I've already posted a "thankful" thought today...but let me add

CHRISTMAS music. basking in it lately.

Specifically Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God. Check out the album, and specifically the track that holds the albums name...beautiful.

I grew up in a very musical family. My dad has been a music guy/ (official title nowadays "Creative Arts Pastor) his whole life. My mom is a phenomenal pianist (and singer!). She taught us all three to play...and everyone in my family plays at least 2 instruments. When I was little my sis and dad and I travelled around to different churches and sang songs. It's a vague memory...but a cherished one. At times the one song I remember pop in my head... "I love puppy dogs and kitty cats and cows that go moo..." My parents have even written a children's play entitled "Indiana James and the Lost Crusade". Don't worry-smash hit. =)

Being that my roots are so dang musical...I usually can hold my own in a music type of conversation. But then there's Mark....and I sure can NOT hold my own with him. But I soooo love it, love his heart and ear for music. He understands the conceptual aspects of all music he listens to. Dang, impressive!

In Peterson's album, Mark pointed out to me a melody added to one song to foreshadow another. Something I would never hear by myself.

Mark has recently started listening to a band called Thrice that had a concept album similar to Jon Foreman's Winter, Summer, Fall, Spring, the four cd's are Water, Earth, Air, Fire. All the songs on their respective albums sound like the element. Really neat...don't necessarily love it all, but cool idea. The last song in each album is a sonnet in iambic pentameter (impressive), with the last two lines ending as a couplet. All the couplet's in the four different cd's have the same melody.

Of course, I didn't figure annnnyyy of that out on my own. But Mark did. And ya, he's kind of a nerd, but I certainly appreciate the music so much more when I realize how much work went into making it.

Andddd all that to say....thankful for my Mark's amazing love for music and literature, and that he passes on that knowledge to me. =)