The Beginning of Advent

Today is the first day of Advent.

A counting down the days to Christ's coming. A celebrating of Christmas - Christ with us.

As a family, we're following along with the beautiful new book by Ann Voskamp.

Unwrapping the Greatest Gift

And early this morning, we snuggled in bed and began at the beginning.

"Out of the stump of David's family will grow a shoot -

yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.

And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - 

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord...

In that day the heir to David's throne

will be a banner of salvation to all the world.

The nations will rally to him,

and the land where he lives will be a glorious place."

Isaiah 11:1-2,10

We've picked out our Christmas tree, and most of our shopping is now done.

I also made an advent calendar from an old ladder and some muslin bags for Willen to follow along with.

Each bag has a few small bits of Lego in it. The point obviously isn't about the gift each day. But for a 5 year old, it's a little surpise to look forward to each morning, after our reading. 

Our project for today, in light of the reading of the promised shoot, we were to plant some grass or wheat to watch grow over the next few weeks. I had purchased some Paperwhite bulbs at the nursery the day we picked out our Christmas tree, so we planted those to watch instead.

Some where potted in soil in antique pots.

Others are being forced in little vintage glasses.

They're tucked around the house to remind us of this beautiful promise.

And so begins our counting down to Christmas. I'm praying God uses this time to work in my own heart, and especially in the hearts of our beautiful boys. That this Christmas would be a celebration of our Saviour, and the great love he has for us.

You can follow this link above to read more about Unwrapping the Greatest Gift.

Pomegranates and A New Book

As each season changes, there is always a fruit that I look forward to seeing in our local grocery store. Late Spring brings pints of locally picked strawberries. Fall brings bushels of crisp apples and pears. But in the Winter I look forward to seeing the giant bin of bright, ruby red pomegranates.

It's only in the last year or so that I've actually learned how to properly (or at least, most effectively in my case) remove all of the delicious little seeds from inside the fruit.

It involves whacking the pomegranate with a wooden spoon over a large bowl. The seeds literally just fall out. It makes Willen laugh every time I do it, which is quite often, because they have become one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast.

Aside from by the spoonful, I really enjoy them over my Greek yogurt with granola. They add this burst of tart freshness that makes something fairly simple seem so much more special.

I make my own very simple granola. I just toast whatever sort of things I have on hand, drizzle them with honey or maple syrup and bake for a while longer. It's quite easy. This morning's granola had oats, coconut, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, golden flax seeds and pecans.

I'm also very excited about a new book I received as an early Christmas gift from a friend of mine. Her and her husband lead our small group. We both love Ann Voskamp, who wrote the hugely popular book One Thousand Gifts, and blogs at A Holy Experience.

This book, The Greatest Gift, is a daily reading for each day of Advent.

"I don't want a Christmas you can buy.

I don't want a Christmas you can make.

What I want is a Christmas you can hold.

A Christmas that holds me.

Remakes me, Revives me.

I want a Christmas that whispers, Jesus."

Ann Voskamp

I am enjoying it immensely. It's a beautiful way to slow down what is usually a crazy, hectic time of year and really just prepare my heart for Christmas.

I've also discovered a new favorite space in our home... Right beside our tree.

I didn't by any means intend for this chair to stay here, but it works. It's the coziest little nook. Even the boys love curling up and reading beside the tree.