I sang a solo

I was asked to be in a live Nativity play, and tonight was our performance. It's just a local event -- a woman in our church community organizes it, with live animals, a real baby Jesus, and kids to act out the parts of Mary, Joseph, the wise men, shepherds and angels. It's pretty cool. Tonight our two nephews were two of the wise men, and they got to hold baby alpacas on their laps! So cute!! And, Samantha was the cutest, sweetest little innkeeper I've ever seen, even though her head scarf kept coming off.

In between the narrations and characters' lines, we had several musical numbers. And I was asked to perform a solo for one of the pieces. It was fun. Here I am, dressed as a Bethlehem townsperson, singing my solo...

Well, actually, I was singing it for the second time, in that pic. They asked me to sing it again as postlude, at the end of the performance, as everyone was filing out. It was a Sally DeFord song, called "As Shepherds Kept Their Lonely Vigil." It's not one you'd probably be familiar with, but it has a fun, Celtic-sounding tune.

Anyway, I was proud of myself for doing it. For those who know me, you probably know, I don't really have a "solo" voice. Mine is more of a choir voice, which is fine by me. It's a well-trained voice, even though the training ended roughly 20 years ago. I've still got pitch, range and acceptable breath support. So, I can hold my own. I just don't have any vibrato. None, even when I try to make a little bit come --- it's just not there, people. Never has been. So, solos aren't really my thing these days. But I did it tonight, and lots of people told me I did well. So, ... yay for me! That was fun.

Here's a picture of our darling baby Jesus, who really is the sweetest little chubby-cheeked baby boy, three months old. He slept most of the time, happy in his little manger...

And here's Samantha, posing with her friend Madison, who was Mary, and Zachary, who was a shepherd. They all did a great job, and had a fun time...

One bad thing... Samantha's arm is in a sling, underneath her glitzy innkeeper's robe. She was jumping off a stack of couch cushions yesterday afternoon, and we think she broke it! Not a bad break, but well... long story short, we're waiting for an x-ray review to come back, and then she'll maybe need to go get it set by an orthopedic surgeon. Poor girl. She spent most of today in the doctor's office. ug.

Anyway, this post is about the Nativity. So, here's one more picture, of our nephew, Seth, petting the lamb that was part of the set. Cute! Looks like Sammy Lamb is mugging for the camera, eh?! ;)

Sadly, I didn't really get a picture of our other nephews, John and Cooper, holding the baby alpacas. They were sooo cute, but they were TINY -- only about a month old. And the owner took them back the second the performance was over, so I missed my photo op. Oh well. What a fun, sweet, Christmasy night. I felt a very sweet spirit there, which is helping to set the mood for the next few days.

Only three more sleeps till Christmas!