It’s all put away–the lights, the stockings, the tree, all the festive tchatchkes (I won’t tell you how long it took me to figure out how to spell that word. hard to google something you can’t spell.)

And, the clean house that would normally make me stand back and admire proudly seems utterly depressing. Would it be appropriate for me to cry about school starting again like my 10 year old did last night?

Can’t seem to get rid of my favorite Christmas card of the year — the one where my 6 year old calls his dad by his first name and then wrote out a radio station jingle for the whole message of the card. Yeah, that one’s a keeper.

In fact, we so enjoyed the readings every night at dinner that we’re keeping on keeping on with it. I did my best to cheer up the grouchy troops and started right in on the first reading tonight at dinner from Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing. It looks awesome, and I’m thinking we could all use some thoughts to make our hearts sing in this clean house. Who else is in?

They actually did it. They wanted to stay up until midnight. We said yes, winking at each other and taking bets on how long they’d all last. No later than 10:30 for sure.

12:06. Every last one of ’em stayed up til 12:06 which meant we too stayed up which hasn’t always been the case (yeah, we party hard here).

The excitement was clearly overwhelming here.

At 11:55, Ashlyn said, “I don’t get this whole ball drop thing.”

Get it or not, it dropped like it has for zillions of years. (Okay, whatever, zillions is close enough.)

We hollered a bit, gave some kisses, watched the crazies on tv for a couple minutes, and then told the kids at 12:04 it was time for bed.

Which is when Drew said, “Wait, when are we going to watch a ball drop?”

Goodbye, 2012.

Looking forward to a year of newness–a new journey to embark as a family and new mercies upon mercies.

I remember going to bed with anticipation every night from November 30th until Christmas. Sometimes, the anticipation was just too much to handle, and I’d cheat a bit. A big felt calendar covered the back of my bedroom door with numbered pockets. And, every morning before school, I’d get to unwrap a little treat that was stuffed into those pockets by my grandmother. Pretty pencils, stickers, a fun toothbrush, hairbands, just little things leading up to gift 24 which would be a handmade Christmas ornament.

That’s what advent is about–not dollar store treats and ornaments, chocolates behind cardstock doors, or even wreaths with lit candles. Advent is about anticipation. 

My kids have pocket-filled felt calendars in their rooms now. Based on the conversations today, they get the anticipation thing. I wouldn’t be surprised to find some tissue paper shreds on the floor as the anticipation overwhelms one little girlie who can’t stop herself from cheating a bit. But, what are they anticipating?

from The Jesus Storybook Bible

I want them to anticipate Jesus, the story of the incarnation. I want to anticipate Him.

I searched. I pinterested. I blog surfed. And, I found some really neat family advent stuff.

Enter feeling of being overwhelmed.

Too many crafts. Too many requirements. Too many supplies. Too much for me.

I don’t want crafts and more things to fill my to-do list. I want Jesus. 

Late last night, I found something I can do. One reading a day from The Jesus Storybook Bible. That’s it. No glue, no homemade dough ornaments, no sequins, no stress. Just a story.

There are a lot of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle–the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

The anticipation is overwhelming. I can’t to unwrap this story.

Jesus Storybook Bible Advent Reading Plan
Jesus Storybook Bible 10 day Advent reading plan