Tuesday, November 18, 2014

November *we stayed close to home* Shows

A few months back, we decided to try and stay close to home in November.  In order for that to happen, I email every church (pretty much) in a 100 mile or so radius and hope for responses.

{ Side note: even with radio play and some decent press, finding shows is still hard.  That is a constant we have found:  everyone in the business hates booking.  But we have to do it and if we hunker down, we can find shows.  And it IS finally getting a little easier. } 

First, we drove up the road to Hopkinsville, KY to be with New Work Fellowship.  We got there Saturday evening and got all checked in and settled.  The front desk lady was adorable.  Totally diggin' on Oliver and he gave her oodles of smiles. 

When we got to the room, the keys didn't work, so Trent went to remedy the situation.  Mister Man and I stayed behind and played in the halls.




The keys got fixed or reprogrammed or reswiped or whatever happens and we got into the room. And there were TWO baskets!  One for O and one for us.  I've got three words for you:  Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies.  Amen.

Oliver played with his new puzzle and experienced Goldfish for the first time.  (He's a fan.  Even more proof he's my baybay.)

Sound check was planned for that night (LOVE when we are able to do that), so we ate supper before we went up to the church.  Oliver also experienced the wonder that is Chick-fil-A.  I made the mistake of giving him nuggets before the fruit.  Once he ate that goodness, there was no hope for the healthy stuff. Lesson learned.

Sound checky-checky.


We led worship and shared special music on Sunday morning for New Work's three services.  It was Veteran's Day week and they are close to Fort Campbell.  Meaning:  lots of service men and women, both vets and active duty, in the congregation.  They were recognized and I just cannot hold back tears. 

After church, one of the pastors and his family took us to lunch.  And that's where someone came up to us and asked if Oliver was a boy or girl.  I mean, come on.  I know he's pretty and I know sometimes at this age babies can look like either sex.  But I had him in boy clothes!  Whatevs.  

We rested in the afternoon then went back up to the church for the concert.  It was a fun night!  They had a Thanksgiving dinner (YUM) and even made us go first.  I'm appreciative of that but it never gets less awkward for me.  

After we all ate, everyone filed into the sanctuary for an open-mic of sorts.  People were invited to share what they're thankful for.  I was surprised by how many kids got up to give thanks!  I pray Oliver has a thankful heart and the guts to get up and share it.  My personal favorite was when two little girls (sisters) got up and, in unison, said, "we're thankful that our daddy is home."  Their dad is a soldier.  I mean hello, tears!

Then, we played.  At one point, Trent had a string that would not stay tuned.  He actually had to stop in the middle of a song and tune it.  That left me playing percussion all by my lonesome.  So, I said, "percussion solo!"

They clapped.

Trent still wasn't done.

I said, "If I could rap, I would."

They laughed.

Trent still wasn't done.

This string was being extra stubborn.

So, that's when I sang the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song.

Some people actually sang along.

It was quite the moment.

We all laughed and the string was tuned and the show went on.

They have video of it and I pray that it doesn't find its way onto the interwebs.

The staff was super friendly and we look forward to going back!

The next weekend, we went to Carthage UMC in Carthage, TN.  We woke up Sunday morning and drove there and drove back home after the service.  It was so strange!  In a good way.  

We had the whole service which is always fun.  I must admit, I wasn't sure how the morning would go.  The congregation was mostly…um…how do you say…mature?  There were also young families, but I was still curious how it would all go.  Plus, there was a gentleman saying it was too loud during sound check.  Oops!  I don't think he bought a CD =)

My concern was for no reason.  We were very well received and everyone that stopped by to shake our hands had nothing but nice things to say.  Yay!  

I got no pictures, but here's one from the night before, after the family picture debacle, eating some yummy Mexican food.

 

Oliver loved it.  Shocker.

#enchiladas #refriedbeans #rice




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