This is what happens between the records and what makes us sound like we are having so much fun!

Here are a few of our videos from Johnny Stone in the Morning's Christmas Show: (Please note, if you click on any links surrounding these videos on You Tube, you will be taken to another area)

 The morning show performing Dominic the donkey...

Johnny and Stacey opening gifts - a video is worth a thousand words...

Johnny and David playing with the clapper... Merry Christmas!

So I have highlighted for you the special ornaments on mine and Johnny's Christmas tree in the past few weeks but today's are the newest and most important ornaments we have.

This is the Lemonhead ornament given to me this year by my friend Kari. It arrived in my birthday present and she knows, I love Lemonheads! The next one hung on my grandparents tree for years and, when my grandmother passed away Nov. 11, 2003, my mother packed up bags of ornaments for us. I cried as I unpacked all of the ornaments I had helped my grandmother put on the tree all those years. Wait, correction, I hung on the tree while she sat on the couch and directed me where to put them.

I know it's hard to tell but it is the nativity. And a beautiful one at that!

Johnny and I traveled to Texas this past weekend to spend Christmas with my family. My 16-month-old great-niece Madison was the obvious center of attention and she got a new art desk from her great grandparents. I brought her a huge "Bolt" that she was slow to warm up to but eventually she loved it. My brother Jimmy and niece Layne were putting the desk together and Jimmy started saying he needed a "phillipi", couldn't put the desk together without "phillipi"! All of the adults were looking at him strange but Madison knew exactly what he was talking about and you may too if you have a Handy Manny fan in your family. Once we had figured it out and brought in the Phillips head screw driver to put the desk together, Madison sat on the stair with the instructions and "phillipi" trying to figure it out. Very cute!

Here is Madison with her desk:

And here is my family when Madison received Bolt:

It starts off with my niece Layne and other father Donnie playing with Madison and Bolt. Then my mom Ginger picks her up and you see video of my niece Deven (Madison's mom), my sister-in-law Kelly, my dad Jim and my brother Jimmy.

This was our first year to go to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular and I loved it. If you are looking for a clean, entertaining show that glorifies Christ at the end - this is the show for you! So I purchased this ornament to remember our first time, the headlights even light up.

Johnny and I loaded up the car and headed out for the 2 hour drive to see Casting Crowns in Reading, PA. It was part of my Christmas presents - when I got the flyer for the Casting Crowns Christmas Celebration last April, I asked to go and my sweet husband said "Okay." not realizing how far it is from NJ. But he never complained, just drove all the way there and all the way back.

We were blessed to have dinner with Mark Hall and his wife Melanie. Here's a quick pic we shot right after dinner:

You can tell Melanie had left to take care of business because Mark's hair is a little messy. She would never have let this pic fly with that look. :-) I know I don't have to tell the majority of you this but, if you have not seen a Casting Crowns concert, you are missing out. Their Christmas Celebration featured Michael English with back-up singers Avalon that then came out and did their own set. Pure NRG, Natalie Grant and Denver and the Mile High Orchestra also were wonderful. I hate to say it but I'm sorry you missed it if you did. (that was the last night of the tour) Catch them next time they are in our area - or Pennsylvania, Johnny's driving!

My cousin Emily Curtis graduated from Florida State University this past Saturday and she is my hero!

I can't possibly tell you every reason I adore Emily in this blog but I can tell you that she is the survivor in our family. If you have a survivor in your family, you know exactly what I am talking about. She was born a twin, which makes her strong in many ways but when she was very young, my Grandfather, who was the light and leader of our family, passed away suddenly. In the stress of the aftermath, she contracted psoriasis. All through elementary school and middle school she was an inspiration to everyone in our family because she stood up straight and achieved great things that we could only imagine. In high school, a new treatment came around and helped but she still has to manage the condition and watch for any bad reactions so she carries a heavy load.

But none of us knew what a heavy load was until February 15, 2006. Emily's dad, my uncle Randy, was working from home and went out to get the mail. Just after 3:00 in the afternoon, he collapsed on the sidewalk in front of their house and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. No warning, no health problems, just gone. Emily was the last person to speak to him on the phone that afternoon and always had a close relationship with her dad so she faced another mountain she had to climb.

