A time for waiting and watching, as we look toward Christ's coming at Christmas as well as His coming at the end of time
Here are some ideas for you to use with your kiddos this Advent:
Seeking our Savior: An Advent Detective Journey based on Scripture, showing how Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Christ. Printable coloring book, Scripture cards, mini craft projects, and a leaders guide.
Today I saw first hand a small portion of the damage done in Washington after the F4 tornado, and it just makes me sick. You cannot even imagine the destruction, and pictures don't do it justice. Washington is getting a lot of news coverage, as it well should, but Pekin, the town where I teach, was also hit by a tornado from the same storm system.
First thing Monday morning, less than 24 hours after the tornadoes, I drove to work in Pekin, not knowing what to expect. Again, I only saw a small portion of the damage, but it was astounding. I didn't know what I would encounter as my students were dropped off at school...but praised be to God, they are all ok and basically unscathed. The same is not true for all of the homes of the families at my school. It took a good portion of our morning just to hear each student's update on where they were, what they saw, and how they were dealing with the tragedy.
What to think in the face of such devastation?
I am currently thinking of the ways that people are pulling together.
The way facebook is connecting tornado victims with their lost belongings miles and miles away.
The way rival football teams don't seem to be rivals in the face of something bigger than a game.
And the way I saw hundreds of people out cleaning debris today, despite the freezing temperatures.
I also learned more about my students this week. That despite loss of power and water, major cleanup, displacement out of homes, living out of suitcases...each of them knew that it could have been so much worse. And their first thoughts were "We're ok. What can we do to help the people who are not?"
I know that there are lots of ways to be helping those affected in Pekin, Washington, and other locations. Please do whatever you feel called to. But please also remember to pray. Pray for the injured. Pray for those who feel lost. Pray for those who are still in shock and will deal with emotions later when support might not be as available. Pray for those working to clean up and rebuild these lives, especially in the conditions Central Illinois usually has in late November (today it was 18 degrees outside). Pray for healing. Pray in thanksgiving for the way that communities pull together to support one another.
Speaking of support, one of the first contacts I received checking on my school and students was from KidKnits. I wrote earlier this year about KidKnits, which is our class service project. Coupling the skill of knitting a hat on a round loom with handspun yarn made in Rwanda by impoverished widows, KidKnits has made a strong impact on my kids and my school. It teaches that "you are never to young to change a life on the other side of the world."
However, KidKnits is also very much about changing a life right across the state, or town, or block. We have a KidKnits community here in Pekin, and there is also a KidKnits presence in Washington. Impacted by the tornadoes in both communities, KidKnits is currently raising funds to help. You can read about their thoughts and reasoning here. Donations of at least $10 will get the donor a KidKnits backpack tag kit, a cool reminder of remembering to think outside of ourselves. What's even better? KidKnits is going to take the donations towards tornado relief and let the KidKnits kids in Washington and my KidKnits kids here in Pekin decide how to best use the money- adonation to a family in need, straight to the Red Cross, etc. The kids may not be able to make a significant donation on their own, but with the help of others, we can empower them to help those who need to be extended generosity the most. If you are interested in helping with their campaign, please click here.
Last month, I was blessed to visit these lovely people (my baby sis and bil):
Who now live in the lovely state of Georgia (ONLY about 15 hours away).
And now we typically only see each other using lovely Google Chat:
But it is so much better to be together!
After my quick and (delayed) but uneventful flight, I was picked up at the airport, hugged a lot, fed lunch, and ushered into their new Army Post home.
I was welcome by this lovely drawing, created by my (no-big-deal) sister, just because:
If you can't read it, the sketch is joined by the Fulton Sheen quote "Mary was not full of grace because she was beautiful; she was beautiful because she was full of grace."
...where I learned the basics of many things, including Airborne School...
...and almost got Luke kicked out of the Army. (but not really):
We also saw this movie:
(Intensity alert: I don't think I have ever nearly jumped out of my seat as much in a movie theater, nor have I gasped as much in 134 minutes. Ho.ly. Cow.)
