Christmas and Snow

It's almost Christmas. At our house church gathering this evening we talked briefly about what each of us would be doing over the next few days and how we felt about the holidays. As I pondered this for myself, I realized that over the years the holidays seem to get better and better for me. Dave commented that as we celebrate advent in our community we seem to happily expect Christmas, at a slow pace, not feeling rushed or in a frenzy. We do celebrate this time of year as a community...we consider it special and an opportunity to be together. Various advent gatherings are common in various homes. In our own household, we celebrate daily with the advent liturgy beginning in early December, praying together for Christ's presence. We light lots of candles. We enjoy our meals together, invite various friends in to share these meals with us. We go to whatever school Christmas programs our children are participating in. We bake special desserts, sharing with each other favorite holiday recipes. Our household (the convent), for the second year in a row, went together on a Saturday morning to purchase a live tree for our living room. Maybe this has become a new tradition. We've watched some Christmas movies together, and last weekend we had our annual Community House Christmas party where the kids exchanged gifts and the adults played the infamous "White Elephant" game for $10 gift cards we'd all brought. The kids performed a "ballet" they'd made up. Then a few adults shared their special talents, with Ken Oster's being his Elvis impression....he lay flat in the floor motionless. Seems this is a time of laughter, candlelight, music, love, fun, and prayers.

Today especially stuck out to me as a day where it's good to live in community together. Cincinnati is pretty much snowed in. Cars are stuck in their own driveways, or in the streets in front of the houses. Many people are wisely just staying home. But in our household we needed some groceries. So we talked about Dave walking up to Kroger to get a few things. Then we thought we'd make an adventure out of it, and all of us would go (me, Sara, Desiree, Dave, Jon...Steve had to go to work...and the kids) and we'd pull the kids' sleds and bring back the groceries and the kids on the sleds. As the morning went on and we realized just how bad it really was outside....frigid temperatures and deep, crusty snow....we weren't so keen on this adventure. Yet we still needed groceries. I had talked to Tracy earlier and she had mentioned that she could get her Jeep out of her driveway without too much trouble. So I called her again and we decided she would drive me and Becky (part of St. E's house church who lives a few houses down) to Kroger, we'd all shop, then she'd carpool us back home. We slipped and slid all the way to Kroger, and it took Tracy two trips to get us and all our groceries back home. She still had errands to run, so her kids came to my house for several hours while Tracy got her shopping done. Sara (who lives in the convent), was home with her kids, so she helped me keep an eye on Izaac and Zoe for a while. Jeremy (who lives in the brown house) had already been watching Tracy's kids while she shopped. This expedition was a great example of how wonderful it is to live near each other, love each other, and have each other to call on so we can work cooperatively to get done what needs doing.

But the best part of the snow day was watching the kids get all bundled up and play outside. Grace, 2, was a bit timid....but then she's shorter than the rest of us and to her the snow was waste deep. Joseph (4), Zoe (5), Izaac (7), and Sophie (6) had no fear, however. They ran and laughed and rode in their sleds and made snow angels. At one point we had to yell out the window at them.....they were sticking their tongues on the light pole to see if they'd really stick. We'd watched "A Christmas Story" the night before. Joseph came in after hours outside and said his hands were so cold. I had him put them in a bowl of cool water, and he said "ouch...that water's hot!". Sara decided it was time to come in. So then they all played inside for a while. The kids enjoy each other so much, rarely arguing, creating games and stories to play together. Children add so much life to a community.

On Christmas morning the two households will gather briefly to celebrate the Christmas morning liturgy together. Sharing Christmas morning has been a Community House tradition that began in 1995, when the Rains moved in with the Nixons. It would have been easy for each of our families to go our separate ways on Christmas Day, but we both felt we wanted to celebrate it together. So we began the tradition of getting up together, checking our stockings, having breakfast, then opening gifts. Over the years as we've added more folks to our community family, we've stuck to the tradition of beginning the day with stockings and breakfast, then each family moves on to their own family traditions. And we've added the liturgy on Christmas morning. It's become a lovely way to begin this special day.

So from Community House, glad tidings and much love and peace to all who are reading. May Christ fill your life each and every day of the year.

Seasons

I was reflecting this morning on the different seasons in the convent. First we had the Bells/Havens. That was a time of adjustment as we'd all moved into this newly renovated house and we were developing new rhythms of life together. Next came the spring/summer of 2003. This was a lively time with many young singles with lots of energy to share. It was a time of growing and sharing and loving.

Now we've entered a quieter season. The singles moved on. Our life is a bit quieter with the Harris family and Desiree now with us. ALL of us are introverts. We enjoy each other's company in a quieter way. We have great conversations...just at a slower pace with more thinking between times of sharing. Sara focuses on parenting...Steve focuses on getting his shop running smoothly...Desiree focuses on rest...and Joseph and Grace focus on play : ) Jon focuses on his school studies, and Dave and I enjoy a new season with a new job, and much joy in our children and household family. Candles, warmth, gentleness...that's how I would describe this season at the convent.

Carrie has come home from Houston. She finished her season at Houston Baptist University, spending time with her Pappaw. She loved her time there but seemed ready to come home and see her friends here. It's lovely to have her back in the house. She's planning to attend Xavier in January, taking some more math courses.

Ryan visited this week. He's now out on the road with Over the Rhine and will be back for a few days later in the month. So good to see him. Maybe we'll see Cat in January. Dave and I will hopefully drive to Madison in January to reunite with Matthias for a weekend. He'll be coming over from Germany to visit Kim.

We look forward to what God has for us in the new year....will there be some new faces? Maybe. And hopefully family members from the past year will visit us, too. And peace and joy will abound...thanks be to God.