The Big White Farmhouse | intentional living, little by little

November 30, 2020

No.463: A Simple Advent Season

We recently had a guest homilist at church and one of the things he said really stood out to me: “Isn’t it funny that Christmas has become a time of extreme consumption to celebrate a Savior born in extreme poverty?” Whew. Gut punch.

This year, I’m looking forward to a super simple Advent. For the first time ever, I managed to finish just about all of our shopping before Thanksgiving and it’s so nice not to have that stress hanging over my head! I look forward to preparing our home and our hearts this month, staying off of social media and the news, and seeing the wonder of the season through the eyes of my children. I’m so grateful for our rich Catholic traditions that guide us through the month and help us remember the reason we celebrate in the first place.

A few other things on my calendar (affiliate links below):

roll beeswax Advent candles
say the Saint Andrew Novena
read through the book of Luke & The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Advent & Christmas
work on my 3rd year of December Daily scrapbooking
set out a new puzzle to work on
get to Confession
celebrate Saint Nicholas with chocolate coins and a new game for family game night
dry orange slices to decorate the kitchen
make homemade cinnamon gingerbread man ornaments, also for the kitchen?
brainstorm a few ways that we as a family can give generously
celebrate the Immaculate Conception with a big family dinner
take the kids on an evergreen-seeking nature walk
celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe with a Mexican feast
observe the Ember Days
drive through town to see the lights

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November 27, 2020

No.462: My Latest Reads // November 2020

This post contains affiliate links.
P.S. I highly recommend Book Outlet! Use my link to receive $10 off your first order of $25 or more. Have you heard of Bookshop? They are an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. I hope you’ll check them out!

ALSO! From Black Friday (11/27) through Cyber Monday (11/30), Bookshop is offering free standard shipping! You can find a bunch of my favorite books here.

#73. STILL ALICE by Lisa Genova || ★★★★☆ A quick fictional read about a woman diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Heartbreaking and thought-provoking. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

#74. CONSECRATION TO ST. JOSEPH: THE WONDERS OF OUR SPIRITUAL FATHER by Donald H. Calloway, MIC || ★★★★★ I really, really enjoyed this and learned so much throughout the 33 days of preparation.

#75. HUNGRY SOULS: SUPERNATURAL VISITS, MESSAGES AND WARNINGS FROM PURGATORY by Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg || ★★★★☆ If there was such a thing as a kinda spooky religious book, this is it! Perfect for October and November, but also an important read for understanding the concept and purpose of Purgatory. I learned a lot.

#76. THE PUSH by Claire McGowan || ★★☆☆☆ The Push is a thriller that chronicles a detective as she investigates a falling death at a party. It was a quick read and had an intriguing premise, but I figured out most of the twists early in the book. This one was just okay for me. (Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. The Push was officially released on November 12, 2020.)

#77. THE TURN OF THE KEY by Ruth Ware || ★★★☆☆ A creepy page turner that had me up way too late! I can’t give details for fear of spoilers, but I didn’t care for the ending. Solid three star read.

#78. THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS by Vanessa Diffenbaugh || ★★★★☆ Four stars is probably a bit too high of a rating for this one, so maybe a 3.5? I liked the writing and really rooted for the main character (a life-long foster kid emancipated out of the system at 18), but some parts were a little far-fetched to be truly believable. I enjoyed it anyway.

#79. INSIDE THE LIGHT: UNDERSTANDING THE MESSAGE OF FATIMA by Sr. Angela de Fatima Coelho || ★★★☆☆

If we know we are beloved children of God, we should be able to live a life free of fear. God will not abandon us. This is one of the most important things that we learn from Fatima: that no matter what, our Father will not abandon us. That doesn’t mean he takes all our crosses away – he did not even take away the cross from his own Son – but the Father was there with him through it all. From the experience of Jesus, we understand that suffering will always be a part of our life but that God suffers with us. (p.61)

This brand new book is a hard one to rate. Some chapters I loved, but she also dealt with a few topics in a way that was just ambiguous enough to be confusing. I definitely want to read a bit more on the Fatima apparitions to compare and contrast.

