Merry Christmas to All! Jingle them bells!

Holiday Greetings to All.
Merry Christmas!

This is from the blog of a friend. He created/animated/did it all.
Enjoy.

Christmas Bells...

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!"


This is one of my favorite Christmas hymns.

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.

I am also thankful for the reason we celebrate this time of year; the birth of Jesus Christ. He is our Savior and He is the author of our salvation. He gave the ultimate gift to all of us. Hig gospel is true and He blesses us daily with His love. 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."

Christmas Listening Party!!!

Today I am going to write about one of my favorite Christmas CDs, Crescent City Christmas Card from Wynton Marsalis. It is New Orleans Jazz from one of the most famous New Orleans jazz musicians.

A little background. While I was in high school (early nineties) I worked for my uncle Danny in his band instrument repair shop; "Peterson Band Instrument Repair". His shop was located on Jefferson near State Street in Boise (So I was a commuter before commuting was cool). I worked on Saturdays during the school year and a few days a week in the summer. When I worked with him we would listen to CDs or tapes that he had. Usually the music would be jazz Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Synthesis (the BYU Jazz ensemble), even Sting. Some of my music taste and eclecticness is owed to Uncle Danny. He introduced me to many different types of music and groups. He also taught me that it was OK to be eclectic.

For Christmas on year he gave me Crescent City Christmas Card by Wynton Marsalis. I already owned a couple of other cassettes of Wynton Marsalis. This was a great addition. It is a Jazz CD, but Christmas. Sometimes people are leery of listening to new music because they don't know the songs. Well, these are all songs that most everyone should be familiar with. To me it still sounds as fresh and new today as it did in 1990. So go out on a limb, take a chance and give it a listen. You can get the MP3 tracks from Amazon.com and you can listen to a preview there as well.

---You can sample a song Here: Let it Snow

Heading home..

Day Eight (12/06/08)
Night in Provo Marriott

We booked rooms on Priceline for a night in Provo so we wouldn’t have to drive all the way through in one day. We had a nice dinner at a gas station in Vegas. We arrived about 10:30 PM –ish. We got three rooms for the same great rate.

Day Nine (12/07/08)
Finally Home

Got up. Took the kids swimming in the heated indoor pool. Checked out of the hotel. Had breakfast at Denny’s in Provo. Headed home. After a slight delay at IKEA we were on the road and headed north. Landed back in Nampa about 6:30 PM. What a great trip we had. Memories to last a lifetime.

Thoughts on the Trip

It was a great time had by all. The driving is never fun, but worth it in the end. Seeing Dylan and Karen was great. They have a lovely home. The stop there brought back many memories of Tammy and me hanging out with them in Nampa and when we lived in Boise State housing. Playing games together and staying up until all hours of the night. That didn’t happen this time, but just as fun. I even noticed that they were listening to the Christmas music CD that Tammy and I gave to our friends and Family when we were a smaller family of three in 2001.

Once when we were in Disneyland I almost shed tears. Gabe and I were waiting in line for a ride and he said “Dad, this is the best day of my life”. I know that he had many experiences there and will have many more in his life, but it meant a lot to me that this family vacation will be one that he (and all of us) remembers forever.

From California & Disneyland Dec 2008

“When you wish upon a star…your dreams come true.” -Jiminy Cricket