A Call to Advent

Christmas--it’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s also the busiest and most stressful time of the year.  As women, we often feel an enormous amount of pressure to make Christmas perfect for our family.  We have to buy the perfect gifts, decorate the perfect tree, send out the perfect Christmas cards with the perfect family photo, bake the perfect treats, and cook the perfect Christmas dinner. 

But the season of  Advent, which begins Sunday, December 2, is about slowing down to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.  It is a time to prepare our hearts for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and a time of anticipation for the return of Christ as King. Our hearts should long for deliverance from the evils of this world, and hope that God, however distant He sometimes seems from this commercialized holiday, will bring about a renewed desire in our hearts to anticipate the second coming of the Messiah, who will bring peace and justice to earth someday.

What can this slow-down look like in our own lives? Women often get wrapped up in comparing ourselves to others, and worrying about projecting a perfect image to the world, at least I know I do. Stop comparing, and put everything into perspective this year.  Imagine what Christmas would be like if you cut back on the stress, only bake half as many cookies, only send cards to those you won’t spend time with at Christmas this year, donate money to a charity in lieu of gifts among friends or neighbors. Give gifts of “future fun” for friends or cousins--a zoo pass, or children’s museum or science center membership.  Find a way to focus on helping others.  Buy a gift for a child in Mexico or invite over a friend or neighbor who doesn’t have family nearby and include them in your celebration.  Donate your spare change to Young Lives and involve your entire family.  Teach your children to focus on the giving of gifts, rather than the getting from a young age.

It is important to establish these traditions with your children, but it is also important for us to reflect on advent as a time of waiting, and renewal in our own hearts.  We have celebrated Advent in my home since I can remember, from lighting the Advent wreath and singing Christmas carols around the tree. As far back as I can remember, my parents taught me to reflect upon the birth of our Savior and to eagerly anticipate his second coming as King.  It is my prayer that you all take a few moments to slow down this season of Advent and to give your children this greatest and most precious gift.  After all, isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

Baby Sock Advent Calendar

Why is it no matter how careful we try to keep socks together as a pair, we lose so many random socks?!  Well, the following adorable idea from Martha Stewart will help put all those random socks to use and help implement a fun family activity--a sock advent calendar! I love that the idea incorporates using baby socks. So break out those cherished little items, take a walk down memory lane of how small our babies feet once were, and create this easy project. Click here for full instructions from Marthastewart.com

Image from www.marthastewart.com

Christmas Traditions

Some of the best gifts--if not the best!-- we can ever give our kiddos are those that do not come in boxes... but sweet memories of family traditions. We asked some of our fellow mom2mom's what some of their favorite Christmas traditions are... so grateful they shared! Read on for some great ideas to perhaps implement into your own Holiday this year. We would also love to hear what you plan to do or already do as a family, leave us a comment!

Liz Garrett

Fave Christmas traditions:

Elf on a shelf

Advent activity calendar (one per day--zoo lights, pajama ride to look at lights, christmas movies---charlie brown, grinch, polar express, frosty, Rudolph, nestor the christmas donkey, etc, crafts, Polar Experience)

Railroad park

Christmas pjs 

Christmas eve service

Gift for kids in mexico

dinner @ tia rosas

Bake cookies & decorate (deliver to neighbors)

Read christmas story

Ugly christmas sweaters (we wear to open gifts on christmas morning!)

Decorate tree while playing christmas music & drinking peppermint hot chocolate

Pics with santa

Visit a living nativity

Christmas show/pageant 

Julie Hydzu

Christmas Eve:

Every year we do the 5:00 church service, then go home to a Mexican Fiesta dinner with family and open Christmas gifts from each other.  When finished my family drives around with hot chocolate looking at Christmas lights while we try to dodge Rudolf peeing on our windshield...he always gets us :)...(washer fluid)  Also, each child at midnight gets to open a gift from an out of town relative.

Christmas morning:

The children wake up to cinnamon rolls and we play a little "game" before we open gifts.  Adam and I hide an angel ornament in the tree and whoever finds it first gets to put Baby Jesus in the manager of our Nativity set. (It's funny how competitive they get trying to find the angel!) Also, Santa only brings 1 big gift for each child and Adam and I give them 3 each (representing Jesus's three gifts)  After all the gifts are open, we read the "the Candy Cane.”  For dinner we have a "typical" Thanksgiving dinner meal with friends and family and sing Happy Birthday Jesus with a cake. Also, on Christmas afternoon, we go visit our little boy, Austin, at the cemetery and take him a gift.

