The Gift 2013

It was a turkey of a day, as you can see above - Daddy is the turkey, his friend Joey a Pilgrim, and right there in the middle is Madison in the KidPak Jr. classroom.  Thanksgiving was the theme of the day, a morning of giving thanks, and a pretty chilly one too!  Daddy was outside in that turkey costume, and quite frigid.  But it was good fun for everyone, and of course the kids loved the costumes.  The adults did too - that turkey costume is pretty goofy.

After church, it was time for what has become another really nice tradition.  We went to go see "The Gift" at what used to be the Georgia Mountain Center.  It is now owned by Brenau, so I'm not entirely sure what it is called anymore.  But I do know this:  the production was wonderful.  This time around, we stayed for both acts, as we felt Madison was old enough to make it, and understand the things presented.  Here's another tradition:  the photo of Mommy and Madison together in their seats!

We got there a little later, but it was as if God Himself saved our seats for us.  We always sit in the same place, and despite the crowd there, our seats were empty.

Here is one of Madison's favorite parts - going back to her first viewing a few years ago.  She loves these little lamb costumes, and how the lambs sneak out into the daughter's room.  With every motion, Madison and Mommy were recognizing different positions and ballet maneuvers.  It is quite literally a foreign language to Daddy.

What is most special about this performance, of course, is the subject matter.  It is a worship service, done with dance.  Their mission statement is:

"Let them praise His name with dance."  Psalm 149:3

And that's what they do.  One of the co-directors said this may have been their nineteenth year doing this - she'd lost count.  We've been going about ten years now - maybe more?  I'm not entirely sure.  But it a tradition we're happy to support and attend each and every November, as the Christmas season gets closer.  Here's Mommy's favorite bit, where the Wise Men come out on point, giving their crowns to the king of Kings:

You can't help but smile at the end of this.  We see the Easter story in the second act, during which Madison was quite focused.  When Jesus "rises" from the tomb, there is a great celebration on stage - and in the audience as well.  It is a truly uplifting performance!

After the show, there was still a great deal of celebration more:  Nana and Ba-Ba were on their way up from Florida.  Boy, were they in for a shock:  the temperature was in the twenties tonight, which is quite a difference from any of the usual weather in Florida.  They arrived a bit later, so in the meantime we set up a fire in the fireplace, and pulled out some decorations, hanging them on the tree.  We didn't quite finish when the grandparents did finally pull up into the driveway.  

To warm everyone up, Mommy had prepared her incredible chili recipe.  Everyone's spirits were bright, and because of the incredibly busy day, we were all ready for a silent night!  Goodnight!