N.A.M.E.

So, we've just spent the last few days at the N.A.M.E. Conference ... the National Association of Marriage Enrichment. What an incredible opportunity to be involved in such a great event! My husband was the guest soloist, but we were encouraged to participate in all the sessions and take advantage of the teaching as well. Now, I knew that I was going to the marriage conference, but I remembered that my husband might just be 'going to work'. (see previous post ... We went to a Wedding) It turns out that we both enjoyed some seminars, and meeting and getting to know some of the teachers and leaders. Some of the ones we thoroughly enjoyed were Dr. Tim Clinton, director of The American Association of Christian Counsellors (I ordered several of this books!), Pastors Rick and Judy Hilsden, former Ontario District Superintendent of the PAOC and now pastors of The Park Church in Sherwood Park, AB and Phil and Cindy Waugh, Executive Directors of Covenant Marriage Movement.

One particular moment that stood out in my mind was in a session about Effective and Ineffective Communication led by Phil and Cindy Waugh. They were the explaining the concept of "Messaging to be understood and Listening to Understand". Part of communicating this way with your spouse involves "mirroring". When not in agreement, the one spouse responds with, "what I hear you say is ....." and once the concept is completely understood, the other spouse says, "that makes me feel ....". I leaned over to my husband and asked him if he remembered when we had first heard that concept. He did.

We were singing at The Park Church in April 2008. During the Sunday morning service, Pastor Rick was speaking about marriage. I remember a lot of his message because he was very funny, but mostly because of this: you see, in August of 2007 Rick suffered a heart attack and then, a few days later, an acute stroke. He wasn't expected to live. It was soon realized that the part of his brain that had been affected by the stroke was his "communication department". As a pastor, this is his most precious gift! With the help of his wife, he has continued to pastor a growing, thriving, large church. To see Rick now, you wouldn't know that he had been ill, but once he begins to speak there is a hesitation and stumbling over words. During the morning in April when Rick was speaking about marriage, he began to explain the concept of "mirroring" ... "what I hear you say is ...." and "that makes me feel ...". He had barely begun to explain the concept when his words began to get very muddled. He tried a couple times to straighten them out and just couldn't get his thoughts out. Quietly, his wife Judy left her seat in the front row, walked up to the platform, took a mic and explained the concept beautifully while Rick stepped back and took a few deep breaths before he was ready to begin again. Then, Judy just stepped back down to her seat in the front row. The picture of that has been embedded in my mind. Two people working as one. Neither one looking for attention. Simply working together to accomplish a purpose. The concept has stayed with me and I've shared it with several friends, but even more poignant was the relationship between Rick and Judy. Truly they are an inspiration!!

So, not only have we been surrounded by great teaching, but we have been inspired by other marriages in action.

This week ...

This week we were blessed by friends who allowed us to use their time share in beautiful Canmore, AB ... right at the foothills of the Rockies. Our chalet had 2 stories, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 3 TVs, fireplace, full kitchen including dishwasher, washer, dryer, balcony off the master bedroom and we enjoyed some of the amenities at the Lodge ... pool, sauna, hot tub, games room and free movies. We enjoyed exploring the town, driving around looking at the exquisite homes, window shopping in the picturesque downtown, sipping coffee at a superb Italian cafe, and basically relaxing without schedules.

Our Chalet in Canmore, AB and the views from the master bedroom balcony

We did drive into Banff one of the days (about 15 minutes up the road) and enjoyed driving around looking at homes, visiting the Hot Springs for a warm dip on a cool afternoon, checking out the great shops and then eating at our favourite place ... The Keg (thanks to gift certificates from our friends at http://www.dyckandhorner.com/). During the afternoon it began to snow, which for our family, made the day absolutely perfect!

My hubby and I downtown Banff, AB on a snowy evening. The end of a perfect day!

Our drive to Alberta ...

Here's some pics of the drive to Alberta .... notice the goose from Wawa, ON, pics of beautiful Lake Superior, the Terry Fox Monument in Thunder Bay, ON, the largest teepee in Medicine Hat, AB, the moose warning sign and then the mountains in the distance.

We are indeed surrounded by incredible beauty!

Week One ...

We hit the road last Friday morning and one week later ... about 176 hours later ... we had traveled over 3,800 km, been in 4 provinces and 3 time zones.

My hubby had sung in 2 full concerts, 1 special Sunday morning appearance, 1 World Vision Artist Associate luncheon, 1 GMA Showcase and spent a day in a studio doing TV tapings.

We had stopped and visited with friends we've only met through e-mail in North Bay, my Aunt and Uncle in Winnipeg, our friends, The Wilson Family, in rural Saskatchewan and lots of artists at different venues.

We ate at Wendy's, McDonald's (x3), A+W, Mary Browns, Subway (x2), Swiss Chalet, The Olive Garden, Drifters, The Keg, Caseys, KFC, Red Lobster, Montanas, a catered luncheon, Tim Hortons (x2) and Starbucks (x??)

We stayed at Travelodge, Voyageur Inn, Best Western, Comfort Inn, Howard Johnston (x2), and Days Inn.

Yesterday my hubby had a meeting with the musical director for the musical he will be involved in beginning at the end of next month. 7,000 tickets sold out in 5 days! He's not only going to be the guest soloist, but he is also doing some arrangements and vocal choreography for the choir. He meets with the choir for the first time tomorrow.

I've managed to keep the kids on track with schoolwork, keep laundry clean and read a few books. I've also realized that 1 laptop with 4 people is not enough!

Sounds crazy, huh? Welcome to my life!

So, for those who want to know how it's going ... great!

We went to a Wedding ...

Early in the summer I received a beautiful invitation in the mail. Two young friends of ours were about to commit their lives to each other in a wedding ceremony. More than just being invited to the wedding, my husband was also asked to sing at the ceremony and the band he plays with, Scandalous Grace, was asked to play for the dance.

I looked forward the date all summer long. I had a dress picked out (although I switched outfits at the last moment because of the heat!), I had my hair done and paid extra special attention to getting ready. I was looking forward to spending the day with my husband, reminiscing about the day when it was us confessing our love to each other in front of our family and friends.

Us ... just before the wedding started ...

We arrived early to set up sound. My husband sat in the front row ready to sing during the ceremony and I sat in tiny, hot sound booth at the back. I watched other couples cuddle close together watching the bride and groom while my hubby motioned to me to turn down channel one and turn up channel two.

As people exited the church, my hubby and I quickly packed the sound gear and headed to where the reception and dance would be. We set up there and I began to relax while he discussed the evening with the band. We enjoyed an incredible meal and while speeches were being made the band was getting ready. I spent the next few hours watching Scandalous Grace sing and play with all their might. They were incredible!! An absolutely stellar performance which delighted the crowd completely. I watched husbands and wives embracing on the dance floor, fire in their eyes. I watched as the music sung brought back heart-warming memories for them. I was sitting by the sound booth wondering why there was so much fun around me and yet I wasn't enjoying any of it.

Then it hit me ... Silly me. I thought I was going on a date with my husband; he was simply going to work! Silly, silly me.

Being married to a singer means that my life is a lot different than many others, but this was one aspect I hadn't considered before. To be fair, my hubby took me out on a date the next week and this time it wasn't about work!

Birthday Present ...

My birthday isn't until next week, but my mom contacted me in August and told me what my birthday present would be. She wanted her two girls and her three granddaughters to spend some time together. So, she bought plane tickets for my girls and I to fly to my sisters to spend a few days with her family. We had a wonderful time together and then spent 3 days with my mom and dad before flying home. My sister described the visit beautifully ... check it out ...
http://www.witandwishdom.blogspot.com/.

Thanks, Mom!!

Homeschooling Goals

Our school year got off to a great start this week. It's hard to believe we've been formally homeschooling for 11 years! What a journey!

