Second weekend of Advent, 2021.
This weekend was particularly special because we got to attend a local school’s performance of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever along with my parents, my grandma, and my brother’s family. It always feels special to attend a performance, even if you are sitting on folding chairs in a school gym and the mics are popping intermittently. The kids genuinely thought it was magical. And the young actors did such a great job, it had me feeling rather childlike and giddy myself! Shazzzam! (If you know, you know.)
And because it was getting late in the afternoon by the time the show ended, it was pretty easy to convince my brother’s family to join the rest of us for the formal Advent Feast this week! That’s a highlight of the entire season right there. We squeezed in an extra table into the dining room so all seventeen of us could toast and sing and read and feast together. God is good.
After church on Sunday, we got to invite two young couples with small toddlers over, plus a single gent new to our church & neighborhood. It was fun to share stories about how we met spouses, where we spent childhoods, and how we are each differently navigating current affairs in our broader culture but rooted here in a tiny country town. That evening, I got to take my older four children to a dance – jigs, reels, swings, two-step… my kids were absolutely loving it. It’s a step in the direction of being countercultural… and I’m eager to continue down that path with my kids. When your six year old asks your forty-something year old friend to dance with him, you know you’re doing something right.
Saturday, 12.4.21
Family Advent Feast
Menu:
Lasagna (ground beef & Italian sausage, simple marinara, ricotta & egg & herbs, shredded mozzarella, al dente noodles… made a day before for a simple Saturday)
Garlic Bread (simple white loaves, sliced and slathered with garlic butter, and warmed up wrapped in tin foil)
Caesar Salad (went easy, used store bought kits)
Gingerbread Sundaes (maybe I’ll get around to sharing my recipe sometime… because it’s the best gingerbread ever! Topped with vanilla ice cream and homemade salted caramel for a hearty dollop & drizzle; garnish with a shard of Heath.)
Reading:
Every Moment Holy, liturgy for the start of the Christmas season
Carols:
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
Kids’ Gift:
four movie DVDs, which were $5 apiece on Amazon
(totally worth it even if we only watch each once)
Sunday, 11.5.21
Second Sunday Supper of Advent
Menu:
Chili (beef, onion, garlic, four kinds of beans, tomatoes, broth, red wine, dark beer, cocoa powder, espresso, cinnamon, chili, cumin, salt, pepper…)
Rice (rice, water, bouillon, butter – in the instant pot)
Green Salad (recipe from Magnolia Kitchen cookbook)
Sourdough Bread (with soft butter)
Gingerbread Sundaes, reprise (because once is never enough)
Rested With:
fellowship with friends
laughter around the table
kids enjoyed screen time
adult conversation
hearing new friends’ life stories
putting toddler down for a nap
taking big kids to a folk dance
teaching some folk dances
watching my children delight in dance
wine and snacks with my hubby
