Behind the Music

More baking

2009-10-03T11:04:00.002-05:00

Here are a few recent cakes I have made. As I look at cake websites, where the cakes are completely over the top and exquisite, I tend to get discouraged. I think, "My cakes are pathetic!". However, I've just started & I don't necessarily have an ultimate goal of making fabulous cakes, just enough to get me by for my children's birthdays. If I ever end up with the patience to get fancy with my cakes, then so be it. Until then, I'm just going to keep experimenting and keep things simple. Who has time to roll 20 million pieces of fondant to decorate the top of a cake that might not even taste good?! Not me. Not right now anyhow. I will at least have a great tasting cake, to say the least.

Horrible lighting, but this was a Hotwheels cake. I said a few choice words when making this, but it ended up ok. Ya live and learn!

This one was just kind of thrown together. Nothing fancy about it. Just filled and iced w/cream cheese icing and generic decorations.

This is one of my favorites. Mainly because I think it's cute and very simple to make! It's a Kit Kat Barrel cake, filled with chocolate ganache.

This is Hudson's 3rd birthday cake. He hasn't yet turned 3, but I had to make his cake early so that we could bring it on the bus with us. He wanted a Nemo cake and I was determined to give him one.....made from mommy. I don't know what it will look or taste like by the time we pull it out of the freezer, but here's what it looked like before!

Flower girl

2009-09-13T10:20:00.002-05:00

I've taken on lots of baking and a few crafty things lately. I saw these hair flowers on a baby a while back & thought they were soooo adorable! I now make and sell them! They are clips and can be attached to a head band. Emily has had so many compliments on hers. I just think they are so fun!

Gone Fishin'

2009-08-19T20:29:00.002-05:00

Hudson loves fishing and we found some time to just go relax out at a local pond. Not sure who had the most fun!!!!

Little Artist

2009-07-26T18:53:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, an art teacher friend of mine hosted a mini art camp at her house for small children. I think Hudson was the youngest little artist there. He really enjoyed each of his projects he made. Mommy guided him a little bit and then just let him go at it! He was really LOVING the painting projects!

Seven of his art projects.

Miss Natasha handing him his completion certificate.

After they were all finished, they shared lunch together.

Hudson the builder

2009-07-26T18:45:00.002-05:00

Rob happened to stumble upon a kids workshop day while he was at Home Depot one day. Once a month, Home Depot hosts a free kids workshop for parents and their children. They get a free kids work apron & they use the store's tools and supplies to build something different each time. They built a picnic caddy this time. Hudson was so very proud to do this with daddy & it just melted my heart that Rob was just as excited. Each time a child goes, they get a pin on their apron. It was Hudson's first pin. There were kids coming in with about 30 pins! We're excited to go again!

Mr. Buck

Notice how he sticks his tongue out while concentrating intensely.
Rob often does this, as well. So cute :-)

Heavenly Goodness!

2009-07-08T11:02:00.004-05:00

I LOVE to bake. Cooking has to be done, because you have to eat. Baking is more of a luxury, because we don't NEED it, but we WANT it! I recently got into baking cinnamon rolls, inspired by my momma's famous rolls she'd always bake when guests came over or if we craved them. I've doctored them up a "little". The cake is made from scratch and AMAZING! Chocolate Ganache Cake with Buttercream Frosting. Oh, I want some now! I didn't make any of these for me, though. I actually sold these! That's right, a friend of mine liked both the cake and cinnamon rolls so much, she ordered some for a 4th of July get together. Mmmm. Maybe if I just look at the picture, I'll feel like I've satisfied the craving. Yeah right!

Georgie was naughty

2009-07-01T13:59:00.002-05:00

The other day, Hudson rushed into the living room and told me to come in the bedroom, for Georgie was being naughty! He told me that Georgie hit him and had to be put in time out and have a spanking. He also made Georgie apologize to him. Interesting. Can you tell that HE has gotten in trouble (often, I might add) for hitting? Poor Georgie. I hope he doesn't try this on Emily some day!

Wayyy behind!

2009-06-26T22:25:00.003-05:00

Yes, I'm behind on posts. I think because I am on facebook so much, it is easier to just post pics on there. That, and I wonder who all checks this?
We went to Rob's parents for Father's Day last weekend, which ended up being quite eventful. Saturday, we went to Midsummer's Day Festival in Lindsborg, a celebration of the longest day in Sweden, which is where my dad's side of the family originated. It was pretty neat, watching people dance, walking around to all of the Swedish booths of food & information of Swedes. Very interesting that my maiden name (Duell) was actually Gustavson years ago in Sweden. During the French war, the French assigned the Swedish army new names - there were too many names that were too similar. Well, our family was given Duell, which I believe is French for a "dual" or battle. Something like that anyhow!
It rained a ton that day! That evening, we were under a tornado warning & headed to the basement after our electricity went out. It was nice to actually have a basement to take shelter in, since most of Oklahoma homes do not have any!
After that was all said and done, we took Hudson outside to play in the puddles in the ditch. He had a ball! I used to do this when I was a kid with my brothers & sisters. Growing up in the country, and a big family, cheap pools came by way of a stock pit, stock tank or ditches after it rained! Fun times!!

Rooster Days & "way up high!"

2009-06-01T22:23:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we attended Rooster Days, a mini carnival, in Broken Arrow. Hudson got to feed all sorts of animals & loved it! Then, we saw a fun trampoline & Rob decided Hudson should try it. I thought he might be scared, but he wasn't. The weight limit was 30 lbs and they said he hit the mark. I don't think he quite weighs that. Regardless, he got on this thing & had a BLAST! He kept wanting to go higher and higher! Then, when they took him out of the harness, his pants got pulled off! Too funny!

Big brother

2009-06-01T22:18:00.002-05:00

I'm really hoping this is not just a phase, but nothing melts my heart more than to watch how loving Hudson is to his little sister. He is very caring & nurturing towards her. If she has slobber on her chin, he wants to wipe it (if he's not gagging from it, which he does!), if she is crying, he tries to comfort her..."it's ok sissy". I know I know...she's not talking yet or getting into his toys, but still, I enjoy every moment of this big brother love!
She, on the other hand, just LOVES to slobber lately. My shirt shoulders are usually pretty well drenched by the middle of each day! I miss that stage when it's gone, though!

Dove Awards 09'

2009-05-19T15:28:00.004-05:00

I was very fortunate to be able to go to the Dove awards again this year. I think this was my 5th time going & I've enjoyed it every year. It feels like a big family reunion, getting to see all kinds of people we might usually see once every couple of years. It's so much fun to still have the opportunity to get all dressed up, even though I no longer go to high school dances!

