I plan to get a list of Advent links together sometime over the next day or so. If you have any to suggest, please email me. In the meantime, since his feast is fast approaching (December 6, next Thursday!) I’ll share the only link you’ll likely need for St. Nicholas Day: St. Nicholas Center. Browse and enjoy!

Next recipe for my Christmas test kitchen: Toffee Meringue Gingerbread. I’ve always thought plain ole’ gingerbread was a little bit dull. I just need to get out and buy some toffee chips first. Let me know if you try it first!

I was going to update my shopping thread below with some codes and links people have sent me, but I just checked in and saw that Conor has added a list in the comments that includes all of mine and then some. If you are still looking for deals, check it out. And thanks very much, Conor! Now I can go to bed.

I am proud to announce the induction of a totally new cookie into my Christmas repertoire.

One word? Yum.

Many words? These little darlings bake up beautifully. They are not too fat and not too flat with just the right amount of crinkle. The mint with chocolate makes them confidently Christmassy, but the rest of the cookie is delightfully chewy-sweet in its own brown sugar way. They are simple to make (they say you need to chill the dough, but unless you live in the tropics or keep your kitchen thermostat set to 85, you can skip that step). And with 1/2 cup of butter in the dough, they will freeze with ease. Like I said, they’re darlings!

Number of single snow boots one must pull from the closet before finding a matched pair.

(as Paul Simon’s Graceland comes on the radio)

Boy Child: Oh great, classical music.

I took all eight kids to the pediatrician this evening for their annual flu shots … all by myself.

Go ahead — ooh and ahh. Make a big deal of it. Tell me how hard that must have been for me and that you don’t know how I do it. I’ll let you. But just between you and me?

It wasn’t that hard.

There were a few tears, but those were quickly wiped away (not by me, by the way — by the older brother who is the sole source of comfort for the 2 year old these days). There were a few jitters and Gabby almost missed her shot altogether (I found her cowering in the corner as I gathered coats to go) but it all worked out in the end. In all of 30 minutes we got in, got shot, and were on our way with bags of treats and stickers in hand.

Though my 22 year old self who cried for weeks at the thought of giving her baby a single vaccination and who cried harder still at the thought of bringing two children to the grocery store would be in awe of 35 year old me, I must say that I am not all that impressed.

Here’s my one and only secret: I have accepted my life. Embraced it, even. With all the little bumps and bruises that come along the way. I go with the flow now and the only thing I am in awe of is how I ever managed when I fought against it.

I am broken in. Grown up. And astonished that it feels this good.

Pauline Books & Media is encouraging homeschoolers’ participation (kids ages 10-13) in their Prayer Writing Contest. Winners will be published in a forthcoming collection. Here are the details they shared with me:

Explanatory Letter
Prayer Form
Release Form

Participating homeschools will receive a free copy of the book (whether your entries are selected or not) when it releases in August 2008. Hurry, though! The deadline for submissions is December 8, 2007.