A Tuesday Daybook

December 1, 2009

Outside my window...
gray skies, a little rain, wet street, 46°. Brrrr.

I am thinking...
how quiet it is here this morning, with all the kids and grandkids gone.

I am thankful...
for precious time with my family.

I am wearing...
jeans, long sleeved red tee shirt, black socks.

I am remembering...
images of my grandchildren throughout last week:
Jacob showing me his Lego constructions and declaring to me that he is "a engineer." It's true. He is. :o)
Reece's voice calling to his cousins, "Wily, Cae-en, Jakie, Wyssa!"
Book shopping with my book lover, Ahlyssa.
Caelen making me and Kelly laugh so hard during our hike.
Lily, so sweet and gentle with little Camryn.
And Aubrey, delighted to be among all the children, smiling her beautiful smile.
There is simply nothing more wonderful than grandchildren.

I am going...
I've taken Ron to work so that I could keep the truck. I'll go to Mom's later this morning, then I have some shopping to do. My car is still in the shop, but by tomorrow it should have a new transmission and new brakes. I'm going to feel like I have a new car!

I am reading...
I have a stack of books on my nightstand, Tad, the book Mom's neighbor wrote, and three books Jason brought for us to read: Whatever Happened To Penny Candy by Richard J. Maybury, A Nation Of Sheep by Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, and Meltdown, by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

On my mind...
getting some Christmas shopping done early so I'm not rushing at the last minute. My daughter-in-law, Kismette, showed me how to use the "notes" feature on my iphone to make a Christmas list that I'll always have with me. I got some ideas for gifts for the kids while they were here.

From the learning rooms...
we'll talk about Thanksgiving a bit today when Reece is here, and why we had that big feast last week. :o) Then we'll move on to Advent. Our theme for the next "study" is Children Around The World. And Reece will learn about smallest to largest, more/less, many/few, the same as/equal, and taking away.

Noticing that...
I'm hungry! I've not had breakfast yet.

Pondering these words...
The antiphon for the invitatory psalm of Morning Prayer from the beginning of Advent until December 16: "Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come."

I love Advent. The quiet days, waiting for Him, the King who is to come.

From the kitchen...
I might make turkey pot pie for supper. Most of the leftovers are long gone, but I still have some turkey.

Around the house...
Lots of bedding to be washed, floors to be mopped, carpet to be vacuumed.

One of my favorite things...
my new laptop computer! It's awesome.

From my picture album...
On Sunday the grandkids and I set up our Advent wreath. It's on the coffee table in the living room, low so that they could see it easily. Reece, being the youngest there, lit the first candle.

We had a little ceremony. We made the sign of the cross, prayed the Responsory, blessed the wreath and lit the candle while we sang, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

The blessing we used:
O God, by whose word all things are sanctified, pour forth thy blessing upon this wreath, and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and may receive from Thee abundant graces. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

I've never been one to rush the Christmas season, never putting up lights and tree at Thanksgiving, but waiting until around the middle of the month. Now that we are Catholic, we savor the season of Advent, making our preparations one step at a time. First the Advent wreath, a bit later the Nativity scenes. We will probably set up the tree around the 15th, but may not decorate it completely until even later.

We are entering into the first part of the liturgical year, the Christmas Cycle. The season of Advent runs from the first Sunday of Advent to December 24th. The second cycle is Christmastide, which includes the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas Day), His Circumcision eight days later, Epiphany (the adoration of Jesus by the Magi) on January 6, and Christmastide closes eight days later.

So there is plenty of time to celebrate Christmas. The slower pace during Advent gives us time to really think about this baby boy, God in human flesh; time to anticipate His arrival, to meditate on why He came to us and how we can welcome and worship Him.

I wish you a blessed Advent season!

You might like to visit Peggy's site to read other daybooks, or start one of your own.