Hail, Mary, Queen of May, Look upon our gardens. See our muddy hands, see weeds thrown aside, see sweat upon our brows.
Hail, Mary, Queen of May, Look kindly on us as we plant tiny seeds of faith, hope, and charity in young and youthful hearts.
Hail, Mary, Queen of May, Look lovingly as we tend tender plants. Remind us to till, to water, to protect, and to feed. Remember our gardens in your prayers.
Hail, Mary, Queen of May. By your immaculate heart, connected to Christ, pray for us here on earth, mothering through our days.
Hail, Mary, Queen of May, Special and loving mother of God, pray for your children and tend your garden now.
In the past nine months or so, I have been “backwards meal planning.” I have been simply writing down what we eat each day (save a couple months of not) in attempts to eventually create a full year meal plan for our family. I made tabs in a spreadsheet for each month and marked feast days and birthdays, plugging in the things we do each year for that feast/birthday. Eventually, I will have the year filled, can edit at will and print a month’s meals at a time to post to the refrigerator.
I knew that we were eating the same things over and over and that we tended to eat certain things at certain times of the year and on certain holidays. I figured I might as well write it all down and see what the details really are. I found there is plenty of variety. No one grows too picky and I am learning better what my family really enjoys eating. They are good eaters, so there are plenty of options. Planning ahead in this backwards way really gives me solid information as a homemaker.
Before I go today, I’ll share a funny anecdote. In January, my husband decided he wanted us to be gluten free without leaning on gluten free substitutes (GF pastas and breads) for various reasons. This was a bit of a blow to me, but I agreed.
Actually, I told him that was fine with me, but I would need his help meal planning. Meal planning is a burden to me after planning over a thousand meals a year every year for a dozen years. I felt like I was finally really succeeding in cooking meals the family liked and gluten free was about to throw a wrench in it. He agreed to plan with me.
So one day we sat down and he opened an AI program on his computer!! What?! I had not thought of doing that. It felt a little like cheating, but we prompted the AI anyway. It gave us a meal plan that was good, but not quite what we were looking for. It was just giving us lots of quinoa, hummus and lettuce wraps over and over. Nice things to eat, but we didn’t feel that was sustainable long term with our large family and hungry, growing children. I mean, there was no bacon–a naturally gluten free option.
We continued to adjust our prompt until we landed on ideas that worked for us. The final prompt? 1960’s middle class America, gluten free. We found the bacon, ham steaks, orange slices, potato salad, and much more. This was enough to get us going and we have been successfully gluten free this year. I will say, there are many other naturally gluten free meals that it did not list that we do eat on a regular basis. Things like pad thai, chana masala, and tacos. These are all yummy, filling meals our children enjoy.
If you are struggling with meal planning, have you considered doing it backwards or using AI to help you? What else do you do to help lighten the burden of 1,095 meals a year?
above: my Cobb salad. I love serving salad on this giant platter. It’s beautiful and enticing for the children.
It’s been seven months since we exchanged the noise and nerves of the DMV for the sights and sounds of historic Smith Island, Maryland. As taxing as it was to put all our belongings onto a U-Haul and then onto a barge and drive said U-Haul down the county dock, this was a good move. Let us tell you all about it!
One of our favorite sights on Tylerton is the incredible sky. Our island is roughly 2 square miles so we are surrounded by sky. Here the sun both rises and sets in both the east and west as the light is reflected in the cloud formations and the water all around. The photo of our home with the large front porch is of the eastern sky, but my friends, that’s a sunset. In the next photo (far left), you can see Brian and some of our kids watching storm clouds quite literally rolling in from the west (the Chesapeake Bay) side of the island.
Another beautiful sight is a half bushel of Chesapeake blue crab on our doorstep and an inflatable raft tied to our porch. Our neighbors have shown care and generosity as we settle into island life with five children. Everyone enjoyed playing with the crabs as Brian prepped the boil. We had a good laugh seeing how many crabs we could pick up at once! They all like to hold onto one another.
One September afternoon, during an especially high tide, the kids and I went out for a walk in the water. Some put on their swimsuits and I put on my husband’s chest waders for this event. The high tide is the island’s version of a community swimming pool, except the only people that swim in it are my kids. When we returned from our walk/swim, we found that a neighbor had tied an inflatable raft to our deck. The kids had been praying for a boat and here it was! What an answer! Back into the tide we went. And the kids got their first lessons in paddling a boat by themselves. Another neighbor called out to us, “There’s your Christmas photo!” and so you can thank him for the photo and letter this year. It was a good idea! In the photo, you can see the children in the raft, but where they are rafting is usually road. The tide came in about 3+ feet that day and covered much of the perimeter of the island. This was an abnormal tide because of a super blue moon and the moon also being in perigee at the time. It came up and covered the island twice a day for about four days.
