Beginning December And Advent {Daybook}

Outside My Window...

There's a breeze outside and it's 14 degrees. The morning stillness in winter before the sunrise is a starkness I never get used to.


Thankful For...

The Thanksgiving weekend and lots of family time with my parents and brother's family.

Being healthy so that I can tend to the kids under my roof who are under the weather.

Thinking About...

This from our pastor's corner in this week's bulletin:

"Quite often, the hectic pace of the season becomes more of a passing blur rather than an entered preparation. The sadness is that when we miss the preparation, the moment we await is less fruitful. When we miss out on recognizing the journey, the meaning of the destination is diminished."


I am Hearing...

The usual morning chatter of children with the occasional outburst of crankiness. It seems many of them are not a morning people.


Praying...

The St. Andrew Christmas Novena for a number of intentions, but especially for my SIL and my baby nephew that will arrive in spring.

For my mom on her 60th birthday today.


What I'm Reading...

Before my trip back in October, I stumbled upon a series of books I had read from in the past. I was delighted to find that the Tales from Grace Chapel Inn series has numerous books and authors that keep alive the stores from Grace Chapel Inn. These light reads are perfect for me right now when I have few moments to read, but I can make great progress each day. I am enjoying the tales from Acorn Hill and the lives of the Howard sisters as they run the local Bed & Breakfast. I was especially delighted when I just found out there are just under 50 books in this series.



What We've Been Up To...

The off-and-on approach to potty training yet another stubborn, reluctant trainer.

Twelve of our chickens met their destiny (aka our freezer) on Black Friday. Thanks to my brother's help, I could stay uninvolved and he and Reed took care of business.

Christmas shopping, mostly of the online variety, means many packages greeting me at my door. Seriously, what did people do before the internet?! Thankfully, the bulk of my shopping is complete and I'm eager to start wrapping.

Celebrating Thanksgiving and my mom's 60th birthday last weekend with my family. It was a lot of fun spending some rare time together for two whole days!

Preparing for Advent at home and at church. That means more hours spent with small parish projects as part of my job and constantly planning ahead during this liturgical season.

Lily and I enjoyed a girls afternoon and attended the ballet of Sleeping Beauty. It was Lily's first ballet and only my second. We agreed that it was an enjoyable afternoon out of the house.

Jonah has officially graduated from Speech services at the public school. It was a day to celebrate after just over one school year of weekly sessions. Both his teacher and I agreed that he had made great progress and had achieved all of his speech goals. Hooray!



From the Kitchen...

Not much after the Thanksgiving feast and weekend of irregular eating schedule. I really need to get back to a menu plan. I hope to warm the oven and my home soon with yummy Christmas cookie baking with the kids.


From the Schoolroom...

The students will keep plugging away on their usual schoolwork while I try to keep the little girls entertained with projects. Gianna especially seems to enjoy busyness and "projects" to do while the kids are schooling. I am working on compiling some easy Advent/Christmas projects, coloring sheets and worksheets for the coming weeks. I just found a bunch of preschool goodies over at first-school yesterday and I'll seek out a few more today. These will all go well with the stack of Christmas books I recently snatched up at the library.


Around the House...

There's still Thankful decor, lots of turkeys and pilgrims on the scene. I'm looking forward to Christmas decorating and changing a few things this upcoming weekend.


On Tap for this Week...

Getting a couple kiddos healthy again.

Piano lessons tomorrow, plus a few errands and Christmas shopping for a few of Reed's gifts.

A three evening mini-mission at our parishes focused on Mary, that includes confessions on Thursday evening. I hope to attend at least a couple sessions and settle into Advent with prayer and quiet.


Picture to Share...

**I'm sharing more photos via Instagram these days. If you don't see me much here, I am over there and joining the HolyLens project this Advent. Click on the icon at the top of my sidebar to find me.