Deck The Halls

I have a confession to make...we put up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving day! I know, the nerve!  In my defense, basketball season was looming upon us. If we wanted to retain a sense of sanity in such a busy season we had to jump the gun. As usual, I let the kids do all the hard work since it was their idea.  My oldest was in-charge of the outdoors and the girl was queen of the indoors. I put my feet up, lazily sipped my coffee and offered bits of decorating advice as needed. Oh blessed days of not being the one to have to do everything! 

Advent is galloping along with Christmas right around the corner.  I'm not ready but I'm excited.  For me the life of faith is an everyday process of trying to be ready.  The only sure thing is that He will come and the only thing I know I'm ready for is to rejoice.

How's your Advent going?

I tease him that I'll enter him in a Christmas lights contest one of these years

 

decorating is a process

she's in charge of decking the halls

 

almost there!

I could stare out the window all day...

...or at the ceiling

and more lights!

Gaudete!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Advent

I need Advent as much as I need Lent.  In particular, I need the penitential aspect of it.  As I jot down my plans for a quieter, holier season excitement sets in as I vow this to be my best Advent ever! Then as I slowly put my written plans into action I discover that my attachment to vices have a death grip on my soul, extinguishing my original fervor and snuffing out the tiny ember of resolve with which I started. Advent, just like Lent, is good for me that way,  it keeps my feet on the ground and reminds me that my laurels are all momentary and that grace alone props me up.

Fear not, I will help you (Isaiah 41:13). God's promise, echoed by the Prophet, was entirely fulfilled in the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. In him, God became one of us! For this reason, we need not fear; the season we are living of Advent encourages us to hope - John Paul II

The text above copied from my devotional reminds me that Advent is (also) a time of hope. I'm quick to forget that particular virtue, quick to run out of steam at the first sight of obstacles on my well-laid plans. The noise of the world is not hopeful.  The state of my soul is not hopeful.  My Christmas to-do list is not hopeful! Right there in the humble manger is the reason for our hope no matter the state of the world, no matter that I have only one present bought so far, no matter the state of my soul before I seek the Sacrament of Penance. I pray everyday for the virtue of enduring hope (and that Amazon will ease my Christmas shopping plans!)

Lest I give the impression I am sitting in ashes and have lost all Advent joy, here are photos to prove otherwise:

on our way to the Christmas tree farm, since there's no snow we'll settle for fog!

my tribe

the One tree

the annual "put the tree over your head" photo

despite not being frozen over the lake is still a beauty

homage to basketball season

two kids asked for basketball related ornament this year

the Baking Girl is also a book nerd

slowing down with a cup of hot cocoa

signing his Consecration paper on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Two weeks!  Are you ready?!

Turkey Trot 2015

For those of you following my Couch to 5k adventure you are probably wondering when I will actually run a race.  Well, the waiting is over, this post is for you.  As you know, we originally started doing the Couch to 5K program in preparation for the Rock 'n Roll race in Vegas. Due to some unforeseen circumstances our entourage (that includes my Texas family) did not make it to Vegas.  With all that running mileage under our feet we were itching to run something, anything! Fortunately, a Turkey Trot was happening in our neighborhood, literally within walking distance from our home.  And since we are hosting a belated Thanksgiving dinner on Black Friday there was no excuse for me to hide behind chores and cooking prep. I must admit I got nervous at the idea of a race.  I enjoy running at my own terms and to have to put that training to the test had me a bit intimidated.  What if I finish last, what if I don't finish at all, what if I forget how to run?  The what-if's kept running through my brain.  But the only what if I couldn't live with was what if I let fear take over. And then sanity hit me,  I've been running 5k's at least once a week,  there were even a couple of weeks when all our runs were 5k's! So I told myself that the only difference is that in the race I will be running with hundreds of people instead of just with my oldest child. To calm my nerves we decided to run the race route two days before the actual race.  It was a fun route and I actually enjoyed running it.  So the only thing left to do is to trust my feet and my training on race day.  It turned out great. My child set his goal at 26 minutes, he finished at 23:06. My husband set my goal at 35 minutes, I finished at 35:35 and in the words of my favorite running song by OneRepublic, I lived!  I have yet to come down from that running high and we're already looking forward to our next race.

Here is the rest of the story in photos:

it was a beautiful morning for a race, breathing in the calm of the morning

the sky matched my planned running outfit LOL

my planned gear that ended up being too warm so I had to change to something else as you will see on the race photos

pre-race massage for the oldest child, I got mine after the race (woot! LOL)

the husband had post it notes all over the house

 

this is my favorite

 

legit is my favorite thing to say, quite the hilarity for an old gal

this cheered me up at the last mile

WE DID IT!

 whenever I run I think of how amazing the human body is, mine gave me five children

new lugs, old lugs - my new shoes came the day after the race, I love these lugs. I seriously think that part of why I haven't yet abandoned running is because of these amazingly comfortable shoes.

new shoes, same fun colors. Newton forever!

How did you spend your Thanksgiving morning?