All the Way my Savior Leads Me...

Last week, I got the amazing chance to go with three sweet friends to see the CHRIS TOMLIN concert....
It was NOT great entertainment.
It was AMAZING worship.

I soaked up every millisecond of it. I seriously would love to do that every week! None of wanted it to be over, and my friend Susan told me why: We were MADE to worship! Ha, just made so much sense.

Some of my favorite songs he sang were:
"Indescribable"
"How Great is Our God"
"Sing Sing Sing"
and of course when I heard "Amazing Grace" and
"I Will Rise," all I could think of was granny. There were ferocious tears, but good ones.

My friend said that Chris Tomlin music is all that's been getting her through lately, so I downloaded a few of his lesser known songs. Here is my new favorite song, though it is quite an oldie, written in 1875 by Fanny Crosby.

Just let these words fall on you....

All the way my Savior leads me
Who have I to ask beside
How could I doubt His tender mercy
Who through life has been my guide

All the way my Savior leads me
Cheers each winding path I tread
Gives me grace for every trial
Feeds me with the living bread

You lead me and keep me from falling
You carry me close to Your heart
And surely Your goodness
And mercy will follow me

All the way my Savior leads me
Oh, the fullness of His love
Oh, the sureness of His promise
In the triumph of His blood

And when my spirit clothed immortal
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages
Jesus led me all the way
Jesus led me all the way

You lead me and keep me from falling
You carry me close to Your heart
And surely Your goodness
And mercy will follow me
You lead me and keep me from falling
You carry me close to Your heart
And surely Your goodness
And mercy will follow me, will follow me

All the way my Savior leads me
All the way my Savior leads me

Funky Jesus Music

If there was ever a night I wished this white girl could pop and lock, snap n roll and do the stanky legg, this was the night..... the night Toby Mac came to town.

I feel like down deep I've got some soul blood in me cause that music makes me wanna get up and dance like noone's ever danced before.

But I know if I did, I would look like a dying mongoose. I have faced the fact that my pale booty just doesn't have the rhythm or the cool.

However, I do think that in heaven I would love to be one of God's backup dancers... dancing like a fool on the streets of gold... oh yeah. Baby. Now that would be chill. That would be ON POINT. That would be 1 thousand. That would be hot. (Thanks to my soul sista Nicole for a little help with the lingo).

Dare I say it? Cause I've seen lots of concerts.... James Taylor, Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, ZZ Top, Michael W. Smith, The Bee Gees, Third Day, Justin Beiber, Club Nouveau, Hall and Oates, (omigosh can you believe that list... that list is hilarious),

but Toby Mac.....

Best. Concert. EVER.

A close second? Garth Brooks.

My kids LOVED it. Tom even tapped his foot a little. And did some arm waving. Toby Mac is a true showstopper, and has God to call as his King. If he comes to an area near you, GO SEE HIM. That would be Legit!

Music to My Ears

So proud of Ell Belle....

After a year of piano lessons with Mrs. Pride, she had her "book party" at which she played through the entire book! All 24 songs! Friends came to be her audience..

and then afterwards we celebrated at my kids' (AND MY) new favorite yogurt shop, Peachwave! Yummy! Self serve yogurt where you add your own toppings! Dangerously delicious but only.33 cents per ounce!

Great job, Ellie! I hope you see how all your hard work has paid off! Hugs!

So Much to Blog, So Little Time

I had the highest hopes for blogging in April. And then May 1st stepped rudely into my world! Wow, the pace is not at a jog, but a sprint right now and I am blogging by the hair of my chinny chin chin!

There are so many things I want to record, but for today, I will share with you the song that Ellie adapted while I was out of town this weekend to the tune of Toby Keith's song "Crying for Me." It's about Cosmo. She still misses him.


Here are her words:
Got the news on Monday mornin,
but a few tears I could find,
showed me how to have fun
now you showed me how to die
I was lost the rest of the day
I woke up to face my fears
While writing you this goodbye song
I found a lot of tears
Im gonna miss that dog
Gonna miss him so much
Even though it hurts the way it ended up
I'd do it all again
So play it sweet in heaven
Cause that’s right where you belong
Im not crying cause I feel sorry for you
Im cryin for me
So I got up to look at your toys
And your smell came right to me
That old familiar smell I smell a thousand times
Sorry that your not here comin right home to me
Even though you think im crazy I had to see you again
Im gonna miss that dog
Gonna miss him so much
Even though it hurts the way it ended up I'd do it all again
So play it sweet in heaven
Cause that right where you belong
Im not cryin cause I feel so sorry for you
Im cryin for me
So play with your red and green chew toy
And your green tennis ball
I will see you on the other side…superstar
Im gonna miss that dog
Gonn miss him so much
Even though it hurts the way I ended up
I do it all again
So play it sweet in heaven
Cause thats right where you belong
I'm no cryin cause I feel so sorry for you
I'm cryin for me
I'm still cryin
I'm cryin for me
I'm still cryin

Fireflies

It's funny how much your kids can open up your mind to new things. Luke came home from a friend's house singing this new song, and was begging me to look it up on You Tube for him.

