Hail, hail the Word made flesh

 

Peace on Earth ~ with overwhelming gratitude

 

Gloria in excelsis Deo

 

O Come, let us adore Him, Christ the LORD

 

JOY!

 We are having a wonderful Christmas day, and I feel like this:

Love Came Down

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...

 

21 Years!

21 years ago I stood before my parents, friends, and God and vowed to love this wonderful young man for the rest of our lives.

I love you, BP ~ even more today than I did that day.

Here's to another 21 years together.

And another 21 after that!

Lest we forget what is really all about:

 

In the Advent Box this week

Here are our special activities for these last days of Advent:

• Sunday ~ light the candle of LOVE
  


• Monday ~ put up the tree
  


• Tuesday ~ spend the day with Gram & Gramps
  


• Wednesday ~ final day of baking
  


• Thursday ~ Christmas Eve ~I am hoping for a peaceful meditative day; we'll see ~ We will have shepherds pie for supper then we will go to my oldest daughter's apartment for some sweet treats then to a midnight mass then home to light the CHRIST CANDLE and read the Christmas story from the Bible.
  

Bleak Midwinter

 It is the first day of winter (in the northern hemisphere). 
That makes today, the darkest day of the year.

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying,
"I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
~John 8:12

" I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness."
~John 12:46

Come to my heart, LORD Jesus!

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
  When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room
  For Thy holy nativity:

    Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
    There is room in my heart for Thee;
    Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus, come,
      There is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang,
  Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth cam'st Thou, Lord, on earth,
  And in great humility:

The foxes found rest, and the birds had their nest
  In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
  In the deserts of Galilee:

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word
  That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
  They bore Thee to Calvary:

    Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
    Thy cross is my only plea;
    Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus, come,
    Thy cross is my only plea.

When heaven's arches shall ring, and her choirsshall sing
  At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me up, saying, "Yet there is room,
  There is room at My side for thee!"

    And my heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus!
    When Thou comest and callest for me;
    And my heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus!
      When Thou comest and callest for me.

Words: Emily Elliott, 1864.
Music: Timothy Matthews, 1876.

Keeping Advent ~ Plans for Week 3

Since this is the week of JOY, we will be doing activities that will bring JOY to us and others:

• Sunday ~ Light the candle of JOY ~ go to Luminations


• Monday ~ Salvation Army Red Kettle Day


• Tuesday ~ Gingerbread Day


• Wednesday ~ Blue Santa Day


• Thursday ~ Samaritan's Purse Catalog Day


• Friday ~ Ornament Making Day


• Saturday ~Cookie Baking Day

Keeping Advent ~ Plans for Week 2

Here is what my children will find in the Advent box each day this week:

• Sunday ~ light the candle of PEACE


• Monday ~ we'll begin reading Bartholomew's Passage
  


• Tuesday ~ tonight we'll watch A Charlie Brown Christmas
  


• Wednesday ~ let's make some paper snowflakes
  


• Thursday ~ write notes to grandparents
  


• Friday ~ let's hang our Advent lights
  


• Saturday ~ we'll go to the Old Town Holiday Stroll (a street fair in our town)
  

Saint Nicholas Day

We don't really do santa claus, and for my children that has never been a big deal.
Jesus is real; santa isn't.
Saint Nicholas was a real man who lived, loved and obeyed God, died and is in heaven.  You can read all about him here.  We honour him because he exemplifies the spirit of Christ-like giving that we focus on during this season, and we want to follow his example.


Like Annie at Learning As We Go we participate in Operation Christmas Child. 
We also give to The Salvation Army, and this year we will be taking part in Operation Blue Santa, because Frap's workplace is involved with that.
Like Amy at Splendor in the Ordinary we give chocolate coins and tangerines (and candy canes).
Like Kerry at A Ten O'Clock Scholar we have a special breakfast.
Ours is a mini preview of our Christmas brunch tradition.
We read  The Legend of the Christmas Stocking (which we own) and any other appropriate books I happen to find at the library.

We also have a family tradition of decorating and hanging new stockings every year on the 5th of December to open on St. Nicholas morning. 

I tell the story of how that began in a separate post.  If you are interested, you can read it here.

Our Family's Stocking Tradition

Here is the story of how our tradition of decorating new stockings every year came about.

I dreamed of knitting beautiful stockings for my husband and I and all of our children.

Our first child was born in August, 1990 in Seattle.  Her Grandma in Texas sent her a pink Baby's 1st Christmas Stocking that year.  We hung it up along with my childhood stocking and one I purchased for my husband two yeas before when we got married.  The following Christmas I was pregnant with baby #2; I had been given someone's old sewing machine, and I had bought some beautiful red pinwale corduroy.  I sewed new stockings for four.  Two years later I added another red corduroy stocking for our third daughter; although it was never quite finished.  Still, it served its purpose.  Two more years ~ one more daughter ~ third daughter's stocking still not quite finished ~ can't find any more red pinwale corduroy.  Not to worry; fourth daughter used pink Baby's 1st Christmas Stocking, and I had another year to work it out.  Then...

We move halfway across the country ~ without the sewing machine.  I have another baby on the last day of November ~ a boy!  My parents come from Seattle to meet their new grandson, but won't be staying all the way till Christmas.  We decide to celebrate with them on Saint Nicholas Day instead.  Now we need 9 stockings, so we buy those cheapy red felt ones from the dollar store and decorate them with glitter glue.  Of course, the next year all of the children are a year older and don't like their childish decorations from the previous year, so they beg to do new ones, and...

Voila'! A family tradition is born.

I still have dreams of knitting beautiful stockings for each of them.

WeblinkWednesday ~ Advent Links

• Our daily Advent practice includes a Scripture reading, a devotional reading, a seasonal read aloud (or two), a seasonal activity (craft, cooking, destination, etc.), and of course music.  Someone has put all of these things together in one place online at  A Christian Christmas Advent Calendar .

• A wonderful, WONDERFUL collection of Advent devotionals, prayers, resources, as well as some beautiful artwork ~ you could spend hours perusing this ~ I have
  

• And if you still haven't visited the Advent Carnival, well, what are you waiting for?!