boots at a Gap Outlet while we were in Las Vegas, but unfortunately they did not have his size. Thankfully, St. Nicholas called up some of his connections and was able to locate a pair at another nearby outlet before the 6th.
Dominic is thrilled. He just asked me how he to grease them like Almanzo and Royal do.
\
Gabriel got a new pair of converse-style sneakers, and Nicholas received a pair of soft pre-walker shoes. The boys also received three new Christmas books to ad to our growing collection. This year Dominic was gifted Little Drummer Boy, Gabriel received Bear Stays Up for Christmas, and Nicholas found Babylit's A Christmas Carol by his shoes.
Since yesterday was the feast of his patron saint, Nicholas also got an extra little treat: the St. Nicholas Shining Light doll turned out to be an adorable baby toy. Thanks Andi, for the recommendation!
To celebrate the patron saint of children, we enjoyed cinnamon buns for breakfast, and even let the baby in on the fun.
We also watched our St. Nicholas DVD and read a new book called "The Real Story of Saint Nicholas". The storybook was on our homeschool booklist recommendations, but honestly, I was really disappointed by it. It ignores the fact that the true saint was Catholic, and refers to him as a "pastor", instead of a bishop. It is fine for young kids, but overall missed several important aspects of the "Real Story", as its title suggests.
St. Nicholas, Pray for us! Here is a lovely little meditation on the saint that I have grown much closer to this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment