Some Video Clips of Christmas Show 2010

These are clips from a show we did at Dillards. This first one is our arrangement of O Come O Come Emmanuel. It has a Mideastern feel to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvkFfAnaJnM

Next is a clip of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen done in a Celtic style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2O3LCSCbh4

Here's a glimpse of Carol singing a salsa arrangement of Jingle Bells.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pda_bgB0hZY

Little 3-year old Kori, our granddaughter sings Baby Jesus with a little help from her mom, Liz.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBPIoXCQYeQ

Here's an instrumental version with the saxophone of Away in a Manger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qdZbkICFr8



This year our band was composed of our teenagers, Joey and Tara, our son John, Carol, Ken, and our friend Jonathan.

Carol- vocals
Ken- sax, flute, and guitar
John- percussion
Tara- guitar and vocals
Joey- Irish whistle an mandolin
Jonathan- bass

Recent Highlights

Here are some highlights of what we've been doing for about the last 18 months.

As usual we've made our Christmas presentations the usual family affair. As the kids grow up and move on, we keep revamping our show. Lately, we've had Tara on vocals and guitar. She's really done well, and people sincerely like her voice. Joey has also come to the fore and added a special touch to our music with his Irish whistle and mandolin playing. At a local Christmas concert, he won the prize of being able to conduct the full orchestra. Check out some of the photos below and a video clip of an impromptu living room presentation.

As 2009 began, my dear mom was diagnosed with lymphoma. She experienced a turn around about the time Carol and I visited her in May. We had a great time together and as an unexpected surprise to all of us, my very old friend, Matty, showed up in town. We hadn't seen each other for 35 years. So it was a special time with my mom, my family, and Matty. Not long after, my mom took a turn for the worse and passed away in July. She was 85 and was very well known and active in the church and community.

Over the years Carol has received some training in midwifery, which she really enjoys. This year she was awarded a partial scholarship to continue her studies and become a Certified Midwife. Because of this, we've moved from the very beautiful country setting in which we were living to the Austin area to be closer for Carol's studies.

We also recorded a lullaby that Carol had written for some of the children she babysits for. We are in the process of promoting the song so we recorded it in a professional studio. I did the arrangements, Carol sang it, and Tina and Tara did the backup vocals.

Joe playing the mandolin

Tara on the guitar

Matty, Mom, and Me

Carol loves to sing!

Performing at a nursing home

Joe on the Irish whistle (at right)

Joey directing a local orchestra (below)

News and Photos

Here are some stories and photos of what we've been up to over the last year. Our travels have taken some of us from Mexico to the States and to Europe.

Healed of Cancer

Our first bit of news is an encouraging testimony about our friend David. Almost a year a ago our good friend David was diagnosed with throat cancer. From all that we heard, the chances of recovery were very slim, but not too slim for the Lord. We really prayed with our family for David’s healing and asked friends to do the same. From the beginning we received messages from the Lord indicating that David would be healed. This really encouraged us to fight in prayer on his behalf--a process which took months. We made a book of these messages to give to him, which he really appreciated. We’re happy to announce that things worked out as the Lord indicated and that David no longer has cancer.

Trip to Europe
In August Carol was hired as a nanny to accompany a couple and their one year-old daughter on a Scandinavian cruise. After setting sail from Dover, the ship first docked in Copenhagen. Carol was able to take the day off and visit our daughter Tabitha and her family. They got to see the sights and have a picnic lunch.

By the way, congratulations to John and Tabitha who just gave birth to their third child on October 30th.

Older sister Elaina and new baby sleep after making it back home from the hospital.

Speaking of grandkids, the end of October saw the birth of another one of our grandchildren: Jude Christopher. He’s the latest addition to Justin and Nadia’s family in Mexico.

Little Joleen Christina was born to our daughter Liz and husband Andrew--their second child on November 4th. The arrival of these three new grandchildren has upped our total grandkids from 12 to 15!

Teacher Seminar
Ken, who has been our faithful home school teacher over the years, attended a teacher seminar in Baja California during mid-October. About 180 teachers attended from North America, Central America, and Mexico. Besides enjoying the lectures and discussion group, Ken also brought his saxophone and participated in the musical presentations before the lectures, and even sat in with the hotel piano player one evening.

