Happy 5th Day of Christmas!

It's sometimes hard to remember that Christmas lasts longer than Christmas and Boxing Day or even that it's longer than the wonderfully long holidays that Dan has at home. We've been trying the past few years to extend the Christmas Season just like in the Church, by keeping our tree up longer and our Nativity sets out. But it's still hard to feel like it keeps going because the partying disappears and we surely can't continue to consume treats every day like we were this past week.

It wouldn't feel like holidays around here if we (Dan) didn't have at least one reno/redo project on the go. Dan started out his holidays by giving our little used "office" a fresh coat of paint. The previous paint was very literally peeling off the walls and the ceiling needed a bit more popcorn where mold had been scraped off in the past. With that done before Christmas, he's now working on a few more little aesthetic touches on our basement bathroom we repainted last year.



Joseph and John Paul are always our eager little helpers at whatever projects are underway. Whether it be painting or baking, they are quick to add appropriate workerman gear to their outfits and jump right in. We baked and decorated a bunch of gingerbread men. John Paul was delighted with the opportunity to dump a bunch of icing on a cookie and promptly ate his cookies before he even got to the sprinkles part.



We headed for Nipawin on Christmas Eve to spend a few days with the entire Millette gang. In true French fashion, we always go to midnight (ok, just 10pm) Mass on Christmas Eve and stay up really late opening gifts, eating tons of good food, and chatting. Our boys didn't go to bed until nearly 2am, but loved every minute of the celebrations and showed nary a sign of sleepiness throughout Mass and all the festivities.

We received loads of presents, including the boys' (read: Dan too!) favourite: another set of Magna Tiles to add to their well-used beginner set. 

Joseph and John Paul loved playing with their Millette cousins (10 grandchildren on that side, so far). They also got in lots of outdoor play time and skating on the rink. Joseph is becoming a really great little skater and looking forward to starting hockey next year! John Paul latched on to his big cousins, Marie (10) and Catherine (4), and followed them around playing ring-around-the-rosie.

As usual, there was more food than could comfortably be consumed and trays and trays of goodies. Grandma pulled out her candy stash and all the grandkids made their own little gingerbread houses, making sure to stuff extra candy inside for additional sugar consumption.

We're home now catching up on sleep after all our late nights and exercising to try to make up for all the sweets we ate. Oh, and eating gingerbread houses and all the leftover food Grandma sent home with us.

Christmas Cards

We've accomplished our life long dream. We can now die in peace. What was this dream? To make it on Fr. Z's blog, of course. Fr. Z, our favourite priest blogger, posted his address and invited people to send him Christmas cards. So we did. You can see it here.

Speaking of Christmas cards. Here is ours.

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  The Millette Family Christmas Letter: 2015

SPOILER ALERT REGARDING THE EXISTENCE OF SANTA CLAUS:

Welcome to our second annual Christmas letter. I almost didn’t get a chance to make this year’s letter. I was very nearly carried away by an angry mob of grade 3ers the other day. You see, we were playing a little acting game for drama class and I was having them act out fairy tale characters, and other such characters who are not real. I was giving some suggestions to them: “Rapunzel, Buzz Lightyear, Santa Claus…,” when I nearly had my head taken off. “What do you mean Santa!?!” Whoops. I guess it slipped out. “Did I say Santa?” “Yes!” they responded in shock. “What do you mean? Santa is real. What are you saying?!” I stammered for a while, visions of endless phone calls from angry parents dancing in my head... “Umm, uh.. yeah, I meant, um… I meant… I meant the ones at malls who pretend they are Santa, but aren’t…” “You mean the ones who don’t have real beards?” a boy piped up. “Yeah, that’s how you tell if it’s the real Santa, by the beard,” replied a little girl. “That’s right,” I carried on, with confidence, “those mall Santas who don’t have real beards… very disappointing... that’s how you know.” And so class carried on. My job was safe. More like my life was safe.

