Bits and Pieces of Life Lately

I was looking at the three bulging bags of candy from Saturday's Trunk or Treat, and realizing that we still have a homeschooling Halloween party tomorrow (thankfully, candy-free! gotta love those crunchy homeschoolers!) and the big trick-or-treat-fest on Saturday night. What on earth are we going to do with all of this candy! I know I don't want to be eating it all.

One idea I came across last year was to wrap a small piece of Halloween candy for each day of Advent in place of a traditional chocolate-a-day Advent calendar. Perhaps I'll get the kids involved. They love to wrap nearly anything, and I've got a bunch of small pieces of leftover wrapping paper.

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Speaking of Advent, as of yesterday, Advent is only 5 (five!!!!) weeks away!

Last year, I was so organized. I had all of my shopping done before Advent started. I think I even had my Christmas card envelopes addressed. I don't see that happening this year.

But I have started thinking about Advent, about what I want to do to celebrate the season personally, how I will adjust our schooling to accommodate more seasonal activities, and how I want our family life to reflect Advent. Now is the time for me to prepare for Advent. If I can also get some of the Christmas duties out of the way, all the better (since Christmas morning is, after all, only 8 1/2 weeks away). Starting next week, I'll be posting suggestions for Advent preparation/celebration on Monday mornings. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comment box.

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BigBro read Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Farmer Boy" last week, and since he enjoyed that so thoroughly, was willing to crack open "Little House on the Prairie" yesterday. After a short time, he pronounced it "boring." I encouraged him to read just a bit further, just another few chapters, fifteen to twenty more minutes. That was about 8:05 pm last night. At 9:55, I walked into my bedroom to find him laying in my bed, eyes glued to Wilder's words, about halfway through the book. With a grin, I sent him to bed. This morning, he appeared downstairs with the book in hand, and immediately curled up on the couch to continue the saga of Laura and family. I'm not sure we're getting much book work done until he's finished.

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The kids are all dressing up as St Louis Cardinal players for Halloween this year. LilBro is catcher, Yadier Molina; Princess is first baseman, Albert Pujols; and BigBro is second baseman, Skip Schumaker. All three of them required my skills with the eyeliner pencil to create the appearance of facial hair. Albert has a goatee. The other two men like that five-o-clock-shadow look. I'm grateful no one has a full beard, though. They all looked adorable. I'll post pics later this week.

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Yesterday afternoon, I had lunch with a woman from church whom I've always wanted to know better than I do. I've always looked up to her, and most especially, admired the way she incorporates her faith into her life, seemingly seamlessly. When she asked me to lunch a few weeks ago, I was thrilled and flattered. We had an amazing time. Three and a half hours flew by in what felt like fifteen minutes. She shared her story. I shared mine. We both shared a tear or two, some laughter, and a deep warmth. We've promised to do this regularly, and to incorporate some shared prayer into our regular time together.

As I got back into my car, much later than I'd told DH I would be, I offered up prayers of thanksgiving: for the gift of a burgeoning friendship, for the similarities and differences in our stories, for acceptance, for love, for faith.

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