Advent Week Four

Advent Week Four - December 2013

Wow ~ all four candles lit!  Just a few days left now... Christmas "Adam" (Dec. 23rd) ... Christmas Eve (Dec. 24th) ... then Christmas Day (Dec. 25th)! I think I have written this on every Advent post this year, but the past week seems to have flown by!

Yesterday was a bit of a conflicting day -- on one hand, I did VERY well until nearly five in the afternoon -- on the other hand the evening my body was really fighting and so today has really been a pj/bed/food/restroom/bed/bed/bed type of a day.  Nothing urgent on the agenda prior to Christmas Eve mass though, so today was an excellent day to rest and hopefully nothing negative will disturb tomorrow either... Oh!  I have been working (with paper and pencil) to get the details nailed into place for both sides of my family tree!  Just from both sets of my own grandparents through all of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; however it has been a project!

Had initially been trying to finish before Christmas, and I think perhaps I shall be able to have the paper and pencil version completed by then.  New plan is to find time and a computer program that will allow me to somehow shrink everything yet still make it easily read-able.  Currently I think I am up to four or five pages (for each side of my family tree) running length-wise on regular 8.5" by 11" lined paper.  Would very much like the printed version to have individual photos... Shall see how it works out!

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and THANK YOU to everyone who has been keeping me in thoughts/prayers/good vibes -- no test results yet but this week I should get news of some sort.  Not the best timing, but it is better than waiting, right?

Shall try to get in the posts about my cousin R's wedding and my nephew K's baptism soon! (Also one about my day trip yesterday - lots of holiday cheer!)

Advent Week Three

Advent Week Three - December 2013

Just like that, another week flashes by.  We are now in the third week of Advent! Perhaps if I loved every month like I do December, (with holiday spirit, decorations, Christmas), every year would fly by...

I am very thankful for my family and friends...

Currently feeling a little too tired

Love, prayers, faith and hope

Advent Week Two

Week Two (of four) of Advent has arrived and I am still struggling with gift ideas.  Part of me wants to at least send cards to all of my family/extended family/friends/those I have lost touch with/pay it forward to strangers/all that jazz... Realistically I have been able to focus on helping create a "family" gift for just immediate extended family and write Merry Christmas (or Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Kwanza, or Seasons Greetings, or Happy Holidays) on my various social media.  Sometimes emails, but I never feel like it is enough.

No matter how quickly time passes between each Advent season, I am so very thankful when December rolls around again.  Whether I have had a great year, a horrible year, or landed somewhere in-between, Christmas/December/holiday music always reminds me of family, love, support, stability, warmth... Although there are 52 weeks in every year and I always tell myself I will try to appreciate this year -- every year slips through my fingers.  And I am only thirty (already thirty!) this year...wonder what life will be like in the future!

As a Catholic, these four weeks leading up to Christmas Day every year give me the amazing opportunity to stop and be thankful for everything (good and bad) in my life.  I try to take this time to focus on something/everything that is positive/good/uplifting in people's lives because I know of/have heard of/have read/have experienced not good things.  And, being human, I often fall/sink/fail.  Advent is a time where I try to really focus outside of myself and not allow myself to get caught up in personal drama (ok, still human, I try not to focus for very long on things that are negative in my life).

I shall, of course, continue posting here hopefully for a long while... This year though I am going to invite all of you to leave me a message or send me an email (disappearingrose@yahoo.com) and I will send you a personal holiday note.  Please let me know what holiday you are celebrating, or if you would prefer the more generic Season's Greetings : )  Also I want to thank all of you, because most if not all of you have been sharing your lives with me via the online world and I really appreciate it.

Halfway through the Advent Wreath -- this week I shall be sure to pray extra for all of my social network friends!! ::HUGS::

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

Planned on posting this yesterday, but then Baby K was sick : (
However today he is better!! Plus you get more photos

Slowly but surely Christmas decorations are being put into place!  Started with little things (dishtowels, the same plastic wreath that hangs outside the screen door so it works in any weather, this year's Advent wreath, two cute stuffed snowmen sitting on a window sill, the ADORABLE miniature Christmas tree with it's own assortment of mini ornaments)... Now the boxes of ornaments are out of the attic, the tree has been put up, and tonight the lights were put on!  Photos to share (and more to come as decorating continues)

Advent Wreath 2013

Outdoor Christmas Wreath
(yes fake - but good for all weather!)

Miniature Tree in powder room
decorated with miniature
ornaments and tree skirt!

Craft - Christmas trees made by gluing together wine corks!

Annual Christmas Manger centered on the mantle
(Yes, we add Baby Jesus early)

Christmas Tree with just lights
in family room 2013

Ornaments down from the attic!
(Trust me, took YEARS to finally
buy "proper" ornament boxes!)

Looking forward to seeing/reading about all of your holiday decorations (whatever holidays you celebrate!)

Advent Week One

Advent Week One - December 2013

December 1st has arrived again! How fast the years fly by; I am so thankful that I am able to appreciate and enjoy every holiday, particularly CHRISTMAS! I have so many thoughts and things I want to share -- today however, I have decided to share the story of my first college Advent wreath.

I had moved into a campus dorm room in Turlock, CA back in 2001 and while having a private bedroom was one of the many perks of my college, the room was not large enough (nor safe enough!) to have candles going for a solid month.

My crafty/creative solution? A pack of colored paper, scissors, tape, and markers! Looking back it was actually one of the most personal and special Advent wreaths I have ever made, and I looked for the pieces to post a photo of here but cannot find them.

Green paper became green leaves, each with a different loved ones name on it (family, friends) - or something I was thankful for.  The candles were cut from purple (three) and pink (one) paper and all were taped to my dorm room wall.  (Another advantage to being in a college dorm room -- the walls had some sort of "shiny" aspect which allowed clear tape to stick for months but never ruin the wall when finally pulled off -- UNLIKE regular walls growing up).

Once I had my unique wreath in place I added the candles, then made "flames" from colored paper and the markers. Every Sunday during Advent I would "light" the candle for that week by taping up the "flame" above the correct candle : )  Glad that this is one of many memories that come back to me particularly during the holiday season!

Other posts to come: my cousin R. got married; my nephew K. was baptized; favorite authors have been re-read; the farmer's market has been visited; an aunt who has been engaged is getting married in a couple months; Christmas decorations are being put up; am going to a cookie exchange party this weekend; etc etc.  Welcome to December!!

Advent and Hanukkah

Sunday tends to be a religious day (even for those who are not religious -- well, okay, I think it is a day when many people enjoy being able to get in some rest and/or partake in religious activities)... Also I had no clue what to post here today.  In keeping with my personal mission to post something daily, and the hope to not bore whomever reads this, I have found photos that represent both centerpieces for those who are Catholic (an Advent Wreath) and those who are Jewish (a Hanukkah Menorah).

The image on the left is an Advent Wreath. It consists of four candles around the circle (three purple, one pink) and a single white candle in the center. (Sometimes all five candles are white, with the appropriate colored ribbon around each one). The wreath is a way to "count down" to Christmas Day, the celebration of Jesus being born (ie the white/center candle). The Advent Wreath is lit clockwise, one candle every Sunday per week during the Advent season: purple, purple, pink (for joy, the halfway point has been reached), purple, then finally the center/white candle on Christmas Day.

The image on the right is a Hanukkah Menorah. It consists of nice candle slots in a straight line, with eight candles/holes at the same height and the center candle/hole making that first candle higher than the others. Most Menorahs I have viewed are similar in shape to the image I have above -- one raised base with a raised center candle and four candles on each side, creating a total of nine candles in a single horizontal line. Please correct me if I am wrong about the candle color -- I have primarily seen all white candles. There are several variations however, both in the shape of the Menorah itself and some have different colored candles -- yet most keep the "highest" the center candle white. The center candle is lit the first night of Hanukkah and the candles (with various special prayers) are lit one per night during the eight nights of Hanukkah, from left to right (when you are the individual lighting the candle).

As mentioned earlier this month, please feel free to always give me more information about holidays celebrated in your religion (particularly in December!) and correct me/teach me about anything I post that is incorrect.  Thank you and I hope everyone has a good weekend!

 (My personal online Advent wreath -- on the left was last week; today is the second Sunday in Advent so the image has changed. Now there are two candles lit.  Next week the lit pink candle shall mark the third Sunday)