Taylor, Noah, Rob & Rich

Rob & David Crowder

Miss California

My hot date

Licking the beaters

2009-05-11T23:51:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite memories in the kitchen growing up was licking the beaters after mom had mixed up something sweet....preferably cookie dough! Yes, there's always the risk of of the whole raw egg thing, but seriously, if you haven't licked beaters from cake or cookie dough or anything sweet......you haven't lived! So, here's to licking beaters and passing on the tradition to my little sweet pea!

You have what?

2009-04-09T20:03:00.003-05:00

Hudson came into the kitchen with stickers on his legs and said, "Mommy, I have boobies". I tried very hard not to laugh. I said, "You have what honey?". He said, "I have boobies....boobies mommy". I don't know how I contained the laughter. Finally, I said "You have boo boos honey?", as he replied, "Yes, mommy, boo boos" .......like ouchies, in case you weren't sure.

This takes the cake

2009-04-04T13:20:00.002-05:00

I thought this one was hilarious! I was laying Hudson down for a nap today and he took his little friend George and basically pretended to nurse him! He said, "I has to feed George, he is hungry. I feed him on my belly." Too cute! Funny that he thinks you nurse from the belly ; )

Amazing friends

2009-03-31T22:05:00.003-05:00

A few times a year, we travel to visit some friends of ours who are so dear to our hearts. They live in Ozark, MO, a few hours away. When I was in college, I did house work and babysat for them quite frequently. Jane, the momma, and I ended up being close friends. They moved to MO and we moved to OK. We were so thankful to still be able to see them often. Our visits usually consist of food, sometimes a little music by our men and chasing around kiddos. (it used to be her kiddos, now it's mine who are all over the place!) We are blessed to have them in our lives and thank God for the relationships that have grown deeper every year. We love you Merritt's!

Cherry booty

2009-03-31T22:03:00.003-05:00

I love pics of my little ones laying like this. Their little tiny hineys are so cute!

Sweet big brother

2009-03-28T14:37:00.002-05:00

These are a couple of fun pics recently taken w/my phone. We do this often when Rob is on the road, so we can send him pics and make him feel included. Hudson is sitting in a "little man" chair while sissy is getting her pics taken in JCPennys. Next, he's giving her love. I hope I don't jinx myself, but honestly, he is sooo loving and caring towards her. He is very concerned when she is crying or poops her diaper! Really, though, he loves to kiss and hug on her. She was crying the other day and Hudson went over to hold her pacifier in her mouth for her as he says, "it's ok sissy, don't cry". I pray he is always this loving towards her and that she will be the same right back.

A real hair cut!

2009-03-28T14:31:00.002-05:00

Hudson usually gets his hair cut by his mommy. Today, however, I had to get my hair trimmed and he was with me. So, he was finally able to sit in a real "hair" chair and get his "do" done. A friend of mine whose husband is also in the band with Rob does hair and she made it lots of fun for Hudson. Thanks Alli !
Oh, he was smiling quite a bit...for some reason, he looks scared to death here but he did a great job sitting still :)

Wow!

2009-03-22T18:08:00.003-05:00

Is this really what potty training has come down to? I'm glad Hudson learned a year ago WITHOUT having to play his for him! This is almost disturbing!

http://www.dothepottydance.com/index.tbapp?scid=mbtw_post29m_2w:325&pe=$user_id$

And today, it was....

2009-03-20T15:12:00.004-05:00

Hudson playing with his sissy's hair, saying "I has to spike her hair".

Also this one was great: About a month ago, Hud was playing with his bath markers and body paints while taking a bath. He put some color on his belly and said, "I has to put some toothpaste on my belly like Dr. Williamson", referring to the gel used during our ultrasounds we did with the doc.

Gross

2009-03-18T21:47:00.003-05:00

I'm trying to make it a point to write down memorable sayings or moments with Hudson & I keep falling behind! Here is today's, though:
During dinner, Hudson said he had to go potty. I told him to go, as I was holding Emily at the table. I heard him potty & then he started talking, as if he were in a tunnel. My heart sunk, as I thought of what he could be doing. I got up to see what was up and he was already walking out of the bathroom......with his head wet! Yeah, I determined that he was having a "party" in the toilet.....with his head in the water.....AFTER, you guessed it, he peed! Uck! My face must have told him how grossed out I was as he said, "I want to tell you I am sorry. It was my fault" I about died of laughter. (not in front of him, of course) Is he a boy or what?

Farwell to the Schrag's

2009-03-18T15:11:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago, I traveled home with my niece, Erica, and our 3 kiddos. I am happy to say that we had a very successful trip! The reason for the trip was to send off my little sister, Sandi, to Brazil. She and her family are moving out there for her husband's work in a few short weeks. Twelve of the fifteen siblings gathered together to celebrate their departure. She will not be over there forever, but will be greatly missed. We've grown a lot closer in the past couple of years and she has become my (almost) daily phone buddy. It's fun to share stories and tears about our children and lives. Fortunately, we will still be able to talk on the phone like normal when she moves. She also plans on getting a facebook (wink, wink Sandi ;) ), so that will help!
A few fun pics from the weekend.

A good dog, a great friend

2009-03-16T22:38:00.005-05:00

This post is long past due, but I've not looked forward to posting it. Anyone who knows us at all, knows our dog Page. We've had her since right after we were married, 2001. A few weeks ago, she was attacked by two other dogs and we were left with the decision to put her down. We had to say goodbye to Page. I don't think I've been this sad about an animal since I was a child. She was part of our family, our first "baby", Hudson's protector and wrestling buddy. We couldn't have asked for a better dog. Even though she never talked, the house almost feels naked without her. She has gone through so much with us. She traveled all over the U.S. in Rob's tour bus when I would go out with him. I can't count how many hotels we would sneak her in by hiding her under Rob's coat - and she never made a peep. She's ridden on boats with us and even put up with me "dressing" her up.(childhood thing, I guess) Page was loved so much and will be greatly missed. We love you Page and thank you for a wonderful 8 years!

Improvised Sledding

2009-02-15T23:13:00.007-06:00

A few weeks ago, we had a nice ice/snow storm here in Tulsa. Rob looked all over town for a sled for Hudson before he called to tell me. I told him to just used the big silver pan I had in my kitchen for sledding. He laughed like I was joking & I told him that's what I used growing up. When my mom passed away, that one of the things I ended up with. Sounds funny, but it held so many memories of growing up and now I get to pass those on to my kiddos. When we were little, we used these big pans on huge snow drifts. I believe they worked better than any plastic sled would have. This pan certainly served its purpose when used by Hudson. He had so much fun!