Shelley Kunert

I couldn't decide which tradition to share so I asked my kids what is their favorite.  They both said they like the advent calendar "countdown".  This is a new tradition we started after Nancy shared about holiday traditions at mom2mom a couple years ago!  

In our advent calendar I put slips of paper for a special holiday activity, outing or little gift for each day.  It was mainly for the kids so I made my husband his very own advent calendar.  The first year I put special messages in small gift boxes with the date printed on the outside for him to open each day.  Last year I made it more of a riddle for him to solve.  I got the biggest kick of that because it was a goofy line written on golf balls from one of our favorite Christmas movies, A Christmas Story.  

I attached a picture if you would like to see it!  I used as much code as I could to stump him but he guessed it after day 19! The message said, "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine. LY, S."

Diane Silashki

Here are a few things we have done over the years that have stood out to our kids. Some of our traditions have changed as our kids have grown, but many good memories were made. 

Gingerbread house making party: invite your children's friends and their parents over. Provide everything for them to build a gingerbread home for their family. This was a great way to meet your kids friends/parents and a special outreach for the holiday season.

Bake cookies/exchange girls lunch: each year I invited my mom, sisters and nieces for a Christmas girls lunch. Everyone baked two or three varieties of their special cookies and after lunch we exchanged. (Note: my dad, brothers and nephews dropped the girls off and went out for a "boys" day out which was typically lunch and then a visit to a air museum or car show. When they came back to pick up the girls, they enjoyed some of the cookies.)

Nutcracker Ballet Outing: When I was a little girl, I was a dancer in the Nutcracker ballet. My daughter followed in my footsteps and danced in the Nutcracker too. We still love this seasonal ballet and over the years since then, my husband and I still try to take our daughter (now 22) and our 17 year old son to see the ballet, followed by going to a restaurant for a special dessert.

Jaime Tischler

Favorite memories of traditions from childhood:

Leaving cookies and milk out for Santa...and a carrot for the reindeer

Dressing up and going to see the Nutcracker Ballet at Gammage

Gingerbread House making

Entire cul-d-sac would light paper luminaries... walking the street with mom on Christmas Eve

Our Dad would go outside of our windows late Christmas Eve and shake jingle bells and the next morning always ask if we heard Santa :-)

Buying Christmas ornaments the day after Christmas on sale for the following year :-)

Favorite traditions now implementing with Bobby, Blake & Ryker:

Making mom-in-law’s amazing homemade hot cocoa mix

Buying kiddos matching--err--coordinating Christmas PJs

Reading ‘Yes, Virginia’

Special shopping day with Blake for a Salvation Army Angel Tree gift

Leaving cookies and milk out for Santa... Bobby takes a bite of cookies and sips milk so there is ‘evidence’ of Santa having arrived

Advent calendar box...filled with Hershey Cookie & Creme kisses

Driving around with Starbucks to see Christmas lights

Opening up the stockings last on Christmas morning

Black Friday Shopping Tips

Who heads into the madness known as Black Friday shopping? It's a fun family tradition for many of us!  Before you head out, here are a few tips and web sites that can help you stay on track and also guide you to good deals. Have good tip as well? Leave us a comment to share with everyone!

Ideas before you head out:
-Make a list of items you'd like to score
-Also take a copy of your 'master' Christmas gift list aka list items you need to pick up for family members, friends, teachers, etc.
-Know your budget
-Charge your smart phones! Forbes.com compiled a great list of the best apps for Black Friday shopping. Check it out here
-Don't forget about 'Cyber Monday.' Looking to avoid the crowds? Some of the best online deals take place on 11/26 (the Monday after Black Friday). Head over to your favorite retailers' websites and sign up for the emails to receive notifications of their Cyber Monday deals.
-Take a deep breath. Remember what we really are celebrating :-) Enjoy the memories!

Online resources:
www.blackfriday.bradsdeals.com 
www.bfads.net 
www.pinchingyourpennies.com

Thank you Liz & Jessica for the tips!

November Meeting Recap

Giving Thanks...In All Things

What a great meeting!! Our guest speaker this month was Sarah Herrman, RMCC's Elementary & Event Coordinator. Along with giving us great resources and ideas from books, music CDs, and projects to do as a family, Sarah focused on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.... Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (ESV).

Oh, what a great couple of verses to rest on as we head into the busy Holiday season!

