First Sunday of Advent

Today was the first Sunday of Advent. I'm actually eagerly awaiting Christmas this year. I know that sounds strange, but for the past MANY years, the weeks of Advent were filled with papers to write and finals to take, with Christmas shopping squeezed in wherever I could and on a tight budget. This year, I managed to do some good saving in the Christmas account. And, I had the time to start shopping early. I'm almost done! The kids are getting things that I think they'll love, rather than just trying to fill the space under the tree. I'm also really excited about Tony's gifts...but I'm not telling! I think we've come up with some good things for other family members as well. Thanksgiving weekend was not a stressful weekend spent worrying about homework. We had time together as a family, and I enjoyed it. We got all our Christmas stuff up and house looks great. For our last day of vacation, we ended up attending two different Masses. Tony went early because he had to usher, and I took the kids and went to a later Mass while Tony went to Kroger. I came home from church to a crock pot filled with pork and sauerkraut (or sourcrap, if you're Sophie).

After lunch, we went to Mount St. Francis for a Secular Franciscan meeting. It fell right during naptime, and of course Sophie fell asleep on the way home. In an unusual twist, she actually stayed asleep when we carried her in. It must have been a long weekend!



We are thankful for such a great weekend and are eagerly counting down the candles on our Advent wreath!