A House Full of Music

I have a lot of fond memories of listening to music. As a little girl, I remember dancing to Animals and Other Things, Roar of Love, Bullfrogs and Butterflies 2, and The Music Machine. When we were older, we'd always put on music to clean--somehow, listening to Beyond Belief (Petra) and Poiema (Michael Card) cut down on the squabbling. Whenever I listen to Live the Life (Michael W. Smith), I have flashbacks to Oklahoma and playing Civ2. We went to visit Michigan when I was in high school, and I'd get up in the morning and watch the sun rise over the lake to Listen (Michelle Tumes)--as I listen to it now, I close my eyes and I'm there. We did a lot of dishes as kids, but it was easier when everyone would pile into the kitchen and sing Cats, Godspell, and Phantom of the Opera. Our family was a strict Christmas music only after Thanksgiving family, and I'm afraid mine will be too. The day after Thanksgiving, I put on the following CDs (in this order): Christmas (MWS), A Christmas Album (Amy Grant), and then Home For Christmas (Amy Grant). I know it's really Christmas when Gloria starts playing (which, of course, brings back memories of Christmas pageants past...). When I hear All is Well, I can hear Katie singing in my head. :)

I'm always amazed that I can remember the words too. For some random reason, I looked up Colby's Missing Memory on YouTube, and it's there--the whole video. We did this musical when I was in grade school, and as I watched the video on YouTube, I could sing every word with them (muscle memory wasn't so good, but David might have thought I was over the edge if I got up and did the moves with them). If I ever get old and have Alzheimers, you can come and sing songs with me in the nursing home. :)

Songs and singing have been an important part of my life, and I've always felt incredibly grateful that God gave us this amazing way to express ourselves. Songs are an integral part of celebrating God, and it even says that the Lord is our Strength and our Song (which should cause some of you to break out in song...GT and the Halo Express rocks!). And even though it often says to sing a new song, the old ones remind us of celebrations past and eternal truths that should never be forgotten. I'm definitely planning to rustle up copies of all my favorite music from childhood when I have kids, but I'm looking forward to learning new songs too.

This website has amazing kids music--if you are looking for something fun and enjoyable for car rides and singalongs, you can't go wrong here. http://www.hisandhernandezmusic.com/index.cfm

Tomorrow: pictures of our ballooning trip!