While going through an old box of homeschooling things this summer, I came across a list I made several years ago when our homeschooling journey began. I'm pleased that our goals have not altered at all! I wrote them when our kids were merely elementary students and now, with one doing Grade 10 work and one doing a mix of Grade 8 and Grade 9 work, the goals seem just as poignant.

Written around 1999:

Our Destination Goal for Homeschooling

1. That our children would love to learn.

2. That our children would have a marketable set of skills ... research, communication and technical.

3. That our children would understand Christianity and enjoy a vital relationship with the Lord.

4. That our children would discover their talents and gifts and be able to develop them and use them.

5. That our children would develop integrity of character that would be noticeable not only to us, but our family, friends and church.

Few days away ...

The cottage has been owned by my hubby's grandparents for decades. This sign at the end of the driveway has always signified to me ...
"The stress of life ends here ... prepare to relax!"

Beautiful setting. Sisters relaxing by the lake!

Just the 4 of us

3 days

8 movies

lots of board games

no schedule at all

long walks ... in the rain AND the heat

simple meals

fishing off the dock

ice cream from the corner store

reading great books for however long we wanted

water lapping at the dock

woodstove crackling in the morning

breeze blowing in all the open windows

DEEP BREATHS ... STRESS RELIEVED!

American Idol Update

So, a month after we went to the American Idols Live concert I am finally blogging about it! The day was fantastic from start to finish. We left early and headed to Toronto for an early supper at my hubby's favourite restaurant, Ivory Thailand. MacKenzie had been there before with her dad, but for Savannah and I it was our first experience. The food was even better than I could have imagined! Who knew we'd all be lovers of Thai food??

Our anticipation grew as we headed over to the Air Canada Centre. While waiting in line, we were asked if we wanted to have our pic taken to be used on the big screen. We said sure! Here's the pic ....


In our opinion, almost all the idols have made huge strides as far as stage presence is concerned. Kristy Lee Cook and Syesha Mercado win the awards for 'Most Improved'. David Aruchuleta wins 'Crowd Favourite'. Michael Johns wins 'Was Voted Off Waaayyy Too Early'. In our eyes David Cook and Carly Smithson were definitly rock stars in every sense of the word. My favourite, Jason Castro, did a beautiful rendition of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' that almost made me cry!

All in all, we had a fun family day full of great memories!

PS. Check out MacKenzie and Savannah's Facebook pages for pics of the concert.

American Idols Live Tour 2008

One thing that our family enjoys doing together is watching American Idol. This year we actually watched every single episode! During the Finale on TV, my husband casually mentioned to our girls that the live tour was coming to Toronto in July. They looked at him with raised eyebrows, "Really?"

"Yes, and we've got tickets to go see it!!"

This resulted in lots of screaming!!

I asked MacKenzie this morning who her favourite was. Right away she answered, "David Cooke. .... and Carly Smithson. .... oh, and Jason Castro." This year the talent was exceptional ... so many different styles and I especially loved seeing the contestants get better and better every week. My favourite was Jason Castro. I loved his performances of "Hallelujah" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Just for the record though, in my opinion he was not ready to be the winner. David Cooke was the right one as far as I'm concerned!

Today is the day! We've packed snacks for the ride, got the tickets and binoculars ready to go and we are pumped!

School's Out!

I know for almost everyone else in Canada, school's been out for several weeks. When you are homeschooling, you can educate on your own schedule. In the past, this has always worked to our advantage and we've usually finished school in May. This year was different. With my husband's schedule being so heavy last fall, we got way behind in our schoolwork and just couldn't seem to get caught up. Now, we're finally done! I've even completed report cards.

Now the kids and I are officially on 'summer holidays'. I've got a few plans, but nothing extravagant. I plan to spend some time at the library and then enjoy reading the books and watching the DVDs I borrow, painting a few more things around my home, starting a Facebook page, trying a few new recipes, blogging about some things that have been on my mind and then getting ready for the next school year. We are also planning on attending a couple concerts ... my hubby and the band he plays with, Scandalous Grace, are doing a fundraising concert tomorrow (Friday) at DSCF, our friend Kevin Pauls is in concert in Whitby next week, and then next Saturday we have tickets to see American Idols Live at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto!

