pre-Christmas wrap up

i don't think there's any other time of year that is as busy as Christmas. it's the time when all i really want to do is stay home under a blankie with a cup of something warm and watch Christmas movies and see the lights on our tree. but there are so many things to do and events to attend and people to spend time with that it doesn't always happen. and in all the busy-ness, there's no way i'm having time to record it all here. it has been a great Christmastime for me, even with the busy.

collegium musicum's annual madrigal dinner was GREAT. the seniors in the group write the play portion of the program and the group performs it as well as the music, of course. it's done as a dinner theater. it was so good! greg and i worked as servers the first night and were able to sit and enjoy it the second night, along with some family and friends. blake had a big part in the play, and a solo part in one of the songs. they weren't supposed to tell their parents anything about the play, so we were very surprised about it. and so proud. i just kept watching him, tears in my eyes, wondering when he grew up. and amazed by how talented and confident he is. they had several other performances around the area during december, so we had lots of chances to hear them sing. luke plans to audition for the group for next school year. luke is in freshman choir this year. they performed along with the school's other choirs in the winter concert. he does so well! max was santa claus in the Christmas program the 3/4/5 graders did at his school. he looked pretty cute in the costume, and did a great job with his solo in the rudolph song. all 3 of these boys of ours just constantly leave us with our jaws dropped and tears in our eyes. it is such a blessing to see them grow.

my sweet little people in sunday school got their very own Bibles. they were pretty excited!

max's Christmas party at school was fun...strangely subdued but fun! they were all so well-behaved it was a little weird.

last sunday we had a prayer service for sarah beth at her house. mark said there were around 50 there...i didn't count, but that sounds good. there were some precious people there i hadn't seen for a long time...patty and ron...sarah beth read from the psalms for us, shared her heart with us about this cancer journey she's in. and we prayed together - for the will of God to be accomplished, for what we ourselves want in this, and for our hearts to be aligned with what He wants. we sang a little bit too, of course. she is going to be going to sloan-kettering on tuesday to see if they know of any other treatment options at this time. please continue in prayer for her. and this may be selfish to ask, but please pray for all of our family too.

after the prayer time, we went caroling with our church people. well, at least the ones that had lost all ability for rational thought. it was CRAZY cold, down in the single digits and below zero with the wind chill. bunch of wackos. it was fun, in a painful sort of way. kim and i fussed the whole way. spoiled...i'm so very thankful for a roof and 4 walls, and a house where it's only windy if you're sitting by the window. =)

we didn't do our open house this year, which i missed very much. but we did get to be the first stop on the youth group's progressive dinner. we were the appetizer people. it was great to have them here - we have an awesome group of young people. and even though we LOVE them, we decided that the appetizer part is the part to sign up for....they come to your house, eat, then leave! (i really do love them..)