'twas two nights before Christmas

Can you see our solar lights sparkle?  Yeah, neither can we.

This Christmas season has been different than any other.  

We had 'Christmagiving' back at Thanksgiving when all 6 of the grands were here and 2 of our sons and all 3 of our daughter's in love were here.  Our middle son had to work and couldn't make it but he has been able to be here 3 times this year already so we can't complain.

His wife, the sweetheart, came without him and brought their three kids.  She said some of her friends thought it weird that she came to her in-laws without her hubby, but I am privileged to have good relationships with all three of the girls.  I love them as much as if I they had always been mine.

So all the meal prep was done and the gifts were exchanged before December even started.  And I was so thankful for that.  I could fully focus on the Christmas Pageant.  And our Christmas choir which I thoroughly enjoyed directing.

Thoroughly.  Of all the volunteer positions I have held at any church - directing the choir is my favorite.

These sweet folks agreed to be in choir.  We had a unique mix.  There were about 20 of us (some not in the picture).  There were 5 over 70 and 5 under 20.

There had not been a choir for at least 5 years.  We had to borrow folders, buy new music, cobble together risers and figure out how to get the best sound out of 20 people in our new sanctuary.

It was so much fun.  I love these folks so much.  They had no idea whether or not I knew what I was doing but they decided to go with it.  

They did a great job.  We had a nice response, but that is NOT why we did it.  We did it to glorify God.  We sang Emmanuel and Gloria, words taken from Scripture and sung back to God.

And after all that was done - the pageant and the choir - my mom took a turn for the worse.  She has suffered from Alzheimer's for nearly 13 years, been in memory care for nearly 5 and broke her hip nearly 3 years ago.  She cannot walk, talk, care for herself or feed herself.

She suffered a couple of seizures and I began to make plans to go down sooner than I had planned.  But the latest report from one of my sisters is that Mom has rallied and is even better than she was this past summer when I last saw her (we are 1,000 miles away).

So there have been surprises this month.  Some pleasant.  Some not.  But God promises His peace that passes understanding and He has made good on His promise.

Our Christmas has been different.  Different but good.

There were many surprises about that first Christmas.  Mary and Joseph surprised by an Gabriel's announcement.  Shepherds surprised by an angelic host.

The arrival of the Savior was different (than expected).  Different but good.  Really, really good.  The best. News. Ever.

notes

Today, after church, we had our first choir practice in about 5 years.   We for have only been here 4. 

But I have the exciting privilege of directing our Christmas choir.  We are only singing two songs, but I am inordinately pleased about this opportunity.

My musical experience started as a young child.  Mom made sure to take me to children's choir practices.  As a teen I joined the adult choir.  I was in band from late elementary on.  I took several years of piano lessons.  A singing group in high school and college.  College music theory and conducting classes.  Choir and worship team experiences throughout adulthood.

I talk to my dad every morning.  He lives in assisted living.  My mom is his roommate.  She has had Alzheimer's for 12 years now and her care needs are very different than Dad's. 

But I asked Dad to pass this message along to her as it includes both of them.

Thank you:

• for taking me to children's choir
• for buying me a clarinet
• for buying us a piano
• for getting me clarinet lessons
• for making sure I had to piano lessons
• for 'reminding' me to practice
• for driving me to rehearsals, concerts, marching band practices/games
• for attending concerts and games

For giving me the gift of music.  It is such a privilege and I do not take it for granted.  Mom and Dad.  Thank you.

Singing again

With my brief case full of song books, I headed to church last night. I put my name on the white board (so excited to be Mrs. Cheri again!), set my books on the piano, put the sign up sheet out and waited.

To my surprise and initial disappointment only three kids showed up. All girls.

But we had a great time. They are cute, cute, cute. One diva, one perpetual motion machine and one 'old soul'.

They wanted to know when I was going to give them their LINES. And if I was going to give them a CD of the songs to listen to. They want to do MOTIONS to all the songs. And they want to MOVE (as in dance, but I'm not sure we call it that in Southern Baptist circles). They want to end each song with a 'ta-da' sort of motion - you know the one - one hand in the air, one down at the side, palms facing the audience, one foot forward one foot back with toe pointed.

They want to do a PROGRAM. I have something a little different in mind. They were wary of me at first (I'm new and I talk funny), but warmed up to me by the end of the rehearsal.

The girls were a quick study and as they walked out I could hear them singing the songs they had just learned to their parents. They assured me that they would invite their friends to come, cuz I 'make really good brownies' and cuz they like the new songs.

I was told not to worry about the low attendance. There is no school today, so some were out of town.

But whether there are three or thirty I don't care. I'm just so happy to be working with kids again.

the eyes have it

compare this rose bush with yesterday's picture - they keep coming and coming!

