It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Well, today was an amazing day of joy and fun and... heart-attacks. At 12:15 we (Abby, Brittany, Jillian, Erika, and I) gathered for handchime practice. On Thursday we were given a song arranged by our handbell/chime director Ben Hall's wife, Alyssa. We got it down REALLY quickly (we were amazed at how well we were doing!) Well, we practiced until 1:00, when we loaded our church  bus and went to the South Mall to play two 1/2 hour performances. We did mess up, but thankfully it wasn't too noticeable! We had a 40 minute break in between performances and Abby, Jillian, and I all got something to eat. I got churros (bread sticks smothered in cinnamon sugar aka heavenly goodness), Abby got the grossest nachos ever (the chips were like foam), and Jillian got a drink :) The next performance was ok. Things went better than the first one, I think. But we finished and all is well :) Afterwards, those who did their "Proverbs a Day" challenge went to "The Creamery" on Main Street. This is where the heart-attack comes in. Several of us (including me) got the burger called -- guess what -- the heart-attack. It had just about everything on it. I couldn't finish it and no one wanted the rest of mine after their burgers. The Creamery makes the most filling burgers ever. Jillian, Abby, and I sat together at one table and shared many a laugh and made many memories! After dinner (thanks to Mr. Chris Gable for taking us), we went to the Christmas Village! There were lights EVERYWHERE and, again, Abby, Jillian, and I were all together. We pulled each other along, sang Christmas carols galore, and had a group hug on a bridge. It was a wonder night. Christmas truly is the "most wonderful time of the year!" Then, when my brother Jon came to pick me up, he told me how my Uncle Don, Aunt Trisha, and cousin D.J. all got in about 30 minutes earlier! Jon and I went upstairs to where they are staying and greeted and talked and laughed and watched a movie :) Then I went and got a nice, warm, soothing shower and wrote on my blog while texting my friend, Grace Roy. The perfect ending to a perfect day.