Day 7 - Last Day of 2013

Wow Cloë I cannot believe it is the last day of 2013 and that tomorrow we start a new year!

Time does fly Tallulah! So what New Year's Resolution will you be making Tallulah?

What the heck is that Cloë?

Well Tallulah it is a promise you make to yourself to help you be better during the coming year.

I think I am going to try really hard not to jump up on people, because I know it scares them even though I'm just saying hi!

What about you Cloë?

Sometimes I can be pretty stubborn, so I'm going to work harder at listening when our master calls.

If you are still having trouble with this idea of a New Year's Resolution, check out this story.

(youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EShRx12Xw3Y)

How about all of you? What are you going to try and improve during this coming year?

Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

Day 7

Day 6 of Christmas

Well we are halfway through the Christmas Season Tallulah.

So what is today's project Cloë?

I thought maybe we could teach everyone how to make their own Baby Jesus. Well actually it is Catholic Icing's Lacy who came up with this craft, but we think it is a neat one.

 

 

You'll find the instructions by clicking here. Be sure to scroll down until you come to them.

And for something just silly and fun click here for a whole bunch of Online Christmas Games.

Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

Day 6

 



Day 5 - Feast of the Holy Family

Today is day 5 of Christmas and an important feast day that everyone can relate to!

That's right Cloë, today we celebrate the Holy Family and we all come from a family so it's doubly exciting.

So be sure to do something today as a family! If you live in the diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall you could come skating at the Benson Centre from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

and/or you could go bowl in our Family Bowling Challenge at Quilles Nativité Bowl.

Here is a fun song about Jesus' birth. It's one of our favourites and we can still sing it because it is still Christmas!!

(youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YurJsAVorg)

Check out today's activity and recipe.

And finally we want to say good-bye to Fr. George Maloney. Today is his last day at St. Francis de Sales parish

Hey Cloë that's our parish!

Yes I know Tallulah, that is why we are saying good bye. As I was saying, because Fr. George has decided he is going to retire.

We are going to miss him.

Merry Christmas! Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

Day 4 - the Feast of the Holy Innocents

Today is a special feast day Tallulah, do you know what we remember today?

No I don't Cloë.

Well Herod was in charge of Israel when Jesus was born. He was very scared when he heard that a king was to be born. He was scared because he thought this king was going to take away his power. Herod was not a nice guy, so he decided to have all the little baby boys killed so that this king could never take over.

Was Jesus the king he was worried about, Cloë?

Yup. To stay safe, the Angel Gabriel told Joseph in a dream to take Mary and Jesus and escape to Egypt.

On this day every year we remember all those baby boys.

(youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkN8YxNlhrE)

 Merry Christmas! Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

Day 4

 

 

Day 3 - We Remember John

Today is the feast of Saint John. John was one of Jesus' 12 apostles. 

He was one of Jesus' best friends and was the only apostle that was there when Jesus died.
 
Here is a neat video that tells us all about John.
 

 
(youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUgvWbKqFkQ)

John is one of the four people who wrote a Gospel.

We found this cool website that has some of John's writings along with pictures made by kids. Check it out and maybe you can make some of your own drawings.
 

Finally, don't forget to come skating at the Benson Centre here in Cornwall this Sunday (December 29) from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm - there will be cookies and hot chocolate. It's another great way to celebrate Christmas with your family.

 

Hey check out what Pope Francis is up to during this Christmas season!

 

Merry Christmas! Woof! Woof!

 

Cloë and Tallulah

 

Don't forget about the 12 days of Christmas

 

 

 

Day 2 of 12

Merry Christmas Everybody! Yup we can still say that because it's still Christmas!

Are you sure Cloë?

I am Tallulah. Lots of people don't realize that Christmas starts on the  25th not ends. Christmas is 12 days and runs until January 6th when the kings come to see Jesus.

Actually in our churches it goes past the 6th but we'll talk about that later.

Wow I'm sure glad we are telling people about this. That means they can keep celebrating!

They sure can Tallulah and here is a neat website to help them celebrate. And every day they suggest an activity to do and a recipe to make!

So today on the 2nd day of Christmas we remember Saint Stephen who was the very first martyr of the Church. Here is Vic's drawing of Saint Stephen. And if you go to Happy Saints you'll find some neat pictures of Jesus' birth.

 

Finally, here is a picture of us with our cousin Ripley! I think I saw an angel!

 

Merry Christmas! Woof!

 

Don't forget that the Family Bowling Challenge at Quilles Nativité Bowl starts on Friday the 27th.

 

Cloë and Tallulah

A Saviour is Born!

Today in the city of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

(Luke 2:11)

 

Merry Christmas!

Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah 

Christmas Eve!

As you wait for Santa to arrive with your presents be sure to remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

 

 

Even Santa knows that!

 

 

 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

 

Woof!

 

Cloë and Tallulah

Putting up the Christmas Tree

We have sure been busy with Christmas trees haven't we Cloë! On Saturday we helped our granny put up her tree and on Sunday we helped our uncle put up our master's tree!

We sure have Tallulah. But you know who worked really hard to put up a Christmas tree?! The pope's people. Watch this video of them putting up the tree in St. Peter's Square.

Woa! that's a gigantic tree! I bet some big gifts can fit under there!