Choir is good for my brain. As I have mentioned before, our choir director requires that we memorize 'special' music numbers (for solos or small groups). Last night was my first run through with my little solo and my brain did not fail me. Thank you LORD!

I practiced for that small solo and then in a quartet and then in a piano duet.

The pianist and I (actually she is the organist but we are playing a piano duet. Together.) were discussing glasses. She normally wears bifocals, but has switched to using reading glasses for playing because her neck got tired of tilting back so she could see the music through the lower part of the lense.

I have gone from bifocals to reading glasses. But the reading glasses are not good for every application. For example when I am singing, they are fine for looking down at the music, but when I look up at the choir director he is a blur. I can look over the tops of them, but then they slide down and pinch my nose and make me sound nasally. I think I need to have two pairs of glasses.

During our quartet practice, we were discussing the difficulties of reading music with our various eye maladies. One near sighted, one far sighted, one with contacts, one with trifocals. Who should we have hold the music? Guess that is why our director wants us to memorize our songs!

When I had bifocals, I had a hard time leaving them on. Off and on, off and on. Where are they now? I have had glasses for several years now, you would think I would have this figured out by now.

Any solutions that work for you?

I spy on my neighbors

Two neighbors in particular. I was rearranging stuff in the dining room when I saw a truck pulling a trailer pull up in front of Mom and Dad's. I watched. A guy went up to their door then came back to the truck. Turned around in the cul-de-sac and headed down our road.

I assumed he was asking for directions. Street signs are hard to come by in this subdivision.

He stopped in front of our house and walked up to the door. Strange, I thought.

"Is that your dad?" he asked pointing at DOD who was now approaching my house.
"Yes," I responded.
"My name is Mike and I've got something for you."

Mike and his helper opened the back of the trailer and pulled out a....
.....clavinova!

A clavinova is a piano on steroids. It is electronic, has a full keyboard, a touch very much like a piano and has more bells and whistles than Carter has pills. It is an incredible machine and I intend to get to know all the ins and outs as well as I can.

This clavinova now belongs to us. "A little welcome to Tennessee gift," says Dad.

Mom says, "I suppose you'll blog about this."
As though he was reading my mind, Dad said, "Who's gonna have time to blog?"

This is an amazing gift and I am so grateful. The folks will be getting regular concerts and an added benefit is that it has earphones so I can play while Pat is working and not disturb him at all.

Thank you Mom and Dad!
~~~~
Pat's computer needs some repair work so it is going in to the shop for a few days. Blogs may be sporadic. But don't worry.....I'll keep busy....clavinova-ing!

since there were no preschoolers.......

....in the concert last night, it was up to the men to steal the 'show'. And they did with their rendition of 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch. Of course we tease them saying they do their song so well, because Grinchiness comes naturally.

I thought the concert went pretty well. There were glitches of course, but I think by and large they were glitches only obvious to the choir.

We did some popular Christmas songs (Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Chestnuts Roasting on a Open Fire, I'll Be Home for Christmas ) but most of the music was unapologetically Christ-centered. This pleased me, of course, but I took special pleasure in hearing a few of the singers around me who are avowed 'pagans' and 'atheists' (this is how they refer to themselves) sing that Christ is the light of the world and sing praise to God on high and sing that Christ is our Redeemer.

It reminded me of this:

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:9-11

Not believing doesn't change the fact the Jesus Christ is Lord.
~~~~~~

Thanks to all who came, I hope you enjoyed the music!

making a list, checking it three times...

So I'm a little more compulsive than the guy in the red suit.

I finished Christmas shopping yesterday. I think.
Today I will wrap and get stuff ready to mail (still waiting on one internet order thingy).

The program for the program has been emailed to the church office and I have been thinking through all the logistics of getting the kids up on the platform and down off the platform with out any major hitches. Or bloodshed.

Our final choir rehearsal for the ladies' choir went well and as long as they WATCH ME, I think they will do a beautiful job. The kids are cute no matter what. Even if they pick their nose, (been there done that - I think that was the 2005 program).

We had a l-o-n-g choir practice last night for the community choir. The music is gorgeous and we are pretty close to knowing what we are doing. One more rehearsal before the dress rehearsal.

While I am on that subject - please come to this concert! I don't think you will be disappointed. For all you locals here are the specifics:

A SEASON OF LIGHT
a choral concert
presented by the Northwoods Singers
under the direction of Dr. Pamalyn Lee
7 PM Tuesday, December 18
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church

We have done absolutely nothing to decorate the house as of yet. Traditionally we get started on this on or around Nate's birthday (tomorrow). I love having the tree up, the smell of it, the lights, the beauty, but after about two weeks, I am ready to be done with it. That is one reason for not getting started earlier in the month. The other reason is fresh tree - woodstove. Trees really dry out fast with a woodstove in the house. And right now, I cannot bring myself to a fake tree. We live in the Northwoods after all. So we wait.


