Christmas Concert Memories

This is such a beautiful time of year, but it's also a busy time. The kids had the privilege of performing with the adult choir at church for the Christmas concerts. There were four concerts in all, spanning a three-day weekend. We have already had a couple of huge winter storms hit here on the Great North Coast, and the possibility of a third monster storm was to arrive on Sunday evening during the last performance.

We prayed. Everyone prayed. God was faithful and held back the big snow until after everyone was safely home late Sunday night. The performances were beautiful with Christ where He belongs...on the Throne!

And the storm? It hit in the early morning hours on Monday. We all woke-up to another blizzard!

Here are some pictures that capture a few wonderful memories of Christmas at Parkside!



Caleb in his very first tuxedo and Rachel wearing Mama's pearls. You probably can't tell, but Rachel is also wearing mascara. Just a little. The girl was born with brushes attached to her eyelids, I tell you! I've never seen anything like it. Now I know why there's such a thing as an eyelash curler. As you may have guessed, I have never ever had a need for one of those!



My "Spy Kids"

Caleb, posing after the very last performance. I think this has become one of my all-time favorite photos of him.

And here's Miss Rachel, looking all aglow before the first performance.

We were so thankful to have our neighbor, Stacey, along with her mother and grandmother, join us for the Saturday matinee performance. Stacey and her family moved in behind us when I was nine months pregnant with Rachel. She has been like a daughter to us and an older sister to Rachel since the day she was born. We were talking about how Stacey was 11 when we first met. Now, she's all graduated from college and just turned 23! My how time flies.

Caleb posing as a Steak 'n Shake waiter! The serious face was on purpose. Everyone was laughing while I was trying to get his picture since he looked exactly like the Steak 'n Shake ads!

One of the highlights for the kids was being able to go to Steak 'n Shake after Saturday night's performance. It wasn't because they got to go to Steak 'n Shake. No, it was because all of their friends and their families were going! The place was jam packed with people dressed in formal attire. You should have seen all the women in long black gowns! We could have had a flash mob right there in the restaurant. You remember what a flash mob is, don't you?

Hey, thanks for checking in on me! I feel like I've been so overwhelmed with so many things of late. I hate not having time to blog. But, we're all doing well. Mr. Wonderful has just started his third week at the new job. We are still so very thankful for this miracle!

I hope this Monday finds you preparing your heart for the week ahead as we try to slow down and think about the true meaning of Christmas. God's richest blessings to you!

Much love,