"Christmas, Christmas time is here...

...and Christmas songs you love to hear! Thoughts of joy and hope and cheer but mostly shopping, shopping, shopping!"

Oh, wait a minute.

I've been listening to Straight No Chaser too much.

And Christmas was twenty-five days ago.

And I'm just now posting pictures from that wonderful day!

I didn't take very many, really. You know, sometimes it's nice to just sit back and relax and enjoy making memories, instead of worrying about capturing every single second with a camera.

But I thought you might enjoy a few...here are some of my favorite ornaments out of the 357 (and counting...not that I've counted...but it's a lot!) we somehow fit on our tree every year:

{We have four of them, one for each of us}

{My grandfather made this}

{From the Ryman Auditorium}

{My grandfather made this, too. It's a real egg! Painstaking work, beautiful, but very old and fragile now.}

{From the Washington National Cathedral, made out of stone from near Bethlehem!}

{From Stanton Hall plantation in Natchez}

{My Nana wrote this letter to my parents when they were first married}

{Can you see him? A stuffed otter from the Monterey Bay Aquarium! Getting to put the otter in the middle of the tree is quite a big deal in our house.}

{There's a tiny pew, organ, and Christmas tree inside!}

{Also from the Washington National Cathedral - the Rose Window}

{Christmas tree bokeh!}

{So I tried that handy little idea on Pinterest - do you know how hard it is to cut a tiny heart out of a piece of paper?! That's why mine look a little funny.}

{Same thing with a cross. Maybe I should ask for a Photo Jojo gift card next this year for Christmas, and maybe I should get this fun kit!}

{I made this for my sister. It was said on a behind-the-scenes video for the movie Courageous that producer Stephen Kendrick often quotes this. I just had to make something with this on it for Sarah!}

{We made Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls to give away to the families at church at our Christmas Eve service. The aroma was heavenly!}

{You know what? We cut the butter and sugar in half. Or maybe even more. And they were still really rich! But oh so good. :-)}

Well, that's all for now...I did get another item on my Favorite Things Project list crossed off! I'll post it soon - having a hard time deciding which picture I should use out of the 50 different shots I took! 

Because of Jesus,
Bekah

Pinterest!

Yes, indeed, I have taken the plunge and jumped into the cute, crafty, fun, time-wasting, wonderful thing that is....Pinterest. :-)

P.S. Not much to post lately...but stay tuned for some pictures in the next week or so! Hopefully!

Hands | Personal

Though these pictures aren't the finest in terms of focus/sharpness, I wanted to share them with you.

My beloved grandmother is one of the most musically gifted people you could ever meet. She began studying classical piano at a young age, spent a summer at the Julliard school of music in NYC, and has blessed the hearts of many ever since with her beautiful playing. She's easily comparable to Beegie Adair when it comes to jazz (name any Big Band hit and she'll play it - with no music) and I can't begin to list all the classical pieces she's played!

Her daughter, my dear aunt Emily, studied piano as well; she now uses the gift of music the LORD has given her serving as the pianist for her church and teaching little ones each week. I love hearing her play! One of our favorite things to do as a family when we're all together is gather around the piano and sing hymns.

As I've said before in my "Favorite Things Project: Playing the Piano" post, my sister and I took piano lessons for 10 years and, even though we don't study music as much anymore, the LORD has given us many opportunities to use the gifts He has given us. We both love to play for our church and a weekly Bible study, and it is one of my greatest joys to pass on my love of music to the precious kids I teach.

When my dad's side of the family gathered last week for Thanksgiving, I had the chance to take these pictures:

Three generations of pianists...

My grandmother, Alice

My aunt, Emily

My sister, Sarah


"...with my song will I praise Him!" Psalm 28:7

Because of Jesus,
Bekah

Il Volo {for my friend Mockingbird}

Those of you who aren't known as Mockingbird, don't mind this...

Mockingbird: I can't post audio on here so I'm embedding all the YouTube videos that are just audio with pictures of Il Volo or whatever else. Enjoy!!

Il Mondo

E Piu Ti Penso (my favorite in Italian - the music was written by Ennio Morricone, who wrote Gabriel's Oboe)

O Sole Mio

Un Amore Cosi Grande

El Reloj

Smile (my favorite in English - music by Charlie Chaplin)

Per Te

La Luna Hizo Esto

E La Mia Vita

Notte Stellata (the music is from Camille Saint-Saen's The Swan)

This Time

Hasta El Final (from the Spanish version of their debut CD)

Adding this, too....Jackie Evancho's America's Got Talent audition

Nessun Dorma...so gorgeous!!!

Grand Opening Event 10.29.2011 | Pass Christian, Mississippi Event Photography

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a friend asking if I would shoot the Grand Opening Event her business and a few others were hosting in Pass Christian. I happily obliged - and I had a wonderful time capturing the activities of the day.



The complex where the businesses are is unique- two buildings with a large porch on the back. The weather was beautiful that day!



The Pass School of Music is owned by my friend Bonnie Sheldon (lower right) who teaches piano and violin. I'll introduce the other teachers in a minute!



Mrs. Bonnie and our dear friend Mrs. Carol Mahler performed...







...with a wonderful audience in attendance!



Aaron Windham teaches classical and acoustic guitar...



...and despite having cold fingers, his performance delighted the audience.





The wind was blowing pretty hard and it was a team effort to keep music from flying away!



Matt Schnake also teaches guitar and performs regularly along the Coast. He had the everyone clapping along (or, as in my case, tapping our feet)!





It was a wonderful day to just relax in the sunshine...



Tara Ladner teaches piano and voice - she sings so beautifully!



(Gotcha, Mr. Ted!!) He did a great job as emcee for the day!



Friends and musicians...



Proud grandparents...



Mrs. Bonnie and her dad delighted us with a few fiddle tunes!



Meanwhile, the guys were busy cookin'! Burgers, hot dogs, fried fish, and all the fixin's were served...and wow they were good!



Aren't these little girls adorable?!?



Mr. Ted Sheldon drew the lucky winner for a beautiful painting by his father-in-law, Mr. Eugene Conner...



...which was funny because who had handed out the raffle tickets?



The artist himself!



There was also a Zumba demonstration by Lahtzy Gutierrez - she had everybody dancin'!!





Liberty Fontana spoke briefly about her business, Right at Home, which provides home health care for the elderly.



These gorgeous girls modeled some of the fabulous items you can purchase at Southern Divas boutique!













This picture cracked me up... and yes, they sell Saints visors and jerseys and camo picnic baskets! You oughta head over there and get one!



Grand Master Lawrence Day and his students from the Black Dragon Fighting Society...





...as well as Master Smith, Master Jacob and their students from Fighting Tigers...



...put on a great exhibition! These kids had just tested that day and were wearing brand new belts! Congratulations, guys!!







To finish out a wonderful afternoon, Mrs. Bonnie accompanied some of her students as they performed for us! They did a wonderful job!!







We all felt a little bit like the girl in the plaid shirt in the above picture when it was all said and done....but it was a happy kind of tired! It had been a fun, memorable day and I was so happy to be a part of it!

Thank you so much, Mrs. Bonnie, for asking me to shoot for you! You all put a great deal of hard work into planning the Grand Opening and I think you did an incredible job. :-)


Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope