Friday, October 26, 2012

Daddy's Girl

Love this sweet time that baby Annemarie (who'll be a year in less than a week!) and her daddy have together sometimes, in the guest house office, after she awakens from her nap

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Simmerson

Our children first met Barry and Michelle Patterson at ArtLife2012.  They're connected with our tribal friends Todd and Ashley Warren in Colorado, so we had that common thread.  Their music, specifically the Birth and So High CD's (as well as 'Kristie's Song' and 'Hosea's Juliet'), have made a huge impact on my journey of understanding God's heart for me, as His daughter.

Emma and Libby enjoyed getting to know their 13 year old daughter, Ivy, in the dance track, and Jack and Abbie were around their oldest son, Russell, some in the music track, but they didn't hang out, outside of camp, until a month later, at our home. We were hosting a house concert for their parents, and Russell played guitar while Abbie sang some of the music from the EP she began recording this summer. They cracked us up trying to find their groove, tempo wise.  Russell also played guitar while Jack and Ab sang a song they all 3 helped write at ArtLife.


This new song, 'Younger,' from the album Barry and Michelle are recording now, Catfish Sandwich, is quite relevant for Shane and I, as we reminisce on an earlier season of our journey as mama and papa to our older peeps.


The oldest Simmons and Patterson children began emailing each other about forming a band, shortly after the house concert, and this video is the result of the first song they wrote and recorded together. Emma, our 16 year old daughter, who wrote the bridge, was working at the horse corral that day and couldn't be there for the recording.
We love the idea of families producing music together like Rebecca St. James, who traveled with her siblings and parents, the cousins in Burlap to Cashmere, the sisters of Barlow Girl, the siblings of The Winans, and the brothers that make up part of Take 6, as well as the husband wife combos of not only Barry and Michelle, but Brian and Jenn Johnson, Out of the Grey/Scott and Christine Dente, Gungor, and 1000 Generations. However, 2 sets of siblings making music for the glory of God together is awesome. It's interesting how both families are in the process of establishing a sense of Biblical community in new geographical regions, and this connection has been used by the Lord to remove some of the false feeling of 'aloneness' that the enemy had used to bring discouragement.