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March 21, 2007
It's spring!!! The redbuds are bursting, the daffodils are blooming, the peach tree branches are laden with hundreds of lovely pink promises of deliciousness!!!
And for once, the winter was long enough and cold enough for me to really appreciate spring for all that it is worth, rather than groan that 100 degree heat is right around the corner. Isn't that awful of me?!?!?
The Naylor family has been busy, for sure...but not necessarily the Naylor Family Band. Seems everyone is running in different directions, chasing individual dreams and
goals much more now than in the past. That was bound to happen, I know, and we are adjusting to changes, but sometimes change is hard to accept. The band did have a great time in
Colorado in January. We all went up to participate in the Front Range GospelGrass that Suzie Solomon put together...3 different venues on 3 consecutive days. It was great to see some
"old"
friends and meet some new ones ~ and
it was a wonderful excuse for a ski trip, too!!! The
weather was absolutely incredible for most of the trip...spring skiing in January is hard to beat! But when we got up to the house in G-town fairly late that Tuesday evening, no one
was prepared for the task of getting through a couple of feet of that fantastic white frozenness so fondly known as SNOW!!! My brothers are my heroes, you know, and certainly proved
their caliber by jumping out of the van, finding shovels - or whatever they could - and making a perfect little path all the way to the back door for us ladies while we sat in the warm
vehicle and cheered them on.
The next saw a lot of shoveling and snow fights...
Caleb only thought he had the upper hand...
Till Sarah grabbed the shovel!!!
The first two festivals were great fun...one just north of Denver, and the second in Evergreen at a beautiful church on top of a hill. Both nights were packed with great music and
fellowship. It was really fun to see our friends from Montana, Steve and Donna Rae. Thanks to all of you who came out for it! It was great to see you!!! And thanks to the Peterings
for sharing their pictures...
Sadly, the third festival scheduled for Sunday night in Colorado Springs was cancelled due to winter weather - but not before we were halfway there...and in the thick of blizzard conditions. On our way down the mountain, we were so close to getting into a terrible wreck that all we could do was praise the Lord for His mercy and shake our heads in wonderment at being alive. I believe that God does have an appointed time for everyone to die...and we came away from that experience knowing without a doubt that our Father still wanted us here on earth for a while longer anyway. The guys detailed the experience on their blog - http://www.jclog.org, if you want more details.
Also, right after the Evergreen GospelGrass, our friend Andrew was doing some stunt work - or maybe just monkeying around!!! - at his house before bed and ended up breaking his wrist and leg. We went to their house for dinner the following week, and I just had to share this picture of a die-hard fiddle player who did a great job playing us some tunes!!!
After the GospelGrass festivals were over, it was time to play...and play we did! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, all of us "kids" went tubing one day - such a blast! The boys talked everyone on the hill that afternoon into joining hands and going down all at once...unfortunately we had a weak link and didn't make it all the way, but it was fun to try. The day was absolutely gorgeous.
Sarah turned 25 in January, and we mixed her birthday with a get-together we were having with some friends of ours. After a day of skiing at Copper Mountain, the house was packed and overflowing with laughter, games and great food. Yep, that's Dad cooking...the kitchen was the only safe place to be!!! Didn't Maddie Wachtler do a great job on the poster!!!
The boys actually skied several different days, and really enjoyed playing around on the terrain park - John thinks he might have broken his tail bone when he landed in the wrong spot after jumping off a table. Still, it challenged them to try out new things...and I think the trip also confirmed Jeremy and Caleb as skiers, and John as a boarder. It was great having so many friends to go with...thank you to all who made the trek up the mountains to hang out with us - we love you guys!!!
Several of us had a great time in Loveland one night, playing volleyball with the Muncys and fellowshipping with them at their house afterwards. There are wonderful people all over the earth...and we are blessed to know so many. A huge concentration of those seem to be in Colorado!!!
