Blue Canary

Daddy's friend Alan got married in 2011, which all went wonderfully of course.  But one of the more thoughtful gifts from Alan to a few of the groomsmen was this:  a blue canary.  Daddy completely missed out on the joke until literally yesterday.

Sometimes you can be so absent-minded about things!  This blue canary in the outlet by the light switch has been watching over Madison for a year and three months now, faithfully lighting up the room.  Daddy initially thought this was just a nice gift for Madison, completely missing the reference to one of his favorite old songs by They Might Be Giants:

Bluebird of friendliness
Like guardian angels its always near

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

It's from the song "Birdhouse in Your Soul," which pretty much put the band on the  map.  And yes, this gift seems obvious now.  Which makes it all the more humorous and embarrassing.  Today Daddy got to explain it all to Alan and a few other friends, who got a good laugh out of it at least.

But this blue canary (one note spelled "l-i-t-e"), has been faithfully there for a while now, watching over Madison as she sleeps.  Today she was watching over her a little more as Daddy was away with his high school friends for the a late Christmas celebration.  We get together a few times a year for birthdays and the holidays, usually playing games or eating spaghetti.

Today we did this after church:  that went well by the way.  We had our first annual KPTV Awards Ceremony, which was basically a look back at some of the best videos of the year.

The award is based on a character who shows up from time to time, and announces, "I like KPTV, y'all."  During the awards ceremony, Daddy was in a tuxedo, along with two other well-dressed co-hosts:  we made it somewhat like an Academy Awards Ceremony, and it turned out fun for the kids - and adults too!

This was the last service of the year though.  It's been a good year for the children's ministry, one where we've seen Madison go to KidPak Junior, easily making the transition, and easily memorizing verses and following along with her teacher, Ms. Halston.  She loves church, which is just what we want from all the kids.  Some of these children think our services are the equivalent of Disney World, which is not to say we're that good.  The meaning is that they don't have much, and these few services we do each week are basically the highlight of the entire week.  Many kids have admitted to dragging their parents to church so they wouldn't miss anything.  That's music to Daddy's ears, of course.

Daddy got home later, but there was still enough time to spend with Mommy.  We're still watching a few Christmas movies as the year wraps up, and also getting some of the Christmas decorations down and organized for next year.  There's quite a bit to do there:  but the Desantafication Process has begun!