November 29, 2008

It's really been an interesting weekend.
I've heard about an employee at a Walmart in New York getting killed by a crowd of Black Friday Shoppers and a shooting at a Toys R Us in California.
My daughter who is a manager for McDonald's' told me her store set a record Friday for selling over 12,000 hamburgers.
I saw a $99,000 car. Can you imagine!
I'm so glad I opted out of the Black Friday madness years ago. I like to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving getting the house back in order.
Once errands are taken care of Saturday, I can begin to think about Christmas and what I need to do too have a meaningful holiday. I've already gotten some of my gifts. I need to get them wrapped. And I need to finish up the homemade presents.
I will do as much shopping on line as possible.
It seems as if my neighbors all have the holiday spirit. They spent most of Saturday putting up their outdoor decorations. We'll work on ours next week.
I received a survey from the Census in the mail today. I'll work on it this evening. It's like a small book!
Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent. We'll read of God's promise to send a Savior. We'll sing O Come Emmanuel and light the first candle. Each night from the last Sunday of November until Christmas day we'll light the candle(s) in anticipation. The advent wreath is one of my favorite traditions.
We started keeping advent when my children were small. it's a funny thing but their friends all seemed to show up when it became time to read the Bible, sing the carol and light the candles. I often wondered what they told their parents.
DD asked me where she could buy her advent candles. I told her to look for 4 purple tapers and one white taper. Although Christian bookstores invariably sell boxed set of candles I normally buy mine whenever they're on sale wherever I can find them.
I like to use a ring of greens (usually ivy) from my yard but a silk wreath would work fine. I like to place mine in the center of my dining room table. It looks so pretty there.
The tradition is one of the small ways that keep me centered during the holiday rush. I wonder what other folks do to remember why we celebrate and how they manage during this stressful time.