Such is the state of Christmas. It’s all about Santa. More accurately, it’s all about presents. Joseph, now 4 years old, is intrigued by the idea of Santa Claus. We talked to him about St. Nicholas, but he still comes back to talking about Santa. Who is this person who gives gifts? We tell him it’s baby Jesus. He seems skeptical. But it is baby Jesus. I’m convinced. All gifts. All presents. All blessings. They all come from baby Jesus. It’s his birthday. He is real. Beard or no beard. And truly, the only real question is not whether or not Santa is real, or fake bearded. The real question is: what are we giving Jesus for Christmas?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

From Dan, Becca, Joseph, and John Paul

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Why don’t you instead tell the people how our year went?” asked Becca. “Why would I do that? If they want they can just read our blog instead! You know: millettefamily.blogspot.ca/” answered Dan.

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            A Busy Year             

March 27 – John Paul turns one. He then promptly quits nursing and starts potty training. No, actually that still hasn’t happened.

April 24 – Becca and the boys meet Roughrider star Weston Dressler.

May 1 – Grandma and Grandpa Bear come to visit. The first of three visits this year.

July 2–15 – Becca gets a new bathroom. Danny gets a new respect for plumbers.

August 4 – We officially buy our “new van”. A 2011 Grand Caravan. It’s Momma Mary blue.

September 1 – Danny enters his fourth year of teaching at Tisdale Elementary School. This year’s assignment is Phys. Ed. and Arts Ed. prep coverage for grades 2-5.

October 3 – Becca makes spring rolls. No, actually that still hasn’t happened.

December 2 – As we sit brainstorming our year the thought finally dons on us: We did nothing this year.

                              

                        

Boy oh Boy, More Quotes:

Mommy: “Who do you want to pray for?” John Paul: “Papa (Grandpa), Mama (Grandma), MeeMee (Uncle Stephen), Mommy, Daddy…” Joseph: “No John Paul!!! That’s too many people!”	Joseph, playing with the drawstring on his pants: “when there’s no pee coming, you tie your pants.”
Heard from the living room… Joseph: “John Paul, you hit me and I’ll hit you!”	Joseph: “Let’s have a family hug, with no John Paul!”
Daddy: “Joseph, you need to wear a mask if you want to help me smash the bathroom.” Joseph: “Yeah, I could wear a tiger mask!”	Mommy to Daddy at one in the morning: “You’re taking up half the bed, go sleep with Joseph.”
Mommy: “Joseph, who do you want to pray for?” Joseph: “St. John Paul the Second.” Mommy: “Um, he’s already in heaven. Who do you want to pray for?” Joseph: “…St. Joseph… is he in heaven?”	Catching John Paul (18 months) in the living room all by himself, two remotes in his hands, and watching TV while lounging against the couch… Mommy: “What are you doing?!?” John Paul: “Daddy!”
Joseph, while colouring his lent day-tracking calendar: “I’m going to colour them all in, then it will be Easter.”	Daddy: “Joseph! You’re knocking your food onto the ground!” Joseph: “That’s ok, John Paul can eat it.”
Joseph, with a huge smile on his face, running out of his room to us first thing in the morning: “Guess what!?! I had the goodest dream ever!!!!” Daddy: “What did you dream about?” Joseph: “I dreamed I learned how to run faster!!!” *he then runs around the house for the next 5 minutes*

Adventageous Example

Advent. That time for pondering the coming of Christ, all the while fighting the spirit of the world. The spirit of the world is so confused. It demands we celebrate Christmas before Christmas. Parties. Music. Decorations. Lots and lots of present. Yet ironically it refuses to even mention the word "Christmas". As Catholics we, or at least we should, simply do our thing. The worldly spirit doesn't need to tell us how to celebrate Christmas. It's our holiday, thank you very much, and we can celebrate it much better than the spirit of the world. It's advent. We're hopefully busier than ever in preparation, both spiritual and material.

And that spiritual preparation is key. It's not the coming of Christ we're looking forward to. It's the second coming of Christ. Don't get the two confused. We don't prepare, confess, pray, and read simply to have a warm fuzzy feeling at Midnight Mass, as if God were saying: "Good job, here's your reward, a heart full of holly... and a candy cane which will be handed out after Mass." And then boxing day it's back to the usual sinful ways. Sorry, there's an eschatological work going on with advent. Prepare for Christmas, yes. Prepare for Christ again, double yes. The preparation for Christmas helps with the preparation for the second coming.

