Highlights of the Season

The tree has been transported to the mulch pile, the Christmas CDs have been returned to their sleeves, the leftovers in the refrigerator are being consumed. The Christmas season is quickly coming to an end. Memories of fun times with family and friends abound, but I will share just some of the highlights from the last few weeks.

Our family, along with the Hobbs family, enjoyed an evening at the home of the Bloyer family (my sister’s in-laws).

The Hobbs and Bloyers are both heavy on the boy side of the girl:boy ratio, so it’s a good thing our family was there to help balance it out a little bit…okay, so maybe make a small dent is a little closer to the truth (as evidenced in the above photo)!


The parents enjoyed visiting in a relaxing atmosphere by the fire.


Following our dinner, we piled into a couple of vehicles to drive through the “Aisle of Lights” – a favorite Christmas tradition in Winfield.


The remainder of the evening included playing Around the World


and singing Christmas carols.

Speaking of Christmas carols...that brings us to another favorite of the season: Christmas Caroling!


From doorsteps to living rooms to hallways, a chorus of voices joined together to proclaim and celebrate the birth of Jesus as a good-sized group of us participated in the annual church caroling and chili night.


A group shot of the 50+ carolers that made up the group. How we all managed to squeeze into some of the spaces we did, I really have no idea!


Chase, Tiffany, Jynae, Lisa and I spent a few extra minutes shivering in the cold to snap a couple of pictures.

A number of my students and I were excited for the opportunity to provide Christmas music at Week-ends Furniture Store for a couple evenings in December. Here are a few shots from our time at the store:


So much for background music...after reassuring my students that it wasn’t like they would be playing for an audience, Brittany found herself front and center in a roomful of observers. :-) Nevertheless, she did a beautiful job playing her selections.


I could listen to Timothy play for hours – he has a natural gift for playing and is a diligent student. I found a comfy spot on the couch and enjoyed reading a book while relaxing as Timothy played.


Another extremely dedicated and diligent student, Isabella polished almost an entire book of duets so we could play them together for this occasion.

For my studio recital this year, I encouraged family participation in preparing and performing a piece. The students were joined by siblings, parents and grandparents and incorporated a great variety of instruments to make the evening a treat for all!


The Chapman family started the evening off just right with their tender interpretation of Silent Night.


The Briscoe musicians were an amazing team in preparing and performing this arrangement of I Wonder As I Wander.


Joey, Naomi, Noelle and I loved working together on this Carol of the Bells/What Child Is This? Medley.


A group shot of the amazing group of students I am privileged to teach. Each of them, along with their families, is such a blessing to me!