Hello my friends - Its been too long since I've posted - I guess the proverbial "busy holidays" kicked my butt this year.  So here's hoping that everyone had a blessed season.

Something good...Hm, lets see - there's the new Rexburg temple!  How about that?  From the pix Ive seen and the information I've heard, it's spectacular.  The only bad thing about it is trying to get tickets...I've been trying for 3 weeks...no luck.  So much for an "open" house - Seems more like a Hannah Montana concert!! But heck, what an amazing opportunity for the BYU Idaho community!!

Lets see...one of my co-workers had a get-together on Christmas eve...and OMG!  The food was divine and the hot buttered rum...MMMMMMMM  Not many people out (like, duh...) and it was SO PRETTY!  The freshly fallen snow, few people...it was a very nice evening.

The best part about Christmas...is that its over.  Christmas with teenagers is not the same.  They don't like to sit around and sing carols or go out and look at the lights.  They just want to eat and play their Wii or go to the mall. 

So, 2007 goes out with a bang, and 2008 stops by tonight.  A little party at our house - thats fun for me cause I love to cook and entertain...hot tub is full and heated.  And tomorrow....DOWN COMES THE TREE AND THE LIGHTS!!

...and then...it's TAX SEASON!!!  UGH!

My motto - MAKE A DIFFERENCE...
My journey - wow, that's a tough one.  Now that I've found myself at an age I dont want to be at and at a point in my life I dont want to be at either, where do I start...

One foot in front of the other, I suppose...

But what I wonder - How do you know WHAT to change??  All I know is something needs to.

So why is this GOOD??  Well, I cannot MAKE A DIFFERENCE with my current status quo...And no one can do it but me!!

What about you?  Are you where you want to be doing what you want to do?

For those who woke up yesterday morning with their tounge frozen to the lamp post outside (eeewww) we all discovered something new...Yup. Winter was here in Idaho!  Of course the beautiful snow sure helped with the Holiday Cheer.  Who ever heard of someone singing "GREEN CHRISTMAS"??

Now is the time for opportunity - The time to share - The time to make a difference.  I guess if someone asked me what my saying would be, it would be "make a difference".  So, while you are out and about in this cold - keep your eyes open for someone in distress that perhaps you can "make a difference".  Stuck in the snow...trying to cross the street...carrying something way too big...  You just never know where the opportunity may strike.  What about offering a kind word - A simple "Merry Christmas" might be just what someone needed to help turn a crappy day around.

So, even thought we are busy...ME TOO...CARMELS, CARMELS EVERYWHERE...Just know that there is someone out there that YOU TOO can make a difference to.  Just slow down, enjoy the scenery and take in that great, big wonderful world you live in.

Without a doubt, the Camerata concert on Saturday night was one you should not have missed.  Thank you to Dr. Scott Anderson, ISU, for molding and shaping us into the greatness we achieved!!

This should become a new CLASSIC for us all...a big thank you for my dear friend for sending it to me.

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always
remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

For all of you warm weathered friends, out there...

How about a LOW TEMP that exceeds the average HIGH for the day...??  AWESOME!!  Granted, I know we need the moisture, but ya gotta love the mild December.  Makes the Christmas lights seem out of place, though...

But, my friends - a change is coming...

My fellow j-hubians - after having a week with not much good to blog about, I am happy to announce today that I am no longer a statistic of ARM loans!  We successfully refinanced our home into a regular fixed loan!  YEA YEA!  We had planned all along to re-fi after two years anyway, so there was no surprise there.  And we didn't get sucked into the "adjustable" increase like many of our friends do.  Many aren't in any position to refinance, and end up loosing their homes.  I was a bit surprised at the costs of closing - I don't remember them being so high - however, I also remember gas at 59cents a gallon in Reno, NV!  LOL

ALSO - CAMERATA SINGERS are having their concert SATURDAY night at the fine arts center!  This will be a must-see concert - If you are needing an idea for a date Saturday night, why not dinner and a concert?  I know many of you will be going to see Big and Rich on Friday, but why not support your local talent, too?  Tickets are reasonable, and no holiday season would be complete without a Christmas Concert?? 

So, after a rough week, I'm happy to have something GOOD to say today!!  How are you doing this Monday??