First Sunday of Advent Quick Daybook {November 29. 2015}

I'm still here! Sorry it's been so long. Just too much to get done and of course my favorite thing got put at the end of the list. I thought a quick daybook would be helpful to get back into the blogging habit. I have a few post waiting in draft to finish up in December. Pictures feature some of the Advent decorations we put up today (please excuse the quality since it's dark today).

 

Outside my window it is cold and rainy. It looks to be a colder than average week.

I am hearing Advent music! It warms my heart to hear it and it's been a long wait. 

I'm thankful for time with extended family during the Thanksgiving holiday. It's hard to find time for that currently in this season of life. 

It has been slow going around the house. I was able to deep clean Caleb's closet last weekend. He has been doing a good job of keeping it clean (minus the dusting) but I needed to move furniture to dust behind and sweep under. I also need to locate his scout book that went missing . . . . found it! I need to make my list of cleaning projects to do during Advent.

This week we are back to school. Otherwise it's a very light week and I hope to get some extra projects done.

I'm working to complete our Advent plan and hopefully everything will run smoothly during this time of waiting and preparing anticipation. My list includes a reading list, family prayer time, family Advent activities, preparing the home for Christmas, preparing our hearts for Christmas, shopping for Christmas, and how to keep the season low-key (or a plan to keep celebrations to a minimum until Christmas).

In the school room we are in the last three weeks before Christmas break. We will probably take all of the Christmas season off. I'm still fine tuning the school plan for term 2 while we are living it. I have some post coming up that are all school related.

I am struggling with working in a timely fashion. It seems like it takes me at least twice as long to get things done than it should. Is it age? It seems like my mind is a cluttered mess and it takes a long time to settle into a task and then stay focused until completion. It's a daily struggle!

I'm pondering the homily at church this morning. (We didn't have our normal priest today.) Father Greg kept using the word anticipation to describe how to prepare for Christmas during Advent. I really enjoyed all he had to said. Nothing new but it was refreshing and a great message for the first Sunday of Advent. It definetly gave me some ideas for Advent plans. 

I am reading A Child in Winter (Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany with Caryll Houselander) by Thomas Hoffman for daily devotions. Today's reading had a quote from The Reed of God (p38), "In the season of our Advent-waking, working, eating, sleeping, being-each breath is a breathing of Christ into the world." I like that thought.