Ahhh...Monday!

Rarely do I look forward to Monday. But...I am glad to see Monday this week! Last week was a crazy-busy week for us, and I am ready for a day to catch up. Most of the *busy* was *good busy*...really good busy, in fact, but after a few days of running, I begin to crave time at home...to clean, putter, and curl up on the sofa with a stack of books with the kids! :)

Wednesday we were out all day and then had an extra long children's choir rehearsal (our musical is next Sunday), *and* an extra long adult choir rehearsal (our musical was last night). Thursday was adult choir dress rehearsal. Friday was *supposed* to be our big shopping day, but we never got that far. :) We took Billy to work, came home to get a few things done, and then hit the road. We met friends for lunch and then went to see the replica of the Nina with them. It was quite an experience...cold and windy (especially down on the river!), a much smaller boat than we expected, and six kids with Columbus's spirit of exploration! ;-)

This hole was at the stern (I think?) of the boat. Emlyn and Joshua kept trying to lean out the hole to get a better look at the water...causing Kathy and I all manner of anxiety until we managed to leave that area of the boat! The river from the boat.Looking down into the hold. We were all fascinated by the fact that the crew of 27 slept on the deck...we couldn't figure out where there was even room for them all to sleep!...and by the fact that the only private space Columbus had on the boat was through a grate like this one...a very small space below the deck (about 5 feet with 4' headroom, if I remember correctly), with the grate the only opening. Some of the actual crew of the replica were down in the hold reading when the kids peeked in. :)

Eskimo Ammah Grace....Emlyn...Bayley...And Peter...
After the Nina, we did a little birthday shopping...for Peter's party, and for Billy's birthday. After we picked him up at work, we took him out to dinner for his birthday. We ran into Mrs. Amanda and her family, celebrating *her* birthday (they share a birthday, 9 years apart.:)) Mrs. Amanda tried to get the staff to sing to Dad, but he escaped before they got a chance!

More shopping after dinner Friday night, and still a bit more Saturday morning. Saturday morning the girls had a GA party at church, and the rest of us worked on birthday party prep. Peter's party turned out great....despite some major setbacks during the morning (ack!) Full story on Peter's party to come in a separate post.

Sundays are always busy, but this one was especially so. Although I can't think of a Christmas musical (or any other kind, actually) that I've sung in that I didn't love, the Oak Cliff Christmas musicals the past two years have probably been my favorites ever. Last year Lyndel introduced "Keyboards at Christmas", a program he had arranged for choir, multiple pianos, organ, and keyboard. No costumes, no drama, just exceptional music, with choir pieces interspersed between keyboard pieces. Last year's was incredible, but this year's was even better. 3 pianos, 8 pianists, 2 organists, 1 soloist, and a full choir. The keyboard pieces were all beautiful, but 3 of them gave me chillbumps every time I heard them: the only repeat from last year, Katie, Hannah, and Lindsay playing an incredible arrangement of "Joy to the World"; a piano trio with Kathy, Kaitlyn, and Katie playing "Mary's Baby Medley"; and the finale for the evening, "O Holy Night", arranged by Lyndel and played by Lyndel, Lindsay, and Katie. The whole thing was a beautiful celebration of the heart of Christmas, the good news of Jesus's birth.