Advent Daybook

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Outside My Window ...
The neighborhood glows with Christmas lights.
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I am listening to...
The new Amy Grant Christmas album. I love Amy Grant!

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Towards rhythm and beauty ...
We are thoroughly immersed in the feasts and traditions of Advent. This year, it's all coming together without too much stress. We're doing what we've done in years' past (with a few additions provided by creative friends), and reading what we've always read. It's still awfully busy though!
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I am thankful for ...
a season of reconciliation, peace, and joy.
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From the kitchen ...
we'll have Peppermint  Day this week (not sure which day yet). We'll read peppermint stories and make peppermint bark and peppermint marshmallows. And it's time to finalize a menu for the extended family Christmas gathering.
oh and...
did you know that pomegranates have long been associated with fertility? And did you notice that they are only an early winter fruit? Perhaps that's why I have six babies born between September 29th and October 31st. I love pomegranates.
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To live the liturgy...
I am enjoying having Magnificat magazine around once again. The Advent supplement is good food for thought and prayer and I'm finding myself drawn into the daily rhythm of the Church's prayer after getting out of the habit recently.
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I am wearing ...
jeans, a button down flannel shirt of Mike's and Christmas socks. I have no plans to leave the house today and these are good clothes for nesting.
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I am creating ...
a picture post with our Advent doings so far. Maybe tomorrow...
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Towards a real education ...
I don't know why I thought that I could recover from surgery, feed an infant who still forgets the suck-swallow-breathe sequence sometimes, put my house back in order after bedrest, do all the Advent cooking and crafting,AND resume academics. I can't. And for the next 18 days, I'm not even going to try. We own everyone of the Christmas books on the sidebar. I'm just going to read aloud for the forseeable future.
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Bringing beauty to my home ...
I love the way my home looks for Christmas. Perhaps when Michael returns home, I'll ask him to take photos for a bloggy tour of the decor.
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I am reading  ...
The Gift of Faith, recommended on Faith and Family Live! This book very well may be the best book on faith I've ever read (I'm not finished yet).It's written simply enough to be readable even in translation. It incorporates Scripture,sacrament, Tradition, and the wisdom of the saints to offer a fresh perspective on the spiritual life.I'm reading it slowly and I know I'll return to it again and again. It also made my Christmas gift-giving list.
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I spent a few hours in the van this weekend while my kids played games and went to Mass. Sarah and I hung out where the germs couldn't get her. I read Rick Warren's The Purpose of Christmas. It was a quick read--lots of white space and clear language. It was a nice reminder of the reason for the season and I think it will be a really good book to pass on to the young teens in my life.
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I am hoping ...
to reconnect with some dear friends.
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Around the house ...
There's an awful lot to do! The children have been busier than they usually are in December with sports.Laundry is challenging Mt. Everest both in height and unsurmountability.  The house never really recovered from bedrest and time away when Sarah was in the NICU.The clutter situation is really out of hand. But I'm resisting the urge to have it all done by Christmas. Better, I think, to make it a January project.  

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One of my favorite things ...
the morning after Michael arrives home for Christmas break. It's so nice to wake up knowing all my children are under the same roof again. And that has become our new tradition for St. Lucy's day. We can't do it without him!
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A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
driving around to look at lights, Peppermint Day,and an evening out with Mike and Sarah .
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing~
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All set for Gaudete Sunday dinner.

Grown-up Christmas Wish

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Divorce is not just in marriage--it can be between a parent and achild; a friend and a friend, between siblings, in a church, in a women's group. Divorce is the natural result of living by the flesh and living with an "eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" sort of mentality--you hurt me, you don't deserve my love; you are wrong type of heart attitudes.

But love, unconditional love, that says, "No matter what, I am committed to you. I will love you. I will be loyal to you. I will accept you and I will be generous to you, not because you deserve it, but because I didn't deserve it and Jesus still loved me. I will love you for His sake. I will love you because His spirit fills me and when I am obedient to Him, I must love."

So, this Christmas, let us please Him. Let us forgive those who have wronged us. Let us put aside bitterness and malice and choose love. Let us cover over the flaws of those in our lives with His love, because it is the best gift we have to offer him. One of His last admonitions to his disciples was, "This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that a man lay down his life for his friend." Read the rest here.

Light a candle,

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snuggle your babies, and pray with your children for this beautiful woman and her family.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.            

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.