White Christmas?

The sun is shining the grass is green (sort of)…Wait this isn’t L.A. and I’m not singing the intro to White Christmas (if you haven’t heard it before it gives context to the song). Irving Berlin wrote it and then dropped it from the original recording to give the song more universal appeal. This isn’t about a song though, it’s about what is Christmas anyway? Where I live we are not always guaranteed a white Christmas. In fact it can be January before we even get a good snow. This year I thought that we might have a chance; we’ve had more moisture than usual. We actually had some snow for a few days, but the last three days rain and about 38-42 degree temperatures have melted most of the snow, save the piles made from the snow plows. But as for a white Christmas, we didn't have one here. 


One of my favorite Christmas carols is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” penned by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was written during the Civil War and it always gives me hope that through whatever the world throws at us that there can always be Peace on Earth.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old familiar carols play,And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along The unbroken song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,The world revolved from night to day, a voice, a chime; a chant sublime Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black accursed mouth The cannon thundered in the South, And with the sound The carols drowned Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent The hearth-stones of a continent, And made forlorn The households born Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;"There is no peace on earth," I said;"For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead; nor doth he sleep! The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Back to Christmas…For me Christmas is a time to reflect on the past year, what has transpired and what I have been blessed with. I have been blessed with so much…I have a loving wife, three great kids and a home. What more can I ask for? But I also have a job that allows me to have a house and doesn’t take me away from my family too much. I have a great extended family my in-laws are wonderful and my dad could be the biggest Boise State fan since…Me! My family is so important to me…and knowing that we can always be together makes me feel so fortunate. This season where we celebrate the birth of the Savior helps to bring out the best in everyone. Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.

It's December already! More than one week into the twelfth month. So many things happening this time of year hard to stop and catch your breath. I wanted to share something I read about today. If you have kids that write letters to the Man in the Red Suit (I mean Santa Claus), then this tip is for you. Google Voice is sponsoring Send a Call from Santa. Just fill out some info... I'll let Google tell you.

Well, this year he can—with your help. If you know a kid (of any age) who’d like to hear from Santa, create and send a personalized phone call from the jolly man in the red suit himself at sendacallfromsanta.com.

There are hundreds of options to choose from, so you can send unique, customized phone calls to anyone you know, from your nieces and nephews to old college friends, over the phone (to U.S. numbers only) or via email, Facebook or Twitter.

If you or your kids have a special request or message for Santa, you can leave him a message at his Google Voice number: 855-34-SANTA. Although he’s too busy to return messages himself, you can always create one on his behalf at the Send a Call From Santa site.

Ready to spread some holiday cheer? Listen to a sample message, and visitsendacallfromsanta.com to send a message of your own.

So click ovet to their site and make someones day. Be it your child, a friend or CoWorker. Everyone loves calls from Santa!

The Aftermath....

I had to take a few days to digest my feelings after the Nevada loss. It was a hard loss. We Boise State fans are spoiled. We are not accustomed to losing. That is not the norm in college football. Teams have ups and downs. We have had ups for a while and with growing pains come the downs. Moving into the Mountain West Conference will not guarantee unbeaten seasons and it shouldn't! for Boise State to build the kind of program that we want and they need, challenges have to happen and at times you grow by not completing the challenge.

That being said I think that Boise State was robbed in the BCS Standings. It just goes to show how rigged the BCS system is. So much so, that TCU, BYU, & Utah are leaving their NON-AQ conferences to try to get a piece of that pie. Other teams and conferences were jostled around this year for that same reason. $! MONEY. it's too bad that college football has turned it's focus to only $ so that all programs in all parts of college sports are focused on how to get more $. I don't have an answer, I just hate the problem!

SNOW

It Snowed. I got home from work on Tuesday and the snow was falling. Then I woke up this morning and the world was covered in a blanket of white wonder. I woke up early to be able to clear the driveway before I headed in to work. It was very peaceful at 6:00 AM shoveling snow. Remember it's December 1st! I wonder what the rest of winter will be like?

I took these before heading into work Wednesday AM.

Those are snowflakes streaking across the picture. (These photos were taken with my EVO)