Take the baby in the manger. This, undoubtedly is the central aspect of Christmas. God, so very very humble, comes down to us as a baby that will eventually save us. A baby! You know those little creatures who burp and poop and drool and eat constantly? The ones that sleep all day and are up all night, just because it's fun? The ones that are unable to survive beyond a few minutes without the care of someone? Those helpless babies. The least of all. God becomes one. And anyone who does not see the need to be humble in order to prepare for Christ's coming surely does not see the point of Christmas.

Yet my life right now is mesmerized by not so much the baby age, but more little people. Joseph and John Paul. In them, and their goofy antics, they teach me just how humble, yet mighty, baby Jesus is. Take our last Mass. It was nearing the time for the collection. The time when all properly raised boys get excited. Money at Mass! What an important thing! Time to stop fooling around and "pay" attention! So the person was coming with the collection basket. I placed money in John Paul's hands. I sent him to the edge of the pew. I then sent Joseph with John Paul, but only after seemingly an hour of instruction to Joseph: "Help him give the money. Go with your brother. Help him put the money in the basket... and whatever you do, don't let him leave." With those words Joseph stood up, watched John Paul for several moments, and then turned back and looked at me as John Paul made a break out of the pew. He walked to the back of the church. I got out of the pew to go after him. There was a crowd in my way, so I never made it. Eventually the person taking the collection arrived at the back, and John Paul amazingly slam dunked the money into the basket. He then started wandering back to the pew. Satisfied that no harm had been done, I also started back. But John Paul just kept walking. Apparently our priest made the mistake of saying his name when he saw him. John Paul walked right to father up at the front. Father kindly picked up John Paul and said hi. John Paul then loudly, and aided by father's lapel microphone, started explaining to father (and the entire congregation): "Money! Money!" John Paul eventually came back to the pew, and Mass carried on.

Little boys are mysterious. On one hand they have all the humility in the world. I mean, what any adult would find embarrassing, for a little boy it's perfectly fine. It's ok to be small. Helpless. Even dare I say not that bright. On the other hand, they have all the power in the world. We eat out of their hands. They can say "money" to everyone at Mass and suddenly there's a room full of adults in awe. Humble. Powerful. Just a hint of a glimpse at baby Jesus, the perfectly humble yet all-powerful child.

Advent preparation demands humility. Sometimes when the world demands we sit in our proverbial pew and do as expected, sometimes we need to stand up, and walk against the flow. Sometimes that upteenth Christmas party (in November, no less) can be skipped. Or someone's "Happy Holidays" greeting can be returned with "Merry Christmas". Or the poor can be helped without anyone knowing about it. Or even we can dare to survive without blowing the bank on presents. Think of the child in the manger. Don't forget Him.

Tonight, as Becca and I were praying our rosary, we were serenaded by Joseph and John Paul. They were holding holy books and rosaries and calmly walking around the house singing carols. They didn't know the words. But they sang, ever so sweetly. Those crazy boys. Their hearts ready to welcome another little boy, who is named Jesus. A true display of preparation. Of humility. And yes, of power.

A child will be born. And He will come again.

Are we ready for that?

In Recent News...

The Millette family of the Millette Family Blog will be welcoming its newest member sometime in late June or early July. We are thrilled! Mommy is tired!

Points to Ponder - Advent Edition

Some points to ponder after a very busy last couple of weeks.

1) Baptism

A couple of weeks ago we made it to Saskatoon to attend the baptism of our newest nephew, James Edward Rogal. Welcome to the Church! Baptism, as soon as possible, is the lifeline of grace. And the boys were quite thrilled to be able to hold a baby.

 2) Calvin and Hobbes

Remember Calvin's legendary snowmen?

Well apparently Joseph is a little Calvinist at heart. Must be predestined. I looked out and here is how he left his snowman Louie.

 He explained that he was just keeping his stick in a place where he'd remember it for next time. Sure.

3 ) Lego my Santa

We made a Lego Santa with a sleigh yesterday. The boys are having fun making him fly around and go down chimneys.