I had never heard of Owl City or their song "Fireflies." (I'm positive that I'm completely out of it when it comes to the music scene. It's quite possible that everyone in the world has heard this song except for me).

Anyway, "Fireflies" is all we have been listening to the last few days and if you haven't heard it, you've got to take a quick listen and look. I am completely mesmerized by it. The song itself is such a great reminder of the innocence of childhood and shows a deep longing for that magical time, but check out the video... if you are a child of the 70's, you will see some of your favorite things that you probably had forgotten about.

The Man Could Dance (Updated)

Kings of pop and Angels of television are not immune to death." - Rena

The Interview

Amber from A Small Peek into my World had a very cool diddy on her blog.... someone had interviewed her and then she posted her answers for all to see. She asked for people to comment if they wanted to be interviewed, and I took the bait.

Here are her questions to me... and my answers following.
1) How did you meet your husband??

My first "real" job was as an English teacher at East Central High School. I had worked there for a couple years when this really good-looking new coach got hired on as assistant basketball coach. The head coach, Coop, was just a couple doors down the hallway from me, so I saw Tom quite a bit. We made a bet on the outcome of a TU-OSU football game... winner paid for movie and dinner. (I won.) The next time he came to make a "bet" I called his bluff (said, "are you going to ask me out or what?") and well... the rest is history.

2) When did you realize that you had a love for letters??

When I saw the two mouths talking on Electric Company. Back in the day.

3) What is your favorite kind of music??

I Love, Love, Love Christian music. Steven Curtis Chapman, Toby Mac, Mercy Me, Third Day.... That's mostly what I listen to in the car and on my ipod.

However, I cut my teeth on some real funk.... and still feel the beat in my soul when I hear Chaka Khan (I Feel For You!), Prince (Purple Rain), Club Nouveau (Situation Number 9), Michael Jackson (Beat It) Midnight Star (No Parking on the Dance Floor). I went to a fairly rough high school where I also became fond of bands like Cheap Trick, ZZ Top, White Snake, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Boston. My dad loved classic music like the Eagles and Elton John, so I grew up liking that music too. And when I was a cowgirl at OSU, I danced my boots off to George Straight, Garth Brooks, and Hal Ketchum.

Oh, and one more thing... lately, I've had a bit of a thing for Robin Thicke.

4) What’s your dream job? Are you doing it now?

I was born to teach. I know that. It's agreed with me for all my life.

But I am a dreamer and in my wildest dreams.... I would be...

*a writer for a newspaper or magazine - weekly columnist

*an author of a wildly successful children's book

*an artist (but I can't paint or draw)

*a comedian (but I'm not funny)

*a tough as nails lawyer (not that tough)

Guess I'd better stick with teaching and being a mom (my dream job come true)

5) What is your favorite family activity??

It's soooo hard to pick just one! Things we like to do together as a family...

any sporting event, bowling, letterboxing, playing board games, wrestling in the living room floor, hanging out with friends, watching sports on TV, baking, going to movies, watching plays, playing Wii, card games, and of course spending time with the kids' grandparents and Granny I.

Can I interview you? If so, leave me a comment and let me know. I will email you your questions.

For the Man Who Has Everything

Christmas and Birthdays for my Dad are next to impossible. You know how men are... when they want something, they usually just go get it! Leaving their loved ones going... well, how about another Hideaway Gift Card? Or maybe it should be Home Depot this year.

My dad is the kind of man that you really want to give to because he gives so much to you all year long. He takes care of his daughters. Just last week, he helped me install a new igniter on my oven (or should I say he installed it while I sat there and held the flashlight.)

He has two other loves besides me and my sister... 1) his grandkids and 2) music. As long as he's been a grandpa, he's been interested in getting those two loves together! He encourages us to get them in music lessons and even sits down with them and guides them through a practice. He takes us to piano concerts and when the kids play for him, he acts like he's listening to Beethoven.

Well, this Christmas, my sister came up with a brilliant idea for his Christmas gift: A music concert! We made up an invitation to give him on Christmas morning and the kids starting perfecting their "Papa songs." Luke and Maggie (who aren't in lessons yet) practiced their scales and notes. We found darling music note t-shirts at Target and when the thing we down... it was really cute, even with Ellie's scathing rendition of "Baa-Baa Blacksheep" on the untuned guitar.

It just wouldn't be the same without all the musical numbers that are presented this time of year. Kami is a proud member of the Jenks East singers, and loved performing with them this December.