We are going to Oregon again in October. That means we have to cross Montana, Idaho, we drive through Washington and are headed to the Oregon coast for a reunion. We will be playing our music at the reunion and are looking for places to play on our way back.

You may recall we do not charge, nor do we ask for donations. Our music style is eclectic and we enjoy can accommodate any type of audience. We also have our own set, which includes originals not on our cd that we hope to put in our next one, Lord willing.

Soooooo, if you are up to seeing me and my family, and think your fellowship or group or party might enjoy having us, please send me an email on my brand new, fancy schmancy contact page. We have promotional material for you, as well. You can hear us here.

It would great to meet up with some of you!

Tags: Biblical truths, ElectricChurch, Family, Music

I am so excited to share our big news! Our second son, third child, is now engaged to the sweetest young lady! And look, I have a few photos for ya!

First, the couple!

So now you can see what a sweet gal she is

and what a clown I have for a son. ~grin~

Ahhh! This one’s a bit cuter. Don’t you think?

The ring!

Okay, so she took it of for just a *minute*. It was for the picture. It was for you.

She put it back on. Don’t worry.  Breath a sight of relief now.

Now, with my new daughter-in-law’s permission, I get to share with you  something she wrote up to share about how they got together.

Did I mention their names? Forgive me! My son is Joseph and the young lady is Kathryn, otherwise known as Joe and Katie.

Without further delay:

Joe and Katie’s Story by Katie

Some of you have been asking about how Joe and I met. Joe and I met two years ago at our mutual friends’ house and later God provided ways for our families to get together and I got to know his sisters. After that, Dad and Joe got together for lunch on a weekly basis for several months. It was a good time for Dad to get to know Joe and for Joe to get to know Dad because they were able to talk freely about their beliefs. These are some points that I’ve kept in mind and that I believe are very important in relationships.

I believe that dating is dangerous because it encourages a false sense of feelings. In dating, there is a greater chance of getting physical before the proper time. Also, when people date, there is no real commitment to each other. People sometimes will date several different people before they marry anyone and by then, they’ve given a little bit of their heart away each time.

I believe that God’s timing is always perfect. When we give ourselves and our relationships to God, He will bring things to pass when it’s best. It is important to always give everything to God, not just in relationships, but in all of life. When we give something to Him that maybe we really want, He will bless that. He will either give it back to you, or He will give you something far better! God knows what is best.

God’s hand has been so evident in my relationship with Joe! He knew just when for us to take each little step. After each step, I would pray that if this wasn’t God’s will, that He would end it right there, and He never did! He continued to open doors and we continued to go through them.

It is very important before even considering someone, to make sure that they are a believer. If they aren’t it causes so much pain and trouble in the long run. 2 Corinthians 6:14

I also believe that parents need to be involved. Joe first went to his Dad before he went to my Dad. Everything we have done has been with our parents’ permission and approval. Parents have so much wisdom and God has placed them over us to train us and guide us. They see things that we don’t, so if they say, no this isn’t a good thing, we need to listen to them and trust them. Proverbs 23:22, 24

One thing that our culture doesn’t seem to understand, is that love is not a feeling. It’s a decision. There are times when we don’t feel love for people, but we must love them anyway. I believe that we must be able to think rationally before we allow feelings to come out. In dating, I think feelings become involved so soon that people are unable to see what the other person is really like. Dad and Joe were able to talk about things and think rationally before feelings came into the picture.

I also think that getting physical too soon is very dangerous. Even something as “innocent” as holding hands, if done too soon can cause problems. It can cause feelings (there they are again!) to show themselves.

Most importantly, I think that in everything we do, our ultimate goal should be to glorify God. If we seek to do things for our own glory or if we do what we want, when we want instead of in God’s timing, he can’t bless that. I have prayed through this whole process that God would be glorified in all that we say and do.

“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

Rejoice with us!

Tags: engagement, Family, Joe, Katie, marriage, Photos

This is a busy time for us. Our girls, myself, and some young ladies from another family host an annual Ladies Luncheon each spring. This will be our third. We are busy preparing. It is Saturday.

We got together the other night and made party favors/place names with toilet paper cardboard, gold and silver tissue and ribbon. We filled them with a handmade bracelet and candy. We were going to put in a seed packet, but forgot until half way through. I guess we will place those on the tables. Our theme is “treasure.” Where your treasure is, there your heart will be, so the gold was on purpose. The girls will be singing a few songs acapella and one instrumental on strings and recorder. Everyone is to bring a salad or sandwich. A friend is doing a devotional. We also asked everyone to bring a special treasure from home to show and tell. It will be fun and our prayer is to glorify the Lord.

One of my daughters already started making chocolate truffles (recipe can be found here). We will also be making Scottish shortbread and a lemon cake for the occasion, along with our usual baking. Busy bees we are!

Also Saturday, my 15yo daughter is taking the ACT. This will determine if she will be done with her home education courses or not.

