First Sunday of Advent

Seems so impossible to believe that Jen is the oldest, and now all the littlest people are growing up so fast. It fills my heart with such a quiet, peaceful  joy whenever one of the younger ones are  fun, happy, kind and sweet to Jen ….. especially without our asking it of them. Sure, Jen can sometimes drive them crazy when she gets into mischief, steals make-up, money or nail polish. Whenever my Momma heart witnesses any spontaneous exchange of love? I think that’s how God releases LOVE into the world. ❤️ #ChristmasTreeFarm #FirstSundayOfAdvent

On the First Sunday of Advent we made our annual trek to our favorite Christmas Tree Farm.  What a great place to make memories that will last a lifetime!  Here is a little of our adventures that day ~

Little dagger to my heart here.  Is that our little Jen starting to look a little old?  (Do you know that people who have Down Syndrome age faster than the rest of us?)  Jen often presents more like a 70 year old.  I want that stopped please. Can’t? Life? Always changing?  I don’t like change.  Well then, guess we better make more great memories…..

Our favorite tree farm was sooooo crowded, the atmosphere was grand!  The sounds, the smells, the people bustling about in every nook and cranny; immediately capturing our full attention before we were even out of the parking lot.  The men under a huge tent whipping up batches of sticky sweet Kettle Corn, the fudge shop visited by more than just a few of us! The entrance of the farm is actually the end too, so the scene before us was filled with hundreds who had achieved their goal.  The trees shedding every dry needle on the “shaking” machines with row upon row of vehicles with green beauties tied atop, each traveling back to a home to bring joy and light as we prepare to celebrate God becoming man.

How did Bernadette already score her free steamy cup of Hot Chocolate delight before I had even reached the door?!!  (children NEVER forget how to score the good stuff!).  Homemade donuts sold faster than the kitchen could crank them out to lines of eager customers packed to the gills inside the gift shop.  Lights shining even more happiness upon the sweet evergreen scents; swags, wreaths and boughs being freshly trimmed.  Every year I wonder if it’s worth the effort.  Happiness eyes radiate joy from the children.  Worth it?  Bernadette’s face, as she handed me a Hot Chocolate, makes me know that it is.  Give me the beauty of nature to decorate our home over plastic any day – especially at Christmas time.  Immediately, it’s as if we transcend time; float back in time to join our beloved Little Women ~  Jo, Beth, Amy and Meg as they dress up their home for Christmas  before Marmie comes home. The green of fir and pine, the cheery red berries and bows increase the happiness of being here.

   I always know that getting a group shot at the very beginning is essential, before the troops get scattered.  It’s the only time everyone is in one spot!

It is the nature of motherhood, “Did you see…….?” is so often repeated while searching for one of the kids who wandered off.

You don’t need to be Einstein to see how real relativity is when trying to get a good “capture” of Isabellie in a pic.  I swear, all her movement would make a great flip book!  She shouts her personalized version, “CHEESEBURDER”, and is moving again before the others even start to smile!   Superman, move over.  Your moving at the “speed of sound” is turtle walking compared to our Bellie Luna.
   The weather was gorgeous, in the 50’s.  Balmy this time of year in the Chicago area.  Isabel loved the “Tractor ride” into the Christmas Tree fields so much, she was crying for more at the end of the afternoon as we left.  We may seriously take her back just to ride around the fields.   I said, “may”.

So we piled right on.  Jen started to balk. “You have to go pick the tree if you want earrings.”  Done.

Joseph was another story.  He just couldn’t do the stairs on, so Kevin stayed with him in the Hot Chocolate shop.

  

 

  
  
  Jen? Too frightened to get off when we got out to the fields.  A perfect stranger joked her right into jumping…..

 Do I have to explain? 

 Yes, they were testing the scent of the needles.  It got to point that I pretended I did not know them:)

Uh-huh!  Inhale deeper, Agnes!  

 There has to be a Frasier Fir somewhere….   

Xavier was the official “Christmas Tree Lumberjack”

Off for home with our sought after Frasier Fir.

Um, NOT. (That’s another story)

For today, we have a fresh tree, and plenty of greens to make our Advent Wreath.  This is the beautiful happiness of tradition.