Wow! The summer has flown by and now fall has arrived! Unless of course you are in Florida, it feels like summer most of the year. Not really, we live for about 8 weeks of wonderful winter weather. Enough about the weather.
The boys all played baseball in the spring, which seems to carry on through half of the summer months with all-star tournaments. Even thought I haven't coached baseball in a couple of years, I was able to manage Colton's Big League team (ages 16-18). We played respectable even though our team had a lot of younger players. It was a great experience overall! With only a two week break, football season began with daily practices. Spencer and Tate are both playing football now while Colton is back into fall ball baseball with the high school team. Watching Tate in full pads out on the football field is something to see. Fittingly, his team is in the Tiny Mite division.
This summer was very different from last year. We stayed home this year and worked at the school with some summer camps and such. Things have picked up at the school and we are enjoying a very productive fall semester. The boys have all increased their musicianship by learning to play additional instruments. All three boys are killing the drums! Colton has played a lot of bass guitar the past year, and also picked up the guitar and keyboards. Spencer is learning the keyboards and continues to play acoustic guitar as well. Tate has realized he needs to place his fingers on the fretboard of the guitar instead of playing air guitar for the rest of his life.
The highlight of my week is to watch the entire family playing and ministering together on the same platform. Kim sings on the worship team, while the boys all participate on their respective instruments. It seems as though last summer's experience of traveling country playing and playing with the boys has paid off. We are a blessed family.
Doors have opened up for me to take a music and ministry team to Mexico over the upcoming holidays. We will be teaching a conference December 27th-January 3rd. I am hoping to raise funds and purchase the sweet children and teenagers in Mexico a guitar for Christmas. Equipping and empowering them to become productive in the kingdom of God is a wonderful opportunity. For more information, you can visit www.blueoceansmusic.com and find additional ways to support the vision.
As you can see, we are enjoying the journey...
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The Month of May
Spring has come and gone. It has been a wonderful time for our family. We've adjusted to some changes in our lives and making the transition an enjoyable experience. We have kept busy and enjoyed all the excitement that life brings. Colton had a great baseball season on the JV team before being called up to the varsity and starting several games all the way through the district tournament. Spencer is still doing well on his Little League team by pitching and catching. His first homerun was a grand slam and I was lucky enough to catch it with my video phone. Tate's tee-ball games are so much fun. He is adorable. He wakes up early on Saturday morning, gets into his uniform and waits all day until his game begins. It must be nice being a child again.
Now as spring comes to an end and summer approaches, I always look forward to the month of May. School is winding down, along with the baseball regular season. The summer months mean trips to the beach, baseball tournaments, the boys being out of school, and just having some great family time. May is a time of anticipation and expectancy in our family.
May also brought us the swine flu epidemic which has kept Kim extremely busy at work. Not only does she take good care of us at home, she also takes care of all of Orlando and central Florida by being on the nightly news during the flu frenzy. She is nurse of the year!
I am keeping busy with the new school of music. Last month at a community event, I offered free guitar classes for all ages and word is spreading and things are catching on in east Orlando. We are gearing up for summer day camps offering music, dance, art, theatre, worship studies, etc. At the moment, we have about 35 families coming through our doors each week to study music. It's wonderful to see the wheels in motion as we begin to reach out to people and touch their lives. Check the school out at www.blueoceansmusic.com and help spread the word.
Life is good.
Now as spring comes to an end and summer approaches, I always look forward to the month of May. School is winding down, along with the baseball regular season. The summer months mean trips to the beach, baseball tournaments, the boys being out of school, and just having some great family time. May is a time of anticipation and expectancy in our family.
May also brought us the swine flu epidemic which has kept Kim extremely busy at work. Not only does she take good care of us at home, she also takes care of all of Orlando and central Florida by being on the nightly news during the flu frenzy. She is nurse of the year!