I need some advice from all you creative people out there. We want to get some gifts for our AWANA kids. There are about 30 of them. I don't want to buy any cheap lead paint enhanced things from China. I want to get them a meaningful keepsake from their AWANA leaders. I'm thinking a handmade ornament, but I need something relatively easy to mass produce. Something that reflects Christ's love for them.
I need them ready by a week from today. Am I asking too much? Any ideas?

I walked into choir last night....

....blissfully unaware of what was about to befall me.

N., the president of the community choir asked, "Did you get my email?"
"No, I responded, I've been working at the food pantry for the last several hours and came straight here afterwards."
"Well, P. (the director) is sick. Would you lead the rehearsal tonight?"

I had a 'deer in the headlights' moment, gulped and said, "Sure!" (at least I think that is what I
said).

I had not looked at any of the music for two weeks.

It got off to a rough start - at least from my perspective-but I felt more comfortable as the evening wore on. And I think we made some headway on the music.

After it was all over, several people made encouraging comments, including Nancy - thanks, Nancy!

Then one of the tenors came up to me and said, "You have pretty good rhythm for a blonde."

Unnmmm......thanks?

~~~~~~
Kristi and I pulled out a few baby things while she was here over Thanksgiving. That was fun and I took a long walk down memory lane looking at those sweet little things again.
I'll write more on that soon and post some more pictures.
Top picture-two of my baby blankets. Sweet little rosebud (now vintage) fabric.

The bottom blanket was crocheted by a sweet Swedish grandma named Viola. She made one of these for every baby born in our church. Okay, not born in the church, but born to people who attended our church.

the first Wednesday night of the month...

...is family dinner night. The dinner precedes Awana and youth group and things are always a bit more chaotic on that night.

The last half hour of the evening, the Awana kids go to the sanctuary for some singing and a short devotional followed by their awards.

The sanctuary was buzzing. The kids were hyped. Not naughty, as far as I could tell, just excited.
Although not everyone was in the sanctuary yet, I began playing one of the songs that we sing. It is a pretty cool song - boogie woogie bass notes. I thought if I played that they might start quieting down.

Instead, they burst into song. Normally I sing a phrase and they echo. We have a power point with all the words. I wasn't singing, there were no words on the screen yet.

One of our older boys who is a fantastic singer took the lead. A few other kids joined him, the rest echoed - I played.

God is good (God is good)
All the time (all the time)
God is good (God is good)
All the time (all the time)
Well, He's filled with compassion
And His mercy is everlasting
God is good, God is good, all the time.

Oh give thanks unto the Lord,
His mercy endures forever,
O give thanks unto the Lord
His mercy endures forever
Oh give thanks unto the Lord,
His mercy endures forever,
God is good, God is good all the time.

It was cool, man, way cool.

as it turns out...

... I had a blast last night. All my nervousness disappeared as soon as the pianist struck the first few notes. I think the choir was nervous for me, so they worked really hard and paid fairly close attention.

They sound great. There are still many rough spots we need to work out, but the sound is wonderful. There is nothing like choral music.

We did not get around to any of the non-English songs, so Sarah and Suzi, feel free to see what you can do with the following. There is a German lady in our choir, so she will help us with the German pronunciations.

[Sarah, I will be leaving a comment on your blog sometime today.]

I don't know if any of you read yesterday's comments, but it is very amusing to me that not only does my sister Suzi work with two Nigerian men, but that they can not speak to each other, except in English, because their dialects are so different.

Music makes my heart sing. I was really 'pumped up' after last night's rehearsal. We sang a lot of Gloria in Excelsis Deos. Doing that for a few hours will bring just about anyone out of the doldrums.

Try it and see!

Betelehemu
(Nigerian Christmas Song)

Betelehemu, A-wa yi o ri Ba-ba gbo ju-le.
Betelehemu, A-wa yi o ri Baba gbo fehenti

Nibo la-bi Jesu ni bo lagbe bi-i
Nibo lag-be Jesu, ni bo lagbe bi-i

Betelehemu ilu ara, ni
bo labi Baba o daju.
I yin, I yin, I yin, ni fun o
Adupe fun o, adupe fun o jo o ni, Baba o lo re o Baba to da wa si


Deo Gracias


Adam lay ibounden, bounden in a bond.
Four thousand winter, thought he not too long.

And all was for an appil, an appil that he tok,
As clerkes finden written in a book

Ne had the appil take’ ben
The appil take’ ben
Ne hadde’ never our lady
A ben hevene queen

Blessed be the time that appil take` was
Therefore we moun singen.

(just need the italicized words, please)