Snow, Sun, and Fun

It couldn't have been a more beautiful day for some sled fun!

Love This Season

I really love Advent. I especially love the intentional spiritual focus. I suppose this purposefulness should be present all year long, but it is just so poignant during Advent...and I love that.

We have had some really great discussions around the Advent wreath, during family devotions, while gazing at the nativity, or near the Christmas tree. There is so much symbolism...so many reminders of why we believe what we believe, why we do what we do, why we hope.

And it inspires.

I mean, what other time of year would you peek into the bathroom and find this:

Or be sitting at the breakfast table and be treated to this:

I really love Advent!

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign;
In the bleak midwinter
A stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him —
Give my heart.
--"In the Bleak Midwinter" by Christina Rosetti

The Backyard Rink

It's here again. Planned for months, the backyard rink was finally able to take shape last weekend. There were some little bodies eager to help.

The maintenance crew had to put in some extra effort to keep everything smooth.

Today, all four kids had their first (backyard) skate of the season.

Many hours of fun still to come, I'm sure!

Finding Our Christmas Tree...and Who Are These Three?

We went a-tree-hunting on Friday.



Today, we did the decorating together. (I admit that I did a bit of re-arranging after the younger helpers moved on to other activities!)

Later, in the afternoon while Jadon napped, I invited Andrew, Ethan, and Abby to help me at the grocery store. Look who I brought home!

(Who knew that a grocery store would have complimentary Saturday face painting???)

You might take for granted...

You might take for granted a hug from your eight-year-old. Not me.

One year ago, Andrew was uncomfortable with most forms of physical affection (except hand-holding or kind of leaning into a person). He has come a long way in the last 14 months, but he still usually comes backwards or sideways into hugs and regularly shies away from kisses. When he receives a gift or is excited about something, he will sometimes give a very agressive squeeze around one's middle, but his head is usually ducked, and it's more like a tackle than a "normal" hug.

This morning I got a hug.

Completely spontaneous.

Not overly agressive.

Upright.

Forward facing.

A wonderfully affectionate, natural, just-because-we're-family, kind of hug.

What a great way to start a day!

Advent Preparations

"Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life." -- Simone Weil

Advent has the potential to be such a meaningful time. We are seeking to be intentional about how we approach this season of the year. Here are a few things that we have been doing to prepare...

1) Our family advent wreath is ready for mealtime lightings.


2) I created these banners to hang at the front of our church during the Advent and Christmas seasons.

3) We've collected children's books that focus on the real reason for Christmas. These will be wrapped and numbered to serve as a countdown for Christmas. Each day, we will open and read one book. (You may notice that I shamelessly borrowed from the public library in order to round out our collection!)

4) All of the kids have been hard at work with various homemade decorations and gifts...I can't say much more, because I might ruin a surprise or two!

Moon Fun

Our "preschool" theme of the week has been the moon. Having already had a week on the sun and another on stars, I was thinking that a week on the moon might be a bit dull...but I was wrong! We've had a lot of fun learning about all things lunar! (For a fascinating read on this topic, I would recommend Buzz Aldrin's book, "Reaching for the Moon.")

Now every circular food item is an opportunity to review the phases of the moon! First the full moon...

...then a gibbous moon...

Next comes the half moon...

Everybody loves the crescent moon!...

And don't forget the new moon!