And To All A Good Night

Let me start off by saying I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas this year. We've certainly been busy around this Houston household, let me catch you up!


Let's start at last night, Christmas Eve. Kayla and I decided to go to a friend's church here in Houston (hey Bryan!). They did one of the coolest things I've ever seen done in a church service, let alone a Christmas Eve service. They started this running scroll on a screen with someone reading the words as they scrolled up towards the ceiling, the basic jist of the message was that Jesus was just an ordinary person, that all the Biblical testimonies were falsehoods and that Christmas doesn't really have the meaning that people ascribe to it, then this guy reading gets to the bottom and says something to the affect of "that's what I believed until I allowed Jesus in and He turned everything upside down," from that point, the scrolling words went in reverse and all the falsehoods were turned into truths as he read the same script backwards. It was really a great highlight of the service. The music was phenomenal, which isn't that difficult to do when you're associated with a fine arts academy as part of your community outreach. They did have a horn section on stage, and I really would like to be able to do that in a church setting at some point in my life. I think it would be great fun and a great way to use my talents to praise the Lord. Speaking of the "reason for the season...."


It gets really hard sometimes with all that goes into the Christmas season to remember why it's important in the first place, that God humbled Himself because of His great love for us and became fully human and yet fully God to die for my sins and save me from eternal separation from Him. That still blows my itty-bitty mind every year when I allow myself to think about it. How anyone can say that God is just some cosmic cop is one that misses the creativity in His plan to save all of mankind and reconcile us to Him. I don't claim to fully understand it, I'm just thankful He did it! I love singing the carols at this time of the year and we were so fortunate to be able to attend the Casting Crowns concert a few weeks ago and were really able to worship through those several carols we sang. It's sometimes tough for me to worship through Christmas carols because the words have become so familiar that I lose the power in them, and that was something that because I heard them in a new arrangement didn't happen this year.

Okay, so for the more superficial portion of Christmas, I was truly shocked this Christmas morn when, while I was sitting with Brenna helping her open her presents, I get one that is set before me that is obviously a box. In my head I'm thinking it's just a book or some clothes or maybe the shoes that were on my list. Let me set the stage a little more for you: for the past two to three weeks (although some would say it's been since before Thanksgiving), I have been a pain in the rump because I've been kidding about getting a Playstation 3. I've actually been kidding around quite a bit and just being annoying like only a middle child can. So anyway, back to this box. I tear off the paper and go into a little bit of shock because sitting in my lap before me is a brand new PS3! I still can't believe that I received one for Christmas. I'm sure the pictures that were taken of me when I realized what it was was a pretty good reward for those that worked so hard to procure one for me. I don't think it will match the Herbie car picture for those of you who know what that is, but I bet it came pretty close. I also received two games to go with it, one that I have talked about before, and one that I played a prequel to at my friend Billy's house and looks to be really awesome, but I have to exercise some restraint in my playing or I'm sure I'll get put on restriction! I'm only half-kidding about that by the way!

The Christmas season ended in a wonderful way for us this evening, when Kayla, I, her brother and his wife went out on a double date without kids to see Marley and Me. It was a fantastic movie, and since I haven't read the book in a long time, I thought it was very well done and stayed as close to the book as any movie can. We thoroughly enjoyed our time out together and look forward to getting to do it again really soon (hear that Mimi?!) Anyway, Christmas is now officially over and now all I have to look forward to are some special visitors from Georgia who I'm sure are trying their hardest to make it to us in an expeditious manner. I really can't wait to see them, and it really will be the best gift of the season to have them here for an entire week! Well, here I'll end this week's opus with a line from one of Brenna's current favorite books: Merry Christmas to All (you can look at the titel of this post for the rest!)

What Else am I Supposed to Do?

So, what do you do when you wake up an hour earlier than you're supposed to on the last day before Christmas break? You blog, of course. Sorry it's been so long in updating, but it's also been very busy. Here's the rundown since Thanksgiving:

Christmas at the Park:
Went very well. Kayla's parents brought Brenna's cousins Tanner and Avery down to come to this event that's held every year in the city park, where the band (who used to march in a parade) plays Christmas carols, there are local vendors to sell things like bead necklaces and crafts, and Santa rides in on...wait for it...the city firetruck! You've got to admit, it's pretty fun for the kids to see all the flashing lights and the loud horns and everything, but that's pretty redneck! Anyway, it was right in the middle of the kids naptime, so Kayla and her mom came to support me and the band, then went back to get the little ones so they could have their pictures taken with Santa Claus, which of course included Kayla's mom because who wants to sit on an old man's lap with a beard down to his belt by themselves?! The day was a success.

Christmas Concert:
This went off better than expected especially when you consider some of the behaviors of the students the Friday before which was our last rehearsal, combined with a brand new sound system, and the fact that all the members of my jazz band hadn't played together until they got out on the stage! When we listened back the next day, there was very little to pick on, the kids really stepped up to the plate and did an amazing job. The only weird thing was that I (the assistant band director) conducted three quarters of the concert. The only group that I was not responsible for was the high school band. Kind of strange, but it turned out alright.

Concession Stand #1:
So the next day, I didn't get a chance to have a well-earned rest from a job well-done, instead I got to help support our band some more by helping with the concession stand as a fundraiser for the band. It actually wasn't that bad, other than it was a fourteen hour day. The alternative was worse, however. This day was also the day for Region Band, which for some unknown reason was like four hours away from the school, so I actually got it a little better than my co-worker who got back into town around 12:45 in the morning.

