Signs of Advent and finding joy and hope in the wait (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

I bought Advent calendars for both of our boys on Sunday. One of my sons ate all of his chocolates that day.

That’s one way to do Advent, trying to hurry things along, rather than savoring the sweetness of each day. I can absolutely understand that impatience—and that love for chocolate. Many years that’s how I approach Advent, looking ahead to Christmas instead of leaning into this time of preparation.

I love the idea, though, of taking more time with Advent and savoring the journey. I enjoy the sense of hopeful anticipation that comes with this season.

This year, knowing that Christmas will be much simpler and quieter than usual doesn’t make me want to rush through this time. I am looking forward to all the stops along the way—the baking and the decorating and the Christmas card writing. I am hoping for a slower, quieter pace for this Advent and Christmas season.

~2~

With the exception of our Advent wreath, we don’t normally decorate for Advent. But we have this “It is your birthday” banner that we revised to say, “It is Thanksgiving” last week.

So, as I was pulling out the wreath last weekend, I thought we could easily change it to “It is Advent.”

We will be changing it soon enough for the next birthday, which is next week, and then it will be replaced entirely with our “Merry Christmas” banner. But I do feel we’ve gotten our money’s worth out of the banner.

~3~

Some days as I’m working, my sons stop by to ask me questions. Other days, they leave me alone for a while to work. One day this week, I had been in meeting after meeting after meeting, and I walked into the living room to find no children in sight and a container of ice cream sitting on a stool next to a bag of gummy bears.

The pandemic has certainly made our children more resourceful. I just may need to make sure the apples are easier to find than the gummy bears.

~4~

What did you do with your leftover turkey from Thanksgiving? I took ours and made it into a turkey pot pie.

Then I served it with cranberry sauce, which made the whole meal seem that much fancier. I can’t figure out why cranberry sauce tastes so good with turkey in every form.

Or maybe cranberry sauce just tastes good with everything.

~5~

Our children had no school on Monday or Tuesday, and our younger son was getting a little bored. So, he disappeared into the basement and started setting up some of our LGB trains.

It was the perfect project for him because he could do it on his own. He can do many things on his own since he’s just a week away from turning 11.

He even built an elevated track, propping the track up on spare lumber he found in the basement and running the engine around some precarious curves.

~6~

Our Christmas cards arrived in the mail today, and I showed them to our younger son. His age and his brother’s are written next to their names in parentheses.

“Why didn’t you put yours and Dad’s ages there, too?” he asked.

Why, indeed? That’s something to consider for next year.

~7~

Eleven years ago Dec. 4 was also a Friday. That morning John and I flew out of BWI Airport, landed in Chicago, and started the long flight to Beijing on our way to become parents for the first time.

I remember being so nervous and so excited to meet our little boy, but I was also so sure this was exactly what God had in mind for us. John and I were talking the other day, and he was saying how he feels we were always meant to be parents by adoption. I feel the same way.

Adoption was our path to growing our family—and it’s been such a beautiful one. I’m so grateful that it was an option for us, and that God brought us together with our sons.

That is especially on my mind this week as we prepare to celebrate the anniversary of the day we met our older son and to celebrate our younger son’s birthday. I am in awe of the ways God brings people into our lives.

And, just as with Advent, becoming our children’s parents was well worth the wait.

Read more quick takes at Kelly’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum, and have a wonderful weekend!

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