Christmas Recital

This morning, we actually discovered a new painting on our wall!  It was hanging on the wall just at the bottom of the stairs.  We'll call the painting,"Déjeuner avec un Elfe." ("Lunch with an Elf")  You can see if you look carefully, where that mischievous little elf is.  He left Madison a nice gift under the tree at least!

Baby it's cold outside!  The weather outside is frightful, at least to those of us who are not quite acclimated to weather that dips into the 20's, accompanied by a windchill.  It's finally feeling like winter around here, and the drop was so sudden that many of us aren't quite able to keep warm enough, despite blasting the heat in the car and lurking near fireplaces or heating vents.  Our office is cold enough at KidPak - Mommy and Daddy were there today getting costumes ready for the Nativity.  Of course, it's largely Mommy doing that sort of work.  We did go out and find some more, but the big story of the day was what happened tonight, after school and after work.  

Madison had her piano recital, along with the other children in her class, of course.  Each of them selected a Christmas song back in October, and tonight was their big collective performance.  One by one, they approached Mrs. Pam's piano, and did their piece.  They all did very well tonight - all of them.  Each sounded a bit rough around the edges just two weeks ago, but here they were, and all of their performances were wonderful to hear!  Nana and Ye-Ye were there with Mommy and Daddy, right there in the front row.

Madison was never nervous - she has been practicing this song so much.  She stepped up, fixed her bench, and started playing right away.  Her footwork was perfect, and her version of "Silent Night" was just right.  We're glad we recorded it.  We shared it on social media and it's already up over a hundred likes - she did a great job!

Afterwards, there was a reception.  All the parents brought dishes of food to enjoy - there was mingling and munching afterwards as we enjoyed each other's company.  It was a funderful evening there, Madison's last Christmas with this class - unless they continue an extra year, which would be something new.  We'll see how that goes.  Regardless of whether it happens or not, Madison has made tremendous progress with her piano work, and we're very proud of her.

Daddy didn't have the best of reactions to some of the food afterwards, and it wasn't the food's fault.  It was this gall bladder thing.  So rather than go to the KidPak party tonight, we opted to go home and rest.  Surgery is coming up, and so is a full day of getting kids into costumes for Sunday.  That said, we went home, and Madison saw a movie for the first time:  "Home Alone."  Daddy and Mommy haven't seen it in years, so it was almost a new movie for us as well.  It's a Christmas movie, and of course at the end when Harry and Marv run into all that trouble, Madison was laughing all the way.  She's ready to see part two next, but that might be Tuesday or so.  We've got a couple busy days coming up, including one very interesting visit to the hospital.