Jesse Tree: December 14

Theme: Joseph

18 Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost. 19 Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost.

Read the rest:

Matthew 1:18-25

Jesse Tree: December 13

Theme: Solomon

5 And the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, saying: Ask what thou wilt that I should give thee.

6 And Solomon said: Thou hast shown great mercy to thy servant David my father, even at, he walked before thee in truth, and justice, and an upright heart with thee: and thou hast kept thy great mercy for him, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 And now, O Lord God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a child, and know not how to go out and come in. 8 And thy servant is in the midst of the people which thou hast chosen, an immense people, which cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9 Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people, and discern between good and evil. For who shall be able to judge this people, thy people which is so numerous? 10 And the word was pleasing to the Lord that Solomon had asked such a thing.

Read the rest:

1 Kings 3:5-14, 16-28

Christmas Music!

Seen multiple places, posted here for my girls:

Jesse Tree: December 12

Theme: David

26 And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying: What shall be given to the man that shall kill this Philistine, and shall take away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 27 And the people answered him the same words saying: These things shall be given to the man that shall slay him. 28 Now when Eliab his eldest brother heard this, when he was speaking with others, he was angry with David, and said: Why earnest thou hither? and why didst thou leave those few sheep in the desert? I know thy pride, and the wickedness of thy heart: that thou art come down to see the battle. 29 And David said: What have I done? is there not cause to speak?30 And he turned a little aside from him to another: and said the same word. And the people answered him as before.

Read the rest:

1 Samuel 17:12-51

Jesse Tree: December 11

Theme: Jesse

1 And the Lord said to Samuel. How It long wilt thou mourn for Saul, whom I have rejected from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and come, that I may send thee to Isai the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 2 And Samuel said: How shall I go? for Saul will hear of it, and he will kill me. And the Lord said: Thou shalt take with thee a calf of the herd, and thou shalt say: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. 3And thou shalt call Isai to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou art to do, and thou shalt anoint him whom I shall show to thee. 4 Then Samuel did as the Lord had said to him. And he came to Bethlehem, and the ancients of the city wondered, and meeting him, they said: Is thy coming hither peaceable? 5 And he said: It is peaceable: I am come to offer sacrifice to the Lord, be ye sanctified, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Isai and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

Read the rest:

1 Samuel 16:1-13

"Work on that Folding."

Saw this at The Anchoress' site, and thought it was hysterical.  Mind you, if Travel Man bought me jewelry for Christmas, I'd probably smack him upside the head.  Dude, I want a camera.  Or that Fontanini starter set with the Holy Family!  Or books!  

But still, this is so funny to me!  

Photobug

Portraits.  I love getting annual pictures of the girls, and I always get a new family portrait near Christmas!  However, since leaving Florida, we haven't been able to take advantage of Penny's fantastic prices on portraits.  Sears has higher prices, worse customer service, and longer waits for the pictures to come in.  Oh, yeah, and they aren't as handy with a camera as the lady who took the gorgeous shots of my girls until 2004.  Phooey.

However!  Because we've worked so hard to get our finances under control, it looks like we'll be able to make a nice investment after Christmas: a brand-new digital camera with KICKIN' specs.  The one I want is a Canon with 10x Optical zoom and 9 Megapixel capability.  Reviews from customers look good, and the one online review I found while poking around shows that it has excellent color matching capabilities.  Hooray!

So when we went to Sears to get our portraits done on Tuesday, I did not renew my Super Savers card.  Instead, I'll invest in the camera and a tripod and do portraits myself.  I can take the girls to REAL places and take beautiful shots of Fall foliage or Christmas decorations.  When Little Girl gets ready for First Communion, I can bring her to our parish and take pictures near the Tabernacle or the crucifix.  When it's time for the annual Christmas letter, I'll pull out ye ole tripod and take a few shots of the four of us.  On my time.  And then I'll print them out myself.  Heck, if I want to be spendy, maybe I'll take 'em to Sam's and let them to a more professional job, especially with the 10x13 I'll need for First Communion.

Take THAT, crummy-customer-nonservice Sears!

Hey, did I mention that I'll be able to take some nice artsy-fartsy shots of the world around me?  I love taking pictures of the beautiful Blue Ridge countryside, and this camera will be even better for that!  Just wait for Wordless Wednesdays next year!  

WHOO HOO!

Thanks, Saint Basil! Thanks, Saint Clare!

Thanks for the prayers - my voice is nearly back to normal.  I had to drop a total of 3.5 hours this week, though, and that's not particularly good.  :(  

But I do feel worlds better, and so I thank you readers, too, so much!

Jesse Tree: December 10

Theme: Samuel

1 Now the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Heli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no manifest vision. 2 And it came to pass one day when Heli lay in his place, and his eyes were grown dim, that he could not see: 3 Before the lamp of God went out, Samuel slept in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 And the Lord called Samuel. And he answered: Here am I. 5 And he ran to Heli and said: Here am I: for thou didst call me. He said: I did not call: go back and sleep. And he went and slept.

6 And the Lord called Samuel again. And Samuel arose and went to Heli, and said: Here am I: for thou calledst me. He answered: I did not call thee, my son: return and sleep. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither had the word of the Lord been revealed to him. 8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose up and went to Heli. 9 And said: Here am I: for thou didst call me. Then Heli understood that the Lord called the child, and he said to Samuel: Go, and sleep: and if he shall call thee any more, thou shalt say: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and slept in his place. 

Read the rest:

1 Samuel 3:1-18

bleh

i feel awful

my throat is sore and swollen

i have no voice

that is fun on the phone

so i dropped an hour last night and an hour this morning

i think i'm running a fever now, too

so i'll take dayquil 

and run an errand

and get family portraits done after my next shift

but the good news is that the girls' sign language skills are taking off today