Blessing of the Candy Canes

I was reminded that I have this blessing in a prayer book on my own shelf:  St. Nicholas Day Blessing of Candy Canes

Good St. Nicholas, we honor you
on this your holy feast day.
We rejoice that you are the patron saint
and the holy symbol of joy
for many peoples of many lands.

Come, great-hearted saint,
and be our patron and companion
as we, once again, prepare our homes and hearts
for the great feast of Christmas,
the birth of the Eternal Blessing, Jesus Christ.

May these sweets, these candy canes,
be a sign of Advent joy for us.
May these candy canes,
shaped just like your Bishop's staff,
be for us a sign of your benevolent care.

We rejoice that you are the holy bringer of gifts
and that so many have been delighted
through your great generosity.
Help us to be as generous of heart.

Wherever these candy canes are hung,
on tree or wall or door,
may they carry with them
the bright blessing of God.
May all who shall taste them
experience the joy of God
upon their tongues and in their hearts.

We ask God, now, to bless
these your brightly striped sweets
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
From Prayers for the Domestic Church: A Handbook for Worship in the Home by Edward Hays, copyright © 1989 (revised) Forest of Peace Publishing. Used by permission.

St. Nicholas' Day

There were treats found in slippers or shoes that were discovered anywhere near the vicinity of the foot of the bed in each child's room.  Guess mine are too grown up to put their shoes by the door on the eve of St. Nicholas Day.  (I also wish they would put their shoes by the door every time they go in and out to keep the carpets cleaner, but I'm not wasting any more breath on that request.)  All three boys were delighted that the generous Saint had remembered them and they kissed their Mother.

Youth Group Having Fun

My EDGE youth group for junior high has been meeting weekly and having fun.  Here's pictures from the past three weeks as an update. We had a great response to the Golden Spatula Contests.  The girls' dessert winner was Sarah Aberer with Oreo Truffle Balls.  Then the boys' contest was won by cousins Wade and Isaac, who brought Snickers Ice Cream Pie.  This got us in the mood for Thanksgiving's feast.  For Advent, we made a 4-flap wreath, where each student can log their good deeds.

Fiddlers Three Welcome Santa

The Fiddlers Three woke up early for "Breakfast with Santa" and the Platte Valley Bank.  Over 250 people lined up for pancakes and a turn to sit on Santa's lap!  That long line required lots of background Christmas music.  But it was worth it for the breakfast we ate at the end, and the smiles on families' faces. We even had a few little guys stop and play the jingle bells with us to join in.

Choir Concert at Truman State

Here's the picture of Meggar's performance (from Nov. 13) with the Truman State Concert Choir.  She is right behind the piano--2nd from the right, front row, in black pants.  It was great that Dorito could attend, and I listened via cell phone.  Impressive!

More News From K-State

Some days, you get good news and some days, it's bad news.  Yesterday, I considered it a poor choice when the K-State Landon Lecture was awarded to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  Yes, she was governor of Kansas--which must be a more valuable resume-builder than governor of Alaska for some reason?!?  But she wasn't even from Kansas, and she graduated from KU.  (sheesh!)  There have been important Republicans also invited to speak, and I was proud to cover a couple of them for the K-State Collegian in my day.  Yesterday's topic was healthcare reform, and I just don't agree with her approach.  We've always paid our premiums, and I know it supports more than my own family.  A recent statistic shows that Medicaid pays for nearly 60 percent of all births here locally.  Families in NW Missouri are poorer than some and live babies are better than abortion, but unfortunately my tax dollars are also paying for those as well as every rash, hiccup, and runny nose.  When people begin to accept responsibility and hard work on behalf of their own families, then our healthcare system will offer care in proportion to profits.  I guess I've seen more than my share of health care in the past month.  I cannot help but wonder (as I sat for 4 hours in the E.R. and another 3 hours in the waiting room of the neurologist) how ObamaCare would improve the quality of service for my insurance dollar when the government is already bloated with no-payers.

Homeschooler at K-State

He's mature, mannerly, and poised beyond his peers. He's a football player as well as a musician and a dedicated student. (Hmmm, sounds familiar...)  The Wichita Eagle ran a front page profile two weeks ago about Collin Klein, the sophomore quarterback called up when the starting senior was injured.  The reporter said Klein has good posture, a firm handshake, and makes eye contact with adults.  As Alison would say, "We learned all that before First Communion." ;-)  Yes, Klein was homeschooled!  Of course, we were thrilled with the publicity and his recent success.  Not that homeschoolers are perfect, but having a K-State quarterback with those credentials definitely moves us up in the eyes of our relatives.  I could empathize when it was reported that his high school transcript was not appealing to some recruiters because he lacked a class rank.  But K-State liked his 4.0 GPA and Coach Snyder offered him a scholarship.  It proved to be a good investment as No. 7 broke the school rushing record with 268 yards in back-to-back games.  It also proved to be a good "current events" assignment for my sons, who are homeschooled.