Here's hoping for a few lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer!

Questions ...

A couple questions have been going through my mind lately. Maybe you can help!

1. Where have all the red-skinned potatoes gone to?

2. I know that eating fruits and veggies in season gives you the most punch of vitamins etc., but does anyone have an easy way to remember what is in season and when in Ontario?

Just wondering ....

Weekend Projects ...

Television programming has been bombarded with decorating shows and when I have the flicker in my hand, that's usually what we watch. However, actually doing something to my own home is much more challenging!

Our family room furniture has been deteriorating rapidly over the last several years. We own two beautiful, long-haired, cuddly cats with nails who have torn the front panels of our furniture to shreds. The actual structure of the furniture is fine, but the upholstery needed help.

I've been wanting to highlight the black in our family room for quite some time ... our wood stove is black, our lamps are black, a few candle holders are black. So, I found an old pair of black pants and a can of black paint. Andrew tackled the front panels of the furniture, removing the green and adding the black, while I painted all the green legs of our end tables a nice, shiny black. The projects took a few hours, but were completely FREE! We were amazed at the results. Thought you'd like to see ...

Mike and Maty's Chicken

Anyone remember 'The Mike and Maty Show'? The show aired in about 1994 and wasn't on for very long. My sister-in-law was a big fan and taped the show while she was at work to watch in the evenings. She was still living at home with her parents, so if my hubby and I were visiting his parents on a week night, inevitably we ended up watching 'Mike and Maty'.

I was recently having one of those "what in the world are we going to have for dinner" nights, when I remembered that a long, long time ago I had written down a recipe from an episode of 'Mike and Maty'. I had made the recipe once or twice over the years, but not for a long time. This prompted me to get out my favourite cookbook and begin going through all the recipes I have shoved in the front over the years. The recipes I've shoved in the front may actually exceed the actual numnber of recipes in the book! I was looking for that light pink piece of paper that had been torn in half. Isn't it funny how we can remember the silliest details, but can't remember where we left our cell phone? I found the paper and to my delight, I had all the ingredients for the recipe. Since I have been helping my oldest get her Grade 9 credit for Home Economics, I decided to have her make the majority of the recipe. (When you homeschool it's amazing what you can classify as "school"!) MacKenzie did a great job and the recipe turned out even better than I remembered. No one else in my family remembered ever having eaten it before!

So, if you are wondering what to have for dinner and want something easy and tasty, why not try "Mike and Maty's Chicken".

3 or 4 boneless breasts of chicken cut in bite sized pieces
Shake in 1/2 cup of flour and a bit of salt
Brown in 1 tbsp of butter

All in one bowl, add ...
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of red pepper
1/2 cup green pepper'
1/2 cup onion'
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp pepper
1 cup ketchup (She used 1/2 cup ketchup and 1/2 cup chili sauce)
1 cup water

Mix it up, add to the browned chicken, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

We served it with basmati rice (my personal favourite!) and canned peas.

YUM!

Father's Day

Father's Day was this past weekend. I am blessed to have my dad (and mom) here for a visit from Iowa and so we spent the day together. I am blessed to have a father that was always pro-active about providing for his family and teaching us right from wrong. My dad appears to be very staunch and business-like, but I know what a tender heart he has. He is man enough to let the tears roll without being ashamed. For the first 9 years of my life, my dad was a banker, but since then he has pastored.

My Dad and I ... Father's Day 2008

In honour of Father's Day I'll share a story that happened recently to my hubby. He was standing talking to his friend Jeff about very important "musician things". Jeff was holding his 2 year old beautiful daughter, Celeste. The two men were deeply engaged in discussing the benefits of the latest model of ear monitors, prices, upgrades etc. etc. As they talked, Celeste kept trying to interrupt. "Daddy, daddy ... I want to tell you something."

And then again ... "I need to tell you something, Daddy".

Jeff gently kept reminding her, "Just a minute, Celeste." The two men continued talking.