I am keeping busy with the new school of music. Last month at a community event, I offered free guitar classes for all ages and word is spreading and things are catching on in east Orlando. We are gearing up for summer day camps offering music, dance, art, theatre, worship studies, etc. At the moment, we have about 35 families coming through our doors each week to study music. It's wonderful to see the wheels in motion as we begin to reach out to people and touch their lives. Check the school out at www.blueoceansmusic.com and help spread the word.
Life is good.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Spring Time!
Spring time in our family usually means one thing. Baseball. It's been a wonderful time for us this year. Colton is playing on the high school team now, while Spencer and Tate are both playing in Little League this season. I must say, tee-ball is so much fun to watch! I had forgotten just how much fun it can be to see the little tots out there on the field. Between all of the practices and games, their schedules keep Kim and I pretty busy.
In addition to the world of baseball, our new venture has finally begun to take shape. For the past year or so, I've had a vision to launch a school of music, fine arts, and worship studies. We are so blessed to have that opportunity right here in Oviedo (east Orlando) and as a bonus our family was able to find a new place of worship and participation. Christian Life Center of Orlando is now our new church home, and it is wonderful to see Kim and the boys minister together each Sunday in leading worship. The congregation is growing and things are falling into place. We are blessed. It is a nice feeling to see so many families coming through the door to study music and all the arts. We are offering free classes and opportunities as a way to reach new people and be a blessing to as many families as possible. The gifts we use may be music, but the mission has always been, and will remain to be people. To see so many people come through our doors is encouraging and serves as a reminder that we are on the right track. The vision is alive and well.
I will try to start blogging more on a regular basis. Meanwhile, you can follow things at blueoceansmusic.com and see what we're all up to. I hope you all have a blessed weekend. Be blessed!
In addition to the world of baseball, our new venture has finally begun to take shape. For the past year or so, I've had a vision to launch a school of music, fine arts, and worship studies. We are so blessed to have that opportunity right here in Oviedo (east Orlando) and as a bonus our family was able to find a new place of worship and participation. Christian Life Center of Orlando is now our new church home, and it is wonderful to see Kim and the boys minister together each Sunday in leading worship. The congregation is growing and things are falling into place. We are blessed. It is a nice feeling to see so many families coming through the door to study music and all the arts. We are offering free classes and opportunities as a way to reach new people and be a blessing to as many families as possible. The gifts we use may be music, but the mission has always been, and will remain to be people. To see so many people come through our doors is encouraging and serves as a reminder that we are on the right track. The vision is alive and well.
I will try to start blogging more on a regular basis. Meanwhile, you can follow things at blueoceansmusic.com and see what we're all up to. I hope you all have a blessed weekend. Be blessed!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Happy New Year!
I know it has been two and a half months since I've blogged, but things have been extremely busy, plus I've enjoyed being back home in Florida so much... that taking the time to blog hasn't been on the top of my to-do list.
Touring four months straight has a way of taking a toll on things. I'm thankful for good health and looking back at it now, I really felt great physically most of the time while out on the road and never really was sick at all. The boys sneezed whenever we were with people who owned cats or dogs, but other than that, we survived the challenges of being away from home and out of our normal routine. I must add that doing the tour was one of the best things we've ever done as a family. It helped us re-group emotionally, and allow God to prepare some changes in our lives. In addition to meeting many new people we've never met before, we saw a lot of familiar faces from the past. And along the way God helped establish a ministry within our family, which had been spoken to us in faith by many ministers, most of whom we had never met in person. It has been a special experience to watch our boys grow up and find themselves in the middle of ministry and the things of the Lord. I anticipate many great things from them in the future. They are excited about all that the future holds for our family.
I had flown Colton up to Greensboro, NC to spend a few days with me at a conference. I was so excited about getting back home earlier than expected, I asked him to ride with me and keep me awake while I drove all night long back to Orlando. Colton assured me that he would stay up and ride shotgun for me. After pondering my options, and being reluctant to cancel some things in Georgia; I knew it was time for me to get home and be with my family. Wouldn't you know he fell asleep after about two hours on the road, and I ended up pulling over at two different truck stops to rest about an hour each time. We made it back home about mid-morning and other than pulling an all-nighter... it felt oh so good to finally be home!
