Stacy's Christmas Playlist

Darren and I began building our Christmas music collection the first year we were married. For many years, we bought one Christmas CD each season, and we got to take turns picking out the year's album. On my years, we acquired stuff like "The Coolest Christmas", "A Very Special Christmas", and "Christmas with the Stars". I like compilations. When it was Darren's year to pick, we added the likes of Aaron Neville, "Celtic Christmas" and "Christmas with the Judds". One year, a friend gave us Celine Dion's Christmas album, and I threw up in my mouth a little. That is, until I heard "The Prayer", her duet with Andrea Bocelli. That song instantly became one of my lifetime favorites. I doubt I'll ever tire of it, partly because it reminds me of Aidan as a tiny baby. I'd play it over and over, singing in English and a sad excuse for Italian while he snuggled in my arms.

These days, we just cruise iTunes in search of a CD's worth of tunes. This year, I discovered an artist named Ali Matthews and became mesmerized by her silky smooth voice - it's so pure and melodic. Check her out! Her Christmas album is called "Looking for Christmas". I also discovered MercyMe's new Christmas album, "The Christmas Sessions". I went to high school with Bart Millard, the lead singer, but he was a lowly freshman and I was a snobby senior, so I never even knew him. I regret that every time I hear his warm, gravely voice on the radio.

A few years ago, I uploaded all of our versions of "O Holy Night" to iTunes and burned a CD for Darren. It's his favorite song, and I thought it would be really cool for him to have a CD of all its different variatios. I never did figure out if he thought it was cool or not.

This past weekend, I took a wise friends's sage advice (okay, it was Darren) and set aside an hour after the kids went to bed to slow down and just be. With no projects on my schedule (not that there weren't projects to be done - I just wasn't allowed to DO them!), I discovered time to do something I've wanted to do for a long time: I uploaded all of our Christmas CDs. Then I carefully and painstakingly chose a 25-song playlist of the tunes I can't live without each year.

1. O Holy Night by John Berry
2. Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy by Bing Crosby and David Bowie
3. The Prayer by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli
4. Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Bruce Springsteen
5. Ave Maria by Andrea Bocelli
6. What Sweeter Music by The Cambridge Singers
7. Still, Still, Still by The Cambridge Singers
8. Have A Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives
9. O Holy Night by Point of Grace
10. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by The Smithereens
11. The Friendly Beasts by Garth Brooks
12. The Christmas Song by Aaron Neville
13. Winter Wonderland by Aretha Franklin
14. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by MercyMe
15. Christmastime is Here from A Charlie Brown Christmas
16. Sweet Little Jesus Boy - Natalie Cole
17. In the Bleak Midwinter - Ali Matthews
18. One Small Child - Ali Matthews
19. O Come O Come Emmanuel/What Child is This - Ali Matthews
20. Baby It's Cold Outside - Louis Armstrong
21. We Wish You A Merry Christmas - Relient K
22. Hallelujah Chorus - A Soulful Celebration
23. I Saw Three Ships - Sting
24. Angels We Have Heard on High - Point of Grace
25. The Wexbury Carol - Yo-Yo Ma with Allison Kraus

It's a mix of old and new, tried and true. Still and solemn, rocking and energetic. I love it all, and I love it all mixed up. Music - it's one of my favorite things about Christmas.

Kocur Kids Rock

We've been on a cleaning frenzy this week. Seriously. We haven't deep cleaned like this since we house swapped with the Irish people two years ago! I've swept enough cat hair from the stair runners and corners and fan blades to knit a scarf. Nasty. And sorta embarrassing that we've been living in squalor without even realizing it.


