This morning, my youngest discovered some educational apps on my iphone. She was most excited about "3D Brain", a high school/college level app that shows the brain and its parts and functions. It's a handy little tool for those like us who find things like that interesting.
As Belle gleefully toyed around with the app, I thought to myself: "Man, I think her excitement about this is cool...but maybe I am too close to this situation, and maybe it is just really...really...NERDY." (Not that I would discourage this...but sometimes parents think that something about their kid is just the neatest thing, and only outsiders have the objectivity to see it as weird, annoying or, in this case, extremely nerdy. Just something that I try to keep in mind while parenting.)
So, just as I had the "maybe this is nerdy" thought...Belle exclaims, "HEY! The front view of the hippocampus looks like a Klingon warship!"
This weekend starts the craziness that is the Nashville Children's Choir holiday schedule.
First, a wedding on November 10th.
During the holidays, the NCC is frequently called upon to perform for wedding ceremonies in the Nashville area. They perform a version of Transiberian Orchestra Christmas Canon, and instead of the words "Merry Christmas" they sing "Alleluia". Here is the Pachbel's Canon portion that I found on YouTube...the lyrics start about a minute in. Beautiful:
Here is the venue for the wedding--Belmont United Methodist Church.
Then, November 19th, Hodie Oratorio Performance at McAfee Concert Hall:
Belmont University's Oratorio is a large mixed choir of 200 voices which performs major choral works with the orchestra. Several months ago the girls both auditioned for a special chamber choir that would sing with Belmont's Oratorio. The piece is a haunting narration of the Birth of Messiah, and will be something extraordinary in the new concert hall. My mom is going to be able to attend this performance when she comes down for Thanksgiving, which we are all very happy about.
This is the McAfee Concert Hall venue. This place has been called "a little Schermerhorn", Nashville's larger and well known symphony hall.
December 1st and 2nd--Christmas at Belmont Performance
This is the performance that, oddly enough, is harder to get tickets to than anything else in the Nashville music scene. Christmas at Belmont 2012 will feature a
variety of Belmont School of Music student ensembles and mass choir
performances (like NCC) that highlight the musical diversity of Belmont students. Usually held at the Schermerhorn and broadcast nationally every other year, this year it will be held at the McAfee Concert Hall. A little snippet of last year's performance of several group numbers can be found HERE.
December 4th--Moo's Violin Recital
Separate from NCC, violin is still an important part of our eldest's music education. She will be performing Martini Gavotte. Count on pictures and video to follow. :)
December 7--Nashville Children's Choir Holiday Concert
This will be a long afternoon and evening of two separate concert performances, to allow for the large number of folks that enjoy coming out to hear the NCC this time of year. This is the concert that parents look forward to hearing all that their choristers have been working on since July. NCC has four separate choirs: Preparatory, Concert, Touring and Youth. Tonight is the night to hear them all individually and combined. This will also be held at McAfee, which only holds about 850 people, so seating would be too tight to hold just one concert.
These are just the performance dates. If I listed all the rehearsals and dress rehearsals, this would be a much longer post! Suffice it to say, that we are busy, busy, busy!
January 4th & 5th--NCC's "January Jubilee"
This is the NCC overnight where the choristers receive their new music for their spring semester and tour. They two day retreat offers an intensive time of practice...and a whole lot of fun.
I think we get to breathe the second week of May after our return from the NCC San Diego tour! Shwew!
There once was a man with two fussy boys, who after many attempts to console the inconsolable duo, threw up his hands.
Then a nice fireman came on the scene and saved the day by giving fussy pants Number One...an axe.
Suddenly, fussy pants Number One is unsettlingly happy and seems to have an impish idea...and fussy pants Number Two has stopped crying and seems to be a bit concerned.
Ah...after rethinking his strategy, the fireman stepped in and Number Two was then armed with a protective helmet. The playing field has once again been leveled, and both boys have forgotten to be fussy.
I count myself fortunate to have been befriended by the Jessup family. They are a family of 8 that we've gotten to know over the last year, and we love them to pieces. Their home on several wooded acres is tucked away off a side road in rural Scottsville, Kentucky and is known to be a gathering place for all sorts of people far and wide. They have a 'the door is always open' policy, and I have been waiting for just the perfect time to drop on in. Today was that day.
While the adults talked and talked, Belle and the rest of the kids came upon an old abandoned home adjacent to the Jessup property, and discovered treasure--two plates & three bowls. My Belle, whom is no longer referred to as "Packrat" because she hates the term, jumped at the opportunity to add to her collection of collections.
I've been told that the Jessups have 90 chickens on their property. Belle is wearing a guinea feather in her hair.
My girls had a big old time with this group of kids...playing in the woods, swinging from a monster tree swing, chasing chickens and petting horses who have already gotten their full winter coats.
I find that you can judge the amount of fun that the kids have by how quickly Belle goes comatose in the backseat on the ride home. I think she might have made it out of the driveway. :)
We've been told that the Jessup rule is that if you can't stay a full 24 hours, you are required to come back the following week for a visit. That's a rule I can live with!
Several years ago, I was searching for something on the internet. Something random...like sneakers or language curriculum or conversion charts. I can't remember. What I do remember is finding--quite serendipitously--a blog put out by the Squicciarini family. They are kind of techy, and I think that combined, they have several blogs. Anyway, despite not finding sneakers, curriculum or conversion charts, I started reading anyway and discovered that these people were kinda kooky, like ourselves. Nutshell: They were Christians...who loved and kept the Torah as much as they were able. Fancy that! Anyway, the name stuck in my mind--I mean, a good Italian name like Squicciarini? A gal has to work hard to let that name fall out of her memory.
Fast forward...
When I came across that name on Facebook a year or so later, I couldn't resist sending a certain Julianna Squicciarini a quick note to say "hello!", and "I've seen your blog!". The rest is history. We kept in touch, emailing and "Facebooking", and I even received the sweetest of gifts on Purim from my dear long distance friend. A little over a year ago, Julianna went to a Hebrew language immersion school in Jerusalem (here is a shout out to Ulpan Morasha, reportedly the best ulpan in Israel), and I started following a blog that she developed to track her experiences in Israel. It was through following that blog that I really got to know Julianna's "voice" and heart even more. I could gush all over about this young woman, but I'll leave it at this: I'm a big fan. :)
Fast forward...
Within the last 6 months, Julianna was visiting a friend in Tennessee and we decided to meet at Fall Creek Falls in the eastern portion of the state. She lives just outside Charlotte, so I jumped at the opportunity to meet face to face! The girls and I drove out there, and spent several hours talking in front of the fire and over lunch. We talked about lots, but one of the topics was a certain young man named Joshua that she had been in a courtship relationship with for a few months.
Fast forward...
When I received a wedding invitation in the mail, I thought that not even wild horses could keep me away. What's a 7 1/2 hour drive, really? To meet her beloved groom, and the rest of her family? To show my love and support of this new friend, who despite her youth and being an aquaintance of mine for such a relatively short time, has been such an encouragement to me?
Nah, wouldn't miss it for the world.
So, we packed up the van, drove out for the Thursday night wedding, shared dinner with her lovely family on Erev Shabbat the next night, joined the larger family community of Bella Torah Fellowship on Sabbath, and finally, dropped in on the couple for brunch and goodbyes on Sunday before we headed home...leaving behind so many extraordinary people. Joe, Allyn, Morgan, Greg, sweet little Sophia, Julianna, Joshua, Christine, Isaac, Peter, Mary--it was a delight to meet and spend time with you. We are better people for it.
I took only a couple pictures, and pinched others from Facebook:
This is one that I got from Facebook. I believe that is Julianna's only surviving Grandparent with his arm around the groom. The lady in the blue on the left is Mrs. Spurlock, the mom of the groom. Far right is Joe Spurlock, the Host with the Most, and father of the bride.
Another picture stolen from Facebook, and I wish it weren't so blurry. Apparently the bride and groom hadn't seen each other for a week, until Joshua put the veil on Julianna. I believe this might be that moment captured. Joe Squicciarini joked that this was an important part of the wedding ritual, as Joshua wanted to make sure that he was marrying the right girl. To quote Joe as he was officiating the ceremony, "Because that sort of identity problem has happened in the past!" (Those who know their Bible stories will get that reference quickly).
This is the view of the chupah, or wedding canopy, from our seats. My girls LOVED this. Both noted the tallit (prayer shawl) strung over the top of the chupah, where underneath the bride and groom would hear the ketubah read, be blessed and make their vows. Symbolically, it's a very special place. Most of the symbolism, I'm sure, has to do with the ketubah made at the foot of Mt. Sinai between Adoani and the children of Israel at the giving of the Torah. But I'm also reminded of Psalm 17:8: "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings", as the Hebrew for "wings" can be understood as 'garment', 'edges' or 'corners'; the most special "cornered" garment to our Jewish bretheren is the tallit. When in Luke 13:34 Yeshua says, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a
hen gathers her chicks under her wings...", this same imagery of our Master wrapped in a tallit comes to mind, as he wraps his arms and prayer shawl around those who would come near enough to his embrace. Goose bumps, I tell you...goose bumps!
Right after the ceremony, and before the couple was taken around the room elevated on chairs.
Joe Squicciarini in the foreground, with Julianna confiding in her sister Mary (I'd imagine) that she was amazed and relieved that she didn't fall to her death just moments before. Which just now strikes me as funny, as she has gone skydiving in the last couple years. :)
Several pictures of this beloved family that Belle took without me knowing:
From L to R: Morgan & Greg Bartos, Mary Squicciarini, Peter Squicciarini, Joshua & Julianna Spurlock!, Alynn & Joe Squicciarini, & Christine Squicciarini & fiance Isaac. Sorry, Isaac! I don't know your last name!
Another thing that impressed us was the emphasis on the bridegroom during the ceremony. We do things differently nowadays in our westernized Christian religious ceremonies and their focus on the bride, but what we witnessed this past week seemed to honor Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) in a unique (though not new!) and meaningful way, and brought his return as our bridegroom to mind more than any wedding we've attended as of late. So cool.
Now, here are some pictures of Joshua and Julianna Spurlock:
Blessed are you, L-RD our G-d, King of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
This is the blessing that we make each Friday night over our wine or
grape juice, as we welcome in the Sabbath. Today, we visited Arrington
Vineyards and enjoyed seeing the 'fruit of the vine' while it is still
ON the vine. It was beautiful.
It was a clear, sunny day.
First thing we did was get reservations for a free wine tasting (that we didn't end up staying for, but hey, that's okay) and bought a bottle of Arrington's own Reisling. Lots of people had the same idea.
Look closely--those are horseshoes. If I am understanding properly, a cowboy named Kix owns the vineyard...hence the horseshoes, maybe?
My love.
My other love.
And my OTHER love. Wow--that's three. How cool is that?
This barrel holds 676 gallons of wine. That's a lot of wine.
Okay, now at this point in the day, the camera starts getting passed around, so I am honoring the work of many Grant photographers here:
