Breaking News!!!

OK, for all of you Libertyheads out there, here's the latest news from the homefront. We have just signed with Associated Management Group out of Meridian, ID to handle all the behind-the-scenes details of the ministry. They have assumed the responsibilities of office management, product distribution, booking, and mechanical licensing. Obviously, there is so much more that they will be doing for us, but those are the initial endeavors. This will free us to focus more on what we're best at: singing. It's a privilege to partner with Rick, Dee, Judy, Kay, and everyone else at AMG. You will actually touch base with a real person when you call the Liberty Office. Now, that's a novel idea! Be sure to welcome them to the Liberty team. You can contact them at:

liberty@libertyquartet.com or bookings@libertyquartet.com. Our office number has remained the same.

Of course, you can still contact the Liberty guys from the website.

God is good!

Snow Day on Ardyce Ave.

Last week, we had quite a bit of snow around our place. School was canceled for Trey, which brought him much joy and hyperactivity. We had a fun time in the white stuff.

Kassady and Lori immediately started on building a snowman.

I made sure that I jumped in at the end to make it appear as though I contributed to the project.

Trey is obsessed with football these days. He knows all the statistics for pro, college, you name it. He loves going outside to "run plays". He's figured out a good crossing route, 5 and out, and his favorite, the Hail Mary.

Of course, the snow is good for making those diving catches.

Kassady was just happy to be there.

Add

OK, I didn't realize so many of you guys went to an ACE school. Feel free to share your own additions to the ACE list...

I love ACE

For those of you who don't know anything about Accelated Christian Education...well, congratulate yourself (and go ahead and skip to the next post). For the rest of us...this is way too close to home.

You know you have been to an ACE school when...

• You know Ace and Christi will one day end up being together.
• You cried when Ronnie crashed his bike.
• You have had a class mate tell you to be quiet because he or she is trying to get an Accelerated Christian Education.
• You all look exactly alike for gym.
• You know what "cool-lots" are.
• You think that an 84 is failing.
• You have been or dreamed of being on the Pastor's Honor Roll.
• You had only one option for a language class (the language that teacher spoke).
• Riding in a bus is exciting and new for you.
• Snow days just mean doing your work at home.
• A demerit ruins your day..
• You go to school in a basement.
• Three Seniors graduating is a huge class.
• Memorizing 30 verses of the Bible in 3 hours is a piece of cake.
• You get angry when your friends in public schools complain about dress code rules.
• Flirting is a sin.
• Your English teacher is your Math teacher, Science teacher, Food prep teacher, Gym teacher, ect...
• All the ten year olds have comb overs.
• Convention is the light at the end of a tunnel.
• You get excited when you get to put a gold star on your star chart.
• The hot guy/ girl in your school is your cousin.
• You think that a student body of 50 K-12 is too big.
• You abide by the six inch rule.
• The cool guy in class is a nerd from another school.
• You never have back problems cause your PACE's are lighter than text books.
• If you wear a hoodie you are considered a "druggie".
• You will get detention if you cough in class.
• You want to marry Ronny or Christi.
• When you have to beat the little kids to THE microwave.
• When you know that there is this one kid who is just going to prison in ten years (once he gets his MySpace).
• You get excited when you get a new bathroom pass.
• You know everything about everybody... including the teachers.
• You wish you had a Pastor like Pastor Alltruth.
• There is no point to homework slips.
• You counted down from 500 PACE's until you graduate.
• You hate red pens but you love green ones.
• Having the GREEN pen is the highlight of the week.
• Openings are the worst time of the day.
• You get very fast at putting your Ipod or gum away when teachers are comming.
• You get rules named after you for the terrible things you have done (chewing gum, burping ,throwing PACE's across the room ect.)
• You are surprised to know there are other ACE schools out there....somewhere
• You get detentions randomly for having the nerve to stand up to stuff thats wrong, that in a way they tell you to stand up for.
• You know that once you throw 30 papperballs down the wall of peoples desk its only a matter of time till the teachers look away again and they all get pelted back to you.
• You keep away from those "other" childeren... who are your brothers and sisters who go to public school.
• You knock down the Christmas garland from on top of the offices and get in trouble because it pulled all the other garlands down.
• You actually feel lucky because you have no finals.
• You can recite all of pastors stories along with him.
• You actually begin to wonder what will happen to each of the ACE characters by the time that last English PACE rolls around.
• You feel a huge wave of relief the first time you go to convention and find that most of the kids from the other ACE schools are pretty much normal

