String Project Recital

Sylvia played her cello in the String Project solo recital this evening.  

She did a lovely job.  It was also the first time she's had an accompanist other than me, and she was fortunate to have a great one.  I myself couldn't play the piece; I'm just not cut out for Saint-Saens.  

Always super proud of this girl!

Crafted With Care

In the midst of all our end-of-semester, beginning-of-wrestling, gearing-up-for-Christmas busyness, I finally got my Crafted With Care website (www.craftedwithcare.boutique),  Facebook and Instagram accounts launched last week!  

And, because it's just the awesome way that my God works...a huge crochet trend hit the internet seriously the very exact same day--the messy bun / ponytail hat.  Some lady made one for an adorable coworker and took a picture of her wearing it, and when she posted it to Facebook every ponytail- or messy bun-wearing woman and girl wanted one immediately!  Good news for me!  I've had about 8 people tag me in photos of them, asking me to make them.  I have dozens to make, and will probably not be making much else in the next couple months, and what a blessing!  They're fun hats to make and wear.  Personally, I don't wear hats, but these I do because my hair doesn't make it stick up all wonky and fit all weird.

I wore one to lunch with my Moms In Prayer International friends, Donna and Megan, today.

Jeremy is a little confused about some of my photo props, hahaha!

Smarty Pants Kids

It has become our tradition over the past several years to have two Christmas trees in our house during the holiday season.  We have a live Christmas tree decorated with matching ornaments and tinsel downstairs in our living room, and we have our artificial tree decorated with red, white, and gold ornaments as well as all of the ornaments we have been given and that the kids have made over the years.  I usually decorate the live tree mostly by myself, and the kids have enjoyed putting up and decorating the artificial tree by themselves.

This year, the kids have been very busy, and have not wanted to make the time to get their tree finished.  Annah put it up.  Sylvia put the garlands on.  Then they refused to just put the time in and get it done until I actually said to them, "I am serious; get up off your butts and go finish decorating the Christmas tree!" Lovely.

They were annoyed, and whined and asked if they had to put "everything" on it.  I told them they didn't have to, but they decided they should.  Apparently, Sylvia decided they should include the plastic shopping bags that the breakable items were wrapped in and random other items that were lying in the Christmas storage bins.  And someone threw the Santa hat on top of the tree instead of the angel. I didn't find it as cute as they thought it, and sent them back up to remove the trash from the tree when I saw it.

I guess this is Christmas with teenagers!  ;)

Weekend

We had a lovely day at home today.  I taught lessons in the morning.  

Sylvia babysat for half the day, and had a great time with Nola and Gracie.  

Miles came over to our house, and he and Caeden played many Wii, tablet, and iPod games.

And a rousing game of Monopoly.

It was nice to have a day on the calendar without lots on the calendar.  :) 

String Project Winter Concert

I took Sylvia to her String Project Winter Concert this evening, and enjoyed getting to watch her be a leader in her orchestra.  And even Sylvia was excited to see her name with a star next to it in the program.

I saw her enjoying visiting with her Sinfonia friends as they waited for the concert to start, and in between the younger ensembles.

This time I sat in the balcony on the opposite side of the stage where Sylvia sits, so I knew I would be able to see her face while she played.  It was a great seat.  

In the photos she is to the director's right at the edge of the stage.

I love watching Sylvia play her cello!  If I'm not accompanying her, I cry every time.

These are the ISU students who are the String Project teachers--lots of them!

VIDEO: Fantasia 2000

VIDEO: Adagio Cantabile

VIDEO: Strings Cut Loose

VIDEO: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Elementary Concert

I really enjoyed watching the elementary school concert tonight.  It was so organized and adorable.  I was remembering our kids being part of it for so many years and got a little teary.

I went to the concert because Sylvia played her horn with 4 high schoolers in a brass quintet as the kids exited the gym at the end of the concert.  

VIDEO: Silent Night

PoC Christmas Open House

We went to the PoC Christmas Open House this afternoon.  It snowed all morning, so we took a while getting there carefully, and had just enough time for family devotion and communion with Pastor Todd and Pastor Karin before the kids had Beacon band rehearsal.

Pastor Todd had us hold stalks of wheat and bunches of grapes and think about the processes they go through to become bread and wine--grinding, pressure, heat, fermentation--difficult things, much like the process Jesus went through so we could have communion with God.

"Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all...

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,"

- Isaiah 53:4-6, 10

Pastor Todd got a little teary (Okay, so did I.) as he told us how thankful he is that we have been able to do life together and grow our families' friendship for over 15 years now, considering either of our families could have easily been moved away any number of times by careers. (We are grateful too!)  He prayed a prayer of blessing over us that our family would experience more joy in the coming year than ever before, and that more and more people would come to know Jesus through us. Yes, Lord!

The food was beautiful and wonderful!

This was my favorite thing, and I need to get the recipe!

It was beautifully snowy when we got home, and I had to snap a few pictures of the kids before we went inside the house.

Music for the Holidays

We girls got to attend Illinois State University's big Music for the Holidays concert today at the Center for the Performing Arts, because Sylvia performed in it!

This is the same space String Project usually performs in, but it looked much different today with the stage jam-packed with a full orchestra and several choirs!    

11 students from the Sinfonia ensemble played.  

Sinfonia is a much younger group this year than it has been in the past, and I could see Ms. Hunter leaning on Sylvia many times during the performance to lead with her confident playing.

VIDEO: Charlie Brown Christmas

What a fantastic experience for these young kids to play on a concert that about 1000 people attended!

We absolutely loved the orchestra!  They not only sound incredible, they and their director were obviously having fun and enjoying making music as well!  Each section of the orchestra dressed up in Christmas costumes for the second half of the concert, and Dr. Block allowed each section leader to explain their themes.  (Violin 1's were on board the Polar Express, basses were the Nightmare Before Christmas, horns and trombones were leg lamps from A Christmas Story...it was really fun.)

At the end of the concert all the musicians together led the audience in a carol singalong.  It was a very festive and fun concert, and we all enjoyed it!

Christmas tree

 I decorated the Christmas tree today!

 Sylvia, doing homework

 Sylvia got a resistance band from her physical therapist to use in her home exercises.

 I wore a new ivory shirt today, and wore an apron while I was cooking because I didn't want to splatter anything on it.  I got enchilada sauce on my sleeve, because an apron doesn't cover that part of a shirt.

For the past several years we've had a real Christmas tree.  This year, our friends who own a tree farm had 8+ foot trees, and they reserved one for us!  Jeremy borrowed Shannon's truck Monday night at brought it home and set it up, but I didn't get started decorating it until Thursday.  It is a beautiful tree even without decorations.

The local paper featured the wrestling team this week!  Pretty exciting!