Cassie's Journal - December 23, 2013

This has definitely been a really great holiday play day – at least for most of the kids and younger teens around here; and Rowen and I are ending it with a sleepover and movies in the lounge – that Michael and Tim are here for too.

Okay, they’re downstairs now in their own rooms, but they only went there a little while ago; and we watched two movies together after Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden went to bed.  The sleepover plans started coming together this morning, and with as cold as it is tonight; it was really nice to have cuddle buddies to stay warm with all evening after a seriously fun play day outdoors.  Let’s back up to the start of the day and really get this update rolling.

The first topic that needs to be mentioned is that it was very, very cold this morning.  I know that’s relative, and depends on the environment that a person is used to dealing with; but most people would agree that low single digits on the Fahrenheit scale with a double-digit, negative wind chill is way past ‘F’ for freezing and all the way to ‘F’ stands for ‘freaking cold’ – and then some.

That fact was very noticeable when I welcomed Michael into the house when he came over for Tai Chi this morning, but we were also on our own before going upstairs to meet up with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana; and had fun while I helped him to get warmed up from his little walk out in the extreme cold.  I put coffee on to brew too, but for some reason; my family didn’t believe that was what took so long after they heard Michael arrive for us to make it upstairs.

Miranda and Jacob were not taking their usual days off this week for obvious reasons, and that worked for Michael and me since he just stayed and had breakfast with us instead of going home to what likely would have been a couple of packages of pop tarts.  I’m glad that he stayed because our breakfast conversation included laying the groundwork for our dinner, movie night in the lounge, and sleepover.  Thanks for suggesting that Michael stay for the sleepover too, Ethan.  You didn’t fool Mom or Dad for a second; but they still couldn’t say no to you – not that I actually think they would if I’d asked instead.

Michael did need to go home after we finished eating and cleaning up; but that was only so that we could both get ready for an outdoor play day with Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, Tim, and some of our friends.  Since it was so cold, he and I decided to go to the church to practice our duet first so that it was at least a bit warmer out when we were ready to go sledding.  Learning the basics for using the digital piano there didn’t really take very long, but we had company there; so I had to do a bit of acting.  We ended up spending nearly an hour in the sanctuary by the time I’d finished my experimenting with the piano; we’d warmed up with some of our favorite Christmas songs; and then we ran through the duet two times.

Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana had dropped us off and gone to do a little grocery and supply shopping before the stores started getting crazy-busy with the usual pre-holiday rush; so we met up with them at the grocery store and helped Mom with the work side of that through until everything was carried in and put away at home.  We did a hot chocolate and snack break then; four of us bundled up in full winter gear; and then Michael and I grabbed two sleds and took Ethan and Ehlana tobogganing until lunchtime.

We collected Rowen and Tim at their houses along the way, and the late start to our snow play had the advantage of a well-packed hill for us to go sledding on with all of the other kids and teens that were out playing too.  While that was a seriously entertaining blast of fun, it was also cold enough that we needed to be careful with how long we kept Ethan and Ehlana out there; though we were all getting cold when it was time to take them home and warmed up again.  The timing was working out perfectly for us, and we managed to collect full parental approval for our plans for the rest of the day while on our way home; Mom had invited Naomi and Aiden to join us for the rest of the day and the sleepover; and they had both just been dropped off at our house by the time we got there.

Once we all had cups of hot chocolate, Michael and Tim were put in charge of the four toddlers while Rowen and I went to work helping Mom with making lunch.  She wanted a hot meal into us before we headed out again for more snow play time; so we made up a put of home-made veggie soup to go along with fresh bakery sub bun sandwiches.  Splitting a warm apple pie for dessert was pretty good too; and we were all ready to brave the cold again by the time we’d finished cleaning up again and gotten Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden through bathroom breaks and the extended process of getting them into their snowsuits and the rest of their winter gear.

We took four toboggans with us this time, though we only pulled two of them along with two toddlers in each sled.  It was just enough warmer this afternoon that we could stay out longer than was comfortable this morning.  An hour and a half of sledding was followed by making a little snow family in my yard; snow angels on the ground; and a boys against the girls snowball fight before we were ready to go inside to stay – and have another warm-up hot chocolate and snack break.  I skipped over the stops that Tim, Rowen, and Michael made at their homes to pack and bring overnight bags on our way back from the sledding; but that was just a little blip in the fun that barely slowed us down at all – especially since we split up to do that.

