Christmas 2007 Update

The 'Rents and I have officially declared that Christmas 2007 is under way.  The declaration came earlier this morning, as we were planning the day's Christmas festivities.  We left The Compound shortly after lunch today, with the Odyessy loaded down with us and the L's and their grandkids. The first stop was Walnut Street Baptist Church for the annual Christmas program.  Let me tell you it was quite a production.  I was wondering how they would top last year's program, but somehow they did. Everybody loved it, especially the L's grandkids. 

After the program, we piled in the Odyessy and headed farther downtown to Fourth Street Live (the 'Ville's version of a non-gambling Las Vegas strip), where we had supper at the Hard Rock Cafe.  The kids enjoyed it as much as the adults, especially when the servers and bartenders jumped on top of the bar and empty tables to sing happy birthday to a patron. 

I drove the long way back to The Compound so my passengers could see the Christmas lights downtown and in neighborhoods along the way.  While we were travelling, we had Christmas music playing on the radio, and at one point we were all singing along to "Angels We Have Heard On High."  We might not have been ready to perform at WSB's Christmas extravaganza, but we sounded pretty good.

All in all, it was an awesome day spent with family, and we do consider the L clan as family.  They had a rough year with Boots' illness and death, and we know it will be a rough Christmas for them, but family helps you get through.  On the way back home tonight the L's said how much a WSB member's testimony on being joyful during the Christmas program meant to them.  The woman said she spent Christmas last year in a women's homeless shelter after she left her house, job, friends and family because she was being abused by her husband.  She said that just a year later, she was able to host Thanksgiving brunch and dinner in her home for 20 homeless people, and how she'll be doing the same on Christmas day.  She said to take an obstacle and turn it into an opportunity.  Let me say that there were quite a few misty eyes in the sanctuary after she gave her brief testimonty during the Christmas program.