Recently, I "met" my 200th follower! I appreciate all the visitors that stop by to read my posts and I love hearing comments from my readers.  Your comments encourage me to keep posting topics that are important to me, but I also hope my blog posts will be encouraging and interesting to you.

I would LOVE to get to know ALL my  past, present, and future followers because each one has a story to tell and something to offer in blog world and in the "real" world.  I know this is not possible due to time, but I would like to feature my 200th follower to get to know her a little better and share her blog with you. 

So my 200th follower is.... Erica at bassgiraffe's Thoughts !  Erica hopped onto my blog from the Friday Blog Hop where my blog was featured at the #6 spot on the Linky List.  Erica left a comment on this post and I always enjoy visiting my visitor's blog.  Erica's blog is adorable, bright and cheery and she has lots of great giveaways and reviews going on.  I am amazed how Erica and so many other bloggers do such a great job keeping up with so many reviews and giveaways on their blog!  Erica has some great posts and currently she has a Filly Princess Review and Giveaway.

I emailed Erica some questions to get to know her a little better.  Her answers are in purple.

Of course reviewing items is always fun. But I also love challenging myself in writing/reading. I have learning disorders that make writing a challenge and I love it.




I give Joy to the World when I let others know about great blogs like Erica's at bassgiraffe's Thoughts ! I'm sure Erica would love to have you visit, read your comment and have you enter into one of her many giveaways!  Enjoy!  

After I saw this blog post here, I  plan on using Shutterfly for this year's cards also.

I always send cards each year with a family photo included on the card and with a religious CHRISTmas theme and message to share the true meaning of CHRISTmas with friends and family.   It's fun to look back at our past cards and to see how our family has changed and grown through the years.

Shutterfly has a great selection of  photo cards  and I am especially pleased to see that cards can be sorted by "Religious Christmas Cards".

I love this card here titled "Mod Merry Ornaments Christmas" because there is room for lots of pictures and a personal message:

In the religious CHRISTmas cards selection, I love how the card pictured below,  Nativity Blessing, includes the Nativity with a space for a great family shot or a picture of your blessings:

There are also options to send folded cards like this Rejoice Lord King card where you can have a picture and a personal message on the inside of the card also:

Shutterfly is also offering a promotion for bloggers to create a post like this showcasing some of your favorite Shutterfly cards to be able to receive 50 free Christmas cards, but hurry because this deal is ending tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 10th!

I give Joy to the World when I tell others of another great way to share Christmas joy with Shutterfly cards!


 

Thank you Lacy at Catholic Icing for another great free resource about the Catholic faith!  Here is an explanation by Lacy about her beautiful drawing on the Immaculate Conception:   

Symbolism in this picture includes Mary in the womb of St. Anne (wearing her signature veil). St. Anne and Mary both have their backs turned towards the apple tree to visually state that Mary was conceived without original sin. There are 3 beams of light coming down from the sun that stand for the trinity. Also, the snake (Satan) is unhappy about what has happened here.

On  Dec. 8, Catholics around the world celebrate another beautiful feast day, the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception.  What does this mean?  Many Catholics and non-Catholics mistakenly think that this day celebrates when Mary miraculously conceived Jesus, however this feast day refers to Mary being conceived without original sin. 
There are so many great articles and resources to explain this doctrine.  One article I found, "Advent- The Immaculate Conception", does a beautiful job on how to explain such a teaching to young children.  I include the link to the article for myself to refer back to for my children, but if you have time to read it, I hope you too will be blessed by it in some way.

We went to the Vigil Mass at our church this evening to celebrate tomorrow's Immaculate Conception Feast Day.  Tomorrow I plan to let my children watch another great CCC movie titled, Bernadette-The Princess of Lourdes .   See below for an explanation from the CCC website about the graces this beautiful young girl received from God and our Blessed Mother in 1858...


BERNADETTE - THE PRINCESS OF LOURDES
It’s February 11, 1858. Three girls from Lourdes, France, gather firewood in front of a grotto. Suddenly one of them, Bernadette Soubirous, 14, drops to her knees, gazes ecstatically at something beautiful only she can see, and starts to pray. Soon the town buzzes: Has Bernadette, poor, sickly, and always behind in school, really seen a Lady from Heaven? The police chief is angry, the pastor busy, and the crowd amused, but Bernadette is calm and brave. Then a spring bubbles up from nowhere and withered arms and sightless eyes are cured. At last, the Lady tells Bernadette her name: “I am The Immaculate Conception.”
BERNADETTE, THE PRINCESS OF LOURDES, is the exciting true story of a visit by the Queen of Heaven that left all the world a source of health for body and soul.

Then on Thursday, Dec. 9, we will celebrate Saint Juan Diego's feast day by watching the CCC video, Juan Diego-Messenger of Guadalupe.   See below for a summary from CCC about this video and Juan Diego's true story.
JUAN DIEGO - MESSENGER OF GUADALUPE
In 1591 Juan Diego found himself between two worlds…that of the Spanish conquerors and that of his own Aztec heritage. Because of his love for his people and his strong faith, Juan Diego turned to Jesus and His Mother, Mary for help in uniting his people. The answer to Juan Diego’s prayers has become one of the greatest events in the history of the Americas.
JUAN DIEGO, MESSENGER OF GUADALUPE is the true story of how the Blessed Mother chose a hero for a key role in a beautiful miracle that would united diverse peoples and change the course of history.
In the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City the miracle of the tilma of Juan Diego may still be seen, just as it was seen by the bishop in 1531.

