Tercera semana de Adviento

The third light of Advent is the light of beasts
Light of hope that lives
in the greatest and the least

Advent time is also a time for me to keep my own traditions alive!!  We get busy the very first week with the decoration of our big Nativity scene, the way it was done at my house when I was little.

We collected old boxes for a while, the covered them with brown paper and on top of them we covered them with moss and rocks to create the village and the road that Mary and Joseph walked on their way to Bethlehem.

This year, I finally finished needle felting the figures for the Nativity set, Mary and Joseph walking to Bethlehem with the donkey.

The three wise man

the sheperd with his sheep

The angels bringing down the Christ Child

This Nativity scene is very special for us in Colombia because from December 16th until the 24th, we sit around it to pray to Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph and to sing "villancicos.  It is a wonderful tradition for us, and one I have the fondest memories from.  The songs and the prayers are intertwined which makes it more kid friendly and we get out our musical instruments...a very festive mood indeed!

Nuestros conejitos

Last week, Nati came home with 3 adorable baby bunnies for the kids.  We had mentioned to a friend of hers about how much the kids loved bunnies and now...surprise, surprise!!  she bought them 3 bunnies!

Of course, the kids saw them and fell in love with them, there was no taking them back!! oh no...

The truth is, we are all in love with them now!!  They are so cute and friendly, they like to be picked up and most of the time now, they are found in the yard, nibbling at grass and thank God, they have not found the flowers  and herbs that I planted not too long ago.  We'll see how long before they discover the treats!! 
For now, they are enjoying sneaking inside the house and going into the nativity scene to nibble on the moss....I can't get mad at them...they are tooo cute!!

Cookie is the only one in the family who is not so sure about the bunnies.  He chases them  and licks their ears...I'm still confused...I don't know if he is licking them because he likes them or because he is tasting them:)  So far, the bunnies don't seem to be afraid of him, a lot of times, I have seen them drinking from the same bowl of water and they even sometimes come up to him and nibble at him...funny!!

The kids have really taken full responsability for them, which I'm very glad of.  Santiago cleans their cage daily and changes the newspaper, puts fresh water for them and of course, he spends lots of time cuddling with them and loving them.

Danielito has not been involved in all of this, but pretty soon, the new chore chart will be up and on his side there will be some responsabilities on this respect for him.... I think he will learn pretty  quickly.

Segunda Semana de Adviento

We light two candles shining bright
upon this holly advent time
Fill our hearts with lonving light
Lead us to Christmas day's
Brilliant light

The second light of Advent 

is the light of plants

Plants that rise up to the sun

and in the breezes dance.

Before we go to sleep during advent time, we light our Advent spiral.  As many candles as days in the month of December.  Mary and her little donkey travel inward.  

On the first week, we decorate the spiral with seashells, rocks, crystal, etc..to honor the mineral kingdom.

On the second wek, we put acorns, sticks, twigs, etc.. to thank the plant kingdom.

On the third week we put little animals like bunnies, birds, etc representing the animal kingdom

On the fourth week, we place little sheperds, the 3 wise man, etc..representing us humans.

We have been doing it for a few years now and this year, Daniel is participating fully in the lighting and snuffing of the candles. 

 Santiago, surprised us, by playing the  song on his flute after we sang it.  It sounded sooo beautiful!

Primera Semana de Adviento

Oh corona de adviento
Luz en la oscuridad
Alegria que yo siento
Al mirar tu paz
Una vela es al comienzo
Luego dos encenderas
Cuando sean 3 y 4
Llegara la navidad!

We light one candle shinning bright

Upon this Holly Advent night

Fill our hearts with loving light

Lead us to Christmas day's brilliant light

The first light of Advent 

is the light of stones

light that lives in seashells

in crystals and in bones

Celebrating Advent is a very special time for all of us.  Our favorite part is all the singing that goes on throughout the whole season.  Song books are brought out, maracas, xylophones, flutes,shakers and lyras get a lot of use during this 4 weeks...it is heavenly!

The first Sunday of Advent, we take out our old Advent calendars that we've been using for a few years now.  They are so special.... a window is found half open each morning with an advent angel hanging from it.
and a piece of paper with a story about Baby Jesus's journey down to Earth and all the gifts that he receives from the heavens and then how a little sheperd boy receives a golden basket from an angel and goes on a journey to find the most precious gifts for the Holly Child.

A small piece of paper also magically appears with a story about Baby Jesus's journey down to Earth and all the gifts that he receives from the heavens. and then how a little sheperd boy receives a golden basket from an angel and goes on a journey to find the most precious gifts for the Holly Child.

