Christmas Programs Galore

There's been lots of stuff going on around here.  I'm trying to decide how much of it to post though because some of it is fun crafty Christmas gift type stuff.  I think for now I'll just do the Christmas outings on which the family has been...is that correct grammar Mom?

Anyway, I was asked to decorate 5 tables at the ward Christmas party.  I grabbed some of my favorite decorations and tried to make them come together.

This one was kind of frustrating...it had too many little things.  Although, I was so excited to use my new cloche (I think that's what they're called) I found at hobby lobby for super cheap!

The gang dressed and ready to go...the primary's nativity was first on the program.

Smiling shepherd Matthew.

Smirking wise man Joshua

Another big grin from Matt.

Sweet Angel Abigail

It was kind of a crowded manger :)

Sunday, Andy was released after 5 years of faithful service in the bishopric.

I can't tell you how excited I am to have him home more...especially on Sundays...Tuesday nights will be nice too.  He is a little melancholy about it however.  It will be nice to not have all the added stress and responsibilities that comes with that calling but he truly loved the association with the other men in the bishopric.  Not that they won't see each other any more...it just won't be the same.

I get this guy back!

Sunday night we were headed out to my parents to have dinner and Ben had a seizure.  He slept for a couple of hours after we arrived.

The last few years our family along with my parents and brothers have gone to a rest home/retirement home and sung.  Sometimes we have gone caroling from room to room and sometimes we have done a whole program for a big group. 

Monday night we performed for some very sweet people.

They were very welcoming and forgiving :)

 

The kids sang Rudolph...it took some bribing to get Josh up there...he said he felt a little embarrassed.  They had practiced the song with all of the little in between lines but when they got up in front of the crowd they were very hesitant to sing them and most of the time one of them would faintly start and then fade out.  It was cute.

The men sang "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem".

We ended with the kids singing the first verse of "Silent Night" with the group joining us for the rest of the verses.

Mom played her violin also.

Ben was kind of a handful and kept running around with his jingle bells and making noise.  I didn't dare take them away from him though for fear of a much louder noise he would make.

There were two residents there that were old friends of the family.

"Brother B." was the choir director for Sounds of Zion, the performing group where Mom and Dad got together.  It was a neat reunion.

The second was Phoebe...a Young Wardite from way back (Young Ward is the little farming community in which I grew up).  She too was a choir director for many a year and stories of  Phoebe are Young Ward classics...like when she stopped the whole congregation in the middle of a hymn and told us what we were doing wrong and had us fix it :)

Phoebe is mostly blind now but still took the bull by the horns and was almost as much a part of the program as the rest of us were.

She and Grandma chatted for quite a while.

Josh had his first orchestra concert last night.  Andy is very sick so he had to miss it but I took Matt and Abby and met up with Mom at the concert hall.  Dad was very kind and watched Ben at the house for us.

We didn't know where he would be sitting when we took our seats so he ended up being completely out of view except for a few head bobs.

This is the general vicinity in which Josh sat.  I spent much of the concert with my phone held in place waiting for one of those head bobs.  No such luck.

Mom encouraged me to go sit somewhere else so I could get some pictures.  I'm glad I did.  He was right on the end of the back row so there were no obstructions there.  

I had kind of a hard time getting a clear shot from a distance though, and once the concert was over my battery was dead so this was the best we got.

It was so fun and I was so proud of Josh.  He looked sharp and seemed to really enjoy the evening.
I'm glad he's still excited about playing the cello.


After I've given my homemade ornaments to all of the intended recipients (at least the ones that may read this blog) I will do a post on those.

Happy Christmas preparations and celebrations to everyone!