 Christmas. To many of us, it’s so much more than a day. And it’s more than the collective joke among our nation that “Christmas arrives earlier every year!” just because a department store decorated or black Friday sales are earlier than ever. Yes, I do enjoy the American holiday traditions that still run deep this time of year. While it can be exhausting and ridden with consumerism, I can’t help but pause every so often in December and appreciate our society’s shared attempt at peace, tradition and meaning - but usually, it just results in dollar upon dollar being thrown at an ever-moving target. The “more” I’m referring to is a season of expectation. In my home, we celebrate Advent. While it might sound too church-y or traditional, it’s actually a concept you can celebrate every day of December leading up to Christmas in your own home. Advent derives from the Latin word that simply means “coming.” While there are liturgical (traditional) ways of practicing Advent, in our family we are less concerned about doing Advent “properly” and instead focused on simply finding ways to daily acknowledge Advent’s core truth…that Jesus is coming, and that changes everything. These are the three essentials that help us do that: a daily reading plan, a homemade Advent log and a personalized Advent calendar. You can start with just one of the items described below and add/customize more with each passing year. 1) Daily Readings and Making a Jesse Tree This book.  Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp We do have a few Christmas-y, Santa-ish books at my house that I have picked up second-hand. They’re fun. But if you’re going to spend real dollars on any book that has to do with Christmas, buy this one (or enter the GoMomGo giveaway below!). Here’s how Voskamp introduces her book: “If you open these pages every day of December…and read each story of Jesus’ family tree, and you hang the ornaments from each story on a little tree of your own, you’ll have a Jesse Tree – a picture of Jesus’ own family tree! And you’ll begin the unwrapping of the greatest Gift, the most astonishing Gift that your heart really wants the most! God doesn’t cut off all the big cheaters, bad liars, weaselly sneakers, battling brothers, fighting families and brokenhearted from His family tree – He makes families just like these perfectly His! He adopts all the messy and broken and imperfect people into His tree and His story and His heart, and He gives us His family name. He gives us His absolute perfectness and makes us alive and fully free.” Voskamp will then guide you through Advent each day, helping us further understand the perfect gift of Jesus. It is appropriate and scalable for every family member. She provides basic instructions on how to build your Jesse Tree (different than your Christmas tree) and includes a special password to the (free) Jesse Tree ornaments that your family can print out and decorate before hanging on the tree each day. Visit Ann Voskamp’s website here 2) Make an Advent Log I grew up on an island surrounded by the waters of the Puget Sound, so we chose a piece of driftwood for our log. Drill a couple holes to fit seven tapered candles (pick up great candles at Trader Joe’s or World Market – and don’t worry about colors, pick what you like).  This is how we use it: In our home, we do Voskamp’s daily Advent reading. Then, on four of those days we light candles right before we start our reading time. Traditionally it is the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, but just do whatever four nights work for your family. The first night, we light the two outer candles, the next time we light all four outer candles, and so on. By the time you get to Christmas Eve (the day you light the center candle), you have naturally created a beautiful triangular arc with one bright candle gleaming in the middle. I love our lit Advent log – it invites us to pause and share a rare silence as we anticipate in awe, together, how a lit candle can do so much. On her website Voskamp describes it as: “The house fills with the scent of more and the light dances up the wall and I’m lit: It’s impossible for all the darkness in the world to smother out the light of a single candle in the hand.You can’t snuff out hope, you can’t smother out hope, you can’t stamp out hope — because He is Coming.” You can also sing a Christmas song during this time. Whatever you like. Remember to light your candles before the reading so they get to burn and make their shape during the 10-15 minutes it takes to have your Advent time together. We close with prayers and then blow out the candles. 3) Create a Daily Advent Calendar For the last couple of years, we made our own daily Advent calendar, which includes Voskamp’s daily family activity, and also any local events/activities we plan to enjoy together that year. We wrote out a daily activity on separate 5x7 cards, then hole-punched them and strung a ribbon through. It hung near our mantle. While, it has worked great, this year our oldest child is helping me make a keepsake we can display and re-use every year. And it’s SO simple. Check out the tutorial here.  photo via theartofsimple.net I do encourage you to use her suggestion of sticky notes and to take a photo of your completed Advent calendar each year for memories. This is why: I scribble notes in the margins of each day’s sticky note about what that day was like for us that particular year…things my kids said, discovered...then I will take the sticky notes and transfer them all to our family Memory Journal later.