*This group is for anyone who understood all of these statements or know somebody who does!

• You know what ACE stands for.
• Ace is not a playing card, its a boy.
• you spend your days in the learning center
• If you have ever gotten your finger slammed in the divider.
• If you have ever been 4 PACE's behind in a subject because the order hasn't come in yet.

You look at all the spelling errors in this message, and realize that an ACE student typed it!

OK, this is hilarious. Thanks, Sheila, for sharing with an ACE grad.

Presidential Prelection

I've enjoyed keeping up with the presidential primaries of both parties. The calculated speeches, the acerbic barbs couched in innocent repartee, and the constant calls for "change" (though the change advocated is never clearly defined) all point to the interesting race that's shaping up. I declared early on that I was really impressed with Huckabee. That was before his somewhat questionable record came up, which it always does in these primaries. There were several issues that caused concern. I appreciate his Christian worldview, but it takes more than just being a Christian to get my support. From the sounds of the blogs of some of my friends, we should vote for him just because he's evangelical and a really good guy. Well, I'm a Christian and a really nice guy but I'm not qualified to be President. I want to see a plan for the future that makes sense. Don't just wow me with impassioned delivery (can you say Obama?). Clearly define what your plan is for this country. Financially, this country's in a mess and somebody better have a plan to reduce our national debt, repair our Social Security system (or come up with a good privatization program), and cut the pork that seems to inevitably find it's way into every spending bill. I want to see a realistic plan for what's going to happen in Iraq, what we're going to do about our dependency on foreign oil, and what we're going to do about free trade. I would like for a candidate to clearly define their position on illegal immigration, one that is realistic and can be enforced. What are we going to do about our plodding tax system, the rising cost of healthcare/insurance, and our broken educational system? Of course, there are several social issues that bother me, as well. I haven't seen anyone who has clearly defined who they are.

I'm not sure who I support to be honest with you. I do like Huckabee's Fair Tax proposal, though I'm not sure how it would impact 501(c)3 organizations.

There's an program I heard about on Fox News that I found interesting. Try out the Candidate Calculator for yourself.

For the record, my #1 choice ended up being Tom Tancredo, followed by Huckabee and Romney.

Trey and Emme

The other night we had Marc and Talisha over to watch the BCS championship game,which was a total bore, and chow down on hot wings and popcorn. We have high-class tastes (I'm not talking friends here, though Marc and Talisha both have very blue blood) which also include paper plates. Anyway, we're downstairs switching back and forth between the game and the Fox News New Hampshire coverage, when we hear Kassady yelling something about Trey having marker on his face. Now, my kids do a lot of crazy things and when you throw Emme (one of Trey's very best friends) and her creativity in the mix you have a perfect storm. So, immediately Talisha calls up to see what's going on and Emme replies that Trey asked her to put eyeblack on under his eyes, like the football players, you know (he's obsessed with playing football). We immediately assumed the worst. I could just see Trey with permanent black marker on his face. Marc and I burst out laughing and I yelled for Trey to come downstairs. He and Emme sheepishly walked into the living room to show us their handiwork.

There was relief written all over Lori's face (Talisha's, too) when they saw the dry-erase marker in Emme's hand. We laughed and laughed over this one. Actually, I was impressed with Emme's artistic endeavor.