After taking it easy for a couple of weeks, I made a few quick trips out of town, but not to the point where it was disrupting my schedule at home. I was able to check out a few of Colton's baseball games, and even allowed Tate to play hooky from school a day or two over the next few weeks. I took the family to New Mexico for the holidays and we had a blast! It was one of the nicest vacations we've ever had. Spending two weeks relaxing in the southeastern New Mexico desert, skiing the snow covered mountains of Santa Fe, and exploring some scary terrain on four-wheelers helped us ring in the new year!
We flew into Orlando around midnight on New Years Eve...what a way to celebrate right? Then again, as long as we landed safely, we should consider ourselves blessed. The next day (January 1st) I picked my stepdad up from the airport and he spent two weeks with us. We had a wonderful time with him visiting and it was good to just relax and kick around with him. It has been a tough year on our family after losing my mom in April. We are glad to see 2009 get here, and look forward to all that God has in store for our family.
I trust everyone has a wonderful weekend and may your favorite NFL team be victorious on Sunday. I might add, it has been so good getting to watch more college and NFL action this fall than I had in previous years. Feel free to invite me over for the Super Bowl. I'll being the chicken wings and pickle burgers.
Touring four months straight has a way of taking a toll on things. I'm thankful for good health and looking back at it now, I really felt great physically most of the time while out on the road and never really was sick at all. The boys sneezed whenever we were with people who owned cats or dogs, but other than that, we survived the challenges of being away from home and out of our normal routine. I must add that doing the tour was one of the best things we've ever done as a family. It helped us re-group emotionally, and allow God to prepare some changes in our lives. In addition to meeting many new people we've never met before, we saw a lot of familiar faces from the past. And along the way God helped establish a ministry within our family, which had been spoken to us in faith by many ministers, most of whom we had never met in person. It has been a special experience to watch our boys grow up and find themselves in the middle of ministry and the things of the Lord. I anticipate many great things from them in the future. They are excited about all that the future holds for our family.
I had flown Colton up to Greensboro, NC to spend a few days with me at a conference. I was so excited about getting back home earlier than expected, I asked him to ride with me and keep me awake while I drove all night long back to Orlando. Colton assured me that he would stay up and ride shotgun for me. After pondering my options, and being reluctant to cancel some things in Georgia; I knew it was time for me to get home and be with my family. Wouldn't you know he fell asleep after about two hours on the road, and I ended up pulling over at two different truck stops to rest about an hour each time. We made it back home about mid-morning and other than pulling an all-nighter... it felt oh so good to finally be home!
After taking it easy for a couple of weeks, I made a few quick trips out of town, but not to the point where it was disrupting my schedule at home. I was able to check out a few of Colton's baseball games, and even allowed Tate to play hooky from school a day or two over the next few weeks. I took the family to New Mexico for the holidays and we had a blast! It was one of the nicest vacations we've ever had. Spending two weeks relaxing in the southeastern New Mexico desert, skiing the snow covered mountains of Santa Fe, and exploring some scary terrain on four-wheelers helped us ring in the new year!
We flew into Orlando around midnight on New Years Eve...what a way to celebrate right? Then again, as long as we landed safely, we should consider ourselves blessed. The next day (January 1st) I picked my stepdad up from the airport and he spent two weeks with us. We had a wonderful time with him visiting and it was good to just relax and kick around with him. It has been a tough year on our family after losing my mom in April. We are glad to see 2009 get here, and look forward to all that God has in store for our family.
I trust everyone has a wonderful weekend and may your favorite NFL team be victorious on Sunday. I might add, it has been so good getting to watch more college and NFL action this fall than I had in previous years. Feel free to invite me over for the Super Bowl. I'll being the chicken wings and pickle burgers.
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