Lacy at Catholic Icing  has a great post on the feast day of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe here.  I love all the resources she has for this feast day!  (can you tell I am a BIG fan of  Lacy's site and CCC with all my links to them? )

I can't say enough good things about CCC and their saints and heroes 11 DVD collection and all their other resources!  My children watch these DVDs over and over again no matter what feast day it is!  If you hurry, you can receive FREE shipping on your order with CCC until Dec. 10 using this Coupon Code: CCC120810
Thanks again Lacy for the coupon code...I've already put my order in to complete my saints and heroes DVD collection!

 
I'll be posting about other beautiful feast days coming up soon and I'm thinking a link back to Lacy's site and CCC will be included :)
There are so many fun ways to celebrate our Catholic faith with my family and I give Joy to the World when I embrace my faith and share it with my family and friends!

I also give Joy to the World when I tell others about this great giveaway from Stories for the Homeschool Heart!
I posted about the book, Stories for the Homeschool Heart, on this blog post and I love this beautiful book! I'm actually rereading it now because each time I read it I gain new insight and encouragement!  Now just in time for Christmas, there is a contest going on by Stories for the Homeschool Heart through December 16, 2010! They will be adding as many prizes as they can find!  Click HERE for details about this great giveaway!

I give Joy to the World when I remember the true meaning of Christmas by celebrating Saint Nicholas' Feast Day with my family, which is on Dec. 6 each year.  Who was St. Nicholas, the person who is more commonly known as Santa Claus?  Find out more here at the St. Nicholas Center (dot) org.

It is a tradition in many households to set out your shoes by the fireplace or door so that St. Nicholas will leave small treats in the shoes to represent how St. Nicholas long ago showed God's love to others by leaving money for those in need.  We have our shoes ready by our fireplace again this year.  Here are our shoes from a few years back that were filled with chocolate gold coins and candy canes:


Another way our family and homeschool group celebrates St. Nicholas' Feast Day is by making cookies that look like good ole' St. Nick. I got the idea from Family Fun and they are so easy and fun to make.  Here is what they look like:


Here is a picture of our daughter from several years back making her St. Nick cookies:

Another fun way we celebrate and remember how Saint Nicholas shared God's love is by watching a CCC DVD titled, "Nicholas, The Boy Who Became Santa".

My family loves the CCC company and their award winning animated films DVD collection.  We have all their Saints and Heroes DVDs and my children watch these short and inspiring stories over and over again! I enjoy watching them too and I'm learning so much about our faith along with my children!  I highly recommend CCC as an excellent resource for teaching our faith to children young and old!

Be sure to check out Lacy's blog over at Catholic Icing for more St. Nicholas ideas and traditions and Jessica over at Catholic Cuisine has free St. Nicholas printables that fit onto standard chocolate coins in the post!

Also, one blogger will receive a $30 Target gift card from our "No Ordinary Blog Hop" giveaway! Just click on the button below for more details on how you can join this fun blog hop throughout December and try to win a Target gift card at the same time. Hurry! The last day to enter the giveaway is on Dec. 10th, but you can continue to link your blog hop posts until the end of December! 

 

Tomorrow our homeschool group will meet for our monthly activity where we separate the children in age groups, read a children's book pertaining to our faith, then do a craft and have a snack.  We will also have each of the age groups visit the church and pray for some time of Adoration before the tabernacle, which holds the Blessed Sacrament.

I will be leading the Pre-K through 2nd graders for our activity.  I will be reading the book What God Wants for Christmas.
The book goes along with the interactive kid-friendly nativity set, which has the 7 boxes and the pop-up manger scene.

My children love this book and interactive nativity set and I look forward to sharing this with our homeschool group.

After I read the book and have the children gradually discover what God wants for CHRISTmas, I will have them make a kid-sized Advent wreath using air-dry clay, green paint, purple and pink chenille stems for candles, and yellow/orange dot stickers for the flames.


Then they will paint the wreath green and place 4 chenille stems ("candles")  that I have cut 2 inches long.
I will give them 4 yellow/orange circle stickers and have them wrap one sticker around one purple candle.  Then this Sunday when the second week of Advent begins, the children can "light" another candle by placing a sticker on another purple candle.  So they can count down the weeks until CHRISTmas day with their own handmade wreath.


Here is a beautiful paragraph I found about the Advent wreath from "The History of the Advent Wreath" by Father William Saunders:

The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. A tradition is that each week represents one thousand years, to sum to the 4,000 years from Adam and Eve until the Birth of the Savior. Three candles are purple and one is rose. The purple candles in particular symbolize the prayer, penance, and preparatory sacrifices and goods works undertaken at this time. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, when the priest also wears rose vestments at Mass; Gaudete Sunday is the Sunday of rejoicing, because the faithful have arrived at the midpoint of Advent, when their preparation is now half over and they are close to CHRISTmas. The progressive lighting of the candles symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord’s first coming into the world and the anticipation of His second coming to judge the living and the dead. 

I give Joy to the World when I share great CHRISTmas books and do fun Advent crafts with the children in our homeschool group!


{Also, join Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet to Celebrate Christ.}
 

I give Joy to the World when I continually strive to create peace in my heart and home this Christmas season and always!