the Little Women of Billings

I feel the holiday spirit coming closer and closer as each day of December goes by. Last night, we had a no-power evening - which literally means no use of electricity (with the exception of water, plug-in radios/alarm clocks, and our heat - I guess those are a lot of exceptions) and we celebrated a Spirituality Night. Katie and Megan prepared good Advent reflections and we even made a fresh Advent wreath, complete with fresh evergreen boughs and the purple and pink candles. We even lit the first purple candle for the first week of Advent.

I think what brought me the most joy was singing Christmas carols at the top of our lungs - in opera voices, chipmunk voices - you name it. It was a scene out of Little Women and I was genuinely happy to be in the company of my roommates. I felt a warm tingly feeling just looking at everyone around the table, throwing green boughs around and creating a massive mess on our kitchen table and floor. We also got a fresh cut Christmas tree whom we named "Fraiser" since he's a Fraiser Tree. (I was totally talking to our Tree saying, "Hi Tree!" and it brought fond memories of dear Tri. Awwwwwww)

Tonight was also another joyful time. In lieu of St. Nicholas Day, Erin and I stuffed our roommates' shoes with goodies - Hershey kisses, festive sprinkles, special chocolates and coffee, and hand-written ornaments. Then, in the midst of our top secret mission, Courtney came down the stairs for her nightly trip to the lou but didn't seem to notice anything! *phew*

These two nights - this is where I felt most like myself... first night - being a complete fool and singing joyfully, even if I was off-key or didn't know the words, and getting surprises ready.

Awaiting His coming...