Advent Week Three

A small update before we get on to all of our Advent fun! December is flying by, isn't it? I am sucking as much joy out of this season as I can. However, there is still plenty of normal life going on, too. 

• Absolutely nothing is happing on the job front for Elijah right now. I haven't heard from Vocational Rehab in close to a month, but then I also haven't shaken the rafters trying to get their attention. Basically, it seems our local branch won't do anything unless the client has a fit.  According to people I know who live elsewhere, this is not the way it in their states, but it is the way it is here. We are letting it go until after the holidays for two reasons. For one reason, the COVID numbers are going up and up all the time here. Putting Elijah into a big box store right now doesn't sound ideal. Also, I just didn't want to create a higher stress load for Elijah right now during the holidays. We may even decide to take our chances and look for a job on our own for him if we don't like the next hoops Vocational Rehab want us to jump through in January.
• Anne was inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts. We are so proud of her. It is nice to see her hard work be recognized on a national level.
• We are really looking at how we can help those less fortunate than us this season. There is so much suffering around us and we are very aware of how blessed we are. Just this week, I noticed a new homeless tent camp go up in the woods just a few blocks from our home. There are literally thousands of homeless spread across our small city of 90,000, and tent camps are springing up everywhere. We are a tourist town and that industry tends to pay very poorly, so people didn't have much to fall back on when everything came to a standstill. (I wish our government had done more to help those less fortunate as governments throughout Europe and Canada have done.) 

Saturday ~ We made a gingerbread house for National Gingerbread Day. It was fun and turned out a bit wonky as is often the case. We put it out for the birds and squirrels to enjoy. 

Our charity for the day was paying off a Christmas layaway of a single mother at Anne's work. That was an especially fun charity to do.

Sunday ~ On Sunday we went on our annual Christmas light drive around neighborhoods and then had Starbucks hot chocolate. Local people who were able to afford to do so really went all out this year.

Monday ~ We made Scotch Eggs for a special treat. We had never had these before and they were tasty, but very rich. It is always fun to try new things. 

We made a small donation to Hinds' Feet Farm (the brain injury program our oldest son attends). They are doing so much to keep the community together during this difficult year.

Tuesday ~ We had Christmas breakfast for dinner tonight. Sugary cereal, muffins, fruit with whipped cream and turkey bacon...need I say more?

Wednesday ~ We decided to try to help out one of the entertainment venues in our area. We made a small donation to The Orange Peel, which is a music venue that our son Tim loves because of its small size and friendliness. Despite being small, it still manages to book some moderately popular rock bands. It has been shut down this entire pandemic, and we hope it survives. 

Thursday ~ We had Marzipanstollen for desert. It was interesting and sweet. I am not sure I would waste calories on it again, but the kids liked it. We also played an epic 1.5 hour game of UNO. 

Friday ~ We had movie night. It was my turn to pick, and we watched Home Alone 2. It is not my favorite, but the kids love it. I enjoyed the Christmas scenes of New York City.

I hope you are safe and filled with peace and love during this season.

Blessings, Dawn