The Christmas Season-December 23rd, 2014

     I am no longer singing with the Valparaiso Singers.  For the past 18 years I had journeyed to Palo Alto on the first Sunday of  December for a concert performance at the Creche open house put on by the Palo Alto Stake. The stunning nativity scenes along with the music background always served to launch the Holiday season and propel me into the Christmas spirit.  Here is a link to this years choir performance, offered in remembrance of our dear departed leader Judith Stewart.  (The Valparaiso Singers). I must say it was a pleasure to listen to them 'from a distance'.
     These past few weeks allowed me the opportunity to capture that spirit in much the same way-through music and reading the wonderful scriptural accounts of the Saviors' birth. I now have a new iphone which gives me access to LDS Tools and the scriptures, all at the finger controls of a touch pad.  Not that I needed to have this electronic tool to read the scriptures, but I now do so in the early morning under the covers of my bed,  holding the iphone up on my stomach!  I never could do this before due to the fact that I had to have a light on in order to read in the traditional way which of course would awaken my companion.
     Over the past several weeks, our Ward Mission leader Brother Aaron Christensen put together a couple of Friday night firesides featuring music and the playing of some of the great new Church video presentations.  The theme was:  'He is The Gift'.  Two Friday's ago the event was presented for our Spanish brothers and sisters and I was asked to join a male quartet for the singing of 'With Wondering Awe' in Spanish.  Brothers Christensen,Von Forell, and Bennion were the other members of the quartet and even though the proceedings were in Spanish, I felt the special spirit of our Elder Brother's birth,  The following Friday the same program was presented in English to more than 200 people from the three Salinas Wards.  Once again, the spirit was felt in a wonderful, remarkable way.
     The Sacrament talks of this past Sabbath day recalled with particular clarity the sacred events surrounding the birth of the Savior.  Our male quartet sang 'I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"
     And so all is in the proper spirit.
     Now we are in Florida celebrating with the Ladles.  We arrived yesterday and will stay through to the 1st.  On the 26th, we will be joined by the Shipley's of Tennessee who for the past 2 years have driven to Boca Raton from Spring Hills to be with the Ladle's.  As our children can no longer come to California for Christmas, Jan and I decided to come to them.  Craig has joined Scott and Kiana and their family in Arizona, so we will not be with them, but through the marvels of this new electronic age, we will be able to 'skype' or 'facetime' with them and enjoy seeing them, even if only 'virtually'.
       Merry Christmas!!!!

     Here is a cute picture of Grammy with the 4 Ladle grandkids watching The Lego Movie, a DVD gift from Uncle Craig.