Fa La La La La ... La La .... La La

Well, I have been reading about a war on Christmas lately (read more here). My friend Kerrin has made himself the general of this war. I believe last night Mari and I lead people to attend an event that benefited Kerrin's opponent (whoever that may be) and this event was filled with "ridiculous symbolism." We went to Wolf Trap for their "Holiday Sing-a-Long." Mari was the one who first had the idea to attend, but I had a great time too. This could become an annual tradition for us. Check out the pictures below and then I will post my beliefs about the war on Christmas.

Here we have Kip, Kate, Mutiga, Paul, Dave, Mari-the most beautiful, Jason, & Juliana w/ candles. The guy who took the picture suggested we turn off the flash. Good call Mr. nice guy who took the picture.

Wolf Trap invited "The Presidents Own" Marine Band to lead us singing holiday favorites like: "Jingle Bells" "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" "Joy To The World" "Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer" "O Come, All Ye Faithful" "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" "Hallelujah Chorus (My favorite because I will be playing the Timpani part at our Church so it was pretty cool seeing one of the best Timpani players in America hit em)" & "Silent Night"

Mari, Mutiga, and Paul enjoy some hot coccoa while singing their favorite holiday song.

Juliana and Jason sing their favorite song: "Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer"

One aspect of the evening I found very interesting were all the 'Jesus' songs. It was a blast singing the songs our Church typically sings for our Christmas Eve service. Speaking of Christmas Eve service, I think that Kerrin's war on Christmas has some good points and some unnecessary points. (Please know that Kerrin has a unique sense of humor and I hope you get to enjoy some of his postings, but read at your own risk ... if you find yourself getting tempted or angry, stop reading.) I think any holiday has tendencies to be overcomercialized (sp.). But I think that Christmas is slamming and that there's no need for a war. In light of that, I appoint myself as the 'United Nation of Promoting Peace Not~War During Christmas Time.' Plus, if we change Christmas to September 29th, I'd have to change my calendar all around, and that would be a pain. I'll post more later about my new role as peace manager during this time of war. Or I may join the dark side w/ my wife who is a lieutenant for Kerrin. She was doing '24-type' survey lance of the enemies territory last night.

While I'm posting, I wanted to tell you that I got new shoes. First I will show my old shoes and than my new ones. I typically by shoes every 18 months, but since I've been married Mari has helped me to see that it is better to buy shoes before the sole is all gone.

Can you guess which are the old shoes and which are the new ones?

Well, the last bit of rambling is that I had the opportunity to play percussion at a friends wedding this weekend. I love going to weddings and love playing djembe at weddings. There is something very sobering to hear a pastor give an exhortation to a brand new husband. May God help me to live out my vows I made to Mari every day. Here's a picture of the djembe I played.