You know, a good thorough cleaning requires good music to keep you going. I didn't even SUGGEST that the kids made a CD... they just did. Dani sat at the controls while the boys chose songs from our iTunes library. Dani'd play a snippet of a song, and the boys would say either yay or nay. Here's the playlist they ended up with:

1. have a nice day (bon jovi)
2. summer of '69 (bryan adams)
3. what if his people prayed (casting crowns)
4. brick house (commodores)
5. home (daughtry)
6. hotel california (eagles)
7. how to save a life (the fray)
8. black balloon (goo goo dolls)
9. holiday (green day)
10. right here (jeremy camp)
11. waiting on the world to change (john mayer)
12. hanging by a moment (lifehouse)
13. sweet home alabama (lynyrd skynrd)
14. running just to catch myself (mark schultz)
15. how you remind me (nickelback)
16. hey there delilah (plain white t's)
17. street corner symphony (rob thomas)
18. hands open (snow patrol)
19. come on back to me (third day)

One of the songs got a unanimous vote from all three kids. "What If His People Prayed" was a song we jammed to over and over last summer on our Colorado road trip. The boys love shouting out "...stop asking OPRAH what to do!".

Both boys started singing the guitar part at the beginning of Street Corner Symphony... "na-na nah nah, na-na nah nah" as soon as it began playing, so it easily made the cut, too.

When Brick House came on, Aidan shouted, "That's Mommy's song!" Sure enough, it's been my ring tone for months, and every time my phone rings, I bust out dancing. LOL!

Both boys became familiar with "Hotel California" almost 2 years ago when Dani learned to play it on guitar. Just before I began typing this entry, I swear they must've played it 5 times in a row. As soon as it ended, one of the boys would get up and hit "back" and let it play again. They sat on the love seat in the front room, looking totally spaced out. Cracked. Me.
UP!

Aidan didn't want "Waiting on the World to Change", but it was the only one Ian was really adamant about, so it made the cut. Dani was surprised at how many songs the boys knew and recognized as she clicked through iTunes. We're a music-loving family, and I can't tell you how happy I am that my kids have picked it up so naturally. :)

Here's the CD cover art that Aidan made. Can you read it? It says "Kocur Kids Rock". My kids are so cool.
:D

Songs for your Beautiful Boy - a playlist

Our friends and neighbors, Justin and Luann, just had their first baby. I haven't even met him yet (later today!), but I've been adding to his playlist for the last month or so. (ANY excuse to buy more tunes, and any excuse to make a playlist, I always say!) Most of the songs weren't written with babies in mind, but if you listen to the lyrics and imagine babies, some of 'em will make you cry. I promise. :) I hope the CD brings the new Mommy and Daddy some company during those long, please-go-to-sleep-why-won't-you-sleep nights, and some laughs and impromptu dancing during the daylight hours. Welcome Home, baby Mattson!

1. Beautiful Boy (Ben Harper). I've always loved John Lennon's song, written for his son Sean. Here it is, newly remade and included on the newly released "Instant Karma: The Campaign To Save Darfur". It's first because it makes a great CD title. :)
   
2. Blessed (Elton John). I always forget how much I love Elton John until I listen to him sing again. "I promise you that. I promise you that. I promise you that you'll be blessed." Sweet sweet sweet!
   
3. Forever Young (Rod Stewart). I blogged about this one several weeks ago. (click here.)
   
4. You Are So Beautiful (Joe Cocker). There've been other versions, but Joe Cocker's remains my favorite, and probably always will. There's something about that raggedy voice, the wavering high note at the end... ahh. Today while listening to it as I burned the CD, tears welled up in my eyes and I forced Ian into a prolonged hug. "You're everything I hoped for. You're everything I need." I've always called (huge surprise baby) Ian my serendipity baby, because I didn't KNOW he was everything I'd hoped for until I had him.
   
5. Can't Get Enough of You Baby (Smash Mouth). Here we go, time to ratchet the energy up a notch and DANCE! And ya gotta love those baby kisses!
   
6. Stay Up Late (Talking Heads). You know, I spent the bulk of my teen years listening to and singing along with Stay Up Late and other songs of its genre without even paying attention to what the lyrics were saying. "Mommy had. a little baby. There he is. fast asleep. He's just. a little plaything. Why not. wake him up?" This song is included because it's just plain fun to listen to, but also to remind Justin and Luann of this bit of wisdom: NEVER wake a sleeping baby! No matter how precious he looks... no matter how badly you want to kiss his perfect little lips.... no matter no matter no matter. Don't do it! :)
   
7. For Baby (John Denver). Make fun of me if you must, but I love me some John Denver. It's my Mom's fault, and though I haven't admitted to HER how much her taste in sappy mountain music rubbed off on me, it's true. This playlist would be incomplete without the beautiful (yet sometimes dorky... "I'll sing you the songs of the rainbow"????) lyrics of For Baby.
   
8. Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns 'n Roses). I once attended an Aerosmith concert and totally blew off the opening band 'cause I'd never heard of them. Several months later, they hit the bigtime and I realized that I'd blown off Guns 'n Roses! Dani laughed at me earlier when I got all verklempt during this line: "I hate to look into those eyes And see an ounce of pain." Hmpf.
   
9. Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You (Frankie Valli). If you're a parent and you've never felt THIS way about your baby, well, you're lying. :) "You're just too good to be true- Can't take my eyes off of you -You'd be like heaven to touch- I wanna hold you so much"
   
10. I'll Be There (Jackson 5). "I'll reach out my hand to you, I'll have faith in all you do. Just call my name and I'll be there." Michael was only eleven years old when he recorded this song. No one ever said the boy couldn't sing.
    
11. Maybe I'm Amazed (Jem). Love the original by Paul McCartney... it's one of my favorite love songs, along with "I Will", which also happens to be penned by Sir Paul. This cover is sweet enough, though. I remember being amazed by how much having a baby changed me. Maybe I'm still amazed.
    
12. (I Can't Help) Falling in Love With You (Elvis Presley). Really. Do I need to say anything more?
    
13. You Are the Sunshine of My Life (Stevie Wonder). I was all set to include Stevie's "Isn't She Lovely" on here, but then Chancho went and turned out to be a boy after all. It's alright. Little Chancho aka Mattson will surely be the Sunshine of My Life and the Apple of My Eye to his mom and dad.
    
14. Dream Baby (Hootie and the Blowfish). I had a hard time deciding whether to include Roy Orbison's original, or this remake. In the end, I decided I had enough old stuff, so I went with Hootie. This song is begging, SWEET DREAMS, BABY. SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP!!!
    
15. Arms Wide Open (Creed). "Welcome to this place, I'll show you everything With arms wide open ." Such a cool song written by a soon-to-be Daddy.
    
16. Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. I don't know why this is here, except that I think it's funny. :)
    
17. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (Rod Stewart). "You fill my heart with gladness Take away all my sadness Ease my troubles, that's what you do."
    
18. Your Smiling Face (James Taylor). This one's for Justin. "Isn't it amazing a man like me Can feel this way..." There's nothing like a baby's first smile. Doesn't even matter if it's gas-induced or not. :D
    
19. Song Sung Blue (Neil Diamond). This one's for Luann. I pray that you don't hit the roadblock of PPD. But the blues are pretty much inevitable every now and then. When they hit, just sing this to Mattson: "Me and you are subject to the blues now and then. But when you take the blues and make a song, you sing them out again." If that doesn't work, look our your window and call me. :)
    
20. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Queen). Mattson IS the crazy little thing. "This (this thing) called love(called love)It cries (like a baby) In a cradle all night. It swings (woo woo) It jives (woo woo) It shakes all over like a jelly fish. I kinda like it. Crazy little thing called love."
    
21. Give A Little Bit (Goo Goo Dolls). Aw MAN. I meant to put SuperTramp's version on here, but it's Goo Goo Dolls instead. Ah well. Good enough. :)
    
22. The Prayer (Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli). THIS SONG ISN'T ON THE CD, but I wish it was! I didn't think to include it until it was too late. What parent doesn't need THESE words sung over them? "I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go. And help us to be wise in times when we dont know." Beautiful beautiful song, and I don't even like Celine Dion, as a general rule.

We can't wait to watch baby Mattson grow up next door! Before we know it, he'll be following our boys up and down the sidewalk on his tricycle. :) ((((Justin and Luann)))))

Funeral Songs

I know. You think I'm a freak for thinking of such things. But I don't see it as morbid... I see it as hopeful!

A year or so ago, I knew that Kristi and I would be lifelong friends when I heard her say, "I want this song in my funeral. Don't forget." Whoa! Someone else thinks about stuff like this too! And even better... it was a song on MY list of funeral songs that she was talking about. It's energetic, fun to sing, and uplifting. We sang it last night at a devo here at my house... goes like this:

Well, if you're missin' me singin' down here
And you can't find me nowhere nowhere,
Just come on up to bright glory,
And I'll be singin'/laughin'/scrappin'/prayin'/etc up there....

