Music Monday: O Come, Emmanuel

I love this time of year because it means I can play my Christmas playlist again for about a month — and I have a lot of Christmas music. While I haven't added much new music this year, this song is one of my very favorite additions.

If you live in Idaho or Utah, you might be familiar with The Piano Guys, as they're famous for taking grand pianos to crazy places like the red rock areas in southern Utah. But I hope their beautiful rendition of "O Come, Emmanuel" is new to some of you! It is so peaceful and makes me think about the tiny baby Jesus who was born so long ago in a manger. It's also special because my dad used to sing this song at Christmas, and I think of him, too.

Take a few minutes, relax and sip some hot chocolate. This song will make you feel all warm inside.

Music Monday: Little Drummer Boy

You may have already seen this video, since it went viral pretty fast, but I thought it was worth sharing again.

I have loved Pentatonix ever since they competed on (and won!) The Sing-Off a few years ago, but I hadn't heard anything about them since. Then this video came out and I remembered how much I loved them! Their Christmas album actually came out last year (as did this song), but it's becoming very popular again as a result of this song.

I hope you love it as much as I do! I bought the whole album (it's only $8 on Amazon/iTunes) and have been enjoying it since Wednesday. :)

Music Monday: Mary's Lullaby

This is the last Christmas-themed Music Monday, I swear. I just love Christmas music and get excited to both sing it and listen to it this time of year -- before January comes and I have to put it away again.

While I was in Idaho with my family Dec. 15, I got the chance to go to Chesbro's (if you're not familiar with this place, it is a MASSIVE music store with basically all the sheet music you could possibly want) and get some new music. I exercised some self control and only came home with "Linus and Lucy," The Band Perry's "All Your Life" and "Mary's Lullaby."

The last song is one I sang in high school, and it's not very well-known -- but I think it's absolutely beautiful. Since I don't have an accompanist at my beck and call to play it while I sing it, I thought I'd share the words with you. It's all about Mary's thoughts of her newborn baby, snuggling Him and loving him as an infant even though she knew He would soon be caring for others as the Son of God. I can picture Mary stroking her son's soft skin, admiring his tiny fingers and toes and watching Him sleep peacefully, content knowing that He could be hers for just a short time.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and that you can spend a bit of your holiday remembering Jesus Christ, His miraculous birth and extraordinary parents who loved and cared for Him so that He could fulfill His incredible mission for us. I know that He lives and that He will come again.

"Mary's Lullaby" by Bertha A. Kleinman and Wanda West Palmer

All mine in your loveliness, baby all mine;
All mine in your holiness, baby divine.
Sing on, herald angels, in chorus sublime;
Sing on and adore, for tonight you are mine. 

The wise men are coming to worship their king,
The shepherds are kneeling, their homage to bring.
Out yonder the star over Judah will keep; 
No harm can befall thee, then sleep, baby, sleep.

Oh let me enfold thee, my baby, tonight;
While legions are singing in joyous delight.
A new star has risen to hail thee divine,
For you are a king -- but tonight you are mine.

Away spectered future of sorrow and plight.
Away to the years that must follow tonight.
The pangs of Gethsemane, let them be dim;
The red drops on Calvary, not Lord, for Him!

Oh let me enfold thee, my baby, tonight;

While legions are singing in joyous delight.

A new star has risen to hail thee divine,

For you are a king -- but tonight you are mine.

All mine in your loveliness, baby all mine;
All mine in your holiness, baby divine.
Sing on, herald angels, in chorus sublime;
Sing on and adore, for tonight you are mine.

Music Monday: Christmas songs to sing

Last week I shared my top Christmas albums -- although I have to admit, I broke down and bought Sarah McLaughlin's Christmas album last night, and I'll probably have to add it to the list. I've wanted it ever since it came out and never ended up buying it (since 2005 was long before Amazon started offering tons of mp3 albums) until now. It's beautiful. And I'm currently obsessed with this version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and already plotting a way to sing it with my family this weekend.

Which brings me to this week's post: the best songs to sing during Christmastime. A lot of these are songs that I like to sing personally, but others are songs that I've either sung with my family or with choirs throughout my life. If you go caroling, maybe this will inspire you to switch things up a little.

• "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." You can't go wrong with this classic. I remember singing this at a concert in seventh grade, and I've loved it ever since. It's simple and pretty.
• "My Grown-up Christmas List." I like Michael Buble and Amy Grant's versions of this song best, but it has such a great message and I love singing it.
• "O Holy Night." I'll actually be singing this song in a few week's for our church Christmas program, but I grew up hearing my dad sing it in church nearly every year. It makes me so happy inside.
• "Prayer of the Children." This song is stunning when a choir sings it a capella. I always sang the traditional SATB version, but I have a men's choir version, too, that's great. It has an important message and beautiful harmonies.
• "What Child Is This." I LOVE this song and have to sing it at least once during the Christmas season. I've also done a duet with my dad, and that's a lot of fun.
• "Silent Night." No Christmas program is complete without "Silent Night." I really enjoy singing this a capella with my family when we're out caroling.
• "O Little Town of Bethlehem." Don't you just love this song? It's one of my favorite hymns to sing with the congregation at church.
• "I'll Be Home For Christmas." This song is really short, and I only realized that a few years ago -- it just has one verse and not really even a chorus. But it's beautiful, and I've always loved to sing it.
• "Still, Still, Still." I have actually never sung this song (that I can remember), but I think it's so pretty and I'm looking forward to singing it with my family.
• "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." My dad also frequently sang this song at Christmastime, and I love it for its simplicity and stunning lyrics.
• "Breath of Heaven." Beautiful melody, beautiful message. Whenever I sing this song, I feel so fulfilled and peaceful.