Silly boy

2009-02-11T10:47:00.005-06:00

This boy cracks us up every day ! Last night, he was being a stinker at the table & got a little spankin'. I don't even think it hurt him, but he was whining afterwards & said, "momma, don't never never never spank me again" and "give me a break" (daddy uses that a lot) I told him there would be plenty more as long as he's human. Then, I saw a yummy chocolate cake in Walmart and said , "yummy, that looks so good." He said, "Yummy cake. Wonderful, yummy cake." Where he learns these things......US

For some reason, we've been calling little Emily "sissy bear". Maybe because we read Hudson The Berenstein Bears sometimes? Anyhow, he usually calls her "Emmy". Today, I said "Hudson, isn't your sissy so cute?" he said, "Yes". I said, "Now, what's sissy's name again?" He said, "Sissy......bear!" It was pretty cute.

Look, it's a.......kid!

2009-02-08T21:48:00.002-06:00

Mommy was working on something inside and heard Hudson cracking up like crazy outside. He was playing w/daddy and something exciting was going on! I looked out and saw Hudson flying up really high. Rob was practically tossing him up in the clouds! I grabbed the camera and knelt down to get the perfect angle and catch Hudson at his highest velocity. I'm pretty sure this was the highest point for the little guy. He wanted more, of course. Oh, and evidently Page wanted to go next!

The Perfect Father-Son project

2009-02-08T21:29:00.004-06:00

Hudson decided one day that he wanted to build a dog house w/his daddy. Rob thought about it and condensed the idea into building a bird house, instead. Rob can't ever do a sloppy project, so he put quite a bit of thought into this. Hudson helped his daddy w/his plastic hammer & tools as Rob used the "real stuff". He even built a real shingle roof on top. Then, he let Hudson pick out the color of paint he wanted to make the bird house. As you can see, it was a not-so-subtle shade of orange. Rob decided it would be fun to "theme it up" by stenciling an OSU logo on it. Hudson added his own "logo". Don't ask me to translate ;) Anyhow, it made me so proud and my heart emotional to see them do a father-son project together, as I know this is the first of many they will get to do. That, and it makes me so happy to see my husband take the time to do something like this with his son. Moments like these are so important for a parent & child to invest time in. You're such an amazing daddy Rob!

All of our guests

2009-01-27T18:53:00.008-06:00

Allie & Rich Gilliland

Tome & Nicol Dawson w/kids & Quincy Harrison

Stacie Wittig

Christie & Curtis Gare

Joy Swenson w/Sydney

Natasha, Avi Joy & Nehemiah Perryman

Pastor Chris Johnson

Noah & Lindsey Henson & kids

Stacey Buffington

Karla Gilmore & Charlotte Freeman

Erica Hunt (my niece who watched Hudson during this time)

Introducing....Emily Evelyn Beckley !

2009-01-27T17:55:00.012-06:00

We are so humbled and honored to introduce our sweet little
princess, Emily Evelyn Beckley. We were surprised in many ways, especially how early she came. My water broke Tuesday morning at 10:30 am, we drove to the hospital (in no pain) around 3:00 pm and waited for a long time. Contractions didn't start until 1:30 am or so while I was, for some crazy reason, talking to my sister Sandi on the phone. She finally entered the world Wednesday, January 21st at 7:37 am, three weeks early, 7lb. 13 oz, 20 1/2 in. We are so thankful she was a hefty, healthy weight and has a beautiful head of dark hair. Wow, we are so undeserving and can't praise God enough for His goodness in our lives. Hudson has done really well with her & asks to touch or hold her often. The other day, he also wanted to pick her nose...how sweet ;)

I don't like Sharks!

2009-01-16T22:09:00.002-06:00

Last weekend, my nephew and sister-in-law flew to Tulsa to visit their little Bryana (My niece's baby). They were so sweet to call us up and invite us to go visit the Jenks Aquarium with them. It was so much fun for Hudson. He was able to pet some small sharks and stingrays & kept saying "I don't like sharks!". He would laugh and keep on petting them. He wouldn't stop talking about all of the fishys for the next several days. I was reminded today to post this event because we were eating Mangos and Hudson was saying they were slippery, like the sharks & then started saying again, "I don't like sharks!", laughing afterwards.

Cute obsessions

2009-01-10T19:53:00.005-06:00

Hudson has recently told us that he sees different shapes, animals, etc, in his food or even driving. Recently, he told us that he chewed his sandwich into "Jesus cross". He chewed two skinnier pieces and crossed them on top of one another. You'd think the boy discovered gold in his food!

A while back, I got Hudson a Curious George monkey and it became his little snuggle buddy and best friend. He ended up getting another one for Christmas and for a while, he insisted upon dragging both of them around, as well as sleep w/both "Georgie's". He's finally let go of the obsession of having both by his side at all times - Although, it seems as though George is always there because there are still two in the house. I guess it's better than a baby doll!

Aunts, uncles & grandpa

2009-01-10T19:44:00.002-06:00

A few pics from my dad's side of the family over the
last few weeks of the holidays
My cousin Mary, her mom(my aunt) Eunice

My dad

My dad's sister(my aunt) Ruth and uncle Don

Christmas

2009-01-04T14:51:00.003-06:00

Can you believe Christmas is already over? Wow, it seemed to fly by faster than ever this year. We spent Christmas, as we do every year, at Rob's family's in Lindsborg, KS. It was freezing cold, but perfect for snuggling weather. It was fun to watch Hudson open gifts and practice being patient as other people opened their gifts, as well. He had quite a time and talked about it for several days.
Hudson getting to ride grandpa Beckley's Harley.

Helping hand out gifts for "Santa".

Playing Wii with the boys.

He was so proud that he and his cousin had matching
Lightning McQueen pajamas.

Playing "balls" w/the boys. He would roll them into the
holes all day long if we'd let him.

Walking out on the frozen lake w/grandpa.
At home, we all got new sunglasses in our stockings. Perfect for December!

Christmas fun

2009-01-01T11:20:00.002-06:00

Each year we either drive through or walk through the lights at Rhema bible college. This year we walked through it with Hudson and he was overwhelmed with excitement! He was able to visit with Santa, have some hot chocolate and view all of the beautiful lights. He and Santa (all 3 of them) have gotten to know each other quite well. He saw him in the mall, at Rhema and the Bass Pro Shop. He figured out the routine pretty quickly and enjoyed yanking on Santa's beard (at Santa's request). The really cool thing, however, is that throughout all of the Christmas "festivity", when he sees the manger and a star, he tells us how the three wisemen followed the star to see baby Jesus. He also still has this obsession with Jesus' cross everywhere we go. It's quite a testimony to even his parents to be more open about our faith to others. God definitely teaches you a ton through your children!

Big helper

2009-01-01T11:12:00.002-06:00

Hudson was helping Rob get some things out of storage for Christmas decorating. He was pretty determined to haul the Christmas tree in on his own. He pushed it all the way from our storage shed to the back door.....all in the freezing cold. He's becoming such a big boy.

Concert night

2008-11-23T21:43:00.005-06:00

Thursday night, Rob had a show in Tulsa. It was the first show Hudson's been able to go to on this tour and he was pretty excited.....Hudson too. Rob pretty much decked him out in rock 'n' roll attire and it brought quite a bit of attention to Hudson. Rob spiked his hair up, put him in "skinny jeans", a rockin' t-shirt, chain wallet & rub-on tattoo! When Rob went to get Hudson a tattoo in the bubble gum machine, there was a machine that had fake sideburns, gotees and mustaches. Somehow, they ended up coming home with a mustache! I must say, it almost sent me into labor laughing! Especially the serious look on Hudson's face when he was wearing it! I joke with my family that all of Hudson's cousins have every piece of John Deere equipment memorized, and then there's Hudson.........he can't talk about anything besides drums & guitars!

Thank you for Jesus' ouchies

2008-11-21T17:47:00.003-06:00

Each night or day we try to read a few chapters out of Hudson's children's bible. He often reminds us "read bible mommy!". So cute. Not sure if he's just really into Jesus or trying to keep from having to go to sleep! The other night, we came to the part where Jesus carries the cross and later dies. Well, the cartoon picture of Jesus on the cross showed some scrapes on His knees and Hudson was very concerned. I did my best to explain how those "ouchies" helped pay for our sins. (Remember, he's only two) Almost every night since then, he wants to go back and look at Jesus' ouchies. Also, whenever he sees a cross, he's sure to point it out and talk about Jesus' ouchies. He now thinks that all telephone poles are cross's. I don't dare correct that one! Well, the sweetest of sweets - the other day, we were praying for our meal and Hudson was very insistant upon praying "Thank you for Jesus' ouchies!" I can only pray that some day soon he has the privelage of truly understanding the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for our sins. What an amazing thing He did for us! (I think he's off to a good start)

Radiant!

2008-11-15T14:33:00.005-06:00

People say the most interesting things when they notice you are pregnant. I've decided that it doesn't matter how big or small of a person you are, you just "feel" large. Either way, it is such a blessing to carry a little one in your belly. There are, unfortunately, way too many people out there who are not able to do so. We are very very blessed.
On that note, remember to say a kind word to the next prego woman you see ;)

.......and Tigger too!

2008-11-03T22:01:00.004-06:00

I'm so proud of my very inexpensive purchase for a halloween costume for Hudson. I found it at a garage sale for $5. It had just been dry-cleaned and was from the Disney store. As you can see, it was put to many uses. I never knew so many events existed BEFORE halloween, but I guess a whole new world is exposed when you have children. Daddy was able to come home for a couple of days last week & we took Hud to the Bass Pro Shop, as they had a little evening of fall harvest fun. It ended up being a genius idea-it was similar to the zoo but much better animals and very warm! Daddy let him "shoot" his first gun at pretend targets. If Tigger holding a gun isn't red-neck enough for you, then I'm not sure what is.
A few days before hand, I took Hudson to the downtown Broken Arrow pumpkin egg hunt. He loved it. He was picking up eggs faster than he could count them. After that, BA main street had all of their merchants set up so you could receive candy and play games. Amazingly, after all of these events, as well as trick-or-treating, I somehow managed to only let Hudson swallow a few small pieces of candy. Although, he works on me every day trying to get some sugar when he can.

Interesting.....

2008-10-30T14:20:00.002-05:00

The other night, I went in to check on Hudson before I went to bed. This is what I found. I didn't even realize these were all in his crib, but the meticulous touch he put to this is quite intriguing to me. There's even some symmetry - 2 bears in the middle, 2 monkeys on the outside. I thought it was pretty cute.

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-29T09:41:00.004-05:00

Each year, we've visited our Pumpkin Patch in Tulsa. The very first time we took Hudson, he was only a few days old! He was about the same size as the baby pumpkins & barely had his eyes open. It's so much fun to watch him actually be the one to enjoy the outing this time. He won't stop talking about riding the pony "Rose", who he calls "Zero".

2 years ago....

2008-10-26T14:09:00.006-05:00

Our little man is officially two years old! Talk about life flying by.......it feels like I just posted this a few weeks ago on his first birthday. Well, he is more fun than ever and constantly melting our hearts with his sweet, yet adventurous, personality. Hudson is full of hugs and kisses now, has been pretty well potty trained for about 6 months, knows most of his abc's (l,m,n,o,p is usually a 3-syllable word), counts to 15 (he leaves 6 out sometimes), knows his colors & shapes & reminds mommy & daddy to wear our seat belts & pray at mealtime :) God really has blessed our lives with a wonderful son! Thank you, Lord :)

Hudson's request of a BOZ cake. Daddy did the tracing & cutting & mommy did most of the icing. Our first attempt at a homemade cake. It was pretty yummy !
Hudson's favorite present was his drums. He has a slight obsession with musical instruments.....wonder why?
Grandpa & grandma Beckley were able to come down for a few hours, along with Aunt Nicki to help us celebrate.

Two-week tour

2008-09-30T14:02:00.003-05:00

Hudson & I went on tour with Rob for two weeks & just recently returned. I was the World Vision tour rep & enjoyed having a chance to represent it. We were in TN, FL, AL, LA, GA & TX. Hudson did very well & can't get enough drums & guitars in his life! While we were in Conroe, TX, I was able to see my good friend, Shanna, who I met at a crazy summer camp about 9 years ago. She brought her two adorable boys to play w/Hudson.
When we first pulled up to the venue, we saw the most random thing. A black pig was walking around where the bus was parked. Rob took Hudson out to attempt to feed him some grass-ha ha. Needless to say, they were not successful.

Iowa trip

2008-09-30T13:54:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, we drove out to Ottumwa, IA to visit my sister Sandi & her family. Hudson had a blast playing w/his cousin & loves to look at pictures of her often. It was fun to see where my sister lives - it's very beautiful out there. We enjoyed getting to hang out for a short time.

First hair cut!

2008-09-30T13:51:00.002-05:00

Yes, it only took us about 2 years, but the boy hardly had any hair until he was 18 months. Daddy made me do it. He thought he was starting to look like a girl. I did a decent job, considering I don't practice much :)

The cute things he says!

2008-09-02T20:58:00.005-05:00

It's easy to forget some of the things Hudson says that make us smile, because they change so often. Here are a few, as of lately:

* "Rock you" (When he wants us to rock him at night and doesn't want to go to his bed)
* "Hudson do dat" (This is when he wants to do something on his own - aka, without our help!)
* "Special poopoo treat" (Daddy started this one. He sometimes gets a treat when he goes poo poo. One time Rob told him he gets a special treat, so now every treat is "special" to him)
* "Arpits" (armpits) (Usually when he wants to put on daddy's deodorant, he calls it this)
* "Check one, two, fee" (check, 1,2,3)(Yes, he has learned how to check sound on any microphone he comes into contact with. Daddy actually took him out on stage last weekend during the concert & he said it for everyone)
* "Appa juice cup" (He gets apple juice to drink sometimes & now whenever he wants a drink he says this phrase about 30 times)
* "Pokey puppy" (He has become quite the fan of this story. He also uses "pokey" when he rubs daddy's chin)
* "Nums" (His word for drums. He is a little infatuated with them. Lucky us! )
* "Shoot ball" (For some reason, this is what he first thinks of when he wakes up. He always wants to shoot his basketball in his little goal attached to his drawer. He's actually pretty good!)
* "C'mon mommy/daddy" (As he attempts to drag us along by our hands to show us the next big thing in his life)
* "Babay toooooad" (He said this quite a bit more during the rainy season, as we had tons of tiny toads all over. Now, every toad/frog is a "baby toad". It's so funny how he says it"
* "Hold you mommy/daddy" (When he wants us to hold HIM - it's hard to resist)
* "Sorry mommy/daddy" (He's quite familiar with saying this, but often has to be reminded to say it nicely. He usually changes his tone quickly)
* "Daddy blows" (Sounds bad, but daddy has a song called "Wind Blows" that he likes us to sing at night. This is what he calls it. He knows it's one of daddy's songs.
* "Daddyful" (Another song of daddys, but it's really called "Beautiful Saviour")

--That's all we can think of right now, but maybe we'll add some on later :)

Growin' up too fast!

2008-08-22T21:38:00.010-05:00

Hudson is getting close to turning 2 years old in October. Where has time gone? He has turned into a big boy in a matter of weeks, it seems. He is so determined & sure of what he wants. He loves to do most things on his own or have us teach him how......quickly! Today I was peeling him an orange & he decided he wanted to do it on his own - he got after it & did a great job. He's been potty trained now since about 19 months. However, I say he reminds me of a dog. It seems whenever we go somewhere on vacation he decides to "mark his territory". Other than that, he's done a wonderful job at "taking care of business". He's memorizing many familiar people's names, books, colors, numbers, letters & more. He LOVES to get crazy to daddy's music & watch his concerts. It's been so much fun keeping up with this little man & how fast his brain is developing. We are very blessed by his presence in our lives. So we're told this next baby will either be just as wild or completely calm. We'll see!
Gotta get my hands just right...then, the rockin' begins!

Playin' at the splash pad after daddy's show.....at 10pm!

I look cool, just like daddy.......without my pants!

I should probably stick to dressing up in daddy's clothes!

Potty like a rock star!

We're pregnant :)

2008-08-12T17:16:00.006-05:00

Several weeks ago, our family went out to eat & I made Rob take Hudson to the bathroom while I set up a surprise. I had snuck a yummy cake to the waiter & he brought it out after our meal. It said "Congratulations daddy..........again!" Ok, he didn't get it. So, we gave him his Father's Day cards & the one from Hudson had also said "Can't wait to meet you daddy, I hear you're the best daddy ever-New baby Beckley". Ummm.... he still didn't get it! He just looked at me and said "thanks honey". I looked at him & said, "Rob, I'm pregnant!" After it finally clicked, he was shocked & started to cry until several people came up to congratulate us - then he had to hold back. We are due around Feb. 12th & I think we've agreed that we will wait to find out the sex this time. Rob says he's going to peek, though.

My own rocket ship

2008-08-12T17:02:00.002-05:00

Hudson got to experience the thrill of the tiny Goodland fair this week. He didn't know any different, though - he loved it! If you don't know how small Goodland is, this will give you an idea. Hudson got to ride the little rocket ship ride & he was the driver, the passenger, you name it. He was the only one on there! He acted like he was on top of the world!

Feesh

2008-07-09T23:42:00.005-05:00

I spent some time at Wal-Mart the other day waiting around on them to service my truck. Well while I was in there I thought I would get a little fishing pole for Hudson. We went out in the yard and practiced throwing the line a little and he had a blast. I think I may have had more fun than him though. So I thought I would put it to the test. The end result was Hudson's pole 7. Daddy's pole ZILCH. Ok so I didn't really worry about getting mine ready. He just sat on my lap after I would cast it out and wait for the "ball" to go under. I would set the hook and he would do the rest. Good times. Here is a look at the angler master.

Monkey

2008-06-11T13:26:00.002-05:00

Today, Hudson was running around the house naked. Well, I had moved the chairs out of the kitchen so I could clean. I left the room & when I came back, he had grabbed ahold of the bars under the table & was swinging back & forth like a lil' naked monkey! He also likes to do the same to our refridg. handles, as well as the bath tub bar. Did I mention the boy LOVES bananas ?

Cardboard Testimonies

2008-06-06T21:29:00.003-05:00

I almost didn't watch this video that someone forwarded me because it was a whole 8 minutes long. It ended up being 8 minutes of tears (in a good way). It's so easy to think that we don't make a difference in people's lives & they will never change. What a perfect testimony of the differences we make can and do make every day!

Who are you ??

2008-06-04T22:10:00.003-05:00

Over time, we've noticed people from all over have viewed our blog. Well, some of you are brave enough to leave comments & others of you just view and never tell us exactly who you are ??

Here are a few of you who we are not familiar with (yes, you're being announced ;) )

Selbyville, Delaware
Hays, Kansas
Tulsa & Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (duh, we live here - but some of you don't ever leave comments)
Gardner, Kansas
Pasadena, Maryland
Asheville, North Carolina and a few others.

