It's been a busy few months. BUT I have few photos to document all the wonderful stuff we've done and the milestones our little students have achieved.

Morning Basket
Poetry: "Bed in Summer" by Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Village Blacksmith" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Sea Fever" by John Masefield.

Read-alouds:

 

Math

Highlights: Joseph mastering his multiplication tables, including a very decent understanding so far of double-digit multiplication. John Paul finishing his Kindergarten math book (!) and beginning work on grade 1.

Language Arts

Highlights: Joseph finished reading 50 chapter books. John Paul finished Lesson 50 in 100 Easy Lessons. Both boys have Reading 100 charts. They each had a Tim Hortons treat date with Mom for completing half their goal!

Social Studies

Highlights: Spain, Holland & Italy

Spain: Reading Anno's Spain and Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Studying famous painters and imitating Van Gogh's "Starry Night". Watching YouTube videos of the Alhambra, Gaudi's architectural masterpieces, and a Catalonian human tower. 

   

 

Holland: Reading The Winged Watchman. Learning about the importance of windmills and how the Dutch drained the land.

  

Italy: Studying famous Italian art and artists: Michelangelo, Botticelli, Da Vinci, and Raphael. Touring the Vatican, Venice, and Rome via videos and books.

  

  

Unfortunately, international cuisine nights are slightly boring because of my limited diet for Jude, but we're still trying to get a bit of a cultural experience and still enjoying our efforts.

We read Canada at War and reenacted famous WWI battles on Remembrance Day.

For Advent, we continued our traditions of the Jesse Tree, our wreath, and unwrapping a Christmas book every day to read. The kids got chocolate coins, candy canes, and books from St Nicholas. We celebrated the Immaculate Conception twice: a trip to Saskatoon for a beautiful Latin Mass and then our own parish feast day Mass. The boys have a new job caring for our refurbished candle stand at church and love lighting new candles and replacing old ones. We celebrated Our Lady of Guadalupe by making a brand new icon and having a special Mexican feast. 

We're continuing to celebrate Christmas and enjoying evenings singing carols in the light of our tree before going to bed. We watched It's a Wonderful Life! with the kids. 

It truly is a wonderful life! 

Felicem Nativitatis Diem

“And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child.”

Luke 2:16-17

Life. As I write, Emilie is crying because John Paul stole her little rubber ducky… again. Jude cried and fussed the entire day yesterday. There are currently Legos covering my living room floor. The kids have jumped on the couches so much that they are wrecked, if you can even find the couches in the midst of all the books, toys, and blankets covering them. Joseph just made a mouse trap, with nails pointing upward, and placed it on our staircase. Now Emilie is crying because she lost her little ducky… again. And I sit here, with my 4^th cup of coffee this morning, while picturing a scene from It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s of George Bailey shouting: “You call this a happy family? Why do we have to have all these kids?”

“Because we’re cute,” was Joseph’s reply once. That they are. But so are puppies and baby bunnies. Even baby skunks can be considered cute. Nature builds cuteness into little creatures… probably to protect them.

I may or may not exaggerate the difficulties of being a family of six now, but I could never adequately portray the blessings either. It relates well to Christmas, that time of year where we stress out over feasts, finances, and family. Rather, it is the time when God becomes man to save us from our sins. Not so much a man first, but as a little baby placed within the care of a family. The family is forever sanctified. For a family, in a sense every day is like Christmas. It is not easy, but it is purposeful, sanctifying and, above all, joyous.

“Why do we have to have all these kids?” Because God has blessed us, with every one of them.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find a little rubber ducky.

  

 

Year in Review

Jan 28 – John Paul contracts a serious mystery skin ailment which earns him a late night emergency flight to a bigger hospital. Like a champ, he miraculously returns home just two days later.

March 21 – Joseph’s hockey season finally ends. After a winter filled with too many long and snowy trips to games (often on Sundays), we decide not to put him in hockey this fall. We now feel half sane.

