How is your Advent going? Ours is speeding past! With my illness and the exhaustion, I am very far behind my normal schedule for Christmas preparations, but Jesus will be Incarnate whether I have presents out in time or all the food is made or not. Also, as an aside, usually the second week of Advent is designated for love, and the last for peace, so I don't know what is going on in this picture.

Amira and Yasmina were in our town's Agricultural Christmas Parade on Friday, and had a blast. Unfortunately, during or before the parade, Amira's wallet, with her license, a little money, and her ATM card in it, among her personal items, was lost/taken. We are hoping someone found it and will return it. Just the value of not having to have to replace her driver's license will be huge (it's about $100 to replace a stolen or missing one here) at this time of year, and now Rich or I have to drive the girls back and forth to ballet and Amira to and from work until we can get her license returned or replaced. Please pray that it shows up soon, or is returned.

Meal planning has become so much easier now that Jerome can have egg! He is working on re-introducing chocolate, so he can have it at Christmas. So far, no bad reactions. Please continue to pray for him, that his skin has some relief and that he has no bad reactions with the foods coming back into his diet. Next week, we have another Nutcracker run, so pray for our endurance, as well, please.

Again, we are a little more relaxed about the fast during Advent, so if you are looking for the strictest meal plans, I will not be as helpful to you. However, we are keeping the strict fast on Wednesdays and Fridays and are doing as much without dairy and egg and fish as we can, with some leeway for our kids (and, this year, for me, too, as I recover), even as we have meat on Sundays (mostly for economia, as we usually provide a shared meal at church with folks who do not necessarily all keep the fast).

• Sunday - Second Sunday of Advent
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Sausages, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta (Gluten-free for Jerome) and the Best Meat Sauce Ever with Eggplant, Garlic Bread, Fruit Plate
• Monday - Feast of Saint Nicholas
  Breakfast: Initial Cookies for St. Nicholas' Day (Gluten and Dairy-free for Jerome), Chocolate, Nuts, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Samak fil Furn (Baked White Fish), Simple Rice Pilaf, Shredded Cabbage and Carrot Slaw with Cumin Lime Dressing, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Ambrose
  Breakfast: Battatas ou Bayd, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Garlic Lemon Shrimp with Parsley, Pasta (Gluten-free for Jerome), Fruit Plate
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos (Gluten-free tortillas for Jerome) with Salsa, Fruit Plate, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Zaalouk, Rice, Marinated Peppers and Onions, Mandarin Oranges
• Thursday - Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  Breakfast: Labneh on Toast with Peppers and Olive Oil, Wild Za'atar Stuffed Green Olives, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Vegetable Fried Rice, Oranges
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers, Rice, Salatat Zeitoun, Mandarin Oranges
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pancakes (Fluffy Gluten-Free and Vegan Peanut Butter Pancakess for Jerome) with Raspberry Syrup, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Black Bean Quesadillas, Salsa Rice, Fruit Plate

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Advent, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Saint Nicholas, Special Diet, Tales from the Kitchen