Christmas Eve

Cook always provides the beautiful Winter Wonderland promised in Christmas songs. The ground was covered in snow when we arrived and has slowly kept piling up. The sun came out a little on Christmas Eve and caused everything to sparkle.

Inside the house it is toasty warm and cozy which is perfect for cuddling up and taking a nap. Even Izzy, the German Shepherd Dog, can't resist!

In the evening we sat down together for Christmas Eve snacks complete with Christmas Punch.

Afterward, we tried to walk off some of our Christmas Eve cookies with a stroll in the woods. The snow was absolutely brilliant by the light of the full moon. The blanketed wood was positively glittering with the Spirit of Christmas. Although the picture looks eerie, the forest has never been more inviting.

Before bed we were able to fit in a couple of Christmas Classics: Home Alone and Muppet Christmas Carol.

Christmas Cookies

The tradition of baking Christmas Cookies is alive and well in the Hauta Home! Mom and I spent a lot of Tuesday and Wednesday in the kitchen preparing doughs, rolling them in powdered sugar, and waiting for things to come out of the oven and cool down.

The final result (not including our "tastings" and Christmas Eve desserts) is eight tupperwares high full of Sugar Cookies, Russian Teacakes, Peanut Blossoms, Candied Fruit Slices, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, Pecan Tarts, and Pfeffernusse! Mom even said that this is less than she usually makes.

I was happy that mom was willing to try out a Pfeffernusse recipe. I remember the cookies from my time in Germany and have loved them ever since! We even tried three kinds of icing: vanilla, orange, and almond.

They're all so good and different it's hard to say what's best!

Christmas and Messiah

Sunday was a busy day for us! I sang parts of Handel's Messiah both in a morning mass and an evening presentation. It's always a joy to sing under the direction of Tracey Gibbens, who is just as passionate about music as he is kind. It's also fun when Nolan is able to sing bass in the choir!

In between the two Messiahs Nolan and I rehearsed, ate dinner, and then performed a Christmas Music Devotional with Matt and Marissa Faerber with narration by David Gore. It was a little bit of everything: piano, voice, cello, trombone, harp, and even organ!


The Christmas Music Devotional has become a treasured tradition between me and the Faerbers and I am so grateful for their talent, musicality, and desire to share beautiful music at Christmas Time!

Duluth and Duluth East

We were so grateful to spend time in Duluth with our good friends, especially Marissa Faerber! On Friday we saw Star Wars with her and on Saturday (after many rehearsals for Sunday and a delicious dinner with our accordion friend, Robin Floyd) we were able to attend her last Christmas Concert at Duluth East High School.


We were so happy and proud to see her play because we have so often been double booked and unable to see her perform. First she played cello with Sterling Strings, an elite group of string players, and then as second chair in the orchestra. You can get a glimpse of her behind the too tall cellist in first chair. We're so lucky to have Marissa and all of the other Faerbers in our life!

Grandma King

On Sunday, December 13th, Nolan's Grandma King passed away at the age of 89 after a day full of visits from loved ones. Virginia King was a fun-loving, caring, intelligent, hard-working, and beautiful person. She was loved dearly by her whole family and all those who knew her. The staff at her assisted-living home all loved her and never once heard her complain.

Grandma King was an avid ice skater and golfer even into her retirement years. She was also in a bowling league for many years while she worked for the railroad. She was an active volunteer at Christ Lutheran Church throughout her many decades living in Lake Elmo. With 12 brothers and sisters, Grandma King was not able to have any pets as a child but she loved animals dearly and cared for many neighborhood pets over the years. This is just one example of her limitless kindness and desire to help others. She was also known for her green thumb and the gardens she kept; a plentiful vegetable garden as well as beautiful flowers everywhere.

Grandma King loved all kinds of music and Nolan and I were grateful to be able to visit her often and sing her Christmas carols, hymns and one of her favorites: You Are My Sunshine.

Funeral services were in Lake Elmo on Friday December 18th. Grandma King will be missed during this time of separation!

Music

Posting about Nolan's concerts made me realize I failed to post about my musical endeavors of the past month! In November I played in my second accordion recital.

I always love playing and singing with the accordion band as a part of the recital as well.

I also had a small concert with Sonomento, a choir that I've been singing with in the cities. Our big concert is January 31st at 7pm at the MacPhail Center for Music. If you're in town you should come hear us sing!

Buffalo Christmas Concert

On December 12th, after singing at the church Christmas party, I drove out to Buffalo to see Nolan play with the Buffalo Community Orchestra. The concert was great and featured a lot of groups with fun arrangements of Christmas songs.

Along with a full orchestra and choir there was a bell choir which played a very entertaining version of Fum, Fum, Fum. The sound of the groups all together was lovely and inspiring. We even stayed for a bit of the after party and enjoyed the cookies and jazz music!