A new Advent traditions?

This year we pretty much finished our serious Christmas shopping before Advent! Last year we were caught unawares, as if Christmas isn't December 25th every year, and were rushed and harried feeling. So we probably swung "too far" on the pendulum, but really, I like it a lot.

There are a few miscellaneous items we haven't picked up or boxed to send, but all the thinking is over. We've purchased or made things. We've used Amazon a lot which made shipping easier, and I really dislike browsing stores so avoiding that is good too.

While part of me enjoys the gift giving part itself, I really dislike the bombardment of messages to buy stuff for people. So with the shopping done, I can just ignore all the ads. Does not apply to me. I don''t need to wonder if so-and-so might REALLY like that whatsitmahoozer. Even if they did, too bad!!

And of course, being done before Advent means that I have more head space for other stuff. This week, it's been tending to two pretty sick kids. Grueling work. But they should be on the mend soon.

For the first time, we're putting up a Jesse Tree which is a Catholic tradition that I was not raised with. The Jesse Tree is a tree that is decorated with symbols recalling the fuller story of Christmas. It starts with God forming the universe and people, the break in relationships with people and the promise for full restoration, then it moves through major stories of the Old Testament before telling the New Testament story of Jesus birth. We're using a children's book by the same name and reading a story a day. I recycled our 2 ft tree from our apartment days, and we're making a felt ornament that corresponds with the symbol for the day. I'd much rather be doing this through Advent then worrying about what gifts to have for whom and how to get it to them.

So we'll see if we can make these new traditions: Christmas gifts in November, Jesse Tree decorating in December.

Crochet: learning something new

So I don't have any deep spiritual insights at the moment, I'm sort of in a "Jesus I'm desperate for you" funk.

But I've been having a lot of fun teaching myself to crochet. I started in November after spending many months thinking about getting my daughter slippers to keep her feet warm on the tile. But I didn't really want to spend money on that, and I saw a youtube video for crocheting maryjane slippers. I thought, "I can do that." So I bought a hook and took out some craft yarn I got on sale and voila! Slippers. However, Lil L being 2 means she often not only won't wear the slippers, she'll even pull off her socks. Oh, well.

I've gone on to making hats, baby booties, moccasins, a baby vest, and so on. It's been really fun to learn something new, but what I really like about it is having something to do with my hands while the kids play.

They have a mom-dar that beeps whenever I move out of range, like to the bathroom or the kitchen or the laundry room. Sometimes, I have to be in those spaces, but what they really like is for me to be in the living room while they play. I don't even have to play with them. I just need to be near. Crocheting is wonderfully portable. I have everything in a plastic shopping bag and can move from place to place.

It's also wonderful because it's pretty easy to stop and start. A couple times I've varnished or painted some furniture. These require multiple steps that are preferably done within a certain amount of time and away from small kids. That's really tough to do these days. With crochet, I can stop on a dime, drop everything back in the bag and do potty time or kiss a boo boo. Easy.

Another huge thing is that I'm making something. I have a bunch of yarn my aunt gave me when she heard I took up crocheting. I'm using it to make stuff for a baby in a family my small group is helping out this Christmas. Everything'll be yellow, but at least the baby will have something warm to wear. I'm already getting to the point where I can make my own designs and that's fun to think about. It's feels like magic going from a wad of yarn to a Thing. Love it.

If you'd like a hacked-together, crochetted something, leave a request in the comments.