Friday, December 12, 2008

Following our Advent progress...


I promised a few pictures of our progress through Advent. I will be honest, we have not done as well as I had hoped. Often by evening - I have been too tired to do the Jesse Tree every night - so we have sometimes been doing double symbols! I have been very focused on getting ready for the baby. I think I am ready... until I remember one more thing that needs to bought, washed or brought out of storage. Umm like the swing.... ARGH!

Anyway - I am posting a picture with this post so that you can see how the chains are shortening and also enjoy a vision in pink in front of a pair of the chains. It is Elsa all dressed up and waiting to leave for our parish Christmas party last weekend. So the chains are even shorter now!

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Where was my brain?


Where was my brain when I added the following to my fun things to do while waiting for baby to be this Advent/Christmas season:

'Take trip to tree farm in the mountains, on the 14th, to find and cut down tree with kids.'

Ummm, yeah. I guess it has been a while since I have been 37 weeks pregnant - otherwise how could I plan such an arduous expedition when somewhere between37 and 38 weeks pregnant. Typically I am pretty much immobile at this point into my pregnancy, a trip to the bathroom requires planning on my part. And I thought I was going to drive and hour or more to the mountains, clamber through the woods for another hour or so looking for the perfect tree, with eight kids in tow? Mind, my husband would be there too - but still - what was he going to do - piggy back me through the woods?

This thought struck me last week as I struggled just to maneuver out the front door and into our 15 passenger van! I looked at Hugo after settling myself into the passenger seat in the front and said, "There is no way I can go hunting for a tree - like this!" He sagely nodded and we drove off. A little while later he came up with a much better idea than mine.

"Since we would have had to spend money on gas to drive up there, let's use that money to take the kids out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel next Saturday, and then find a tree lot to buy our tree from. Then they might not be too disappointed about not going to the tree farm!"

Excellent idea and all of the kids, without a murmur, agreed to it. After all, they are watching me hourly waddle here and there in the house. Being reasonable kids - it is just too painfully obvious that I would more than slow them down on the tree farm, I would plain out right bring it all to a full halt after about 10 steps! That would probably get us from the van - to the barn... never mind out into the cold, still acres of Christmas trees!

So Cracker Barrel - here we come: "A table for ten please, with two boosters, non smoking if you don't mind."

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