Here’s a link to my family’s 2014 Advent Calendar if you’re interested. *Giveaway* GoMomGo has partnered with William K. Jensen literary agency and Tyndale Publishers to give away TWO copies of Unwrapping the Greatest Gift! Enter to win: Leave us a comment with your favorite holiday tradition (Advent or otherwise) & then like or share this post to spread the love. Do you celebrate advent? We would love to know what you do to make it special for your family. Tell us in the comments & spread the love! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Christy Rice is a mom to two great boys. They love to explore all that Lane County has to offer. Christy is a superstar at researching & finding awesome picks & deals for GoMomGo!
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 “Ride choo-choo twain, pease, Mommy?” Whenever my two year-old hears Eugene’s trusty train whistle, he poses this innocent question to me. He gazes at me expectantly with his baby blues and my heart meeeelts. I love how his developing little mind has figured out that he wants to ride a train -- as his only exposure to trains are in books, a couple of Thomas the Train toy engines, and of course, that whistle. Somehow my dear, sweet one knows in his heart of hearts that he wants to board a train with his mommy. Well, o-kay. So I looked up the Polar Express out of Hood River. For my family of four, that would be $96 for standard seating. Not to mention the three-hour drive from Eugene. And, the reviews online are inconsistent. That’s when I came across the Holiday Express in Southeast Portland. “The Holiday Express is a special opportunity for families to experience the bygone era of steam power,” says Ed Immel, Vice President of Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation (ORHF). “It is the only holiday train ride in Oregon featuring a full-size steam locomotive.” This year, the steam engine pulling the Holiday Train is The Spokane, Portland & Seattle #700 (SP&S 700).  photo credit Mark Toal  I personally have seen this steam engine and the immense scale of the SP&S 700 is hard to miss; it weighs 440 tons and is over 100 feet long. The drive wheels alone will dwarf all but the tallest of humans. Everyone in the family will be impressed! For several weekends throughout November and December, the SP&S 700 will pull out of Oaks Park Station, hissing and billowing steam. As the vintage train runs on the Oregon Pacific Railroad along the Willamette River, it won’t take long for the hypnotic movement of the clickety-clack to transport riders to places once visited or imagined. The train ride also includes a Santa visit on the train and lots of Christmas goodies at the station. The prices are nearly half the cost of The Polar Express (starting at $9.50 each)-- but of course, being the resourceful mom I am, I called and begged for a discount for our GoMomGo readers. What I discovered is that they truly are a nonprofit and that the Holiday Express is actually a fundraiser for the volunteer-run ORHF museum. Any proceeds are used to continue to restore the beautiful steam engines. They also have no difficulty selling out their trains, so whip out your calendar, pick out a date and buy your Holiday Express tickets today! For more information and tickets, visit ORHF or TicketsWest GoMomGo Tips:
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the series where GoMomGo will bring you an exclusive discount on a local tree farm! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Christy Rice is a mom to two great boys. They love to explore all that Lane County has to offer. Christy is a superstar at researching & finding awesome picks & deals for GoMomGo!  Cloudy with rain. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the low 40s. 100% chance of precipitation. 7MPH winds from the SW. Forecast for Eugene, Oregon on Friday, October 31, courtesy of Accuweather. Are you surprised? Let’s embrace it! We love Oregon and there’s so much we can do and enjoy in light of the puddles. Trick or Treat in a location where the candy is close together Neighborhoods with driveways close together, a Trunk or Treat event (many large churches host an event like this, comment below if you know of one we haven’t included), Downtown Eugene, or Valley River Center. Check out our Fall Picks article from last week for descriptions of these events. Rainproof your Trick-or-Treaters Add layers for warmth: even if the top layer of the costume gets soggy, waterproof layers underneath (UnderArmor, ski gear, etc.) can keep kids from getting chilled. Warm hands and feet equal happy kids: unless the costume requires a specific shoe, rain boots or waterproof shoes will keep feet happy (don’t forget wool socks!). If your kids insist on a certain shoe, get them to wear plastic bags over their feet. Add a pair of waterproof gloves and you're good for the evening. Add an umbrella: choose a bubble shaped one with a hook so your kids can hang their candy bag from the handle (and the bubble shape keeps them from poking out eyeballs). Stay home and have an impromptu party Many kids age 3 and under really could care less what day it is and are too young to embrace all that this holiday is about. Rather than drag them around on a wet walk with their older sibling(s), enjoy time at home with them while the other parent ventures out with the older kids. Invite other families to do the same, pick up some of those cheap take-n-bake pumpkin-shaped pizzas at Papa Murphy’s, and enjoy these easy, last-minute activities together: Games and Crafts: Follow our GoMomGo Pinterest and find: paper plate Spiders, decorating a giant felt pumpkin with face pieces, and lots more! Decorate pumpkins: often kids this age are too young to carve a pumpkin, so here’s an opportunity for them to decorate in an age-appropriate way. Ideas: Go to the Dollar store and get stick-on mustaches and fake glasses, pull out the paint and go for it, or (our favorite) pull out the Mr. Potato Head pieces and go nuts!  Music and dancing: take the time to teach your kids some finger-plays and classic songs. Also try searching for the “Children’s Halloween” playlist on Pandora or “Children’s Halloween Party” on Spotify to liven up the mood!
