The Light Shines. . . well. . sometimes it's actually just a little too dark to see

True Love

He Doesn't Do Anything Half Way

Cousin Robin's Photo of the last of my Grandma's dated muffin cups and  her other grandma's pan

Christmas Tea Girls

The Entertainer

Finished

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Except occasionally, like when you are playing a simple accompaniment for the guest speaker at the Christmas Tea and there's a background slide show and as soon as the slide show starts and she takes her first breath you realize that it's completely dark behind the piano and you can't read a single note of the seven page "Breath of Heaven" music.  You could stop and holler--hey--somebody turn on the lights back here, but since that might ruin what little ambiance you had going, instead you limp through, channeling your five years as country music starlet and thanking God that you are a Christmas music junkie and have actually heard said carol 1, 347,239 times, relying on your very own out of shape ears.

Every year I say it's the last year. This year, is really the last year.

Read my lips. . . no more tea. Instead I'm having an open house party. Yep. That will be much simpler. (Sunday 12/18 from 3:00-6:00 if you are in town--please stop by. . . no tea will be served.)

Calvin was a hit as usual and gently entertained us with his own internal library of Christmas music. He sold out of CD's, I haven't counted the cash--but it's gonna feed a lot of children for a year.

I don't want to ruin the tea for anyone else--the room is beautiful, the tables are beautiful, it's a moment of grace and fellowship. It's just time for me personally to move on.

Speaking of Christmas music junkies and playing by ear--we run across old random videos a lot--from the kids' cameras or old phones--we found one of Mary at Grandma and Grandpas on Christmas Day, she was four and Calvin was seven and she's singing Santa Claus is coming to town and Calvin is on the piano way in the background. She's cute as a bug of course, putting it on for the camera. I'm listening to Calvin's seven year old accompaniment and I hear the exact licks from Fred Waring's Christmas Magic CD, which I've been known to overplay, just once in a while for the past 40 years.

I don't say this to brag. . . though just like your kids, my kids are awesome. I'm just telling you this so that you can be very careful about what you let your children listen to. For example if Wee Sing Christmas is in the rotation--I highly recommend just passing that one on. Well. . . come to think of it, all kids deserve in tune Christmas carols. Never mind. Throw it away. Just be careful what you listen to.

And. . . carry an itty bitty book light in your briefcase. There's enough darkness in the world without trying to read those increasingly small black dots without light.

Merry Christmas.
Sara