Catching Up

We had an unusually hectic September and October this year. Then last week we were all sick, and Mama Bear had the worst of it. We still have the sniffles, and MB is still struggling with a cough and asthma, but I think we are on the mend. We didn't get much school done last week. As with last year, I got sick before I finished my Fall Cleaning. I never did finish last year. I'm hoping to finish this year, as soon as I have the energy.

We usually sit down as a family sometime in October and discuss what is important to each of us in our Advent and Christmas celebration. That way, we include whatever is most important to each of us, but do not waste energy on things that no one really wants, but we all feel are expected. We haven't done that yet. We give gifts on St. Nicholas Day, Dec. 6, so our extra shopping is done by then. We try to stay out of stores as much as possible in December, and make Advent (the four Sundays before Christmas) and Christmas (the twelve days from Dec. 25 to Jan. 6) a quiet, low-key, peaceful, and holy season. You can read about our journey here.

Update on the DVD player: After being plugged in for several hours, it powers up, but the door pops open at random intervals and it stops playing. The remote was DOA. The seller has shipped a replacement. I was afraid I'd get stuck paying to ship the bad unit back, but they said not to bother.