practicing christmas

she has wound her way all month toward Bethlehem.  i admit that for most of the time it seemed she was walking in circles.  only in these last days does the end seem near.  i have replaced the tealight with a fat, white taper to light these last few steps.  in this morning’s first hours, Andy held Nicolas and asked, who’s riding on the donkey?  he answered a sleepy, Jesus!  and i knew for the first time that he was right.  Jesus was entering the city on the back of the donkey.  the true triumphal entry.

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at the beginning of Advent i stacked the seasonal book basket with selections from Elizabeth’s Tomie de Poala Christmas.  i wondered which book would become this year’s book.  The Lady of Guadalupe with her starry mantle?  or maybe  Angels, Angels Everywhere because Mabel loves reading it all by herself.  or maybe The Popcorn Book just because we really love popcorn.  but all month long, the book that has been brought to me again and again is Tomie de Paola’s Book of Christmas Carols.  Nicolas, especially, has really enjoyed singing.  and finding all the kitties and looking at the pictures of the baby!  we have learned the first verse of at least seven different songs.  (Mabel was rather surprised at church on Sunday when we sang 4 verses of “Joy to the World”!)  and thanks to YouTube we even learned “The Friendly Beasts,” a song that was new to all of us.  these songs have opened up such rich treasure for us.  we have truly been blessed to pray twice while singing these songs of the season.

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and so that is how we have practiced Christmas all Advent long.  we have sung.  and we have lit candles against the dark.

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