Gamer

Kassady has turned into quite the little gamer. She has this video game system called V-Smile that she loves to play. It has a bunch of educational games that help them learn to spell, count, and read. I say that to ease my conscience. Anyway, I thought this was a great picture that captured one of those many Kassady moments.

PJ Trey

A new take on "you've got some big shoes to fill". Trey is into stealing my pajamas each night and running around the house like a madman. And people wonder why I laugh so much.

Me, too

I'm hoping the fact that I posted my own ridiculous New Year's picture will save from the wrath to come (see post below). Let's just say that Margaret spiked the eggnog (with caffeine, of course). After the guys blew away the girls in "Buzzword", a really fun party game, we brought in the new year in style. Well, at least I did.

I gave up on being "cool" a long time ago and settled for "fun".

The Year Got Off To a Good Start...

Stephanie was definitely full of joy (or something) when 2008 rolled around.

***If I don't show up at a concert, church, or any other previously scheduled appointment, please call the police. After posting this picture, I am going to be living the life of Salman Rushdie.

New Year

Trey and Kassady could barely keep their eyes open as we brought the new year in. Is there anything more annoying than those little noisemakes with the paper thing on the end that goes in and out as your blow air into it? I blew my noisemaker incessantly, of course.

Trey spent first moments of 2008 trying to pull his poppers out of the plastic bag.

Christmas with Mom and Dad

It was so much fun to have Mom and Dad out for Christmas. I love Idaho, but I do miss being with my family during the holidays. So,they flew out on Christmas Day Apparently, you can get a good deal on tickets if you're willing to fly on the 25th. They stayed out here for a few days and we had a fabulous time.

I just wanted to post this picture to irritate Sharilyn (I mean, Lynn). I'm expecting a call soon.

Mom didn't let vacation slow down her spending...I mean, we have great deals here in Idaho! It's amazing how fast women can write a check. It makes my head spin. It takes me, oh I don't know, 5 minutes or so to painstakingly fill out that little piece of paper. I do that whole thing where after you write in the amount you take the line all the way to the end of the box. Nobody's going to rip me off and add something in there!

2008

OK, here's a post to move the crying kid off the top of the page. Happy, Dave and Char?

It's been a busy 4 weeks! Liberty has recorded 1 and a half new CDs, done a few Christmas concerts, and retooled for 2008. The Waggoner family hosted Dad and Mom Waggoner (and of course, my wonderful sister Lynn) over Christmas, brought in the New Year with a bang at the Taylors with several friends, finally took down the Christmas decorations, and hauled the (best ever) Christmas tree to the Tannenbaum graveyard. In the meantime, I played racquetball for the first time and found out how out of shape I really am. My reflexes are about 17 milliseconds to slow for the game. That's a lot of fun. I've been following the presidential primaries, watched several college football games (including last evening's yawner of a national championship), made a few new year resolutions, and worked on an incredible new partnership about which Liberty Quartet will soon be releasing information.

So, anyway, I say all that hoping that there will be a spot of sympathy for my pathetic lack of updates. My hopes aren't set that high. I know my audience.

Santa RIP

Speaking of Santa...sorry kids. Thanks, Ellen. That's hilarious!

Trey's first grade class presented a puppet show/musical version of the Christmas story on Wednesday morning in chapel. I got a kick out of watching the kids strain to lift their puppets above the puppet window. Trey's character was Joseph and halfway through one of the songs, Joseph apparently got tired. The puppet slowly started to descend until you could only see its head, then its eyes, then nothing. You could hear the stage whispers of one of the helpers trying to get him to make Joseph visible again (talk about reminding me of FCA dramas). Finally, Joseph slowly made his way back up. Classic material. I wish I would have brought my video camera.

