Anticipating Advent

In my Winnipeg circles, I am acquainted with more than a handful of women who have rather mastered the art of Advent.  Instead of bustling through December, they have created a climate of calm in their households to focus on the real reason for the season, as the saying goes.  Christmas preparations are done well ahead of time - cards written, gifts bought or made, baking started.  This allows for the month of December to be an intentional time of experiencing Advent as the season of contemplation and anticipation that it's intended to be.  A number of them have very thoughtful advent calendars for their families, involving readings, participating in acts of charity, and/or special activities for the family.  They put our reliance on Playmobil and Lego Advent calendars to shame (though our kids were happy and I was pleased that I'd bought them on clearance last year). :)

Two of these women also participate in Buy Nothing Christmas, which on the surface could explain why they were able to get all their prep done before December!  It's a "national initiative started by Canadian Mennonites who offer a prophetic "no" to the patterns of over-consumption of middle-class North Americans . . . . a movement to de-commercialize Christmas . . . " Essentially, participants find ways to maybe not buy nothing for Christmas (though that's what many do), but perhaps to donate to charities, buy used or fair trade products, make gifts, offer services or other such gifts to loved ones.  While we have worked at increasingly doing some of these things, we're nowhere near to a buy nothing Christmas.  And December didn't find me in a calm state . . . though it wasn't a total frenzy either.

Our entry into Advent started with an overnight visit to our friends' farm in Morden, as S had to preach nearby the next day.  It was a cold weekend, but the kids immediately had a skate on the frozen creek and checked out the neighbour's animals (fascinated by the red snow telling the sad tale of a horse's demise the previous afternoon - no pictures of that!). :(

Checking out the chickens.  It's a good thing her coat was reversible, as earlier she'd
scooped up a chicken and ended up with poop all down the front of the pink side.  We wiped it
off as best we could, but ick!  I had so much laundry to do when we got home . . . 

Sadly, an hour after our arrival, A started to feel unwell.  She crashed on the couch while we stayed there, then remained on ours for the next week and a half, missing nine days of school!  It was very unlike A, reminding us of how fortunate we are that she's normally so healthy and also of what an easy-going girl she is.  She didn't complain at all as she lived off a very meagre diet, though each night in her sleep she groaned for hours in pain . . . which was so disconcerting for me (while also depriving me of much sleep).  It was lovely when her appetite returned and she ate more than I for two days!

A relaxed photo of S as he watches over our ailing A

Enjoying the jelly en route home, a little too much so

From what I can remember, we took part in a few special events around town in the latter part of the month.  One was the Santa Claus Parade downtown - our second year in a row and only done for the kids!  This year we just went for the last fifteen minutes of cold and our kids didn't seem to notice they'd only seen a handful of floats! :)

The kids and I went to a "Walk Through Bethlehem" special at a church nearby.  With the live animals and craft activities, they enjoyed it.  I, however, remembered the event of the same title by West Van Baptist when I was a young adult and remembered again what a "have" place the Lower Mainland is.  This one was very unprofessional low key in comparison. :)

A photo op where we dressed-up as sheep at the end of our walk

December had a few school events to attend for Ai and Iz's classes.  In both cases, mine was the kid in the group goofing off, Ai exceptionally so!  It was a tad embarrassing though at this age, it still comes across as cute enough.  Iz at least tried to sing at times and fortunately in her class, there were kids having tantrums not wanting to sing, so I think I was the only one who noticed her antics.

A had a flute recital rather than a school performance.  Unfortunately, S's staff party was booked the same night as A's flute recital, so it was a hectic (very cold) evening of getting from one event to the other.

A and Janice, her teacher

While not a relaxing month, I was pleased I'd for once gotten the house decorated at the start of December, for the first time in years done a wee bit of baking and started and finished Christmas cards before Boxing Day.   They didn't get mailed until Christmas Eve, however, as I didn't have a family photo to send.  Ai and I fiddled with the automatic timer Friday night

but clearly that wouldn't have worked well for a family shot!  Thankfully our friend dropped by Saturday morning so we quickly threw on coats and attempted a few takes outside in the -20 something temp.  Desperate to get my mail out, I didn't really care that none of them were that great.  But on hindsight, I'm wondering why I didn't use this first image instead of the last, though the middle was an obvious no.  Oh well . . .

I have a lot to learn from my Mennonite friends about improving our Advent season to slow things down.  As was, Christmas Eve we had friends over and I got to enjoy their church's evening service while S looked after our kids.  Christmas itself was relaxed with just our nuclear family, enjoying a few Skype and phone calls with our extended family.

Next year, I hope to be a few steps closer to a thoughtful Advent season, reflecting more on the special arrival of a special baby so long ago.

This year, however, we were awaiting other special guests arriving not by virgin birth but by Air Canada and on Boxing Day.  I'll look forward to blogging about that soon.