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And now the second in our series of praise songs. This time, Molly takes the lead in a song chosen by her.

This will hopefully be the first in a set of praise songs from home by our family. The girls are now able to really contribute to praise songs, and it is awesome! This is the first praise song Leah has played on piano (and the first song she's played from a chord sheet), and she did great! I hope it warms your heart as we're all stuck at home.

We hosted a virtual recital for the grandparents early in the pandemic.

The pandemic hit hard, but we managed to get out as a family. TI even got the whole family out to play some tennis.

Molly continues to sing in the youth choir at church. Jen and I don’t often get to see her sing as we have other commitments on Sunday morning around church, but I got to see her this time. They sounded great!

Molly's orchestra director at school organized octets for those interested in smaller ensembles this year (as you may have seen at Barnes and Noble). Molly's octet performed at the Howard County Solo and Ensemble Festival in February. They were fantastic, and earned a superior rating and an invitation to the state festival later this year.

In addition to her Chamber Orchestra, her GT Sinfonia, and her octet, Molly joined the Symphony Orchestra at school again this year. This group includes 6th-8th graders, and combines strings with winds, brass, and percussion. They meet at 6:50am before school every Tuesday and Thursday, so these are some dedicated kids. They had their first concert in January.

Leah had a very busy concert evening in January. The evening began with Leah singing with the school Chorus.

After singing with the chorus, Leah transitioned to the stage to play her cello in the Advanced Orchestra made up of fourth and fifth graders.

Leah still wasn’t done, though. Next, she played her cello in the Symphony Orchestra as well.

Nice job, Leah!

Molly had her winter Chamber Orchestra concert in January. This is her main, during-school group that meets every day. They were great!

After spending a few days with the Batsons in North Carolina, we returned to Maryland for even more Batson time. We drove back Monday, then G’Mom and Grampa flew from North Carolina to Baltimore on Tuesday. First we exchanged more gifts.

Jen made G’Mom a shell ornament with shells the kids collected at the beach.

But it wasn’t just a day for Christmas celebrating, as it was New Year’s Eve, which is also Grampa’s birthday. Jen made a chocolate cream pie.

And there were birthday presents, too.

G’Mom and Grampa stayed with us for a few days. Jen and I took advantage of having them in town to go see Come From Away at the Kennedy Center in D.C. It was great!

G’Mom and Grampa even went with us to drop the girls at camp for their 3-day Winter Camper Reunion (which the girls had a lot of fun at).