June 16 – Emilie turns 3. She demands blueberry cheesecake. She then eats the blueberries and pushes away the cheesecake, thus letting us know who’s going to be in charge for the next year.

July-Aug – Millette Family Vacation! Jasper! PEI! Rome! Well, we don’t actually go anywhere. It seems that 8-month pregnant women don’t feel like hiking up mountains and camping in a tent. Millette Family Staycation! We fill our time with fishing, barbecuing, gardening, and trips to the doctor.

August 28 – Mr. Jude Charles Millette enters the scene. 8lbs, 10oz. Emilie, unable to say her J’s, calls him “Dude”. He’s a pretty cool Dude indeed. Just like his…

Sept 6 – To appease Jude’s belly (nursing), Becca stops eating food. Well, at least the foods that have flavour.

Sept 8 – Jude is baptized in the traditional Latin Rite at Our Lady of Czestochowa parish in Saskatoon.

Oct 5 – The boys (sans Jude) get to see their first Rider game at Mosaic Stadium. Riders win!

Dec 25 – This Christmas Dan is finally given a new truck! Right Becca?...

Kid Quotes

Emilie, doing her schoolwork: “watch me count my ABCs.”

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John Paul: “Let’s name our baby ‘Smarty Farty!’”

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Joseph, while on a hike: “Mom… I didn’t bring my knife… I’m not as much of a man as you thought I was.”

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Cousin James (4): “I got a new shirt for my birthday!”

Not to be outdone, John Paul: Yeah. Well, I got new gitch for Christmas!

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John Paul, explaining to Emilie about some pumpkin display by the altar at church (Thanksgiving weekend): “There’s pumpkins because Halloween is coming!”
Emilie: “Mom, can you help me put my jacket on by myself?”

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Unfortunately, our town rodeo was on Good Friday…

John Paul: "Probably Jewish people are at the rodeo right now."

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Holy Saturday morning…

Dad: "What do you want for breakfast?"
Emilie: "I want a meat stick!"

Dad: “That’s my girl!”

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Emilie: “Mom, do you want some porn cops?”

Mom: “!?!... Do you mean corn pops?”

Emilie: “Yeah.”

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

(Taken from our annual family Christmas letter, written by Dan)

The "Midnight" Mass: Christ Was Born to Save

"No you can't eat that candy cane. Hop in the van. It's time for Christmas!"

My wife and I load our three excited young children in the van and drive out for a brisk sparkle tour before Midnight Mass. It is -20, a definite improvement from last year. We are excited that we should get 15 minutes of looking at lights before the rear windows ice up completely. However, the sparkle tour is disappointing. It seems that large sections of streets this year have zero lights for display. So we trundle off to Midnight Mass.

It's 7:50pm, of course. Midnight Mass is a thing of the past. Yes, our seven year old asks why Midnight Mass is not at midnight. "Because Jesus is born early this year I guess," is all I can muster in reply.

The church is half full (to be positive). Just fifteen years ago it was necessary to arrive thirty minutes early in order to ensure a seat. My wife asks me why there are giant blue and yellow streamers in the sanctuary. "Maybe it's for Ukrainian Christmas?" I offer.

Mass begins. The choir director invites us to join in Go Tell it On the Mountain. We live on the prairies. It is sung by a choir of six heavenly angels. These ladies are old. Some very old. But they have their sway all worked out. They rock in unison as they sing. Active participation indeed. "Don't look," I remind myself. Otherwise I am sure to smirk, and that would be rude. You cannot control what you hear, but you can control what you see. Custody of the eyes is important for Catholics. Especially in these desperate times of modern worship. But deep down I am pleased. At least it is not Mary Did You Know? Not this year.

