A Spring Day in Nashville

I spent this weekend in Nashville with my whole family! No, you're not confused - my sister did move to Alabama several months ago. But my BIL Lance chaperoned a youth trip to Nashville this weekend, a teen talent thing held annually at all my siblings' alma mater (I'm the outlier state school alum). So Debra and the baby joined him, my parents and I drove up from Memphis, and my brother came down from Indiana. It was exactly the sort of gathering I'd been afraid would rarely happen again, but God has been providing for us to be together. (Not to mention providing for Debra and Lance in all kinds of ways since the move. Testimony-worthy stuff.)

We spent a gorgeous afternoon hanging around on the Trevecca campus. I got a headache from all the pollen, but it was totally worth it!

My dad is too cool for school

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This statue of Jesus washing the disciples' feet was installed Kevin's senior year (and was thus the target of some senior shenanigans). He's in the middle of a roundabout, so I creatively call him Roundabout Jesus.

 

 

 

 

Yay for spring and family!

A New Family Chapter

My New Year jaunt to Nashville was important to me, and not only because of the holiday. It was my last opportunity to visit Debra, Lance, and Niecy there. My sister and her little family are moving to southeastern Alabama this month. Lance, who's a children's pastor, has taken a new job. The senior pastor at this church was his youth pastor growing up and even officiated Debra and Lance's wedding. They have a great relationship. It's a fantastic opportunity, and I'm very happy for him! But, while Nashville is a mere skip and jump away from Memphis, Dothan is a full day's trip:

I know people whose sisters have moved all over the globe, so I'm fully aware that mine isn't even leaving the South, and it's nothing to get worked up about. But for the past few weeks, I've gone through a mini-grieving process. Change and goodbyes have always been exceptionally hard for me (or maybe I'm so surrounded by unattached free-spirit types that I have a wrong perception of the norm). On top of that, due to my past experiences, separations from loved ones often trigger emotional land mines. It's a barrel of fun. But now I've had my freakout and am feeling much more positive about the situation. Distance has never come between me and my sister, and it's not going to start now. We live in an age of cheap long distance and video chat, and Niecy will still know me. And let's face it, nothing's going to keep my parents away from their grandchild for more than a few months at a time, so there will still be visits. AND: Dothan is so close to the beach. It's like a gift-wrapped beach excuse!

For the past nine years, one or both of my siblings have lived in Nashville. It's become my second home, and at first I felt like I was losing that too. But my BFF Emily lives outside the city, and several local friends have expressed interest in day trips anytime I want to go. So Nashville, you can't get rid of me that easily. :)

Bottom line: It's going to be okay.

(Pictures taken at the Opryland Hotel, one of my favorite places.)

Fall Events Near and Far

After a fairly crummy last week, I decided to spend the weekend in Nashville with Debra, Lance, and Niecy! It was a good decision. Saturday was spent doing fun seasonal activities. Niecy opened her Halloween package from her Granna. It was so cute. I also got to watch her while Debra and Lance went to a wedding. She is now sitting up AND rolling over like a champ, as well as eating solid foods. She loves carrots. I can't believe she'll be six months old this week.

On Sunday afternoon, after church and lunch, Debra and I enjoyed a walk on a riverside trail near her house. The fall leaves and the river were beautiful. I wish we could walk together whenever we wanted!

I've been using my old, 4 MP, AA-battery-taking digital camera since my good one was lost/stolen. I intended to do so for the foreseeable future, but most of my cute Niecy photos from this weekend came out blurry, and I decided life is too short. So I found an exact duplicate of my good camera (Canon Powershot SD1200) cheap on eBay! I'm so relieved to be spared researching a new camera, then paying an arm and a leg for it. I was happy with what I had - it was one of the last basic models with a viewfinder. (What are they thinking getting rid of viewfinders??)

In other news, MAYAN 2012 HAS BEGUN:

Every time someone mentions Hurricane Sandy, I mentally add in a John Travolta voice, "Sandy!" So when I saw this, I was glad someone else made the connection. But I realize that most people aren't obsessed with Grease. I've seen it about a hundred times (movie and play collectively) and could probably perform the whole soundtrack. Anyway, I'm following the coverage and praying for those in the path of the storm.

AND locally, we had a 3.9 earthquake this morning, epicentered 39 miles west of Memphis. That's the closest and strongest tremor in a long time. I was in my car and didn't feel it, but one of my co-workers did. Either it was some kind of echo of the Vancouver earthquake, or The Big One is coming!!

Kelly Clarkson/The Fray Concert

I went to Nashville last weekend for a Kelly Clarkson and The Fray concert at the Bridgestone! I'd been looking forward to it since Debra and I bought the tickets last spring, and I was NOT disappointed. We saw Taylor Swift there last year, and our spot directly to the left of the stage was a little too close. So for this show, we picked a more central location close to the floor. When we were ushered to our seats, I couldn't believe how great they were! After scrimping on nosebleed seats for most of my life, I can confidently say that the extra money for good seats is totally worth it.

