Fun Cousin Week

One of my nieces has been visiting us this week. Betsy is my brother David's daughter. My kids have had a supersonic blast having her here.

We played at the pool today.

And Betsy created some fun cousin moments.

The kids had so much fun playing with her.

Lily Kate's tenacity always shows itself at the pool. Work it out on the climbing wall!

Can you feel the sibling love??

Betsy capped the fun times off with icees for everyone. Mall Icees, she calls them. She calls them that because there was only one place to get icees in Boone, NC, where we are from. That was - you guessed it - at the Boone Mall. The Peanut Shack, to be exact.

More pics...



This is a tree in our yard. It's a hydrangea tree. I bought it because my mom had an amazing hydrangea tree in our backyard when I was growing up. And she loved it. We all loved it. So Angela and I bought one, and we named it Ollie, which was my mom's first name. Ollie is brand new this year, and she just started blooming for the first time. So, here are 4 of Ollie's grandkids...standing next to...well, uh...Ollie. Awwww.

Thanks for visiting us, Betsy. We love you!

Happy times.

A-L-I-V-E

I am a bad blogger! Dang! I did it again.

This time, I could hardly even face it. But face it I am. Here I am to say hello and I have missed talking to you guys.

Last week was the whirlwind week to end all whirlwind weeks for me. Atlanta - New Mexico - Gatlinburg, TN - and Washington, DC - in 5 days. And - get this - I got strep throat right in the smack dab middle of the week. Ouch. Big ouch. I lost my voice and everything. But, many prayers, lots of drugs, and a few days later, I am much better. I still have no singing voice, but I am feeling great. I have a few more days before I have to sing, so I think I'm good to go.

I must send a big apology to all the ladies from the Women of Faith in DC, who endured my sqeaky-tired-sick voice. I was so sad to not ba able to sing at that event. But (duh) the Lord moved in such a huge way. Even without my big vibrato-ridden solos. Imagine that.

And move He did - 893 people were saved. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

OK, I am going to break back in slowly...I will share more later. Thanks for your patience with me and my sketchy blogging. Blessings!

TC

I Thought the Weekend Would Never Come...

...but it did! Yippee. I am almost through with the Max Lucado musical. it has been fun, but I am ready to be done with it. We are mix mode right now, which means that the engineer is putting it all together...all the instruments and voices at the right level, and with the right treatments. I just show up when he is ready for me to hear something and approve it.

Next week, I am FULL ON coasting. Turning the creative side of my brain off. Taking it easy. Chillin' like a villian. Apart from checking mixes, knocking out some office work, and getting a haircut, I am doing nothing next week but play with my kids and lay low. Actually, forget the next week part. I am starting today. Yessssssssss.

I LOVED reading all of your comments about movies that you are embarrassed that you love. Loved it. And I am with you on so many of them. Although, some of the ones you posted, I am not really ambarrassed about. But just in case I am about to humiliate myself, I will shut up now.

I will do another fun 'favorites' post soon.

Between July 8 and August 12, my team and I will be singing in...
Atlanta (July 8)
Glorieta, New Mexico (July 9)
Gatlinburg, Tennessee (July 11)
Washington DC (July 13)
Asheville, NC (July 12-22)
Boone, NC (July 29)
Estes Park, CO (Aug. 1)
Bentonville, AR (Aug. 3-5)
Indianapolis, IN (Aug. 7-8)
Atlanta, GA (Aug. 10, 12)

Check the website calendar for details and come see us if you are anywhere near those places. We would love to see you!

Have a great weekend. I'm signing off now, 'cause cute adorable sleepy faces are coming down the stairs, and I am melting in this chair.

TC

Favorites

OK...it's time for a new "Favorites" post. I thought of this one for my men's group this past week. We had a fun time with this. And I laughed literally until I cried at one of the fella's answers. And of course I am sworn to secrecy.

