The season of advent is upon us.
I think mothers are given a unique understanding of this season. this period of waiting of anticipation of a birth. the Christ child. We can put ourselves in Mary's shoes. Imagining what it would be like to be carrying our Savior. Anticipating his coming with the understanding there will be the struggles ahead but to hope in the promise of a new born child who would be King.
As a mother to a child with special needs, I can imagine how Mary felt knowing he would not be accepted by some, that the world may not understand the potential of a baby born in a manger to a women from Nazareth. Yet, Mary always believed that God would show the world the true worth of his Son and the world would come to love Him.
As usual, this season is busy and full of opportunities to craft special memories with the kids and teach valuable life lessons of faith, hope, charity, temperance and self-control. As we run from holiday gatherings, to birthday parties, to holiday dances, open the boxes of our Advent calendar, go to Mass, make Christmas crafts, bake goodies, shop the malls for the perfect gift and bring our lists to Santa, I try to find ways to reinforce the true meaning of Christmas and bring anticipation for the Christ child.
This year, we are adding a cradle to our Christmas tree to serve as the manger awaiting the Christ child. We will fill it with "hay"and on Christmas morning find the baby Jesus laying in it in swaddling clothes. We will also have a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas day.
Here is a link to last year's Advent post with several ideas for marking the season and to a recent review I did of Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas, if you are wondering how to reconcile Santa and Christ.
Another project I am working on this busy season is developing the Sheran Memories Purpose and Pause Daily Planner. It is an all encompassing planner/food journal/diary/memory catcher for the busy mom with versions for working moms and bloggers. It addresses all areas of one's life and is a guide to help you purposefully craft the remarkable life you desire.
I developed this planner because I got tired of having multiple calendars and places to log the important things in my life (daily food and exercise, diary, goals, to do lists, etc). While I am a person who loves all things digital and have used several apps for organization and planning (I still use my ical and Trello in conjunction with the written calendar), I found I wanted everything in one place. Additionally, I was having trouble remembering to log my food on My Fitness Pal each day and then my go-to journal entry app closed down. Finally, I am making an effort to spend time away from my digital devices.
I find it somewhat therapeutic to actually write things down during my planning and reflection time. I still use my phone/tablet as a source and these devices are the things I turn to when on the run. So, I have been self testing and developing my planner for the past five months and now I am finishing up the 2015 inaugural edition. I'm excited to have friends test it this year so I can go to market completely for 2016. It is a fun process. Stay tuned for how you can get your copy.
In the meantime, enjoy the season.
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