Tis the Advent Season

The Season of Advent is upon us! In fact, it begins this Sunday, December 2nd.

Advent season is the period of anticipation and preparation as Christians await the celebration of Jesus' birth on Christmas.

Although I was raised in a Christian home, our church and my family never really celebrated Advent until I was in college. It was at that time that my mom stumbled upon the meaning of Advent and began a simple tradition of Advent dinners. (though the preparation is not necessarily simple for her...)

Each Sunday during the Advent Season my side of the family gathers for dinner together. We have a brief devotion and prayer and then we light the candle on the advent wreath. It is a time to come together as a family and focus on the true meaning of this holiday season - Christ - which can be easily lost in the flurry of Christmas "activity".

This year Eric and I are planning to celebrate Advent daily with the children using the devotions and symbols of the Jesse Tree. It is too late in the season for me to fill my life with hurry and force myself to find the tree and make the ornaments (or purchase them). Instead, we will sit around the dinner table each night and read the scripture and devotion. The girls will then color in the symbol on paper and we will paste it on a paper with the scripture, which I will type and print. I hope to fit about 4 per page so that at the end of the season, they will have a book celebrating Advent Season. I hope it will become a keepsake book we can bring out each year!

Of course, there are so many wonderful ways to celebrate this season and look ahead with anticipation to Christmas! Does your family have special traditions for Advent season? Please take a moment and share them with us!

Tiz the Season to Travel

Do you have any tips for traveling with kids?


'Tiz the season! For good food! Decorations! Family time! Traveling!

With kids.

I travel about twice a year without my husband, usually with a connecting flight and with two children - and, with a little preparation and a lot of prayer, it is not too bad.

When flying, my number one tip is that your positive attitude and refusal to be flapped by what others think is THE most important thing. I have to constantly repeat to myself "my kids have a right to go visit their grandparents!" Obviously, I do the very best I can to see that we are not a bother to anyone, but children are children and perfect behavior is probably not going to happen.

My best suggestion is to fly Frontier, pray for one of the newer planes with Direct TV, pay the $5, put it on Nickel*odean, and read a book. (I actually got to do this once! Read an entire book for the first time in at least 6 months.) The DVD player is also a great idea, but we have always seem to have battery issues.

Here are some other ideas that have worked for us:

• --snacks, snacks & more snacks. If your kids are too young for gum, include lollipops to "suck" on going up and down so their ears won't hurt. I use little ziplocks and pack goldfish, teddy grahams, fruit snacks, raisins, cashews, pretzels, Ritz Bitz w/ peanut butter, M&M, etc.. I dole them out one baggie at time just about anytime the wiggles set in. They don't eat the rest of the day, and that is ok with me. I pack one big bag for each "leg" of the flight, and I pack extras in my checked luggage for the way home.
• --notebook and pencil. Since you are sitting with them, this lasts longer than other situations. You keep it going by "draw me a square", "draw me a doggie" etc...
• --matchbox cars- only one for each hand or they get dropped easily on the floor.
• --sticker books. My favorite are the Dis*ney ones and we get them at Sams or Costco. Star stickers and blank paper works too.
• --A couple of favorite story books that you have put away for a couple of weeks before the trip so they are "new" again.

Tips:

• --Take a carry-on bag that you can put under the seat in front of you rather than in an overhead compartment. That means that you can easily get to your bag even if the "fasten seatbelt" sign is on, and you are not trying to get to an overhead compartment with a kid in your lap.
• --Crayons or markers are hard because they roll and then you get to try and fetch them before they are in the back of the plane. I still take them, but I hold the box and only allow one out at a time.
• --If your husband is flying with you - one of you go onto the plane when you can with your luggage and get everything situated. The other one stay out in the gate with the kids and board at the last possible minute so that they have to be in the seat, quiet and still, as little as possible.
• --Play airplane at home and practice not kicking the seat in front of you, not screeching, and being amazed at the view out the window.
• --Go to the bathroom BEFORE you get on the plane. Always. They invariably have to go to the bathroom as the plane is taking off and you are not allowed out of your seat.
• --The airline will sometimes try to put you in the very front seat of the cabin, which seems like such a good idea - there is a little bit more room, and there are no seats to kick in front of you. I liked them when I had a nursing baby with me, but now I don't because you cannot have any bags in front of you.
  
• --Don't put the kids next to each other if you can help it. Sit in the middle.
• --Wear slip-on or velcro shoes and have the kids do the same. Some airports require that shoes go through security, and this makes it a lot less time-consuming in the security lines.
  

Here's a site with some more ideas:
http://www.flyingwithkids.com/

Share your best tips on flying (or driving) with kids!

Thanksgiving Tradition

Thanksgiving is in the air. I find myself online searching for color pages and ideas for creating our own traditions. I have such a passion to create a fun and memorable holiday with my family. We teach our kids to be thankful every day but I especially want this message to sink in now.

I am so in love with the fall leaves. All of the warm colors. The cooler temperatures. I feel so alive. Wherever we go throughout the day, I am constantly saying "HC. JB. Look at the trees over there!!" The kids tell me of all the colors they see as we drive. We have driven through tunnels of trees raining leaves down upon us. I just love the fall!

How does your family celebrate Thanksgiving?? Do you have a special tradition? I do not want to overlook this time of reflecting on our blessings and jump right into Christmas mode. I want to preserve this time too! We are beginning our journey of creating traditions and I wondered if you had any you felt like sharing!

By the way, I found this great website with a Thankful e-book you can print for free (The e-book is geared more towards preschool and Kindergarten ages).