A Christmas Pageant

A Christmas Pageant, Photo by Shannon Finney Photography

This is one of my favorite times of the year. It's a time of traditions, from special

stockings hung on the fireplace mantel, to the Christmas tree skirt handed down

from a great-grandmother. And one of the most enduring is the church Christmas

pageant. Children dress up asMary and Joseph, the Wise Men, angels, the animals

in the barn, shepherds, and, of course, sheep! This little one sat patiently waiting to

take the stage.

Young at Heart



Young at Heart, photo by Shannon Finney

Some of the best photographs happen when nobody's looking. The couple in this photo are the grandparents of a young girl whose bat mitzvah was the reason for this celebration. While the crush of younger folk were heating up the dance floor, this couple was off in their own little corner of the world. It's the granddad's face that does it for me - there's a look of bliss, complete joy at holding his beloved. There is an old song by Eddy Arnold called "Come Live with Me and Be My Love" and one of the verses speaks to the sweetness and the promises of love: "Come live with me and be my love/and say to the autumn leaves turned to gold/stay and hold me in your arms/when the world is cold."