Thanksgiving 2010

So we got to return to Texas for Thanksgiving and had a lovely time visiting with family and a friends.  Trey's brother and sister in law and 15 month-old nephew - Cameron, Meghan and Duke were also in town from Kansas City.  We had such a fun time seeing him walk!  He's a little mover and a shaker :)
 We also got to see my nephews and nieces: my brother Alex and wife Carey's kids: John, Joseph, Vivian, and the newest addition from my sister Andrea and her hubby Tom: baby girl Lilliana (9 months old).   Here's a pic of all of us from July 4th (except Alex, he's taking the pic): (also in pic: our cousin Sylvia and my brother's girlfriend Lauren)

We stayed with my parents and got to snuggle with their very cute dogs:  Norman and Wilbur.  Here are a few pics of Wilbur:

he's huge! kinda like Snuffleupagus sans the trunk :)

awww

Thanksgiving Meal(s) were delicious!!  My mom cooked everything and boy was it outstanding!  My sweet friend Christina got to join my family's Thanksgiving and we missed Carey and the kids (they all had the stomach flu!). 

We also had a great time with Trey's family and cousins!  On Friday we all went to the park together so Duke and Riley (age 7) could play - I know the adults had lots of fun playing too :)
We enjoyed going to our church on Sunday and seeing our CC family - miss you guys!
We returned to TN on Monday morn and were so happy to pick up our little buddy - Sullivan!
He missed us too :)

Trey and Sully :)

Hope you had a great November!

October summarized

Hello! So October was a very fun month 

- We got to visit our friends Mike and Mo and their baby girl "Liesel Jo" -who is ridiculously cute!!   

I wrote some of my favorite songs so far and had some great meetings.  One evening I carved pumpkins with some new girls and enjoyed hearing about their stories.  

Then on October 22nd we got to drive to Asheville, NC with Becky and Allan and Eli - we stopped over in Knoxville, TN to see my cousins Clark and Elizabeth and their kids - had a great time reconnecting with them.  The weather was awesome in Asheville - we walked the town, explored the shops and ate great food and the boys bought us massages!  I went hiking with Trey and Allan on Saturday and then we drove back on Sunday.  

Then to top off our October we had a very fun Halloween!  We started off the 31st with an awesome worship service at our church - with worship lead by our friend and my co-writer Ronnie.  Then Trey and I went and had crepes and coffee at a really cool little place in Brentwood, TN called 'The Perch' - and talked about music goals and opportunities.  After lunch we went to Gentry's Farm in Franklin where we met Becky, Allan, Eli, and a couple friend of theirs.  The farm offered a hayride, a midget maze and a corn maze through a huge corn field, tire swings, slides, pumpkin bread and cookies, all in a beautiful setting.  Eli loved seeing all the cows and tractors.  :) 

 

When we got home, Trey and I decorated our front porch and found the Holiday music channel on TV with "Ghostly Ghoul" music :) haha.  I made a vegetable stew for cousins and friends - then we roasted marshmallows on the back porch after the trick or treaters had gone to bed.  Btw, Sully was in heaven all night as the doorbell rang and wonderful smelling short people (kids) came to our door to see him :) at least, that's what Sully believed.  Happy Treatin' Y'all!

Carrie Underwood Concert!!

Sons of Sylvia opened for Carrie (never heard of them but they were entertaining!)

Then Mr. Billy Currington - he was awesome!

Trey got us awesome seats for the Carrie Underwood concert Wednesday night October 13th, 2010 - it was such a fun night and we thought Carrie was incredible!!  We also saw a Grammy Award winning songwriter: Ashley Gorley (a guy) - who wrote "Then" for Brad Paisley and "You're Gonna Miss This" for Trace Adkins. 

Carrie rises up from underneath the stage for her opening song: Cowboy Casanova

What's this?  American Idol Danny Gokey sitting two rows away!!

incredible set and costume changes for Carrie - this is one of probably 15

Carrie floated over us in a blue pick up truck as she stood in the bed of the truck singing "Country Roads" symbolizing her journey from Oklahoma to American Idol to the last 5 years of musical success!

here's a better shot when they lowered the truck down right above us

Opening Night at The Grand Ole Opry!

