Preparing for the Season of Preparation

Can you believe that it is already so close to Thanksgiving? We are having both sides of my family here this year, and I am definitely getting into the holiday spirit.

Close on the heels of Thanksgiving will come Advent. I have already ordered Jotham's Journey, to be read after dinner with the lighting of our Advent wreath (supplies yet to be purchased!). I have read such wonderful things about this book (and the other two in the series) and was thrilled to find it back in print.

Today I read a post that fueled my enthusiasm for a meaningful Advent season for our family. Shannon (of Rocks in My Dryer) wrote about her family's Jesse Tree. I am so excited to create this new tradition for our family. I am planning to replace our daily Bible reading in Catherine Vos's A Child's Story Bible with the Jesse Tree devotionals and then let Emily Anne and Will take turns hanging the symbolic ornament. I can't wait to start hunting down and creating the ornaments. I'll post when our collection is complete.

So, what does your family do for Advent?