Season of Advent

The month in between Thanksgiving and Christmas always goes quickly, and this year was no different.  Yet in the midst of the rapid pace of these weeks, we have enjoyed the anticipation of Christ's coming, and preparing our hearts for celebrating His birth.  It has been a wonderful season of Advent.

This is our Advent Calendar this year.  And it will be next year and every year after that!  I found it at one of my favorite stores in Nairobi and fell in love.  The boys love it also, not least because it has safari animals surrounding the baby Jesus instead of barn animals :)  The figures are made out of banana leaves, the stable is an African hut, and the tree is an acacia tree.  I absolutely adore this Advent Calendar and it's been a wonderful way to mark the Advent season for us here.

Another important part of preparing for Christmas was acquiring a tree.  Our tradition here in Kenya is to find a tree that looks like a pine tree, chop off a branch, and call it a Christmas tree!  We haven't found any actual pine trees around Chogoria, but there are a handful of cedar trees behind our compound which proved to be the perfect option.

It was a short walk around the compound, under the giant mango tree and towards the smell of cedar trees.  Eli was the one who picked the tree this year.  He saw a particular big branch up high and was determined to get it.  And he did!  It makes a perfect Christmas tree.

I surprised everyone with new ornaments this year.  I found these gems way back in January at Bronner's, the world's largest Christmas store that is only 45 minutes from my hometown.  You read that right: the world's largest Christmas store!  Needless to say, they have oodles of ornaments and I found these among the masses.  Little s'more people.  Such a fun and clever idea!

I really do love our Christmas tree this year.  It smells great, it fits perfectly against the only wall that could host a tree, and it makes the inside of our house feel like Christmas.

Another tradition is to get a new ornament each year from our travels.  This rhino keychain is serving as our ornament this year, marking our visit to Ol Pejeta where we met the last two northern white rhinos in the world.  That visit was memorable in many ways and this ornament will always hold the memories of that day.

Another Advent tradition we enjoy here in Kenya is our annual gathering with the WGM Kenya field.  We gather at a British boarding school for a weekend of meetings and Christmas celebration.  Since moving to Chogoria, which is rather far away from the rest of our WGM family, it was especially refreshing to reconnect with friends that we see less often nowadays.  The boys also loved going to class and playing hard with their old friends from Tenwek and beyond.  We are so grateful for this opportunity each year!

And now it is Christmas Eve.  The boys fell asleep in their new jammies, we tucked their presents under the tree, and we're ready to be woken up early with their excited giggles and squeals :)

Our hearts are ready for Christmas.  We've been blessed with ongoing traditions and reunions with good friends, not to mention the nonstop Christmas music and Christmas books that have reminded us of the joy of this season.  It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!