After that, a guest speaker got up to speak about Christmas (I guess). I'm not real sure what the point of his sermon was. He started out by saying that truth is only found in God's Word. Truth is not found in traditions, blah, blah, blah. He then viciously vilified the Magi, calling them magicians and witches and reciting a litany of things they supposedly were involved in (and I'm thinking, "Now that's not in the Bible; how do we know that's true?"). He poked fun at their studying of the stars, once again indicating that the only truth was found in the Bible, which don't get me wrong I believe to be inerrant, the written word of God. He obviously hasn't figured out that there's a difference between astrology and astronomy. And he overlooked the fact that there was a star that directed the wise men to Jesus (that is in the Bible). It seemed that his main intent was to paint the wise men as evil, bad guys. The more I listened, the more frustrated I became at this guy's mischaracterization. These kids are sitting there listening to a person in authority tell them all this, and probably some of them believed what he was saying. You know, when you're speaking to kids, keep it as positive as possible. It just ticked me off. And, then the last thing that sent me over the edge was his leaning down and talking to the little kids about the fact that "we don't believe in all of these Christmas fairy tales, now, do we?" You know, let the parents of the 5 and 6-year-olds determine what they let them believe in. Is it really so bad that a 5-year-old believes in Santa Claus or Rudolph? Is that going to harm them in any way? I don't think so. In fact, just recently on Focus on the Family's radio broadcast (I think it was on 12/10 or 11) they were talking about how fantasy and imagination is a big part of a child's life and specifically mentioned that believing in Santa Claus wasn't a bad thing.

You know, I want my kids to know the real reason we celebrate Christmas (and they do). But, I also want them to enjoy many of the Christmas traditions. We don't tell our kids that Santa is real, but neither do we discourage them from believing in the old fella. Some of us just need to lighten up. Enjoy all parts of this wonderful season!

OK, I'm now getting off the soapbox.

12 Days of Christmas

OK, this is awesome! This Indiana University chorus brings it on this Christmas classic. You're going to love this one.

Software

By the way, for those of you who just don't want to pay the money for Microsoft Office, I have the solution: Open Office. It actually does a good job and best of all it's free. It has an alternative to Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Access,and a couple of other programs. Probably everyone but me knew this existed. Hat tip to my good buddy, Aaron Smith.

Dylan hams it up

For those of you who know my brother Bobby, this video features his son Dylan in his school Christmas program. Bobby told me that when they pulled up to the auditorium, Dylan jumped out of the car, stretched his arms into the air, and said "Showtime!" before sauntering inside.

He gets it honest.

Songs I Love to Hate

Speaking of music, are there any songs that you dislike with a passion?

Here's my list:

I'm Pressing (Dad led this song way too much back in the day)
Achy Break Heart (try to get that song out of your head the rest of the day)
Don't Worry, Be Happy
B-I-N-G-O (thanks to my kids' insatiable desire to sing it again)
Louie, Louie (by the Kingsmen, not the Kingsmen that you are thinking of)
I Wonder as I Wander (the most dreary song of the season)
...and anything by Michael Jackson

What's your list?

Faith in the Bearded One

Last night, Lori and I took Trey and Kassady over to Karcher Mall to see Santa Claus. It was a family tradition when I was a young kid to get my picture taken with the big man. So, I thought the kids might like it.

Now, you have to understand my children's personalities. Trey is a literalist. Everything exists in black and white. It's either true or it isn't. There is no in-between. He examines everything from a logical viewpoint. Kassady, on the other hand, has a raging imagination that never stops. Today, she was arguing with an imaginary friend. Lori told her that if she was going to have an imaginary friend they had to play nice together. That seemed kind of funny to me, like telling the (real) kids to settle down. Anyway, Kassady firmly believes in the existence of Santa Claus while Trey is an avowed skeptic. In fact, Trey has been making it a point to disprove intellectually the belief that his friends hold in the jolly saint. The other night we were over at Dustin and Angie Mori's house and we were talking about all the Christmas traditions that we experienced growing up. I asked if Noah (their son and one of Trey's best buddies) believed in Santa. Angie said, "He did until we had Trey ride home with us tonight!" That's my son.