Further, one of my sons is now graduated and has been hired by Horizon Airlines (part of Alaskan Airlines) and goes in for training Monday. They told him that he won’t have weekends off for a long time, so we have quickly been preparing his graduation open house/party for the 11th, the day before Resurrection Sunday!

We spent yesterday shopping for shoes for him and some last minute clothing purchases. He is excited. His goal, Lord willing, is to be a Mission Aviation pilot. We have been able to help him with memorizing all the airport codes for all the cities that Horizon and Alaskan flies to. He is doing very well and I am sure he will do fine.

We handmade all the announcements/invitations to son’s graduation, had his photos taken (by a dear friend) and sent all in a short time.

We have invited a family to both the graduation and dinner on Sunday. They live quite a distance, so suggested they stay the night with us.

Whew! If that’s not enough, we have begun starting our seeds in our living room window. . Has anyone else started any?

Tags: Family, kitchen cares, recipes, spring

This is either my sister-in-law’s (Fran) recipe or my mother-in-law’s.

March is the best time to make Eggrolls, as cabbage is on sale for St. Patrick’s Day. Cabbage is one of the most inexpensive vegetables and stores very well for several months.

Eggrolls are not difficult to make. Everyone sits at the kitchen table and island and wraps them. We do about 150 at a sitting and it takes my crew just about 15 minutes to wrap. I’ve never tried freezing them.

This is for a large group:

4 LARGE head cabbage, shredded or cut fine
1 BIG produce bag from the grocery store full of fresh bean sprouts (rinsed and chopped)
About 150 eggroll wraps (You might want to buy extra in case you get a hole and have to double wrap. Holes are caused by too much juice in the filling. See note below about straining.)
4-5 carrots, shredded
1-2 large onion(s), chopped
3 pounds of turkey burger or salad shrimp (YUM!). We usually use deer burger. I’m sure hamburger would be fine.
A good shake of garlic powder (can you tell I’m an eyeball cooker?)
Soy sauce to taste

Cook meat in large pot until done. Add vegetables and cook thoroughly. Place in colander so the juices can drain before wrapping.

Follow directions on package for wrapping. Even a 3yo can wrap successfully. Don’t let the egg rolls sit long after wrapping: Cook immediately, as they will become soggy on the bottom and get holes. Consider lining the pans with paper towels.

Deep fry in hot oil, turning so as not to burn. Remove from heat when there are no anemic spots and place in pan with paper towels for draining.

Do not layer the cooked egg rolls, unless divided by paper towel.

Dipping sauces:

We use the dry hot mustard from the grocery store and add water to a nice consistency.

We have a dish of ketchup with a bit of the mustard in it for a little zip. (See recipe below).

Sweet and sour sauce is another yummy dip. We make ours by using 1 can of gelled cranberry sauce (not the kind with cranberries in it), a tablespoon of brown sugar (or to taste), a teaspoon of lemon juice (optional)…depends on how acidy you like it. Cook over medium heat until cranberry has melted.

Sesame seeds are great to sprinkle on the dipping sauces, as well.

Enjoy!

Oh yeah and if you have mixture left over, add to scrambled eggs. If you have wraps left over, try seasoning some cream cheese with onion and garlic and deep frying those. YUM! The juices that were strained out make for wonderful soup broth.

Here is the recipe to the red sauce we use.

1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup water
1 /4 cup sugar
2-3 tsp hot mustard sauce (or however hot you want it)
Mix well.

Tags: Family, kitchen cares

I have been making a list of items to be sure to pack when we go and play our music. I thought I’d “think outloud” and share my list here. This includes my “to do” items, as well.

• Get 9 volt batteries
• Get water bottles.
• Refrigerate water bottles
• Check to see if the venue has power point.
• Invite friends if it is an open invitation
• Print the list of songs in order with notes
• Bar stool
• Clean music equipment
• Touch bases with my contact(s)
• Make sure the mens’ and boys’ shirts are picked up from the cleaners
• Drop off shirts at the cleaners after performance
• Make sure everyone fits in their vests
• Sew new vests, as needed.
• Pack skirts
• Pack tops
• Make sure the guys’ black jeans are black. Color as needed
• Pack vests
• Rent trailer
• Send posters to my contacts
• Check everyone’s shoes
• Purchase and pack extra guitar strings and picks
• Keyboard
• Drum kit
• Blankets to cushion instruments
• Guitars
• Guitar stands
• Microphone box
• Mic. stands
• Ear buds and head mics
• Hair brush
• A couple toys for Elle
• Tylenol
• Make sure everyone is bathed and socks picked out.
• Preplan and prepare dinner if there is no potluck after the event
• Clean out van
• Harmonicas & microphone
• Harmonica amp
• Guitar amps
• Recorder
• Music Rack (sound system)
• Extension cords
• Speakers
• Make sure littles have brushed teeth
• Cd’s
• Extra music cords
• Kapo
• Tuner

If you are interested in hearing some of our music, check us out at Electric Church. You may freely download and share the music. Lyrics are there, as well as the reason behind the writing of the songs on some. You may also ask for a free cd if you cannot save the songs.

Tags: Family, Music, Organization