Preparing and Playing

Yesterday was spent cleaning the house.  We really are trying to have everything looking nice before we start decorating on the Sunday before Christmas.  We also have some special guests coming at the end of the week.  This meant preparing a place in the "inn."  We had to clean up the guest room (It had become a storage room.) and also find a bed.  We also did some painting in the guest bathroom.

Needless to say, we were pretty busy yesterday making everything look nice.  We did have our additions to our nativity scene and Jesse Tree as well.  And, Michael continued the Advent story.

One other thing we were able to do today...complete our Christmas outfits.  I love choosing outfits that are special and will make the day special.

The motivation to have everyone working so hard yesterday was to spend today away from the house.  I spent my morning at the pregnancy center.  I had a great morning helping women in need.

Michael and the children headed to our local museum.  They arrived just in time to join a filed trip group.  This meant they were able to use the rock climbing wall.  They spent their entire visit going p and down all the levels.  Even Brendan just made the height/weight requirements to climb.  Unfortunately, Zaira had to watch from the sidelines and cheer the boys to the top.

Then we all met at the park and had lunch.  We had wanted to visit the Sunken Gardens & Tea Garden.  We found out that we could walk through the area but the gardens were drained and were being repaired.  I suppose it is more interesting to visit a garden in the spring.  We will try again later.  However, that did not stop the children from running around the area, and possibly wearing themselves out.

We were able to add our first animal to the nativity scene.  The ox represents the stubbornness that we must shed in our lives as we accept the will of God.  We then added a watchtower ornament to our Jesse Tree to remind us of the story of the prophet Habakkuk.

As I was looking at the Jesse Tree tonight, I thought about the cards we have received from family and friends.  A thought came to me to tuck these cards into the bare branches.  Now we can remember to pray for everyone every time we look at our tree!

As we continue the baking of Christmas goodies, I like to read the book about the traditional candy enjoyed during this time.  The book is The Candymaker's Gift.  A very nice book with wonderful pictures.