A couple of days before we went home, Jeremy and John loaded up their gear and headed up Guenella Pass to experience a winter overnight. After a strenuous hike on snowshoes, they pitched their tent in five feet of snow just below timberline and lived their unforgettable adventure!!! Sound like fun to you? Yeah, me neither!!! But they had a great time, and John made a really fun video so we could get an idea of what it was like...without the subzero temperatures!
Want the inside story of all this outdoorsy adventure??? Check out this behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Naylor family...enjoying high-speed for a change!!!
Oh, how we love Colorado!!!
Let's see....that brings us to the beginning of February. We were all very busy in February, but not with any solidly journal-friendly material. Most mentionable, I suppose, would be announcing that
John Naylor is now the Vice-President of the Dallas Christian Film Makers Association.
With that title comes once-a-month trips to Dallas for him, and whoever wants to go with him. Last month Tera, John, Caleb and I had a great time meeting the other members of the group, and staying the night with our wonderful Uncle Tom, Aunt Kim and cousin Alex. It was really nice to catch up a bit with family that we love, but hardly ever see. And as far as the DCFM...it's fantastic to see a group of young people desiring to bring God glory by pooling their individual talents to encourage each other and change the world. Way to go, DCFM!!!
So, now John is working on a movie he's doing with Jamie Adsit, one with DCFM, a video for our Ocean Song, and the possibility of filming another project in Missouri - all this summer! I've started referring to him as our speed boat, and we are just a bunch of water skiers hanging on and enjoying the ride!!! Here is his website for more details about his projects - http://www.jsnfilms.com
Okay...back to February. We had a HUGE surprise when our friends Elissa and Ben Bauer from Idaho walked into our front door late one night. We love the Bauer family and are thankful for any chance we get to spend time with any of them - it amazes us that a couple of them would fly all the way down to see us!!! It was a crazy week, with a trip to MO for a Gospel Gathering - which was wonderful - and then the first Oklahoma GospelGrass the next weekend. But so fun!!!
Oklahoma GospelGrass took place March 3rd, and was quite a day...18 performers on two stages for a music-packed, fellowship-filled all day long festival!!! We met so many new friends, and had a bit of time to catch up with some "old" ones. It'll be interesting to see what happens for next year.
Whew!!!
Two days after that, John, Caleb and I flew out to
California for 8 days. Tera was supposed to come along, but was really sick and couldn't come. Out of all our years of traveling, this was the first flight we've ever had to cancel...and
that was sad. The three of us managed to have a good time anyway, though we really missed Tera. One of the main objectives of the trip (aside from spending some time with our brother
Josh, his wife Erin and our niece, the adorable Sophie, as well as my Dad and Suze) was getting some video footage for John's Ocean Song project. That gave us an outline for some
incredible days!!! We spent time out at Ano Nuevo with the elephant seals, toured the aquarium in Monterey,
found treasures of all sorts on the beach, walked on the pier and watched the sea lions and seals playing in the water, visited the Santa Cruz Farmers Market, road the rollercoaster on
the Boardwalk and took a sailing cruise out in an effort to see some grey whales. We didn't see any whales, but the cruise was terrific!!! John thought it was completely worth it, even
though he was very sea-sick for part of the time! We had a beautiful bonfire on the beach for our last night there - enjoyed a lovely meal, watched Sophie fly her kite, sang together,
and enjoyed the sunset...the perfect end to a great visit. Family is lovely, isn't it?!?!? John wasn't the only one using a camera on this trip...here are some shots from Caleb, Suze and
Erin. Enjoy!!!
I just couldn't decide which was the better between these last two. What do you think?
The flight home was oversold, so the three of us volunteered to give up our seats. The consequences...we arrived home two hours later, flew first class all the way, and now we each have a free ticket to use before next year....bummer, no? It was amazing!!!
That catches us up for now...
Until next time, may God bless and hold you in the palm of His hand.
Love,
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