Snowday

I took 2 hours off of work this morning to play in the snow with Anneke.

Two friends

I haven't picked up the camera much lately, but I'm glad I got this shot--a lovely photo of two most amazing friends, one of whom is celebrating her birthday today!

 

The family that sings together

So, as it turns out, we seem to be kind of a musical family. Not the Von Traps, or even the Mandrells, but when we get together, at some point, often enough, someone busts out the piano, the beatbox, or, this year, the clarinet.

I'm so proud of Sidney. She started playing clarinet this year, and she's really good.

And I'm so proud of...Dave? Who still remembers how to play the clarinet after Jesuit High School shut down the band program his junior year of high school? Who knew? I really do believe Dave has some untapped musical talent. He doesn't have a bad voice, and has a huge music collection. He was in a band back in the 90s, when he was a bachelor with a million hobbies. When Anneke is old enough to take piano lessons he wants to study alongside her, which makes me very happy.

The Texarkana family started a big old' Christmas hymn sing. I suggested getting an early start on Lent with a Lenten hymn sing, you know, for a little Lenten comic relief, but no one else was dorky enough to think this was funny. Emily sang harmony since she's a better musician than this Soprano one-trick-melody-line-singing pony, and my uncle sang a beautiful tenor. We threw in "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" for good measure, and I found out that it's my and my cousin M.L.'s favorite hymn. I love this, especially since we're ten years apart, we grew up with some fairly disparate Protestant music traditions, and, although we don't talk about it, are on way different ends of the political and sometimes theological spectrums. Still, I have a feeling we love that hymn for very similar reasons, and that also makes me happy.

Then, at the Louisiana family get-together all the grandkids were trotted out to the piano to show off their budding talents, and Sidney gave us an encore. My cousins Lori and Lisa do more of a country/gospel vibe, and they're total altos to my and Emily's sopranos. Once again, very different politics and theology and all that if you want to stop and focus on those details. But loud, funny, fun, and family, and who cares when we can all get together and sing?

Camden: it's history

Hmmm...I don't feel super inspired to blog Christmas photos, after all. Picture extended family gatherings and toddlers drowning in wrapping paper, and you've got it covered. Actually, I think I will do a posting of the impromptu family music fests after this. But first! If you haven't been to the South, you might not know that everywhere you turn you find some kind of Civil War relic, battle site, or memorial, and Camden, Arkansas is no different. For the first time in my life I toured the historic Chidester House, made famous first by being occupied by Union troops during the Civil War, second by being continuously occupied from antebellum times through the 1960s by two different families, and third by being the set for a few different scenes in the soapy, steamy, boob-alicious "North and South" mini-series. Usually mention of the Civil War gets my eyes a-glazin', but our tour guide's description of 10,000 Union troops descending on our little town of 3000, marching up Washington Street (still lined with antebellum homes to this day) was pretty interesting.

After our tour Dave, Anneke, Chloe, and I went to the Confederate Cemetery to go geocaching. I used to hang out here in high school out of sheer boredom, and because the riverfront park was always flooded. Not a lot else to do in my little hometown...except maybe then walk on over to the Jewish Cemetery.

Remember the scene where Patrick Swayze's character attends classes for the first time at West Point? This was the classroom. Obviously, they removed the furniture. There's an outbuilding on the grounds where they filmed a steamy love scene I was far too young to watch, but was allowed to because so many locals were extras in the film (but not the love scene).

Nary a creepy vibe to be felt here...just lots of interesting headstones and stories.

I really do love hanging out in cemeteries.

Anneke gets her hair did

Faithful readers, prepare for a barrage of post-Christmas postings, but I had to start with Anneke's trip to Margie's Beauty Shop. I can remember sitting in Mamo's chair when I was a little older than Anneke, disregarding her and my mother's entreaties to please sit still. Anneke's hair is usually pretty wild, but, as you can see, Mamo tamed it, with her expert scissor-wielding and a can of Tressemme. At 2 3/4 years old, Anneke is already much better than I am at sitting still, bless her heart.

 

 

 

 

Comfort

"Comfort, comfort ye My people,
Speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning 'neath their sorrow's load;
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover,
And her warfare now is over."

This is my third Advent post, and I have to laugh at myself as I realize how weepy and morose I become in the weeks leading up to Christmas. I laugh, and I feel right about it. I think every year I cite some sad story or another, either that of someone I know or read about in the news, so I'll skip those details. I think I go on for several paragraphs, too, so I'll try to skip that, as well.

I'll just say that the words above are the first verse of the hymn that has been running through my head, that I hum while I wash the dishes, that sent me slipping out of Lessons and Carols rehearsal to regain my composure, lest I look like a hormonal soprano drama queen. Singing these words brings to my mind and heart the people I know are "mourning 'neath their sorrow's load" right now: I feel sad and afraid for them and yearn for their comfort.

I think Advent (for me) is a dark time where I learn and remember why in the world people yearn for a savior in the first place. This year, in a time when I find comfort at every turn in my own life, I feel called to share it more than I have been so far amidst choir rehearsals, shopping, tree-trimming, and cookie-baking. There's one week left to prepare for Christmas; I hope I'm ready.

Our little Christmas cookie

Monthly update, and I'll make it quick. I love who Anneke is and what she's becoming. She is sweet, funny, and intelligent. I love how she loves what Dave and I love (so far)--books, music, the moon, numbers, cooking. She is a little shy and cautious--not super slow to warm up, but she needs her time to check out the scene from my lap, or from behind my legs, and that's just fine. I think she gets this from her dad, and I want to honor this about her even as I gently encourage her to see what might be outside her comfort zone. This photo was taken right after she visited Santa; I'll post the pictures later. She had resolved on her own she was not going to be shy this year and dutifully sat on his lap, because she had decided Santa was, after all, her friend, and he's the guy whose gonna bring her a Pillow Pet. The look on her face as she talked to Santa was serious, and it was clear she was not sure about the situation. But it was something she had decided to do, and she did it.