This Advent

This Advent...

We are not just getting ready for baby Jesus (as if that weren't enough)but also for our baby boy that is due to be born at the beginning of January.  I wish I could write some kind  of deep reflection about expecting a baby at this time of year but nothing of interest really comes to mind.  Mary was about to give birth at this time of year and so am I.  I have a lot that I would  like to do to get ready for Christmas but I also have a lot to do to get ready for a baby.  There should be some kind of spiritual lesson to learn here, shouldn't there?  Alas, I am not able to articulate it. 

Hubs has been doing a great job of making sure we gather around the Advent wreath every night. This used to be my job but I am happy to have him take the lead.  We light the candle, say the Advent prayer and read from the days Gospel.  We then sing Advent songs like Maria walks amid the Thorn, and Gabriel's Message ( I think it is called), and a Christmas Carols so the kids can learn some before Christmas.  He calls Advent "ours" because neither he nor I grew up with any Advent traditions to speak of but we have developed our own with the help of Catholic websites and bloggers.  

We have some Jesse Tree ornaments that we made together as a family when my oldest was an only child.  We tape those to the fireplace mantle after I tell the kids a little bit about each one.  We also have an Advent Calendar with little books for each day that tells a bible story in Jesse Tree style or has a Christmas Carol to sing or a little prayer to say. 

These are some really very simple things that we have been doing as we have built a little bit of an Advent repertoire over the past few years with the help of websites like CatholicCulture.org.  The best part is that we have been praying as a family every night this week.  I'm grateful and hope that we continue at least throughout this season of Advent. 

Our Garden Plot

We've been gardening. There is a community garden about five miles away from where we live and we got a plot. It has been fun working with Gabe and seeing him try to make it all work out whether it is working to try and get the clumps out of the soil or answering my questions about what he thinks we should do about this and that since we are novice gardeners and trying to figure tings out. He hasn't shown an interest in gardening for a few years but now he seems to be enjoying it.


Gabe, the two little ones and myself have been driving out the "the garden" and it is fun to see the little ones want to imitate us big ones. Hoes and rakes for kids are sold at the hardware store and I think that I should have bought them (maybe Istill will) because the little kids really want to help and there is plenty of space for them to muck around on the part of the garden that hasn't been planted yet. The dirt is very clumpy it would truly be helpful for the to hack away at the clumps with us.

Anyway, it seems we were taking a break from our formal homeschooling and working in our garden has provided us with a place to get out of the house (and for Gabe to come up from the basement) and do some hands on learning. It's good for us.

Children Help Us Slow Down for What Really Matters

Today since the ground was a tad wet I took the little ones for a walk around the block.  Smileyboy rode in the stroller while three-year-old Pumpkin girl walked and sometimes ran ahead.  It's such a joy to experience the fall leaves with Pumpkingirl at this age.  She seems to really understand that it is fall and during fall the leaves turn colors and fall off of the trees.  She gathered a few leaves and some acorns and put them in the cargo compartment underneath the stroller.  We love going outside and we all seem to get a little antsy when we don't make it out. 

When I walk by myself it is mostly for exercise and I walk fast.  With the little ones I really enjoy taking the time and watching them notice everything around us. As most people with chldren know, this is one of the most marvelous things about having children if we allow ourselves to take the time and linger with them.  It's at times like these that we forget about our grown up cares and ambitions and remember that relationships are what we are put on this earth for.  First our relationsip with God and then our relationship with each other.  What better way to live this out than basking in God's creation on a walk with your children? 

Prayer Schedule-Work in Progress

Here is a general prayer schedule that I have been trying to do:

Morning offering along with praying for whoever and whatever I am inspired to pray for.

9:30 Prayer with Angelboy and Pumpkingirl (if she is so inclined.)  We read about the saint of the day on catholicculture.org then we pray the morning liturgy of the hours or another prayer that would preferably have to do with the feast day.  These are usually suggested on the sidebar with the page about the saint.

12:00  We pray the Angelus before lunch.  Sometimes we forget and just do it whenever we think of it.

Naptime-I read blogs or write on my own which I suppose could count as spiritual reading since most of what I read is Christian/Catholic housewives and others. 

7:30 is family prayer time with the rosary or another prayer.

Before bed-My husband and I read and/or say a short prayer together.

Other-I try to pray whenever I am nursing though this can be difficult as the baby is easily distracted from the task at hand and have been having to wrestle with him a bit.

Mostly Happy Sunday Dinner

Yesterday I made pork roast for supper. It was a good old-fashioned Sunday dinner. Was it picture perfect? No. There were fussy children and I became a little stressed and grouchy when the food was done and I was trying to get it set out in a somewhat attractive manner while it was still warm. We had invited my brother over and he was holding the baby (one of the fussing children)and singing Billy Joel songs (loudly). This was sweet, but in my state of mind only added to the chaos.

We didn't really eat the meal together either. I had to go up stairs and feed the baby as soon as I was done eating, and my husband couldn't eat when I was eating due the need to get his blood sugar where it should be first (he is diabetic). My two-year-old daughter had a cold and seemingly little appetite and was the other one of the fussing children so my husband put her to bed early (while I was feeding the baby) which seemed to be fine with her.

However, I did get to see my husband eat when I was done feeding the baby. This meant I watched him while he was eating to see if he liked what I had made. He did. He's easy to please and it did turn out pretty well if I say so myself.

So I made a meal that I was proud of (I wish I had photographed it) ,but at the same time I once again got to practice letting go of the things I had no control over. Children (especially very young children) are good at helping us with this.