My favorite thing about the holidays has got to be the lights! I love the candle lit service on Christmas eve. It makes Christmas real. It reminds me that there was a light given to this world to change it for the better. A light we each hold in our own hands and have the ability to either use it or extinguish it. We use lights to celebrate big moments in our lives, to remember the past, and to wish hope for the future. I hope the light in each of us shines brightly this upcoming new year. Go out and serve your world, be the better version of yourself, embrace the light you were given and offer hope to those fading! We make new years resolutions in the hope of change for the better, this is my resolution for 2012! Will you join in?

I know a little cupboard,
With a teeny tiny key,
And there’s a jar of Lollypops
For me, me, me.

It has a little shelf, my dear,
As dark as dark can be,
And there’s a dish of Banbury Cakes
For me, me, me.

I have a small fat grandmamma,
With a very slippery knee,
And she’s Keeper of the Cupboard,
With a key, key, key.

And when I’m very good, my dear,
As good as good can be,
There’s Banbury Cakes, and Lollypops
For me, me, me.
- Walter De la Mare

All that and a big fat THANK YOU for my lovely cousin Daniela who sent me some goodies from the awesomely delicious SUCRE to enjoy!

Saturday was spent driving and rocking-out in and through the neighboring state of Ohio. Liz and I bought tickets to see the awesomely talented Downhere band almost 2 months ago. This trip was our little escape from the humdrum of our overly busy lives. The only thing we should have checked was how far Wilmington, OH was from Detroit (4.5 hours in case you’re wondering)!!! Next time we’ll be more prepared. All and all the actual driving trip was quite pleasant, especially as I kept swerving trying to see more of the hills and valleys that we passed through. If we would have had more time to get to our final destination there would have been more landscapes and details to this post, alas we only stopped in Sidney & Versailles. Yes, there actually is a Sidney & Versailles in OH, but with no actual feel of the represented cities.

We arrived at Joe’s Java, the concert venue, with just enough time to grab ourselves a great parking spot and minimal waiting in the outdoor line. Since we were at a coffee haus I grabbed myself a wonderful latte and got settled in to be apart of a great worship service. The concert was started off with Rush of Fools, a band we had never heard before but we’re loving their sound. Check them out and we’re sure you’ll love their music.

Downhere took the stage to give a bit of love to Worldvision, which is a great cause helping kids across the world and if you’re interested in helping go check out their site. Then they got to business bringing some awesome music to the audience. Their live performance was as good if not better than the studio performances. My measure of how talented a band is goes solely on how well they do live and Downhere rock it! I’ll be there next time they come to town, or near town, but hopefully less than 4 hours away!

This was a great road trip  with a good friend to see an awesome band. How much better can a Saturday get?