What would we do without moms? My mom has been sending me a handmade wreath for as long as I can remember. This year she wasn't sure if that would work for us given our current living arangement. Well, we really have no use for our throw ring while tied to the dock so I told her that I had the perfect spot for the wreath and PLEASE send one! It just wouldn't be Christmas without it.. and it will look wonderful hanging from the throw ring bracket.
When we first got to Kingston we found a flier in the office talking about a volunteer Christmas light craft class. Jan thought it sounded like fun so she went to check it out. Turns out Kingston has a HUGE Christmas light display and celebration. This craft class runs every year from March through November. Volunteers build Christmas light decorations to be displayed around the port. They put on a huge production on the first Saturday night following Thanksgiving. They provide free hot chocolate and/or cider and cookies, and free live music. Then they throw the switch on the lights and Santa stops by to chat the kids up. I think the port staff works for a solid month putting up all of the lights. It is quite a display. The park has a constant parade of people all through December of people coming to see the lights.
This year we decided that we would go to the Trans Siberian Orchestra for our Christmas outing. We were going to go to the Nutcracker but changed our minds at the last minute. And we are so glad that we did! We had a GREAT time! But , for those of you that have not seen the Trans Siberian Orchestra - be forewarned - this is NOT your father's orchestra. This is a full on rock concert. I must say, it was a bit too choreographed for my taste but the music and the show were awesome (brought back some old memories... well, I think I can remember those days). And to make it even more fun, Jan looked up the story and read it to us before we went which made a huge difference. The short version goes like this - LOVE overcomes all and our Lord knows exactly what He is doing. It is really a great story so if you have some time look it up and read it for yourself.
Merry Christmas EVERYONE!!! From Mike and Jan aboard Rapture
