Advent – Anticipating the Coming

Jonathan and I come from a church tradition that does not not embrace the celebration of Advent. Yet, over the last several years, two Advent traditions in particular have deepened and enriched our savoring of the Christmas season, and of the grand story of Redemption itself.

You can get a glimpse of our little journey if you click on “Advent” in the category cloud. I also thought I would share a bit about the Advent traditions that have become so meaningful to our family.

The Advent Wreath:
The basic physical layout of the wreath is four smaller candles (one for each week of Advent) surrounding a central white candle (the Christ candle, to remain unlit until Christmas Day). The candles are usually entwined with greenery or placed in an actual wreath. Usually, three of the surrounding candles are purple, while one is pink (to express Joy, a traditional them for week 3). Blue seems to be easier to find than purple in taper candles, which is what we use, so ours are often blue and pink. Some use blue and red. More important is the focusing theme for each week.

Each of the four weeks of Advent has a theme, which differ according to varying church traditions. During the first week, one of the surrounding candles is lit as the theme for that week is highlighted. In each of the following weeks, another candle is lit, so that during week 4, all four candles are lit while the wreath is in use.

Our Advent themes are Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. In the evening after supper, we light the candle(s), read related Scripture, and sing related songs (carols, other hymns, Scripture songs, etc). Because we are not part of a church tradition that uses this tool, we have developed our own eclectic version. It is a time of quiet reflection (punctuated this year by little outbursts of energy from our darling three-year-old-in-need-of-training) that helps to ground us during a time of year when it is so easy to be distracted.

There are many websites that might be helpful if you are interested in learning more about Advent Wreaths. I’ve done a lot of searching as we’ve settled into our our family wreath tradition.

The Jesse Tree:
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. Isaiah 11:1-2

The Jesse Tree tradition is a tool that traces the Story of Redemption from Creation to the Coming of the Savior. Each day of Advent (or, in our house, as often as we can manage), the participants look at another piece of the tapestry that the Father wove in preparation for the coming of the Son. It is breathtaking to watch His plan unfold.

Each day, an ornament representing the day’s event is placed on the Jesse Tree. This can be a branch that you stick in a pot, an evergreen tree, or a tree formed on the wall by the ornaments themselves. One year we used a leftover giant campaign sign and painted our tree on the back side. The particulars are not a smidgen as important as the Story.

We are enjoying a new aid for our Jesse Tree this year, from Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience. There is a link on the righthand sidebar of her blog to a wonderful free ebook for the Jesse Tree. It gets right to the heart of the matter. So much so that I struggle to read through without tears of gratitude.

We have other “Christmas traditions,” but these two Advent tradtions have become a priceless part of the season for us. They are tools that we intentionally choose to use to calm and focus our hearts and minds. They make our anticipation and celebration richer and fuller.

What Advent/Christmas traditions aid you in focusing on the Grand Story?

Creation Museum Trip ~ Day 4 – Sat. Oct. 9 ~ Last Day

Saturday was our last day at the museum, and we had originally talked about leaving in the early afternoon. More on that later. Heh. We struck camp and had the van loaded by around 10.30, and ate breakfast on the way to the museum. Not as early as we had hoped, but still pretty impressive for the 12 of us and all our gear.

Our first workshop on Saturday was the Buzz about Bees workshop with Doug Nelson, a home schooling dad of seven whose family business is bee keeping. Doug is also the bee keeper/educator for the Creation Museum. We are interested in adding bees to our repertoire at some point, so we soaked the bee workshop, and were thrilled at the opportunity to go out to the museum’s bee hives later in the afternoon to watch and learn even more.

The Snakes Alive workshop was also a hit with our family, since Jonathan has all of us trained to appreciate snakes and other reptiles. Rick Teepen has an extensive collection, taught us some interesting things about the animals, and best of all, has a passion for Jesus Christ and brought out some very practical spiritual truths.

A highlight of the day for this newly-dairy-free mama was a Chai Latte from the Palm Cafe at the museum. I normally avoid soy like the plague, but I couldn’t resist this one time treat. It was yummy!

Some shots here and there around the museum on Saturday:

Worlds of Creation, the other current planetarium show, highlights the wonders of our solar system. Here is the Smith gang waiting in line for the show:

After our late afternoon trip out the bee hives, we made our way to the bookstore for our final visit. Some of the Blessings and Jonathan spent birthday money from Papa and Gramma Byrd. Instead of leaving early, we “closed down” the museum before hitting the road, so we arrived home around 3am. That’s just how we roll.

It was a fun, memorable, and educational trip. I’m already looking forward to the next time!

Creation Museum Trip ~ Day 3 – Fri. Oct. 8 ~ Campground/Museum Fishing Night

Our original plans for Friday were to spend some time checking out the neat state park at which we camped. There is a bison herd there, hiking trails, and an outdoor museum about the mastodon. Alas, due to a fluke with the campground office, we wound up needing to move to a different campsite on Friday, which changed our plans for the day significantly.

We “slept in” until 8.30 Friday, then enjoyed a breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked on the campstove (firewood at the campground was quite pricey). After breakfast, we struck camp, hauled everything to the other end of the campground, and set up camp again. It took several trips, was quite an ordeal adventure, and I was thrilled with everyone’s attitudes in the midst of the inconvenience.

Once we got the foodstuff to our new campsite, I started cooking lunch. We had an easy version of sloppy joes that I cooked in our biggish cast iron pot. Three pounds ground beef, a couple cans of pork n beans, and a bottle of KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce. Plus an egg left over from breakfast that would’ve gone to waste if we hadn’t used it. Yummy.

We made it back to the Creation Museum in time for the late afternoon showing of the Created Cosmos planetarium show. We had seen it last year, but the extent of God’s creation is beyond comprehension and the CC show does a fantastic job of showing off the vastness of His universe.

Friday evening after the museum closed, there was a special Members Family Fishing Night. The Blessings did some fishing, I did a lot of camera-play, we roasted brats and marshmallows over the fire, and the Blessings got to ride Gomer the camel. It was a fun and special time.

Another grocery stop for Saturday’s food and some more sushi, and we were on our way back to the state park for another (slightly less frigid) night of camping, our last this trip. The Blessings went straight to bed, and we grown-ups weren’t far behind.

Creation Museum Trip ~ Day 2 – Thurs. Oct. 7 ~ At the Museum

Highlights from Thursday:

Buddy Davis day! We planned our trip to coincide with a day when Buddy Davis would be at the museum. We enjoyed the workshop where we learned from Buddy how to draw and to sculpt pteranodons, as well as gaining knowledge about pteranodons and other dinosaurs. Later in the day we attended a concert by Buddy, which was a treat.

In the Dragon Legends Theater, a video about dragons and dinosaur runs on a loop. The theater is small, cozy, and a perfect quiet spot for nursing. We watched the video once as a family, and I enjoyed it multiple additional times throughout our visit. If you ever visit the Creation Museum with a nursling, the Dragon Legends Theater is your friend.

The Dinosaur den is an area of the museum showcasing a multitude of dinosaur sculptures (the lion’s share of which were sculpted by Buddy). The family checked it out while I fed the little fella.

Our initial tour through the bookstore was on Thursday, prepping for a purchasing visit that would come just before our departure. So much fascinating stuff.

On our way back to the campground Thursday night, we stopped at “our” grocery store – groceries for dinner/Friday, dark chocolate (with no dairy!) and sushi for a treat.

A farkle game with the four oldest Blessings was a fun end to the day, though we were all shivering by the time we concluded the game. The night-time temps were in the low to mid 40s and we were glad for our blankets. Andrew slept in many layers in “bed” with Jonathan and I. He probably stayed warmer than I, but I was glad we could keep him warm and comfy.

(Trying out the WP slideshow feature below… I like it except that it doesn’t look like you can click on individual pics to see them in a larger size. Any thoughts on picture format?)

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Creation Museum Trip ~ Day 1 – Wed. Oct. 6 ~ On the Road

Our trip to the Creation Museum with Dad and Mom Smith began early Wednesday morning. When Dad and Mom arrived about 9, we had most of our packing done and the van emptied and ready for packing (Jonathan worked late the night before, so emptying the van was a last-minute job). The goal was to leave by 10.00, and we drove out of the driveway the first time at 10.35, a record for us. Then we went back for the coats.

After having new tires put on the van while we took a family walk to Dollar General, we got on the road for real. Until the first stop 20 minutes later for gas/potty break. Such is travel with a large family, and I wouldn’t trade it.

It was a beautiful day for a road trip. A rest area where we stopped (Goshen Rd Rest Area in Illinois, for the curious) was a nice spot for a few pictures. Later we saw an interesting vehicle adapted from a motorcycle and … something. We arrived at our destination – Big Bone Lick State Park in Union, KY – after dark, set up our campsite, and had a yummy supper before settling in for the Freezing Cold Night.

(Click on the pics below to get a better view)

Another Sort of Garden Work

Today, we did a little work in the front “flower garden.” That gets quotation marks because, since we moved here, we have seen very few flowers in the raised bed out front. However, my assumption has always been that there were probably bulbs and such that were deep under the soil and needed to be dug up and replanted. That job has been on my “want to” list since we moved here, but it’s finally made it to the “to do” list.
We got started today on a very small section of the flower garden because I wanted to plant some mums. I pulled out the weeds (also known as all existing fauna/flora) from an area about 18″ x 5′, then Jonathan dug up the top 8 inches or so:

My helpers and I started working or way through the soil Jonathan had dug up, pulling out weed roots and searching for treasure. The definition of treasure varied according to the goals of the worker… Ellie and Stephen were mostly searching for worms for fishing bait (but willingly picked out bulbs as well); Katie and I were more focused on finding bulbs and such:

Once we had sifted through the soil, we replaced it and planted a few mums. Jonathan got a great deal on these and they haven’t even opened yet. I had always thought that mums were annuals, but they’re perennials. Neat!

