Naughty...or Nice?

Christmas Card 2010

Happy December 1st! I swear we were just trick-or-treating last week! Somehow, Thanksgiving squeaked by and here it is the month of December.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving celebration...our little family of five! We were fortunate that the daddy was off duty the whole Thanksgiving weekend. Friday meant shopping the deals with my favorite girl while the boys...all three...hung out at home. :)

Saturday, we took the little ones to see Santa. We have a great Santa at this little rinky-dink mall we like to visit. An outlet mall having fallen on hard times, it is completely low key and Santa is so "authentic" looking. This year we went early. Usually we're visiting Santa on December 23rd and my oldest is panicking over how Santa is going to make the toys in time!

See what I mean...authentic!

I think there was some serious discussion going on here!

In addition to all the ho ho ho-ing, we've also been quietly preparing our minds and hearts for the coming of Christ.  This year, Mary Catherine and I are participating in an Advent study that has to do with the Jesse Tree.  We are slowly weaving our way through the Old Testament.  Mary Catherine has so many questions and yet is doing quite well with grasping some of the more difficult concepts such as original sin and breaking of covenants.

As we prepare our hearts and minds for the birth of the Messiah, I am reminded of our pastor's homily last Sunday, the 1st Sunday of Advent:  Stay Awake.   You do not know when the Lord will return...are you prepared to meet him?

Ironically, I am having a hard time staying awake.  My little man has me sleep-deprived.  Luke is a bit under the weather and between the congestion and beginning of teething, he hasn't been a very happy camper.  As I try to practice self-donative parenting (Catholic version of attachment parenting), I find these long nights to be trying both physically and emotionally as nothing has been able to soothe our little one of late.  Speaking of which...guess who turned 4-months old on Monday?!!!

Mary Catherine (6) with Luke (4-months)

Wishing you all a peace-filled December as we await the birth of our Savior.