Finally, if you’re concerned about the thousands of grams of sugar your household just inherited in one night, we have a great alternative for you! GoMomGo has teamed up with some local military families to send unopened candy to our soldiers overseas! Email us to get info on a drop-off location. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How awesome are those ideas? & the Mr. Potato Head pumpkin? Adorable! Thanks, Christy! Tomorrow on our Facebook page you can share pictures of your little creatures (& animals & Elsas :) We would love to see how you celebrate! No matter what you decide to do for Halloween, we hope that you have a super safe & super fun time! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Christy Rice is a mom to two great boys. They love to explore all that Lane County has to offer & share their adventures with GoMomGo.  The cooler days bring crisp apples, pumpkin treats, and Instagram photos of vintage-y barns, colorful leaves and hayrides. Grab your little ones and go enjoy some of our favorite FREE autumn experiences throughout the Eugene area! For information about Lane County’s corn mazes and other seasonal events, visit here.
~~~~~~~~~ Apple Daze at Deterring Orchards 30946 Wyatt Drive in Harrisburg Every Saturday and Sunday through October Activities include: Animal corral, hay rides, playground, apple blaster, treasure mining, music and antique farm equipment. Free apple cobbler and fresh cider samples. U-Pick fruit from the orchards and seasonal produce. Vintage Market vendors to shop for fall décor! *GoMomGo tip: The samples, the play area, the little goats, and the browsing all offer ample opportunities to enjoy family time without spending a dollar! But if you plan on doing your produce shopping at Deterring (do it…your dollars will go a long way) plan to buy $20 worth of produce so you get free tickets to the Apple Blaster (and your kids will adore you!). U-pick pumpkins are $.19/lb and u-pick/bulk apples seemed to be around $.60-.80/lb. Overall, Deterring’s produce prices are some of the best we’ve seen anywhere in Lane County. ~~~~~~~~~ Pumpkin Carving at Red Wagon Creamery 55 W. Broadway October 27-30, from 3-5PM Red Wagon Creamery hosts demos led by artists from The Watershed Arts Foundation. The first 100 youth get free pumpkins from local farms to carve, and everyone learns the history of pumpkin carving and gets 50 cents off a Red Wagon ice cream treat. ~~~~~~~~~ Haunted Market at 5th Street Public Market 296 E. 5th Avenue October 30-31, from 6-8PM Prepare for two nights of trick-or-treating, face painting, spooky story-tellers, a photo booth, and fun for the whole family. Admission is FREE if you bring 3 cans of food to support Food For Lane County ($3/person otherwise). ~~~~~~~~~ Community-Style Trick-or-Treating various locations Friday, October 31 There are a number of organizations throughout Eugene who host a collective trick-or-treat experience for the family to enjoy: Willamette Christian School Friday, October 31 from 5:30-7PM There will be up to 40 cars decorated for a fun and safe family trick or treat experience all set up in the WCS parking lot (2500 W. 18th Avenue in Eugene). It’s TRUNK or Treat! Valley River Center Friday, October 31 from 6-8PM Bring your kids to VRC to trick-or-treat throughout the mall! A great indoor option in case the weather is soggy! Downtown Eugene Friday, October 31 from 3-6PM Locations will be marked with orange and black balloons. At 5:30, join the Masquerade of Munchkins at the Eugene Public Library and follow the route to Noisette, Red Wagon, Voodoo Doughnuts, and end at Kesey Square at 6PM. Summer is officially in its hey-day for me once I’ve had the chance to visit a farm and pick my own berries. I’ve been known to drag my kids to a U-Pick farm every weekend through August and September, and here are two of our favorite spots so far:
Stillpoint Farms 86915 Territorial Hwy, Veneta Monday-Saturday, 10am-5am – open seasonally If you can find a farm recently acquired by a couple of visionary millenials, I highly encourage you to visit! Upon arrival the young farmers, Zac and Katie, gave a warm welcome then jumped right into hospitality mode. Katie delivered a personal rundown of the farm and toured us around the wooden storefront they recently built which boasts flats of picked berries, farm fresh eggs, homemade soap, and local honey. Zac handed us each a bucket fitted with ropes so we could enjoy the freedom of two-handed berry plucking, then tipped us off to what’s prime for harvest. We quickly gathered three pounds of blueberries in our buckets – quite a feat amidst all the sampling going on. Berry bushes that are peak for picking are marked with reflective ribbon each morning. Stillpoint is starting to grow various produce in their greenhouse (ask them about it), but for U-Pick berries count on strawberries in May, blueberries and raspberries in July, and culminating with all three berries in August and September. Blackberries are now ready too. Prices are very reasonable. And yes, all their produce is Certified Naturally Grown – which is an “organic” certification that small, local farmers