Whew! Now it's time to relax.

We had our final Christmas concert today and now I'm home relaxing. It felt like I nearly lived at church this past week. :-) Don't get me wrong, singing with 120 voices and a 50 piece orchestra, honoring Christ's birthday is one of the most fulfilling experiences I have all year. Though tiring, I consider it an honor and a privilege.

Friday night's concert was our first, and per usual, we made some mistakes. But I'm pretty sure the audience wasn't aware of them. It was really nice to have Rachel's parents and Aunt and Uncle attend. I enjoyed our visit following the performance. It was the first time I have seen Pete since his surgery. He looks really good. I'm so happy he is making progress. He said it was the first time he has sung since the ordeal. This is their fifth time attending - - they consider it an annual tradition. It's always fun to see them.

Saturday night was very well attended. A couple of my co-workers were there. I was glad to have a chance to visit with them following the concert and answer some questions they had about our guest performers, the Stoneback trumpeters, identical triplet sisters and their father. They nearly brought the house down with Bugler's Holiday.

This afternoon was our largest attendance - even with some folks not able to attend due to the winter storm we are having. For instance, my sister and brother and Sandra and Jim, who were supposed to drive up from Rochester. I'm glad they made the decision to stay home, because the heavy rain we had all morning, and temps in the high 30's became ice and was followed by snow at the conclusion of the concert, due to the temperature dropping to the teens. Actually, the fastest I could drive home was 45 mph, and I wasn't alone. Northern Minnesota is in the middle of a blizzard. At least four highways, including I-94, are closed near Alexandria and Moorehead.

As I said, I'm relaxing tonight. I'm enjoying a couple of Christmas movies, a luxury I couldn't allow myself until today.