more shoveling...

Kyle and I have been doing a LOT of shoveling. Look how much we had to do just so we can get our mail today! It's been real pleasant on my bad shoulder. Still haven't done the sidewalk or the walkway in front of the house or the rest of the driveway, but I guess Darryl can do some of that with the kubota when he gets home!

We didn't do a GREAT job with the snowblower, but at least we can get out if we need to!

discovering Ryan

Ryan had a packed day in Nashville yesterday, meeting with Darwin and a couple of producers, trying to discover what kind of an artist he will be. He also had another great lesson with Jesse Nemitz at Singing Success. Jesse was very encouraging about Ryan's potential as a successful artist.

Today is the big music seminar and auditions at Embassy Music. Can't wait to see if Ryan will be picked to perform tonight at the club!

Darwin Moody and Shay Watson.

They met with another producer named Kene "Ghost" Bell from Ghostown Productions, but I don't have any pictures of that meeting. He produced some of Katina's music and he worked with TobyMac.

Blizzard

Darryl and Ryan headed out to Nashville yesterday. Good thing they got out when they did because we got a lot of snow dumped on us for the past 2 days. Here are a few pics that Kyle took this morning before we went out and tackled the driveway. (I think we may have a gutter problem)








Can't wait to hear all the news when Ryan gets back. He is meeting with Darwin and some producers and other folks in the industry who may be able to help him.

In the mean time, Kyle is getting quite a bit of recognition in the yoyo world. Here is a link to his magnificent website RethinkYoyo.com

He has also designed a couple of T-shirts that he will be unveiling soon!

God, thank you for my awesome kids!

Temptation Song

Here's the song that Ryan did in Jesse Nemitz's office in Nashville last month.

On That Day

This was from a play performed at Grace Church on the Mount last night. It was a "picture" of the Judgment Seat of Christ. What a great reminder to tell others about Jesus, about what He did for us, how He died to pay for our sins. I need to pray more, pray better for people, especially for those who are far from God, who don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ. My prayer is that God would use my life to draw others to Himself. I don't want to stand before Him with no lasting reward. Ryan did a wonderful job with his songs, but I only got one video because his mic wasn't working on the 2nd one. Maybe somebody else will record it for me. Our friends from Preakness joined us there.






Deep Enough to Dream

me and sue-z

My best friend in high school met me for lunch today after about 30 years, I'm guessing. Haven't seen her since right after Dana was born....Wow! Can't believe it's been that long.

What a great time we had remembering the past and catching up on the present.

This is one of the pics from Sophomore year.

2nd row: Sue, then me.

legally "adult"

Today Ryan turned 18! Huge milestone b/c now he's an adult in the eyes of the law. Now he can make all those phone calls that require you to be 18 or older. He can quit school (like I did on my 18th birthday). But I hope and pray that he doesn't do the dumb things I did. I pray for God's best for him and that he will follow God with all his heart.

We went to Olive Garden for birthday supper. Had a great time. Kyle got a kick out of zipping up his Mongu hoodie for the waitress.

Long ride up... fast ride down!

Still in shock that we actually went skiing today. I didn't think I would ever go again b/c last time I went I had such a terrible experience. It was all ice and I left totally black and blue. So all these years have gone by and I finally decided I would go with the fam so that we would have an even number of people. Can't ski so well with 3.

We went to Camelback and I thought it was great! We spent almost 1/2 the time on one of the smaller beginner hills. When we felt more confident we went to the next hill over which was still a beginner hill but it was way longer and way steeper! That was so much fun.

After lunch I got smacked on the back of the leg by the ski lift...(long story). I can't seem to do anything without getting injured. I didn't think that much of it, other than that it hurt. But when I took my boots off I saw my leg was all swollen up. So I went to first aid to get an ice pack and I got interrogated by the staff there. I guess they don't want to get sued.

We forgot to take pics....so use your imagination.

Phantom of the Opera

So yesterday we went into New York City for the day. We are pretty lame and helpless when it comes to getting around in the city. We don't know the different names of the areas or whether we are going uptown or downtown or whatever. It's like speaking an entirely different language there. So we struggled a bit to find our way on the subways. Even so, we managed to get where we were going.

Kyle got to see the inner workings of YoYo Nation down by South Street Seaport. He also got a cool hoodie (picture coming soon). No yoyo’s though because he didn’t have time to make up his mind.

Then we had lunch at famous John's Pizzeria in Times Square, the only place to get coal oven pizza. It was the best pizza I’ve had in YEARS!! That’s the kind of pizza I grew up on in NJ, but they don’t make it like that anymore. Sad.

So across the street we go to see Phantom of the Opera, which I have wanted to see for quite some time. It was fantastic! Great talent, costumes, and music. Really phenomenal. So glad we went. And it was especially cool that we got to sit so close to the stage.

John's Pizzeria

The Orchestra The Stage before the show Inside the Majestic Theater

Tomorrow we are going skiing!!

flying south?

The other day when we went for a walk we saw THOUSANDS of geese in the sky. Then we noticed they were all landing in the field we were walking past. There were like a bazzillion of them there!! Too bad we startled them and they all took off in a frenzy. Some went North, some went South. I think they were confused.