Here it is: Name a movie (or movies) that you love, but are so embarrassed that you love. Now, I don't mean that you are embarrassed because it is profane or inapropriate. I mean, embarrassed because it is either so bad, or so stupid, or such a chick flick (as was the case for the guys in my group).

I have too many to list for this one. But the one that comes to mind is "9 to 5. I have no excuse for it. The language is pretty bad. But that movie just makes me laugh. Come on...you know that when Violet is running around the emergency room pushing the wrong girney (is that how you spell that word?)...that is comedy. And don't get me started on the theme song, or I will be forced to sing every last word to you. I will do it.

OK. Leave me alone about mine. You tell me yours.

Studio Talk

I am in the studio today. We are cutting orchestra for the Max Lucado project. I am not an orchestrator, so I am phoning it in today in a big way. Not a lot of pressure on me on this particular day. I am just sitting in here listening while the orchestrator (Phillip Keveren) is conducting and running the show (by the way, Phillip is the brilliantly talented guy who did all of the orchestrating for my project, "Found"). The violinists and woodwind players are playing their hearts out.

I have worked in the studio now for some 14 years, so this is like a second home to me. But I have laughed today, because I have tried to listen to all the "studio talk" with new ears. I am aware, fresh and new, that we have our own language. Things that people say in the studio all the time, that anyone else would go, "What in the heck are you talking about? In English, por favor." You know, kind of like when Randy Jackson on American Idol says stuff like, "that was pitchy," or "you were a little out of the pocket." Now all of America know those phrases. But those are very musician-like phrases.

So, here are some things I have heard today:

"The 2nd's were a little under in 41."
"Winds, are you out this pass?"
"OK, let's mute for the stack."
"I need less winds in my phones."
"Where's the punch? What bar are you punching?"
"I need less of your talkback." (that's not mean-spirited, like it sounds)
"It's not quite a deadly medley."
"I need the run in the intro."
"I may want to punch the oboe without the flute."
"Winds, you can take a break."

Fun quotes to try at the dinner table tonight.

I'm Back!

Hey, friends! I am so glad to be talking to you again...even though I feel so embarrassed that it has been so long. Thanks for the grace-filled posts on my last entry, which was courtesy of my buddy Russ. I knew it had been a long time since I had posted, but I didn't realize quite how long. Dang. Since my last post, I have been to 2 Women of Faith conferences with Beth (Ft. Lauderdale, Cleveland), led worship at the Southern Baptist Convention in San Antonio, taught at a worship conference in Ridgecrest, NC, led worship twice at my home church in Thompson Station, TN and once at Brentwood Baptist in Brentwood, TN. Oh yeah, and recorded a musical. That was the main time-taker. Whew...it was a doozy. It is the choir worship musical that goes along with a new Max Lucado book coming out in September...you all prayed for me when we began the tracks a couple of weeks ago. We did the choir vocals last week, and the prep time for that was KILLER. KILLER. KILLER. I am so thankful that the hard part is behind me. I will be working on recording orchestra, solos, worship leader parts and other extras this week. Then we will begin mixing it, and it should be done in the next week and a half. Woo hoo!

I have managed quite a few trips to the Y pool with my kids in the down times of the day. Loads of fun. They are having a great summer. And I am a walking sunscreen applier.

I have always been like a fish in water. Not a fish out of water. Well, I guess I have been that too, at times. But I have always loved being in the water, like a fish. When we would go to the beach when I was a kid, my parents could hardly get me out of the water at the end of the day. I still remember what my red chlorine-attacked eyes felt like. And my feet would be rubbed raw from the pool floor. My shoulders would always be blisteringly red. And I loved it. Now I am reliving those feelings with my kids. And now it's my kids who can hardly get me out of the water. : >) I'm going to blog another day about my memories of going to the beach with my family when I was a kid...the fun thoughts are flooding my mind as I write. Another day.

I must say, what I love about summer the most is that I don't have to drag the kids out of bed at the crack of dawn. Thank you, Jesus. Being the musician that I am, mornings can feel mean to me sometimes. So even when I have to get up to go to work, not having to get them up and at 'em is awesome.

