A Wondrous Gift is Giv'n

I was so blessed to conduct our stake choir to perform at the Second Annual Interfaith concert held by our stake. It was so much fun to select the music. I love the fact that I get to do the music stuff without having to worry about decorations, advertising, refreshments, etc. The night was a wonderful success and I was glad for the opportunity to work with Sandi from the Community of Christ Church and Maggie from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

The event even got a couple of write-ups in the local paper. You can go here and here to read the articles.

I think our choir did really well and I was so proud of their hard work and effort. It didn't hurt that we had Liz Nelson accompanying us. She totally rocked, especially on the organ stuff that was really difficult. We were only able to have 3 rehearsals and I had selected some tricky pieces, but everyone pulled together really well and we had about 60 or so in our choir. Of course there are things that I would still like to have tweaked with the sound, but overall I was really pleased. It was a wonderful experience and I am already looking forward to next year.

Sean McKell (our stake technology person) was able to record the concert using the podium microphone. The quality isn't that great and it was hard to control the levels with our bigger choir so the recording has distortion, but it was fun to hear what we sounded (mostly) like. You can download the mp3 recordings here. Sean divided up the program by choir and you can also hear the two group numbers at the end. Thanks so much Sean!

December wrap-up...

Ha ha! Get it? Wrap up! All the presents you have to wrap in December... okay, nevermind!


I know I have been rather negligent of my blogging duties the past month or so. With the holidays, rehearsals, performances and spending time with wonderful family and friends, the month seemed to evaporate. So here are some of the most memorable things from the end of 2008.



1. I was really busy with Triple Trio and had many performances of our Christmas program. I especially enjoyed visiting some of the nursing homes where they really look forward to our visit. It is kind of cool having "fans". :) We also did some community events and even had our picture taken for the local paper. I totally love the women in the group and what we create together!


2. I am grateful for the holidays and for the opportunity to reach out to friends and family and let them know we love them. I actually got our Christmas cards and Christmas treats before Christmas! I was feeling pretty on the ball, until...

3. ...Trevor accidentally knocked over the Christmas tree. He felt so bad, but I was glad I wasn't home at the time so that he lived to tell the tale. At the time I didn't want to deal with the mess and so I spent about a day rereading a favorite book. Finally 2 days later I spent a couple of hours and redecorated the tree. I don't think any of us, especially Trevor, will be forgetting that anytime soon.



4. We spent Christmas down at Holly and Brian's home in Highlands Ranch. It was great being all together! Holly made some delicious meals and we were able to attend a beautiful mass at their church. As usual, the cousins LOVED playing together, especially with the new treasures they had received for Christmas.

5. Our Stake hosted the 2nd annual Interfaith Choir Concert. I got to lead the choir again. It was a fantastic experience with beautiful music and the spirit. Check out my next post for newspaper links and a link to the mp3 of the concert.

6. The Allreds braved the snow and came to visit us from Utah. I can't describe how fabulous it was to have them here! We did fun things with the kids (WOW museum and Jumpin') and the guys got to go out and the girls got to go have lunch together. The kids played, played, and played some more. They also loved having "sleepovers".

7. The last night the Allreds were here we went out on a triple date with Holly and Brian. We had gotten tickets for Jersey Boys down in Denver. We met for a delicious dinner at Cheesecake Factory and then walked over to the performance. The show was fantastic (although they weren't kidding about the "authentic New Jersey style language") and we were singing songs by Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons for days!

We were so blessed this Christmas season. We were able to spend time with friends and family, but most of all, we were able to focus on the real meaning of the season, the birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.