Tonight words will be inadequate to convey the joys of this day. First off we went to Sabbath School and Kallie sang Christmas songs most of the way.
Next we had a great Sabbath School with Kim and Diane leading out. It was great fun and the kids were tough to corral but Kim was up to it.
Got to see Dr. George who wished me well for the Monday heart treatment.
Then we went to Starbucks where we ordered a tiny hot chocolate for Kallie, complete with lid and straw, no more spilling on Sabbath clothes. Our drinks were perfect.
As I drove I talked to Nikki about letting me take Kallie with me to the Grace Cathedral Christmas program. She said it was fine. So my friend arrived about noon and we prepared to go to San Francisco.
Upon arriving we discovered that special event parking was $30 which we forked over, then walked across the street to the stunningly beautiful Grace Cathedral, a gothic masterpiece. Up the 30 steps we walked, Kallie counted them and picked up our tickets, soon the family joined us and we walked up to our "cheap" seats along the sides of the seating areas. It meant we were unable to see the entire choir and orchestra due to huge pillars but we could certainly hear the music.
The concert was by the mens choir, the boys choir and a full orchestra plus the incredible pipe organ. The Grace is know for its 7 second reverberation and soon stunningly beautiful music filled the vast open spaces. Some of the music was classic, others more recently written but all performed to the highest standards of perfection. The boy soloist was nothing but pure sound.
When the music had died out we reluctantly picked up our things and walked out. The 3 children had behaved in an amazing manner, silent as church mice they had drawn pictures, snacked and just soaked in the beautiful place and its music. I am so proud of 2 year old Mia, 4 year old Kallie and 5 year old Timothy. I doubt the two older ones will ever forget the experience!
We then retracted our cars from the expensive parking places and tried to locate a place to eat, that turned out to be very difficult as every body in Northern California was in the city, in their cars and stopped in front of us. Eventually Jason signalled that he was through driving about in the city and was headed south on 101. They located a New York Pizza place in San Bruno which turned out great pizzas, was pleasant to visit and gave us the space we needed to unwind.
After eating we headed home in our two cars. My friend had prepared coloring paper, crayons that helped Kallie endure the long time of silence and I've included the picture they created. I think its pretty good. Inspired by the beautiful stained glass that was everywhere in the cathedral Kallie worked on the picture the entire concert.
Its been a very special day, one that adds the quality of life for all of us.
Thank you Jo for being the spark plug that made this happen! Thanks Jason for being the driver. Thanks to Steve and Nikki for sharing Kallie for the day. Keanna attended a long practice session for the Nutcracker and then went to a Nutcracker Christmas party this evening.
Love to all,
Tim
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