What happens when you’re photographing Christmas lights and you accidentally take a longer exposure and move the camera?

Art Happens!

The holidays and 2025 are behind us while the opportunities of a new year lie ahead. Before I completely abandon the past I am posting an image of the great-grandsons.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

This week the theme at 4M is whatever music moves you. I’m going to start the year with a few songs you may not have heard. I was going through my vinyl collection and found songs that I am pretty sure never made onto the top 40 the past 50 years. The first number is a duet from the first collaboration between Robert Plant and Allison Krause. Enjoy.

Next up is the Marshall Tucker Band. This band came along in the early seventies when bands like Lynard Skynard were rocking the charts. The sound was called Southern Rock, even though there may, or may not have been a country indluence. Give a listen to “Try One More Time,”

Kacey Musgraves wonders, “Where did it all come from?” and asks, “Can I Speak to the Architect?”

The final offering is courtesy of one of the best male vocalists from 60’s country music, Don Williams. The song, “It Must Be Love”. Have a blessed week.

Christmas 2025…Looking Back

Christmas 2025 found the family gathering at our home on the 26th for dinner and gift exchange. We are actually missing two members of the clan. Our youngest grand daughter got married the Friday before Christmas so they are not in this image. There will be wedding photos at a later date, so stay tuned.

I captured a new image of the great grandsons.

Prior to the wedding, I captured a new image of my wife and me in our formal attire.

Since the middle grand daughter works or the MLB Athletics, I ordered a cap from her next minor league assignment in Lansing, MI. That is a Lansing Lugnut cap! She will be headed back to Phoenix in January to get ready for spring training. My wife and I are making plans to spend a few days at a major league baseball spring training facility.

One thing that our town does is light up the town square with an amazing display of lights that include a multitude of photo ops. Here, my wife, our daughter, our middle grand daughter and the great grandsons are sitting in an oversized ornament.

Our daughter, middle grand daughter, great grandsons, grandson, and son-in-law are in one of the photo ops on the square.

As you can see, the square lighting was spectacular. And that’s what our Christmas looked like. Looking forward to the New Year.

And now for the final video of 2025. I have tried to convey the reason we celebrate Christmas with a few words and songs along the way. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of a Savior and the Good New of His coming. What are we supposed to do with good news? Go Tell it On The Mountain!!!

And that brings the 16th edition of my Christmas Music Marathon to a close. May you and your family have a very Merry Christmas. May the Light of the World shine brightly in your life and may the joy of Christmas follow you through a most blessed New Year.

I am going to take a little break, so I will post again in the new year.

We had a wedding!!! The youngest grand daughter got married. This image is the four grandkids in the courtyard of the wedding venue. It was a wonderful evening. More photos will be posted at a later date.

Seems like yesterday, it was 2007!

On a different note, the other day we decided to take a couple of photos in our wedding attire. Lucy decided she needed to be in the photo, so my wife picked her up and Lucy looked directly into the lens while I snapped the images. It made us both laugh out loud!

Merry Christmas to you and yours. Have a blessed Christmas celebration with those you love and may you have a memory making day.

We have been blessed with four wonderful grandchildren. In 2016 only the oldest grand daughter (far right) had graduated high school and was in college. Each addition of a grandchild changed the family dynamic in some way. In 2019, the oldest grand daughter got married and in 2023 gave birth to the first great-grandson. There is truth in the song, “A Baby Changes Everything”.

We are in the final week before Christmas and it is time to pull out two of my all-time favorite videos. We have seen the the birth of Christ was announced by prophets over 700 years prior to the event and they told us every detail. The 9th chapter of Isaiah declares, “a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders and he will be called: wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah also tells us that a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and call His name Immanuel (God is with us) and Micah 5:2 declares that Bethlehem will be the birthplace of the Savior. On the night of the birth of Christ a host of angels announced the arrival of the Messiah to shepherds in nearby fields. Why were shepherds among the first to hear the news? After all, shepherds were a pretty rough crowd.

The job of a shepherd required that he guard the flock from wild animals and thieves, keep them calm during storms, and lead them to green pastures and pure water. They were not looked upon with much favor in society. All of this shows us that the King of kings and Lord of lords came for everyone. When John 3:16 says, “whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but be saved”, it means everyone regardless of who they may be. Christ did not come only for the wealthy, intelligent, and governing class, He came to save whosoever because all of us are in need of salvation! It is the reason all, who have placed their faith in Christ can sing Hallelujah for that most Holy Night.

May the peace that only comes from the heart of our Savior live in you and yours this holiday season. Merry Christmas to one and all.

The Ghosts of Christmas Past 2019-20

The great grandsons meet Santa Claus!

There are a couple of new ornaments on the tree this year. My wife and a few of her friends took a “girl trip” to New York City. They saw the sights & sites, including the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. Since this is the Rockettes 100th anniversary, it was mandatory to bring home a commemorative ornament. When you get to check an item off your bucket list you need to have a token of the accomplishment.

That lady in the front right, with the big smile on her face is thoroughly enjoying the bright lights of the Big Apple. Have a blessed day.