Monday, December 3, 2012

Advent Day 2

Well, really it is day 3. We were supposed to start on Tuesday but I was preparing and Baba was watching the kids overnight so I could get some things done. I got all the presents wrapped, the planning done, and found the bottom of one of the hampers. We had ten loads of laundry from vacation last week. I am still catching up.
I am glad that I am done with all the presents. I have spent too many Decembers focused so much on what to get everyone that I forget to put the focus where it should be. On Christ. This year I vowed would be different. I actually started in November doing a study called, Preparing Your Heart for Advent. I then made the decision to be done shopping by December. That goal is now complete as all the kids gifts are bought and wrapped. We are doing for gifts this year. Something they want. Something they need. Something they wear. Something they read. It made shopping so much easier and focused. What a huge relief to be done.
The next thing I really started focusing on was of course the actual focus of Christ. What did I want to do. I really have always wanted to celebrate advent like I did as a child. Tis year I made the commitment to do it. I did a lot of research and decided to do a Jesse Tree this year. We have a scripture, ornament, and reflection each night. The kids copy work and verses for school all come from the devotions. We did an intro and creation yesterday. I explained what a Jesse tree is and why we use that. We also talked about creation and what happened on each day. I so need to review that more often, I got a little confused. Tonight we did the first sin and discussed the fact that Eve was not  alone when she ate the fruit. Adam was "with her". We also talked about shifting blame and taking responsibility for your own sin. The kids and fun coloring the sheets and ornaments. We need to do some training with the little ones to be more still.
Another thing we did was to open a book each night until Christmas. I wrapped 28 books with paper and we read one a night. The kids are so excited to open the book and read. I am really liking this new tradition. Tonight we read Max Lucado's You Are Special. What a cute story. I can't wait to see what we read tomorrow. Since they are wrapped it is a surprise to me too.