ARCHIVE GALLERY

December 2009

December 16, 2009

We have had quite the past two months!  Not only have we had a very busy concert schedule but we have been in the studio non-stop recording our 8^th CD project. 

But first, let me bring you up to date on our touring.  November was spent mostly in Michigan other than a quick fly date to Amarillo, Texas.  The kids stayed here with their grandparents and enjoyed some family time while Randy and I flew to Amarillo for a women’s retreat and two worship concerts.  That was a great weekend and even while struggling with colds, it turned out to be a super time with Valleyview Church of the Nazarene.  I was the keynote speaker for the retreat and we led worship as well.  I am enjoying speaking more and more and women’s retreats give a decent amount of time to get acquainted with new friends.

December has been a blur with extra Christmas concerts and the normal chaos that this season tends to bring.  Randy and I flew to New York for 6 days for 4 Christmas concerts.  Kennedie and Kadison stayed with Randy’s folks for most of the time and were able to attend the Brown family Christmas party with aunts, uncles and cousins that we rarely get to see.   They had a great time and came back with stories about the hotel management complaining about the raucous laughter. 

Randy and I spent most of the six days in Meriden, Connecticut with Pastor Larry and Connie Wooldridge of Grace Communion International Church.  He pastors two churches and brought them together for one service on Sunday morning followed by a dinner dance.  This was new to us…since neither of us grew up dancing, we were stretched a bit.  It was so God honoring and FUN!  They rented a country club and pulled out all the stops.  Classy and Christmassy was the order for the day!  The pastor taught me how to jitterbug, cha-cha and waltz.  We sang a lot and played CD's when we needed a break! 

We had just enough time to give each other a gift and spend Monday in New York City.  So much to do and see!  What a great time we had just strolling and forgetting about deadlines and directions.  Just the two of us for the day is all the gift I need for the season (although a little "bling" never hurt anybody!)  The tree in Rockefeller Center is indescribable…TV just does not show its’ beauty.  Thanking the Lord for a great weekend of worship and encouraging the body of Christ, we flew home and picked up the kids. 

We have been staying in a parsonage belonging to Lifepoint Community Church in Waterford, Michigan.  They have been so gracious to let us stay here while we have concerts in Michigan.  This has been wonderful during our studio work.  Recording a CD tends to be all consuming and the parsonage is only 5 or 6 miles from the studio.  That means the kids have been able to stay at the house and keep up on their studies while we are recording.  Other than being exhausted from the schedule, everything has gone quite smoothly.   If things go as planned, Randy and Phil (the studio owner) will be done mixing this week or next at the latest, and we will send the final master to Fort Worth, Texas for manufacturing just after the new year.  Hopefully, we will get the finished product sometime in February and it will be available on our website and at concerts, of course.

The theme of the CD is worship…but as of yet, we have not been able to decide on a title.  We have really enjoyed the process of this CD…it is the first time we have actually sung together at the same time while recording.   Usually, Randy sings first and then I sing trying my best to match him as closely as possible.  That can be frustrating because all of my effort went into matching up T's and S's…other than enjoying the moment of singing.

This time, we sang facing each other with two microphones…this was much easier and I enjoyed the process much better.  We will see soon enough how it actually turns out, but so far, so good.

We pray that you are well and enjoying the season of preparing to celebrate Christ’s birth.  If we are going to celebrate anything…shouldn’t it be His birth?  Have a great week and blessings to you!