Ward Christmas Program

Last year our ward decided to do something different from cramming our huge numbers into the gym for a sub-par dinner and kids running wild anticipating a long line with a fake Santa and a candy cane.  Our Bishop envisioned something special and set about recruiting many talented people to make it happen.  It was stunning.  It was both elaborate and simple.  It was beautiful.  It was in that same gym, but instead of gaudy décor, there were just chairs and a little platform with microphones.  There were two boys dressed as missionaries talking about being away from home for Christmas and how they could focus on feeling the significance of the season in order to stop dwelling on what they were missing out on.  We were led in some sacred Christmas music.  Then Nephi, the prophet from the American continent at the time of Christ’s birth, appeared and spoke to us about the wicked threatening his people if the sign of the birth didn’t come soon.  Then, he heard that voice, The Voice of the Savior, promising His arrival on the morrow.   Then we had Shepherds testify of their heavenly visitors and joy.  The inn keeper and his wife then came and handed out burlap bags with cheese and grapes as they talked about how sorry they were to only have their stable to offer that poor man and his very expectant wife.  Then we saw the wise men and heard from them about following the star and realizing Herod’s evil intention.  Then the curtains to the stage opened revealing a beautifully made stable and Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus.  As Sarah Asplund sang a beautiful lullaby.  The shepherds and wise men and gigantic wooden camel reverently came in to adore their king.  It was breathtaking.   The costumes were amazing, down to every tiny detail. 

This year, the Bishop wanted to do something along those same lines, but decided the setting should be in the Ferrin/Prince barn.  People worked for hours clearing it out, bringing in bales of hay for seating, bringing in heaters, generators, microphones, lighting, etc.  It was last night and it snowed all day.  It was a beautiful night, the snow plows hadn’t even made it to the neighborhood streets so we decided to walk down the hill to the barn.  The kids jumped on a sled and snowboard.  We trudged down the hill in one of those magically wintry scenes with freshly fallen powder everywhere you looked.  There were people on little 4 wheelers clearing a path to walk to the barn.  We found our bench of hay and settled in as close as we could to help stay warm.  It was so fun to watch neighbors and friends pile into the barn all of us dressed as warmly as possible, with big coats and hats and gloves and rosy cheeks. 

 

The Bishop welcomed us, and after the prayer, two teenage boys talked about trying to find the joy of Christmas.  We sang some songs and then again had Nephi, and then a children’s chorus about the Sign.  Then came the shepherds and a sheep.

Then Anna, and 3 others (Eve and Emily Asplund and Jeremy Wilcox) sang a beautiful rendition of “Angels We Have Heard on High”)

 

Then the children’s chorus again, and the Inn keepers.

Then the Wise Men who also had a real camel!  He was a little shy and stayed in the background, but I got a shot of him later:

Love the cell phone?

Finally, Joseph, Mary and a very real (not very happy) baby. 

It was so neat!  After the program, they had a tent with hot chocolate and cookies.  It was a perfect, beautiful night!

Update

It’s been a crazy long time since I last did one of these babies.  Not sure I remember how.  It’s a little painful for me to think about all the things that didn’t get updated the last year or so, hopefully I’ll be able to fill in some gaps, but for now we’re moving forward. 

Joshy is 4 years old.  He is currently in preschool two days a week and a “Let’s Play Music” class taught by my friend, Sarah Asplund.   He loves both of them.  He’s always had such an interest and ear for music, I love that he gets to do this class.  It’s a brilliant curriculum that teaches these young kids so much while they think they’re just playing.  I love it.   When he’s not at preschool or music class,  or running errands with me – he’s with Daisy and Eliza Keller.  Daisy and Liza are two little girls who live right next door.  Daisy is just about 10 days older than Josh and Liza just turned three.   Josh is pretty attached to me, that can be so rewarding as a Mom, but I hope this year he can gain more confident standing on his own.  He is a bright, sweet boy.  We love Josh.

Benjamin is getting closer and closer to being baptized. He’ll be 8 in April.  It’s really starting to hit me, and I think he is feeling like he wants to be ready.  He’s supposed to read for 20 minutes each night when he goes to bed.  I noticed that all on his own, without even saying anything about it, he started reading the Book of Mormon for a few minutes and then reads from a library book.  That impresses me so much, what a great example he is to me.  He is playing basketball right now and loves it so much.  He has so much physical ability and coordination.  It’s so fun to watch him really be good at the things he enjoys.  He also randomly will sit down and color or make something and spend a long time getting it just right.   He’s probably the most introverted of all my kids, he kind of just loves to have some down time.  We love Ben.

Nate is just getting over a bad cold with a miserably sore throat.  He does not like being sick.  He was stuck home from school for 3 days and while I’m sure he didn’t miss the schoolwork, he really missed the social scene.  He always has a vision of what his day is going to be, who he’ll be hanging out with.   He has such a cute group of friends and they have all become good friends with the girls.  They also all have crushes on each other.  So far, he’s been pretty open with us about who he likes.  The other day he mentioned a girl and referred to her as his third crush.  I asked him about two girls he’s talked about before and which one was 1st and which one was 2nd.  He hesitated and then explained that he wasn’t sure anymore because they had each told him the other one was mean.  (Girl A told him that Girl B was mean and then a few days later Girl B told him that Girl A was mean).  He was quite sincere and I could tell he had serious reservations about the possibility of them being mean.  I was so happy to know how much that mattered to him.  He is such a sweet boy.  We love Nate.