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MY READING IN NUMBERS FOR 2020

Books Read: 79
Pages Read: 22,329
Fiction: 45 // Non-Fiction: 34
Kindle Books: 27 // Paper Books: 52
20th Century in Books Challenge: 29/100
Original 2020 books “to-read” total on Goodreads: 414 // Current “to-read” total: 367

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November 23, 2020

No.461: Last Week at the Farmhouse // A New Cocoa Station, A Birthday & A New Website!

This post contains affiliate links.

I have been spending way too much time cycling through the news the last few weeks, so I took another break and it was just what I needed. I felt happier and more motivated. My husband told me the short version of anything important that I may have missed (surprise: it wasn’t much) and that was good enough. Highly recommend.

My two oldest boys are done with work for the winter months, so I thought I’d try stripping their smelly farm clothes. I used a recipe that only needed three ingredients: Borax, powdered Tide detergent and Super Washing Soda. (I found two out of three at my grocery store, but did have to order the Washing Soda online.) The instructions were super easy and oh.my.word. The results were so good and SO gross. I’m planning to do all of our workout clothes next.

Project of the week: a cocoa station for the kitchen! It was a huge success with the kids and has been in daily use. Doesn’t everything just look better in a glass jar? Right now I put out our Polish Pottery mugs, but I’ll swap them out with Christmas ones in a few weeks.

My oldest turned 14 this week and requested a pan of my blueberry peach cobbler all to himself. An odd choice for November, but I aim to please! I kept sneaking glances at him throughout the week and I just cannot believe that that squishy little baby who made me a mother is now this tall, handsome teenager. The days are long, but the years are so very short.

We lost power for over three hours during a big wind storm and I spent the afternoon keeping our new fireplace going. I don’t want to brag, but I’m practically a pioneer woman now, ha!

Last but not least: after almost ten years of blogging, I finally migrated over to a self-hosted website! I still have so much to learn and lots of posts to tweak, but am so excited about the change.

November 18, 2020

No.460: The Wednesday Five #13

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Happy Wednesday!

A QUOTE

Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in just being good. — Vince Lombardi

First team meeting as Packers coach (1959), reported in Chuck Carlson, Game of My Life: 25 Stories of Packers Football (2004), p. 149

Obviously, this quote was about football, but I found it inspiring in the context of the spiritual life. Every day, we have the opportunity to become a little bit holier, to love others a little bit deeper, to live our vocations a little bit better. We strive. (This video is on the same wavelength and worth a listen.)

TWO SOUPS FOR CHILLY DAYS

I love fall/winter because I can stretch my dollar a little bit further with soup! They usually only require a small amount of meat and a lot of vegetables or beans, which helps me feed my crew. I have recently made the two soups below and love them because they are delicious and they make a lot. There’s usually plenty for dinner the first night and I’ll have the leftovers for lunch.

Sicilian Chicken Soup (I like to serve this with either a sourdough loaf or a crusty bread.)
Homemade Chick-Fil-A Chicken Tortilla Soup (I pair this one with tortilla chips.)

A RECOMMENDATION

I got this hair dryer/curler from my parents (at the recommendation of my sister!) for my birthday and I am obsessed! My hair has a weird wave thing going and I usually have to blow dry and then use some of sort of curler or straightener to look presentable. But this gadget does both things at once! It saves so much time and is so easy. I love it.

THREE BOOKS ON MY NIGHTSTAND

Fiction: My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
Religious: Inside the Light by Sr. Angela de Fatima Coelho
Nonfiction: The Parasitic Mind by Gad Saad

A MOMENT OF HAPPINESS

After years and years, I’m finally almost finished with my “Winter” cross-stitch! I keep this project tucked away for most of the year and usually pull it out for a few weeks in January. It’s been a fun little tradition, but I’m ready to start something new. I got started now in November and can see the finish line!