In the New Year

The weight of this week's snow on our arborvitae.

We wish you and yours many blessings and joy in the New Year!  

"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.  

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You are doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself.  Make new mistakes.  Make glorious, amazing mistakes.  Make mistakes nobody has made before.  Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work, or family, or life. 

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, do it. 

Make your mistakes, next year and forever."

- Neil Gaiman

Christmas Penguin Things

Not all penguins are Christmas Penguins.

But at Christmastime the Christmas-y penguins seem to make themselves known.  And since we happen to have a lover of all things penguin in our household... the penguins are sprinkled around the house in various Christmas glory.  They warm our hearts and make us smile.  Hopefully, they will bring a smile to your face as well.

 

Loving penguins on the bed.

No penguin nativity but our penguin
keeps watch on the Christ child.

Cookie jar and penguin of HOPE.

2012 additions to our Christmas tree.
There are at least 10 other penguins on our tree.

Gotta keep squeaky clean!

Keith's sister got him this motley line-up
this year as part of his gift.  Great job!!

Advent Candles

Really liking this song as we add a verse each week at church:

V1: We light the Advent candles against the winter night to welcome our Lord Jesus, who is the world's true light; to welcome our Lord Jesus, who is the world's true light.

V2: The first one will remind us that Christ will soon return. We light it in the darkness to watch it gleam and burn; we light it in the darkness to watch it gleam and burn.

V3:  We light the second candle and hear God's holy word.  It tells us, cling to Jesus, prepare to meet your Lord; it tells us, cling to Jesus, prepare to meet your Lord.

V4:  Three candles now are gleaming and show us the true way. Rejoice, the Baptist cries out; your Lord has come today; Rejoice, the Baptist cries out; your Lord has come today!

V5 (for next week): Four candles burning brightly announce that Christ has come.  Prepare, my heart, believe it, and give the Christ child room; Prepare, my heart, believe it, and give the Christ child room!

Marching Band

There are 150 high schoolers with whom Keith spends the better part of six days a week from mid-July to mid-November.  This is in preparation for the highly competitive marching band season that takes on a way higher precedent than merely performing during football games on Friday nights.

This year's show was titled "Unchained" with Unchained Melody as the soft, sweet ballad for the show.  Band parents run fundraiser after fundraiser and spend long hours building props, making food and tending to the kids needs.  Keith and the other devoted band directors bring in talented staff to design concepts for the show to make it truly an experience for the band kids - from a week long Band Camp to the last show at Grand Nationals in Indianapolis.

The kids perform tirelessly for these four months.  Keith loves working with the kids is always excited for the next achievement the group will hurdle.  His thoughts and actions are consumed 100% by this activity... as this is what he expects from the kids, too.  I got the pleasure of being absorbed by the magnitude of this organization by helping out with the colorguard for a some practices and competitions.  We consider ourselves blessed. It is amazing what these kids can do!

Opening set of this year's show as
guard surrounds with chains. 

Colorguard photo op.

CCMB on field for awards in Akron.

Grand Nationals in Indianapolis.