A Tale of Advent Woe

So, one of the things that I really wanted to accomplish with this blog, is to give a little glimpse into our home and family, and show that it isn't all rainbows and roses.

Yes! - we have lovely, inspiring times, where everything flows beautifully, and all is perfect, but truly, those times are rare.

There are other blogs out there, that portray that perfect life, with a lovely home, that is always spick and span, where the children are engaged in beautiful crafts, and eating fabulous homemade meals. Those blogs are lovely, and I enjoy a number of them. But that isn't us.

See, as much as I like to read those blogs, I often find myself playing the 'why can't I' game after reading them.

Why can't I keep my home looking like that?

Why aren't my Little Ones perfectly behaved like theirs?

Why don't my handwork project looks as beautiful as that?

And here's the thing. I'm going to guess that the stories and the photos in those blogs only show the slice of clean house that they want you to see. That not all the crafts are lovely, that not all the meals are nutritious and lovingly prepared. I have to remind myself of this, as I take a peak into these blogger's 'perfect' lives.

And, so on to my tale of Advent!

I had this idea of celebrating the four weeks of Advent, and what a lovely thing it could be. We are already doing a Candlelight Night each Sunday, so this seemed perfect. That we would recognize Advent, talk about the season, and get out the birthday ring with some special Advent decorations, adding a couple each week. It sounded perfect in my head.

Last Sunday was the first day of Advent, and it didn't go quite as planned.

The Little Ones were hungry and cranky, so all three were weepy and short-tempered. Dinner wasn't the lovely meal I had planned, but fast food, which wasn't all that good. The table hadn't been cleared, so we still had leftover crumbs from lunch and the day's projects all over it. I couldn't find the Birthday Ring, or the special ornaments, until halfway through the meal. And then I remembered that I didn't have any of the special beeswax candles for the ring anyway; I had forgotten to buy them. So I found a half burned candle, and used that but it looked a little wonky.

This is where I could have become really discouraged. But instead, I just sat down and laughed. I should have known really, that with all the busyness in our lives that the notion of this lovely candlelit evening talking about the significance of Advent was over-reaching.

But it's okay! Really! Life is messy, and chaotic, and even more so with Little Ones.

And of course, the joy of Advent? We get three more weeks to get it 'right'! I'll keep you posted :-)


Have you been doing anything special to celebrate Advent in your home? Feel free to share; I'd love to hear from you!