Advent at our house

I know that I've kept you waiting (and, I imagine, the suspense is killing you); but Advent is all about waiting, n'est-ce-pas? So, here you have it, Advent at our house. I'm sorry but I couldn't resist the alliteration in the title... (since changed)
I do love a well-decorated house but I am also a strong opponent of clutter. (My mother once said that if I could hang the furniture on the walls I would). Thus, having never been able to decorate something well without the result being clutter or an overwhelming desire to rip down the garlands after a few days of their hanging, I opt for simplicity; rather, minimalism. The result: an Advent wreath, an Advent calendar, two creches (I'm branching out), two hanging Christmas balls made of pine cones and other Christmas Canadiana, and four stockings hung by the (unused) fireplace with care. Oh, wait, there are also two green bottles that each house a faux stick of some sort of red berry as well as a real sprig of pine. And, the front door has a wreath sided by a bushel basket filled with evergreens and fake berry sticks. Wow, now that I write that down, it sounds like a lot but, trust me, it isn't. The above shot is a double whammy capturing our Advent calendar in the making and our completed Advent wreath. Congratulate me now: this is the first Advent wreath that has successfully achieved my standards of simplicity and un-annoyingness (word?) and, thus, has a relatively good chance of making it 'til Christmas.

And here is Hannah. She sometimes creates clutter but I am never tempted to clean her up. She does love to craft and was (practically) the only child who helped with the calendar. Jacob, our south paw, cut out houses with right-handed scissors and we applauded him for his effort. Hannah is decorating the Christmas trees with sparkle paints. Ahhh, sparkle paints.

This is not posed. She really is checking out her handiwork. The painting was quite relaxing and a wonderful way to spend time with just Hannah.

Mid-paint.

Here is the first of our creches. This is the soft and unbreakable version. It was a Christmas gift around five years ago from Jacob's godparents. Thank you, Jacob's godparents, without you I am sure that we would not have such a wonderful (and manipulable) creche set. This is also a bonus shot of my green bottle with fake berries and real pine decoration. The icon is always on display as this is our prayer table and the incense cup (thurible? help me out, people) is real; whenever I use it the kids begin to sniff suspiciously and wonder why it smells like church at our house.

The stockings: my mother made these for us when we were only Dave, Elena, Jacob and Hannah. Dave and I no longer have stockings and, if we continue to expand, I will have to bargain for my childhood stocking. They are beautiful, yes? Sitting atop the mantle is the breakable creche set which I inherited from my grandmother. Dear Gran Ruth fashioned this set herself. Today it is particularly poignant as this is the tenth anniversary of her passing. Rest in Peace, Gran.

This is Dave. He is not a decoration. But, he is trying not to smile as this photo is slightly posed. He really was reading from the Liturgy of the Hours as part of our suppertime lighting of the candle; but he thought it strange that I was taking a photo, so he made a valiant effort to remain sober-faced. Not smiling is very difficult for a full-blooded Afelskie; Dave also deserves applause.

And here is the completed Advent calendar. Each day we travel along the gold-ribbon road from one house to the next. The door of each house is actually a pocket into which fits a popsicle stick. Written on the popsicle stick is the name of a set of godparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, godchildren and so on for whom we pray on that day. When the day is completed, the popsicle stick is placed back in the pocket with the writing side out. We started this tradition last year and the kids absolutely love it. Yes, there are inevitable fights over the popsicle sticks.

Side note: The I am Third sign is from Madonna House and is meant as a reminder that God is first, my neighbour is second and I am third. Dave regularly jokes that he wants a new sign that says "I am Seventh". Yes, even the dog comes before our dearest Dave. Perhaps the sign should just say "I am (n + 1)th" where n equals the combined number of people and animals in the household other than one's self. Happy Advent.