By the time we were warmed up again it was time to get started on making dinner, and while Mom was doing an easy-meal pizza and wings night, we were making our own personal pizzas; and that made for some messy fun while Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden designed their masterpieces.  Mom was prepared for two thirteen-year old boys too; and had the extras needed for them to make three personal pizzas each.  The only slowdown we had in the process was the cooking; but we started early enough that everything except the second and third pizza rounds were ready by the time Dad got home from work.

We ate in the dining room, and Mom and Dad were kept entertained by our collective snow play stories.  They set us free after we polished off a cherry pie for dessert and took care of the clean-up while we came up to my room and the lounge to play and watch movies.  The play time included some video gaming; Michael and I had another duet practice; and we had a short game of hide and seek – with Michael and I doing most of the seeking while the four toddlers hid and Rowen and Tim kept getting distracted any time they found themselves alone somewhere while sort of joining in to play the game.  Since we stuck to the third floor, and it wasn’t unusual to hear one or more of the kids giggling, I’m sure that Rowen and Tim were more successful with the alone time because they couldn’t possibly be that bad at hide-and-seek.

We watched one Christmas movie with my brother, sister, and their best friends; and then had an intermission while helping with their usual bedtime routine through until they were tucked in for the night.  Before I move on, I should mention that there were four couples cuddling in the lounge during that movie.  Since the members of the two younger couples are only two – at least for a few more weeks until Naomi turns three – that they were doing that exclusively to tease Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me; but they sure seemed happy and comfortable too.

Oh yeah, and just because we were all cuddling under blankets; don’t think that I didn’t notice you holding Naomi’s hand for most of the movie, Ethan.

Fortunately, my brother and sister will be old enough by the time they read this to not be shocked at finding out that there was more than hand-holding going on under the blankets with Michael and me during the movies we watched with Rowen and Tim after the toddlers were in bed.

Don’t let your mind wander too far down that road.  I’ve mentioned that I don’t have any exhibitionist tendencies, and our best friends were cuddling together at the other end of the sectional sofa; so we were not having a major make-out session or anything.  Michael and I also weren’t the only couple in the room enjoying a bit of quiet intimacy; though Rowen and Tim had a bit more fun that we did while Michael and I went downstairs to make hot chocolate for four during our intermission between the second and third movie of the night.

Yes, Rowen, I noticed the button you missed.  Michael probably did too, but don’t worry – he didn’t see anything he shouldn’t; and now you know that I didn’t pick a soft, fluffy sweater just for the cuddle factor!

We were about three-quarters of the way through our next movie when Mom and Dad stopped in to say goodnight to us – and give the unspoken directive that we were to wrap up our co-ed time when the movie was over.  They’d been working in the office all evening except for while we all were busy getting four toddlers changed and ready for bed.  That was mostly because Dad is only working a half day tomorrow; and then taking the rest of the week off except for one short appointment on Friday morning to take care of something that needs to be completed before year-end.

This time, once the movie was over, Rowen ordered Tim to help her with carrying our empty cups and dishes downstairs, and they did the clean-up – and their own goodnight hugs and kisses – while leaving Michael and I with a bit of alone time in the lounge.  We took full advantage of the opportunity, and I don’t really feel at all bad about leaving Michael wishing he could take a cold shower when he went downstairs to the bedroom directly below mine.

Rowen and I have had lots to talk about, and we started watching another movie; but it’s late; there are only two more sleeps until Christmas; we have a very long day ahead of us; and should head off to dreamland soon.  Since my thoughts are wandering toward dreams of Michael and me cuddling together all night instead of camping here in the lounge with Rowen, I’d better hope that I don’t go sleepwalking tonight – though that might be fun if I ended up in Michael’s room and we got away with it.

Just kidding, Mom and Dad – mostly.

I just realized that I haven’t mentioned Violet and Dillon yet, and that’s mostly because I didn’t see them at all except for this morning before, during, and shortly after breakfast.  They’ve been out all day either with his family or their friends; they were spending the evening with Jake, Stephanie, Josiah, and Christina somewhere; and then spending the night at his house.  That decision probably had something to do with having eight kids and junior teens at our house tonight; but they may also be thinking ahead to how they’re going to handle Christmas Eve and Christmas Day too.  I’m sure they’re having fun, and again; the continuing precedence they’re setting for us will very likely come in handy for Michael and me in a few years.

That really is about all I have for tonight.  We have enjoyed one of those amazing, friends and family play days; and the fun is just going to keep getting better for the rest of the week and weekend – starting with the annual Christmas Eve day shopping fun.  Add in some more snow play, helping out at the Inn, the Christmas Eve service at the church, and getting to sing the duet with Michael again tomorrow night; and I think we have all of the ingredients needed for another best-ever kind of Christmas.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Cassie's Journal - December 22, 2013

Happy 13^th Birthday, Marc!

My personal top news for the day is that Michael and I were asked to sing our duet from the school Christmas concert at church for the Christmas Eve service.  Pastor John and Stacey approached us with that invitation before church this morning, and I wouldn’t have been able to say no to them after seeing Michael’s reaction – not that I had a problem with the encore performance after the first time had been so amazing.

That was more fun than the hour or so of morning snow shoveling was before breakfast; but then the snow play time with Michael, Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca was very entertaining.  So was the snow play time with Ethan and Ehlana both this morning and then in the afternoon for a while too before I needed to get to Marc’s party.

Now that I’m sitting here in bed with Mandy and winding down; this really feels like it’s the first time I’ve slowed down all day.  The snow shoveling was followed by a quick breakfast before I hit the shower and got ready for church.  The roads in town were pretty decent because the Landrys and others worked all night to keep them cleared.  That wasn’t the case out in the country, and snow problems kept a third or more of the congregation at home for the morning service while they dealt with the problems around their farms – or couldn’t get into town anyway until all of the roads were cleared.  The good news for all of that is there were no major accidents, power outages, or other incidents that might have messed up anyone’s Christmas – at least in our area.  I wish that was true for everyone else caught up in this bad weather; but there have been lots of other problems – especially for the places where they got a lot of freezing rain and ice pellets instead of snow.

There wasn’t really a slow-down in the action at church because it was a fairly energetic service with lots of music; and then Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I helped out with the final pageant preparations during Sunday school.  Michael needed to get to the Inn right away after the service; and Tim went with his Dad to do more snow work; so Rowen and I hung out together while her parents needed to get to the store and work there for the last Sunday afternoon shopping day before Christmas.

We needed to stop in at her house for some clothes, but then we went on to my house and had lunch and that afternoon snow play time with Ethan and Ehlana before getting ready for Marc’s party.  I’m sure that Marc had a good birthday, but it was a bit weird for Michael and me – mostly because of Marc’s older brother, Jason.  He pretty much avoided us as much as he could, and ignored us when he couldn’t.  Having a date for the day probably had a lot to do with that; though he certainly wasn’t being shy with her while keeping away from us.  He’s enjoying his football fame more than most of the guys on the team, and without getting into the gossip about him; let’s just suggest that Rebecca is way better off without him.  While Jason was avoiding us, Marc’s older sister, Dawn, helped add some entertainment to our afternoon – particularly when she welcomed Michael and advised us that she personally thinks that her middle brother is an idiot for messing things up with Rebecca.

She is his sister and knows Jason way better than we do; so who are we to argue with her assessment?  Rebecca sure thought that was funny when we passed it on to her while helping out in the kitchen before the buffet started.

They were only doing one buffet today, and started it early because of the Christmas pageant.  The few hours from the time that Michael and I got to the Inn early to help out until we finished working and went to the church was a non-stop blast of fun and action.  While Michael and I had dinner with Marc and the rest of his family and friends, we missed a lot of the birthday fun while also helping out with the work as the buffet wound down and the dining room and kitchen needed to be cleaned and readied for Monday morning.

The pageant was really great – and a bit more special while getting to watch it with Michael – but my perspective on that has changed a bit now; and I can hardly wait until next Christmas when Michael and I will be able to be in the show.  The little Christmas party reception after the pageant was great too; though Michael and I helped out with the work for that too this year.  That’s also why we were among the last to leave the church tonight, and though it was getting late; I went home with Michael for a little quiet time before continuing on to my place at eleven-thirty.

Violet and Dillon are staying with us tonight, and they were hanging out in the office with Mom and Dad when I got home.  Ethan and Ehlana were already in bed; Dad was nearly finished the work he needed to have finished by morning; and there’s a very good chance that waiting for me to go to bed had a lot to do with why Violet and Dillon hadn’t gone upstairs and off to bed by then.