Abby has really taken the whole junior high thing quite well.  She is blessed with a kind of quiet confidence, security and a great group of peers.  She has a whole handful of friends who live close that she absolutely loves and has so much fun with.  She often organizes huge outings of 15 girls or so to meet and go shopping at our big new shopping center right here in Farmington called Station Park.  She plays the trombone and really loves it.  She is very diligent about practicing each day and has amazed us with her progress in just a few months.  She had never touched a trombone til their summer camp.   The band instructors are a married couple and they are so talented, they have produced an excellent band program, but also really emphasize that they want band to be a great, fun, social experience.   She has her ups and downs, but for the most part is still our sweet, helpful girl.  We love Abigail.

Anna is in 10th grade at Viewmont High.  I still can’t believe we have a high schooler.  She loves the flexibility that having an A day and B day give her and is enjoying being older with a bit more freedom.  She just tried out for the high school musical.  They’re doing Fiddler on the Roof.  She sang “How Lovely to Be a Woman” for her audition and felt good about it.  They don’t have dance auditions til Dec. 2nd, so I’m guessing it will be awhile before she knows whether or not she made it.   She really hates auditioning and was so nervous, so I’m really proud of her for going for it.   She also tried out for a solo part in one of the choir numbers at school and got it!   Half the kids in our ward go to Davis High, so it’s kind of sad that they’re all divided.  She’s hoping to branch out and get to know some new people at school.  The other half of her friends are still in 9th grade, they’re the girls on her soccer team.  She’s such a good girl, we are so grateful for her goodness.  I’m also so grateful for how connected she is to her siblings.  The other day I came home from running kids around and heard laughing and chatting.  I walked in to see Anna, Abby, Nate and two of Nate’s friends laying around the front room.  It was so cute to see them all enjoying each so much.  We love Anna.

To Write the Wrights

The other night Anna needed some photos for a school assignment.  We pulled up this blog and started looking around.  Pretty soon everyone home at that time was gathered around the computer laughing and reminiscing as we looked at all the old photos and videos and read the funny things the kids had said.  I suddenly knew I had let something precious go.  When I started blogging, I fell in love immediately.  I knew I had found the perfect medium for my wordy, non-scrap booking self.  The bonus of blogging was that it was interactive.  I loved reading the comments and commenting on their blogs and feeling connected.   Eventually the interactiveness stopped.  The novelty wore off, and people got too busy to read about our less than exciting day to day lives and thoughts.  I knew it was still important to do, but I stopped.  I got busy, I got distracted.  I got Instagram.  The newest even easier way to connect and interact.  I love Instagram, but I miss writing and recording the lives of the Wright Family.

As I read through my old posts I had a pang of envy.  I envied my blogging self.   Blogging self had essentially the same life as current self does; but when I recorded our lives it gave me the chance to stand back and observe it.  Writing about the day let me right the day.  I could put things in perspective and order and see things I had totally missed when I had lived it the first time.  The last few years have gone by in a blur, an unrecorded blur.  I don't want anymore blurs -- I want memories, thoughts, feelings, photos, videos.  Anna is 15, she could move away to school in 2 and 1/2 years.  I want to live and re-live every minute we have with Anna, Abigail, Nathan, Benjamin, And Joshua.  I'm back.

Josh’s First Primary Talk

Yesterday Josh gave his first talk in Primary.  His topic was on the Savior, so I came up with a few lines and had him memorize them.  He memorized them very quickly and loved practicing.  We were both so excited for his big day.  Brennan had been in Las Vegas for the Mountain West college basketball conference finals, his plan was to drive to St. George Saturday night and then drive home Sunday.  He normally wouldn’t have left til 9 or 10, but he got up early to make sure he was back in time to hear Josh. 

Josh was so excited and proud of himself as he got to sit up in the front of the room.  When he started talking he was startled by the loudness of his voice because of the microphone.  So then he started whispering.  I finally picked him up and encouraged him to talk normally, but the other primary kids were cracking up by then and Josh DOES not like to be laughed at.  I finally persuaded him to do it with a few prompts he did.  We were so proud of him.  I filmed him tonight doing it all by himself.

Anna’s Solo and Ensemble Audition

Anna’s choir teacher asked her and another girl in their class to audition for Solo and Ensemble with the very beautiful duet, Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Pie Jesu”.  At first Anna was supposed to do the alto part which is very hard because if you can’t find the first note of the phrase you’re hosed til the next phrase.   They performed it for their class and Anna messed up a few times – she was devastated.  So, they decided to switch, she would sing the soprano and her partner would do the alto part.  Last night, she got hit with aches and sore throat and basically flu symptoms.  She was so stressed about ruining this for her friend, again.  My dear friend, Sarah, helped them twice, and totally put Anna back together again last night.  Today, she couldn’t go to much of school but was determined to see this audition through.  She nailed it!  They both did.  I’m so proud of her for sticking it out, even when it got really hard.  I was able to video it.  I didn’t have the best vantage point, but you can still hear.

Our Little Musician

 

I have so much catching up to do on here, that I really have no business posting anything but all the catching up; however, these just can’t wait.  We were at my parents’ the other night and Josh started singing for us.  My Dad got some of it on video and I will be watching these several times a day.  I love him so much and I love how much he loves and dials into music. 

“I’m So Glad When Daddy Comes Home”

 

 

“Angel Lullaby”

 

This one is the one he needed the most help with, but the way he sings “hallelujah” just kills me.  I also love how everyone joins in and Anna and my Mom on harmony.

“Heavenly Choirs”