Needless to say, we live very close the elements here on Smith Island. The summer is hot with little shade and the winter is cold and blowy with little protection. We have had gusts up to 50mph since mid-November. They come and go, like the ferry, but not with it! No, the ferry doesn’t run in high winds! But in the wilderness of it, we are making a happy home. It’s us, our neighbors, and our cat, Sir Gawain. He has found a new breath of life on the island. Once he recovered from the shock of attacking seagulls and fiddler crabs, he claimed for himself some territory and reigns with a free spirit in the house, lounging in only the best spots, like atop the A/C unit.
A memorable event on the island thus far was the 138th annual Camp Meeting this July. Smith Island is historically Methodist and was evangelized by itinerant preachers during the Great Awakening. At that time, the islanders built “The Tabernacle,” which is a semi-enclosed meeting hall. There is no air, but a few ceiling fans create a little breeze. These Camp Meetings take place on Ewell, Smith Island, which is one of the three villages that make up this little archipelago. It was lovely to take the boat over each night that week with our neighbors. They even invited me to sing one night. During the days, the kids participated in Bible School (Vacation Bible School) with lots of other kids on, or related to, the island. Many families use Camp Meeting week as a time for family reunion so there were lots of grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and such relations. The love of Christ is a clear way of life here.
Other memorable moments include: My husband digging a trench to help drain the backyard; being assigned our PO Box complete with a two dial letter-based combo lock (very old!); singing on the ferry; the kids saving marsh wrens that were stuck in some eel pots; our neighbors teaching us about peeler crabs; 4th of July on Tylerton; my kids offering their first performance in the annual Nativity play this Christmas Eve.
ISLAND FAQ’S
What do you do for school? We homeschool, as always. There are no running public schools on the island.
How often do you go to the mainland? Brian or I, and variations of kids, will go about once every ten days, on average.
How many people live on the island? There about 45 full time residents on Tylerton, about 150 on Ewell and Rhodes Point. There are also part-time residents and tons of summer traffic.
How long have people lived on Smith Island? Since about the 1620’s.
What do people do on Smith Island? Smith Islanders are historically watermen. They crab and oyster. This is shifting now toward tourism.
Are there cars on the island? No. There are no cars, save a couple work trucks and firetrucks, on Tylerton. Everyone uses golf carts, bikes, or feet. There are cars on Ewell and Rhodes Point.
Is the island all one? Yes and no. It’s an archipelago. It’s a collection of islands, but it’s all called “Smith Island.” There are three villages. Ewell and Rhodes Point are connected to each other by a strip of drivable land; all one island. Tylerton is separate from them by about a ten minute boat ride. There are waterways running between the islands.
Do you see many birds? Yes, we literally live on the edge of the marsh, which is gorgeous in itself. I hum “For the Beauty” a lot. Spring through early Fall, we see all kind of wading birds in our yard. Great blue heron, great egrets, snowy egrets, glossy ibises, little blue herons, and more. The birds are my favorite; they are so cool.
Is the island sinking? You will hear different takes on this issue. The island does experience erosion and we know that it used to be bigger. A rock jetty was installed in front of Ewell and Rhodes Point on the Bay side of the island and that seems to be helping. There are some other drainage issues on the island, resulting in the fun but dramatic high tides. My husband has been advocating for the island on this issue.
Why did you move to Smith Island? In the summer of 2023, we knew our time in the DC area was running out. We found the island beautiful, affordable, and intriguing. We thought this was a great opportunity to form ourselves and our kids in a unique way. It also allows my husband to write his dissertation in peace and quiet.
With that, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Here marks the end of another year. We mark it now with Christmas, the gift of the Christ child, the gift of Christ coming to us in an unremarkable form, a form defined by need and fragility. That lovely, lowly stable hosting eternity amidst mud and straw seems a poor, messy, unreliable host for a fragile King, let alone a needful Savior. And yet, that is us, so often standing with messy hair, muddy shoes, and pizza dough sticky hands trying to host the Christ child in my home.
Yes, we have had many unremarkable, poor and lowly moments hosting Christ this year in our home. Sometimes our eyes were too bleary eyed to really see him, but there he was nonetheless—no matter what. When we wiped our eyes and kneeled at the altar, he was there. When we lit our candles to pray, he was there. When we yelled at each other or worse, didn’t say a word to each other, he was there.