Please drop us a comment so we can identify who is stalking/viewing our blog ;) hehee.

Zoology

2008-06-01T14:21:00.003-05:00

Ok so I haven't been on here for awhile. This is my attempt (rob by the way) at a video blog. We went to the zoo yesterday and had a blast. Hudson was pretty excited to see all the animals. I enjoyed just being with my family and spending time together. It was a good day.

Muscles !!!

2008-05-23T13:36:00.002-05:00

I couldn't get Hudson to flex, but he did say "grrrr". If you can't read, it says
"I get my muscles from my dad". Oh, and to protect Rob, he isn't the one
making this post ;)

Argyle galore !

2008-05-18T22:30:00.003-05:00

If this isn't one of the cutest things I've seen in a long time ! Rob has recently built into his wardrobe the "argyle" sweater. Kind of a band thing right now. He is wearing one in many of his new album photos. Hudson became so familiar with the argyle, when Rob was out of town one time, I took his sweater out of the wash & Hudson kept pointing to it saying "dada dada!". He ended up picking it up and carrying it around the house hugging it and saying "dada" over and over again. I was so excited to find an adorable little mini-me sweater for Hudson a while ago. When I dress him in it, he says "dada". How cute is that?

This is why....

2008-05-18T22:19:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted very much lately because we've had a lot going on the past few weeks. First, my b-day, that night my little sister Sandi came to visit from Ottumwa, IA, the next day I had a baby shower for my niece, my Aunt Eunice and cousin Mary came over that night, the day after that my niece went into labor before 33 weeks. That whole week was pretty chaotic. Well, the visit w/my little sister was brief, but so nice. She came with her little 12 mo. girl, Emma Jae. As you can see, Hudson had no problem warming up to her. My niece had a baby girl, Bryana Bailey @ 4 lb. 9 oz. She is very healthy and stinkin' adorable. The pic of Erica & Andrew is one of the silly games we played at the very end of the shower-maybe that's what sent her into labor. The last pic is of my sister Sandi and I with my Aunt Eunice (dad's sister). Whew - busy times!

The big 30

2008-05-18T22:10:00.003-05:00

On May 2nd I turned 30. I'm officially supposed to be "comfortable" in life! ha! Really, I pretty much am. I have a pretty blessed life and I'm very thankful for the constant miracles God lays before us. Our family is so blessed. Rob took me out to The Cheesecake Factory while my niece, Erica and her hubby Andrew watched Hudson. We came home to a house full of friends - Rob was 99% successful at having a surprise birthday party for me. I was a little bit suspicious. He had arranged tons of food, a yummy cake & fun decorations ! Thanks to my hubby for making me feel special :) P.S. Gifts can be mailed to.....kidding ;)

Wanna play catch with me?

2008-05-01T22:24:00.002-05:00

I gotta ouchy!

2008-05-01T22:10:00.004-05:00

Hudson wanted to share his little ouchy with y'all. He was pretty concerned about it & wanted lots of kisses from mommy & daddy on his knee.

A night at the...........Dove's ;)

2008-04-25T14:14:00.003-05:00

Rob had been gone for 2 1/2 weeks, so Hudson and I flew out to Nashville on Saturday as Rob flew in from Denver. We didn't want to wait any longer to be together, so we hung out with him during what they call GMA week. It is the few days before the Christian music awards (Dove's) where all of the musicians come together for several interviews, showcases, etc. Rob was very busy, but we were thankful to see each other throughout the day quite a bit. Rob's sister, Megan, drove from college to hang with us for one night too. She's only a couple of hours from Nashville, so it's nice to see her a few times a year.
Rob and I got to get all dressed up again & sat in the third row - a great view! It was a very nice time. I think because we had been to the Grammy's & experienced the psychotic paparazzi, this weekend seemed VERY low-key. Sort of reminded us of a big family reunion. Oh, I didn't do this on my Grammy blog, but I'll take the time to brag now - both my Grammy dress and my Dove dress were each $10. What a deal!

Life on the Road

2008-03-31T15:23:00.004-05:00

Hudson and mommy went out on the road with daddy for two weeks. He was ready to come home by the last day, but he sure had a blast & kept up with all the boys on the road!

Japan, here we come !

2008-03-19T17:01:00.004-05:00

Ok so I got an email from our record label today. This is an end cap display from a tower records store in Japan. Pretty sweet. Sony Japan has not picked up many rock records in the past. This will be our first release over there so we are pretty excited. Jokingly someone from our management said, "you guys look huge over in Japan." I couldn't help myself and said, "Yeah, I know. Our bass player is 6ft2." Sorry. Lame I know.

Anyway thought this was a fun tidbit of useless information for everyone to waste time reading!

rob

A lil' footage

2008-02-16T17:12:00.006-06:00

Here is a little footage from our Grammy evening. Rob was supposed to write about his perspective on the whole night, but is now on tour. So, if he decides to share something fun
he'll have to "edit"this later :)

We walked the red carpet!

2008-02-11T23:41:00.000-06:00

WOW is all I can say! We had such an amazing time this weekend! I may have to make more than one post out of this. Well, Sunday morning we got up and started getting ready right away. By noon, we were off to the Grammy's! Within a few minutes, we were there & a little shaky. We pretty much walked right to the red carpet & the chaos began! The wives just walked a small portion until we were escorted separately to the end of the "red" while our husbands did the whole picture thing all along each "X" of the red carpet. It was a very surreal moment watching it all take place. Then, we all met up and walked into the pre-televised session in a smaller building(sat by Vince Gill & Amy Grant), where we later had our category of "Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album" and NO, we didn't win. The winner was Ashley Cleveland. I still don't know who she is. Regardless, it was all worth it to go! After about 3-4 hours of this, we walked into the Staples Center, attached to this building. We sat a few rows up from the floor, but really had a great view. For those of you who watched it on tv, you know how the show went. It was very amazing to see it all live. My favorite part, however, was afterwards. We went to two after-parties. The first had about 20 different styles of buffet lines and I went all out! We were hungry! When we left, we were given some stylish little Grammy bags with some Bed Head product & Kinerase skin care in it. Then, we headed over to Beverly Hills to the Sony/BMG party where there was another CRAZY red carpet experience. It was funny. We got out & paparazzi was asking who we were. HA! We walked the red carpet again & then headed downstairs to the big party. This is where we met most of the "big names". Careful, I'm about to name drop. We saw and/or met Lindsey Lohan, John Mayer, Brad Paisley, Josh Groben, KoJo, Chris Daughtry, Blake Lewis, Natalie Cole, Brandi, Casting Crowns, Toby Mac, Foo Fighters, Nickel Back, Tony Bennett, Tia Carrere & others. Oh, check out the "cupcake tree". I was in heaven!!! We'll post a short video later!

