Advent I

I am enjoying Advent more this year than any one I can remember.  Of course, last year, we were living with my mom for part of it, then settling into our new house the rest of it.  This year, we not only have the time to decorate and prepare our home for Christmas, but we also have a church family with whom to share our anticipation of Christ's birth.

The evening after Thanksgiving, we joined with other church members to make the laurel roping that festoons the sanctuary during December.  Though he'd never done it before, Don jumped in and tied a full 50-foot length of greenery.  I have a sneaking suspicion I will soon be known as the woman who brought Don to Williamsburg.

 

I took an idea from a blog I follow and made an Advent calendar with an activity for each day.  Every morning, we open a flap to see what's in store.  I'd say "Eat a candy cane" is Sarah's favorite so far.  She asked today if any of the activities repeat, and I think this is the one she had in mind.

 

 

She decided to make a calendar for Don and me.  Each day, we remove a flap to see how many days 'til Christmas.

We started decorating last week, and Sarah was excited to unwrap all the pieces in "her" Nativity.  I bought it before Don and I were even married, just because I thought it was cute.  It's perfect for a five-year-old, however.

 

Nick claimed the empty box....

 

I've always loved this one that my aunt made for my mom eons ago and that she passed on to me last year.

 

 

Sarah wrote a letter to Santa last week.  Leave it to her to make a seemingly simple request challenging.  Just how many different color markers ARE there in the whole wide world?  I guess Santa will know....

 

 

 

Last Friday, Sarah had a half-day of school, so on the advice of two of our neighbors, we drove to a nearby town to cut our Christmas tree at a sustainable tree farm.  They practice "stump culture," where the tree is cut a few feet above the ground, leaving a mother stump that will produce more trees through shoots.  I've never heard of such a thing, but I'll take their word for it.  As you can tell from the pictures, it was a self-serve operation run out of a rustic cabin, but there was an old guy working out front who was just a hoot.  We got more than a beautiful tree for our $25.

 

 

 

 

Saturday afternoon was time for my least-favorite Christmas tradition:  making Swedish sausage.  Sarah definitely feels otherwise, and the good news is that she is now proficient enough that I don't have to be involved at all.  It is a wonderful father-daughter activity.

 

 

Once the sausage was made, we decorated the tree.  Wouldn't you know it, just when Sarah is old enough that we don't have to worry much about her breaking ornaments, we get a kitten, so all the fragile ones need to go up high still. 

 

That night, we went to a Christmas concert at our church by a choral society made up of members from the many small towns nearby.  It was lovely, and I appreciated the chance to see the church at night during Advent.  This season becomes more special to me with each passing year, as I watch Sarah grow in her understanding of it, and as I work to make it more meaningful to all of us.