Hosted by Jenny at Suscipio.

Moments of Gratitude…

• For Brian’s 3 day weekend and the extra time we spent with him.

• For the season of Advent and the opportunity to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ child.

• For a fun tree decorating party with the family (with only a minor amount of toddler mishaps.)

• For Christmas cookies and Mexican chocolate.

Beauty in the Ordinary…

The wonder of Christmas in the eyes of a child. Yesterday after decorating the tree we turned off the lights and watched the tree sparkle. The kids were breathless. I love hearing little  voices exclaim, “It’s so bootiful!”

From the Kitchen…

I made a big pot of Tyler Florence’s yummy Chicken Meatball and Tortellini Soup. Brian was so excited he nearly did a happy dance.

Praying…

• For our friend who was sick with cancer. Within three weeks of its discovery, she died. This is the second person we’ve known to have died within a month of finding this type of cancer. We pray for the repose of Joy’s soul and for the husband and daughter she left behind.

• For all those who are alone, in need or depressed this Christmas season.

• For two special intentions.

 Pondering…

I am super happy with my new blog layout but I’m not looking forward to cleaning up all the old posts that were damaged in the move!

Around the house…

Boxes of Christmas decorations that still need to be unpacked.

Listening to…

Michael Buble’s Christmas – Love this guy.

On My DVR…

A lot of our regular shows like Once Upon a Time and Grimm had their winter finales so we’ve been watching a lot of Christmas movies as of late. I can’t wait for Downton Abbey to start in less than a month! Woohoo!

On the blog…

Tomorrow is the Making It Count Tuesday Link Up. Bring those Pinterest ideas to life!

Also, share your Christmas Traditions to Keep Christ in Christmas! Link up to your posts (or add to the comment box) here.

Posts I’ve Starred in My Google Reader…

•  The Kid’s Advent Wreath  by Barefoot and Sometimes Pregnant – I love that they each made their own and it is not too complicated.

• Advent: There’s an App for That by Catholic Mom.com– Love this!

• Celebrating Christmas Like Catholics by Catholic Mom – Challenging!

• Awesome Gifts for Guys, a link-up party! by Moxie Wife – Great ideas! I’ll add a post later this week.

Pinned…

•  Felt Advent Christmas tree for Toddlers – So cute! Religious cut outs would make it even better.

• Hair Bows for Life – Great stocking stuffer.

• Chicken Parm Meatballs – I’ll have to see how they compare to Tyler’s. 😉

Plans for the Week…

•  Laundry, laundry and more laundry.

•  Finish decorating.

•  Attend Andrew’s Christmas decorating party at school on Wednesday.

• Work on my Christmas cards.

Captured…

This was yesterday photo for Beth Anne’s #adventphotoaday. Day 9 was a view form your pew. Unfortunately I only has my iphone camera and it was a little blurry but you get the idea. 🙂 There is the outside of the Carmel Mission (where I had to go with a screaming child), the altar, a painting of The Visitation, and a display box of pieces of Bl. Junipero Serra’s coffin. (He is buried at the Mission. )