I was bored again!

2008-02-03T09:16:00.000-06:00

Linda keeps taking this off because she thinks its cheesy. (and it is) Make sure you scroll down and watch Hudson's vid. Its a lot cuter!

Ok so this is the deal. Linda was busy putting together that cute video of Hudson. I was needing attention. Our dog Page was the only one available. She has a pretty smile. I was laughing uncontrollably while doing this.

Rob

Hudson's signs

2008-02-02T09:34:00.000-06:00

Hudson has been "signing" since he was about 9 or 10 months old. Here are just a few of the words he's done consistently over time. He says some words too, so it's a combination of both signing and speaking. Of course, mommy and daddy understand his words better than anyone. Just play along ;)

Peek a boo!

2008-01-31T20:50:00.001-06:00

Hudson has been playing a lot of peek a boo lately-even with Page! It is definitely one of the cuter things we've seen him do. It's a toss up who his best friend is - Page or his blankey??

Ice Storm

2008-01-13T09:29:00.001-06:00

Another long past due post, but here are just a few of the sad looking trees from the ice storm last month. Personally, we were out of electricity for 4 days. We were very blessed to stay with some friends and kept warm - just a little stir-crazy! It definitely made us think about how pampered we are every day and don't even pay attention to it. Rob and I have been watching the Lonesome Dove set over the past few weeks and it just blows my mind that it was the norm to live without electricity or vehicles. My, how times have changed !

Bored

2008-01-09T20:02:00.000-06:00

I really don't have a whole lot to say. I was just bored so I got on here to see what the world was up to and to let all the fellas know how to give a proper man to man hug. So here you go!

-rob

Surprise Ride

2008-01-01T19:16:00.000-06:00

This is typically how we get around Tulsa when we need to go somewhere. RIGHT! The other night, Rob and a buddy of his surprised me and the other guy's wife(The Yee's). They had arranged a pt cruiser limo to come pick both of our families up and drive around to look at Christmas lights in Tulsa. What a sweet man I have! He knows how much I love Christmas time and enjoy the beauty of the lights. We saw some pretty overdone "Clark Griswald" houses. This is one example - just tons of lights!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-29T20:39:00.000-06:00

For those of you who haven't seen our official "Christmas picture", here it is. Merry Christmas to all of you and may you be blessed this season!

Late Thanksgiving

2007-12-21T13:56:00.000-06:00

I know I'm a little late on this, but I wanted to post some pics from our annual Thanksgiving gathering at the Duell household in Kansas. We had 2 siblings missing, but still a good size of a crowd. Typically, there are around 60-70 people.

Whata Wife

2007-12-18T21:05:00.000-06:00

Linda is always on here talking about her family so I thought I would hack in and say something sweet about her. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful wife looking out for me and taking care of me. I'm sure its harder taking care of me than it is Hudson. Yet she still finds time to spend hours and hours in the kitchen preparing goodies for some of our friends. I've never seen so many treats. She spends all day taking care of Hudson and the house and then I come home and she works all night cooking. It made me realize that being a servant isn't about letting people know the effort it took or trying to prove ourselves, but rather....just bless someone else with our time. She challenges me to be a better servant. And for that I am thankful. Thankful for a wonderful wife! -rob

p.s. don't think I haven't been trying them all out. don't want anything to happen to anyone!

I'm so proud of my hubby!

2007-12-07T11:48:00.000-06:00

Pillar Receives First-ever Grammy® Nomination

One of the Biggest Selling Rock Bands in Christian Music History Receives the Highest Music Industry Recognition, Just Prior to Its Release of For the Love of the Game
December 6, 2007 – Pillar, one of the biggest selling Rock bands in Christian Music history, received its first-ever GRAMMY nomination today. The band received the nod in the category of Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album for The Reckoning, at a press conference held at the Music Box in Hollywood. The nominations were announced by The Recording Academy.
Pillar front man Rob Beckley, who is currently in Germany preparing to take the stage for a concert, shares, "Musically speaking, it doesn't get any higher than this. The only way to top what has happened today, would be to win this GRAMMY Award. After all of our years on the road and in the studio, there are few words to fully capture our feeling during this moment. We totally love what we are privileged to do; and that's play rock and roll for a living, and be a part of seeing people's lives changed in the process."
The 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on "GRAMMY Sunday," Feb. 10, 2008, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).
Since Pillar's Dove Award-winning debut Above in 2001, the band has tallied eight No. 1 radio singles, twelve top 5 hits, four Dove Awards, a GRAMMY nomination, seven national headlining tours, covers of numerous national magazines, sales well into the hundreds of thousands, and played for millions. Pillar's fifth in-studio project, For the Love of the Game, will hit stores on February 26, 2008. For The Love Of The Game is big, fun, infectious rock and roll that further solidifies Pillar's position as fearless leaders in the Christian Rock world. Additionally, February of 2008 will bring the start of Pillar's 3-month headlining tour. Pillar is: Rob Beckley, vocals; Lester Estelle, drums; Noah Henson, guitar; and Kalel, bass.

9 of 10

2007-12-06T10:29:00.001-06:00

On any given day, 9 out of 10 Duell sisters in a picture is not half bad! This was at Thanksgiving and we were missing sister Elise, but there were still enough to call it a "sister" picture! From LtoR(Back: Jane, Chris, Sharon, Lianne, Lori Back:Janette, Sandi, Marilyn, Linda) Each year, we do a gift exchange and draw names. Sometimes we might get an extra sale-item gift for everyone. One of the things we got were Christmas pj's ! We were forced to march upstairs and get a picture with these cozy thangs on! We asked dad to jump in a picture & for some odd reason he thought it humorous to randomly grab a fire truck ?? That's our dad!

Krispy Kreme time

2007-12-02T08:40:00.001-06:00

This year, as we headed home for Thanksgiving, we took a detour through the little ol' town of Hooker, OK (in the panhandle of OK). My sister, Marilyn & Roger Fischer & their 8 children live here. Every time I see the Fischer's, the kids usually pursuade me to bring their favorite donut, Krispy Kreme. They live pretty far from a store, so it's very exciting when aunt Linda & uncle Rob bring this special treat. Hudson made a couple of cousin buddies & wasn't shy to give lots of hugs!