We humbly opened our stable each day and attempted to wrap the Christ child in warm blankets, but often it was really just the straw of scratchy words and irritation. “We’re sorry, Jesus.” we said, again and again. “This is all we have today. We can’t find the blankets. We found some muslin, but the straw pokes through. We’re sorry for the mess. We’re working on it.”
But Jesus just laid there and smiled. He waved his holy hands and made the sign of the cross. “Did you see that?” we asked one another. “He knows.”
We poured the broth from the roasted chicken and made soup. We served it to our sick children and invited the Lord to the table with us. Smile. Bless. He knows. We shushed each other impatiently during bedtime prayers and asked Jesus to forgive us our sins. Holy arms. Sign of the cross. Smile. He knows. We ran late to church. We lost our vision in piles of clean laundry, then later, dirty laundry. We gave up. We laid Jesus in the laundry basket. Smile. Coo. Holy arms. Bless you, children. He is doing something. He knows. I don’t know what he’s doing. We sang and sang and danced and played and studied and we asked Jesus to look what we can do. He laughed and smiled. Waved his hands in pleasure. He made the sign of the cross. He loved us.
And that is what he knew and we learned. His love is unending, great and powerful. His joy in us unnerving. His commitment to us full of justice. His peace beyond all knowledge.
In our simplicity, we just really wanted Jesus to be a part of lives, but we weren’t always sure how to welcome him in our stable. Until now, at Christmastime, when we realize how intentional God is. He didn’t end up in a stable by mistake. He arrived there quite on purpose. And if that is his choice, then it’s not all that far fetched to think that Christ feels quite comfortable in the middle of our messy, somewhat unstable, stable of a home. Straw, mud, and all.
“So no more apologies, Jesus. This is us and we are glad you’re here. Maybe this year, we can all move up to the house though.”
Here is a simple chorus from the 1970’s church. Easy to sing and easy to catch. That’s the beauty of it, really. As much as I love Gregorian chant and Bach and intricate harmonies, being able to join the chorus on the first round can really be a gift. I’m praying my kids go to sleep with this truth ringing in their ears, “Our God reigns.”
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7
He reigns at all times and in all circumstances. He reigns in all sovereignty during peace times and pandemics, during joy and sorrow, during waiting and receiving.
And this is indeed good news. Our universe is ordered by an all-knowing, all-powerful being and as an added bonus, this being loves us enough to send His one and only Son in the form of a baby, so rock our world and draw us all back to him.
All we have to do is claim Him as our own. Our God reigns.
Last night, we finished the second half of Wachet Auf. This is really not because my children couldn’t sit through a 30 minute cantata all at once. Oh, they can! No, simple bedtime math meant we really only had 15 minutes each night for Advent songs.
Wachet Auf really drove home for the kids the idea of Christ as the Bridegroom and the Church as His bride. We talked about the collective bride and the individual aspect of the bride. My kids are all under seven, but they all understand the special relationship of a bridegroom and bride. They understand that this pairing should never part one another. There is true faithfulness that must be seen between them.
As we moved one from Wachet Auf, I was impressed by this as well. Lord, my Christ, my Bridegroom, make me ever faithful.
After the cantata, we sang through “Hark, A Herald Voice is Calling” and then tonight, “Christ is Surely Coming.” Both of these tunes exhibit a bit of simplicity in music, using familiar tunes with various lyrics, but both draw attention to the coming Christ as one of great power, coming to do great things in the universe.
I find this so important to remember. Let us enjoy the nostalgia of the manger. Let us be in wonder of the God of the universe in the form of a baby. As my four year old said at dinner tonight, “It’s like Jesus is so much bigger than Mary, half of him was sticking out of her!” Ok, maybe we can think about it more eloquently, but it draws a interesting picture.
Yes, all of this is true. But let us also remember that the God of the universe came to do Godly, universal things. His power is never diminished; he is always Alpha, Omega, Judge, Savior, and Morning Star.
Hark! A Herald Voice is Calling
1. Hark! a herald voice is calling: ‘Christ is nigh,’ it seems to say; ‘Cast away the dreams of darkness, O ye children of the day!’
2. Startled at the solemn warning, Let the earth-bound soul arise; Christ, her Sun, all sloth dispelling, Shines upon the morning skies.
3. Lo! the Lamb, so long expected, Comes with pardon down from heaven; Let us haste, with tears of sorrow, One and all to be forgiven;
4. So when next he comes with glory, Wrapping all the earth in fear, May he then as our defender Of the clouds of heaven appear.
