Thanks, Meg!

HUGE thanks to my sweet sister, Meg! She lives... elsewhere... and was able to get tickets to see the choir broadcast for this morning. With all that was going on her life, she was unable to use them. So she offered them to me (at least, I was the first one to call her back). Three of my friends and I drove up and braved the snow and crowds and all the holiday traffic to experience the live broadcast and "mini concert" afterwards.

Natalie Cole was the featured singer this season. She was lovely. After the broadcast was over and it was a little less formal, she was so gracious about her time here and how she was treated. She seemed genuinely impressed with the organization of the church and the choir.

And this man- David McCullough. Wow. I have to say, I'm a little late joining in the hurrah's for what an amazing man he is, but when he walked on stage, I literally teared up. He told the tale of the Christmas song "O Little Town of Bethlehem." Just hearing him speak on that alone made me want to become a roadie of his.

When all was said and done, President Monson came on the stage and spoke so eloquently to the two guests. He thanked them and said he could only say the 5 most important words in the English language "We are proud of you." And then two more, "Thank you." From what we could gather when Ms Cole spoke, President Monson presented her with her 5 generations of genealogy. You could truly see that it touched her deeply. And Mr. McCullough, of course, came up with a magnificent story about John Adams just off the cuff to express his gratitude. In closing, Lloyd Newell asked them to turn and face the choir. They were then serenaded by the Mormon Tabernacle choir singing 'Til We Meet" a cappela. We were all moved to tears.

I so enjoyed my day. Thank you, Meg, for making it possible. You didn't have me for Christmas but this was the best present ever- even if it wasn't meant to be. I came home wondering how people can doubt truth when you've been in a room like that. Simply amazing. :)