Finally, Celeste couldn't wait any longer. She put one of her tiny hands on each of Jeff's cheeks, turned his face towards her and said, "Daddy, I just need to tell you that I LOVE YOU!" Both men completely melted in tears.

I'm thankful for a heavenly Father who is my provider, my peace giver and my protector. Abba ... Daddy ... I just need to tell you that I LOVE YOU!

Thoughts ...

Over the last few weeks the Lord has been highlighting some things to me over and over again. There haven't been flashing neon lights, but the same things keep jumping out when someone is speaking or when I'm reading something. Thought I'd share.

• TRUTH (see this previous post) My mom always ends up with a "word for the year" ... Truth is my word for 2008.
• Use wisdom
• Get the facts before you jump to conclusions
• My children will inherit one of two things: my fears or God's promises (Lisa Bevere)
• When God asks me to do something, I MUST obey immediately ... no matter how much people won't understand
• How can anyone have a proper relationship with God when their earthly relationships are so messed up ... and yet, we can't fix those earthly relationships on our own, we need God to help us
• I can't do anything on my own, but I can do all things through Him who gives me strength!
• There is a school bus company from our town that uses the logo "On the Journey of Learning" ... I feel like that wraps up my life in a nutshell

Life Lessons ...

Some thoughts to ponder!

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have,or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, 'I love you', mean it.
5. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling..
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze
16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Spend some time alone.

(sent to my husband from a friend by e-mail)

Turkey Dinner

My husband and I have been blessed in many ways over the years with people giving to us. God always knows exactly the time and He has directed folks to meet our needs in all kinds of ways. Well, about a month ago, a distant relative of my husbands showed up on my doorstep and told me she was grocery shopping and she felt led to buy us a turkey. I thanked her and thought to myself, "I don't know how to cook a turkey!" I put that thing in the freezer and left it there. The only freezer we have is the fridge top one and the turkey was taking up about 1/6 of the room in it! I'd see stuff on sale at the grocery store and want to stock up, but I didn't have room in my freezer! So, this week I thawed that thing, called my mom and found out how to cook it. I had opted to not make dressing, but my husband said he had watched his gramma lots of times, so he tried his hand at making it. By suppertime we had a nice, juicy turkey, delicious dressing, sweet potatoes, veggies, yummy gravy and even cranberries! My husband and I 'high fived' each other and commented that you COULD teach old dogs new tricks!

BUT ... now I know why turkeys are cooked for family get togethers! There was certainly enough turkey for an army!! Now, gotta figure out what to do with all the leftovers!

Before He Speaks ...

To all my friends who are pastor's wives, worship leader's wives, evangelist's wives ... anyone who has been used as "the illustration"! These ladies have hit the nail on the head!

ps. After seeing the acting abilities of Shari and Tammy on Sunday, I think they could do a great job acting this out!

DEPARTURES has arrived!

Here's a sample from my hubby's brand new album, DEPARTURES. This album is the result of something God put on my husband's heart about three years ago. The journey to get to the final product has been bumpy, but the end result is more incredible than we even imagined! What a joy to work with such gifted musicians and artists and watch as God created this beautiful tapestry.

To launch this new album, we also created a new website. Stop by for a visit at:
http://www.andrewmartinmusic.com/. Listen to clips from the rest of the album by clicking on "In-flight Entertainment". It will be available to order from our online store or from iTunes by the end of the month.

Last September God placed the desire in Andrew's heart to write a song about reaching out to those around us. Andrew worked on that song for two days straight and couldn't come up with something. The kids were busy with fashion shows all weekend and had no idea he was trying to write a song. Early Monday morning when I woke up, MacKenzie (then 13) was already awake. When I asked her why she simply answered, "God woke me up with a song, so I got up and wrote it down." She had written two verses, a chorus and even a bridge. The lyrics were exactly what Andrew had been trying to create all weekend!! Here's a sample of the final cut ...



The journey has been long, like we've been in a holding pattern. DEPARTURES is such a fitting name because it does feel like we're about to take off!