Christmas Spirit

Back in September, my friend Sarah asked me if I would be interested in singing in a choir that would be performing an oratorio called Before Tonight at the DC Temple Visitor's Center during their Festival of Lights.  She warned me that the music was pretty challenging, but also gorgeous.  She talked about how she had really enjoyed getting to participate when they'd performed it two years earlier.

I worried about ditching my family for all the rehearsal time, but I'm a sucker for good music and a chance to sing, so I said yes (with Craig's blessing, even though it meant he'd be stuck putting kids to bed and taking out the garbage every Sunday night!).  And so it began: Sunday night rehearsals throughout October and most of November, all located in Annandale (meaning I was gone for three or four hours each time depending on-- you guessed it!-- the traffic.  Yup, traffic even on a Sunday evening).  And I learned that Sarah was NOT kidding about the music being challenging.  I spent one rehearsal so lost I wondered if maybe I should quit.

But we all plugged along, and before I knew it, it was the day of our big performance!  And I was still scrambling trying to make sure I had all my notes correct, but after spending some time alone with the piano ahead of time, I thought (and hoped and prayed) that I had it all down!

Now, I mean no disrespect to my own church, which I love, but I will admit that the music in LDS worship services is boring.  We've pretty much stuck to the same songs that were being sung in the 1830s, and while much of it is lovely, it gets kind of old after a lifetime of singing it.  Especially in my area, where our local leaders have decided that all music during our worship services must come from the hymn book (despite the fact that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir finds new music to sing at General Conference every year!).  So, yeah, it was kind of exciting to learn something NEW for a change.  And this wasn't just new-- this was full of difficult rhythms and chords, and shooting up to notes just barely in my range and then holding them for three bars...  It was really hard.  But beautiful.  And terrifying.  And fun.  And wonderful.  I honestly can't remember the last time I got to sing something so challenging, and it turns out challenging is good, as long as you can get it to come together in time.

The day before we performed, Rob Moffat, the composer, flew out from Arizona to rehearse with us, and he livened the whole thing up even more.  For one section where the women sing a cappella for a bit, he stopped us and said, "You're all trying to blend like you do in church choirs, but I don't want you to blend.  I want this to sound like a rock concert.  Pretend you're singing a solo here and just rock out!"  So we did.  And it was a hundred times better than what we had been doing.

The night of our big performance, I managed to get Tracy to come down early from New York and meet me at the temple (she was coming to babysit for our Virginia Beach vacation).  I had to get there early for one last rehearsal (and I left super early even for that because I was so worried about the traffic), and then Craig came with his parents and all the kids just a little later.  And they all managed to get seats where I could see them easily from where I was seated!  So I got to smile at them the whole time (and maybe chuckle to myself every now and then when I saw Ryder or Colton getting a little too wiggly).

And our two performances went beautifully.  That high A, nearly two octaves above middle C?  I nailed it.  Both times.  The whole thing was wonderful and really got me thinking seriously (again) about Christmas and what it really means.

Here's a video of my favorite song, "Glory to God"-- it's only 5 minutes long, so please watch it!  I wish the sound quality was a little better (Craig pointed out that it's too bad they weren't just recording with the sound system they had in place, instead of the camcorder that was used, but oh, well), you still get the idea.  The guy speaking at the beginning is Rob, the composer.  Also, you can see my friend Sarah directing us and she is AWESOME to watch-- she's dancing as much as she is directing (and she's 6 months pregnant!) and I love it!  And next to me, on my right, is my friend Anna who we were able to convince to join us in this whole endeavor, too.  Enjoy!


(I also have to point out my awesome red shirt-- it turns out it was a little tricky finding a solid red maternity shirt this season, but I was lucky enough to have Sarah find this at the consignment sale and think of me!  It was a triple win-- I love the shirt, it was super cheap, and I didn't even have to go shopping for it!  I'm so spoiled!)


As if all of this wasn't enough, the next day another friend of mine arranged for families with small children to sing Christmas carols at a retirement home.  I hadn't given it a lot of thought beforehand-- it was just something nice to do-- until we stood up and began with "Joy to the World."  And suddenly I was so choked up I could barely get through the words.  It didn't get any better as we continued with "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Away in a Manger."  I'm sure the pregnancy hormones aren't helping here, but how can you think about this tiny baby, born to save mankind, and not cry?

I love everything about Christmas.  I love the decorations and the presents.  I love the lights.  I love the symbolism of evergreen trees.  But most of all, I love the story of the King of Kings, born in the most humble circumstances ever.  I love reading of Mary pondering these things in her heart.  I love angels appearing to shepherds to proclaim the good news and the shepherds rushing to go and see the babe for themselves.

I came home and discovered this painting that a friend had linked on facebook, and cried some more.
 
