Children's Christmas Singing

This year our kids (sadly Atticus was too old )-:) sang four Christmas songs at the beginning of last week's service. The themes were: Jesus is the Promise. Jesus is the Saviour. Jesus is the King. Jesus is the Light.

 

   

Clara's Dream

Outside the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul after a lunchtime preview of Clara's Dream -- a shortened version of the Nutcracker Ballet. Once a month, the St.Paul Ballet Troupe does a lunchtime show (with costumes and music and narration) of their current full ballet. Lots of preschool kids. After the show, the ballet dancers stayed and interacted with the kids handing out candy canes and answering questions. And the building was just beautiful outside and in. Hooray!

We went with our friends the Gollihers and Suzanne and Britta Anderson, our friends from preschool. Thea Belle and Britta are such good friends. (-:

Our Friends are Married...

This summer our friends Shannon and Mark were married. It has been so long...and this post still sits here so...I just will post it without any more ado. I love these two people. So thankful for their brains, their hearts, their spirits, their friendship with each other and with us. There is so much more to the story of how they got to the altar and so much more to their story yet to come. I am so happy for them.(all photos are Eric and Liz Berget's work except this first one -- a Shannon-Mark selfie on their honeymoon in New Zealand)

One of the most beautiful little churches I have ever seen.

(This photo was something one of their friends posted on facebook -- sorry for not knowing their name -- great capture!)

Next seven photos are mine -- just such a beautiful jewel-box chapel. Lovely.

 

Thea Belle was a flower girl with two or her favorite friends, Ali and Keira Rowley.

I was honored to be a bridesmaid.

Brad reading in the service

This is the most beloved bakery where Vicki (on the left) and Shannon and I grew so very close -- our once a month 4-hour talk-athon about what we were reading, studying, thinking, feeling. So completely satisfying and wonderful. The week before the wedding was our last session here with Shannon unmarried and the week before Vicki moved with her family to England. We had totally planned to take a photo together in the front. But we confoundedly forgot )-: Then, the day of the wedding, we took a trolley-bus from the chapel to the reception. The trolley driver decided to take us on a meandering, convoluted path and -- what!? we were passing the Patisserie and I jumped up and asked Shannon if we could stop stuper quick. She was totally excited about it so the guys stops and the four of us jump out and get a picture. Hooray and more hooray!

Vicki and me right before the ceremony (selfie, so obvs. not Berget work)

Such a pretty photo of Shannon and her older sister right before the ceremony...(my photo)

Thea Belle's Winter Ballet Recital

Thank you Eric Berget! for all of these photos (but the very last two in this post)...we love that you and Liz and the kids came to the recital and even brought your camera! Yay!

Thea Belle's group were sugar plum fairies. They did a short piece with music from the Sugar Plum Fairy dance in the Nutcracker.