Advent #9 - Christmas eve

It's the eve before Christmas and all through the house, everyone seems to be working hard preparing for the Solemnity feasting to come.

Two teens are tending to shifts at each of their jobs, two younger ones are sledding in the back with our dogs, presently suited with booties on their feet to protect them from the cold.



My parents arrived the night before last from the westcoast to spend Christmas with us again this year, so great to have family around!

Currently my mother is in my kitchen loving her "tortiere" meat pies fresh from the oven.

A family tradition from my side of the family

She was so funny chopping up all her onions for the pies. I was hiding out in my bedroom wrapping a few last minute gifts when she knocked at the door holding up the cutting board with her high mound of chopped onions on display for me to view.

This was a strange scene I thought, that is until the display was followed by a cheery "Bonjour" once I greeted her in this position at the doorway. I began to laugh heartily, knowing especially she had just taken in the film "Julie and Julia" on the flight over here. She was mimicking Julia Childs in that wonderful onion chopping scene! Plenty of laughter surely ensued between the two of us from that little scene, so funny.

Bonjour!

Tonight, we will venture out for Midnight Mass and return home for a bit of a "revellion" together, munching on that tortiere before retiring for the rest of the wee hours of the morn until daybreak arrives.

Although there is no new snow storm in the forecast to threaten our journey thus far, the weather man is calling for snow tomorrow evening, but by then we'll all be tucked away enjoying the dinner feast my chef husband has planned for all of us, around the dining room table with baby Jesus welcomed into the creche scenes scattered around the house.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel!

My chef husband decided to take charge of the meals over the next few days and tonight begins with a traditional Indonesian dish his mother taught him to make over several Christmas Eves together before we moved east. My taste buds are already savoring freshly grated ginger and lime zest flavors!

With Advent about to close for yet another Liturgical Year, I'll be signing off for the holy days ahead and wanted not to do so without first sending all our family, friends and the blogging communities at large prayers and best wishes for a holy, blessed and merry Christmas.

For God so loved the world,
He gave His only begotten Son...

Just a few more thoughts to include into our Advent/Christmas preparations. I've slipped in a few more photos, until we meet here again....

• MUSIC

Just a few from our collection...
... newly enjoyed from a big shuffle...

Advent - a time for preparation and yet, what a wonderful time to reorganize also all the music selections for those traditional family favorites.

There's nothing quite like gathering all those wonderful tunes and preparing the CD player for hours and hours of mental and spiritual preparation, with a giant plethora for even more selections for the Christmas season itself.

My personal preference is to blend, and shuffle all of my music after uploading all our family CD's into Itunes on my computer, and then when the bulk of it is completely uploaded, I take the time to go about burning all back in a shuffled kafuffle onto blank disks to allow for hours and hours (and more hours) of musical pleasure and absolute enjoyment.

This all stems from the old cassette and reel-to-reel shuffles I used to make for our family's listening pleasures throughout the years, now reburned and cut onto fresh blank CDs.

The big bonus of course is also uploading them all onto my ipod touch (hubby's) and my iphone right from my computer for even more optional listening pleasures .. and many of these numbered shuffle musical mixes are in the stereo systems in both vehicles for our travels over the new few weeks.

After the shuffle, all our music is fresh,
new and very inspiring.
...................................

• A time to remember loved ones!

For our family, there is nothing quite like unpacking last year's Christmas card favorites and all those family photos and cards sent to us.

We like to offer prayers for every one who thought of us, hoping to send a blessing their way from here. It's always a joy to review, and remember loved ones near and far before adhering the photos into our Christmas scrapbooks soon after.

Remembering loved ones near and far is always a pleasure!
......................................

• Decorating and Traditions Revisited.

Decorating the house creates a festive flair and builds the anticipation during Advent, all in preparation for Christmas. The decor choices fast becomes a combined family effort around here and no two years seem to have been the same, save for the traditional items which can never change (saith the children).


Everyone springs into action, usually marveling and focusing on each item as they are unpacked from our storage bin treasure boxes.

That's what they are you know, "treasure boxes" filled with blessings and gifts from above, reminders of the reason for the season in a great big way! Love it.

Decorating springs the entire family into action, all wanting to be part of the activity.

With all said and done here, we are ready in more ways than one, interiorly and visually as we joyfully await the stroke of Midnight when our Advent anticipations end with grand Christmas hymns, candles lit, carol singing, bells ringing, incense burning and all will bow our heads while on bended knee before Christ our Savior and newborn King.


Yes, we are all thinking about the wee babe who became a man, the man who died for His great love for all.

Wishing you and yours a very Holy, Blessed, and Merry Christmas!

God Bless;
Renee