5. Honour, glory, virtue, merit, To the Father and the Son, With the co-eternal Spirit, While unending ages run. Amen.
Surely Christ is Coming
1 Christ is surely coming bringing his reward,
Alpha and Omega, First and Last and Lord:
Root and stem of David, brilliant Morning Star:
meet your Judge and Saviour, nations near and far;
meet your Judge and Saviour, nations near and far!
2 See the holy city! There they enter in,
All by Christ made holy, washed from every sin:
thirsty ones, desiring all he loves to give,
come for living water, freely drink, and live;
come for living water, freely drink, and live!
3 Grace be with God's people! Praise his holy name!
Father, Son, and Spirit, evermore the same.
Hear the certain promise from the eternal home:
'Surely I come quickly!' Come, Lord Jesus, come;
'Surely I come quickly!' Come, Lord Jesus, come!
Advent is just beginning. We are only five days in since Sunday and the theme of the bridegroom is strong. Today we watched the first fifteen minutes of J.S. Bach’s Cantata Wachet Auf (BWV 140), which means “Wake up!” or “Awake!”
The cantata is a beautiful setting for the parable of the wise virgins mixed with some reminiscence of the Song of Songs. It is a call for the bride to be ready for her bridegroom. Do not oversleep! Do not be caught unprepared!
The Bride, Zion, first longs for the Bridegroom. “When will you come?” she cries. He responds as he draws near, “I come as your portion…I open the hall…I come, come lovely soul.”
The Bride and Bridegroom join to feast and then comes these astounding words:
So come in to Me, you My chosen bride! I have to you eternally betrothed Myself. I will set you upon My heart, upon My arm as a seal, and delight your troubled eye. Forget, O soul, now the fear, the pain which you have had to suffer; upon My left hand you shall rest, and My right hand shall kiss you.
We are the chosen Bride, the church of God. He has eternally chosen us and sets us as a seal upon His heart.
We can forget now our pain, our fears, our sufferings and rest upon his left hand. What a powerful image to rest upon his hand. When I was engaged to my husband, we were once driving down the highway, my left hand holding his right hand. I asked if he needed his hand back to drive and he answered, “No, I only need one hand to drive the car. The other is to guide your heart.” How mushy and wonderful of him! But this is true, really. Each hand has a purpose, even for Christ. One to allow you to rest in the ride of life and one to show affection, leading your heart toward Him again and again.
Again, what teary eyes I have to consider the faithfulness of Christ to me. Oh, Christ, may I be ever faithful to you.
Staggered cookie distribution between showers for the boys, lego clean up, and a late-working husband, not to mention a fussy, tired baby. This is Advent and not just 2020. This is Advent for a busy household with little kids.
We ended up gathering in the girls’ room to sing our nightly Advent song, discuss our focus for the season, and pray they all sleep well tonight. We sang through a simple hymn called “The Advent of our King.” Each verse is only four lines, so the whole tune takes about a minute-thirty to sing. We sang it through a couple of times.
“Tribute is not a real word, Mom,” chimes my four-year old with rolling eyes. So we talked about that!
I explained that a tribute is a gift given to someone who saves you. It could be said, given the context of tributes in war, that it is a payment to someone who conquers you. The kids reserved their belief a little longer. “What do you mean conquer?”
“Well, yes,” I said, “Jesus is the great conqueror, isn’t he? He conquered sin and death and Satan, all for us. He saved us from all those things. We certainly owe him tribute. We give him the tribute of our entire lives. And we show that we are doing this by acting in kindness and love to those around us in His name.”
I encouraged the kids to really think about how to show an abundance of kindness during the Advent season this year. We are trying to think outside the box of just saying “please” and “thank you.” What could they do to really surprise someone with kindness? Clear some else’s dinner plate, say a prayer for someone, write a love card, make your bed without being asked, make someone else’s bed!
A few days ago, we started writing down these acts of kindness on little strips of orange and brown (being out of yellow) construction paper and adding them to a manger in our living room, thus preparing a place for Jesus in our home and hearts. Tonight’s hymn fit right in with our current, daily conversation. Blessed providence.
Of course, this kindness activity challenges me, as well. I’m happy to say I did take time to write a little love note to my husband today to include with his lunch delivery. The more I mention it to the kids, the more I realize that I really need a good shaking out of myself to get to the heart of kindness. I must decrease, so He may increase.
What else can we do for one another to show real, thoughtful kindness?
