It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

On the way to Seminary on Monday morning in the dark, the announcer on the radio said something about snow down to the 1,000 foot level. It didn't really register with me until we heard a thud outside my classroom door (to the outside) and a student walked in laughing and brushing himself off. His friend had collected enough snow from his car to make a snowball and launch it at him. (Some of the kids live in the hills and had snow on their cars.) When I got home from Seminary, I took some pictures from my driveway of our nearby hills:Snow this low happens only once every 15 years or so in California, so it is really exciting to us. Later in the day I took this picture to show the blue sky and snow:Saturday night at our Ward Christmas Party, the Madrigal Choir from Mountain View High School had performed some beautiful Christmas music. Sunday evening we had gone up to Temple Hill in Oakland and heard a concert by the Blackhawk Choir that my sister-in-law, Nancy, is in. There were about 130 people in their choir and they sounded really great. My favorite number was a clever Jingle Bells arrangement to the music of the Nutcracker. All of this wonderful music combined with the dusting of snow has made it feel more like Christmas around here. I know that it is a stressful time of year for musicians, as my niece Lisa was bemoaning, but those of us who are listening and enjoying really appreciate all of the hard work that goes into the Christmas concerts. It gets the rest of us in the holiday mood.