Twas an adventure on the night before Christmas

this Christmas we have been in the middle or the end rather of a state-to-state move. The logistics of such monumental under takings are borderline nightmarish. But we've had a few distractions and potential train wrecks these last few weeks. Read this for details. But in the end, we all made it. Safe & sound. Which is a Christmas miracle in itself! But because of our move we knew that this would be a modest Christmas. Which lets be honest, took a huge stress & pressure off because that meant no shopping for gifts for everyone. But I also discovered that without experiencing the hustle & bustle of the shopping frenzy, it also didn't feel like Christmas.

1st night in our new house. sleepover by the christmas tree.

I did my little bit of shopping online with presents delivered & some even gift wrapped. I loved the ease & peace of it. Plus the excitement of it arriving at our door made ME feel like a kid. Mostly I bought small things to occupy the boys for the 15 hour car ride. yes 15hrs & they all did great! I knew we would be opening literally buckets of toys that had been in storage for months now, plus the excitement of the new house...who needs presents to open on Christmas morning?! Nobody here...at least that's what I thought. As night fell on Christmas eve, I found myself getting sad at the thought that my boys wouldn't have gobs of presents & wrapping to become swallowed in the next morning. I longed for more. More time to prepare. More money to spend. More presents to open.

christmas jammies & watching "the very first christmas" in bed

The next morning came in a flash & with a bang. Literally the boys door hit the wall as they left their room. The boys opened their gifts and would not put them down! I bought both the big boys a mobigo & game cartridge. I soon came to realize that they would've just played with that one toy the whole day whether they had other presents to open or not. my longing ceased. And my heart was humbled.

playing with toys christmas morning

I had been walking through this season of advent with my boys and teaching them that it wasn't about Santa & gifts, but about Christ humbly coming as a baby for each of us. And here I find myself doing exactly what I was trying to teach my boys NOT to do. While it is so very fun to find the most perfect gift & getting it at a great price, I realized that now as a mom I need to learn to be content with what I have or else my boys won't get it. They were content with what they had been given. and in the end, I was content with the modest Christmas morning we had. The boys got a few more gifts to open from family later that day which I admit, helped me feel a little better. Next year I'm hoping Christmas won't be as overshadowed as these past 2 years. As parents, we've realized that for things to be successful & feel like Christmas, it's up to us.

So we're devising a plan to help everyone, myself included, feel like its more like Christmas next year. And the best way to start that off is by NOT moving days before Christmas. it definitely set the attitude of my heart & mind on the things & areas of life i want to make important for 2012.
 and more stuff isn't one!

 - Posted from my iPhone

adventures in our christmas card

i don't think i've ever gotten a christmas card out this early...ever! i'm impressed with myself. and maybe the reason why it's out so early is because it's more than just a christmas card this year. the time has finally come to spill the beans on where we are moving after we leave the condo in just 2 weeks time...


so please, by all means...
read our christmas card!

taking an adventurous crack at explaining advent

so let's talk about the 'why' of an advent calendar shall we?!

disclaimer: i'll lay out some technical terms about advent but please realize, that while i am married to a pastor, that does NOT make me a theologian or completely knowledgable about this. it's what i've learned, researched & asked questions about. 

what does advent mean?
the word advent means "coming" or "arrival"; particularly of something of importance

what does advent celebrate?
it is marked by the spirit of expectation, anticipation, preparation & longing.
the waiting time & preparation for Christmas and the anticipation of Jesus returning.

when is advent celebrated?
in the church advent begins the 4th sunday before christmas.
BUT...advent calendars always begin on december 1.

how do you celebrate advent?
this is where it gets a little complex...
there's the evergreen wreath & candles
there's the colors of advent
there's something called a jesse tree
and then there's the regular 24 day advent calendar which is what i'm using.


what is an advent calendar?
it's a way to keep the family, especially young children, involved in the celebration. it is a calendar with windows or pockets to be opened every day of december. the intention of use for the calendar vary so drastically and this is the very basic edition that they all stem from. you can have anything from spiritual pictures of the old testament story of the prophecy of Christ's birth to a piece of chocolate to an ornament to a gift to give others. but i've found that mostly people use it to at the very least create traditions and or even distract their kids from the uber consumerism that has become Christmas.

if you want to know what my intentions for our advent calendar & celebration are start with this post.
OR if you're in need of some ideas for you advent calendar or just festive things for your holiday season check out yesterday's post.

let the advent adventure of 2011 begin!

ok, first off, i'd like to make a confession...we aren't doing the advent wreath & candles in our house. if you need to know why, then please re-read my blog title...that says it all right?! phew, feel better. thanks! so we'll be counting down the days & building anticipation until Christmas with our {ruckel} family...and our moving day.

i'm not a prepared person. ok, well mostly, i'm not...i try & succeed on occasion. but for stuff like this, i'm definitely not. i didn't buy any supplies, print out pages or look up the correct scripture reference until yesterday...hence, why this post is going up today instead of yesterday. thanks for the grace!

