Taking a break...

This week has been crazy so far. It's Lo's last week of school before the break and it is filled with tests, papers and finals galore. Plus I am having a little Christmas gathering this Friday for my small group girls, which requires a little setup. Then there are those last minute gifts that need to be sent out. Random doctor appointments. As per my pathetic norm, I am not doing Christmas cards again this year because I am full of fail and always seem to think of this when it is too late. So with all of that said, I think I am going to take the rest of the week off and the beginning of next week.

 

So I wish you all a wonderful rest of the week and pray next week starts out incredibly. TTFN :)

Inner Jukebox...

a humorous sampling of the childhood albums
stuck in my head that play on "random"

Back when I was a kid, I used to hang out at this pool hall and shoot pool. In the afternoons, when things were usually quiet because most people work, the jukebox would be quiet also as there was nobody there to put coins in it.  The interesting thing about jukeboxes, is that when all is quiet and no one has played anything recently, it will pick a random song in its library and just start playing it as if to say "Hello, I am still here!" On some occasions this can be quite startling, as you go from quiet to Metallica's "For whom the bell tolls" in nothing flat.

Lo in a nutshell...

Lo

The thing about being "shiny" is that at any moment you can have a hundred ideas float through your mind but not be able to hold onto a single one. In fact, since I have decided to really try to make a go of this blogging thing, I have been thinking daily about what I should post but keep forgetting to write down these brilliant ideas. So this morning, tea in hand, I sat down to write a post and then my mind went completely blank. This caused me to look over to the only person in the room, Lo, and ask "What should I blog about?" and she jokingly replied "Your amazingly fascinating daughter." Then she proceeded to give me some real examples of things I could write, but the original suggestion stuck (much to her dismay).

and a box with little doors...(do I really need to say it? continued)

The Advent Box and the first 4 days of fun!

So we've made it!!!! The end is in sight!! I appreciate those of you who have followed this little series of posts. For day 1, go here. Today I bring you my favorite Christmas time tradition...The Advent Box!

 

I was blessed to find this beautiful box when Lo was around six.  What is the "Advent Box" you ask? Well, it is actually called an "Advent Calendar" and it is a special calendar used to count or celebrate the days in anticipation of Christmas. The actual days of the Advent season may differ but for us it starts on December 1st, because the box starts on December 1st.

 

Now even though this box is a tradition for us, please remember what I said at the beginning of this unintentional blog series, we are not a "This is how we've always done it" kind of family.  In fact, we are a "learn and adapt as you go" kind of family. So with that said our calendar has changed many times over the years.

 

When the kids were younger, I would fill it with candy, one item for each kid (glad I only had two).  Then as they got older and seemingly more cavity prone. I switched to toys!!!! Now the doors are small and only hold those real small cheap gum ball dispenser size toys and the kids had to trade off days.  But Kenny being much older and having no need for the toys started giving them to Lo.

 

Then one year after finding all those cheap toys lying around broken, I decided to try something different, alternating between candy and gifts. By the way the toys were always Christ focused, you can get tons of little what-nots at Family Christian Bookstores.  Since the gifts were bigger that year, I ended up putting little tags in the box that would correspond with gifts placed in a basket.  That year the gifts included a Christian Christmas Music CD, DVDs from the "Love's Long Journey" series and so on. That was good year, but a little expensive...lesson learned.

 

This year I money is tighter so instead of candy and gifts I have opted for "Things to do". This has been so much fun so far! We have had cards saying "Go look for Christmas Lights" and "Christmas Coloring Books" (BTW, this is why I needed to go color on Tuesday).  And don't worry if you are saying to yourself "How am I going to come up with 24 things to do?" because I found this blog full of Advent Calendar ideas, they have pre-made printables, saving me my much needed brain power.  If you are interested in them check out http://www.thepetitcadeau.blogspot.com/2012/11/countdown-to-christmas.html or if you are one of those crafty types with plenty of brain power, you can come up with your own.

 

Now, There are two things that have always remained the same and I repeat every year. First, is that I fill the box with bible verses pertaining to Christmas and the prophecies that spoke of Jesus Christ's birth.  I was worried this year as my laptop was stolen over the summer and my backup was damaged in the burglary so I was kind of stressed about having to recompile all those verses but "praise the Lord" for Pinterest! Bet no one has ever thought of saying that ;-)  Ask or in this case, Search and you shall receive! And I found another wonderful blog complete with verse sheets...Yay for modern technology! So if you are strapped for time and figure why do extra work, check out this link http://happyhomefairy.com/2010/11/30/bible-verse-advent-cards-free-printables/ and it is also a pretty neat blog as well.

 

 In addition to the verses, we have a small painted porcelain nativity scene complete with animals, angels and wise men.  I hide these little figurines behind random doors, starting with Mary and ending with baby Jesus on Christmas. Once we find a figurine we place it in the miniature stable scene.  It is these two things that make this Advent Box my favorite. I think it is because when all is said and done, Christmas is truly about celebrating and remembering my Saviour, Jesus Christ, and what He has done for me. After all that is the reason for the season.

 

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Luke 2:8-11 (NIV)

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

 

an Elf and a box with little doors...(continued)

Chippy riding our reindeer stocking holder

Okay, so I lied on Tuesday when I said I would tell you about the coloring but alas it still isn't time for that story. My goal for today is to get through our 4th and rather newer tradition, the Elf..."The Elf on The Shelf" to be exact.

So I found "Chippy", that's our scout elf's name, a few years back whilst perusing the many "shiny" things that Barnes and Noble carries. I love Barnes and Noble. If I had my way, I would go their everyday, find a book, a chair and a cup of tea and then sit there and read. Ahhhh, if only... Back to "Chippy", I didn't use him right away, in fact last year was the first time we saw "Chippy" for the entire month of December. Now I realize this may seem like a bunch of commercial nonsense, for many it is and can be, but for us, "Chippy" has brought us so much joy and laughter.

The Pickle, an Elf and a box with little doors...(continued from yesterday)

Yesterday I started blogging about some of the traditions that my family enjoys and today my plan is to share some more. (Go here to see yesterday's blog) So let's get this blog going...

Nummer drei - The Pickle! I love this one, my first husband, Nick, brought this one into our home. Now this is supposed to be a German tradition, however, there are some disagreements and questions as to the validity of who started it and if it is really a German tradition, but I'll let you google that if you want to find out more for yourself. For us it is a way to appreciate the tree and something else fun to do.  I originally thought it was an English tradition since Nick hails from England. Our understanding is that it was a way to appreciate the decorated tree and add to the fun of Christmas morning as for some of my early Christmas mornings consisted of a few minutes of present opening and then a long day of one of my favorite* children's phrases "I'm bored". (*insert sarcastic tone here)

Grandma, Ornaments, a Pickle, an Elf and a box with little doors...

One of my favorites, from Nana to my son.

I love traditions! I'm not talking about the kind that bring stress or the statement "this is how we've always done it" but the kind that you and your kids look forward to every year.  My parents weren't really big into traditions and yet I have somehow become a person that loves the joy that comes with traditions.  I have started a few Christmas-time traditions for my family that everyone seems to love, Nana started one when my son was born and I have actually brought one from childhood that my parents may have unknowingly started.