I have been wanting to blog for several days now, but haven't found time until now. And each thing I want to write about is important and deserves to be the first thing in the post. What to do? What to do? :)
Advent
When I was growing up, the season of Advent was a special one for us. Our church had activities and at home we observed the season by having evening devotions, lighting the Advent wreath, and opening doors on our Advent calendar. (By the way, go check out Estella's lovely wreath.) There were four kids, so of course there were always arguments discussions about who was going to do what. One person would light the candles, another would read the devotions, and the third would say the prayer. The lucky fourth person could blow out the candles. (This was dangerous for anyone sitting near the candles as hot wax would sometimes blow out, too. I had to be careful around those crazy brothers of mine!)
Advent is a special season for my family now, too. Unfortunately, we don't always use an Advent wreath and have devotions every year. But one thing we always do is set out our manger scene. The stable is something I purchased as an adult, but the figures themselves were my mom's. When she got a new set, she gave this set to me. It is one of the most special things I own. Every other year or so, E and I buy another urn or basket to add to the scene.
This set is special because it was my mom's and because I remember it as a child. It is also special because E and I move the figures around each year to remember the Christmas story. Right now, Joseph, Mary, and their donkey are traveling to the stable. They move a little closer each day. (After I took this picture, we realized that they were already pretty close to the stable, so we moved them closer to the edge of the table.) The other figures are "waiting in the wings" for their parts. The Wise Men don't make an appearance until Epiphany. A few years ago, E decided that the Wise Men probably had a place to stay while they were visiting, so she and her daddy built an Epiphany house. (It's not up yet.)
Super-secret Cabled Project
I'll have to confess that it is soooo hard for me to wait for Christmas presents. I just can't wait to give people their gifts and I guess I like getting them, too. I'm usually the person that says "Let's just open one now" a few days before Christmas. That has worked well because now it's a tradition that we open one present on Christmas Eve. ;)
So when Katie blogged that she had a super-secret cabled project, I couldn't wait to see what it was. It wasn't even for me and I wanted to see it! Well, it turns out it was for me! That super-sweet Katie knit me a super-secret pair of socks! I was so excited to get a package from her that I didn't even take a picture of the beautiful wrapping paper and bow. I didn't even take a picture of the unworn socks. Instead, I grabbed them and ran to a chair to try them on right away. They fit so well and feel so great! What a wonderful surprise. Thank you, Katie!!! Words cannot express how touched I am that you knit a pair of socks for me.
Handmade Christmas Gift Swap
My package from Christina arrived today. It's heavier than I expected and now I'm really wondering what's in there! I'm exercising amazing restraint and waiting until she gets her package to open mine. I sure hope it gets to her tomorrow! ;) Even though I'm looking forward to seeing what's inside my package, I'm more excited to see if she likes her gifts. And I'm looking forward to seeing if Dana likes hers, too. Oh, the anticipation!