 Then a little sheperd boy receives a golden basket from an angel who asks him to fill it with gifts for the Christ Child.  He goes on a journey in which he helps several people with their daily jobs and in return he receives a bottle of milk, bread, a hay bed, a blanket and a sheepskin...when his basket is full, he goes with other sheperds to honor the Holly Child.

Daniel and Santiago get to listen to the story in the morning and they hang the angel by the window.... this way, they see how more and more angels feel our living room until Christmas day, when they are all here to sing for baby Jesus on His Birthday!

Curso de Pedagogia Waldorf

Last year in the Bay Area I had started my foundation Year for Waldorf Education and I was very sad to have to stop my trainning.  Luckily, when I first arrived, a family from Daniel's school commented on the wonderful course they are offering on the weekends at the school campus.

I was so excited to hear this, that I immediately signed up for it...it is a continuation of what I had started last year and now in Spanish, it has a different feeling.  The lectures and the conversations during class seem to find a different room in my soul that had not been touched for a while.  The best way to describe my studies so far in Waldorf education is as "soul food" .  It heals and repairs old wounds, it nourishes my spirit! 

 I'm so glad my children and all of our family is benefiting from this way of life!  From the simple blessing before our meals to the healing stories I have learned to tell my children,  to my new found road to a spiritual path after a fall out of catholicism.

We have been doing clay work and it always amazes me to see how after receiving the same instructions, we all make such unique pieces!!

Carving wood was amazing...the wonderful little gnomes we made made happy so many little ones!

The teachers are excellent!  They come from Cuernavaca once a month to teach and the amount of preparation that goes into it is amazing!  We have been going in depth into the meaning of festivals lately and it has made such a difference in the way I prepare for them.  

The first week of December we made beeswax candles!!

And shinning stars!!

Dia de las velitas

On December 8th, in Colombia we have a celebration of Light which unfortunately I haven't celebrated in a very long time!!  My mom always told us that we were celebrating the Virgin Mary's Birthday, so to me that is what it is although I haven't found any literature on this.
When I was little, in our neighborhood, everybody would come out as soon as it got dark to decorate their front yards with candles...it was beautiful.
Honestly, for us children, it was a glorious opportunity to play with fire, which we all know they love, at least my boys do.

People would make beautiful designs like stars, christmas trees, etc..with very simple white, cheap candles from the store.
We would go around the neighborhood, visit with the neighbors and at the end of the night, we would all collect 12 candles from any front yard we wanted.  One for every month of the year.  These candles that we collected, we would light them for special favors or to give thanks to the Virgin Mary for the many blessings we receive throughout the year.

In November, we received and invitation to celebrate this very special festival at the colombian Embassy here in Mexico.  I got sooo excited and even though it was a week night, I gathered my little ducklings and went happily to the celebration.
It was different to the way I experienced as a child, but it had the same magic with the lighting of the candles and the wonderful opportunity to spend time with neighbors....not the ones next door anymore, but those who make a conscious decision to go out and share with others and to keep this traditions alive!  It was lovely and we also got to meet more people from Colombia here in Mexico!

Bazar Navideno en el colegio de Santi

The Christmas bazaar at Santiago's school was a success!!   

The day started with the children of the school singing  "villancicos" for us, every grade sang a different song and used different instruments...lovely!

 We worked very hard preparing for it and it was all worth it.  The bazaar is one of the big fundraisers for the school so I worked with joy knowing all the hours we put in were going to a good cause.

Every grade gets together several weeks in advance and they all work on specific projects.  Third grade made some beautiful tumbling gnomes and I taught some moms how to make frames covered with wool roving and decorated with different needle felted figures.  We made about 27 of them and they were a hit!

My friend Andrea and I also lead a workshop where the children made shooting stars.  It was so much fun to work with the children!

First grade made this amazing set of lights!!

 I was blown away by the amount of work all the parents put in, all their love and dedication to their children's school is shown in the incredible items they made for the bazaar...just amazing!  

Each small light is covered with a miniature version of the star lantern.

At the end, the teachers danced for us.

 It was a beautiful performance of a mexican folkloric dance.

Then, we listened to 2 different puppet shows, one directed more to the smaller children...the kindergarten teachers were amazing!  

Then at the end there was a shadow puppet show for the older children, all the transparencies were a work of art!  

The night ended with beeswax candle making which unfortunately, we could not do because we were all soo tired, especially Daniel who is not used to staying up late.

What an amazing day!  The more I attend the school events, the more blessed I feel!