Advent

We've been enjoying Tabitha's Travels - a neat story about a young girl named Tabitha who is caught up in the sidelines of the Christmas story. The author has written three books. We read Jotham's Journey last year, but Eliana was a little too small to really appreciate it. She's a little more appreciative this year, but I think if there were a similar book with more pictures and perhaps fewer words, she'd really get into it.

Along with the book, we have been using an Advent Wreath to celebrate the season. Eliana has helped us light each candle by telling us which candle we're lighting. (Hope, Peace, Joy, Love) She remembers them really well. She even helped us light the candle for the first Sunday of Advent at our church, though she did get pretty shy (and acrobatic) during the second service.

It's definitely been helpful to sit back and remember that Christmas is about more than the hustle and bustle - buying gifts, singing in concerts, attending events, decorating, etc. It's nice to sit back and remember that our Saviour was born many years ago into a world that is so different from ours. He didn't come to a nice clean hospital room with doctors and nurses ready to assist. The best comparison I've read lately is that it was about the same thing as thinking the Saviour was born to an unwed teenage girl in an alley in the slums of town. To quote the song "This is such a strange way to save the world."