earn through a co-op of farmers across the U.S. In other words, no pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers ever used! Detering Orchards 30946 Wyatt Drive, Harrisburg Check website for events and seasonal hours I had no idea one could pick fresh peaches in Oregon. But, I got to do this at Peach Daze (August 1-3, 2014) at Detering Orchards, and it was a quintessential orchard experience. While we were there primarily to harvest the peaches (only $1.25/lb), there was also a Vintage Festival with vendors selling all sorts of Pinterest-y treasures. We also sampled the farm’s fresh pressed cold apple cider and perused their farm stand store for locally made snacks and goods as well as all kinds of produce that they grow on their farm. One farmer took us on a 30-minute hay ride and in that time we only covered small portion of their vast farmland. He plucked a couple of ripe peaches for us from the trees as we tractor-ed on through the orchard rows. I will be returning for Apple Daze which occurs every weekend in October. So much goes on and grows at Detering Orchards, so visit their website to figure out when you’d like to visit. I know we all have our own U-Pick farm near and dear to our hearts, so please comment and share your favorite place in Lane County...especially if any farm is still doing raspberries! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Christy Rice is a mom to two great boys. They love to explore all that Lane County has to offer & share their adventures with GoMomGo.  Thistledown is a diversified fruit, vegetable and flower operation. They are committed to minimizing chemicals and sprays and all seeds are non-GMO. The nursery at Thistledown is extensive and lovely, and I will return when new plants are on my shopping list. They also have a market offering local products and wine.
And, yes, it's a good place to bring the kids -- especially piggy-backed on a trip to Lone Pine which is just a mile south. One of my favorite things about Thistledown is the idyllic photo opportunities...think rusted-out trucks, split rail fences, a deep red barn, a water wheel, a covered bridge, stables with donkeys and horses, bunnies, chickens, and a goat pen. My kids spent nearly an hour in the hay maze with tunnel slides. Thistledown Farms, Junction City open daily May-October, 9am-5:30pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Christy Rice is a mom to two great boys. They love to explore all that Lane County has to offer & share their adventures with GoMomGo.  photo via eatcology.com If you’ve lived in Oregon for any amount of time, chances are you have heard the acronym ‘CSA’. Do you know what it means entirely? I consider myself pretty well versed in most things food and nutrition, but I didn’t quite understand what a CSA was until, well, I decided to join one.
Participants in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program pay farmers at the beginning of the season or in monthly installments throughout the growing season in exchange for fresh produce and/or dairy, eggs and meat. This is a benefit to the farmer because it helps them defray the high capital costs that occur every spring (which is why you will find that the earlier and the more money you prepay, the deeper your overall discount). I found a program that had more options regarding pay schedule. I was apprehensive to pay such a big portion of my grocery budget at the beginning of the season, so I found Living Earth Farm, which allows me to pre-pay monthly for one dozen eggs and $20 worth of produce each week. When I commit to that amount, I get a 10% discount. On Wednesdays, the farmer Sharon Blick posts what she has available from their crops and you pick your produce online until it totals around $20. I pick it up at the farm directly on Fridays, although she has a few sites throughout town where you can pick up on Tuesdays. Sharon is incredibly organized, personable and very quick to follow up with my myriad questions. So far my family has been able to enjoy their eggs, which yes, truly do taste different than the ones you pick up at the grocery store. Fresh, bright orange yolks have been a special treat we look forward to each morning! Sharon’s produce is beautiful. Each Friday, I open the gate at her home/farm and find my way to the outdoor mini fridge. Sharon and her husband, Jim, have both popped their heads out to say “hello.” Inside the fridge there are cartons of eggs, raw dairy, and bags of produce labeled individually for each customer. On top of the fridge are buckets of water full of bright green stems of chard, kale, and herbs and green pint boxes of freshly picked raspberries, currants and jostaberries. In good faith, you pick up the products you pre-ordered and add them to your simple summer menu plan when you get home. We have really enjoyed this partnership. There is a lot more to say about Living Earth Farm and their accomplishments. Learn more here. For more resources, visit the Lane County CSA Program page. Have you participated in a CSA program? What did you think? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Christy Rice is a mom to two great boys. They love to explore all that Lane County has to offer & share their adventures with GoMomGo.  