Trailer
You may remember awhile back when we were looking for a travel trailer. We were able to get one recently thanks to Stephanie and Bill who helped finance the down payment. We made it out of Houston the night before Hurricane Ike hit the city. Thank the Lord that none of our friends in Houston suffered any major property damage.

For those of you who didn’t know, we are now continuing our missionary work from outside the Austin area. We still make trips in to Mexico from time to time and are involved with musical and educational endeavors there.

Tara with Ken on Guitar

Carol Shining!
Our son, Joey, and Kevin.

Smoothin' it out with the sax and Last Christmas--Carol and Tara
Restaurant Caroling and Neighborhood Caroling

Congratulations Gabe and Tina

We're happy to announce that little Winston Gabriel was born to Gabe and Tina yesterday on February 17th at 5:22 AM.

Winston weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and measured 21 inches. Here are some photos of our 12th grandchild.

Congratulations John and Mya

A beautiful baby boy was born to John and Mya in Mexico City on January 22nd at 6:32 PM. Here are the first pictures of our latest grandchild. They had been told it was going to be a girl, so they weren't prepared with a boy's name. Did you ever consider naming him "Kenny?" Just joking :)

Wedding Bells Are Ringing

On November 8th, we celebrated a double wedding at a beautiful resort on the Baja California. My son Jason (left) married Clara, and Liz (second from right), one of the twins, married Andrew.

Here I walk Liz down the aisle. I better get used to this!

The wedding was held outdoors on a grassy area overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In the photo below, Tom leads the couples in the marriage ceremony. Each one shared a special marriage vow written for the occasion. Their pledges of love were beautiful and moving.

In this next shot, Carol and I pose with Liz, Andrew, and Andrew's father, David.

Sandy (my first wife) and I, pose with Jason, Clara, and Suzanna, her mother.

Jason and Clara
Andrew & Liz

This next shot shows Carol and me along with our 11 kids and their husbands, wives, and children.


We found a spot that was big enough to even take a couple of shots of the extended family. In the next one we see all the kids and the parents. In the photo below that one, we added all their husbands, wives, and kids.

At Christmas

By

Edgar A. Guest

A man is at his finest towards the finish of the year;

He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season’s here;

Then he’s thinking more of others than he’s thought the months before,

And the laughter of his children is a joy worth toiling for.

He is less a selfish creature than at any other time;

When the Christmas spirit rules him he comes close to the sublime.


When it’s Christmas man is bigger and is better in his part;

He is keener for the service that is prompted by the heart.

All the petty thoughts and narrow seem to vanish for a while,

And the true reward he’s seeking is the glory of a smile.

Then for others he is toiling and somehow it seems to me

That at Christmas he is almost what God wanted him to be.

If I had to paint a picture of a man I think I’d wait

Till he’d fought his selfish battles and had put aside his hate.

I’d not catch him at his labors when his thoughts are all of wealth,

On the long days and the dreary when he’s striving for himself.

I’d not take him when he’s sneering, when he’s scornful or depressed,

But I’d look for him at Christmas when he’s shining at his best.

Man is ever in a struggle and he’s oft misunderstood;

There are days the worst that’s in him is the master of the good.

But at Christmas kindness rules him and he puts himself aside,

And his petty hates are vanquished and his heart is opened wide.

Oh, I don’t know how to say it, but somehow it seems to me

That at Christmas man is almost what God sent him here to be.

Trailer Needed

Hi! We’re up from Mexico visiting and getting different supplies. We thought we might need help with this one so that’s why this post.

One specific need is a travel trailer for our volunteer work. We’re looking for a 25 to 30 foot travel trailer, preferably no older than the year 2000, with an enclosed bedroom and perhaps a slide that could be donated to our work. We’ve decided to email all our friends and supporters just in case somebody might have a lead.

Drop us an email if you know of one or would like to contribute in some way. We'd be happy to pick it up. Our email address is:

lillyflower27@yahoo.com

Take care,

Ken and Carol

The Precious Stone

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.
The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.
But a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said. "I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone."