I’ve been absent lately—please forgive me, dear readers! This time of year brings with it seasonal depression and a bit of chaos, but I’m here! There’s lots of life updates to come, including progress on therapies for our youngest, school for the big kids, and more.

It’s seems every year I only manage to get one or two Advent posts out in the blogosphere, despite planning for way more. Yet here we are once again—it’s December 5, and…well, here’s my first post.

I’ve written about Advent resources before, and social media is full of things to buy and do this time of year, so I’m sure there’s no shortage of information being thrown at you from one avenue or another. This year has been full of all different kinds of challenges due largely to the coronavirus pandemic and the ways it has changed many facets of every day life. As I was lamenting with some friends about the ways that social distancing has robbed* me of some of the joy of this season, I got to thinking about Advent.

Christmas is almost literally right around the corner. I say this with joy and excitement because I LOVE this time of year. I love giving gifts, I love shopping for the right gift, and I enjoy the expectant excitement of the preparation of the season.  I love celebrating Jesus’ birth and the season of Advent is even more fun with little children. Their excitement and innocence is yet untainted by the commercialism of our culture.