4) Reading Right

Yesterday Becca was in the living room with John Paul. She told John Paul to read himself a book. So he took out a book, laid it on the floor, and began flipping through it. A minute or so later he figured out he was reading the book upside down (always an exciting time when kids start to figure this out). The ever-brilliant John Paul quickly rectified this. He stood up, walked around the book to the other side, and then sat down to read the book on the correct side.

5) Lord Have Mercy

The year of mercy has begun. It began with a light show on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, with images of animals, Buddhists, and "climate change" being shown. What better way to have Catholics go around saying: "Lord have mercy"?

6) Gimmicks

Apart from the sacrilege of using such a sacred building for a profane purpose, what really bothers me with climate change talk in general is not so much the debatable science, but the sheer hypocrisy. Climate change activists call out everyone else for wrecking the environment. They then pat themselves on the back for their work. But, of course, truth be told they're the worst offenders. For example, some of the teachers at my school express themselves as being caretakers of the environment. They go on about how we need to take better care of our planet. These are the same teachers that drive 1.5 hours everyday for work, even though there have been many available teaching jobs closer to home. Meanwhile, the uncaring Mr. Millette, the one who doesn't go all gaga over the planet, moved to the town he teaches in, thus saving having to ever drive to work. The others own cabins. Go on big trips to Mexico and Cuba. Have multiple vehicles. Hypocrisy. It's everywhere, such as the thousands of delegates being flown to Paris to talk about such things as the effects of vehicle pollution on the environment. It's sad to see the pope be a part of this secular agenda. As someone pointed out, even in his encyclical Laudato Si he spoke on such this as "visual pollution" (par. 44).

Unfortunately antics such as displaying climate change images on the Vatican are taking away from Peter's perceived teaching authority. Gimmicks are generally not to be taken seriously. I think of junior hockey teams. The latest trend is to have gimmick nights. Star Wars night. Dog night. Ugly sweater night. It seems every night there is a gimmick to try and get butts in the seats at the rink. Eventually, though, what is needed is good hockey, and people who want to watch good hockey. It's the same with the Church. Gimmicks take away from what is really going on. Eventually you need a strong Church that stands out for what it is (Divine), not for what images it literally projects. Otherwise religious submission of mind and will more frequently turns into a simple rolling of the eyes. It's sad. Pray for our pope. I don't go to a hockey game to see Star Wars. I don't look to the Vatican to see David Suzuki.

7) The Pope

All will be well, though. All will be well. John Paul has been demanding all morning to be pope. He's been yelling "Ooh, Ooh!" (pope, pope). So Becca quickly dressed him up. Joseph joined with his St. George suit. These stubborn little boys, if formed right (gulp), will fight for the Church.

Now this is a beautiful image:

I've Been Called Worse

Seeing as I teach nine different classes, close to 200 students, I have a difficult time in remembering names. However, if you'd think it's tough to remember student names, apparently it's way harder for the majority of these 200 students to remember my name.

Start with the grade 5s. They're pretty good, except for the class where they have another male teacher. I'll be addressed as Mr. Kubat usually about 10x per class.

Then the grade 4s. I replace two male teachers! This means, on any given day, I will be called Mr. Yee or Mr. LamMa more than I will be called Mr. Millette. Sometimes I end my mornings not even knowing who I am. Like, do I go home for lunch? Do I still have a home? I'm confused.

The grade three teachers I replace are female, so grade three is where I start to get called Mrs. Either Mrs. __________ (Classroom teacher), or simply Mrs. Millette. I always respond that she's probably at home putting a boy down for a nap, but they can call her if they need to.

Finally there's the grade twos. I am Mrs. Pilling to most of them. There is no differentiating. Teacher = Mrs. Pilling. But there is hope. Things are getting better. I think. I was called Mr. Pilling last class. On one hand I'm thrilled to be considered a Mr. On the other hand, I don't know how my wife feels about me now being Mr. Pilling.

All in all, it shows me that younger children rely on familiarity. They crave a steady and comfortable environment. The best example comes from a few years ago when I taught grade one. One boy, in a sweet innocent voice, asked me in front of the entire class: "Mom, can you help me?" I was touched. To think that I help him to the degree that a mother helps her own child! I responded with an equally sweet: "of course, dear."And I was never called mom again. It's all good. Really.

I've been called worse.