Carolina Liar opened. I love "Show Me What I'm Looking For," but was sadly underwhelmed by the rest. Their lead singer was very demanding of the audience (and looked like the lost Nelson brother - that was unexpected).

This Colton guy from American Idol was taking pictures and signing autographs between sets. I haven't watched Idol in years, so I had no idea who he was, but Debra recognized him. People were going crazy!

I've always liked The Fray and considered them excellent songwriters, but they were so overplayed for a while that I couldn't get too excited about them. So now, after the initial hype, was the perfect time for me to see them live and fall in love. Sometimes you don't realize how many good songs a group has until you hear them all at once. They're all great musicians and have amazing stage presence - you can tell the songs are coming from their hearts. It was probably the most emotionally powerful concert I've ever been to.

Midway through the show, Isaac Slade (I had to look up his name) came to a keyboard on a riser in the middle of the floor and played "Be Still." (I'd heard that The Fray are Christians, but that song basically confirmed it.) At the very end of the show, during "Over My Head," he jumped off the stage and ran through the audience and up into the stands at the back of the arena right near us! It was awesome.

I downloaded two whole Fray albums from iTunes as soon as I got home. :)

Kelly Clarkson is one of my all-time favorite singers. Because so many of her songs are on my exercise playlist, I probably listen to her more than any other artist. Most of the major events and themes of the past ten years of my life can be summed up by a Kelly song. As I've said here before, Stronger definitely isn't my favorite of her albums, but several of the tracks have really grown on me. In any case, she has enough hits to put on a four-hour show, but this one hit the high points! Man, that girl can sing.

Kelly also came out into the audience for a short set!

Singing with Giant Holographic Jason Aldean. Everyone flipped out upon hearing his voice and thought he was there because THIS IS NASHVILLE! But nope. Just a giant hologram. I even hoped Reba might make a cameo. (Kelly is dating Reba's stepson, which I think is awesome.)

Tired post-concert pic! I was happy to share this experience with Debra. I was also happy to run into Stephanie, my former sister-in-law and still friend (we forgot to take a picture). She was just two sections over, and her friend actually got to meet Kelly! I didn't realize she was going too until she left a comment on my Facebook status about it. We also passed each other on the highway going home the next day. :)

Our next possible hermanas concert outing is Carrie Underwood here in Memphis in December! We'll see!

Fathers and Fish

My dad attempts to get comfortable in a strangely proportioned chair

 My parents and I went to Nashville last weekend for Father's Day. My brother drove down from Indiana and met us there. It was great to have the whole family together even for a short visit.

 We were all excited for Lance on his first Father's Day! (Also, doesn't my sister look great? :))

 Of course, most of the time was spent gathered around adoring my niece...

  ...but we also went to the Aquarium restaurant in Opry Mills! I'd never been, and my dad thought it would be a nice treat for everyone. It was extremely overpriced, but the seafood was good and fresh, and really, you're paying to look at the fish. Some time with this 200,000 gallon saltwater tank should hold me over until our Miami visit later this summer.
 

Another Nashville Visit

Last weekend I went to Nashville for Debra's birthday! I even took Friday (her actual birthday) off and drove up early. The extra time made a huge difference - I usually get there late after a day of work on Friday, or go up on Saturday morning. We were able to do a lot, considering she has an almost-three-week-old baby!

We got much needed pedicures...

...painted cats at The Wine & Easel (not using the recommended colors - we're rebels!!)...

...went to the Cheesecake Factory (always a special occasion in itself)...

...and of course, got in plenty of Niecy time!

 

It had been months since Debra and I had any Hermanas Only time, so I'm especially thankful to Lance for inviting me and arranging for everything!

Niecy is a pretty well-behaved baby, and Debra and Lance are still taking everything in stride. I loved having some time with this little family without the rest of our family there. Lance handed Niecy and a bottle off to me within minutes of my arrival. :) I'm so happy to help take care of her, learn stuff, and exercise my dormant maternal instincts. I haven't interacted regularly with a baby since my brother was one, and my inexperience makes me nervous and self-conscious with other people's babies. So it's wonderful to be a new aunt with nothing to prove!

Opryland Christmas

Last weekend, my parents and I met my brother (and of course, my sister and brother-in-law, who live there) in Nashville. We aren't all together very often anymore, so family time is more special than it used to be! The reason for our trip was the children's Christmas program at Debra and Lance's church (Lance is the children's pastor), but we also continued our Nashville Christmas tradition of going to Opryland Hotel to see the lights. Last year, the hotel had just reopened after the historic floods, and we kept exclaiming "I saw a picture of this spot underwater!" This year's visit was a little lighter on awe, but still great. :)

My mom and Kevin at the poinsettia tree.

Posing with my sock monkey scarf with attached mittens!

Debra and Pops have a rest and a snack.

In the Cascades

Next year I think we'll go later and hang around longer. The people-watching is great. Last year we witnessed a proposal! I think Opryland at Christmas would be an amazing place to get engaged.