However, I was much more excited when I saw this preview, for a movie about a book that I love, that is being made into a movie that I didn't know was being made into a movie and I am so excited...take a breath (!)...it looks so good.
We ate some de-li-cious food at this place:
Luke and Emily also thoroughly embarrassed me at this restaurant, but that is a story for another time.
(Forgive all the double pictures...three people...means we were never all in the same picture at the same time.)
I enjoyed so much our spending time together eating and relaxing in their home, which does feel so much like a home. (Good job housewife Emily!)
More good food:
And then...we left Luke and the puppy behind and flew back to Peoria
Em was so excited to have cool air, less humidity, and trees with changing leaves.
You know how there is always a formal and somewhat stern voice in airports that announces every 8 and a half minutes "Attention travelers! Airport security requires that all passengers maintain control of their luggage at all times."
Emily was having trouble maintaining control of her luggage...
But it was still good to be back.
Later in the week, our other sister Steph joined us and we did fun things like celebrate our dad's birthday and paint pottery and watch Hallmark movies. You know, sister stuff.
I enjoyed my visit to GA so much, and also was glad to have (almost) the whole family back together for a few days. All the togetherness was wonderful, and we were sad to put our baby sister back on a plane. However, we took one more picture to document a first... something that we have always joked about doing but never actually done...
The three of us are now a blonde, a brunette, and a red head....feel free to comment with your favorite joke!
St. Maximilian Kolbe and I are good friends. He is the patron Saint of my classroom, and I spend quite a bit of time teaching about his life at the beginning of the year. You can read my original post, along with all of the links to my St. Max resources, here.
Something cool that the CCD program at our parish is doing this year is trying to encourage more collaboration between the school classrooms and the CCD classrooms. I am certainly a fan of this effort, and was excited when I heard that one thing we were going to do would be to have the same patron Saints for grade levels. The 5th grade catechist is a lovely young lady, and she and I met for the first time over the summer. We quickly started sharing some ideas, and we have talked a few times about the happenings in our classrooms. She used some of my resources to teach her kids about St. Max, but has also come up with a few of her own that she has given me permission to share on my blog (thanks Anna!).
So, one morning this week, after an evening CCD session, my kids found these awesome keychains on their desks. To someone who doesn't know St. Max, these might not make much sense. However, my kids immediately recognized a white crown and a red crown, both offered to St. Maximilian by Our Blessed Mother, representing his opportunity to either be pure of heart or a martyr. He chose both. Anna came up with this idea herself, and her students made these reminders of St. Max's life for us. My students were very excited about this gift.
Then, the students noticed that we had a new member of the class... in the form of a life sized St. Maximilian Kolbe!
Anna painted his face, which is an incredible likeness:
He is dressed and accessorized just like his icon, complete with a Franciscan robe, striped prisoner uniform from his time in Auschwitz, a rosary, an Immacualta magazine, and even his prisoner number 16670.
They also made a neat sign to go along with the life sized Saint:
I took all of the students' pictures with St. Max, which they loved. They then had a brilliant idea: "Miss Bogner, take a selfie with St. Max!" Here is the result:
Me and Max.
And then he and I took a normal picture:
St. Max will be living in our room for most of the year, just another reminder to the kids about the Communion of Saints that we are all a part of, which includes everyone one in our parish (both school and CCD kids) and awesome Saints in heaven like St. Max. I am so glad that St. Max is "in the house" of our Heavenly Father as well as in our room to serve a connection. This makes him seem more real to the kids, and shows them that they all can strive for sainthood, also.
(I, however, need to get used to having a life sized cardboard cutout in my classroom. At least 15 times in two days I glanced up and totally freaked out, thinking that there was someone in my "empty" room. I also very nearly scolded him twice to "get in his seat" during the school day when I caught him out of the corner of my eye at times that the students were supposed to be working. Several teachers have walked in and jumped before realizing it was him standing in the corner. I imagine we will get used to him...eventually!)