Go to the artist's website to understand why she painted Jesus the way she did: http://www.jenedypaige.com/gallery/little-lamb/.  It's even more beautiful when you understand the history and symbolism behind it.

On Friday when we performed, I was thankful for the opportunity to praise my Savior through song.  But as the weekend progressed, I became even more thankful for Christ himself.  For His atoning sacrifice for me and for each person on this earth. 

Merry Christmas, my friends.  God bless us, every one.

Vacation

Craig mentioned a few months ago that there was a conference he could attend in Virginia Beach in December.  He thought it sounded like a pain and was hesitant to bother going, but I thought it sounded like the perfect break-- for me!  So I convinced him to go and let me tag along.

Things fell into place perfectly when we realized my sister Tracy would be available to babysit, so as soon as the school board approved it all, we frantically made plans for Tracy to come down from New York and began packing our bags.

It was a short vacation-- we left Sunday evening and were back Tuesday afternoon-- but it was exactly what I needed.  (I think Craig was able to enjoy himself, too, but this is my blog, so you're just going to hear about my goings on, I'm afraid!)  You have to keep in mind, Craig and I manage to travel quite a bit with the kids, but we hardly do anything without them except the occasional date night.  The last time we had a night away from the kids was when I was pregnant with Ryder and we sent Bentley and Kendra to Culpeper to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa for our anniversary.  And that was over four years ago.  Craig and I had been planning on going to Hawaii this January for a slightly early 10-year-anniversary celebration, but this little baby girl I'm gestating quickly put the kibosh on that idea.

So it was nice that we could at least snag this little trip for ourselves.

Craig was so funny-- he was worried that I wouldn't have anything to do while he attended his conference and that I would get bored.  Not even close!  Just doing whatever I wanted for a couple days without little people clinging to me and interrupting my every thought was such a relief!  I went out for breakfast and watched the ocean while I sipped hot chocolate.  I lounged around in our hotel room reading my books, napping, and then reading some more.  Craig and I even swam in the hotel pool and marveled at how nice it was to not constantly be checking to make sure no one was drowning!

Christmas lights on the boardwalk

It was lovely.  I missed the kids like crazy and was excited to return home to them.  But it was nice to get a little break and remember who I am without my kids and without a house to keep clean.  Take all that away and you find someone who can walk out of her hotel without packing a diaper bag.  Someone who can find a dang good Mexican restaurant AND a contemporary art museum in a completely unknown town.  Someone who can stand on the beach watching the waves break until her face goes numb from the cold.  Someone who can spend 7 hours in a car with her husband, and still not run out of things to talk about.

Someone like me.

Remember Halloween? Back in October?

Like pretty much every other family with kids in the United States of America, we celebrated Halloween!  But unlike so many very talented mothers out there, costumes are not something I ever get very creative about.  It's too bad, because I love seeing what other people come up with (I thought about posting some of their pictures here, but that just seemed weird and stalker-ish), but I never feel particularly inspired when it comes to Halloween.  It's not just that I can't sew-- although this is certainly a major hindrance-- it's that I can never think of anything worth trying to create in the first place.  So I usually put in the bare minimum of effort when it comes to Halloween.

But this is a good thing, right?  We need someone who can appreciate how awesome other mommies are without adding to the competition?  Right?  I'm just doing my part to not further the Halloween version of the mommy wars!

So, yeah, you're welcome.

Anyway, here are my kids and their costumes, most of which were given to us by someone else, or were done by Craig (who is often more inspired than I).

My Mom bought this adorable penguin costume for Colton and (miracle!) he actually liked wearing it and kept the hood on for most of the time!

Kendra originally wanted to dress up as a cowgirl, and then suddenly changed her mind and decided to be a ghost instead.  So that made things easier for me-- all I had to do was sacrifice a sheet and let Craig do her makeup.

We walked into the church Halloween Party and my friend asked me, "Is Kendra a ghost, or Fruma Sarah?"  That made me happier than just about anything.  How had I NOT noticed that she looked just like Fruma Sarah?!?!?

Bentley wanted to be a ninja, so we bought him a hood and sword (do I get to call it a katana?) at the dollar store.  And then he wanted to leave them both in the car.  Kids!

Kendra on the hayride with Peter Pan

Ryder (as a dragon) with his date friend Nora, who was dressed as a flamingo

As I've often said, Craig is way more fun than I am.  This year for Halloween, he decided to have my friend Sarah, who studied theater make-up in college with a specialty in wounds, come to his class and teach his students how to do stage wounds on each other.  This is what Sarah did to Craig:

I like the stoic look on his face for this

And a black eye to boot!

Craig was so excited by this new skill set he decided to try it out on me as soon as he got home. I think he did pretty well for just learning!

