And we wait. I was telling Deb the other day that I have been very aware of being on the cusp this year – this time of waiting and watching for the Nativity that is to come on Tuesday. While Advent means coming, and the entire time we have been preparing by reading the Old Testament and commemorating the Old Testament saints that have pointed the way, December 20th starts the five day Forefeast of the Nativity, where our preparation is ramped up. Today’s Kontakion says:

Today the Virgin is coming to the cave/ to give birth to the eternal Word./
Rejoice at the message, O earth;/ with the Angels and Shepherds give glory/
to Him Who was willing to be seen as a Child/ while remaining God throughout
all ages.

The packages are all wrapped, my mailing is done, the house is cleaner and while I have some things I need to be getting done (I am co-in charge of the Coffee Hour tomorrow morning), I don’t have any huge items on m y “to-do” list. It reminds me of Holy Saturday this expectation and quietness.

My wishes for peace and quiet to all.

The Best Laid Plans…

We headed down to Portland over the weekend to see Presbytera Elizabeth's choral concert. We decided to make it a weekend, so we traveled down on Saturday night, ate out to celebrate Eddie’s birthday, and then went to Powells (where Xavier had an absolutely obnoxious fit, grrrrrrrrr) Did you know they close at 11pm? And, that we were there near closing. Crazy, I tell you.

On Sunday morning, we woke up early, and the boys and I went to Presbytera’s church, where the Liturgy was beautiful and it was fun to go between Greek and English (Xavy had never seen that). The choir was gorgeous (only lacking Presbytera’s voice), Father’s sermon was fabulous, and we saw the Nativity Play, which was delightful.

We left from there and caught up with Red Molly. We originally had planned to go to a craft fair, but it was packed so we went shopping instead. Eddie and the boys saw a movie, Molly’s love went shopping for family, and Molly and I had an awesome time chatting, shopping, and browsing.

However, we realized that I had NO IDEA where the concert was. And, then, the movie ran late. So, we straggled home without hearing the angelic voice of the choir, and I heard they rocked it. So, next time, hopefully we’ll have all the information *beforehand*.

Eddie is still teasing me for forgetting to get that one little piece.