These are a few of the songs I love performing, both with my family and by myself -- although there are quite a few more hymns we sing, too, that I didn't include here. What are your favorites?

Music Monday: Christmastime is here

I love Christmas music. I always have. While we didn't listen to a lot of music in my home most of the year while I was growing up (usually because someone was always playing the piano or singing or playing an instrument), we knew it was Christmas when my mom pulled out the Christmas tape. Yes, a cassette tape -- because I'm 100 years old.

To this day, I'm really not sure why we loved this tape so much. It was a 1985 Avon Christmas compilation with a really weird mix of artists -- Dolly Parton, Bing Crosby, the Muppets, Kenny Rogers, Anne Murray, Elvis Presley, Julie Andrews, Jose Feliciano, Perry Como and Nat King Cole. But my mom would put the tape into our really old portable boombox and we would dance around to "Round and Round the Christmas Tree" and "Deck The Halls" and make her flip over and rewind the tape so we could listen to the Muppets' "12 Days of Christmas" again.

My taste in Christmas music has expanded quite a bit. I realized as we were driving and listening to music Friday night that I have nearly 200 Christmas songs, and I seem to add a few more each year. So here are my top Christmas picks if you're looking for a few new albums to add to your collection. And side note: My friend Jenny has fabulous taste in Christmas music (i.e., three of her five favorite albums are in my list, too), so I recommend checking out her blog as well.

•  "James Taylor at Christmas": I adore James Taylor, and this album is classic JT and includes his beautiful spin on Christmas classics. He actually just released a new version of this album that has several new songs (I have the older version), but I know you'll love "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," "River" and "The Christmas Song." Also, his duet with Natalie Cole on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is fantastic. He makes it so much friendlier and less stalker-creepy (Say, what's in this drink, anyone?). P.S. It's $3.99 on Amazon right now, so you have no excuse not to buy it.
• "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio: Yes, I did mention this in last year's Christmas post, but this is one album that everyone needs to add to their Christmas playlist. It'll take you back to memories of watching the TV special and feeling all warm and fuzzy when Linus recites the scriptures and reminds Charlie what Christmas is really all about. Standouts: "Linus and Lucy," "Christmas is Coming" and "O Tannebaum." I'm actually kind of bummed, because there's a brand-new remastered version available on Amazon right now for $3.99, which means that all of the '60s scratchiness is gone. On the other hand, the original recording I have is pretty charming.
• "Christmas" by Michael Bublé: I bought this album after Christmas last year (I think Amazon was having one of its dangerous after-Christmas mp3 sales again), so this is the first year I've listened to it -- and it is worth the investment. I know there are those who don't really like Michael Bublé because he mainly covers standards that made Frank Sinatra famous, but he really comes into his own on this album. His rendition of "Blue Christmas" is amazing, and I really like his version of "Ave Maria"(and I'm hard to please on that song). The one thing I don't like is Michael's Christmas greeting at the end -- it's just a little contrived. But this smooth album provides enough unexpected twists to make it one you'll want to listen to each year.
• "Noel" by Josh Groban: The man can sing anything, and his version of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" gets me every time. I also love his duet with Brian McKnight on "Angels We Have Heard on High" and "It Came Upon The Midnight Clear" is slowed down and sung beautifully. Buy this album right now. You will not be disappointed. However, if you're looking for his stunning version of "O Holy Night," you won't find it here; buy the single on his live album.
• "Christmas Portrait" by The Carpenters: I included this last year, too, but it has to be included in a list of Christmas albums. This is the album that produced such wonderful songs as "Christmas Waltz" and "Merry Christmas, Darling," but Karen Carpenter's gorgeous voice makes even the standards like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" amazing. I LOVE THIS ALBUM.

That was harder than I thought. To be honest, most of my Christmas music isn't part of an album; I hear songs that I love and buy those, so I just have a giant, eclectic mix. I may have to do another post of just single Christmas songs I love.

How about you? Have you bought any new Christmas music lately? Are there any classic albums I need to add to my collection?

Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!

Andrew surprised me by sending me the most beautiful roses at work yesterday! It was such a wonderful present and absolutely made my day.

We are excited to celebrate our first Christmas together tomorrow. We've been watching Christmas movies nonstop, we baked about 100 sugar cookies that are probably going to be thrown away since we doubled the recipe and forgot to add baking soda and, I suspect, extra sugar. And our stockings are hung by the fireplace with care and red and silver presents are already piled beneath the tree.

I have also bought A LOT of Christmas music and make Andrew listen to it whenever we go anywhere. One of my favorite parts of the season was singing "Breath of Heaven" at the Relief Society party a few weeks ago. It's a beautiful song that always reminds me of Mary, who sometimes gets forgotten this time of year. It also reminds me of the Savior's humble birth. It's always a miracle to me that He was born in a barn surrounded by animals. I can't even imagine having a baby on my own in a barn -- especially the Son of God, destined to save us all.

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas! We are so grateful for your friendship.