Silent Night, Holy Night

Last night was most definitely one of my favorite Young Midlothian Singers experiences ever. We had the great honor of singing at St. Mary's Hospital in their Pediatric unit. Thank you so much to Lily Arevalo's mom who works in the unit and Abby's mom who coordinated the visit for us.
It truly felt like a "silent night" -- stepping out from the hustle and bustle and noise for a moment to focus on what really matters in a quiet hospital wing. A "holy night" where people were uplifted and spirits brightened and I felt like angels were all around in the form of your sweet children and the children we visited.
I wish that everyone could have joined us as we walked down the halls to see the tremendous service the kids rendered to the patients there (this I expected) but also to the parents and hospital nurses and staff. Due to privacy factors, we were not able to take any pictures but if we had, you would have seen teary mothers' faces holding their toddlers, smiling kids with tentative waves from their beds and several patients clinging to the jingle bell ornaments we were able to hand out. My favorite moment was outside the door of a sweet girl perhaps 9 or 10. As we sang the last verse of "Silent Night", tears ran down her face but she quickly worked to wipe them away as she smiled at us and her mom took her hand.
What a blessing it is to sing -- to bring joy and hopefully some measure of comfort, especially at Christmas time. What a blessing it is to work with your precious and bright children and watch them learn to share that brightness with others.
Best quote of the night...." We have totally got to do that again next year".
I whole heartedly agree.

GardenFest of Lights!

It was a real treat to sing at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens "GardenFest of Lights" on Monday, November 26th. The evening was beautiful with thousands of lights on trees and bushes, and even brighter on the kids' faces! For many of the singers, it was their first time visiting the gardens. We love the opportunity to be out in the community, sharing talents and spreading holiday cheer but it is also a great way to experience some of the wonderful places in Richmond!

It was opening night for the GardenFest this season and many visitors were able to step in from the cold and tour the beautiful Bloemendaal house and watch the Singers perform our holiday program, "Simple Gifts". We were able to perform a slightly shortened version of the program three times back to back! It was a great experience in stamina and really learning"the show must go on"! It was amazing to see the progress with each performance and the confidence and enthusiasm build.

With this being our first performance of the season, it was fun to see how excited they were when all their hard work for the past several months paid off!