December....in a nutshell

In an effort to capture some of the main events of December quickly so that I can move on (seeing as it is mid January!), here is a list of some of the highlights:

• Musical opportunities - I kept busy with my music over Christmas, playing a concert at First Baptist Church in Cochran, playing for Christmas parties, and accompanying a children's choir at Christ Church on St. Simon's Island. They were wonderful opportunities which will hopefully open the door to future chances to play as well.
• Christmas party at church - this will forever go down in infamy due to some events regarding the um "12 days of Christmas," six geese a laying, my dad, and some...uh...."air freshener." That is all I am going to say...you will have to talk to an eye witness if you want more details! :)
• My students' piano recital - this was a great chance for my little students to join with two other teachers' students and play Christmas carols. I was so proud! :)
• Christmas Baking - Who knew baking Christmas cookies could be so much fun? We put on movies (like Elf!!) or Christmas music non-stop and baked away. Our pantry and our kitchen were proof that some epic baking took place!! And of course, seeing as it was OUR family who was baking, there were some "unusual" occurrences with some of the cookies - key words: Benjamin, ninjas, my sweetheart, the Gingerbread man, and MORE!
• Kidnapping the "Sherris" - This tradition began a couple Christmases ago with the kidnapping of Jase and the Ds. In the absence of those dearly beloved people, we felt that we must continue it with the kidnapping of our dear friends the "Sherris." Armed with all the (toy) pistols we could find, we barged into their house and told them they were being kidnapped and must come with us!! :) They were all loaded into our huge van, and then we drove around and enjoyed Christmas lights together! :) Afterwards, we enjoyed some delicious pizza and general fun times together.
• Christmas Eve - we finished up a whirlwind of preparations for our party that evening, then my family headed off to our church and I headed to play for the church I am currently serving as pianist of. When we got back, Ashlyn and Amber were there! (more about who Amber is later! ;) We all worked together to set up all the beautiful hors d'oeuvres and goodies we had made. Taylor made it home just in time, and we all enjoyed the good food amid much laughter and fellowship. After eating, we commenced the annual sibling gift exchange. This is always an epically good time with many tricks being played, hilarious moments where we are rolling on the floor in laughter, and general craziness and fun times. After that, we normally watch a Christmas movie together or play games but this year it was so late and we had church the next day, so we forwent the movie in favor of a few hours sleep.
• Christmas Day - we normally have a traditional breakfast before opening presents. This year, however, with Christmas being on a Sunday, we did have the traditional breakfast but it was a bit rushed and was the prelude to scrambling out the door to church. This year, too, I found out what it is like being a church pianist when Christmas is on a Sunday! I had to hurry with preparations for the solos I was either playing or accompanying that morning, so Christmas morning was mostly spend preparing those and rushing out the door! That afternoon when we got home was much more fun - we FINALLY got to open presents(! :) and then prepared a delicious Christmas dinner. And that night we got to watch a movie. All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas.