Christmas music ~ day 2

Last weekend we attended two awesome events that brought the joy of Christmas to us in very musical ways. The first one was the Winter Recital for Greene Bird Studios. Our son, Joe, played the piano both as a soloist and as an accompanist for Mollie's Kindermusik students. There were several highlights of the event...sweet little Henry playing in the Kindermusik ensemble, Justin Craigmile's rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas, and one of the little Herr boys, I'm not sure which one right now, playing a Santa Claus jazz piece. He is only 6 or 7 and this is his second year of lessons but we are expecting great things from him in the future. Oh, and Aaron's composition student, Kyle Motsinger, the guy I refer to as "Andrew Lloyd Motsinger" sang two of the songs from the musical he is writing. The icing on the cake was hearing Mollie and Aaron on piano and trombone. We all went to Mollie's cozy home for a reception following the recital...the cheese ball alone was worth the trip!

The next day we went to the Christmas concert at Bethany Baptist Church where we spent two glorious hours listening to both familiar and new songs praising God for the birth of His Son, Jesus. For me, the most beautiful part of the day was seeing the live Nativity with a newborn baby boy and his own Mama in the roles of baby Jesus and Mary. It was no less than stunning.

I think, perhaps, the greatest part of the Christmas season is the music. Today I will bake cookies and prepare the guest room for my family who will arrive tomorrow morning. The packages are nearly all wrapped, my pantry is full, thanks to the $800.00 grocery trip to Sam's Club, and I will listen to wonderful carols as I anticipate the coming celebrations. Today's play list includes Chrismas Star by the Cambridge Singers and the Three Tenors Christmas.