An Exciting New Year! Welcome 2014.

Lucy had a nice Christmas too!

Dear Family and Friends,

As promised, here is my very delayed Christmas/New Year's update.

We had a very nice Christmas and New Year's Holiday, in spite of the fact that we were dealing with some health issues. A few days before Christmas, Clara became ill with a cold which included stomach upset, fever, bad cough and lethargy. She was really miserable for several days, including the day we had to rehearse and perform the Messiah. Fortunately my parents arrived for their visit the day Clara became sick and were able to be with her during what was a very busy weekend for Joey and me. She recovered in time for Christmas and was feeling much better Christmas day, but the rest of us, including my parents, came down with bad colds a couple of days after Christmas. Needless to say, we were all feeling a bit under the weather during the majority of the holiday, although we still managed to have a really nice time.

Playing with the crumbly cookie dough Momma tried to make.

Making cookies out of the good dough Daddy made.

 On Christmas eve, Joey played a 4:00pm Christmas pageant service in which Clara was supposed to have been a sheep, but was unable to do so because of her illness. In between the 4:00pm and the late service, Joey prepared a nice dinner at home. At the 11:00pm service, I played my usual "Silent Night" descant. The late night service is always very special and beautiful. The church was full, and the lighting of the candles at the end of the service while the congregation sings "Silent Night" is always so moving. Our rector Alfred Tisdale never fails to give moving and inspiring sermons. We feel blessed to be part of such a wonderful church community.

Christmas Eve dinner 2013.

We were all pretty tired on Christmas morning, since we had been up late with the Christmas Eve service. Clara woke up around 8:00AM and immediately went running into the living room to see whether Santa had brought her anything. She had fun opening her presents and was especially excited about her new art easel. After breakfast and presents, we all attended the 11:00AM Christmas service. We spent the rest of the day resting, and poor Joey, who had been busy playing services, still managed to cook a wonderful Ham dinner on Christmas evening.

Grandad reading "The Night Before Christmas" to Clara on Christmas Eve.

The cookies and milk are ready for Santa!

After Santa arrived.

Christmas morning!

Boxing day was spent with our dear friends Lois and Rich. Lois, who is a wonderful cook, prepared a delicious meal for all of us. Unfortunately, Clara was still not back to feeling her best, and we had to leave a bit early due to her fussiness. We spent the rest of the day packing and preparing to leave for our trip to Alexandria, VA to spend the New Year with my Aunt Gay and Uncle Harry.

Decorating ginger bread houses!

We really enjoyed our visit to Alexandria. We got to spend a lot of time with my aunt and uncle as well as my cousin Adam, who recently became engaged to his beautiful fiancée Natasha. We also spent an evening with my long time friend Megan and her husband and three children. We attended Sunday service at the Washington Cathedral and got to say hello to one of Joey's former Yale classmates who is now one of the organists there.

Clara loves Natasha!

She loves Adam too! 

One of the highlights of the trip was our New Year's Eve celebration. As a Christmas gift, my aunt and uncle bought us tickets to a New Year's Eve dinner and dance at the Carlyle Club. (See link) (http://thecarlyleclub.com/) We enjoyed a wonderful meal and great live band and vocal music from the 1920's to the 1960's performed by the Doc Scantlin Band. We had a great time listening to the music and dancing. My parents stayed home with Clara, so we were able to enjoy an evening out with my aunt and uncle. Thanks again GG and Uncle Harry!

On our way to the Carlyle Club! Whose face is peeking out at the bottom of the picture?

While we were in Virginia, Joey and I decided to start 2014 with something new for us. We bought a new car! We got a great deal on a brand new 2013 Honda Pilot. It is very spacious and it was rated no. 1 in safety in 2013. Because our Dodge Caravan was having some work done, my parents rented a car to drive to Alexandria. They were able to return the rental once we purchased our car, and we drove our new car home. We are really enjoying the new car and we plan to keep the Dodge Grand Caravan for short trips and occasions when we need two vehicles.

And now we are back to our busy routine. Clara is enjoying being back in ballet class, going to story-time at the library and having play dates with other local children. She has graduated to a big girl bed and is doing great with it. We have been trying to do some beginning potty training, but we plan to get more serious about it this month. Joey and I have been preparing for a violin/organ recital at the "House of Hope Prebyterian Church" in Saint Paul, MN on February 2nd. We have been invited to perform on the Elizabeth Chapel Organ Recital Series. We fly to MN in the morning. It will be a quick trip to MN, but we look forward to seeing our family and hopefully some MN friends! See the following link for more information: http://hohchurch.org/concerts-and-recitals 

The best Christmas present!

Finally, we have some very exciting news about Calvary Church. Calvary Church is getting a new pipe organ! It is going to be built by the Richard-Fowkes company of Ooltewah, TN, one of the premier builders of Pipe Organs in the world. I will write a more extensive blog post about the organ soon, which will detail the process Joey and the organ committee went through in finding the right builders. The official announcement was made to the church congregation this week, so we are excited to share the wonderful news. Please click on the following links to read more about the organ project. As you can imagine, Joey is extremely excited about the ways in which this instrument will enhance the musical worship at Calvary Church as well as provide performance and educational opportunities for Calvary Church and surrounding communities. 

"Like" the church organ blog on FB or follow it on your own!

http://www.calvary-music.org/richards-fowkes-opus-23.html

Richards-Fowkes official announcement: http://www.richardsfowkes.com/

Enjoy the start of the New Year!
Until next post,
Joey, Erin and Clara

This photo shows the current 1964 Wicks organ.