Here is a pic of Beth and me, along with my friend and new road manager, Travis Jenkins:



Aside from having the coolest first name ever, Travis is also an amazing artist. You should go check out his cool paintings at his website. You can order prints of his originals for $50. You can order his originals, too.

And here is Travis and me with our new friend Debbie Petersen. Debbie emcees the pre-conference events for Women of Faith. Her testimony is AMAZING and so powerful. We have loved hearing her speak.



I could write on and on...but if I talk about myself for another second, I will punch myself in the face. I am going to go read a little and hit the sack. Thanks again for your patience during my unintentional hiatus. Have a great week!

This Just In From My Friend

A Prayer, by Travis' friend, Russell Rankin of Thompson Station, TN:

Forgive Travis, Father, for he knoweth not what he should doeth. It has
been 14 days since he last posted. And while this is an unpardonable sin in
the blogosphere, it is easy fixin' and forgivin' for the Almighty. So
convict him and set his feet on the right path and his blog on the way
everlasting.

Amen

Thanks for praying!

Thanks, everybody for praying for the last two days while I was in the studio. I could feel the prayers going up, and my weary brain being lifted! : >)

Everything went well. There is still much to do...we record all of the vocals, orchestra, and other instruments in two weeks, and there is a lot of prep time for those things. But the hardest stuff for me was knocked out these past two days.

So, in celebration of the work load being lifted, I planne to sleep late today. jack is off to camp, Lily Kate spent the night with a friend, and Levi sleeps late anyway. So, yesssss. Sleeping late.

OK, so it's 6:45a.m.and here I am blogging. Dang! Why can't parents ever sleep late? I don't get it. If it were a school day, I would have over slept 1o minutes and put the whole morning in a frenzy. But today...when I don't have to be anywhere until 10...I am wide awake at 6:30. nevermind that I only got 2 hours of sleep on Tuesday night.

Alright. I'm really not bitter about the no sleep thing. I am going to be thankful for what the Lord delivered me through this week. So happy I am. Wait a minute...I just said that like Yoda.

I am off to Ft. Lauderdale for a Women of Faith pre-conference event with Beth today and tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers for us.

I Love My Worshipping Friends

I am still trying to recover form the volcano that was Living Proof Live Boone. It proved to be more joy than I could hardly take in.

I was going through some pictures from the weekend a second ago (while I am in the studio, where I SHOULD be paying attention, I'm sure), and I was caught by this picture. It drew me in...and it wasn't even the "Welcome to Boone - Elevation 3333 FT." sign. It was all of those people on the stage worshipping Jesus. And let me tell you - that is what they were there to do. Not to be in the pretty colorful lights, or sing through the top-of-the-line microphones. No. They were there to worship Jesus...and lead everybody else there to do the same.

And I am so proud to serve alongside them.

One moment of head space

My life is on full tilt at the moment...so many projects in mid-air...so much traveling...so much life. I am sitting out on my porch right now, just enjoying the quiet night. It is one of my first moments of quiet that I have had since this morning. I know you can relate to that. Angela and I just ate dinner with our two littlest ones and a friend of ours who came over. The kids went swimming today and collapsed into bed right after dinner. That's the thing about pool days...they wear out the kids. And the parents, too, actually. But it is a good kind of "worn out."

Jack is at church camp this week. He left this morning, and we don't get to talk to him until Friday when he comes home. That's a TOUGH ONE FOR ME. I miss my big boy. I know he is having a great time, though. And I pray that he will have an amazing encounter with Jesus while he is there.

I would appreciate your prayers this week. I am in the studio Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, laying down the tracks for a new musical. It is a worship musical that is a companion to a new Max Lucado book that comes out this fall. I have been working on writing and arranging the songs. The creative process has been a little tougher than normal for me this time. Please pray that everything that needs to happen will indeed happen. Pray that the last minute decisions I have to make about songs, keys, flow, and tempos will be the right ones.

Thank you so much for praying. I will let you know how it goes.