I’d have invited Violet to borrow my Jacuzzi and then cuddle with Mandy and me tonight, but I’ve learned my lesson there; and have no intention on giving my family any more ammunition to use against Michael and me in the future.  They come up with enough to tease us about without us helping them along!  Violet and Dillon can’t really expect that I don’t know they’re cuddling together right now as I write this; but then they don’t know exactly how far away from another Magi I can be and still feel their aura.  That ability has gotten stronger as I’ve used it more often; though all of my abilities are getting stronger since I started going through puberty.

Thinking and writing about puberty, a teen couple cuddling in the room next to mine, or what my parents might be doing right now is not a good idea when I’m also feeling the need for some Michael and me alone time; so let’s just wrap this up and call it a night.  At least then I’ll be able to dream about what isn’t happening much for me in the real world.

Maybe Michael and I will even get some of that alone time tomorrow since we get to have the day off to play.  We’re going to stop in at the church in the morning to practice our duet, though that’s mostly so I can learn the basics for using the fancy digital piano they have instead of hauling mine there and back on Christmas Eve.  With lots of snow now, we’ll probably spend the day tobogganing and playing outdoors; and then we’ll probably watch Christmas movies in the lounge after dinner with Ethan and Ehlana – and hopefully Rowen and Tim too.

I should really get some sleep so I can be ready for all of that; so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Cassie's Journal - December 21, 2013

Well, the first day of winter is certainly all that and then some today!  Happy Winter Solstice, everyone!

I’d also like to mention that while this may be the shortest day of the year in terms of daylight hours; it has not been at all short in terms of work, fun, or time awake and active.  Some of us aren’t done with the work quite yet either; since another round of shoveling is in my near future so that Dad and I don’t end up with an even bigger mess to deal with in the morning.

The great news with all of this is that we’re pretty much guaranteed a White Christmas now barring a freak summer weather day between now and Christmas Day!

For those of you reading this who are, like my grandparents, ready to head south for the winter at the first sign of a snowflake after spending decades dealing with the white fluffy stuff; try to cut me some slack.  I’m still only twelve for another month and a half or so; haven’t been worn down by long experience with the work side of snow; and still find it especially magical at Christmas.  Then again, if you’re reading this at some future time when I’m still around; I hope that I still feel that way in your present.

The major snow-clearing work didn’t start until after dinner tonight; so let’s back up a bit and cover the news from the rest of the day before getting to that.

We woke up; Michael came over for Tai Chi; we had breakfast; and then I worked all day with Mom and Dad pretty much from the time that Michael left this morning until he came back over again after finishing work at the Inn tonight.

You probably expected that to take longer, but the house cleaning and cooking details aren’t all that interesting, and while there was a little play time mixed in with Ethan and Ehlana; the fun parts of the work came from doing that together.  There was one, minor afternoon round of shoveling too, but we hadn’t had much snow yet; and that had mostly been because Dad didn’t want an icy base of wet slush to freeze and turn everything into a skating rink ahead of the snow.

The movie and alone time that Michael and I had been hoping for tonight didn’t exactly work out as planned; though we did get some alone time between rounds of shoveling.  That wasn’t enough time to watch a movie anyway, so we watched a bit of the New Orleans Bowl game while warming up with hot chocolate, a blanket, and some cuddling that Mandy helped us out with.

I hadn’t really paid attention to the football action today before then, but Michael had while working at the Inn; Dad must have checked in on the games now and then today too since he’d known the earlier scores when he and Michael had talked about them; and I know from my chat a while ago with Rowen that Tim had watched most of the games too – including this evening while they hung out together at his house.  Rowen would have rather watched a movie with him; but their time together was fairly similar to what Michael and I were doing – except without the snow play time with Ethan and Ehlana that we had during the first round of shoveling and before they went to bed for the night.

By the way, while I’m thinking about snow, I want to mention that I haven’t written about shoveling snow for my grandparents before because they haven’t been here for most of the major winter snowfalls since Mom and I moved here, and even though they’ve stayed home this year to spend the extra time with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Zack; they pay teens to take care of their driveway and sidewalks when they’re away or it’s too much snow for Grandpa to deal with on his own.  He may still overdo it this weekend, but at least he has a handful of Healers in the family to help him out if he ends up strained and sore.

