Advent...

This is the time we spend preparing our hearts and homes to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. As our lives change we find our traditions do too. The day after Thanksgiving is saved for cookie baking with my Mom and Sisters (including my sister-in-law, sister really) and the boys took the kids to the movies. Dinner was left over turkey, of course. My Mr. and I agree that Christmas goes through Epiphany, so we don't decorate until the middle of December. I always have our stockings separate from the rest of the decorations so the T's can hang them for St. Nicholas on Dec. 5th eve. Every Wednesday is church. All the congregations we have belonged to have served a simple dinner before service which helps full schedules and is great fellowship. My family started a name exchange within the siblings way back (we tend to be practical, almost to a fault.) As our family has grown we continue and have done this where some years we can keep it secret and others, not so much, but still we always exchange at least a tree ornament. Some years are lean and some are fat. I think every family has such traditions. When to open presents, where to put the nativity set, what is on the top of the tree, what to eat... This is the glue that holds my memories to the present. This is what binds the holiday to my heart. Our move has made some of these traditions impossible to participate in. No cookie baking, but Mom sent a care package of goodies, xoxo Mom! I have not yet found the Advent calendar but made progress on the knit one I am working on. We will have to find new places for our decorations. We have a mantel for the stockings and I got a garland for the mini knits. I cleared a space for the tree and hope to get it set up today. The rest will find new happy places to remind us of Christmases past and lead us to Christmases of the future. I miss family. They are always in my heart and more often in the front of my mind as our decortations bring the rush of memories. Spend this season giving love as God loved us and sent his Son to earth.