happy birthday Jesus!

Only a couple more sleeps until Christmas!  The gift tags are all stamped, the presents bought and wrapped (well, nearly…) and lots of delicious foods are waiting to be made.  The house is looking pretty and relatively clean (well, nearly…).  Lots of yummy things have been picked from the garden and a mountain of weeds removed (“Hey look, there are tomatoes growing over here!”)

But really, all that matters is that we’re celebrating the birth of our Saviour, Jesus.  Amid the busy-ness and the pressure, we pray that you and your family will enjoy the peace and joy of this festive season, and remember the amazing, unconditional love that God has for every single one of us.

Suddenly, God’s angel stood among the shepherds and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Saviour has just been born in David’s town, a Saviour who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”

At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:

Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

Luke 2:8-14 (Message translation)

my, how the garden grows!

We were SO super-excited this week to pull our first carrots!  A little bit on the small side, but they are nice and straight, and so delicious.  AND, my goodness, purple and orange!!

 

Paired with the last of the peas, they made for a yummy lunch.

The garden is so glorious at the moment.  Flamboyant poppies and enormous showy cosmos…

…even springing up in the driveway!  A few little beans snuck themselves in amongst the peas too.

Silverbeet and sweet peas even look beautiful when they’ve gone to seed…

Inspired by our sweet little apples, Jasper planted a few apple seeds in a jar.  When we came inside from the garden an hour later, we had tears: “Why aren’t they growing?  I want an apple to take in my lunchbox tomorrow!”

The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Isaiah 58: 11

and now on to Christmas!

Thank you to everyone who came along to Elizabeth Handmade Market last week!  We had a fabulous night, and together we raised over $2000 for Elizabeth Home – a great result.  We have a few photos of the night on the Elizabeth Handmade Market website if you’d like to pop over and have a peek!

With my ‘market season’ now over, I can think about Christmas!  On Saturday we put up our Advent calendar, which always makes it feel like Christmas is really on the way.  (The boys picked their own Christmassy outfits…)

Every day during December the boys take it in turns to ‘open a pocket’ and see what surprise is hiding inside.  It makes the lead-up to Jesus’ birthday so much fun, and keeps us focused on how many days it is until we celebrate His coming!  Here’s my work-in-progress list of Advent ideas for this year:

Activities:

• visit the museum
• have dessert after dinner (on a school night!)
• visit the art gallery
• go strawberry picking
• go out for an ice cream
• go to the skate park
• go for a bike ride with Daddy
• go to the beach
• ride a tram
• sort out all the toys and give away ones we don’t need
• place a gift under the giving tree
• empty our moneyboxes (all through the year the boys save some of their pocket money in their moneyboxes.  In December they give the contents to a charity.  Last year they each selected something from the Christian Blind Mission’s catalogue, and this year they are donating to His House of Hope, a hospital in South Sudan where Toby’s best friend Caleb and his family are currently living)

Treats:

• stickers
• chocolate soccer balls
• wooden spinning tops
• Bible verse calendar for next year
• fabric pastels to draw on a t-shirt
• Colin Buchanan CD
• Bible activity books

The other thing I love about the Advent calendar is all the beautiful memories the activities create.  It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut, and not be motivated to do something fun just because it’s fun!  This is last year’s strawberry picking day:

We’ve also been busy making gifts for lovely teachers and school friends this week.  Jasper has only two days of school left – how did that happen?!  We are going to miss his school so much – he’s been there for two years with the same amazing teachers and the same gorgeous group of friends.  He’s going to have a wonderful time at the ‘big school’ next year (and already has one special little friend), but oh, it’s going to be hard saying goodbye this week!

 

(Oh, and did you notice that someone has lost their front tooth, just in time for Christmas?)