Then again I’m sure that Michael and Dad appreciate having their own, personal Healers too.  I helped Michael out before he went home tonight after we finished our second round of shoveling; and I expect that Mom helped Dad too – though let’s not get into the details about all the ways she may have done that – especially after they’d been apart all week while Dad was in the city.

Moving along, Dad and I were half way through clearing the driveway, porches, and sidewalks when Michael came over from the Inn.  He helped us to finish that, and then we had the snow play time with Ethan and Ehlana before going over to his house to help Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca with more shoveling.  Mom had the twins ready for bed by the time we got home from doing that; so we did the bedtime story and tucked them in for the night before making the hot chocolate and doing the cuddle and football thing in the lounge.  I’d love to report some quality couples play time to go with that, but honestly, we both just wanted to get warm before needing to go outside and work again.

We started the second round of shoveling at around eleven o’clock, and again worked at my house before moving on to help out at Michael’s.  I did Michael’s mini-healing when we did our goodnight hugs and kisses back at my house; and then I came up to my room after Michael left.  Since I am planning that extra, late night round of shoveling, I didn’t get changed.  Mandy and I have been cuddling on the sofa in the lounge again; and I’ve been doing my nightly computing along with the chat with Rowen before she went off to sleep a while ago.

I haven’t mentioned Violet and Dillon; mostly because I didn’t see much of them today.  Now that his mother is finished school for the holidays, they spent most of the day with his family; and Violet’s spending the night there too.  They’d considered another trip to Woodvale, but decided not to do that with the bad-weather forecast.  They’ll be in Woodvale for New Year’s Eve, and may head up there for Boxing Day too before coming back for the family Christmas weekend; but they haven’t decided that for sure yet.  I know they’re having fun, and have more time off before going back to school that we get at our school; but I hope they don’t get so busy that they can’t get rested up and ready for their next semester.  I’m trying to keep that in mind while I’m also wishing that we could spend more time together too – just as Michael and I are doing with Jake and Stephanie.  They have a lot on the go too juggling their families, and though they don’t need to do a lot of travelling to keep up with that; they do have a lot of family; all of their home town friends; and they’re helping out at the Inn too.

Is it any wonder that so many college kids like to go anywhere else except home during Spring Break?

Anyway, I don’t have much else to cover tonight.  While we’ve done a lot of work today, my holiday play time starts tomorrow with Marc’s thirteenth birthday party and the teen Christmas pageant at the church in the evening.  Michael and I are going to juggle the party that’s including dinner at the Inn with helping out in the kitchen for that buffet, and there will be more snow shoveling in the morning that will likely replace Tai Chi; but we’ll still mostly get to play every day for the next week and a half.

Okay, that’s it for tonight.  I’m going to put my computer away; have a little power nap; and then clear the driveway and sidewalks again.  That’ll only leave me with enough time for another, slightly longer nap before morning, but I’ll try and do that without waking Dad, and while that won’t give me enough down time; I can always do a little extra self-healing to make up for that.  One way or the other, I’ll make sure that I’m fired up and ready to play and have fun with my family and friends.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Cassie's Journal - December 20, 2013

There’s a lot to cover today, including the start of our Christmas holidays; Ethan’s and Ehlana’s unofficial graduation from high school; parties; sleepovers; and the weather.

Our class Christmas parties and imminent break from school were the top stories at school; while the bad-weather forecast had the attention of most adults in the area.  Unlike last week, when I didn’t want to jinx anything that might mess with our holiday fun; I’m hoping for lots of snow so that we can both have a white Christmas and some winter outdoor fun opportunities for sledding and maybe even snowboarding again if we could get a chance to do that too.  The extra work won’t be very exciting if we do get everything they’re calling for, but at least this was going to be a work weekend anyway; and most of the work is going to be indoors and unaffected by how much snow we get.

There are lots of archive records being made for Ethan and Ehlana, including their own journals; so I don’t write about things like their education in my journal very often.  Graduating from high school is worth noting, though; and they are very happy and excited about getting to move on to college-level studies in January.  While their ‘normal’ education and Magi training progress is recorded in great detail; I’d like to take a few moments to write about some differences between what they’re doing compared to my own early education.

