December started off with the Relief Society Christmas program that I planned, made the invitations and decorated for.
It turned out as well as I'd hoped it would and I think it was worth the effort.
We collected about 30-40 nativity sets from sisters in the ward and displayed them on the tables pictured below. I saw the idea of using icicle lights along the front of the tables on "Pinterest", and I was glad to have an opportunity to try it out. I think it looked fabulous!
Each food table also had a nativity set as the centerpiece.
The color scheme was gold and white.
Everyone brought hors d'oeuvres, and the Relief Society provided a hot chocolate bar and gingerbread for dessert.
The day after the Relief Society program, the Relief Society sisters had a Ladies Day out to tour the White House and see the Christmas decorations. I didn't have my camera, so all the pictures were taken by others.
The entry hall.
Window decoration in the entry hall.
One of the MANY live, decorated trees in the White House.
Outside the White House. This is the back side of the White House, opposite from when we went on the autumn White House garden tour. This back side of the White House is where the press is always camped out.
Most of our Relief Society group.
Here are the invitations for my Christmas piano recital.
The recital was just three days after the RS Christmas program, so it was a crazy busy couple of days!
I used a snowflake theme this year.
Below is a close up of the music ornaments I made for the students this year. It's an annual tradition to give each of my students a Christmas ornament.
On December 10th Kent and I joined thousands of other volunteers to put wreaths on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery as part of the "Wreaths Across America" program.
It was another lovely, mild winter day, as you can see from the photos.
The next several photos were taken in Utah. The previous blog post was all about Tyler's commissioning into the US Army ceremony. Here are some of the other things we did while we were in Utah.
We went to the spectacular Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert.
After the concert we walked around Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. I love this nativity that is all lit up in the middle of the pond, with floating candles all around it.
It's amazing how many lights there are on all the trees on Temple Square!
Kent and I took our precious Stinson granddaughters out for a walk.
We had Sophia's baby blessing.
Here's Sophia in the blessing dress and on the blanket I made; both were made for Adrianne when she was a baby.
Isn't that an adorable little face?
Here's all the family that was gathered in Provo for Sophia's blessing. Were were very disappointed that Garrett, Krystal and Daniel couldn't be there. It would have been wonderful to all be together.
A three generation shot.
After we returned to Virginia Kent and I went to the Messiah sing-along concert in the Kennedy Center.
We arrived two hours early to get tickets, and were lucky enough to get to wait inside the building. The line stretched outside and around the corner with people waiting for tickets.
It was REALLY fun to do the sing along, which we'd never done before. We brought our "Messiah" scores with us from home, but wished we'd also brought some sandwiches for dinner. We got in line for tickets at 4pm, the tickets were given out at 6pm and the performance started at 8pm. I had some snacks with me and Kent bought us a sandwich from a snack bar in the Kennedy Center.
On December 24th we drove to Colonial Williamsburg to spend the day.
We spent the day visiting some of the eighty restored colonial buildings, and learned some interesting early American history. I liked seeing the colonial style Christmas decorations.
There was a traditional firing of the Christmas cannons as it got dark.
There was a short program with some Christmas carol singing before the lighting of the Christmas tree.
We then went to have Christmas eve dinner with our good friends, the Andrews. They live in Yorktown,
which is just half an hour away from Williamsburg. It was a fun day.
3 comments:
That Relief Society dinner looked stunning! I wish I had your energy! You guys definitely did a lot to celebrate the Christmas season!
Wow, your invitations turned out very beautiful. I don't think they could have been any better, even if you had a Silhouette machine. I am always amazed at the fun and exciting things you and dad always find to do. Sorry you lost the rest of your pictures of the wreath laying because of my computer!
As always, anything you touch becomes stunning! It was sure fun to see you guys in Utah. Love you!
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