Trying something (old) new for Advent/Christmas

Remember all those great old movies like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Story" where they decorate their tree on Christmas Eve?

After reading the book "The Catholic Home" I've decided to give it a try in the Herring household. I really want to infuse a Catholic Christian atmosphere in to our home, and now is the perfect time to do some "tweaking." I get so annoyed by the mega stores who have Christmas decorations up by Halloween and who try to make Christmas all about the presents (Hello? Anyone seen "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"???). Heck, I've even fallen prey to this attitude -- preparing for Christmas becomes all about lists, greeting cards, and asking, "So what did ____ get you for Christmas?" So this year I'm going to fight against it.

Sure, we'll still prepare by getting our cards out to family and friends, buying a couple of presents for our kids and some family members, listening to Christmas music, and putting up decorations. But I'm holding off on the tree until Christmas Eve. Why? Not just because I want to replicate all those good ol' movies, but because I think it is going to be good for me to wait on that oh-so-visible sign of Christmas through the season of Advent.

We're going to celebrate Advent as a season of waiting, preparation, and anticipation. We probably won't do it perfectly, but we'll try our best to focus on preparing our HEARTS for Christ's birth by doing a Jesse tree (or some variation), an Advent calendar, and celebrating the Feast of St. Nicholas (the real Santa Claus). So what about Santa? Don't know, don't care. I'm honestly ambivalent about him. Now that Clare is old enough to understand it all, I think what we'll end up doing is some variation on Santa. We'll put up our stockings on St. Nicholas Eve (Dec. 5) and she'll get a little treat the next morning and we'll talk about honoring the things that St. Nicholas did while he was alive on earth. Then Christmas presents will be given not because "Santa" brings them, but because we are participating in the celebration of Jesus' birthday.

And then we'll leave our tree up for the duration of the Christmas season which lasts until Jan.6.

Life after marriage and kids

I've been noticing the past few days certain funny things that marriage and kids have changed about my life. Here are a few of them:

I like to turn music on while I'm cleaning. Before I had kids I would usually put on something like Juanes and turn it up super loud. These days I rock out to The Wiggles.

Movie night before kids: something like Taken. Movie night after kids: The Black Stallion.

Before kids, I looked forward to the day when I could sit and watch Disney movies with my little ones. Now that I have little ones, I realize that some of those villains are downright SCARY for kids!

Before kids, this song was cute. Last night I heard it and it made me cry.

It's just amazing how even the simplest things catch your attention when you're paying attention. I love my life.

What I want for my children

A friend of mine shared this post on her Facebook profile and it struck a chord with me. We as parents always want what's best for our kids, and this post re-focuses that desire on the higher good for which they were created.

Enjoy!

Walking boy!

Here's our walking-walking boy! :) Big sister Clare likes to help - a lot. I love this beginning walking stage - when they can't go anywhere very quickly, are super proud of themselves, and have to hold their hands in the air for balance.

Happy Birthday, James!

I can't believe that it's been a year already.

James, you are all boy. I can't believe how different you are from your big sister at this age.

You are fearless. You climb on EVERYTHING, including furniture, Clare's desk, and beds. You hang from the window sill and try to scale the wall.

Everything you have in your hands either becomes a projectile or a hammer.

You growl. A lot. Clare likes to call it your "monster voice."

When you wake up, you're ready to GO. There's no in-between quiet snuggle time. You just crawl out of your bed, fling the door open, and come barreling down the hallway half asleep. These days you've skipped coming out to see me and Daddy and have just been going straight to Clare's room to crawl in bed with her. I love seeing how much you love each other!

You are learning to give kisses and love smashing your face in to ours. It's especially cute when you have Clare pinned to the ground and you give her a not-so-gentle kiss.

We love everything about you, James! We pray for you daily and hope that you grow up to be a man of God, putting His will for your life above all, and learning to love Him and imitate Him more and more every day. Happy Birthday, James Michael.

And Happy Feast Day of the Archangels, after whom James takes his middle name!

Here's a link to the post that I wrote just a few days after he was born.

Sick of electronics

I suddenly became completely disgusted with myself. I had a moment this week when I realized that I had fallen in to the trap of "keeping up" on my dear friends' lives via Facebook, email, and blogs. Don't get me wrong, these are fun ways to post and read about the little happenings of daily life, but they are in no way a substitute for a good conversation or (gasp!) a hand-written note.

So, to all my wonderful friends, I'm sorry. And coming soon: a real phone call, note, or time spent together.

With Tom out of town for so long, I'm realizing the importance of my friends and family even more, and I promise to dedicate more time to you.

I love you all.

Simple Pleasures

Since Tom's gone, I've found that a key to my sanity is to find joy in the simple pleasures. Here are a few that I've thought of this week:

1. The way a freshly-vacuumed carpet looks.

2. One-on-one snuggle time with Clare and James.

3. Enjoying a cup of wine and an episode (or 3) of BBC Robin Hood with my sister after the babies are in bed.

4. Crawling in to a bed with fresh, clean sheets.

5. Seeing Clare play outside in the sprinklers in her swimsuit all by herself.

6. The smell of clean floors (thanks, Shan!).

7. The quiet of the early mornings before babies are awake, when I have time to read, drink a cup of coffee, and do my morning meditation.

8. The feeling of sore muscles. I figure that if it hurts, it means it's getting smaller. :)

9. Hearing Clare and James giggling like crazy as they play together on the floor.

10. James's 2-tooth grins and Clare's hugs and kisses.

11. Video-chatting with Tom. I'm so thankful that technology allows us to hear and see him even from so far away.

12. Eating/drinking/cooking with fresh herbs from my back deck. This week we've used our basil, rosemary, mint, and lemon thyme. It's so awesome.

13. The generosity and friendliness of our neighbors. The other day one came over and gave us an enormous bag of freshly-picked rainier cherries from a tree in their back yard, and today our next-door neighbor gave us a couple of fresh crabs that they caught yesterday. Sooooo looking forward to eating those tonight! What a treat.

What are some of your simple pleasures?