The end of 2011...

A quick recap of some of the coolest Christmas gifts the Hubbert's received while in Arkansas:

Lyndon~

Octimus Prime rain boots
Red Barn toy circa 1975
books, books, & more books!
his first 'car'

Lisa~

Cool knife thing that I should probably find you a pic of...later
guitar case (that i needed)
cute earrings from a cool store in Little Rock called Ten Thousand Villages
& the best....my husband engraved a locket with 'Lyndon James' on it

Tanner~

He got those dern gaming headphones he wanted!
Funky scarves, cool shirts.
Toolbox he wanted
wireless keyboard

Ok, ok....here I am writing about things on the eve of Minimalism 2012!! Receiving (& giving) gifts with our loved ones was inevitable. And fun. Most all we received are things we actually wanted & will use frequently. But, 2012 is around the bend.....about to do my next purging of things & can NOT wait!!!

In other news,
I stumbled upon something wonderful at the library last night.

Misplaced & sitting alone, I found a double disc CD of RUFUS WAINWRIGHT COVERING JUDY GARLAND'S HITS LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL. This makes me very, very happy.

1. Already loving it.
2. It may now be confirmed that I am a gay man trapped in a middle-aged mom's body.

Lost in My Mind

Honestly, most CC music annoys me to a point of teeth grinding. Yup, I am snobby & cynical about that. (google "CC music" if you are confused, I can't even type the genre name because even that is quite annoying to me). But let's step back & analyze. Am I really a snob because I have musical preferences? I mean, if musicians are gonna share the gifts, given to them by the Creator no less, bring your best game forward, my friend! Don't write a crappy, pappy song & expect me to like it because it is about God! Don't force me to turn to "secular" music to actually be inspired & worship my God. Yet, that is often the way it goes. I often find the divine in things that didn't set out to be labeled that way. After all, many Christians create things & don't stamp the "CC" label on it. Or call it "praise & worship."

Anyway, I digress. There's a major exception in all of that for me. Perhaps it bloomed out of the fact that my dear college band/friends & I did a lot of listening, discussing, & imitating of this man's music, but I have a super soft spot in my heart for Steven Curtis Chapman. It does not hurt at all that he is an AMAZING guitar player & author of melody, but what always got me the most was his amazing (and I believe, inspired) lyrics. I will always remember the long drives I'd take, hashing out my beliefs in my head, trying to learn how to talk to God, and often his music was the backdrop.

Just felt like sharing this song because, well, it just lights the little belly of my soul & pretty much sums up what I want to remember every day of my life. (Even when I am being a stogy, snobby cynic). ;)

Holidays Commence!

Tonight I handed in my last paper, took my last final, and got a hyper little boy to bed.

And now I must pause & sigh, just so grateful for a break!

Now that means new tasks are at hand. Need to finally get around to a few Christmas 'to-dos' that I couldn't before. Want to go meet two little twin girls my friend just gave birth to. Need to catch up on some serious housework!

Merry Christmas!!