December 2010
The Sunday before Christmas always feels like Christmas Day to me, ........no....... better than Christmas Day in some important ways... It is one of my most favorite days of the whole year.
It is a day focused entirely on the true meaning of Christmas. It is a close and cozy day spent with family and with other people I dearly love. It always a day filled with music, beautiful music, special programs, inspiring talks and love love love.
The spirit, words and music of a Christmas Sunday are truly inspiring. There is so much love in the air that it is almost tangible.
In the evening we have a family dinner and party....the Crowley Cousin Christmas Party.
This year's Christmas Sunday is one we will always cherish......
VanWagenen's, my sister and her wonderful family came to stay, arriving on Saturday night very late. They were one of the lucky ones to "win" tickets to the David Archuletta Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert! Our kids waited for them... even Scotty (who is 3) to arrive. And when they arrived Scott was out the door in his pajamas to their car so fast....to greet them.
That little boy is one energizer bunny, with such a love for people! He was just amazing to watch.
Diana and I practiced a song together at 1 am. Ha!! We thought we would try to sing together in the Relief Society program. It is pure joy to sing with my sisters..... pure joy... and we take the opportunity to do this any chance we get ..even if it means practicing at 1 am!
Sunday morning, I got a call from my good friend Joan, who wanted me to sing a song with her in Young Women's and "could I come to practice with her in 45 minutes." Fun!! Ofcourse I said yes! So, the morning went something like this.... Diana and I rushed off to practice with Joan, rushed off to choir practice with Joan and Coletty, my dear freinds. We had choir practice at Garriott's beautiful home... Steve squeezed in a bit of choir practice before his meeting. After choir practice we showed up to Relief Society 10 min before it started to see if we could do our song and grab any willing accompanist who is as crazy as we are. So with Uncle Ron's help, we managed to get all 10 kids to church on time! Thanks Uncle Ron!!
And through it all... so much love ..so much joy... worshipping, singing, praying with people I love. On Christmas Sundays that is just how it is... Being at Church is just a joyful experience.
We had a group of kids, including Alyssa and Julia perform a song in Relief Society, (it was beautiful!) then Di, Ron and I sang our song and then I headed over to Young Women's to sing with Joan and then in Sacrament Meeting, we had a beautiful, sweet meeting with wonderful talks and musical numbers by the choir and primary... It was the sweetest day... Worshipful day.... a day to think about the birth of our Savior and what it means...
After church, this boy arrived home from college! Merry Christmas!!
What a happy moment to open the door and know he was home for Christmas!!! Triumphant returning college student.... !
There is something special about cousins... they just love each other.
The cousins hanging out..watching Narnia...
I love my sisters... and one of my favorite things to do with them is cook in the kitchen..
Diana and Ron.... sweet..
Christine and Aaron....sweet again...
And sorry to say, I got distracted and didn't get a picture of our Mike and Cathy together...sorry guys! I need to hire a photographer for these events.. ha ha!
Snacking on appetizers before dinner....
Uncle Mike and Uncle Ron....
Time to Eat!
I LOVE my sisters... the only problem is we are missing Leslie, Gayle, Caryn, Sharon, Lynette and Jill! And our dear MOM! You were with us in spirit.
Narrating the Christmas Story....
Glorious angels with Glorious news...
"For behold, unto you is born this day in the city of David, A Savior Which is Christ the Lord."
The Shepherds made haste and found Mary, Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.
We Three Kings....
The Wicked King Herrod and his mangy beast....
Everyone adoring the baby Jesus...
The Wisemen offering their gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh..
Adoring and Adorable Women of the Village...
Gloria in Excelsis Deo....
Weren't the angels splendid?
Everyone was splendid! Thank you To Christine and Aaron for bringing such great costumes and providing for such a great Christmas program. Everyone loved it.
We ended the night with more music. Di, Ron and I sang "Nativity Carol" together.... love that song and long singing with my sisters...and brother in law ..thanks Ron!
And the last song we sang was a very special song called Gethsemane. Jacob and I sang it as a duet! It was great!
Here are the words...
Jesus Climbed the Hill to the Garden Still
His steps were heavy and slow. Love and prayer took him there
to a place only he could go.
Gethsemane, Jesus Loves me
So he went willingly, to Gethsemane
He took all that was sad, wicked or bad, all the pain we would ever know
While his friends were asleep he fought to keep his promise made long ago.
Gethsemane, Jesus Loves me
So he went willingly to Gethsemane
The
The Christmas Spirit...What a blessing... The Sunday before Christmas is truly a special day from start to finish...
