Superpowers

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Today is the feast of St. Ambrose and day three of our first Nutcracker season. We are also finishing up our homeschool co op semester, which means there will be a performance of Julius Caesar (The 30 minute edition) on Monday at our Christmas feast. We’ve hosted three Julius Caesar rehearsals at our house over the past couple of weeks (they were great fun), with yesterday being dress rehearsal, followed by Nutcracker dress rehearsal at which I was a backstage helper. All I can say, is thank goodness I just got new thyroid meds. Otherwise, I’d probably already be comatose.

As far as St. Ambrose day goes, I have to confess that I am pretty much the worst at celebrating feast days. I am a big fan of ordinary days and everything else is a real challenge. However, thanks to the help of a couple of women (specifically Kendra and Haley)  who are good at feast days and write books about them, we are managing a couple of things today before I head out to Mabel’s first real live Nutcracker performance in which she is a party kid. A party boy to be precise, which means she wears a hat and her bun doesn’t have to be perfect. Phew.

For Ambrose’s big day, Mabel made a honey cake (He’s the patron saint of beekeepers) using The Catholic Kids’ Cookbook which she and Ambrose received for St. Nicholas day. Next they will dip some (small) beeswax candles. I guess I’ve been forced to be on top of so many things in recent weeks that my “do the not so ordinary things” superpowers have grown. I do predict a collapse next week, but will have to pull it together for Jonny’s surgery after which I will lose my biggest help for at least a couple of weeks. I can do it. Well, I think I can.

In the meantime, I am backstage mom again tonight, so I’ve got to print up more Nutcracker coloring pages and get the supplies all packed up. If you need hair ties, bobby pins, scissors, or even pretzels, I’ve got them in both organic and gluten free.

p.s. Thank you for all of your orders from my shop! There are still sachets available, and lots of special goat’s milk soap! Lavender spruce and peppermint stick are 10% off. I’ve just restocked chrism soap along with beeswax and honey! There is also still time to get your order in time for Christmas as long as you order by the 15th.

p.p.s. I received an Advent spiral and a lovely book of artwork from The Keeping Company (my friend Ann’s son and his wife’s small business) a year or so ago and we are using them this year as part of our Advent devotions each evening. (Pictured above with Ambrose.) It’s lovely! And I also forgot to explain that in the photo above with Jonny hammering, he was helping Ambrose make eco prints with that bouquet of snapdragons and catnip (last bouquet of the year). Okay! I think that’s really it!