As the Mass continues my wife and I quickly notice that our two year old daughter, usually quite sweet at Mass, is flying off the wall. It is my parent's parish, and so perhaps she does not interiorly connect that this too is Mass. Or she joins in the playfulness of the mood. The homily involves the children in the church by the sanctuary while the priest asks them questions. "What do you do on your birthday?.. Do you get presents?.. Do you have friends come over?" In an instance the homily becomes comedy hour. However, the cuteness soon wears off, the priest/children session becomes awkward in length. It is too much for my daughter, and so my wife makes the walk of shame (or glory, for the daughter) to the back of the church.

The children return to their pews. Father continues his Q&A with the entire congregation. We are asked for a show of hands for several intense questions. "Who here has ever driven to ________?... Have you ever stepped on something in the middle of the night?... Do you like light better than darkness?... Who here thinks they will live longer than 120 years?" The profoundness is lost on me. I will not ever understand the point. Not if I live past 120 years. Mercifully the homily ends. My daughter returns with her mom. Two minutes later I am forced to remove the same daughter. She never talks this much at Mass.

At the back of the church I gently walk her around. There is another toddler present. He is knocking over ornaments on a tree while his mother tries to reason with him. From the once choir loft which now is for overflow seating (in the improbable event of a full church) I hear loud dance music blasting from someone's phone. The consecration begins. I note that the front half of the church kneels down. The back half sits. "Don't judge," I once again remind myself. "They could maybe all have knee problems. And that might not be gum they're chewing... it could be necessary pain medication."

Communion time. I mistakenly look up once. There strolls a fine young man sporting a smart looking ball cap as he approaches our Lord. My eyes snap back down. "Stop looking man!" I angrily scold myself. Before long the strife, er Mass, is o'er. Well, almost. There is time for a couple more minutes of comedy from the priest. The night is young, after all. We will surely be back at the house before 9:30pm. The final hymn begins. A combination of Joy to the World and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Again, I am thankful that it is not All I Want for Christmas is You, or worse, the ever offensive Baby It's Cold Outside.

I bring my family to the crèche scene. Baby Jesus lies in his manger. He looks absolutely perfect. He positively radiates with beauty and joy. His mother is gazing at Him with a loving affection never before seen on earth. The chit chat from the church pews is blocked from my mind. Finally I can open my eyes and soak in the enormity of what is happening. "Kiss baby Jesus, please?" asks my daughter. My wife lifts the babe to her lips. She gives the sweetest kiss. One only a two year old girl can give. Jesus is placed next to His mother once more. With one final genuflection we file out of the church and into the frigid van. Our Dominican friars Christmas album turns on automatically. The tender words echo: "Christ was born to save. Christ was born to save."

It is sobering to watch a parish fade into oblivion with nothing more than a whimper. To look on in silence while the entire night screams triumphantly: "It cannot be fixed! It is over!" Perhaps it cannot be fixed. Not this. An inauspicious fifty years of toil has reaped somberness of spirit and waves of darkness. Yet the light will never be totally extinguished, for reasons that the dark can never comprehend. The little girl who kisses Jesus so sweetly will bear this light forth. And the boys who love solemnities because they can wear ties to Mass. Families, few and far between, will pass on the faith in the home, if it be lacking in the church. Traditions, and their "dead" language of praise, will survive the scourge. Reverence will be returned to the sacrifice of the Mass. Perhaps only in an extraordinary form, by a future generation. This much is certain: Christ loves His Church, and all the dear children. He was born for these times. Christ was born to save.

William Kurelek's "Ancient Beauty Ever Old and Ever New"

William Kurelek's "Ancient Beauty Ever Old and Ever New"

Concert Videos - 2018

Last night was the Christmas concert. There were a couple of hiccups with the sound system, but that meant that we did more acapella singing (which is always very beautiful with young voices).


Anyway, because some people like to see what I did each year, here are two samples. We filmed them during rehearsal time. Enjoy.

Acoustic Versions:

Gifts on St. Nicholas Day?