Actually Tallulah, you are not so wrong about that. The Vatican puts a giant Nativity Scene under that tree and of course Jesus is the best gift of all!

What else did we do yesterday Tallulah?

Well we went to Mass for the final Sunday of Advent! And here is the last of the 4 Advent posters that Vic over at Happy Saints has drawn.

Love - that's what Jesus is all about!

Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

Happy Birthday Pope Francis!

 

or Feliz Cumpleaños as they say in Spanish, the Pope's mother tongue.

 

Today Pope Francis turns 77 years old!

 

 

Pope Francis' real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

 

(Pope Francis as a young priest)

 

He chose the name Francis in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi.

 

 

He comes from Argentina which is in South America.

 

(Argentina is that big blue country.)

 

Here is a link to learn how to draw a picture of Pope Francis.

 

 

Finally, here is a prayer for Pope Francis. Although he was elected back in March, he is still pretty new in the job, so we think this is still a good prayer!

 

Dear Lord,

 

We rejoice in the election of our new Holy Father, Pope Francis I. What a wonderful gift you have bestowed upon us in this courageous leader!

 

We thank you for your continued guidance of our Most Holy Church, and we pray you continue to extend your blessings to our Church Fathers and all your faithful.

 

We ask that you be with Francis now, as he embarks on a great undertaking, shepherding, stewarding, and renewing the flock.

 

We pledge to you, our Lord, our most true and humble obedience to your will through our

Holy Father who guides and fosters us through these turbulent times.

 

Amen.

 

To learn more about Pope Francis and to look at more pictures, visit the Vatican's Website.

 

Woof!

 

Cloë and Talluah

Christmas Cards

Hi Everybody!

We hope you had a good 3rd Sunday of Advent!

Did anybody do any baking? Our master did not bake but she bought some yummy treats from the bakery!

Our project for today is to send out Christmas cards! Did you know that the tradition of sending out Christmas cards comes from England? More than a 170 years ago!

Vic over at Happy Saints has some beautiful templates for making Christmas cards.

Visit his blog and you can download his Christmas Story eBook. Not only do you get some great pictures that you can use for cards but you also get a beautifully illustrated version of the birth of Christ.

If you don't want to make your own cards maybe you could send out Advent or Christmas cards by email. Go to Catholic e-Greetings.

Tomorrow December 17th is a special birthday! Can anyone guess whose it is? Tune in tomorrow to find out.

Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

Pink for the Third Sunday of Advent

I'm getting pretty excited Cloë, Christmas is almost here!

Well Tallulah that is one of the reasons that we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath this week. Pink is a joyful colour and it let's us know that we've almost made it.

You know what we have not done much of Cloë?

What's that Tallulah?

Baking!!! I think the 3rd Sunday of Advent is a great time to start.

Tallulah are you sure you are not a pig in a fur coat?! You are always thinking about your stomach.

Yes I am. I'm a growing dog Cloë!

Anyway, I found some kid friendly Christmas recipes. Here is one of my favourites - or at least it sounds good - Christmas Angel Ice Creams.

Click here for the list of recipes.

Have fun!! Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah

Jesus' Ancestors

Today we want to talk to you about Jesus' ancestors.

What are ancestors Cloë?

Ancestors are all the people that came before. They start with the mom and dad, aunts and uncles, then the grandparents and then the great grandparents and great aunts an uncles and on and on!

So although Jesus is God, He also became human, which is why He had ancestors. Do you know who some of his ancestors are Tallulah?

Let me think. Mary was his mom, and Joseph his dad here on earth. And Anne and Joachim were his grandmother and grandfather. I think that's all I know.

The Old Testament tells us that the Messiah, meaning Jesus, would descend from the house of David.

One of the ways to learn about Jesus' ancestors is to make a Jesse Tree!

Who is Jesse? And why does he have a tree named after him?!

Jesse was King David's father. And a Jesse Tree is like a family tree, but in this case the tree starts with Jesse!

Here are some links to download what you need to make your own Jesse Tree.

1. http://www.shalfleet.net/advent/jesseetree.htm

2. Lacy over at Catholic Icing has all kinds of neat ideas for a Jesse Tree.

3.  Catherine at the Domestic-Church website also has a pattern for a Jesse Tree.

This sounds like a great project Cloë for the last few days of Advent.

It sure does Tallullah! I hope people try it out.

Woof!

Tallulah and Cloë

Feast of Saint Lucy

Another exciting feast day Tallulah! Today, December 13th, we remember Saint Lucy! It's also a good day to remember our master's niece Lucy!

I'm sorry to interrupt Cloë, but are those eyeballs?!

They are indeed Tallulah. Saints are often pictured with something that symbolizes what they are patrons of. In Saint Lucy's case, people with eye problems will pray to her for her intercession.

Why is that Cloë?

The name Lucy comes from the Latin word lux which means light. So over the centuries people associated light and eyes.

Something else to know about Saint Lucy, is that in the Scandinavian countries, especially Sweden and Finland, this feast day is widely celebrated, probably because the dark nights are so long at this time of year.

Many schools and cities will elect a Lucia to dress in a white dress and a red sash and wear a crown or wreath of candles on her head to help celebrate the day.

Click here to download a paper Saint Lucy doll and to learn more about this saint.

Finally, here is a picture of us with our Lucy!
 

Woof!

Cloë and Tallulah