Who would have thought that two weeks after the last blizzard, we'd have another one so quickly!
12-14 inches of snow, and blowing wind for two days, and my husband had to call in to work on Christmas day (missing his double time!) because we couldn't get out of the driveway! We started out to mass on Christmas Eve, and decided that we should probably stay home (it's not a holy day of obligation, anyway) and sure enough, an hour later, our driveway had blown shut. We did our own little readings, and read "The Night Before Christmas" and opened one present each before heading off to bed.
Two days of being snowed in with new Christmas presents is a good way to spend a blizzard, I think! We had a wonderful meal, we played, and relaxed and got all the laundry caught up. I even had a chance to finish up a couple of knit/crochet projects. The kids were having fun, everyone played nice, and a good time was had by all. I will definitely remember this Christmas for a long time!
Yesterday, my husband and I were able to shovel out the driveway, then make it to the grocery store for some milk. On the way back into the driveway, we got stuck across the street in the neighbor's driveway (we had needed to back up to gain enough momentum to get up our own driveway). Several neighbors came to help us out, and with the aid of some good old sand, finally got into the garage. That's what it's all about. Helping hands, kind words and friendliness. They go a long way!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Snow days!
Wow. We have had some major snow in the last two days. It started on Tuesday, and ended around noon today. Around 10 inches, and lots of wind. It was officially a blizzard!
So now we have had two days of no school.
Lord help me there is no school tomorrow, either.
It has been a rough two days. My husband worked yesterday, and we were stuck inside all day. I found myself in tears several times.
It wasn't until late afternoon that it occurred to me to pray. God heard me. My children settled down, I stopped crying, and I even smiled a time or two.
I'll make sure to pray before I get out of bed tomorrow. It's gonna be a long one!
So now we have had two days of no school.
Lord help me there is no school tomorrow, either.
It has been a rough two days. My husband worked yesterday, and we were stuck inside all day. I found myself in tears several times.
It wasn't until late afternoon that it occurred to me to pray. God heard me. My children settled down, I stopped crying, and I even smiled a time or two.
I'll make sure to pray before I get out of bed tomorrow. It's gonna be a long one!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Decoration Dilemma
Ok. We all know that Christmas doesn't really start until Christmas day, right? I mean, it doesn't start when you see the first Christmas decorations in the store. It isn't the day after Thanksgiving, either. The Twelve Days of Christmas are actually the twelve days from Christmas day to Epiphany on January 6th.
So my dilemma every year is when to put up the tree?
Before we were "practicing" our faith regularly, we got into the tradition of putting the tree up the weekend of Thanksgiving, and decorating the entire house. But as the kids kept coming, and there was always a relatively small child around, it has become harder and harder to deal with the tree and all the trimmings for the entire month of December!
Then, we would take the tree down the weekend of New Year's, and Christmas was officially over.
But, really, the celebration of Christmas is a time to reflect on the birth of our Lord Jesus. The commercialism of this holiday has really gotten out of hand to the point that the day after Halloween, there's already Christmas candy in the grocery stores.
So this year, we compromised. We put up the tree, we put lights on the house, but the stockings will be hung and baby Jesus will go into the nativity scene on Christmas Eve. Maybe that will help us remember that the thing we are really looking forward to is the Gift that we have recieved in Jesus and not on the trappings, so much.
I hope that next year, we can forgo more of the trappings (namely, the tree) until a little closer to Christmas.
It's a struggle for me as a Catholic mom sometimes. I love the Christmas season. I love to shop, I love to decorate, I love to bake. But I want to recognize the holiday for what it is, not just for what it has turned into. And I want my children to understand that, as well. It's becoming harder and harder to hold our faith up in this over commercialized and multi media circus that is America these days.
For now, we'll enjoy the lights and the tree, and each other. Advent is a time of preparation, after all. We can prepare ourselves for His coming, and enjoy the trimmings of the season at the same time.
So my dilemma every year is when to put up the tree?
Before we were "practicing" our faith regularly, we got into the tradition of putting the tree up the weekend of Thanksgiving, and decorating the entire house. But as the kids kept coming, and there was always a relatively small child around, it has become harder and harder to deal with the tree and all the trimmings for the entire month of December!
Then, we would take the tree down the weekend of New Year's, and Christmas was officially over.
But, really, the celebration of Christmas is a time to reflect on the birth of our Lord Jesus. The commercialism of this holiday has really gotten out of hand to the point that the day after Halloween, there's already Christmas candy in the grocery stores.
So this year, we compromised. We put up the tree, we put lights on the house, but the stockings will be hung and baby Jesus will go into the nativity scene on Christmas Eve. Maybe that will help us remember that the thing we are really looking forward to is the Gift that we have recieved in Jesus and not on the trappings, so much.
I hope that next year, we can forgo more of the trappings (namely, the tree) until a little closer to Christmas.
It's a struggle for me as a Catholic mom sometimes. I love the Christmas season. I love to shop, I love to decorate, I love to bake. But I want to recognize the holiday for what it is, not just for what it has turned into. And I want my children to understand that, as well. It's becoming harder and harder to hold our faith up in this over commercialized and multi media circus that is America these days.
For now, we'll enjoy the lights and the tree, and each other. Advent is a time of preparation, after all. We can prepare ourselves for His coming, and enjoy the trimmings of the season at the same time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)