Every year, for so many years, celebrating Advent has included travel.

For many years, Advent meant a trip to New Mexico for farolitos, piñón fires, Advent music, and snow. Or at least very very cold.

When we received the Advent gift of Jonas, the Advent trip became a trip to Oregon for birthday cake, reading books with my grandsons, baking cookies, and snow. Or at least very very cold.

Today I’m on my way for my annual Advent trip to celebrate Jonas’s tenth birthday.

As I do, I’ll be looking for Advent blue. Mary’s color. Hope.

The third Sunday in Advent is Gaudete Sunday. The liturgical color in some churches is rose. The theme of the day is joy.

How could this not be a day of joy snowed in with my family in Bend?

A winter storm is blowing through, which meant church from home today.

So worship included walks and play in the snow.

Prayers, knitting, and reading from a snuggly couch beside a fire with snow falling outside the window.

Baking cookies.

Joy.

After a morning spent having more little family reunions, and the first half of the afternoon with yet more preparations, we are gathering for the blessing of the marriage of Hannah and Andrew.

On my drive through the twists and turns of the country roads, I stopped at a local Episcopal Church for some prayers and to center myself for the wedding.

An extra sweetness is that many of us were gathered almost eight years ago for the marriage of Dominique and Nathan (Andrew’s brother) who are here with their two sons.

I love being the CelebrAunt for my family occasions and the opportunities they are to share God’s love with all sorts of lovely people.

I’m remembering when we prayed at Dom and Nathan’s wedding,

Bestow on them, if it is your will, the gift and heritage of children, and the grace to bring them up to know you, to love you, and to serve you. Amen

And God said, Yes! to Rafael and Jack.

In a little over an hour we will begin. I wonder now God will answer the prayers we pray for Andrew and Hannah and those gathered to support them today?

May all who hear and pray these prayers find their own commitment to be instruments of peace and love strengthened and reinvigorated. In the name of the God who created love we all say amen.

Today was about getting ready for tomorrow. I spent the morning working on some final details for the wedding liturgy. Andrew and Hannah have been creatively involved in the liturgy choices and details seem to change by the minute.

This afternoon we had the rehearsal at Aunt Marcia’s home by the lake. It was a bee hive of preparations, and in the midst of it all, I herded the cats of the wedding participants for the rehearsal. Another wedding edit: going from two wedding attendants to fourteen.

After the rehearsal, we drove into Mountaindale to a lovely outside bar for a reunion of family members and friends. All of us from Texas loved the Austin-feel with a temperature edit of about twenty or more degrees. Oh. This is why people love summer.

Skipping the post-dinner after party, my sister-in law, her sister, and I (the three sisters/moms/grandmas) did the wind-y country roads back home. We were literally stopped on our way by the sunset over the Catskills.

God of love, you have granted us a peaceful night and a perfect end.