Christmas Music Performances

Christmas isn't about the presents...it's about the music! Here are some musical events we participated in during the month of December:

First, Erik's Millennial Choir Christmas concert had been underway since August. He drove to Gilbert every Thursday night with Dan for practice. We all finally got to see and hear what they had been working on at the beginning of December. The sang some Spanish Christmas Carols (En el Portal de Belen, Fum Fum Fum, and Riu Riu Chiu), some gospel songs (Go Tell It On the Mountain, Jesus What a Wonderful Child, and Handel's Hallelujah), and a new arrangement of Silent Night.

Erik's friend Trevor rejoined Millennial Choir this year after performing as Thomas with Erik in the Stake's production of the Lamb of God.

Dan and Erik save some gas money by carpooling to choir.

Killing time before the show by taking selfies.

Erik's friend Ryan brought his family (Christina, April, and Don) to see the show.

Here is the beginning of Brandon Stewart's arrangement of Silent Night. The church organ was broken when the hymn debuted, so they used a guitar instead. Brandon chose to start the song with a Guitar and Cello soloist to set the tone.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18aPnBXVF8/

On December 13th, we had our ward Christmas party. Gabe and Elisa both performed in the shadow play, and Erik sang in the choir. We had dinner and lots of desserts. Elisa sat with her new friend, Trinity. It was alright. Not much else to say about it.

More of the shadow play, click here.

Erik sang a small solo in the choir. 

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Erik and I took Elisa to see Gentri Dec. 19. We ended up sitting right next to some people in our ward. The concert was really good, except for too much talking between numbers. They also brought out a children's choir for some numbers.

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I was asked by the Stake music coordinator to find some musical numbers to fill up an hour on Saturday morning, December 20th for the giving machine. I said sure. I've got lots of piano students to help out with that, so I made it my December recital. I'll tell you that it was the easiest piano recital that I've ever had! I hardly had to do anything for it. It was out in the open at Desert Ridge marketplace. There were chairs set up for family to sit, but mostly people just strolled by. It went pretty well. The pedal on the piano did come unplugged at some point, but I fixed it. There were a couple of vocal performances that I accompanied, but 85% of our hour was my piano students.

Some pics of a few of my students that performed

Ian played 3 songs!

First, he played Handel's Hallelujah chorus, click here to hear it.

Then, he played God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman 

Last but not least, he played Silent Night, which he also played for the Christmas program at church the next day. Click here to hear (some) of it. 

A short video of the audience and Ian playing Silent Night

After the recital, we walked over to the giving machines and donated to Fresh Start to Survivors

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Later that same day, the ward choir had a Christmas party. It was mostly put on because the choir sang so poorly at the ward Christmas Party. I think this was supposed to (somehow) make up for that. Snacks, desserts, appetizers, and apple cider and hot chocolate were served. The choir sang a few numbers, and there were a few other performances as well--including Erik singing a parody of God Rest Ye with Ian accompanying. I had originally said we were going to perform Sleigh Ride. However, I wasn't feeling any of it, so I "forgot" my music. Whoops. Erik's cousin Lindsay and her family were in town for the Cardinals football game, so Erik invited them along too! It was fun to chat and eat yummy food. 

Here is Erik's performance.

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Gingerbread Race

On December 13th, Ian and I ran the Gingerbread race for Run Your Race at Arizona falls. I first ran the 5K and got 3rd place in my age group. It wasn't the best/fastest race I've ever ran, but it really depends on who is running the race because I am not that fast. Even though I'm slow, I run the entire time which is how I manage to place in so many races. A lot of people can run fast for a mile or two but end up walking a large chunk, which ultimately slows them down even more than my slow running. Ian sat on a bench and played the switch while I ran, and then he ran his 1-mile race. Afterwards, he picked out a few prizes and got a few treats.  I thought the medal that we both got was pretty cool. It came with a pin that I tried to give to Gabe, but he refused to take it because he claimed that it was designed by a.i. Silly Gabe. There was a Santa Claus there to take pictures with, but Ian refused. Here are the pictures: 

Me and my cutie

3rd place

A pretty cool medal

Just about to start

Run, Ian, run!

Red-faced after the run

Random December Happenings Part 1

Here are some fun things we did in the month of December:

Our 2025 Christmas card. I always tell myself "this year will be the last" when it comes to sending cards out, but here I go again, sending them out. 

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Dec. 3

Erik had the day off for his Millennial Choir Christmas Concerts, so he went to the dentist to get a filling and an on-lay. He sent me some selfies of his numbed-up face. Luckily, the numbness wore off a few minutes before the first concert began.