Also on my list is John Lennon's "In This Life", followed immediately by "If We Never Meet Again This Side of Heaven." I want Selah's version of the medley played. The CD (Press On) is in the champagne crate in my Family Room.

There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Soon we'll come to the end of life's journey
And perhaps we'll never meet anymore
Till we gather in heaven's bright city
Far away on that beautiful shore

If we never meet again this side of heaven
As we struggle through this world and its strife
There's another meeting place somewhere in heaven
By the beautiful river of life

Where the charming roses bloom forever
And separations come no more
If we never meet again this side of heaven
I will meet you on that beautiful shore

The next one is completely unfuneral-like, but I want it anyway.
Something Worth Leaving Behind by LeeAnn Womack:

Hey Mona Lisa, who was Leonardo?
Was he Andy Warhol?
You were Marilyn Monroe
Hey Mozart, what kind of name is Amadeus
It's kinda like Elvis
You gotta die to be famous
I may not go down in history
I just want someone to remember me

I'll probably never hold a brush
that paints a masterpeice
Probably never find a pen
that writes a symphony
But if I will love then I will find
That I have touched another life
And that's something
Something worth leaving behind

Hey Midas you say you have the magic touch
That even all that shiny stuff
Someday is gonna turn to dust
Hey Jesus it must have been some Sunday morning
In a blaze of glory
We're still tellin' your story
I may not go down in history
I just want someone to remember me

I'll probably never dream a dream
and watch it turn to gold
No, I'll never lose my life
to save another soul
If I will love then I will find
That I have touched another life
And that's something
Something worth leaving behind

Hey baby see the future that we?re building
Our love lives on in the lives of our children
And that?s something
Something worth leaving behind

Lastly, I want this one played. It marked a turning point in my life, and its message is beautiful:

Bound to Come Some Trouble by Rich Mullins
There's bound to come some trouble to your life
But that ain't nothing to be afraid of
There's bound to come some trouble to your life
But that ain't no reason to fear
I know there's bound to come some trouble to your life
But reach out to Jesus, hold on tight
He's been there before and He knows what it's like
You'll find He's there

There's bound to come some tears up in your eyes
That ain't nothing to be ashamed of
I know there's bound to come some tears up in your eyes
That ain't no reason to fear
I know there's bound to come some tears up in your eyes
Reach out to Jesus, hold on tight
He's been there before and He knows what it's like
You'll find He's there

Now, People say maybe things will get better
People say maybe it won't be long
And people say maybe you'll wake up tomorrow
And it'll all be gone
Well I only know that maybes just ain't enough
When you need something to hold on
There's only one thing that's clear

I know there's bound to come some trouble to your life
But that ain't nothing to be afraid of
I know there's bound to come some tears up in your eyes
That ain't no reason to fear
I know there's bound to come some trouble to your life
Reach out to Jesus, hold on tight
He's been there before and He knows what it's like
You'll find He's there

Then, I want y'all to wipe away your tears and PARTY!! Eat lots of Mexican Food. Play lots of music. Look at my scrapbooks and thank God for the awesome life I had.

Are you completely freaking out now? I am too, sorta. Last night, I had this dream. My house burned down. Darren and I couldn't get out of our bedroom - had to jump from the windows. Then we had to climb up to the kids' windows, break through them, and rescue them. When we broke the windows, the kids freaked out and ran into the hallway, toward the fire. It was chaos. I'm sure I was huffing and puffing and crying in my sleep.

Once the kids were safe (watching from the street), I went inside to retrieve Vaune's (one of my clients) photos. I crawled through the front room, into the family room, and saw that my whole scraproom was engulfed in flames. At that moment, I understood why we couldn't get out of our bedroom... it sits directly above my scraproom. I don't know what happened after that, 'cause Aidan came into my room, said he'd had a bad dream, and I cuddled with him until he fell back asleep. After that, I couldn't fall back asleep myself. I tried to figure out why I had dreamed such a thing. During the devo, when we sang "If You're Missin' Me", Kristi again mentioned, "I want this song in my funeral. Don't forget." And then an hour or so later, as she and Cara were in my scraproom cutting Sizzix letters, we smelled a burning smell. We checked the stove, the water heater, and finally decided it must be a smell coming through the vent. I'm sure those two things combined to form the dream I had.

