Can you believe the new year is here already!

I adore Advent. It feels so fresh and new! The short, cold days that bleed into long nights, with Orion glowing so brightly above us.

We slaughtered the birds for St. Andrew’s, it was frustrating. Some of them were so young, but last winter was a hard one, and I think our flock never quite recovered. Now we have an abundance of meat in the little freezer down the road, waiting for pot pies and creamy stews this winter.

On Sunday we made Advent candles and lit the wreath, we made pizzas and toasted the new season.

I have so much hope for this new year, I’m so grateful to say goodbye to last year. The struggle has been real!

But here we are! I’m wiser, more intentional, and deeply grateful for all the gifts that have enriched my life. This Advent, I’m resting in the quiet our early snow and limited transportation insist on. I’m baking more, schooling more, reading more, and praying more.

For the second year in a row I’m praying St. Andrew’s Novena:

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the Most Purr Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold.

In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother.

Amen.

It’s such a beautiful devotion, and in these cold nights – sometimes early December feels much more like January – meditating on the cold, midnight birth of Christ is especially intense.

How do you prepare for Christmas? Do you have traditions that make the whole season richer for you? I’d love to know!