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Dec. 5--A fun evening out with Ian! Gabe and Elisa wanted to see the Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF) 2 movie, so I dropped them both off and bought them some popcorn. Since I am a rewards member, I get a BOGO free extra large popcorn. It is A LOT of popcorn, but it is the best popcorn around. I like to bring the leftovers home and store it in some (smallish) containers to keep it fresh so I can enjoy it for the following week! Right around the corner from the movie theater is Texas Roadhouse, and since Ian had a free kid's meal coupon, I decided that it was the perfect time to take him to dinner there since he was too young to be watching the FNAF movie. We like the bloomin' onion appetizer so I ordered that, and then I had the chicken strips and Ian ordered--well I can't remember but most likely it was a cheeseburger with fries and/or mac n cheese as a side. We enjoyed the meal but had plenty of leftovers to share. 

Waiting in the van for Texas Roadhouse to text me when we could come in. I put us on the waitlist ahead of time, so we weren't waiting too long

Time to dig in to our appetizer. Yum!

Leftover popcorn. Also yum!

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Dec. 8

After Erik put the Christmas lights up, one of the bushes wasn't lighting up. He discovered that someone had cut the cord clean right next to the plug. What a grinch! Erik was able to splice the wires back together with some electrical connectors. He put up the Grinch cutout and the spotlight in front of the bush to hopefully deter whoever did it from causing more damage.

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Dec. 4

The tension on my sewing machine wasn't working properly so Erik and I went to 35th Sew n Vac to check out some of the new machines. I ended up giving my old machine one more chance later that month by taking it in for repairs instead of getting a brand new machine (expensive!). I've had it for quite some time and I got it used, so the next time it acts up will be its last. Anyway, Erik was able to come with because he had the day off for his MCO concerts. After looking at the sewing machines we stopped into a business next door which is a discount store that reminded me a lot of the NPS store in Utah, but we didn't buy anything. We were hungry, so we decided to try a new place to eat: Kimchi Korean BBQ in Glendale not too far away from where we were. We shared the hot pot Bibim Bap and some bao buns. The bao buns were super yummy--I would definitely go back for those! I liked my hot pot too, and we were also served several mini bowls of kimichi, fish, noodles, and some other things that I don't quite remember.

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Why would I purchase a file on Etsy when I can screenshot it and edit it myself for free? Here is the label for the Christmas jam I made.

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I made the silliest family picture using chat GPT. Here's the prompt I gave it after uploading a family pic. Erik and Gabe look like brothers to themselves. I look like Tina Fey and Ian doesn't even look like Ian. Elisa looks like a fake version of herself. We got a good laugh over this!

Please use this photo and generate:

Create an ultra-realistic 8K cinematic Christmas portrait using a 55mm lens with bright, festive studio lighting.

A family, posing with one leg crossed and a relaxed yet powerful posture. One holds a giant red-and-white peppermint lollipop casually resting over his shoulder, adding a playful candy-land feel.

Appearance & Styling

• Calm, confident expression with direct eye contact

• matching faces without changing any features

Outfit

• Red-and-white candy cane striped suits on the boys and a cute sexy white sparkly dress on the girls with long hair and a fuzzy white blanket with the young girl with it wrapped around her,

• Suit fabric has a subtle shimmer or textured sparkle for holiday glam

Set Design

• Snowy ground with fluffy artificial snow

• Frosted Christmas trees decorated with red, white, silver, and gold ornaments

• Oversized peppermint swirls and candy canes throughout the set

• Large shiny red Christmas ornaments near the subject

• Warm string lights creating soft bokeh in the background

Lighting & Mood

• Bright, clean, cinematic holiday lighting

• Warm highlights on the face and suit

• Shallow depth of field with glowing background lights

• Ultra-realistic skin texture and detailed fabric clarity

Color Palette

Candy cane red, crisp white, soft gold, silver, and warm holiday lights

Overall vibe: Whimsical, confident, festive, editorial holiday portrait with a playful luxury North Pole aesthetic.

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Here's a ring I bought for myself at TJMaxx on clearance that I just love. Its even pretty from the side. The stone is green amethyst. I wear it all the time.

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Dec. 9

After almost exactly a year, I re-pierced my 3rd piercings. Last year I made them too low, so I took them out and let them close up. This year I was careful to place them in a better spot. I used a fat sewing needle. The piercings didn't hurt at all and so far, have not given me any trouble. I love them! I like that I can wear a large earring in my first piercing, leave out the second, and still be able to wear another earring using my 3rd piercing. But mostly, I just like the extra sparkle another earing gives. I don't have any plans so far for more piercings but tossing the idea of a cartilage piercing. Not sure I'm up for it though.

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I bought this large advent calendar on Amazon. The pockets are big enough to put little gifts for all three kids. I missed the first week, but I had fun filling the pockets with fun things. Mostly candy, but some small gifts were included. As much fun as I had filling it, the kids had even more fun getting a little present out each morning. I had to tape some pockets closed as to not spoil the next day's suprise! I think I might add snaps for next December so there is no peeking.