I've had a hard time trying to figure out exactly how to write this post in light of the recent tragedy. I realize this is most certainly not "the most wonderful time of the year" for way too many families in Connecticut. We are full of sorrow, our hearts are broken and our thoughts are consumed with all of the families affected in Newtown. We pray for the families that no longer have a chance to celebrate holiday traditions with their babies. And we pray for our broken world and all of those we've failed so that they see violence as their only alternative. As one of our pastors recently said, "Come quickly Lord Jesus! Come quickly!"
We are truly enjoying the Advent season this year. I'm sure it's due in part to the girls' ages and in part to the fact that I am not working and having to rush, rush, rush.
The first thing the girls do each morning when they wake up is to check out which "character" is in their advent calendar.
We finally hung our stockings, got out our holiday books (which we read daily),
and unpacked some special Christmas dolls. These came from my Grandpa Clete's grocery store that I remember playing with when I was little. Does that make them antiques? I wonder if they're worth anything?! How very special to share them with our girls!
We think St. Nicholas may have visited us earlier this month. We woke to find matching Christmas jammies in our shoes!
Ruby and Ada made ornaments at our Mom's Group one week. We painted them and wrapped a few up! I've had quite the "helpers" wrapping this week! It's so sweet to see how thoughtful Ruby is about which presents are for who and how she carefully selects just the right wrapping and gift tag for all of our loved ones!
We went for an after dinner stroll tonight to see the Christmas lights. Our neighborhood had their annual progressive dinner so the sidewalks were lined with luminaries- so pretty! We sipped "hot" cocoa and nibbled gingerbread man cookies along the way!
One of my favorite new holiday traditions is making christmas dresses. I know, I'll probably end up on Awkward Family Photos one of these years but I'm having fun! We were in Target a couple weeks ago, and my shoe horse starts yelling for me to stop so she can look at the cuuuuuuute sparkly shoes. After a lot of "I just want to look!" and "I just want to try them on!", I realized they had a style that came in both Ada's and Ruby's size and would match their Christmas dresses. I caved!
I checked the blog before leaving for work. Thanks for sharing all the wonderful goings on in Missouri. Now I can go to work with a big smile on my face. Looking forward to seeing you all soon!
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