Today is the beginning of Advent. I love the season...I love the contrast of festivity and contemplation and the annual call to understand the human condition of waiting, both for the Messiah and for His answers in our lives. Tonight we'll begin our family celebration of Advent and once again savor the wonder of the Incarnation.

I'm trying to figure out how I sent CJ to Virginia with two FULL suitcases of Christmas presents (Yes, thank you Southwest Airlines for allowing THREE pieces of checked baggage!), then rearranged and consolidated some of the boxes, and my bathtub is now heaped at least a foot higher than it was!

At any rate, the shopping is DONE! Now the fun part of seeing the rest of it roll in and then carefully wrapping each gift. The only thing left to do is stocking stuffers, and that is usually the province of The Papa, so I'm relaxing. Well, okay, I usually do have to chip in on some of the girls' stockings if I don't want them getting only flashlights and poker chips. But at any rate, I've pretty much reached the finish line on gift purchases!

And speaking of stockings, I've only just this week become aware of a raging controversy among my kids: Who's getting the stockings in the will?

Say what?

Umpteen years ago, when the A team was little, I made four (beautiful) patchwork stockings. Why four when we only had three children, I don't know, but there were four. Then later, when the B team started arriving, I made two more from the same basic pattern, so we've always had a set of six since then. Obviously I was acting out of a lack of faith that we'd ever have more than six children, or was I just hoping that they'd start moving out in time that we'd never need more than six? Anyway, seems that most of the kids think that the set should STAY a set (we've never assigned one stocking to one child permanently--they find out on Christmas morning). They don't want them split up when we die...but each of them has a great reason why he or she should get ALL of them! I'd tell you to stay tuned, but I hope this one doesn't get settled for a very long time...

I never thought I'd see the day when the Los Angeles Times called CNN the "Corrupt News Network". But I offer them my "high five"! That so-called debate was a travesty.

I've received so many great email questions this week...about celebrating Christmas, about the whole idea of Advent, about child discipline, about theories of education....To those of you who are still waiting for answers, I haven't forgotten you. I just happen to have clocks that are missing two or three hours each day and I'm trying to figure out where they've gone LOL...

Lots to do yet this evening, so snip, snip, that's all....except for these Advent lyrics from this morning's worship service:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Labels: Holidays, Kids, Music, Political Observation