Saturday, December 17, 2011

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah Christmas is nearly here! I am sure, that you are all beginning to get into the Christmas spirit. In our household we have been singing Christmas carols since September so we have been dreaming about the sparkling lights, presents under the tree and so much more for quite some time.

Kennedy Center concert hall, choir is right at the back!
Isabella smiling proudly in the middle. 
Last week Isabella sang with her choir, the Children's Chorus of Washington at the Kennedy Center. They were accompanying the Four Canadian Tenors and the National Symphony Orchestra. I am not sure you will believe it from two totally biased parents, but it was a beautiful concert. I was really moved, there was even some sniffing from the bald man to my left! Gregorio had been muttering about the endless rehearsals and the rather staid uniform that they have to wear but he too thought it was a wonderful mix of songs and we felt very proud of Isabella. We could not make out Isabella's facial expressions but we could read her body language and when the Tenors threw in some Italian songs such as O Sole Mio and some

Morricone theme tunes we just knew she was turning to her fellow choristers and saying something like "you know I'm Italian, I can understand what they were singing!"  She was at the Kennedy Center for five nights in a row, getting home at 10 or 11 o'clock at night. I was concerned she would not make it but she loved every evening and couldn't wait till the next day. Isabella is very shy about standing up in front of others, so this was a very positive experience. This week-end the choir has their own Nordic Winter concert at a church downtown. They will be singing in Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, French, Hebrew, oh and English. I was impressed at the fact that she can sing (because I most certainly can't) never mind in languages one doesn't even speak!

Meanwhile, across town at the Warner Theater, Matilde has been skittering and smiling in the Washington Ballet's  Nutcracker. She is loving it even more than last year. This year she is a snow angel and oh my goodness "did you see the costumes? and do you know we are on stage with the BIG ballerinas" She already has her sights on what she would like to be next year! Despite it being a phenomenal military operation (444 children spread over 5 different casts each with on average eight performances over the course of a month) it is a magical show. I have caught snip-bits from the wings and Gregorio, Isabella and I shall attend the final performance on Christmas Eve. As Tchaikovsky's score rings in our head we shall slip merrily into our annual traditions.



There is absolutely no way one can tinker with the Christmas traditions in our household. Gregorio and I have been informed: Papa' is cooking on the 24th and the menu includes: polipetti alla luciana (baby octopus), linguine alle vongole (clams) and sea bass. And the following day Mummy will be knocking up a turkey and roast potato feast. And is Isabella ever unique - she loves brussel sprouts!

There is another reason to rejoice this week. Isabella and Matilde gained a nephew. Little Franklin was born on Monday and is settling in at home in London.

We are looking forward to slowing down over the Christmas and New Year period. It has been a fun but busy couple of months. We hope to connect with many of you over the season but better still we hope to see many of you in 2012. The Impavido travel agent is already gearing up with a trip to Yellowstone and the Rockies in February and Europe in the summer. Stay tuned for when we shall be making an appearance near you!

Isabella's next MRI will be at the end of February. We are hoping for an all stable result which will take us to two good years post chemo and we will be upgraded to scans only every six months. This will mean a longer stretch of living life to the full before scanxiety kicks in.

May your Christmas, like ours, be filled with choirs of singing snow angels.

Buon natale ed un felice e sereno 2012.
Emma, Gregorio, Isabella and Matilde. xxx