let's start with the calendar itself.
there are all sorts of fabulous & different ideas for advent calendars out there. pick one that works best for you & your family. i chose this one from naptime diaries etsy shop. 2 versions available...printed or printable...i chose printable because this year, i need to not worry about extra things to pack. let alone to pack nicely back in the christmas bin...which is who knows where in the storage shed?!

time to fill it. 
first i took a look at our calendar for the month of december. like most families, ours is full! so there are things that were already planned and those will serve as our activities for those days. then i filled in the days with the things we want to do as traditions with our family. that was easy! with both of those things, we already filled up half the calendar. you can fill the remaining days with festive little things...not too much effort or preparation.

since i'm wanting to keep our advent season not just about traditions, but really making an effort at focusing on the spiritual aspect of the season, i'm incorporating some scripture into each day...or several of the days at least.

our festivities:

1. decorate the house for christmas!

2. make paper chains
date night for mom & dad & sleepover with {auntie kate} for the boys

3. dinner & holiday parade with friends

4. get hot cocoa on the way to church

5. make paper snowflakes

a diy garland via bumpsmitten 

6. make & send some christmas cards & gifts

7. visit santa// read a christmas book before bed

8. visit the train exhibit downtown

9. watch "a charlie brown christmas"

10. lights at the beach or garden of lights

Add caption

11. christmas music dance party

12. color christmas pictures & activity sheets

13. make a card for {ben}s preschool teacher

14. play "where's baby jesus?" with the nativity

great little people nativity for kids

15. birthday celebration for {auntie kate}

16. preschool christmas party//dinner with friends

17. christmas movie night & milkshakes

18. donuts before church

19. wrap gifts

20. open small gifts for car ride/ leave for florida

21. watch christmas movies in the car// do something nice for someone while on the road

22. have a sleepover in the living room

another diy:: tent tutorial via mycakies

23. hang out at {nanny}s house

24.  church//have birthday party for Jesus// open 1 gift (jammies & book)

printables for a birthday party for Jesus

25. biscuits & chocolate gravy for breakfast!

curious?! get a recipe here

and a few resources.
i'm using this book to help with the scripture/ spiritual aspect. but it's a great pre-packaged advent calendar. definitely worth checking into if you have little ones. 
here's a great selection of christmas books to add to your library.
and there are a million different holiday printables out there. i'm using this preschool nativity set.
and pinterest is full of ideas!! check it out.

need some other ideas? try these...

• ice skating age appropriate of course
• a trip to the post office is inventible this time of year
• a family trip to the movies there's always a new family type movie out this time of year. anyone going to see the muppets?!
• go see a christmas play...like the nutcracker or a christmas carol. 
• collect some christmas books or grab some from the library. unwrap a 'new' one every night before bed. over the years the kids will love getting to read those stories.
• drink apple cider
• go caroling
• bake & deliver cookies for those who work on christmas eve/ day
• have kids put on a christmas story play for mom & dad
• shop for & wrap gifts for others less fortunate. theres lots of opportunities to do this, not just churches.
• help a food bank by serving or donating food.
• have a cookie exchange
• write letters to santa
• write a letter to a solider

the end of my giving thanks adventure

it's been a great time of reflecting and learning to be content. i've seen God's blessings in my life is small & big ways. it's amazing what you can see when you take the time daily to be thankful for the blessings in life. but the biggest lesson i found through it was the contentedness i found in my life. it took out the longing for more. the desire to fill my life with what i don't have & think i need. what a place of peace my heart has found.

now i realize i didn't get all my daily lists of things i was thankful for up here on the blog, but i do have them. and the general theme was His amazing provision...in food, health, and timing. i'm still in awe! but most of all, i'm thankful this month of sickness & health issues is OVER...time to move on along to health & wholeness!!

i am now ready to ring in the advent season! what a season of excitement & anticipation. it's no wonder the consumer world has jumped on board. although, with our moving out of the condo just days before Christmas and the fact that the majority of the boys toys have been packed away for most of the year, we won't really be buying much this year. we'll have the joy of rediscovery of toys that have been 'hidden'. they'll get a few small things for the drive in the car and some from grandparents. but what im most excited about is preparing my home & hearts of my family in the anticipation of the arrival of our King.

i'll post our activities tomorrow, but here's what i'm hoping to accomplish...to teach them how to relate and be in the world, but not of the world. aka know Jesus is the reason for the season, but also not burst some kid's santa believing bubble. 

• i want my boys to know that our anticipation is for the birth of our Messiah, not just the packages under the tree.
• i want them to know the Christmas story, not just Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.
• i want them to know the scripture that tells the prophecy & birth of Jesus.
• i want them to know the angles,wise men & shepards are & not just elves.
• i want them to know that Jesus is real and Santa is the storybook character. 
• i want to build memories & traditions for them. 

and most importantly, i get that all of these things will be works in progress over their lifetime, but ya gotta start sometime. so why not now?!

hoping to get my advent activities post finished for tomorrow. so come back tomorrow and i'll do my best to inspire you.



edit** also super thankful for my cousin's brand new baby GIRL! she's the first granddaughter after 10 boys between she & her siblings!!! now that is a celebration folks!