It is good to be home. Sorry I have been MIA. Over our Thanksgiving vacation both boys were sick......Matthew got the worse of it, but he always does. We finally had to take them to the doctor after the fever continued for five days. Ear infections for both, same ear too! Must be a twin thing. And their allergies were so bad!! I suppose going from North Texas to South East Texas it had them all messed up. The cough was just awful!!! Three nights straight Matthew literally coughed ALL night.
But after an antibiotic and good allergy meds they started feeling better. Nothing like finding out your child has an allergy to Amoxicillin at six years old. Matthew had only had three doses and started breaking out in a slight rash and itching all over. We immediately stopped it and gave him Benadryl per the pharmacist on Thanksgiving day. Thankful for CVS being opened that day! This was only the second time the boys had ever had an antibiotic.
It was a strange trip to say the least, but yesterday as we left to come home both boys were back to their old self. It was a noisy, loud trip back home.
So that is the low-down on our Thanksgiving trip and why I totally had no desire to blog.
Now on to Advent. I am excited to share how we will celebrate Advent this year. I grew up with Advent at church, but this is our family's first time to set aside a special time to learn and celebrate it.
What is Advent?
Advent itself is simply any time set apart for spiritual preparation. But most people associate the word Advent with various traditions and customs that have grown up around Christmas in many of the world's cultures. Early in history these customs took the forms of fasts and feasts. Today, they most often take the form of candles, wreaths and calendars.
Most churches and families use Advent candles to celebrate the season. One candle is used for each week of Advent and a fifth for Christmas Day. The first, second and fourth candles are violet symbolizing penitence. The third is pink, symbolizing joy and the Christmas Day candle is white, symbolizing the purity of Christ.
Advent candles are usually part of an Advent wreath. While some traditions hang the wreath, it is most commonly used flat, on a table. The circle of the wreath represents the hope of eternal life we have in Christ. The circle itself is made of evergreen branches, symbolizing the abundant life Jesus promised us here and now. The first four candles are positioned along the outside of the ring of the wreath and the fifth is placed in the center.
Advent calendars are popular with children and teach them the Christmas story in an active way. We will be using an Advent calendar I made as well as reading "Jotham's Journey". Each morning starting on December 1 and counting down to Christmas day, we will open the little envelopes to reveal that day's story of the Advent calendar. I'll share pictures of our calendar tomorrow.
Each night(starting tonight!)we will read a short story of Jotham's Journey. Although the boys are very familiar of God's amazing gift, I wanted to set aside a special time to read about, talk about and pray about what God did for us. I wanted this special time to be part of this glorious season.
I look forward to sharing more about Advent in the weeks to come.
How are you preparing for the Christmas season?
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