And from that 18″ x 5′ area, we gathered all this treasure!

As you can see, we’ve only conquered a very small portion of the raised bed area, but the treasure we found makes me even more motivated to clear it out and replant!

A “school year” underway

While we have school going at some level all year, I appreciate the opportunity for evaluation and goal-setting that comes with the start of a “new” year. In our family, this usually means evaluation and goal-setting for me as much or more than for the Blessings. That is certainly true this year, perhaps to a greater degree than usual.

I thought I’d share some adjustments that I/we are making. Perhaps they’ll encourage or challenge you, or bless you in the knowledge that you’re not alone in this or that.

No-Internet Days
I think I have neglected to share my new habit of considering the internet, for the most part, turned “off” during the day. I do take a little online time during Siesta, and there are other reasons for exceptions, but for the most part, I’ve made the internet off limits for me while Jonathan is gone to work. Why? Because I need to be with my children. That sounds cliché’ when I look at the words in type. But I had gotten to the point where I hid in my room from my children most of the day, considering them intrusions rather than Blessings, being irritated with them for bothering me, and just not BEing with them. That is not the mom that I want to be, the mom God wants me to be, the mom my Blessings need. The internet was not the culprit, I was. But the internet was my enabler and the Father convicted me that I needed to change my habits. So, since mid-summer, I’ve been having a lot more face-to-face time with our Blessings!

A Developing Routine
I’ve realized that with six children officially doing school, we are in need of more structure to our days. Several years ago, I tried using a very structured program for scheduling our days, and it didn’t for me. Great program; I just had a hard time hanging on to the fact that it was my tool, not my master… and I turned into Monster Mom. It wasn’t pretty. So we’re working on figuring out a schedule/routine that will be flexible, yet give us some needed structure.

Breakfast and Lunch
During Andrew’s (very physically challenging) pregnancy, the Blessings generally got their own (cold) breakfast and (not necessarily healthy) lunch. Keepin’ it real. It was physically needed for them to do the preparation, but I fell out of the habit of making sure that they had what they needed on hand for healthy, varied meals. Part of our new routine is eating breakfast together as a family, which makes it natural to work toward the goal of providing more nutritious breakfasts. Since I’m more mindful of breakfast planning, it’s relatively easy to remember to plan better for lunches. Not being “stuck” at the computer all day lends itself to actually fixing these meals for my children more often instead of them needing to do it every time. And you know what? I’m enjoying it!

Memory Work
My friend Hope inspired me this summer with her system for Bible memory with her children. In short, after prayerful choosing of a passage, the mom “(reads) the passage three times every day and the children (chime) in as it becomes familiar. … By the end of the month, they have got it!” We’ve been incorporating this into our morning after-breakfast routine, and are loving it. We started in mid-August with Psalm 1 and all the Blessings who can talk have it memorized. We’re working on Ephesians 1 this month (and maybe next), and we need to put some prayer into choosing passages for the rest of the year. Check out Hope’s helpful and inspiring post for more fleshed-out ideas.

There are other adjustments we’re working on making, but this post has gotten long enough. Have a blessed week!

Home Again

We arrived home yesterday afternoon after a wonderful (almost)week at Ozark Family Camp at Turkey Hill Ranch Bible Camp. We needed to come home a day early due to some health concerns (including a miserable case of pink eye for sweet Ellie), but we enjoyed our time at camp. Pictures and updates to come.

Independence Day

This year, our country’s birthday found us enjoying the fellowship of family and friends, first at Dad and Mom Smith’s house, then at the Wollbrinks for their annual Independence Day party/fireworks extravaganza. It was a fun day!

Day camp at Dayspring

We spent June 30 and July 1 at Dayspring Bible Camp, helping with the Fredericktown Day Camp with other folks from Bible Truth Fellowship. We actually arrived the evening of the 29, just in time to get settled and get some sleep, so we enjoyed breakfast with everyone Wednesday morning and enjoyed greeting the campers as they arrived.

That first morning, I woke up plenty early and nursed Andrew in the peaceful coolness while listening to the birds sing their morning songs. It made me wish we could turn off the A/C at home so we could hear God’s creation better. It also made me very thankful for our wonderful Creator.

It was interesting helping at camp as the mother of a two month old. Much different from counselling as a teen and in my early 20s, and also different from when I’ve had the opportunity to serve at camp as a mom with no tiny babies. There are times when the season preventing me from being “helpful” is frustrating and discouraging to me. I was blessed with a sense of peace about it this time, though, and found myself glad for the opportunities I had to interact with the campers. And when I needed to tend to our young ones, I found myself flooded with thankfulness for the now, this season, these precious moments with our Blessings – each of them.

And so, with a thankful heart, here are some pictures from our two days at camp: