Advent, Pax and Peace

At church this morning, we noticed that Father Len's vestment had PAX embroidered on it. After Mass, Penny and I stopped to say hi to Father and asked him about his vestment. He told Penny that Pax is Latin for "peace" and that he thought it was very fitting for Advent. We talked about how Paxton is living up to his peaceful name (he was so good during church this morning- drank his bottle and then fell asleep). It was a nice little after-church moment. I appreciate that Father took the time to talk to Penny and hope this is just one more good memory she'll have as she grows older. 

This weekend, we shared some amazing moments with Paxton, my peacemaker, Porter, my gate keeper, and Penny, my weaver. We're starting off Advent recharged, ready to celebrate Jesus' birth and everything that means to us. We celebrated the many things we are thankful for and will continue to do so throughout Advent. 

Today, we picked our tags for the giving tree. We picked tags selectively, for girls like Penny who wanted gifts like Penny. We sat down and ordered those gifts together. We talked about how much we have and about what these gifts will mean to these little girls. One girl asked for a Barbie car. Penny was very specific in the car requirements. After she picked the perfect car, she admitted she wanted one too. We talked more about wants and needs and in the end, I think she understood why we weren't shopping for her. And then she said that the girl should have a new Barbie for the car, even if it wasn't on the list, so we picked one out. We're excited for this girl and her new Barbie car. I hope they have many happy hours together! I hope Penny will continue to participate in the giving tree throughout her life. I hope that she'll learn the true meaning of Christmas. I hope that she'll find joy in thinking of others. I hope that she'll do this not just at Christmas! As the boys understanding of Christmas continues to grow, I hope she teaches them about giving. That's the best gift she could possibly give me!