Advent JOY

I guess I skipped over posting anything for Advent LOVE, but we had a wonderful week of it. And now it's time to light the pink candle for JOY!

The sweetest moment of today was when I asked everyone what brings them joy. Jaan said, "Bogdan!" and then he turned to Bogdan and whispered, "I'm glad you were born in our family."

(Will is a really good sport!)

"Behold, I bring you good tidings of great JOY which will be to all people."

Advent HOPE

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Advent plans

I am going back through old blog posts, remembering and getting ready for my beloved time of year.

I have alternated between New Testament and Old Testament (Jesse Tree) focus. This year is New Testament, but I don't want to do the same preschool list I have in the past. Bogdan's still too young for it, and the others might not be too old, but they're old enough to move on. (I think I'll ask them to arrange it for Bogdan in 2014.) So, instead we are going to study the names of Jesus. We'll probably mostly just light candles and read the verse associated with the link on the chain for that day, although some of the ideas at the linked list might work for us. Maybe I'll let them each make their own chain, like this and this? That would cut out nightly arguments about who gets to remove a link.

We'll also have Advent wreath and poem or song and weekly themes, like last year. I think I'll get them each an Advent "journals" to copy or draw or paste something into each night. That's sounds grown-up, and even if it's not right up Jaan's alley, the girls will love it.

2010

And now I'm humming Адвент наступает....


(Edited to add this link: ornaments that go with the names of Jesus, to use if we do this again another year.)