Remembering with Peace

It is hard not to think about the history of this day for our country, especially as a military family..."a date which will live in infamy."  I think we feel even closer to this historical event after our visit three years ago, along with meeting some of the survivors.  Pearl Harbor is just a special place...if you have never made the journey, then I encourage it because it was almost like a pilgrimage...I was surprised that a place that was such a tragedy was actually very peaceful.  

Remembering this experience really is a great way to enter into the second week of Advent.  Each week of Advent has a traditional theme and this week it is the desire for peace.  In this case, we are talking about the peace that only God can bring to our lives.

The children got a funny note from Sariel  this morning.  The Advent Angel had to apologize for not being ready with new activities for the day!  LOL...that is right...I did not get it ready last night...I fell asleep after an exhausting couple of days.  It all worked out because we had to race out the door for religious education classes (We waited to go to Mass with Michael this evening.).  Sean has been going to a class to discuss the references to the Bible for the Mass.  Henry is in a class that has great teachers that really get the teenagers discussing their faith.  Brendan loves his male teacher who always has lots of fun...today they discussed John the Baptist because of the Gospel reading for the day.  And, Edward... well he got a surprise...ME!  I got to sub in his class so we talked about prayer...and the model of prayer given to us by Jesus...the Our Father.  Zaira tagged along and enjoyed a snack while I was teaching.

We returned home and watched the first half of Tora! Tora! Tora! (It is a very LONG movie but very accurate and worth it to see.).  Then with the Advent Angel hidden (clever, right?), we had fun discussing the readings for Mass and thinking of a way to represent music for our mantel piece. Today Sariel asked us to think about Mary's response to Elizabeth.  This is often referred to as Mary's Song or the Magnificat.  

Michael arrived home from his Army training soon after we completed the activities.  We hopped in the van and listened to worship music as we headed to Mass.  Then we enjoyed a rare dinner at a restaurant before heading home.

We added straw to the manger in the nativity scene (We will add more throughout the season.).  Then an ornament with the Ten Commandments to the Jesse Tree.  Then off to bed for the children.  Snuggled under their covers, Michael was able to read more of the Advent story.  After we listened to a song about the day both sides of a war stopped to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  We do not have a children's book for this story but I have found two versions to add to our collection soon...Christmas in the Trenches and War Game.

We had another late night but it was a full day of learning.