It's a Wonderful Life

Last night we watched my favorite movie of all time - It’s a Wonderful Life. It seemed like a jolly good Christmas thing to do while we addressed our cards. Maybe we’ll make it a family tradition. ;) We laughed and cried and, Kevin, having the sterling memory that he does, quoted many of the lines to me as they were said on the screen.

Speaking of having a wonderful life . . .

Life is what you make it. Yep. That’s what I firmly believe. Everybody is gonna have their ups and downs. And, you can’t hand-pick your trials in life. The only thing that’s certain is . . . you will have them. It’s up to YOU to decide how wonderful (or dreadful) your life is gonna be.
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Saturday was wonderful. Kevin took me up to the mountains to cut down a Christmas tree! We went on a glorious drive up to Grass Valley and found a charming little tree farm. It was a rainy day and muddy. But that was okay because the excitement of the moment overcame all. We hiked uphill past many trees - none of them seemed like a match for our home. We crossed a bridge and continued our search. It was a merry time of dodging raindrops and debating the merits of various trees. The surrounding mountains provided a breathtaking backdrop to our adventure. The whole experience was beautiful. We finally decided on a fat, little Douglas Fir. We affectionately named him "Chubby." Then, the saw-man came to chop him down. We were soon on our merry way down the mountain. Before we left, though, we got some free apple cider - which tasted more like Windex than anything. But we laughed it off and dumped it out on the asphalt when we came to a stop light. At least we didn’t waste money on it. ;)

Now our home will smell like Christmas. I love it.
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Another fun thing we did this weekend was go to this huge cathedral for a "Procession of Christmas Carols" chorale concert. The acoustics in this cathedral were awesome. The choir stood on opposite ends of the church with glow sticks and sang a fantastic version of Silent Night. Their voices echoed over the whole audience. It was awesome. There is something exceptionally moving about a cappella in a cathedral. I even liked the few African songs they sang with drums in the background.