Concession Stand #2:
So not only was it bad enough having to run a concession stand once in a week, I had the priviledge of doing it twice, because for some reason I am a sixth grade sponsor and they had the concession stand that Friday. That one was a little bit longer because we went from right after school until after 9pm because it was a tournament. I survived just in time for:

Veterans Program:
The high school band the next morning (last Saturday) attended a wreath laying ceremony at a veterans memorial that I wasn't even aware KC had. We played three songs and then were free to leave. This was actually a very nice thing to attend. It always amazes me to see the veterans of all the wars represented. There was even a gentleman there who had served not only in WWII, but also in Vietnam. I can only imagine the horrors that man has seen and I wanted to thank him for protecting my freedoms, but I didn't see him after the ceremony was over. After the program finished I finally got to spend some time with my girls for the first time since Thanksgiving. We went to the park and had a great time with a dog that was one of the sweetest I have seen since my dog Dolly was alive. This dog let Brenna hang all over her and played with her and didn't seem to have a care in the world about the two year old terror that was following her around. I contemplated taking the dog home, but we didn't know if she really belonged to someone and there was no real way to find out. We had a blast, though. So the next day was:

Christmas Cantata:
I'm a little torn when I report on this one, because the choir at church has some great potential to be a fantastic little choir, but there is not someone in the church with the formal training to work them into shape other than me. I'm still praying to make sure that God wants me to take over the Music minister job at the church and add that onto my already full plate. However, they sang alright with their troubled vowels and everything. The cantata basically consisted of several specials strung together and some carols from the hymnal, but I did get a chance to do a solo, which apparently affected a lot of people. I sang "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" by Casting Crowns, and found out that people were still talking about my performance two days ago. It makes me a little wary, because I know that God has gifted me with amazing musical abilities, but at the same time I know that I'm not even the best singer in my family! I know that I have to watch out or I will be quite prone to having an over-inflated view of my talents which God gave me anyway. I did have fun singing the song and explaining the story behind it. If you do not know it, check out Casting Crowns website here and find out the story behind the song.

So now we are finally into the last day of the last week before the long break which seems is long over-due. I am glad all our concerts are done, I am glad to see some family this next week and I am glad to be able to get out of town for a week. And one heck of a Christmas present is on its way to me and it'll be here by the end of next week: My parents and older brother BJ are coming to visit us here in the great KC and staying through New Years Day, so I can finally watch a UGA game with some people that actually want to watch it (Thanks sweetheart, I know that you try and like the Dawgs as much as you can, but it's not the same as when you have a vested interest!). Anyway, thanks for bearing with me through the blog drought of '08 and I will try and "talk" to you guys again through the rest of this break! Merry Christmas!

The Week That Was

Yes, for those that aren't aware of who the gentleman is beside Kayla, that is Mark Hall the lead singer for Casting Crowns after the concert where all the performers from the concert met those with "backstage" passes. This was a little misleading because the meet and greet actually took place after the concert and at the top of the convention center/arena/meeting place thing rather than actually backstage. We really did have a good time with some friends of ours from Georgia and with Kayla's parents. We loved getting to hear Casting Crowns perform, but they were the headliners for a concert that featured six different either performers or ensembles, including: Michael English, Natalie Grant, Avalon, Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, and PureNRG. While we enjoyed most of these groups perform, it was a lot to pack into one concert.

Here were the final thoughts on the concert from my perspective: Denver and the Mile High Orchestra should have won "The Next Great American Band" last summer, those dudes can play! I am still trying to convince myself that if I practiced enough I could sound like they do (I'm not doing a very good job selling that line to myself.), Michael English has one of the best male voices I've ever heard, Casting Crowns should have played more (it was a wonderful worship experience with them, it was just over too quick), I've heard much better renditions of O Holy Night than the one I heard on stage, I think the kids (Pure...) were lip-synching I just can't believe that you can have that steady of a tone whilst doing a backflip, they still have some kinks to work out in the spotlight and balance departments, and probably the highlight of my night (other than getting to spend it with my wonderful wife on what felt like a semi-date) was getting encouraged and reminded of how much influence over lives I have as a music teacher. I got to have a pretty significant conversation with the drummer of the Denver group and the story he told me just reminded me to see my tough kids as a challenge rather than a problem.

Here are a few more pictures from the concert:













It was a very beautiful set and the stage lights were done very well. Christopher, if you read this, I noticed the lights and it was all because of you!

Wrap-up for the rest of my life right now: Thanksgiving was very fun in Houston; we got a Christmas tree tonight which Brenna thoroughly enjoyed, I realized that I have been doing a lot of talking about Santa and trying to get Brenna to not be scared of Santa when we see him again, but not a whole lot of talking about Jesus. I am now making a conscious effort to mention the reason for celebration of this season a whole lot more. We had 11 kids out of 17 that tried out make it to region band, and 4 kids advance to area including my bass trombone player. The 4 kids are a little misleading, though because 3 of the 4 were automatic advancers due to the lack of further competition (meaning they take two to the next round and there were only two who tried out). I have two concerts this weekend a concession stand on Monday and Friday of next week, a Veteran's Day program on Saturday next week and singing in the Christmas Cantata on the 14th. I'm sure I'm busy past that, but I'm too scared to look further. Right now, I'm just making sure my 6th graders can all play the songs together at the same time and it sound like something that might be recognizable to a loving, supportive parents ears. Pray for me! I'll let everyone know how it's going when I get a chance to breathe!