Advent

Here we are, just past the Immaculate Conception, making the turn tomorrow to the second week of Advent. I love the Advent season, and the things like our Advent Wreath and calendar that draw our attention to the true meaning of Christmas, the joyous birth of our Lord. Especially with all the craziness of shopping, etc. and the consumer driven mentality that surrounds us, that refocus is essential. I had the great fortune of meeting up with an old (20+ years since last meeting) friend this weekend for coffee. She is also walking through a challenging time with her spouse and a health condition. It was a rare and amazing opportunity to speak with someone who truly knows your language (not quite Apostles at Pentacost, but perhaps along the same vein). It was a lovely two hours that passed much too quickly, and I hope we can soon do it again. Since Alex's MELD has gone up, we now go to the UWMC every 2 months instead of 3 months. We will journey south on Tuesday for the routine labs/how-are-you?-oh-yes-still-sick conversations, etc. I will write a follow-up posting to update everyone on the results. We finally our Christmas tree up, which was a two part affair of Mommy assembling tree (fake--easier--can be done by myself) and adding lights and then, the next day after Mass/crazed Fred Meyer shopping/napping (Mommy) we hung the ornaments and had no breaking and it was fun. Please consider the following: Alex is experiencing a great deal of swelling and pain. Please pray for this to subside as soon as possible. Pray for Alex's spirits, he is having a tough time lately emotionally. Pray for some extra graces for me, I will be seeing an ear/nose/and throat specialist for my allergies. I am currently on a dose-pack of Prednisone to kick my immune system down a notch due to some really intense allergy flaring that make me nearly incapacitated (no anaphalactic, but 7-14 days of symptoms after one exposure). SO, hopefully we can get that done soon and I won't have to fear the mold over here so much. Thanks and much love to all! May Advent Blessings abound for you and yours!!