Sunday, May 29, 2011

In a month's time

Hello friends! (and people to happen to stumble upon these ramblings)

It's been exactly a month since my last blog post, so you know what that means....time for an update!

I can't say I haven't posted for a while because I was too busy, but also not because I didn't have anything to write about. Lots has been happening and will be happening this up and coming summer, including some very exciting and fun shows that Cheatwood will be performing for, so cool! Let's just hope this rainy weather clears up since a lot of the shows coming up will be outdoors.

Here is a listed update of some of recent happenings and things to come (gotta love the lists people :)

- Chas decided to recruit me to sing harmonies with Cheatwood a couple of months ago, so now whenever they gig, I gig. So that means more shows this summer. We will be heading up to Idaho Falls this coming weekend for a show with just the trio (Chas, Kelli J. and me). Next up will be the Ogden Arts Festival, a few weddings, some Sunday gigs on the patio at Wolf Creek Clubhouse, and some other smaller shows including at Huntsville BBQ and Savannah BBQ. One of the ones that we are all especially looking forward to is opening for a pretty big show put on by a lady named Anna Wilson. She travels with a full band, including a horn section and the works, and it will also include the sax player from the Dave Matthews Band......so essentially wheat this means is, there is a chance that Cheatwood would get to do a couple of songs with him, that would be amazing. We are still working out the details, but that concert is set for July 23rd. We will also be playing our usual at the Antelope Island Balloon and Kite Stampede over Labor Day weekend. Definitely a full summer of shows lined up for us, which is awesome!

-Our lovely garden, which is a first for both of us and something that we have loved putting together with each other, is growing! However, the massive amounts of rain we have been getting so far this year have limited the tomato plants from growing as much as we would like them to. But not to despair, we still have some starters we kept in the jiffy that are still growing nicely, so we may be able to transplant those in exchange of the ones that sadly have taken a beating with the hail and sleet storms we have had. Our potato plants recently just sprouted out of nowhere and are now 5-6 inches high out of the ground. I can't wait to see if the bean and cucumber plants will sprout!

-I recently have been seeking out a few possible changes in my career. I have loved my job working with youth at the state, and I will be sad to tears when the time comes for me to leave my job, but I have also felt a slight tugging from God to explore other options now that I can put my masters into full use. This is kind of a works in progress, so I will have to update you on some of this later.

- Serving as a worship leader at the Bountiful Heights campus has been such a blessing and a learning experience. Chas and I continue to head down once every two weeks to lead a team, and I will be honest in saying that every week brings a new challenge to face. Recently some of the leaders have made the decision to step down, either due to moving on to other things or feeling the need to help elsewhere, so that has created much change in the direction of the teams and who plays for what team on what weeks. God has really blessed us with willing people who volunteer their time to serve and use their talents to create music that glorifies God every Sunday. Some of the people on our team change, so that brings a challenge. Some are beginning music players, and some can be very timid. But no matter what, I know that this is an opportunity to work along side others and see in what ways God is using these situations to teach me things as well. We are also just excited to see the outreach having a church in the heart of Bountiful is creating for the community.

-Chas and I got to spend some fun quality time with my family last weekend while my dad was here with his wife. My twin cousins graduated high school, which is so crazy to me considering that when I moved here, they were 7 (almost 8). They are two very bright, beautiful and mature young women, and I was happy to be able to be there to support and cheer them on in finishing this chapter of their life. We have had some really good talks together about their upcoming plans, and I am so excited for them to see what is in store for them.

Those are just a few of the happenings, there are a lot more things going on, but I feel that this post is getting long enough, so I will end here.
Maybe I will wait another month to post, that way I have more to blog about :)