Enjoy the lyrics below. THE ADVENT OF OUR KING (Williams/Coffin)
1. The advent of our King Our thoughts must now employ; Then let us meet him on the road With songs of holy joy.
2. The coeternal Son A maiden’s offspring see; A servant’s form Christ putteth on, To set his people free.
3. In glory from his throne Again will Christ descend, And summon all who are his own To joys that never end.
4. Our joyful praises sing To Christ, who set us free; Like tribute to the Father bring, And Holy Ghost, to thee.
Today I am here to tell you that it is OK to mix things up and do what works for you. Advent does not have to be fancy, just humble and open. Here is how tonight went:
I had some peppermint ice cream in the freezer and angel food cake (obiligatorily made after making several “yolk only” dishes for Thanksgiving) left over from the weekend. So I sat my kids at the kitchen island to feast, talk about their kind deeds from the day, and begin learning a new to us hymn. We very simply, and in undecorated fashion, watched youtube videos of the hymn to catch the tune.
We found one video that included the sheet music and lyrics. This was truly helpful except for the fact that the page turns were slightly delayed, leaving us to guess the endings of words. Will it be “advances” or “advanceth”? Oh, nope! “Advancing.”
I had heard this hymn before, but it is not in my historical Advent rotation and it’s not in any of my hymnals. But it is a fairly common Catholic hymn, I believe. I love it. It makes me teary every time I am made to sing the word “Bridegroom.” That’s my Jesus, my Bridegroom. He is coming for me. He is drawing near.
How often do we consider that he is coming for us? To be our very own salvation? How often do we stare our need for a savior in the face? How often do we prepare our hearts to receive him, the most holy God?
We must trim our candles (a habit my earthly husband is constantly trying to instill in me) and be prepared. Don’t let your heart be clouded by the smoke of only recently cleaning house and trying to cover up stench with pine-scented wax. Trim your candle now.
Fill your lamp with oil this Advent. Do not be caught unaware. Do not be running around at the last minute, wishing you were more well-stocked on holiness. Fill your lamp with the oil of prayer, kindness, fasting, generosity, sacrifice.
Now, watch and listen. Through your lenten sufferings, you will hear the midnight cry proclaiming. It will sound like a baby, the holy infant child.
REJOICE, REJOICE, BELIEVERS by Laurentius Laurenti (1700)
1 Rejoice, rejoice, believers, and let your lights appear! The evening is advancing, and darker night is near. The Bridegroom is arising and soon he will draw nigh; up, watch in expectation! At midnight comes the cry.
2 See that your lamps are burning, replenish them with oil; and wait for your salvation, the end of earthly toil. The watchers on the mountain proclaim the Bridegroom near; meet him as he approaches, with alleluias clear.
3 You saints, who here in patience your cross and suff’rings bore, shall live and reign forever, when sorrow is no more: around the throne of glory the Lamb you shall behold, in triumph cast before him your alleluias clear.
4 Our hope and expectation, O Jesus, now appear; arise, O Sun so longed for, above the darkened sphere. With hearts and hands uplifted, we plead, O Lord, to see the day of earth’s redemption that sets your people free!
We sing an Advent song each night while we wait for the birth of the Christ child. Some years I hang up our Advent tree-story board that I made, some years I don’t. This is a treeless year. We are keeping it simple and besides, much of the crafty tree I made is broken by now and I am not up for glue sticks this season.
Tonight we sang the very classic and borderline over-sung beauty “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” I could never commit to this being an over-sung piece, though. It comes from a very old tradition where the church sings the names of Jesus during the last seven days of Advent; this is called the “O Antiphons.” The O Antiphons begin on December 17 and lead up to Christmas Eve.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel echoes these names of Christ. How impacting they are to consider.
Before you read the lyrics below, consider which one you are walking in today. Are you in lonely exile? Call on God with You. Are you suffering the tyranny of death or sickness personally or with a loved one? Call upon the Rod of Jesse.
Are you lost in the gloomy clouds of night? O Dayspring, Come! Do you know misery too well? The Key of David makes a safe way to heaven!
Do you suffer from indecision or murky waters of morality? Consult Adonai who gives a perfect law! Call upon Wisdom!
Are you tired of division and quarreling? Pray, O Desire of Nations, come. Bring peace. Bring heavenly peace.
Wherever you are, there is God who hears your prayers.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory o’er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come And open wide our heav’nly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Adonai, Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height, In ancient times didst give the law In cloud and majesty and awe. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, And order all things, far and nigh; To us the path of knowledge show, And cause us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Desire of nations, bind All peoples in one heart and mind; Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease; Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Naphtalia 