From the education side of things, their studies until now have been very similar to mine; but that’s going to change with their college courses.  Mom needed to keep me busy when we were on our own, and I didn’t have specific goals; so my college studies were very broad-based.  Ethan and Ehlana are going to have very focused curriculum now.  Ehlana is going to focus on bio-engineering and genetics, and while Ethan will take enough science to be able to work with Ehlana in the lab; he’s going to concentrate on history, literature, and library management.  They’ll still have a long way to go with their education after the lab opens next September; but Ehlana will be ready to take the research she and Uncle Adam only really get to play with now and run with it; while Ethan will learn as he goes – and while our Magi archives are all brought home over the next five years or so.

They’ll also need to focus more on Healing than I did in the early years for their Magi training too.  Ehlana will need that knowledge in the lab more than Ethan will; but as with nearly everything related to their Magi gifts; they are stronger and can do more working together.  Since that’s going to be fairly important in our collective future; I’m all for helping them with whatever they need.  Mom sometimes feels that the twins are working harder than they should, and maybe they are; but I also understand just how much they need to learn to be ready for certain parts of our future – just as I do.  I’m not going to get into any of that, but you can be sure that we will be ready.

In the much more imminent future, we’ll also be ready for a snowstorm if it does hit us tomorrow; and the work to get ready for Christmas is still on-track even with the extra work we were doing today to get ready for the bad weather.  That work got in the way of any boyfriend time for Rowen and me because Michael and Tim were as busy as we were right from the time we were set free early from school.  All four of us were put to work helping our parents, and for me that included everything from helping Dad with firewood and the generator to keeping an eye on Ethan and Ehlana.

The holiday pre-cooking party was at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house; so we headed over there in time to help out with making dinner while getting started on the extra cooking and baking too.  Rowen met up with me there once she’d finished helping to get her house storm-ready; and we mostly helped with the cooking and baking too while Grandma and Grandpa were the primary babysitters tonight.

I don’t really have a lot to write about for those hours of cooking.  We had fun, but there isn’t really anything newsworthy.  Rowen and I did a lot of running around that included hauling pans of food to our house and Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace’s so we could use the extra ovens and freezer space.  We worked until after eleven; and that helped out with our sleepover because that didn’t leave Patrick and Scott much time to be annoying around us – especially when they had orders not to keep Rowen’s parents awake when they needed to be at the store early for the last big shopping weekend before Christmas.

While we didn’t get to start our holidays having fun with Michael and Tim today, we had computer chats with both of them after getting changed and into bed.  No, we didn’t use video chat; though Tim did ask if we would after finding out that we were in night clothes and probably had his imagination running in overdrive.  Michael may have had some thoughts along the same lines, but he didn’t include them in the text messages; and I’m also sure that he’d know that Rowen and I wouldn’t be wearing anything too revealing – especially with Patrick and Scott in the house; not to mention that it’s winter and being warm and comfortable is a fairly high priority.

Rowen and I have been chatting for a while now since ending the computer time with the boys; and we really should get some sleep now.  Whether we get hit with a bunch of freezing rain and snow tomorrow, we both have a lot of work to do; and we also each tentatively have movie plans with our boyfriends – at Tim’s house for Rowen and mine for Michael and me.  We don’t want to be too tired for that if we can make those plans happen; so I’m going to wrap this up and try to get some sleep now.  I’ll also guess that those thoughts won’t have me dreaming of sugar plums tonight!  Let’s head off to dreamland and find out!

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Cassie's Journal - December 19, 2013

Okay, this is going to start out as a musical update with a touch of personal immodesty to go along with what I hope everyone knows was a really thrilling, happy, and very Christmassy day.

Let’s start with a music clip of the song Michael and I picked to sing.  We based our duet on the harmonies from this trio; and yes, I think our version was even better! :^)

Here’s the lyrics breakdown for how Michael and I sang the song:

Not That Far From Bethlehem

Me (Solo):

          Underneath the stars
          Just a simple man and wife
          Somewhere in the dark
          His words cut the silent night

Michael (Solo, as if he’s Joseph):
          Take my hand, for the child
          That you carry is God’s own
          And though it seems the road is long
Chorus 1 – Michael – Melody; Me – Harmony

          We’re not that far from Bethlehem
          Where all our hope and joy begins
          For in our arms we’ll cherish him
          We’re not that far from Bethlehem
Michael (Solo):

