23 days of Advent

Maybe the trick is to get up at 5:00 a.m.

That's what time I got up today and now I find myself with a few extra quiet minutes alone so I can blog.

If that's actually the trick to blogging then you can forget it!  I won't be able to do it! LOL!!
I have a huge issue sleeping soundly when I know I have to get up at a certain time.  I just get super worried that I am going to sleep in and sleep through my alarm, which really is so illogical.  There are 3 alarms that go off every morning in my house and then I have my phone set to go off at a 7:19 in case we all push snooze or off and sleep in.  I have to deal with this issue, because really there is actually very little possibility of sleeping in for me!

So I decided I am going to try to share my advent celebrations on my blog.  Eeek!
This should give me something to blog about every day for the month of December and should hold me accountable to be a fun mom and it should be good!
I am a little nervous about it to tell the truth...I do anticipate there may be days where I am posting two days in one, but I am truly hoping to post daily!

So today I am going to tell you a little about how we started to observe advent as a family!

Four score and seven years ago....okay, not really, but probably about 7 or 8 years ago, when Ballerina was about 7 and Tapper was about 3 and the little Princess was almost here, I had a really profound time at Christmas being pregnant.  That pregnancy was really a time where I just felt like I understood something new about the birth of Jesus.  I had already been a Christian for a few years, so our Christmas celebration had already become focussed on Christ, but I felt something kindred with Mary while being so pregnant at Christmas (Princess was born in January).  I found myself that year not able to travel home to the praries from the foothills because I was just too pregnant, and then felt like I could imagine the daunting task Mary and Joeseph undertook to get that young woman to Bethlehem to be counted and pay their taxes.  I grieved for her as I imagined the way people would have talked about them.  I myself having a pregnancy while not married, I felt like I could relate to the shame - only hers was truly a righteous life, but no one would have believed it.  They would have been ostracized in many ways.  Then I thought about the things they would have said about Jesus.  Oh my...how my heart broke as I imagined the self righteous, pious, busybodies who would have had no grace or mercy for a child born out of wedlock.  Ugh!  My heart truly broke.

I found myself hoping that they would have stayed in Bethlehem for a while (as some believe they did) finding for themselves a new life.  And being grateful to God that when they fled to Egypt, there too they would have been able to start anew....and so much like we were, able to live our lives together - struggling through the first years of marriage, HAVING to figure out how to live with each other, because there was no family around to complain or gripe to...but having to figure out how to be a family ourselves.  Although our first years of living in the foothills were hard for me, NOW, on the other side of them...I am grateful for them.  I remember feeling like Mary and Joeseph would have had that too.  An opportunity to start their family on their own terms, without the gossip and intrusion that would have come from being "at home". 

That year Christmas meant so much more to me.  Now, I know that we don't know exactly when Jesus was born...and I know that lots of scholars believe he would have been born in the springtime, as usually that was the time that the shepherds spent time in the fields with their sheep, when there were baby sheep in the flock...and I know that they didn't have snow or tinsel or the rest, but I still feel like it is good to have a time where the world recognizes the birth of Christ.  Even if that is not the focus of their celebrations, even if it is Santa or presents or what-have-you, it is still a time of year where we, as Christians can celebrate right along, only keep the real thing the real thing...so, that being said, rather than forget Christmas (which if that is your personal conviction, that is okay), we choose to celebrate. 

Someone asked me recently if we do Christmas...to which I responded, "Yes!  We are big on celebration and small on presents".  Which is only kind of true!  We are big on celebration, big on presents, just small on spending money!  And this is one of the ways we do it...

So, advent!  We began observing advent about that same time, maybe even that same year and we started by reading a book called Bartholomew's Passage which was an awesome book that takes place in the time of Jesus, and is broken into one section every night starting on the 4th Sunday before Christmas and almost every night the chapter ends in a cliffhanger.  The book is designed to be read aloud and it is good for both girls and boys.  Very exciting, very full of adventure and danger and serioulsy was an amazing time for us as a family to really focus on preparing for Christmas.  Each chapter is followed by a devotional thought, Scripture and a prayer starter as well.  Very cool!
So this was the start, there are also two other books in the series...
 So the next two years we read those as well. 

Now, we still read one of these books each year, and even though we have heard them each twice already, going on the third reading, no one cares...we love them just the same as the first year.  But then last year I heard of something else that I love.

I am all about building the anticipation.  I mean, when I think of how the first century people were LONGING and anticipating for their Messiah, I want to recreate that longing in my kids!

So when I heard this idea (and I don't know where from, so I can't give credit) I jumped on it!  The person said to really increase anticipation for Christmas and the fun and excitement of it, without increasing cost and unneccessary clutter...use what you have.  So you take all the Christmas movies, CDs, craft books, favorite Christmas baking recipes, everything and wrap them up individually.  Then each day of advent your kids get to open one present!  If it is a CD, you put it in and listen to it...Boney M anyone?  If it is a storybook, you sit down and read it.  If it is a Christmas movie you watch it.  If it is a craft book, you make something.  And it makes it fun and exciting, but doesn't require any purchases.  Just some planning. 

Last year when I heard of it, I didn't have time to get it all arranged the way I wanted, so we only could really participate well for a few days, but this year I am hoping for a full on 23 days of advent fun!

So, I hope this will be fun, and do-able, I will try my best to capture and blog each day with it, just a short post...and we'll see how it goes!

See you tomorrow!

Apparently I don't blog

I was surprised at how long it has been since I blogged - for a while i thought about blogging, I really did, but then I think I forgot.  We have been pretty busy with company and school and just life getting back to normal.

I have been trying to decide how I can do a "31 days to..." kind of series like Kelly is doing on this blog but I don't know if I am that interesting, and truly I don't know if I have 31 of anything to share...AND I don't know if I could actually blog every day.  Although that is one of the reasons I want to do it!

Here are some pics from our house lately

 This was a soccer clinic that we sent the middle 3 girls to.  The Princess said to us this year when we were planning our activities.  "Did you know that playing soccer is my dream?"  Her dream....really?  So we looked into rec soccer and decided to give it a go.  We had considered it last year, and even for outdoor spring league.  As a matter of fact, that same child had asked last year and because we weren't sure she would actually like it enough to commit to October through March of soccer, we put her in a skills development class at our city's local fieldhouse.  It was great and she really enjoyed it.  In the spring however, when it was time to register for outdoor soccer, our house was going up for sale, and we didn't know what neighbourhood we were going to be living in when the season started, so we let is slide.  So we decided this year, since it is pretty inexpensive, requires no equipment other than indoor runners and shin guards that we would go for it...for all eligible children.  Even the Ballerina and Tapper.  What a rigamarole it all is to decide on activities and sports...ugh...I wish it could be decided for me!  Anyway, the middle 3 kids went to a clinic the week before the season started to get acquainted with the soccer ball, run some drills, and try and get them pumped for this new sport.
I will admit, it worked for 2 of them, but not necessarily for one!
Our oldest daughter couldn't go to the skills clinic that weekend (and she would have been quite a bit older than everyone there anyway) because she was at a bible quiz meet.

There she is at the far right hand side of the picture - long red hair.  Anyway, we stopped and watched this particular quiz and then came home - they are memorizing the book of Matthew this year - so amazing!

Here are some pictures of gymnastics as well...

Just Dash and Tapper did gymnastics this year.  We registered them for a 10 week session.  It is almost over.  I love it, but truthfully am glad it is almost done.

 

We also signed Ballerina and Tapper for a 6 week basketball session with some homeschoolers in our city.  It went really well, they totally loved the time and they learned a lot.  The coach was great and they liked just seeing some good friends for an extra 2 hours every week!  I don't blame them, because truthfully so did I!  I love going to homeschooling activities, so that I can hang out with the moms and wait in the lobby!  I was able to spend a little time with some moms that I barely ever see!  Totally worth it!

 

 

Well, now I guess I realize why I haven't really been blogging - apparently I have been driving people around.  A lot.  Hmm, go figure.  This doesn't even take into account church activities or ministry commitments.  Whew, no wonder our fuel consumption has seemed higher than normal!  ;)

 

Also, those of you with more blogger knowledge than me - I can't seem to upload more than one picture at a time on here anymore - any suggestions?