One word, two syllables....

Papa

Pictures From Afar

Tye is currently on a 3 week long tour--playing drums for Seabird. They started their journey out west the morning after we returned home from vacation & will be gone until mid August. Don't worry--he's documenting the journey very well with our video camera.  I miss him very much, but it's great to know that he is HAVING A BLAST!  From time to time he sends me pictures & texts messages. Yesterday he sent me flowers (via cell phone)...

...how sweet. 

Yesterday they spent the NIGHT ON THE TOWN--Seattle town that is--watching the fish fly at the Market, hitting up the original Starbucks, the Space Needle. You know....the usual.  Maybe God will drop down a free plane ticket so I can go out and meet them... but if not, I'll continue exploring my freedom.

I'm sure Tye will have LOTS to share with everyone when he returns.  Until then--keep them in your thoughts & prayers.

Sincerely,

Miss Independent :)

Sad Day

Today is the day of Katie Reider's memorial service. Beautiful girl, fantastic singer/songwriter & sad end.  It's days like this that I really don't feel like being here (on this planet), and wish we could just all go home at the same time. Like a big roadtrip to Jesus--haha--instead of leaving one by one and it being sucky & sad.  Please ask God to give joy & peace to the Reider family.

This is the verse of the Memorial-- "Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."  

Joshua 1:9

This is the Bible Gateway verse of the day-- "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  Hebrews 11:1

both appropriate. 

You can read her story & hear her music at www.500kin365.org

The Reider Home Makeover Challenge

To welcome Robbie & Dana Reider to their new home, a whole Crew from Crossroads jumped in to landscape, clean, unpack, move furniture & more.  We also surprised them by completely TRANSFORMING the 3rd floor of their home.  Previously used as storage, it was full of the old resident's junk, dust & miscellaneous furniture. So, we gave it a MAKEOVER, turning it into two cool & comfortable rooms for guests to stay.  From shabby to chic in just hours! The day was a total success & a TOTAL BLAST!  I think the Reider's were pleased. See the transformation yourself.

Now I'm thinking of starting my own design show...all I need is Ikea, Peggy's church credit card and about 30 Crossroads volunteers every time-- it's bound to be the next HGTV hit!  

      

Fun Finds

If there's one thing that makes a girl's day its a "good find."  Even better---a good DEAL!  Here are a few fun & stylish things that I've collected over the past few days. So vintage. So chic!

A cute pair of vintage (looking) heels from "Goody's"...

A beautiful blue glass pitcher & thrift store gem...

A stylin' birthday present from my sister from Etsy.com... 

Family Vacay!

Our family vacations worked out perfectly! A few days after celebrating Papa's bday on the 4th of July, Tye & I flew off to spend a few days in the Outer Banks with folks in my fam. So many families were represented there, we claimed it as the "VonRosaleachhoupmanstrong" vacation. Wow.  There were so many of us, our rented 15 passenger van felt like a clown car.  It was great time filled with sun, surf, fish, games, cooking, eating, nephew-loving, swimming, sunset chasing & fun! Click here check out the many photos. We want to thank "Frank" (& his sweet mullet) for teaching us how to fillet a fish, mesmerize a crab & cook our ocean catch. We caught it all on tape. (click on the links for photos & videos)

     

After Outer Banks fun, it was off to Tennessee.  After two cancelled flights, a rental car, a chemical spill shutting down the interstate, a hotel stay & a journey through the mountains-- WE MADE IT there.  

At Fairfield Glade, TN--we relaxed with the whole VonAllmen crew.  We golfed, fished, played games, pulled pranks, ate & swam. Those VonAllmens are a crazy crew--putting clark bars in each other's toilets, scheduling 5am wake-up calls for each other & having water gun wars. Crazy. We didn't take a whole lot of pictures in TN because we were too busy avoiding pranks. But I did have a short photo shoot with Johnny Blaze in the park. Enjoy the Pics!

Moral of this blog: We LOVE our families! 

New Do

In honor of beauty and in regards to hotness---I got a new do. I HIGHLY recommend Sam Hills of Salon Cherry Bomb in Pleasant Ridge. Schedule your own "before & after"-- 513-502-5293

             before......

                   

     

               after.....                   

 

       

The Studio

Today I got to do a little "stunt" singing at The Monastery Studio.  What is "stunt singing" exactly? Well, Ric Hordinski of Monk & The Monastery Studio is working with a young singer- songwriter.  Apparently she is a GREAT imitator--she can bust out a Taylor Swift of Brandi Carlisle song with confidence.  But when it comes to her own songs--she has a hard time finding her style & really letting loose. SO--i studied her voice/songs & sang them how i thought they should be sung. My vocal tracks will give her something to imitate--helping her find a style and bust out of her melody ruts.  It was really fun & I even through out the idea of doing some further "artist development" with the young artist.   It would be cool to help a young artist "find her voice".

On a similar note, I'm going to teach a workshop at a conference this fall. My workshops will focus on "how to sing backing vocals" & "expressive/emotive singing".  

All these things are encouraging reminders that my childhood dreams have in fact come true-- I'm a professional singer. 

Rock....On.

The City

With family in town & weddings to attend, 

we enjoyed some scenic time downtown.

   

    
    

  

Mexico Mission

Tye and I joined a crew of High School & College kids from Columbus, Indiana for a mission trip to Mexico.  Led by some old friends from college, we traveled in planes, trains & automobiles across the Mexican Border. In Piedras Negras, we stayed & worked on the "Vida Nueva Mission" (www.vnmi.org). There they have an orphanage, a preschool, a clinic, a community kitchen, a dorm & more.  Our days were spent framing a small school, demoing lots of concrete, cleaning, organizing & painting.  At lunch time we'd cook & serve lunch to almost a hundred hungry neighborhood kids. In the evening we'd walk up to the neighborhood park to play pick-up basketball games with teens & swing with the kids. On our last day, we drove up to San Antonio to see the Alamo, the Riverwalk Mall & got a good night's rest in a hotel before flying home. We worked really hard in the blazin' heat & got a ton of work done on the Mission. Other highlights: we went taranchula hunting, led worship, swam in their homemade "pool" & had a blast with the group.  Speedbumps: one of our guys got bit in the face by a spider & his eye swelled shut--not a taranchula. Another student smashed his finger between a concrete wall & a sledge hammer. Twenty bucks got him an x-ray, a day in a hospital bed, pain meds & 5 stitches.  Let's hear it for the Mexico health care system! But overall--it was a great trip. For more fun details...check out our pictures, Tye's $4 Mexico Makeover & Taranchula Hunting Footage!