So yah. It's sorta freaky. But it didn't prompt me to think about my funeral. I've been thinkin' about that for years. Call off the men in white coats. I promise, I'm FINE. LOL!

Soundtrack

I love music. From classic rock to comtemporary Christian, from bluegrass to classical... I love it all.

I often think about The Soundtrack of My Life, and what would be on it. Here are a few tracks:

1. Hope to Carry On - Rich Mullins... There are so MANY songs by Rich Mullins that should be on this list. Aidan is named after the boy in "Let Mercy Lead". "Bound to Come Some Trouble" was a signpost moment in my life. "If I Stand" has wonderful, wonderful lyrics.
2. On the Turning Away - Pink Floyd... anything from Animals, Wish You Were Here, The Wall, and Dark Side of The Moon can transport me back to my junior year in high school....good memories of Orion the Hunter and brown leather bomber jackets.
3. Your Smiling Face - James Taylor... I like to sing this to my kids
4. The Great Adventure - Steven Curtis Chapman... "Saddle up your horses, we got a trail to blaze"... love the energy in this song!
5. I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash... my theme song
6. You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder... just 'cause I like it
7. Fields of Gold - Sting... 'cause I HAD to have a Sting song on my sountrack
8. In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel...I remember jamming so loud to this song that the sound was bouncing off the house next door and back into my yard.
9. What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstong...has ALWAYS been a favorite of mine, since I can remember
10. Dream - David Sanborn...sexy, sexy. Brings back sexy memories. :)... and it was the song that Darren and I exited our wedding to! ;)
11. I Can Only Imagine - MercyMe...one of those songs that I hear and say, "Man! I wish I'd written that!"
12. Think - Aretha Franklin...First loved it watching "The Blues Brothers" many, many years ago. LOVE to hear it every time a pitcher is purposefully walking a batter at a Fort Worth Cats game. Makes me get up and dance and sing. I wish I could wail like Aretha!
13. Free Fallin' - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers...one of those songs that transports me back to a specific place and time
14. Milk - The Judys ...I had a hard time picking between this one and "Moo".
15. For Baby (For Bobbie) - John Denver... Mom made us listen to John Denver every stinkin' Saturday of my childhood. I hated it back then, but now, I sorta like it. Especially THIS song.
16. Brown-Eyed Girl - Van Morrison ...because it makes me happy, that's why. And I'm a brown-eyed girl.
17. What Sweeter Music - John Rutter, composer, performed by the Cambridge Singers...magical, beautiful, blissfully perfect.
18. Moving Pictures - The Kinks ...life IS one big moving picture.
19. Picture Book - Young Fresh Fellows... I make a living making Picture Books. I spend a great deal of my time making them for my family. Gotta have this song!
20. At Last - Etta James... dedicated to Darren. Sappy, romantic.... ahhhhhh.
21. Over The Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo... have you heard this? It's been around for years. If so, go listen again. If not, go directly to iTunes. Do not pass Go. Buy it now. Listen. And enjoy.
22. Thank You (falettinme be mice elf) - Sly and the Family Stone...because it's funky and fun and it makes me wanna dance (I can't dance, but it makes me wanna!)
23. Meant to Live - Switchfoot... my daughter blasts her Switchfoot CD all the live-long day. I like it, so I don't protest. This song has a great message that I should try to remember more often.
24. Pyromania - Def Leppard...takes me back to 8th grade... and clucking down the halls of GMS, gettin' busted for chewing gum by the typing teacher
25. Open Arms - Journey... first song I learned to play on the piano besides Beginner Piano music. To this day, I can sing every note and every syllable of every Journey album from the 1980s. LOVED them.
26. Someone Saved My Life Tonight - Elton John... another artist whose every song could be on my list.
27. Keep on the Sunny Side - The Whites.. first heard this on the movie "O Brother Where Art Thou" (which reminds me... I need to add that one to my list of favorites)

What songs are on YOUR soundtrack?