Ugh, didn’t get a chance to post this yesterday. We got our tree and spent the afternoon decorating. I did manage to get a few minutes in the evening to do our own Advent. Although this is tradition I did not grow up with, I started in when my children were very young. It has evolved from its early beginnings, for example singing (they don’t want to do it anymore). So this next week, I am going to ask my daughter to play a Christmas piece on the piano instead.

I have come to love and cherish this tradition.  Even if for just 5 minutes on Sunday evening, we take the focus off of us and put it on CHRISTmas.

The Advent Wreath – O Little Town…

I let myself sleep in during the summer and now I am struggling to get up at 5 AM. A few months ago, I wrote about why I wanted to wake up at 5AM in a post called Early to Rise. My main reasons are still the same:

• Quiet time for 2 hours- even when my children were little I hated when they’d get up early and interrupt my quiet time! I would get annoyed. Usually it happened on the days that I DID NOT wake up early so I really should not have annoyed at them but at myself. Today, I still get annoyed when my children or spouse interrupts my quiet time.
• What I do during my quiet time is precious- my Bible Study, prayer, emails, blogging and just getting ready for my day ahead. Anytime I wake up late, I feel rushed and even like my day is already ruined. I do it to myself all the time. Today I get up at 6:15 even though I first opened my eyes around 5:30. Now, an hour behind schedule I feel annoyed at myself.
• Most of all its time for ME-no one asking for things, needing me etc. Really it doesn’t matter if this time happened during the day or evening or night, but realistically for me it won’t so I have to carve it out.
• Oddly enough, once I get into my routine, I really don’t have any trouble waking up, I just need to do it.