And then they sang!!!

It was a weekend all right...

Friday night, I cut out 20 gifts.  To be shown after Christmas, as this is my pat gift this year.  Sorry...  Some of my readers may get one.  Got Leon down to his dad's right after school and then got to work on the cutting board.

Saturday, Picked up Leon that morning and helped with the Christmas program practice.  We went through it twice with the kids and the second time through is always the worst.  Leon got into theatrics with the microphone...

"and All the WORLD should be TAXED!!!!!!!!"

calm down kid...  and hand the mic to Braelyn.

There was one child, NOT in my class, that was a total pistol.  He was lifting up his chair with his butt still in it and trying to spear the kids in the row behind.  That four year old class is a riot!

As soon as the practice was over, I took my blood pressure meds (kidding) and then got off to the church Christmas party, held every year at my bestie's nursing home party room.  I got the hot cider (spiked with Redhots) while Robb got the lil Smokies going.  

Since Ada wouldn't make it to the program the next day, Meri sang her solo for us all.  It's below.

The Magnificat.  The song of Mary.

As that's the only Christmas concert we'll be attending this year, I, of course, recorded it.

When everyone got there with their goodies, we all ate a ton...  And only when everyone has overdosed with sugar and chocolate, THAT's when we go carolling down the halls of the nursing home.

This year, we plotted it out.  We picked out two songs (3 verses each) from the song books.  We stand in the living room area and sing one verse, then walk for the rest.  By the time we're at the end of the hall, we turn around, sing one verse of the 2nd song and then walk back for the rest of it.  It went so smooth and our voices didn't give out as they did last year.  

As we casually started picking up our things, it was about 2:15.  A woman who ran the front office came in and told me that another family was needing the room.  "Oh, what time do they need it?"

2pm.  ...  Yikes!  Grab your things guys!!!! 

The family was milling about outside the party room but were gracious as we scrambled all the food to the cars.

I spent the rest of the day sewing and spending time with Robb.  

Sunday was the program.  It always goes smoother than you'd think.  Except for the part where you help Leon change into his suit in the car while Robb runs into the store for the last minute part of the gifts for my Sunday School class.  

The kids liked my gifts, which I still can't tell you about.  Leon had a meltdown just before the program started because someone else had grabbed the little lamb from the nativity and that was HIS from the practice the day before.  The other kid gave it back to him and all was well.  Not perfect, but better.  Whew!  Singing Joy to the World with tears on your face wasn't what we were shooting for, but oh well.  As the kids file into the church sanctuary, they each put one of the nativity pieces in and around the stable.  One of the older kids hang back and rearrange them as sometimes they get put on haphazardly. 

Then Meri, Leon and his dad had a birthday party to attend and Robb and I went home.  I got 15 more of the pat gifts made.  Whew!  I'm sick of making those right now!  But I've got several more to go.  After getting back from seeing Ada, I put the pat gifts on the back burner and started on one of the big gifts for one of my kids.  

I've got two weeks. Can I do it all?  

Probably with the help of a few IOUs...