Sights and sounds of the season

As I sit here, I can hear Brian and Emily laughing as they play PlayStation together. The 3 youngest have been engaged in various activities; earlier, I could hear them singing Away in a Manger together. Noah came and asked me to play it on the piano and I had to transpose it downward 3 steps in order for him to sing it. He's not quite 10, but he is already losing that "boy choir" voice.

Behind me in Emily's room, I can hear Summer giving her exercise wheel a workout. Campbell is lounging in the living room watching all the various goings-on with a somewhat interested gaze.

The house is still relatively clean, thanks to everyone's hard work over the weekend. It makes for a peaceful night. No silent nights in this house, but all is calm and bright.

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Yesterday morning's Christmas program went pretty well. There were a few glitches (such as a couple of praise team altos .... who shall remain nameless .... not being able to see their music in the dark and having to hum/mumble (humble?) a few words of Mary Did You Know?), but as Jarrod and Rick put it, the cute factor of the preschoolers helped to obscure those foibles. Joel even had a little featured spot on one song, being that he is just about the only 5-year-old who can snap his fingers like a pro. He helped out the Harbour Lights Preschoolers on The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy.

My favorite parts yesterday were Jarrod's telling of the story in simple, modern language. It was very powerful. And Tom's portrayal of Simeon was moving, as well.

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