Happy Holidays!

2007-11-29T13:05:00.000-06:00

If this doesn't brighten your day, I don't know what will. We worked long and hard on this dance, so please enjoy!

Click here to see us boogie

.

Riding lawn mower

2007-11-27T22:03:00.001-06:00

All we can say is ............ this kid is crazy! He must have thought he was gonna get a ride!

Does "realness" come with age?

2007-11-17T07:48:00.001-06:00

The other day, I went shopping at Walmart & came outside to load my car with groceries. As I was pulling up to my car, an old man from a beat up car came up to me and asked, "Maam, can I take your cart back inside for you and help load your groceries?" I have to admit, with all of the crazy people out there these days, I was a little bit skeptical at first. Especially because I had little Hudson in the cart. I accepted his offer, as I realized how genuine it was. He said, "You know, I pray to the Lord to allow me to be a blessing to someone every day & he always puts someone in my path". Now, I'm thinking - I can't believe I actually thought this guy could have been a psycho! You just never know ;) We talked for a brief moment and I gave him a hug & thanked him for his kindness. On the way home I thought about why people closer to my age(ultimately, myself) don't do things like this more often. Why is it, the older you get, the less you hold back in instances like this. I used to work at a nursing home and nothing touched me more than these much older, wiser people sharing their stories and, for the most part, full of open love to any random stranger. Imagine if we were all like this. There sure would be a lot more "realness" in the world & love towards each other. Your eyes are really opened when someone serves you like this older man did me. Thank you for the reminder Jesus.

Rob's cousins

2007-11-10T17:15:00.000-06:00

Rob had a show in Omaha, NE on halloween night & we traveled with him. We are so glad we did, because we had the pleasure of hanging out with his cousins, David and Tara Arbogast & their three children. Since they are from the area, they took us around the neighborhoods of Omaha to trick-or-treat. It was pretty funny going door to door to strangers houses! We had so much fun getting to hang out with the Arbogast's, though. Maybe next time, Easter egg hunting in a random city??

Little Ninja

2007-11-02T09:10:00.000-05:00

Hudson was a Little Ninja this year for halloween/fall harvest, whatever you want to call it. Rob even made him some nunchucks out of 2 sharpies & black tape! He was pretty cute! Daddy also carved a pumpkin with Hudson. Hudson is giving the pumpkin the stare-down.

Slippery slide

2007-10-20T20:27:00.000-05:00

Hudson wanted to go down the slide on his own today, so I tried filming it on my phone to send to daddy. Of course, the time I film it, this is what happens!

Pumpkin Town

2007-10-17T22:26:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I've had some extra time lately, so I've been experimenting with some new slideshows. This one is of Hudson at Pumpkin Town last week. He got to pick out a smaller pumpkin & now he wants to play with it every day. How do you play with a pumpkin that you can't even pick up? Roll it all over the floor!

Birthday parties!

2007-10-16T14:07:00.001-05:00

Hudson ended up with two birthday parties last week. We happened to be in Wichita for a concert last weekend, so Rob's family had a little party. Then, we had Hudson's official 1 year party here at home. He was given several musical instruments: guitar, keyboard & microphone, drums, harmonica, maracas, fridge radio & other fun stuff! Happy Birthday bubba! We love you :) -Mommy & daddy

Rockin' it

2007-10-14T08:54:00.000-05:00

This is what Hudson does when he hears music these days. The way he has his fingers positioned, it looks like he's snapping. He loves to "groove" with daddy! Oh, and yes, he is standing in our clothes hamper :)

Our baby is 1 year old !

2007-10-09T16:46:00.000-05:00

I don't think the emotion of it all really hit us until late last night. We both went into Hudson's nursery after he had been sleeping for a while & I picked him up & just rocked him while Rob sat by us & we both teared up. Did the past year of our lives with our first baby really pass by already? I remember when I could lay him across my lap & his feet wouldn't touch the arm of the chair (partly because his legs were still in that constant fetal position from being in my belly). Then, one day his legs were hanging OVER the arm of the chair. It seemed as though he grew a foot within days ! I'll never forget the excitement of all of his firsts: Cooing, smiling, rolling over, crawling, walking, signing, talking. Most of all, I will NEVER forget the joy he has brought into our lives! It is TRULY a God given miracle to have a child in your life. We feel incredibly blessed to have been chosen by God to raise this sweet boy. We pray that God gives us the opportunity to experience this a few more times!
We'll post birthday party pics soon!

A Day With the Ducks

2007-10-01T14:03:00.000-05:00

Rob & I took Hudson for a walk by Rhema college last week. It was such a nice day & we just wanted to spend some time together as a family. Hudson loved watching the ducks & walking around the big circle of water.

Humbled and Inspired

2007-09-25T22:12:00.000-05:00

Many of you already know of a family we mentioned from our church who recently lost their 18 month son, Xander, to a drowning accident. Well, we haven't really gotten a chance to talk with them until tonight. We took food over to their house & had the opportunity to visit for quite a while. They made me think - Our pastor is doing a series right now called "Blessed" and in his most recent sermon he referenced the woman with the alabaster jar of perfume who covered Jesus with it. Many thought she was crazy, as it was worth a year's wages. That wasn't the point. The point was, she gave all she had, just to honor Jesus.
Well, this couple made me think about this reference even more. Since the death of their son, they have given over and over again to those around them. You know what they were doing as we were headed over to their house tonight? They were buying food for a family in need. I was humbled and inspired by the servanthood they were able to show even after such a tragic event. I am not sure how I would handle it, if the same had happened to me. I don't want to even imgaine. I lost my mom & know that pain, but still couldn't imagine. I think you can go either one direction or the other. Either you can use your situation to glorify God and be an encouragement to others, or you can quit living your life & stay to yourself.
This family chose to continue to live life & spread the love of Jesus all around them. Obviously, it's not easy & there are moments of breaking down & awful pain in your heart--but they really "get" life. I mean, it's so easy to get caught up in our earthly posessions and situations & completely lose sight of why we are on this earth. Visiting with the mom tonight, I was reminded that we are not here on earth to "live in luxury" and be comfortable all of the time. I wonder how many people I encounter every day who I don't tell about Jesus. The one thing I hate after these experiences, is letting the "impact" wear off after a few days. I don't want this to wear off. If you're reading this, please pray that our family be reminded every day why we are here on earth & to stop passing up opportunities to share Jesus with people in our lives. