Merry December

December is officially upon us - advent has begun and the hoopla surrounding Christmas has commenced, and yet there is little to no snow on the ground. Somehow it just seems wrong, but I'm not going to complain as I know we will be plagued long enough with snow over the winter months.
As of this weekend my Christmas baking will officially be finished. When all is said and done I will have 450 cookies, 124 biscotti and a pan of nanaimo bar. It has been a very successful baking season and I have enjoyed every moment of it (Can't say that my family feels the same way because I not only denied them from doing any tasting of my baking, but I also blasted the Christmas music - but how can you not listen to Amy Grant Christmas while baking????).
This is just a small sample of some of the goodies.



My tree is up and beautifully decorated (if I do say so myself) and as per tradition, my mom gave me a beautiful new ornament this year. She has given each of us kids a new ornament on first advent for every year of our lives - I love the story the ornaments tell. It's a good tradition.

The countdown to the end of my coaching season is on. There are 5 days remaining until I have a substantial amount of time added to my week. I LOVE coaching. I have actually grown quite fond of grade 9 girls (an age I thought I would never want to repeat). And I just love the game, so to be a part of it on a daily basis is quite awesome. That being said, it's been a long season and I am looking forward to having some time to spend with me. We have provincials this coming weekend and I'm hoping the team finishes a great season well!

Oh and this I thought was just too cute not post. I like my animals. They are terribly sweet and they are extremely fond of each other. The other night this is how I found them. How can you not like them??? (Kristy and Sabrina - you cannot comment on that :)

I still have a substantial amount of Christmas shopping to do, but I am excited to spend an evening the mall, a latte in hand, listening to Christmas music while I peruse the stores. It actually sounds quite serene to me. Despite the amount of gifts I have yet to buy, I am attempting to experience Christmas simply this year. I had my first taste of a really simple Christmas last year (for those who need a reminder check back in my archives). It was in many ways a disappointing Christmas, but at the same time I was able to experience the incarnate Christ in simple ways that were extremely life giving. So, I am hoping that even though this Christmas will be a little fuller with gatherings and gifts, that the simplicity of time with family and low key days will not escape me.

Blessings to you this Advent season as you prepare for the Incarnate Christ to live and dwell among you!