Glutton

I fully sated my appetite for Christmas music this weekend. I feel fat and happy and have Christmas music playing in my head on a continual loop now.

Let me back up to Friday night. Although it didn't involve Christmas music, it did involve the Cha Cha Slide. I made a movie as a Christmas gift for my neighbors, and 6 of the families got together at one house to watch it. It was 30 minutes of photos spanning eight years, and I think it was a hit. There were some wet eyes in the room, as we watched our kids grow up together and were reminded of some really great memories. I'm glad I could share that with them, and give them a meaningful gift. And I'm really glad that I keep my camera handy so I have photos to make into movies!

Saturday morning was spent weighing in at Weight Watchers (I actually LOST weight this week, unbelievably!) and then doing a few things around the house during Jackson's naptime. One of those things was cuddling with Katie and reading books for 45 minutes straight. She is trying to log six hours of reading so she can win a ticket to Six Flags.

Saturday night, Katie and I went to Grace Church St. Louis to see The Little Drummer Boy. (Here's a link to a slideshow of it.) It's the first time I've been and it was AMAZING. Wow. Katie and I both loved it, and I can't wait to go again next year. Here's a short video I took of their second-to-last song. This doesn't even begin to convey how awesome it was.

This morning was church at Windsor Crossing. I haven't mentioned much about our new church, but suffice it to say that every single time I go, my heart is split open wide and my soul is bared. Today was no exception. The music was... was... I can't even explain it, y'all. It is just. so. good. Mmmm. They sang lots of Christmas classics, but in updated arrangements: O Come Emmanuel, Joy to the World, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, and Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. I never thought of the last song as a Christmas song, but it shook me to the core. I told Dan that I wish I could bottle up the feelings I have a church so I could sip at them and savor them the rest of the week. Especially in the midst of the holiday chaos.

Tonight I took Katie to one last concert. We went to see Carols and Candlelight at First Baptist Church Harvester. It was a full choir (about 65 singers) and orchestra (22 musicians) that performed carols in their classic arrangements. It was good, and I always enjoy a full choir singing their loudest.

I've immersed myself in Christmas this weekend. It helped tremendously, because I've been feeling pretty Grinchy about the full-time job that Christmas adds to my regular full-time job, what with all the shopping, wrapping, paying bills, decorating, sending Christmas cards, etc. (PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one!) I've been searching for the Christmas Spirit the last 21 days, and caught glimmers of it this weekend. Today's sermon at Windsor was about the Light in the darkness. I'm hoping to follow that Light for the next few days, and into the new year. I hope you all can too!