          Let us celebrate
          As the Christmases go by
Me (Solo):

          Learn to live our days
          With our hearts near to the child

Michael:  Ever drawn

          Me:  Ever Drawn(echo)

Michael: Ever close

          Me: Ever Close(echo)

(Me – Melody; Michael – Harmony – through to end of song)

          To the only love that lasts
          And though 2000 years have passed

Chorus 2
          We’re not that far from Bethlehem
          Where all our hope and joy began
          For when our hearts still cherish him
          We’re not that far
          We’re not that far from Bethlehem
          Where all our hope and joy began
          For when our hearts still cherish him
          We’re not that far, we’re not that far
          From Bethlehem

So we stole the show with that; made Moms and Grandmas cry; and I don’t mind admitting that Michael and I had one of those musical moments that musicians dream about where the song is just perfect.  I’m okay with getting laughed and whistled at when I didn’t make sure that we were out of the spotlight before throwing my arms around Michal’s neck and kissing him fairly enthusiastically either.  We did have other really great musical moments, though, so let’s go over them too – staring with the Kindergarten class.

They sang the ‘Christmas Is’ song from Elf on the Shelf; and for those of you reading this in the future; here’s a YouTube link for a piano-only version:

Christmas is a time of joy and peace

A time for spending with the family

It teaches us to share

Show others that we care

Christmas is a time for forgiveness

That is why we all believe in Christmas

It’s a time of love, joy, and peace

It’s a time of faith to believe

More than presents under a tree

Topped with a star

Christmas is a time for forgiveness

That is why we all believe in Christmas

Christmas is a time for forgiveness

‘Cause we carry Christmas in our hearts

I certainly wouldn’t try to state that the kids pulled off a perfect performance; but they were absolutely adorable, and we had a blast with them as they charmed and entertained the audience.

Michael was accompanying other acts too, but next up for me was the Grade One class.  They did a medley of songs from the Muppet Christmas Carol movie.  I don’t have a clip to share with you that’s close to what they did; but the songs were ‘It Feels Like Christmas’, ‘One More Sleep ‘Til Christmas’ that they ended with ‘one more sleep ‘til school’s out, and ‘Bless Us All’.  Their performance earned laughs in the right places and was just as entertaining as all of the acts were for the younger grades.

Finally, the Grade Four class sang ‘I Do Believe in Christmas’ from another newer kid-favorite Christmas movie – The Search for Santa Paws.  Here’s another song clip that’s similar to the version they sang this afternoon:

Whenever I hear a Christmas song

I want to get up and sing

Wherever there’s love I sing along

And find some bells to ring

Wherever there’s Angels up above

Wherever there’s Christmas trees

There’s gonna be peace and hope and love

And wonderful memories

There’ll be laughter, there’ll be song

We’ll go caroling all night long

Believing in Christmas makes it magic can’t you see?

It’s better to give than to receive

Blessings for you and me

Staying up late on Christmas Eve

Will there be presents for me (spoken, excited question)

There’ll be laughter, there’ll be song

We’ll go caroling all night long

Believing in Christmas makes it magic can’t you see?

I do believe in Christmas

I believe in love

As sure as there is Santa ringing sleigh bells up above

I do believe in harmony, in family, and good cheer

Throughout the year

Whenever there’s hope in the air

Whenever we light the tree

Whenever there’s love in our prayers

That’s Christmas time for me

Whenever I hear a Christmas song

I want to get up and sing

Wherever there’s love, I sing along

And find some bells to ring

There’ll be laughter, there’ll be song

We’ll go caroling all night long

Believing in Christmas makes it magic can’t you see?

For you and me

I do believe in Christmas

I believe in love

As sure as there is Santa ringing sleigh bells up above

I do believe in harmony, in family, and good cheer

Throughout the year

I do believe in Christmas

I believe in love

As sure as there is Santa ringing sleigh bells up above

I do believe in harmony, in family, and good cheer

We do believe in Christmas - Throughout the year

There were some mini solos in the song, and Jessica had one of those parts; so that was Michael’s favorite song that we accompanied; and Jessica certainly is showing signs that she’s inherited her Daddy’s musical gifts – though she’s seemed to be more interested in the piano than the guitar each time Michael and I have practiced with her class.  Their song was definitely the best performance that I helped with the music for; and it was another hit with everyone in the room.

