We love Advent. We look forward to the days and weeks leading up to Christmas and the opportunity to prepare our hearts for and celebrate the coming of a Savior. We spend sweet time with each other and great friends, serve others and worship daily through Jesse Tree readings. The past few years, we have done two main things during the month of December. First, we use our felt Advent calendar to schedule fun family activities throughout the month. Each morning, the kids are so excited and go straight there to see what is in store for the day!
Secondly, we read scripture readings scheduled for each December day and place related ornaments on our Jesse Tree. The readings start through the OT and help us to see and understand the anticipation of His coming in Bible times...and teach us more about where our hearts should be as we celebrate it now! We have used different Jesse Tree plans throughout the years and enjoy rotating them from year to year. This time, we used from Confessions of a Homeschooler blog and the Jesse Tree book written by McCaughrean.
I didn't document it all as meticulously as last year, to be separated into multiple blog posts. Instead, I'm including some of my favorite moments of the whole Advent time here in just one summary post. :)
Advent Day 1: Buy tree and decorate the house
We also started the Jesse Tree readings on December 1...
Some of the other Advent activities:
Wrap gifts
Pick out new ornaments. We finally switched from getting them every year from Hallmark. We love those, but they are so incredibly pricey...it felt like a sensible place to trim the budget and they still ended up with ornaments that they loved!
Act out Christmas story with a nativity set (one of my absolute favorites)...they had the cutest accents and said so much of it all straight from scripture. Such a blessing!
Read Christmas books
Sing carols at Westwood with co-op friends
Co-op Christmas party and cookie decorating
Elf movie night :))
FCA Christmas party...love them!
Hot chocolate and candy canes...yum!
(while we watch Christmas shows :))
Make Christmas cards for co-op teachers...they are all such a blessing to our family!
Share the Light service and dinner afterwards with buds
Cookie-making
Deliver goodies to neighbors :))
Ring the Salvation Army bell
Oh, and the Jesse Tree at some point through the month :))
Sweet dinner and treat-making date with the Millers and Ruckers!
Family visit and bingo playing with our Westwood buddies...Greer is especially drawn to Ms. Michelle. It melts my heart!
Santa and the Mrs. came by to see the residents! So sweet
Celebrating the greatest GIFT...Christmas Eve service 2013..
Really love sharing this time with our buds each year! (And our girls are so attached to Mrs. Rucker that they ended up on the Rucker side of the group pic :))
Home and getting ready for bed. Pizza and sushi on paper plates for dinner :))
And the best part...finishing our Jesse tree readings as we finished out Christmas Eve...we are more grateful than we can express for Christ's coming!
We thank You and worship You and pray that our lives honor and please You daily. Thank You too for the Advent celebration and heart-preparation. It has become such a special time for our family that I know the Gs will cherish as B and I do. A gift that prepares us for the Gift. So love. :)
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