Get ready! Christmas is almost here!

Again it's been a couple of weeks since our last post. We've been so busy lately! As I look around there is not a shred of holiday decoration! It's on the to do list. (well, except for this -which john and I made time to work on together a couple weeks ago...)

It turns out that we went from seeing if we could try to host Christmas Eve to hosting Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It will be great to see all our relatives, but as you can imagine, we'll try to keep the menus simple (as simple as an Italian family can). We are still trying to finish a basement apartment for my parents who will be moved in before Christmas. (Of course the apartment will be done some unspecified time after Christmas) I have been spending some time trying to help my dad empty a house that he has been living in for 40-50 yrs. (he is a pack rat) We FINALLY got a decent picture of lil'daddy to use for Christmas cards and in the same day got 200 prints made at Costco! Between balancing this, Christmas shopping, and a ton of other little things, we've kept busy.

In all this rush, while we were confirming who's coming for Christmas dinner, I had to remind myself to invite Christ. This year has been the absolute worst as far as my own personal preparation for Christmas. This coming week is the fourth and final week of Advent. I've missed mass the past two weeks. Missing mass for me is less about guilt and sin than about missing out on valuable Christ time. For me manual labor is usually a good time for reflection (and there's been a bunch of it going around), but I've been running at or near empty lately. While I am not particularly in fear for my soul over all this, in the coming week I do have to prepare. ...meditate on some spiritual writings, perhaps. At a time when I should be thinking about the path that I've traveled this year and planning my steps forward, I feel as though I'm dawdling along. Still on the path, just a little idle at times with miles left to go.

One thing I've learned this year is that some feelings of idleness will come and go. I try not to get hung up on that. Whether the idleness is perceived or actual, worrying about it slows progress. Recognizing it though, is needed to 'get in gear'. I've realized my constant thirst for experience (let's call that breakthrough progress) was a bit selfish and unnecessarily needy. I think I'm just getting over spiritual ADHD!

I'd like to share one thing that I have realized over the past couple weeks. I'm used to, in a couples' relationship, going through times when one person is emotionally or spiritually stronger than the other. One can use the other in the relationship for extra bolstering. I've loved this about my relationship with CountingBlessings. We've also realized at occasional times neither of us feel particularly strong and we WORK at bolstering each other. This week I've found an incredible source of strength from lil'daddy. Our little gift from above continues to be a source of gifts showering down! When feeling down or overwhelmed, lil'daddy has a way of hitting the reset button. In particular, last night after bath and jammies, our family prayed together. We sang an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Great Amen. These words were sung by lil'daddy, in time and in relative key with ours...

in heaven thy name come done in heaven day bread tmptation evil Amen
Mary grace you women womb Jesus Mary God now death Amen

He has said those words usually after we do. Last night, he sang them with us. It was beautiful and just what i needed.

Here are some pics of the lil'guy...

My thanks & some quick pics

Not having time to sit and write, this mini-post will have to do. There are too many things big and small to list all at once that I am thankful for this year. One that I am particularly thankful for is the love I feel myself surrounded by from Lil'daddy, Counting Blessings & our extended family. Words cannot express my thanks to them and the Lord above for being in my life.

I wanted to share a few lil'daddy pics with the world...