i am so excited to introduce you to our newest GoMomGo addition! Christy is so great & enthusiastic, with super ideas. she's going to help GoMomGo be us but better :) here she is, in her own words... My name is Christy and although sometimes I refer to myself as "Super Mommy," my 4 year old son reminds me that Super Mommy is just pretend. My 2 year old son is at that age where he thinks I can do no wrong, so I spend much of my day reveling in his snuggles, his kisses, his very, long, hugs and just enjoy being Queen of his universe, at least for today, or until I tell him he is not getting any more raisins. My husband and I dream of taking our family to many places one day, but if we could pick just two, it would be Disneyland and England. A perfect Eugene day for our family would include outdoor exercise (Mt. Pisgah, Spencer's Butte or a Willamette River bike ride or walk) followed by lunch at Laughing Planet or from a street vendor at The Saturday Market. We would also be caught enjoying Vanilla Jill's ice cream or picking our a treat from Sweet Life. A game at Autzen, PK Park or Hayward Field would just top it off. Or we could always just do with a stroll through the U of O campus. On a rainy day you might find us in Costco, creating a free lunch for ourselves via the sample trays. But more often, we spend time at an indoor play group that operates as a co-op. We've made some great memories and friends here.  My hope in these early years of parenting is to enjoy my kids as we navigate our little city full of quirks, culture, tradition and beauty. I love living in a place where we can share so many experiences and hand-on learning opportunities, from the influence of the University, to the music and athletic events Eugene draws, to simply picking up some of our food from a farm rather than a grocery store; we are enjoying our discoveries and always looking for new adventures!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ isn't she great? in addition to writing blog posts & improving things on the website, Christy will also be working on selling ads. we are excited about what this means for GoMomGo, things like giveaways, discounts & freebies for you at awesome Lane County businesses! if you have a business of your own or think there's one that would be a perfect fit for us, email us here & let us know! thanks! have a great day! :)  “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?—every, every minute?” –Thornton Wilder, Our Town This question often lurks in mind as I go about the dailies of being a stay-at-home mom. The other day while on a walk with my boys, my 4 year old trotted ahead on his bike and I noticed him pause at a muddy ball field. He soon ventured out, squealing with delight as the wheels slid effortlessly through the grass, spraying him with mud. He begged, “Please mom, can we stay?!” And I had to physically stop my instinctual response (“No, we’re going!”) and ask myself if this was a Thornton moment worth missing. But I have found one setting that allows me to effortlessly “realize life” while I am in it, and it never fails: the farm. I rarely am turned down if I invite a friend to join us. Being close to the primitive sources of life is absolutely cathartic. While I knew Eugene well as a college student, I left in 2005 for a job. I have recently returned, and am rediscovering my city through a mother’s eyes. The one thing I know is that we would be amiss to only haul our kids out to the farm for pumpkins in the fall. It’s June; the strawberries are ready! So over the summer, my kids and I will visit different farms and will commit to learn the various ways we can partner with the food-to-table movement deepening throughout Lane County.  photo via Lone Pine Farm's website Lone Pine Farms, Junction City. open daily May-October, 9am-7pm Lone Pine is a farm stand that offers produce and products from Northwest farmers and vendors at a very reasonable price. You can shop their market, pick from their seasonal crops (currently there are no-spray strawberries and flowers), visit farm animals, and enjoy the many opportunities to play with your kids. Humm Kombucha, Cafeto Organic coffee, and Breadfarm baked goods are among their local offerings. They also have the best prices on handmade Ghana baskets I have ever seen. Make time to relish a treat while you’re there: Umpqua ice cream, homemade pie, or our family’s favorite, a huckleberry cream cheese cinnamon roll. There is lots to discover with young children at Lone Pine on any given day: an updated, fenced play area, an outdoor picnic area, a gold panning adventure (extra fee), goat feeding (costs a quarter per bucketful of feed, although resourceful kiddos scrounge through the gravel for pieces of dropped feed), and saying “hello” to the sheep, chicken and their babies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christy Rice is a mom to two great boys. They love to explore all that Lane County has to offer & will be sharing their adventures with GoMomGo! Hooray! |
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