We've had our tree in the house for a few days, and I am finally trimming it tonight. It's been an amazing week. Last Sunday, I was invited to sing as a soloist at a local Messiah Sing. (If you don't know what Messiah Sing is, it is a concert of Handel's Messiah - including the famous Hallelujah Chorus - where the audience is encouraged to participate on the chorus parts.) It was held at the local LDS church, and it was professional and inspirational in every sense of the word. When I went to rehearse the day before, I was impressed with the sound of the all-volunteer orchestra. At the concert, I was even more impressed at how well attended it was - well over 500 people at my best guess. As the other soloists started to sing, I wondered why in the world I had been invited. But rather than get nervous, I simply said a prayer of thanks that I had been considered to be in this same group. They had a wall of visuals behind us as we sang - slides of Christ from infancy to resurrection, of the Holy Lands and other beautiful images - and I couldn't help but sneek a glace from time to time for inspiration. I was very happy with how I performed (which, for those of you who know I am my own worst critic, is a very hard thing for me to say).
So the week has slipped by, and tonight I was home alone and decided to tackle the tree. As I unwrapped each ornament, I was reminded of Christmases past. Each ornament has its own story - some were hand crafted by someone we love, or given to us from their travels across the world. Some ornaments John and I have purchased to commemorate the year (we purchase a dated ornament every year, plus a dated ornament for each of the boys). I also have several ornaments I made as a child. I shed a few tears as I placed those on the tree and remembered my father and Christmas time growing up. Today is the second anniversary of his passing and I miss him immensely.
The first thing I place in our tree each year is a birds nest. There's a story behind the nest. In 1993, my father had a stroke just before Thanksgiving. My boys were young - just shy of their 2nd and 7th birthdays. Had it not been for them, I probably would not have bothered decorating that year. I was so very worried about my dad, and I tried to visit him in the hospital on my lunch hour every day. Christmas just seemed one more thing to worry about. Well, we did go and cut a tree from a local tree farm, and when we were stringing lights on it, I found a bird's nest in the branches. That nest was a poignant reminder to me of the gift of Hope and Love that came to us that first Christmas. God sent his Perfect Son to us so that we might have Everlasting Life. So I kept the nest and it is placed in the branches every year as a reminder of God's love for each one of us.
I have more music to prepare for the coming two weeks, and in between Christmas activities and Dan's 23rd birthday, I will start working on swaps for Stampin' Up!'s upcoming Leadership Conference. Somehow, I'm sure that it will all get done and I'll look forward to some Phoenix sunshine the first week of January!