Anyway, the being of Santa has been a huge argument in our house for the last few weeks. When we walked around the corner and saw Santa, Kassady punched Trey in the arm and said defiantly, "See...I told you he was real!"

Taste Evolution of a Non-Heathen Music Connoisseur

I'm fast becoming a pawn shop junkie, thanks in no small part to my singing buddy Dan Gilbert. There is so much treasure just waiting to be discovered. Especially in the music department.

Growing up I was pretty sheltered musically, which is not all a bad thing, and not something I'm complaining about. However, if it wasn't Sinatra or the Kingsmen (or some variant of those musical styles), it wasn't played in the Waggoner household. As a result, today, I have a great love and appreciation for Southern Gospel and crooners such as ol' blue eyes. I do have to say, though, that I missed out on some fantastic music being produced within other genres. I did get into the whole CCM thing back in the early 90s, but eventually got bored with the sameness of the bubble-gum pop music being mass produced by the mainline labels such as Sparrow, Word, and Benson. Then, I was introduced to Christian groups like Jars of Clay, PFR, and Third Day, groups I still enjoy today, and my taste switched to a more progressive sound. Sitting through Rodney Sones' Music Hit. and Lit. classes at GBS I developed a fascination for classical music of most periods. I never did get into the whole Renaissance movement, but the rest of it intrigued me. I identified more with the music of the Romantic period as well as more contemporary works by Copland, Ives, and their peers. The angry sounds of Wagner's compositions intrigued me as did the weird expressionist music written by Arnold Schoenberg and John Cage. I then started listening to the scores of Hans Zimmer and John Williams appreciating their creativity and ability to enhance the senses with their arrangements. My tastes broadened as I discovered jazz music. Thanks to the Marsalis brothers, Sanborn, Harry Connick, Jr., and Spiro Gyra I found myself listening to music looking for its possibilities. Lately, I've been discovering the great wealth of music in the classic rock, blues, and country genres. Obviously, I don't condone or listen to ungodly lyrics. And, sometimes the image presented by the performer irritates me. However, I have found that there are often positive, thought-provoking lyrics that accompany musical virtuosity in the afore-mentioned styles. I have been enjoying the works of Johnny Lang, U2, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley, Josh Turner, and Rodney Atkins in the past few weeks.

Much of this music has been found for $1.49 at my local pawn shop. I don't mind taking a gamble on an unfamiliar artist when I'm only paying $1.49. More often than not, I've been delighted with my purchase. And, if not, there's always eBay to help get rid of it.

No, I'm not a heathen, I promise. But neither am I so close-minded to think that the only "good" music is produced by "Christian" artists. In fact, I wish that Christian groups in many instances would step up their level of artistry lyrically and musically. We have been rightly shunned as insignificant and inferior because of a lack of commitment to quality. There are groups that "get it". Those groups include:

Casting Crowns, David Crowder Band, Brent Vernon (great songwriter; he can write with anyone), Steven Curtis Chapman, Crossway, the Perrys (they rarely record a song that doesn't have significant lyrics), and the Booth Brothers.

We (Liberty) are getting there. We have a new recording that is coming out next year that takes a step forward in the lyrical strength department. It's tough and time-consuming to write songs that matter to individuals who while possessing the hope of heaven face the realities of day-to-day life. It's even harder for a group who doesn't sell 25,000 units of a title to find those songs from songwriters outside the group. We're blessed that Doran is continuing to evolve as a songwriter. He's not settling for the "easy" lyric and simple melody. His songs are evolving into A-list quality. You guys will like his new material.

Anyway, that's where I am these days. While I will always primarily listen to and have a preference for good ol' Southern Gospel music I'm continuing to broaden my horizons, experiencing the wealth of artistic talent that God has blessed our world with.

So, thanks Dan. I like to experience that wealth as cheaply as possible (grin).