Craig wanted a copy of this picture so I texted it to him with the caption, "Love you forever."  How's that for scary?

And here we are together, blissfully happy in our domestically abusive relationship!

Craig tries on Colton's costume...

And Ryder gets his hands on Bentley's ninja hood and sword

And Colton just looks so happy and excited here!

And here's the whole gang, ready to go trick-or-treating!

So that was us this Halloween.  Now go pat yourself on the back for coming up with better costumes for your own children.  I won't mind a bit.

South Carolina

We got to spend a whole week in South Carolina for our Thanksgiving, and we made the most of it!  The drive down was smooth, considering how many people (and their bladders!) we had to accommodate-- I was impressed with how quickly and painlessly we made it there!

A little napping certainly helped speed the trip along

As did some iPad time (while wearing Mommy's sunglasses)

More of wearing Mommy's sunglasses

Once we got there, we quickly settled in to the house Craig's parents had rented for us-- a spacious  home right on the water!  The kids loved the extra space to run around, and it served as a perfect gathering place for the rest of Craig's family.  We could put the kids down for much needed naps and not miss out on any of the games and baking that were always going on!

Riding bikes and scooters in the driveway

Colton was a big fan of the dock by our house.  He was not such a fan of the fact that we insisted on carrying him because I was so scared he would fall in the water!

Now if only we had a boat...

Ryder and Eli together

We had a LOT of rain the first few days, so we decided to visit the Kazoobie Kazoo Factory and Museum.  It was small and utterly charming.  Who would have guessed a kazoo museum could be so much fun?!  We had a great time, and everybody got to assemble their own kazoo at the end of the tour.  This made for a VERY noisy trip home, but I'm sure Ray Charles would have approved of our rendition of "Hit the Road, Jack" as we all kazooed along!

Colton was VERY insistent that he get his own kazoo, too, despite the fact that he was occasionally afraid of the noise they made

Ready to form a band

Cousin Kazoo Time

On the first sunny day, we headed out to play miniature golf:

Zoom in so you can compare Bentley (being annoyed about having his picture taken) with Kendra (posing like a model who specializes in wearing huge tennis shoes)

Action shot of Colton and Ryder, partners for the afternoon with Craig and I

Jason gamely keeping score for the kids (and probably being grateful for the 6 stroke limit!)

They had these fake chickens that would occasionally make clucking noises.  Colton was in love with them and couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to try and pick them up

Kamryn is always nice about giving piggy back rides

Lindsy is, too.  My kids are lucky to have such good cousins!

Also while we were there, Ryder turned four!  Can you believe it???

Ryder, opening an early birthday present

Craig and I pretending to be at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade like two years ago

Colton LOVED the fireplace at Lynda and Greg's

And I love Colton in suspenders!

Apparently we didn't really take any pictures of the actual feast.  But trust me, there was a LOT of food, and it was all delicious.  And I was kind of relieved, because even though my little guys didn't take naps that day and were fighting colds, they managed to be *fairly* well behaved through-out.  Phew!

The view from the house we stayed in-- so lovely!

Our awesome tub and the view.  Some day I need a tub like this.  (I think the master bathroom here was bigger than my actual bedroom.  Yowza.)

On the day after Thanksgiving, Craig, his brother and sister-in-law, and uncle all went golfing.  I would have liked to have tried playing a few holes, but I thought 9 would be more than my big tummy could handle-- way too much twisting going on there.  So I stayed home and made sure my little guys finally got their naps while Bentley and Kendra were off with their cousins, grandparents, and great aunt, playing croquet and riding their scooters.  And I think everyone was pretty happy that way!

Jason teeing off

Our last few days were very pleasant, although chilly.  It was nice to hang out and finish off leftovers before we had to make the drive home again.

The view from our house-- so gorgeous!  I love being able to see water.

And looking back to our house!

And of course, we celebrated Ryder's birthday the day after Thanksgiving-- my little Ryder is four years old now!

Ryder was all excited to open his presents until he realized that everyone was going to watch him do it.  Then he suddenly got up and left.  We found him hiding in his room-- I had no idea that Ryder had stage fright!  It took a few minutes of coaxing to get him to come back and start unwrapping...!

But once he started, he was just fine!

Playing with one of his favorite new toys: Lightning McQueen, of course. 

No one was in the mood for more baking, so he just got store-bought cupcakes.  He didn't mind that one bit, though!

And neither did Colton, actually...

Making s'mores outside Lynda and Greg's

We had a lovely time.  Really, the worst part of the entire trip was getting stuck in traffic outside Fredericksburg (of all places!!!!  Why is there so much traffic in Fredericksburg?!?!?) for an hour and a half on the way home.  Other than that, it was a lovely vacation and wonderful to spend so much time with family-- what better way to spend a Thanksgiving holiday?!