Remember when, in some Catholic circles, handing out gifts on St. Nicholas's feast day was a thing? I don't mean hiding a few candies in the shoes of children (aren't Catholics weird?.. I love it), I speak of full out Christmas presents given on December 6th instead of December 25th. The rationale being that making Christmas so heavily connected to the excitement of opening presents impedes the spiritual celebration of Christ's birth. Never mind the gold, frankincense and myrrh. I present to you several considerations on the matter. Suffice it to say my thesis statement on the matter is that Christmas presents should be handed out on, well, Christmas.

Photo Credit: Common Sense Media

On Near Occasions

It is true that gift-giving can diminish the spiritual understanding of Christmas. So too can wine, annoying relatives, lack of sleep, over-cooked turkey and, of course, Mariah Carey Christmas music, assuming that she is not addressing Jesus when she sings that all she wants for Christmas is "you". The point being that gift-giving, like other honoured traditions observed at Yuletide, always has the possibility to produce spiritual harm. Life is full of spiritual risks, even when doing the right task or following one's proper vocation. To join a monastery is to be in a near-occasion for gossiping about Brother Superior. To become a mother is a near-occasion for sleep-deprived anger at a child who eats crayons for a snack. To give bread to the hungry is a near-occasion for prideful selfies, #imahero. Good and wholesome activities, or vocations, can produce spiritual risks.

Does gift-giving in honour of Christ's birthday spoil the spiritual celebration of Christmas? It's possible. If it does, however, I think it is the fault of the person or family. If your child is singing "all I want for Christmas is you" while staring lovingly at his presents, perhaps there is a deeper need than simply dishing out presents on December 6th. Perhaps instead he needs some parental counseling in the matter, grace too, and a good example set by the parents. Then go to Mass on Christmas day, sing the holy carols, lay the baby in the manger while reading the bible and finally, once this message is good and clear, open the presents in thanksgiving and joy for the special day. The special day being Christ's birthday.

On Advent as Penance

To the people who move gift-giving to the feast of St. Nicholas in order to uphold Christmas I ask: What about upholding advent? Advent is a penitential time made with joyful hope (or a hopeful time filled with penance, depending on how you view it). Moving gift-giving to advent is completely against the nature of this holy preparation. Consider the person who does a workout so that he can eat cake later (I know, I know, shameful). What if, in the middle of the workout, the person brought out the double fudge cake and started eating? And then, once the cake crumbs are dusted off the ole Nike dry-fit compression high performance workout shirt, it's back to ab crunches and arm curls? Workouts and double fudge cake don't mix. Neither should advent and Christmas presents. Fasting and feasting should be done in proper order.

On St. Nicholas as Gift-Giver

Gifts are given in honour of Christ's birthday. Thank St. Nicholas' generosity for being the precursor to this tradition. Now there have been past Eastern traditions involving St. Nicholas' day and gifts. But in the Western world let me repeat: gifts are given in honour of Christ's birthday.

On Common Sense

Let me conclude by reiterating that Catholic traditions, though many are quirky and bizarre, follow a spiritual common sense. A water fight on the feast of St. John the Baptist is actually logical. Same too for watching a movie on the feast of St. Clare, or eating a croissant in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary. If a trendy "tradition" arises which causes good honest Catholics to go "huh?" then a violation of common sense might be occurring.

That families seek to maximize the spiritual meaning of Christmas is laudable. Yet this must be done using reasonable methods. Moving present time away from Christmas is to put the cart before the horse. Rather than move the gift-giving, work on instilling gift-giving as adding to the joyful celebration of the birth of Christ. Perhaps fewer gifts can be given if necessary. Or gifts can also be given for the less fortunate. But for heaven's sake, don't mix up feast days! Keep Christmas, and all of its traditions and gift-giving, as the ultimate end of advent. More importantly, teach your children why you do these traditions. To quote the apostle of common sense, GK Chesterton:

“The great majority of people will go on observing forms that cannot be explained; they will keep Christmas Day with Christmas gifts and Christmas benedictions; they will continue to do it; and some day suddenly wake up and discover why.”

