Christmas at Resurrection

Our church does a major Christmas program. Major. 5 performances. Orchestra. Actors. Dancers. Choirs. The adults start practicing in October two times a week. For this reason, Christopher and I have opted to sit the season out. With three small children, we just can't bring ourselves to be away from the house that much. So, we pay our $20 just like everyone else to attend the performance. We have never been disappointed. (Really, if you would like to be blessed by an evening of great music with a beautiful message, you should think about attending sometime...) Even my parents have made it a tradition to come down and go with us. (It does help that it typically happens to fall the weekend of Benjamin's birthday, although it sure makes for a full weekend.) This year we had a special treat in that we got to see Noah in the show. Luckily, he only had to go to one dress rehearsal - not the preceding 2.5 months of practices. Unfortunately, his choir spent so much time preparing for the children's musical that he didn't really get a fair chance at learning the Christmas music. However, in true Noah form, he did not seem upset by this in the least. Christopher and I opted to go on different nights with our respective parents so the other parent could stay home with the younger kids. (Last year's attempt at acclimating everyone to theater was kind of a nightmare so we opted out this time around.) Which meant Noah got TWO NIGHTS to perform. He could not have been more excited about singing in the "big aquarium" or what most would call auditorium/sanctuary. As you'll see in the video, he picked up on the words pretty quickly. This particular video is good because it shows him doing it all - singing, lip-syncing, snapping at dad, conducting, watching the video screen. Oh, and picking his nose.

Noah Sings from Stephanie Campbell on Vimeo.
And listen carefully. Do you hear the audience laugh when Noah picks his nose? That's because he happened to be featured front and center on the big screens when he did it. Dad and I were proud, I assure you. I mean how many people can draw a reaction like that from 3000 people? Yeah, 3,000. Like I said, dad and I were very proud.

On a more serious note, I would just like to say that in all honesty, we really are proud of Noah. On the way to church Saturday night, Noah asked if his friend Eric would be there that night. I said I wasn't sure because I didn't how Noah would react to the fact that Eric was not singing. Turns out, he was fine with it. I am absolutely amazed at his willingness to get up in front of people all by himself (without a parent or a close friend). Whether I am dropping him off at Star Wars camp (with only one other 4 year old in attendance and a LOT of older kids) or an open gym session (where he knew absolutely no one - again) he just goes right in and does his thing. (Thank goodness he doesn't sense his moms anxiety at letting him go in to such situations!) I spend enough time around children to know that this is a pretty special quality. Heck, I know a number of adults who wouldn't feel comfortable under such circumstances. I hope that he never loses his willingness to try new and different perhaps even uncomfortable experiences. He gains so much from all that he does and I know it is making him a special little boy.