December 8, 2013

Happy Birthday Mom! You are sooo loved by us all!

Lou and Mary's family gave Mom 85 lottery tickets for her birthday, which we proceeded to diligently scratch off.

What was Mom's surprise gift for us immediately thereafter?  85 lottery tickets too!  Unbelievable!!  So we just kept scratching! Some nice winnings!

And the restaurant supper earlier that afternoon was made even nicer when we went to pay the bill for the eleven of us, and Nancy and Jim had called the restaurant with his credit card to treat us all!  Thanks Bro!

Continuing on Tom and Ann's glass sounds from last week:

Here is the church where we will present our History of Christmas Carols event this week.

Yes we are preparing figgy pudding for the cast party.

Here is our town center with lights.  One week earlier, I had a wonderful time, helping to lead the carol sidewalk stroll for a huge crowd, as the newspaper showed.

Pete 

Whats da madda? Aintcha ever seen a bough tie before??

Norman to me at a follow up party:  "Pete, I saw your picture in the newspaper this week.  Not very flattering."  Thanks Norman.

Follow up best email of the week:

Hi Peter!
A mother of a young family sent this along to me to send to you!
Thanks for leading us in song and spirit again this year!
You really make it special!
Ciao!
Merry Christmas and Happy Possum Day!
Hawk


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Hello,

My family and I attended the Holiday Stroll and had a wonderful time. We especially loved the caroling. My husband snapped this photo and it's so perfect that I wanted to send it to the lead conductor ringer with our thanks. What a talented group! And our two-year old daughter singing along to Silent Night made my heart melt. Would you be able it pass it along to him, or send me his email?

Warm regards,

Kim

Kim,
Thank you so much for that wonderful picture.
Your husband is an expert with photography light.
It is so nice to be thanked with such thoughtful words.
Your message to me was as if received from post Christmas Scrooge!
Thank you for your generous words.
My favorite times that night were when I asked the little girl (perhaps slightly older than your daughter) if Jingle Bells was her favorite, and she smiled while nodding and saying yes it was.
My second favorite conversation was asking "How many Kings"? When a boy said "One??", I said "Wrong! Three Kings! Let's sing it next".
While your daughter might be a bit young for an entire late evening, I hope your family will join us this Thursday night at 7 pm at St Michael's church for "Songs of the Season", their history and sing along. If Thursday the 12th is inconvenient, please attend the Oliver Wolcott Library Songs on Dec 17. Although it has been sold out, please have your family attend as my special guests. You are also then welcome to my home for the cast party at 9pm.
Do you like figgy pudding??
Your kind words and picture have suddenly put me in the festive holiday mood.
Your daughter is certainly being raised in a marvelous family.
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Your conductor ringer: Pete

Oh we will try for tomorrow!

Thank you for sharing the 12 days history with me. I love these things. I discovered the Christian history of the candy cane just last year. I love, love that you sing about jolly old Saint Nicholas btw. My daughter shouts, "Nicholas!" whenever she sees Santa because that's what we call him. Here's my little blurb on the man with all the toys to share with you and maybe you can share with your granddaughter. ~ K


Santa Claus: Santa’s real name is Nicholas. Santa is his nickname. He used to live in Turkey. He was always a loving, giving Christian gentleman. Nicholas inherited a great deal of wealth from his family, and he devoted his life to sharing his wealth with the poor. We call him St. Nicholas, because saint means someone who belongs to God, just like we do. (The popular name Santa Claus was taken from the Dutch “Sinterklaas,” which originated with a contracted form of Sint Nicolaas (Saint Nicholas).) In St. Nicholas' town there were many poor children. They didn't have enough food, clothes, or toys. St. Nicholas used his money to buy food, clothes, and toys for the poor children. He didn't want them to be embarrassed by his gifts, so he gave secretly. St. Nicholas also told everyone about Jesus and how much God loved them. Because St. Nicholas loves Jesus, and because of all the gifts he gives to children (and all of the Christmas presents we give), we are reminded of the very best gift anyone ever gave: when God the Father gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to us. (God’s gift to us)

P.S. And just maybe, St. Nicholas is the one who leaves gifts on Christmas. Some things are just a mystery. And that’s why we have something called faith. Kim.

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