– 'On Christmas,' Generally Speaking

One (last) Blessed Night

I sit at work now, trying to get set up for the next month of school before more report cards go home. Heck, I'm actually just trying to get my morning figured out. Christmas break went by quickly. Probably because it was a shorter break than usual... I was warned by a parent at hockey last night that she was "so ready" to send her kids back to school. Gulp.

But allow me one last taste of Christmas. I love watching (everybody loves) Raymond Arroyo's World Over Christmas Special each year. This year was great, as usual. At one point he featured a song called One Blessed Night. Emilie, who was watching it with us cause she didn't want to go to sleep at a decent hour, absolutely loved it. She was waving her arms wildly throughout. Why? Well, check out the conductor and you'll understand why. Seriously, conductor-style work outs could be a thing. Anyway, the songs starts at around 2:45.

Now, back to work. What were we doing in Math again?...

Concert 2017

Joseph would like to present a Christmas concert to you all. The songs were selected by Joseph.
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Carols Guessing Game

You've seen these before, right? See how many songs you can get.

Answers:

Happy Holidays

Another Christmas has arrived. Another year of hearing my friends in TV land, and others, say "Happy Holidays." First off, yes I have friends in TV land. They don't know we're friends yet. But I watch them and know all about them and how old they are and I post on their facebook walls several times a day telling them how much I like watching them and so they must know all about me too and I think we'd get along just fine and really we are good friends already. But more importantly, what "holiday" do people, atheists and those who just don't believe in anything, celebrate?

I would guess most people lay off the Hanukkah. I think Hanukkah is kind of neat, and it is based on events from the Maccabean revolt, but I don't see too many menorahs advertised around this time of year.

Malwid, the prophet's birthday, is also most likely not a big deal for most non-Muslims. Cancel that.

Filipinos have something called Rizal Day, where they celebrate the revolution against Spanish colonizers thanks in part to Jose Rizal. And there are a lot of Filipinos in North America now. But wouldn't it be a little too ironic to celebrate your country's freedom from western colonization while living and prospering in a western nation? Sorry, no Rizal Day.

There's always Boxing Day as a holiday. It has nothing to do with actual boxing. My first 25 years of my life were misled by this belief. No, it actually is connected to Christmas. The idea of handing out boxes of goodies and gifts to others. Of course it has taken on the additional meaning of being a day of shopping for deals. However, Black Friday has, I think, taken over the supremacy of Boxing Day in this regard. No, "Happy Holidays" probably does not refer to Boxing Day.

That leaves New Years. New Years is discriminatory. People with young kids are left out. We simply cannot stay up! We're too tired! So they have a holiday which more or less excludes us! Yes, we stay up for Midnight Mass, but that is actually meaningful. Staying up to watch a little ball drop down on TV at midnight is hardly worthwhile. Sorry TV friends. New Years is significant in that it offers to hopes and plans to people for a new calendar year. January comes from the Roman god Janus who was the god of new gateways and beginnings. But that is the height of it's meaning. Janus is now just a name for history books. New Years is just a name for a new calendar year.

No, "Happy Holidays" truly makes no sense. Non-believers are celebrating nothing. Which is about as much as they have to look forward to in life.

However, if, quite possibly if, someone were to say "Happy Holidays" to me, and was referring to the birth of Jesus at Christmas, as well as its octave.. and the feasts of St. Stephen, John the Evangelist, Thomas Becket, Sylvester and the Holy Family... If they referred also to the memory of the Holy Innocents, and the great solemnity of Mary, Mother of God... and the Epiphany... and Baptism of Our Lord... if, just if, they referred to the richness of the Catholic Tradition, a faith kept lively for all generations, one pregnant with meaning and one that actively anticipates the great second coming of Jesus... then yes.. thank you. Happy Holidays to you too. And Happy Holidays to all my TV friends too.

Happy Holydays to you all.

Christmas Letter - 2016

UPDATED

The boys with new onesies and walkie talkies. Things couldn't be better for them.

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We like to post our Christmas letter every year. We don't send out too many copies, so please do not be offended if you never received one. Or be offended. People like to get offended at Christmas, after all. There are a few formatting issues here, so bear with us. 

Felicem Nativitatis Diem!

Millette Christmas Letter: 2016

Luke 2:12 “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

Question: How did Mary and Joseph know that baby Jesus weighed 7lbs, 6oz? Easy, they had a weigh in a manger. Ok, not the funniest joke ever, but it’s hard to have funny jokes when I write the scripts for my emcees at our school Christmas concert. Last year a fellow teacher got a hold of the script. This teacher went behind my back and had that joke removed from the script. When I confronted the teacher over this I was told that the joke was too offensive for some people. Yeah. Merry Christmas, er Happy Holidays, to you too. Such is the world we live in. No matter. The joke is there this year. Hidden from this teacher. As are other not so subtle references to *gasp* Christ. If people complain I can always quit the concert. I do all the work for it anyway. People who get offended at hearing about Christ at a Christmas concert probably go to Fatburger to eat, but then complain that the place serves burgers. But we Christians persevere. You cannot banish Christmas. For the same reason that you cannot banish Christ. The more we are attacked, the more Christ will be proclaimed in other ways.

The other day I was driving Joseph to hockey practice early on a Saturday morning. It was dark. I must confess that I had some Christmas music on (I know, it’s still Advent). Andre Bocelli was singing Angels We Have Heard on High. We passed numerous houses, streets, and businesses that were lit up with Christmas decorations. The lights, and the beautiful hymn, were too much for Joseph. He squealed with excitement! Screams, shouts, and singing filled the van. “Gloria in excelsis Deo!” Christ, and Christmas, will indeed be proclaimed. Especially from the mouths of children. You cannot banish Christmas. So stop wasting your time, fellow teachers and the like. We will always find a way to the manger.    Merry Christmas from the Millettes!

Kid Quotes

John Paul, while learning to talk: "Mommy, you not Dod... Daddy, you not Dod" Mommy: "Who is God?" John Paul: "Dod!" Joseph: Polar bears live in Poland… that’s a joke! John Paul, picking up a long piece of red hair off the ground: "Here Mommy, this is your hair... Put it on your head." John Paul, squatting: "I have no lap either Mommy!" Mommy: "I have a lap again because Emilie is born." John Paul: "Well I will have to buy a lap." John Paul, opening the back of his pants: "My bums are hot!" Joseph, walking out the door to our backyard: “I’m just going outside to pee.”

    

I’ve decided to buy Becca a new fridge for Christmas. I can’t wait to see her face light up when she opens it!

Year in Review

Jan-Mar – We do nothing. And it was cold. And lent came. And… moving on….

March 27 – John Paul turns two, on Easter. I just had to mention him once on this list. Poor middle child.

April 7 - Becca turns the big 3-0. The oldest she’s been thus far.

June 15 – Becca demands spicy Chinese food and a little red wine for supper in order to get labour started.

June 16 – 7:20am Emilie Marie is born, weighing 8lbs, 9oz. And, as a bonus, Dan gets to eat Chinese left-overs for lunch. A pretty good day all around.

July – Dan renovates the kitchen. Happy wife, happy life? Wife promptly starts dreaming of getting a dream house built someday.

August 14-16 – Family vacation! Including visits to the Latin Mass, zoo, RCMP museum, Boston Pizza, and Rider practice. Vacation declared best ever. We don’t get out much.

Sept 6 – Joseph starts kindergarten, homeschool style.

Oct 12 – Joseph’s first hockey practice. Dad/agent starts contacting NHL teams to have them send scouts over.

Nov 1 – Three little saints light up our town. Saints Padre Pio, John Paul II, and Mother Theresa.

Dec 25 – No doubt the kids will have the best Christmas ever. Because that’s just what kids do.