week one:come

empty.

waiting to be filled.

the manger is empty.

there is no ONE in it.

it is waiting to be filled.

filled by a PRESENCE.

THE Presence.

one little candle burns brightly.

in the quiet of the evening.

first lit by a young girl.

she attends to the linens and the wreath.

careful that things are just so.

these rituals take effort. and time.

two things that seem to be very sparse around here lately.

simplicity is the key word this year.

the house looks so bare .

all of the festive fall clutter is gone. stashed away in boxes. tables and shelves have been stripped of many beloved knick knacks.

i want our hearts to soak up the nakedness.

so that when He does come we are not already full….

happy first week of advent friends.

i hope you are all well.

gold star days

literally. because we cut out and “glittered” gold stars this morning. on the porch. soaking up the sun. while drinking juice. and talking about all sorts of things. for a minute we were even hot in our warmest clothes. but it felt so good.

figuratively speaking it was a gold star day because my husband fixed the badly behaving washer. it is only ten years old. too young to retire. and he brought home a Christmas tree that is making this house smell so pine-y and yummy.

it was a gold star day because i had an interested kindergartener. this is fun mama. he said to me. and he listened to stories. even a story without pictures. king midas and the golden touch. it captivated his attention with just the words. and as a teacher, in this day and age, where so many things captivate our childrens’ fancy(ies) with sights and sounds. bells and whistles. i felt victorious knowing for that short time it was just me and him. the book and the sound of my voice. and it was enough.

speaking of captivating. and victorious. i am finding peace knowing that i have yet to “get” advent right. i have been a catholic all 33 years of my life. a seriously practicing one for only about 10 years and there are still so many things i don’t “get”. there are so many feast days this month. activities. crafts. and things vying for my attention. but luckily i am still that child too. the one who can be captivated with just words. the words of my God. when He speaks to me. and that has to be enough right now.

so for that. i give myself a gold star. for efforts’ sake. two days of being sick with a migrane is great for clarity on these sorts of things. revelations and such. and it suddenly came to me that i am not a bad mama because we’re not getting everything done on those lists. sometimes we just have to be. i don’t want this time with my children to look like these pictures. blurry. knowing that there is some kind of beauty there in the background. but i can’t quite make it out. because i didn’t stand still. because before i know it. i’ll blink. and they’ll be gone. these gold star days.

God’s green earth

i feel like we’ve seen it all. like i am done with vacations forever. but after traveling over 1100 miles in a car with my kids and husband. for 6 days. staying at various hotels and relatives’ houses. i can’t help but wonder if i am even required to make sense at this point in time.

that being said. i loved this time i spent with my family. the colors of the leaves on the trees. the different kinds of sand on every beach we went to. i loved the architecture of the missions. the gardens filled with flowers. the fountains. the way the mist settles over the ocean just before sunset. the way the water looks when it hits the rocks. i loved all the different species of birds in all of their different habitats. i loved having my pockets filled with treasures by little and big hands. i love that our nature treasures were so plentiful that by the end of our trip that we put them in their very own bag. i love that my husband still puts his arm around me. and how even while i slept he was vigilant about beautiful picture spots. the first time i felt the truck come to a halt unexpectedly i woke up. not knowing why we were stopped. only to find myself in the middle of some perfect place that he felt  he needed to share with me and my camera. i love all of the unexpected twists and turns this trip took us on. it was refreshing and exhausting at the same time. and i love that we are home. sweet. home. and that it is the first sunday of advent. the sound of choppy Christmas carols being played on our piano. the comfort of our own bed. and i think that if anything, this trip made me want to find peace and simplicity in the weeks to come. the weeks in which together, we will wait for HIM.

father’s homily today talked a lot about the light. and the truth and those are two things that i really felt these past few days. as we travelled all over God’s green earth.

i have a new sense of appreciation for mary and joseph as they journeyed to Bethlehem. no modern conveniences to ease their burdens. no gps to tell them which way to go. with alternate routes for missed turns.

just a star. and a promise.

and my heart wells up with joy thinking about how that promise applies to us too. if only we purify our hearts. of all the clutter and nonsense. so we don’t miss that star….

 

the quilted advent calender

i would like to humbly share with you the quilted advent calender. the middle image/picture is from a very old book about the Christmas story. it is of baby Jesus in the manger with the animals bowing to greet Him. i copied it onto some of that computer paper/material.  i did a little embroidery on the edges. and hand embroidered the numbers on pieces of a vintage tablecloth. the top has 3 rod pockets. 2 are yellow. one is blue. there. it is done. except for the advent scriptures i plan to print on cardstock and roll up like little scrolls and tie with ribbon.

it is much nicer in person. but so are most things….. right?

up to

this weekend i plan to finish this advent calender i started last year. setting all other projects and cleaning aside. it has been a long. stressful week and i think i deserve a little sewing time.

i am excited about winning this give-away on ginny’s blog. her place is so beautiful and inspirational. and of course i can’t wait to get the stuff to try felting. i really need a new hobby, don’t ya think?

today i somehow got caught in a whirlwind of king arthur and high-school english history. and whilst doing so i stumbled upon this book. and it has captivated me. it is not light reading by any means. but i am so fickle right now about books that i could use something of this nature. i have a stack about a foot tall by my bed. no fun stuff. except that blog book, which i sped thru. my reading during this season in my life is mostly to keep up with the kids. but i have resorted to cliff notes. not for bedtime stories though. and then certain things in the cliff notes make me want to just start tale of two cities from the beginning. i forgot how much i love to read. for my sake. now if i could just quit taking notes on everything that i do read…..

so what are you up to??