From the Deseret News and KSL:

How do you describe ‘The Wondrous Gift of Christmas’ concert presented by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square which delighted the more than 84,000 people in the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City? Perhaps noted historian Pulitzer Prize winning guest artist David McCullough said it best. At the conclusion of the Sunday mini-concert, he noted that John Adams toward the end of his life was having a conversation with young Ralph Waldo Emerson who had been studying at Harvard. President John Adams looked at the young scholar and said that he would to God that there was more ambition in the land. By that, said Adams, I mean ambition of the laudable kind -- the ambition to excel, not to have more money or power or fame. “Excel” the more than 750 performers and technicians did. Natalie Cole said it was “Unforgettable.” And she would know. Clearly this year’s audiences were not only on the edges of their seats, they were on their feet applauding and cheering from the processional of 85 dancers early in the program to Richard Elliott’s organ solo of built on the theme of “Good King Wenceslas” to the finale with the Choir and Orchestra, bell ringers, a combined children’s choir of 140 singers in what has become the signature closing of Choir Christmas concerts: “Angels, from the Realms of Glory.” Soloist Natalie Cole thrilled the audience with her warmth, her admiration for the voices of her 360 “backup singers” and her presentation of the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus Christ. The setting was a bit different for David McCullough who is more used to book signings of his fine historical accounts than on an elaborate stage with enormous baubles suspended from the ceiling and trees lit behind him. The Choir is “a noble attainment,” he said comparing it to the likes of the Brooklyn Bridge – his written account of its construction is compelling – and the Marshall Plan. “I include the Choir as one of the proudest achievements of our country,” he said. “It is an expression of the human spirit for all.” .

I was able to get tickets for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert again this year. I felt so blessed. You are only allotted 4 tickets so Wayne, Colett, Amy and I decided to make a afternoon and night of it. The sons-in-law had to stay home and babysit this time. We drove to Sandy, ate an Italian dinner and then took the train into the big city. We had to wait about 15 minutes for the train because we had missed the first one by about a minute. The girls froze. Amy had on little cute shoes and Colett had on thin boots and even wore a dress. They looked mighty fine, but they also sacrificed their comfort and almost died from hypothermia to look that cute. We finally got on the train which dropped us off just a block from the temple and since it was a very cold night, that was a big plus. Our tickets were only "OK" but at 7:30, the people who had better tickets than ours, but hadn't shown up, lost their seats so we moved into their's. It ended up being a packed house so someone who was very late got our first seats. Let that be a lesson to you to always be on time. Last year we had very good seats but because of sitting in traffic for over an hour, we lost ours.

That's why we took the train this year.

You are not supposed to take pictures once the concert starts

so we have a few of what the conference center looks like before.

Colett's feet just would not warm up so her Daddy took off his nice warm shoes and let Colett wear them for a while. What a good father he is. He has always spoiled his daughters.

The orchestra warming up

Beautiful music and lots of Christmas spirit so I REALLY hope we get tickets again next year.