The Zoomlians bring to you Minions!
Monday, December 31, 2018
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Friday, December 28, 2018
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Poem of the Week: A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
by Christina Rossetti
Before the paling of the stars,
Before the winter morn,
Before the earliest cockcrow
Jesus Christ was born:
Before the earliest cockcrow
Jesus Christ was born:
Born in a stable,
Cradled in a manger,
In the world His Hands had made
Born a Stranger.
Cradled in a manger,
In the world His Hands had made
Born a Stranger.
Priest and King lay fast asleep
In Jerusalem,
Young and old lay fast asleep
In crowded Bethlehem:
In Jerusalem,
Young and old lay fast asleep
In crowded Bethlehem:
Saint and Angel, Ox and Ass,
Kept a watch together,
Before the Christmas daybreak
In the winter weather.
Kept a watch together,
Before the Christmas daybreak
In the winter weather.
Jesus on His Mother's breast
In the stable cold,
Spotless Lamb of God was He,
Shepherd of the Fold:
In the stable cold,
Spotless Lamb of God was He,
Shepherd of the Fold:
Let us kneel with Mary Maid,
With Joseph bent and hoary,
With Saint and Angel, Ox and Ass,
To hail the King of Glory.
With Joseph bent and hoary,
With Saint and Angel, Ox and Ass,
To hail the King of Glory.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Poem of the Week: Gaudete
| Gaudete, Gaudete! Christus et natus Ex maria virgine, Gaudete! |
Rejoice, Rejoice! Christ is born Of the virgin Mary, Rejoice! | |
|
Tempus ad est gratiae, Hoc quod optabamus; Carmina laetitiae, Devote redamus. |
It is now the time of grace That we have desired; Let us sing songs of joy, Let us give devotion. |
|
|
Deus homo factus est, Natura mirante; Mundus renovatus est A Christo regnante. |
God was made man, And nature marvels; The world was renewed By Christ who is King. |
|
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Ezechiellis porta Clausa pertransitur; Unde lux est orta Salus invenitur. |
The closed gate of Ezechiel Has been passed through; From where the light rises Salvation is found. |
|
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Ergo nostra cantio, Psallat iam in lustro; Benedicat Domino: Salus Regi nostro. |
Therefore let our assembly now sing, Sing the Psalms to purify us; Let it praise the Lord: Greetings to our King. |
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/gaudete-rejoyce.html
Gaudete
Gaudete, gaudete Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine gaudete
Gaudete, gaudete Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine gaudete
Tempus adest gratiae hoc quod optabamus
Carmina laetitiae devote redamus
Gaudete, gaudete Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine gaudete
Gaudete, gaudete Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine gaudete
Deus homo factus est natura mirante
Mundus renovatus est a Christo regnante
Gaudete, gaudete Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine gaudete
Gaudete, gaudete Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine gaudete
Ezechielis porta clausa pertransitur
Unde lux est orta salus invenitur
Gaudete, gaudete Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine gaudete
Gaudete, gaudete Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine gaudete
Ergo nostra contio psallat jam in lustro
Benedicat domino salus regi nostro
Gaudete, gaudete Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine gaudete
Gaudete, gaudete Christus est natus
Ex Maria virgine gaudete
Submitted by 
helena.kramer.121 on Mon, 08/12/2014 - 21:13
helena.kramer.121 on Mon, 08/12/2014 - 21:13
Last edited by 
Ww Ww on Sat, 16/12/2017 - 19:49
Ww Ww on Sat, 16/12/2017 - 19:49
English translation
Rejoyce
Versions: #1#2
Rejoyce, rejoyce! Christ is born
Of the virgin Mary
Rejoyce, rejoyce! Christ is born
Of the virgin Mary
The time of Grace has come, which we have waited for
Let us devotedly render Him joyful songs
Rejoyce, rejoyce! Christ is born
Of the virgin Mary
Rejoyce, rejoyce! Christ is born
Of the virgin Mary
God has become Man, and Nature is astounded
The world has been renewed by the reigning Christ
Rejoyce, rejoyce! Christ is born
Of the virgin Mary
Rejoyce, rejoyce! Christ is born
Of the virgin Mary
The closed gate of Hezechiel has been crossed
From there the Light has risen, Salvation has come in
Rejoyce, rejoyce! Christ is born
Of the virgin Mary
Rejoyce, rejoyce! Christ is born
Of the virgin Mary
Therefore, our congregation, praise Him in brightness!
Bless the Lord! Greeting to our King!
Rejoyce, rejoyce! Christ is born
Of the virgin Mary
Rejoyce, rejoyce! Christ is born
Of the virgin Mary
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Awesome Geography: Spain
For our art project we did these cool Picasso inspired faces, using profile and full face at the same time.Our active activity was Escondite, which is basically leapfrog in Spanish!
Our snack was tapas, but kid friendly tapas: chocolate covered pretzels, cheese, crackers, and fruit.
We also watched this neat YouTube on Sagrada Familia.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Poem of the Week: Into the Darkest Hour
Into the Darkest Hour
by Madeleine L’Engle
It was a time like this, War & tumult of war,
a horror in the air.
