Friday, January 30, 2009

Gatlinburg Gathering 2009 - MAINSTAGE BABY!!


I'm one of the tiny circles at the bottom for MAINSTAGE Sunday matinee!! Yippie!! Come one, come all! For tickets and other info, visit the Ray Flynn website! (click on the flyer to view a larger size so you can really see my tiny bubble)

Look on the sunnyside...

Well, in less than 48 hours, we depart on the 2009 Gloryland Gospel Cruise out of Jacksonville, FL. (!!!!!!!!!!!) I have NEVER been on a cruise before, so this will be a first for yours truly. And of course, I picked the first cruise I take to be one I sing on. Great planning...I know. Especially since I have bad vertigo. :) I've already picked up my box of Dramamine, so we should be good to go at this point.

It is all a bit surreal right now since I really don't know what to expect. Kyle is very excited since he's been on cruises before. He's been getting all the paperwork filled out, packing clothes & product, making sure all of that stuff is done. Me? I made sure to get my eyebrows waxed, my hair color touched up, get my toes painted with a "cruise" color (whatever that is), pick out my outfits...ya know...the important stuff. ;-) I've yet to pack the first thing. LOL

I will be sure to post pictures of our adventures! The boat is stopping in Key West, FL, and Nassau, Bahama, so it should be fun! I've never been down that way before, but I'm excited to see what all the fuss is about. :)

Off we go!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Christmas in 3 parts

One of the joys of being married is now having multiple families in multiple locations, thus creating multiple celebrations of all the various holidays....especially Christmas. We've been celebrating Christmas since last Wednesday!! LOL We had a great time with the Jacksons in Lebanon spending Christmas Eve & Christmas Day with them. Spent most of the time just relaxing and talking to each other, which was really awesome. I enjoy hanging out with them, and getting to spend a couple days with them in a relaxed environment is always a treat!

Christmas Day was awesome! The Jacksons only take 30 minutes to open their gifts, where it takes my side of the family at least 3 hours to open hours. LOL (Yes, it can be exhausting.) We went to church at Daryn's church in Smyrna, and it was just a great service. The church is very much an arts driven church, so full a solid hour, the service was packed with dancing, singing, poetry reading, skits, and other forms of art. It was so great! I hope we get to experience it again! The service also inspired me a bit on the direction I would like to take the Christmas album I hope to record this year.

The day after Christmas, we went to Sevierville to get G'ma and to spend time with our friend Whitney. We went to dinner at Tony Gore's restaurant, and the food was spectacular, as usual. Saturday morning, we had a farewell breakfast with Whit. So sad to see her go, but so happy for all that is happening for her!

We headed the rest of the way to NC with G'ma Scott in tow. After a lovely Christmas (or post-Christmas) meal lovingly prepared by my mom, we got into the present opening. We started at 6 PM, and we weren't done until after 9 PM. I get tired just thinking about it. Lots of great gifts though, but most importantly, just great time with family!

Over the past week, we've just spent time with the family watching movies (Anne of Green Gables trilogy!!), playing LOTS of Wii, eating out with friends, shopping, and more. Really, we've just been biding time until Bethany got in from England. She flew into Charlotte last night, and was welcomed with open arms! We had a "Welcome Home!" banner that we held up, which actually made a lot of people that came down the stairs before her really happy. :) It was just so awesome to have her back in the states, though I know it is very bittersweet for her. But never fear, Brett will be here for her soon! We had Christmas with her tonight, so Christmas is now officially DONE!

One other highlight is that I have learned how to crochet in preparation for an upcoming church women's event. I'm pretty close to having a scarf done!! I'm pretty proud of what I've made b/c I've never been the domestic or crafty type. Thanks to G'ma for teaching me! Crochet is easier to me than knitting b/c I could just NOT get the coordination down for knitting. One needle is easier than two.

Well, that's it. Next weekend, Kyle and I are headed to Warwick, RI, to visit the TAPS office and attend a meet-n-greet with Jay & Grant of Ghost Hunters!! Thanks Southwest Airlines for the travel vouchers!! :) :) I'll definitely be posting about that and lots of pictures!! So excited!