Adventures of Holas~ Part Dos

I went to post the third part of Holas' adventures and realized that I never actually published this one:( One day in this life I hope to catch up....today is probably not going to be that day and tomorrow is not looking too hot either :) 

The Ayres Family is still trucking through this Advent Season and trying to do some good out there.  There have been lots of opportunities for lessons, humility, and forgiveness.  Remember our elf is different in that we have "missions" to do daily.  Here are a few more of our missions:

MISSION #6

"It is the Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe 12/12/12!! Have a great day learning all about this special occasion and have a special Mexican feast tonight! Don't forget to continue your novena for Sawyer."

Our family is blessed with going to a Catholic school where their faith can be embedded in them even more. The school and church had set up a few special activities for the kiddos that went perfectly with our mission of learning all about the special feast day.  They met in the gym before Mass and saw a reenactment of the story of Juan Diego, then they processed over to Mass singing a traditional hymn and presented Mary with flowers.  Unfortunately Kaia did not get the memo that it was early Mass and was a bit of a stinker and we missed the whole thing:( However, we did make it over to the school after Mass for the rest of the celebration.  The Matachine dancers performed and then they had prepared a native cider for the kiddos to try.  

Sawyer wasn't for sure how he felt about the drums and the wolves....

After school. I took the kiddos down to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church and we watched some more dancing.  They really liked it.  I have a special place in my heart for Our Lady of Perpetual Help here, it is the church where my mother grew up and it reminds me of her family.  The front pew on the left is dedicated to my beloved Grandma Toni, who I never had the privilege of meeting but who I feel I have come to know through memories.  When we got home, Holas was waiting in a bowl of chips for the rest of the fiesta.  While I prepared dinner, Cohen and Miayla watched a video about the miracle of Our Lady.  We had tamales, Mexican egg rolls, and churros as part of our feast.  By the end of the night, Sawyer had more than warmed up to the drums and became our own little drummer boy!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

MISSION #7

 December 13th is the Feast of St. Lucia! St. Lucy is the patron saint of those with visual impairments and her name means light.  Jesus is the Light of the World. Say a special prayer for all those with visual impairments and have a fun family activity tonight. Novena.

There are a lot of fun things you could do for the Feast of St. Lucia and next year I plan to do more.  This year we kept it pretty simple and just learned about her. 

 The fun family activity was going to Illuminations.  Through out our walk, we talked about Christ's light and the light of everlasting life. I don't think they really got any of this part, but they smiled and nodded anyway :)

 Sawyer absolutely LOVED Illuminations and it was nice to see him so happy knowing in a few days he wouldn't be so happy.

Holas enjoyed it too:)

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

MISSION #8

BABIES, BABIES, WE LOVE BABIES!! 

The miracle of life is such an amazing gift and must be cherished.  Please make a donation to A Better Choice to help moms who are making the BEST CHOICE-LIFE.  Say a special prayer for all the unborn babies in the world.  Continue your Novena.  

We try to make a few donations through out the year to A Better Choice and the Gerard House. I love that after they read their mission, Cohen knew exactly the place Holas was talking about.

We took some baby clothes, bath tub, diapers, and some other baby items.  

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

MISSION #9

HOLAS was hiding inside the Krispy Kreme box! 

"Donut-cha just LOVE cookie day?! We are so blessed to be part of such an awesome family! Enjoy today with everyone and say a special prayer to the Holy Family on your way to Cookie Day"

Right before Christmas, every year, for the last 21 years, my mom, her three sisters, and all of their kids and now their kids' kids get together and make a big assortment of cookies.  We look forward to it every year and it is such a special day.  Overwhelming, a tad...trying to help 4 kiddos frost sugar cookies can be a bit chaotic, but the memories are definitely worth it!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

MISSION #10

Well.....there was some misfortune on Mission #9 day.  The kiddos kind of became crazy about who the first one was to find Holas.  Miayla said she was first because she spotted the donut box.  Cohen said he was the one that actually opened the donut box and found Holas...and they argued.  Big time argue and we were NOT happy about it.  So Sunday morning, when they awoke, they found a note that read:

"It is with a sad heart that after I reported back to St. Nick last night, he said I could not return home until your behavior changes.  No one was happy with the arguing yesterday and MY mission is to help draw your hearts closer to Christ this Advent, not make you become mean to each other.  I hope you will apologize to each other and practice forgiveness.  Keep trying and hopefully I can come home soon.  I miss you sooooo much!

~Holas"

They were pretty shocked to see this.  Cohen called me out on it and said that I talked Holas into writing the note because on Saturday I had said "I wouldn't be surprised if Holas did not come back after that little episode." :) Either way, They got the memo.  Behavior on Sunday was much better and they both apologized to each other and forgave each other.  I am glad that we had the opportunity to have this little lesson.  I felt that they had a "mission" that was more relatable than others.  Yes, the good works of making donations should be practiced frequently, but humility and forgiveness are everyday occurrences that I feel reaches them at a different level. The fact that others "noticed" their nasty behavior and it was not okay, made them rethink their actions.  We have been working on "responsibility for our choices" a lot and this unintentionally tied in quite well.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!