Michael, Rowen, and I played two songs with the band too; and with that, and the musical skit we did with our own class; Michael and I didn’t actually get to have a lot of time to relax and enjoy the rest of the show.  That was okay too, because what we did seemed to be way more fun than mostly just watching the show has been each year since I moved here.  I know for sure that I’ll never forget any of those magical moments with him, our friends, and the younger kids.  I also won’t forget the hugs and kisses from my favorite people, or how proud our families were of us today.

While the concert was the highlight of the day for me, there was a lot more going on to write about; starting from first thing this morning when Mom, Violet, Ehlana, and I had some fun picking out clothes and jewelry for me and doing our hair in braids and curls – though I needed to do a bit of a touch-up on the hair at lunchtime.  Mom went with pancakes and bacon for breakfast, so with all of that and the Tai Chi that Michael joined us for; that all got our day off to a great start.  Michael and I spent the morning practicing music and helping to set up the gym for the concert.  Pretty much everyone in the band helped with the second half of that; and we had a mini practice too once the instruments, stands, and chairs were set up.

We had lunch on the fly, and spent most of our break either getting ready for the concert or helping with the younger kids – particularly for the groups that needed to either be in costumes or have them ready to change into between performances.  There was even a small crew of teen volunteers helping out with that in one of the rooms adjoining the gym.

The concert was more than two hours long, so we were late getting out of school by the time we’d finished the snacks, drinks, and meet and greet in the main hallway outside of the gym.  That meant that Michael and I couldn’t stay to help with the clean-up because we needed to be at the Inn to help with the dinner rush; but Rowen and Tim stayed, and there seemed to be enough help – including from some of the parents and grandparents.

Michael and I aren’t out in the dining room at all when we’re working at the Inn, but we were already a top story on the gossip network by the time the first customers stopped in for their meals or Christmas parties.  Miranda and Stephanie were happy to keep us updated on the latest; and that helped to make for a very entertaining few hours.  We were also really, really busy.  Having Jake and Stephanie as extras helped, but we were also really glad when Miranda and Jacob set us free earlier than we’d expected.

The main reason for that is because Michael, Rebecca, and I were invited to a Christmas movie night at my house.  That sounds funny, but Violet and Dillon were hosting it, and had originally just planned on having Jake, Stephanie, Josiah, and Christina hanging out with them in the living room.  The decision to invite us too came sometime after the concert; and we were happy to accept and get to spend a couple of hours with our favorite teens.

Ethan and Ehlana watched the movie with us, and according to them; it was necessary so that Rebecca would have a cuddle buddy too – or two.  That earned a little teasing for Ethan; but he just thought that was funny and happily cuddled with Rebecca and Ehlana.  Having toddlers in the room meant going with a family-rated movie.  The guys in the room were okay with that because that replaced the Christmas chick flick that the girls had wanted to watch – though that just ended up being the second show that they watched after the bedtime intermission for Ethan and Ehlana.  Michael and Rebecca went home then, and Mom and I went up to bed.  She’d taken the opportunity to do some work in the office after taking the afternoon off, and though I got ready for bed right away; she ended her night with some Jacuzzi time first.

The only other news I have for tonight is that Dillon is staying overnight.  He has the guest room across the hall from Violet, though I seriously doubt that he’ll be sleeping in there whenever their movie night wraps up and they get around to going to bed.  Again, I’m good with that precedence, and though they didn’t talk about it while we were around; I won’t be very surprised to find out that Stephanie goes home with Jake and Christina either ends up at Josiah’s or he stays with her at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s.  Since they could probably work one or two night feedings with Zack into that; I’ll lean that toward door number two on that one.

Aunt Leanne would certainly love that – and not only because of the extra sleep!

I’m going to have a third early bedtime in a row if I don’t start thinking too much about how nice it would be to have my own boyfriend cuddle buddy tonight.  This has been an even better remember-forever day than I’d hoped for, and with just one more sleep until our Christmas holidays; the fun is really still just getting started.  While our Moms will have a problem with same-room sleepovers for quite a few more years, I can always dream of some hot Christmas moments with Michael.  That certainly sounds like more fun than having visions of sugar plums dancing in my head; and worth hurrying off to sleep to explore and enjoy.

Happy it’s almost Christmas vacation; and until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!