Advent

Today is the third Sunday of Advent, the pink candle which stands for the joy and anticipation of Christmas. It's a nice breath of fresh air, really. A lot of the readings for Advent are about making sure we are ready for Christ's coming - they can be a little heavy. Advent is supposed to be a time when we get in touch with our emptiness and longings and accept them for what they are. We are more than that. It's okay to be unfinished and not have it all figured out. See...heavy stuff! So the pink candle reminds us to rejoice in the good stuff...and not to sweat the small stuff. We did that today.

Today we went to find the Yule Log at a magical place called Dyken Pond. The tradition is that people would hide a yule log on the winter solstice and celebrate the shortest day to the year by finding it and burning it throughout the night. Dyken Pond is a great preserve in Rensselaer county with educational programs and 6 miles of trails through woods, swamps and streams. The yule log is hidden somewhere in the preserve and we're given a few hints. The hunt was on! Of course, a group of teenagers found it before we did, but at least we were on the right trail. We dragged the sled with us so Thomas could ride whenever he got tired. Chester enjoyed all the smells. We were all bundled warm and it was a beautiful, snowy day to be out in the woods. Breathing that cold fresh air instead of being in the hubbub at the stuffy mall wins in my book, any day of the week.

So, I think we are as ready as we'll ever be for Christmas to come. Chris and I went to his station's holiday party this week. The Christmas cards are out and I'm half-way through wrapping. The house smells like cookies and fir tree. The kids are counting the days, although they still haven't really said what they want for Christmas. As long as there are some kind of presents, I guess they are happy! So come on Christmas, bring it on!