Old friends know you best

I love Christmas time for many reasons, but I'm not above saying I enjoy getting presents! This week a package arrived which caught me by surprise, in part because of who it was from (it's been a while since we've exchanged more than cards and the occasional email), but more because of the contents. The box contained a "wombat" road sign replica and an actual stuffed wombat!!!! Wow! (I didn't even know there were stuffed wombats!)

The wombat (named Wilma, according to its tag) is a HUGE hit around my house, with both my boys and my mom (who recently viewed a Discovery Channel show on wombats and fell in love with them) trying to claim her from me -- but she's MINE, all MINE!! And because these friends knew I was an Amazing Race fan, the box also contained a DVD and autographed postcard of the exploits of one contestant. Too cool.

So, many, many thanks to Bob & Steph!! (I do plan to reciprocate, but I kind of doubt it will be before Christmas at this rate. Have a very merry one anyway!)

Christmastime

Last week was a busy one, full of choir rehearsals, concerts, and a party or two, and as we were returning home on Sunday night after it was all over, Benjamin (my younger son, age 9) said, "I wish Christmas was tomorrow!" I understand the thought -- and I certainly made the same wish when I was his age (hurry up and get here, Christmas!) -- but I don't want it to hurry now.

You see, to me this is the fun time. Our Christmas obligations are winding down, and now we can relax and enjoy the holidays.

Our "Holiday at the Heights" church Christmas concert last Saturday night was wonderful, if I do say so myself. We were the Dallas-area stop this year for Point of Grace and their "Winter Wonderland" tour, and they were spectacular. One thing I love about our church is that we don't just bring in artists to perform for us; our choir and orchestra perform with them! (Apart from Point of Grace, in our year-and-a-half at The Heights, we also have had the privilege of performing in concert with Russ Taff, Steve Green, and The Martins. Have I mentioned we love our church? All this and the Donut Man, too!)

As with our Steve Green Christmas concert last year, we had a few songs on our own, Point of Grace did a good portion of the concert on their own, and then we combined for the second half of the concert and some spectacular Christmas music. It was a great deal of fun. I just couldn't get any pictures while I was up there singing! I'll post some here or a link to the website of the church's photographer when he gets his up.

Enjoy the season, everybody!

The "Donut Man" and the passing of time...

I had a rare treat this past Sunday -- the "Donut Man," Rob Evans, was in concert at my church (His website is here). Technically, it was an event for preschoolers (a "birthday party for Jesus"!), but I was excited to see him myself. You see, my kids grew up on his videos, and they loved the "no-nut man," as Brandon used to call him. They knew his songs and played those videos over and over (and over and over and over...). So when we finally got to see him live, we jumped at the chance.

Okay, our boys are no longer preschoolers, and Brandon (our 6th-grader) in particular really didn't want to admit that he was the least bit excited to be there, but we worked around that -- he and I went to the concert to work on the tech crew! In fact, Brandon manned one of the cameras all by himself for the first time (now one of the youngest cameramen we have). I still managed to cajole he and his brother into meeting the man and getting the above picture with him. It almost makes me misty-eyed to see them all together and realize how quickly my boys have grown!

The concert provided a bit of a tech crew "first" for me, too. I got to "switch" during the concert -- that is, sit in the control room and operate the console that selects which camera or other video input is on screen. (This picture of the Donut Man concert was from my vantage point.) It took a bit of concentration (I don't have the longest attention span), but I managed to make it through without too many mistakes! Great fun, and a good evening all around.