Outside The Grand Ole Opry

"Welcome Home"

 So, I have never been to the Grand Ole Opry and it was such a treat for one of my friends (Stacey) in the music biz to invite me.  Sad that Trey didn't get to come - but I txted him during the show with pics and commentary as he watched from home on the GAC channel. :)  It was truly a patriotic and Tennessee pride evening for me.  I love this city!  I saw/heard Martina McBride, Josh Turner (he's so adorable!), Toby Keith, Brad Paisley and more. 

Wow!!

more coming soon....

wow! Is it October already?! the weeks are flying by.  A lot of blogable fun things have happened - new pics and unmatched blog posts coming soon!

much love,
april

NYC: Music in the strangest places...

Trip to NYC with the Moores! (Kassie and Brooks = 'Brooksie')

Kassie and me - Blurry in Time Square - Keep walking or you get squashed!!

Brooks took us to the U.S. Open! - Kassie made a cool observation: "Tennis is a very refined sport.  There's no music playing, no dancers, cheerleaders..."etc. 

Lunch at the 'Spotted Pig' in the Village - delicious

the boys took us to see Mary Poppins on Broadway!  It was Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious!

the promise land :)

We had an awesome time in New York with Kassie and Brooks - we enjoyed Central Park, Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Plaza, Mary Poppins on Broadway, coffee at Dean & Deluca, shopping on 5th Avenue, FAO Shwartz, whiplash cab rides, the beautiful chaos of Time Square, fabulous dining, yummy bakeries, touring NBC's studios...but most of all, the quality time and memories made with our dear friends!

Super Mario Bros 3: Song Parody

Ok, so our friend and my co-writer, Michael, and I wrote a song today for his publishing company as a total joke and we turned in this video.  If you don't like video games, specifically Super Mario Bros 3, then I encourage you to skip over this post.  NOTE: this may have only been funny to us - but Trey got a kick out of it, so I thought I'd share it for a 90's flashback...

a few new pics of Summer 2010

this is not an illusion

Historic Downtown Franklin's Summer Bluegrass Music Festival

classic

the end of our evening

Our TN Church

I think we've found a church home!  We've been to Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, TN several times now and have felt the community and the outreach of the people.  The teaching has been on Genesis 1-12: The Foundation, Creation, The Fall, The Flood, and The Covenant.  We have been challenged and encouraged by the messages and inspired by the incredible, authentic, Spirit-filled worship lead by a fellow co-writer, Ronnie Freeman.  Trey leaned over in the service yesterday and said "I really love this church."  My heart smiled, I felt the same way!  What an answer to prayer!
 If you wanna check it out, here is the link...
http://www.fellowshipnashville.org/   It reminds us of our favorite church in Texas, Christ Chapel Bible Church :) We miss you, CCBC family! 

Please pray as we continue to connect, grow and serve as the Lord calls us.

All that is Franklin...

The road leading to our neighborhood - gorgeous and calming!

The Big Red Barn down Hillsboro Pike (from Nashville to Franklin)

The Historic town of Leiper's Fork - about 20 minutes from our neck of the woods.

This picture taken right before we ate lunch with our friends Michael and Jessica at an amazing All Natural/Organic cafe called "Joe Natural's" - check out my salad pictured below... kinda looks like they went out back and freshly picked all the ingredients... yes, that's exactly what happened.  (Did we mention we are loving all the farm fresh food!)

So, we love our new town and the purpose and plan behind moving here.  We are relying on God and His perfect plan as we pursue this thing called music :) I love the new songs I've been writing and appreciate the incredible support and encouragement I receive every day from my sweet husband.  God has been showing His all knowing self and His power through nature, provision of opportunity, co-writes and meetings, relationships and through different church sermons and worship services - as we continue our search for a home church.  (we are close!) 
more to come...

Our Tennessee Pad

Here's a pic of Trey on the porch of our rent house in Franklin.  We really love our neighborhood!  There are a ton of trees, trails, starry skies, and lightning bugs.  We have found ourselves on a walk/run/or bike-ride most every day. 

Our backyard (pictured above).


Tennessee is definitely an inspirational place to write songs - It already feels like home .... except we miss our family and friends!  Come visit! 

cowtown to music city 2010

Welcome Friends! We moved from Fort Worth, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee (Franklin to be exact) on May 29, 2010 to pursue my (april) longtime dream of songwriting and music. Here's a little window into our new life... (pics coming soon!)