Around town.

That time of year. 

Get's pretty busy, but mostly in a good way.

Choosing the tree . . . 

Decorating for the season . . .

 And taking in a few local attractions:

 Early in December on a Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed a Tuba Ensemble that filled the concert hall.  The power of these instruments was A.Maz.ING!  I don't know if you know this about me, but I tend to be moved by music more than just about anything.  The first number began, and the tears rolled down my cheeks.  And they didn't let up for a while . . . simply beautiful.  I really don't like to cry, in public or anywhere else for that matter, but I tried to just embrace it this time and hope that maybe, just maybe, I could enjoy their performance without the tears . . . and I did after a little while.  I think the Dixie Land band at the end helped with its lively beat.

We took in the local tree lighting that included fireworks.  Yup, Christmas decorations and fireworks go great together, right?!!! Made more sense why the fire department had representatives there once the sparks began to fly, but no people or trees were injured so I'm thinking it was a success.

 

Bestefar joined us for some lights at Thanksgiving Point, and I loved that the end of the light route had the words and corresponding art work to 

This is the Season Beloved of the Year.

This is the season beloved of the year. 

Sing a rhyme; Christmastime soon will be here.

Tell the true story of Jesus' birth,

When, as a baby, he came to the earth.

This is the new star, shining so bright, 

Lighting the world on that first Christmas night.

This is the angel proclaiming the birth,

Singing "Hosanna!" and "Peace on the earth!"

This is the stable, shelter so bare;

Cattle and oxen first welcomed him there.

This is the manger, sweet hay for a bed, 

Waiting for Jesus to cradle his head.

These are the shepherds, humble and mild,

Hast'ning to worship the heavenly child.

These are the wise men who followed the star,

Frankincense, gold, and myrrh brought from afar.

See the sweet mother, Mary so fair,

Joseph, who guided the donkey with care.

See the dear baby of Bethlehem,

Little Lord Jesus, the Savior of men.

As we drove slowly through the last portion of lights, 

we sang the song together and looked at the artwork.

 And felt 

the peace of Christmas.

There's a tree in Draper that locals refer to as The Tree of Life It wasn't hard to see why.  I don't know what kind of lights they were, but the twinkling was perfect.

 And of course we had to go downtown Salt Lake to take in the lights at Temple Square and explore a bit.

 We did have to park pretty far away and hike in, but the weather was lovely, and it really wasn't bad.  Hope you have had the chance to take in some of the festive beauty around you this season, and just maybe take in some of the peace of the Season.

Just in case you haven't had a chance to watch this, I'll include it here.  Just be warned, you might just find you are moved to tears. . .