Soul-thrilling

There is no other instrument that thrills my soul like the sound of the pipe organ.  I don't think there is any sound more grand, more glorious, more thrilling than the sound of a well-played, full organ in an old European cathedral.  Just take a listen......

A "Date Night"!!!

My husband and I don't get enough of these, but last night I was able to go with him for dinner to a country club where he was invited to sing along with the rest of our church's mens quartet.

I apologize that the picture is a little hard to see, but at least the sound is good!!

My husband is on the far left in the pink shirt.

Enjoy!!!

Our second weekend in December full of Christmas activities.....

"Bethlehem Revisited"

There is a church in a town not far from us that transforms the back lot of their church every year into a living "Bethlehem" that you can walk through. We have gone for several years,

and each year we get something new out of it.

All the townspeople are in period costume working period crafts that the children can

watch and even participate in. The idea is to find the Messiah who has been rumored

to have arrived. You can follow Joseph and Mary (who is riding a donkey) on through town

where they look for a place to stay and are directed to a stable out back.

After the baby arrives, the shepherds come (that were at the entrance to the town with their sheep) and see the baby, and leave rejoicing. They are shooed away by the largest men dressed in Roman Centurion costume that I've ever seen.

Not very far behind them are the wise men who come complete with real camels.

It's a wonderful experience and we always enjoy exploring it.

As we all stand around the stable and watch Mary and Joseph, I'm always reminded

that this is what it's all about. No "rockin' around the christmas tree", no Santa (like where did he come from in this story anyway......that's a soapbox of mine for another time), no reindeer, no crazy shoppers out at 2am for a $3 pair of pj's, no lights, no Hallelujah Chorus. Just a baby.

A quiet, unobtrusive birth. That's it.

But what a miraculous birth it was. Of our Divine Saviour in human form.

It always reminds me to stay simple and block out all the noise of the commercialism and the pressure to follow everything our culture does this time of year.

It's about Jesus......and that's enough.

I caught Aryn standing over in this little corner all by herself checking

out the goats and donkey behind this fence.

You can read more about this here.

"Shepherds, Sheep, and a Saviour"

Sunday evening our church's junior choir had their Christmas program.

Our three oldest children participated in it and I thought I'd share a couple clips of

Ashlyn's part and Alexis's part. Ashlyn's video was taped during rehearsal, while Lexi's was during the actual performance. Grant didn't have a particular speaking or singing part,

but he did his part in the choir.

Enjoy!!!

My Favorite Sounds

This is just one of my favorite sounds of all time!! It just brings shivers down my back!!
What mommy wouldn't love this???
(And as a disclaimer...yes, I know the picture isn't the greatest quality, but it's the voice I want you to hear.)