Advent

I have always loved the preparation and anticipation of the Christmas season. Heck, I love the season so much I got married four days before Christmas.

As a little girl I remember getting cardboard advent calendars each year.  I would anxiously await each day when I could open a window to reveal a picture that was part of a nativity scene.  

Creating an advent calendar was something I wanted to do with my children but had not implemented fully.  I didn't want to give little toys I would eventually throw away and I didn't want to give them candy each day.  I knew each December flew by in a frazzled haze and I wanted our family to focus on Jesus' birth, serving others, and spending quality time as a family. 

Last year, thanks to the inspiration of  Jenni and Denise , and the world wide web, I was able to come up with an advent calendar filled with activities, craft projects, and outings as well as bible verses.  I think last year my children had a good grasp of the true meaning of Christmas.  They appreciated each other more, they felt more empathetic for those in need, and they were more grateful and not just for their gifts but for the REAL gift of Christmas, Jesus.

This year I am doing things just a little bit differently.  I did not match bible verses to activities as closely as I did last year.  Sometimes the activities were a bit of a stretch to fit, some activities I scratched, and some outings were only available on certain days so our calendar needed to be set by the dates available.  

I will be posting each day our bible verse and what we did for the day whether it is an activity, craft, or outing.  We started our Advent story on Sunday, which was the first day of Advent.  This year we are reading Bartholomew's Passage and my kids are mesmerized with story.  I love how at the end of each days' reading the author incorporates a real life application.  

Ready, set, go... advent here we come!!

Do you celebrate advent?