Hungry yawned the abyss-
and yet there came the star
and the child most wonderfully there.
It was time like this
of fear & lust for power,
license & greed and blight-
and yet the Prince of bliss
came into the darkest hour
in quiet & silent light.
And in a time like this
how celebrate his birth
when all things fall apart?
Ah! Wonderful it is
with no room on the earth
the stable is our heart.
HT: Coffeehouse Junkie
Friday, December 7, 2018
Gingerbread Party
We are old hands at gingerbread at this point!Leena and Oob teamed together to make this cool pirate ship.
The sails are fruit leather (dehydrated apple sauce).
Choclo did this fun monster truckWe had so much extra gingerbread that Mxyl and I made a house.
Friends made a cool castle!
And the littlest friend made a tiny house of his own!
It was a very fun party- we didn't have enough houses to have a real contest, so we just handed out prizes to everyone!
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Asking for Prayers
If you would say a quick prayer for my Dad today: he's undergoing a bone marrow biopsy as I type this. He's not been doing well, and I've been back and forth a lot lately, hence the light blogging. My sister is back from North Dakota helping out now, and my brother is coming from Oregon next week.
Thanks and God bless you!
Thanks and God bless you!
Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!
We put out shoes last night!And we had "Santa Hat Scones this morning.
This afternoon we are having a big party with lots of friends, games and a gingerbread contest: pictures of the event tomorrow!
The first game is coloring a picture of St. Nicholas.St. Nicholas was a bishop, so we cut two little slits and slid in a candy cane for his crosier.
Then we will have Stocking Toss, where the kids tossed little bags of gold on the stockings. That commemorates St. Nicholas tossing bags of gold secretly into a house to help a family who would have had to sell their children.
Lastly, by popular demand, we will have Punch Arius!.
The idea is to punch Arius while shouting parts of the Nicene Creed that proclaim Jesus' divinity.
This is based on the story that St. Nicholas struck Arius during the Council
of Nicaea when Arius was trying to convince the world's bishops that Jesus was not really God.
I tell the kids that they aren't allowed to punch heretics unless they became bishops and are at an Ecumenical Council. You never know what can plant the seed of a vocation!
Monday, December 3, 2018
Hello Advent!
The thing to keep in mind is that we have now been doing the Advent thing with kids for 20 years. In the beginning, I was looking for Advent stuff to do that would be meaningful, helpful, and fun.
Now we have the weight of Tradition, as well as the "need" to have 6 small things to do each day so each kid can do an Advent thing each day. Also, I've done it so long, it's easy for me.
Do what I did: if it looks like fun, and not too much work, try it. If it doesn't, smile and nod.
This is what it looks like for us.
Kid 1: Open a door on the Advent House. Inside, there are 6 pieces of candy, and a Playmobil Advent piece to put in the stable.Yeah, the sheep is in the attic. The kid decides where to put it.
Kid 2: Find and place the Jesse Tree ornament while I read the scripture passages.
You can find all sorts of sources for Jesse Tree scripture and ornaments. My set are from an ornament swap organized years ago by my friend Jolene - this means I have a set of cool and creative ornaments while only having had to come up with one good idea.
As they've broken or gotten lost, we've been replacing them with shrinky dinks. Not as cool, but doable.
Kid 3: The velcro calendar!
This was something I thought would fall by the wayside, but it has the weight of Tradition, so on it goes.
Kid 4: Lights and blows out the Advent candles and does the felt calendar.
Back in the day, it was just blowing out the candles, you know, before we trusted the kids with producing fire!
Kid 5: Chooses a book to unwrap.We have
Most are religious, but some are secular, and you never quite know what you are picking!
I've found it's a good way to make sure we actually get to all of them. As an extra bonus, it's good training for how to politely receive and unwrap gifts, as well as what to do with the paper afterwards...
Kid 6: Chooses and places an ornament.This is one of the favorite Advent tasks!
They aren't tree ornaments, they are decorations. It's a lovely, no stress way to decorate, and I love it that the house gets slowly more decorated as Advent goes on!
Kid 7: Well, there is no 7 to do another task, but we all do little acts of love and kindness to soften our hearts for Baby Jesus' arrival.
That's our crib (next to Love, our parakeet!), and we put a piece of hay in every time we pray, sacrifice, or make little act of love.
Extra bonus: If you don't have time for a complicated Advent, here's yesterday's Easy Advent Prep:
A Christmas Kit
Sunday, December 2, 2018
Poem for the First Week of Advent: The God We Hardly Knew
The God We Hardly Knew
by Óscar Romero
No one can celebratea genuine Christmas
without being truly poor.
The self-sufficient, the proud,
those who, because they have
everything, look down on others,
those who have no need
even of God- for them there
will be no Christmas.
Only the poor, the hungry,
those who need someone
to come on their behalf,
will have that someone.
That someone is God.
Emmanuel. God-with-us.
Without poverty of spirit
there can be no abundance of God.
(via
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