Sarah challenged us to begin a Joy Journal. Any form of notebook will do. Write only about joy in this particular journal. Write daily, write weekly. Use it as a tool to look back on and say "wow, God has brought me this."

In conclusion, Sarah also left us with two questions to ponder and answer...
1) What does your life in Christ look like when days are dark and weary?
2) Are there things (people, activities, circumstances, etc) that trump Jesus in your life?

General Announcements

Family Fun Night (TONIGHT!) Friday, November 16th

Join us for a great night of smore's, worship, star gazing and being a part of the RMCC community.

Please click here to register

FLIP THE SWITCH & CHRISTMAS LIGHTS @ RMCC

• November 23, 2012
• Time: 6:00pm – 8:30pm

Come and enjoy hot chocolate and homemade cookies as you listen to Christmas music and we turn on our Christmas Lights at 6:30pm.

Friday, November 23 – lights get switched on at 6:30 p.m. and you can take a Hay Ride around the property to hear the story of the lights.

Project 1:27

By Kirsten Abbiatti

Project 1:27 is a new ministry at RMCC for adoption, foster care, global orphan care and support. The name was chosen based on James 1:27 (Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep one self from being polluted by the world). We believe this verse says it all!!!

Project 1:27's goal is to do just that!  We truly believe this is  a calling to each and every one of us as believers, but in many different ways! Some, may be called to foster and/or adopt a  child! And we hope to be a source of support and information for anyone traveling or considering that option. Others, may be called to care for these "unwanted" in other ways, such as….. walking along side and praying fervently or even providing a meal for a family who has just taken a new foster placement! Rocking sweet babies at The Child Crisis Center in Mesa, mentoring/teaching at Womens Hope Shelter or helping with a project at Sunshine Acres! There is a place and roll for anyone willing to give of themselves to be used by God!

Our first event will be Thursday, November 15th at RMCC from 6-8:30, in room G-8. This event will be a panel format consisting of those who attend RMCC who have served in one of the above ways! We are excited to share personal experiences and what the Lord has done in our lives and ways that other can get involved! Big or small! 

If you would like to attend you can sign up by clicking here. Childcare is provided but please sign up as early as possible if you will be needing childcare so rooms can be staffed appropriately! :)

For more information, please contact Tony Curtisi at 480-807-5868 and or myself Kirsten Abbiatti at 480-296-9736. 

RMCC Garage Sale

RMCC GARAGE SALE

Garage Sale benefits Rocky Point Family Missions. This event is the perfect venue for getting involved by simply cleaning out your closets! Donations will only be accepted on Friday, November 9th from 8am to 6pm only due to the lack of storage space at the church. The Garage sale opens to the public Saturday November 10th at 7am and ends at 2pm. 

DONATION DROP OFF INFO

• November 9, 2012
• Time: 8:00am – 6:00pm
• Please have items separated by categories: Mens clothes, Women's clothes, Children's clothes, toys, etc. 
• Simply drive up to church and you will be directed to each donation spot. 

Thanksgiving Inspiration Board

Thanksgiving Craft: Thankful Jars

There were just way too many cute adaptations to this great idea! So we decided to post a few of our favorites from Pinterest. Some are more intricate and time consuming, and some would make a great craft project with the kiddos.

How to? Click here

How to? Click here

How to? Click here

Thanksgiving Treat

How to? Click here.


Thanksgiving Tabletop Decor

Message Tree. How to? Click here

LOVED this idea: use butcher paper as your 'tablecloth' for the kids' table. Stack baskets full of crayons and art supplies.
How to? Click here


Twist On Traditional Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Martha Stewart Maple Whipped Sweet Potatoes

How to? Click here

Breadless Stuffing

How to? Click here

November Book Club Recap

Yesterday we met for our second mom2mom book club, wrapping up the second half of The Five Love Languages of Children. Thank you Cheryl for leading us in a great discussion!

If you attended this semester's book club and have comments and feedback please let Cheryl know your thoughts: jcwash815@aol.com

A few key points from today:
- Keeping our kids' love tanks full is key. The younger our kids are the more often we will need to fill their 'cups' with all five love languages.

-Making a conscious effort to parent our children the way they need is also important.

-Become multi-lingual: don't just peg your children with one love language label. Kids will always need all five love languages shown.

-Disclipine: look at it as a training, not punishment. Help make it easy for your kids to obey by setting the right tone. Ask yourself, "what does my child need when she misbehaviors?" And always remember that speaking your child's love language before and after punishment is important.

For more resources please visit: 5lovelanguages.com