While she could have climbed into a fetal position and stayed there, Emily chose to leave her family in Arkansas, go back to Florida and complete her degree. Saturday she did just that and now she is moving to Atlanta to go to law school. Emily and I share a middle name; the name of our grandmother Katheryn, but my admiration and love for her go much further. Congratulations Emily, I am so proud of you!

Here's my aunt Jeanne (AJ) and Emily on Saturday:

Our first year of marriage, Mr. Stone and I picked up the Starbucks ornament of the year and hung it on our little tree. Now, each year we have purchased the Starbucks ornament - here's the one for this year.

As you can see, it has the paper cuff around it. Last year's was red and the first year we bought one was the normal white cup. One year I think has a bag of coffee but I haven't actually found those ornaments yet so I will have to let you know. Here's a short Starbucks story - many of you know that Johnny and I were married in Central Park. Well, during the ceremony I started to cry but there were no tissues available. So Johnny took a Starbuck's napkin out of his pocket and everyone started laughing because he is known for his love of coffee. At least you know what to get him for Christmas...

This is one of our favorite ornaments we put on the tree each year for obvious reasons.

We bought two of these when we picked this one up in case one broke, We are blessed to serve God on the radio and this ornament represents that for us!

Every family has special ornaments that have a story behind each one. Johnny and I are no different so throughout the holidays I want to share a few of those ornaments and stories with you. The first one is a little Santa bell that Johnny has had since his childhood. It no longer rings and it is cracked and missing a few pieces but the best ones usually are because that means they are that loved. You can't tell very much from the picture but here it is:

You can see that it has the original green plastic hook to hang it with and I wrap it in tissue each year to make sure it makes it through. It also goes on a high branch because our dogs seem to be fascinated with the Christmas tree this year!

So it was Sunday afternoon at the Stone household, the Jets were on the TV and I was in the den setting up the Christmas tree. It's a beautiful tree that stands about 10 1/2 feet and fills an alcove in our home just perfectly. I had recently been to a Christmas store and saw a new idea for decorating that I liked a great deal so I meticulously placed the ribbon just the way I wanted it, just like they had it at the store. I had even purchased some of the ornaments from that very tree to make the look as complete as possible (and they are stars so that made it even more perfect).

I'm standing back, looking at my creation and Johnny comes up the stairs from his office. He stands there with me for a few minutes, scratching his chin with a confused look on his face. After a few moments of silence, Johnny steps back away from me and says "It looks like David Crowder." Then he turns and walks calmly into the kitchen. I must admit that I was caught off guard and it took me a minute to scream "What?!?!?!?"

Judge for yourself - we will always call this our David Crowder Christmas tree but here are the examples:

Here's our tree

 And here's David Crowder

What do you think?

Several people have asked me why I decided to teach at Nyack College this semester. This was the first view I saw my first time on campus. It is also the view from WNYK, the college radio station 

You can actually sit here and relax or study...

Breathtaking in God's glory...

And this is the building where I teach. My class is in the basement and the radio station is on the top floor.

I wish I had a picture of my students - look for future blogs because they are the real reason I am there teaching. The next generation of Christian broadcasters!

16 Months old never looked so cute - okay, I'm a little prejudice but Madison is pretty cute in these pics. The first one was taken at dinner out and she was being her prim and proper self.

Here's Mad with her Mom Deven, her great-Aunt Stacey and her Aunt Layne.

And here she is being not so prim and proper - this is a candle and I guess the top looks like Madison's binky. (We promptly took it away from her)

And don't forget the great grandparents - it was a great visit!

Johnny talked about sending a card to a wounded soldier this morning - here's the info:

Address it to "A Service Member" and mail it to Holiday Mail for Heroes, P.O. Box 5456, Capitol Heights, MD, 20791-5464

Remember, they don't want the mail delivered to Walter Reed Hospital directly this year so use the address above. And thank you for your thoughts and prayers for our troops.

This is Reagan, Mark and Melanie Hall's daughter with her friend in Germany. Obviously he rescued the meal for the kids (and for me if I was there) with a lot of ketchup! Check out Casting Crowns blogs about their travels at Castingcrowns.com.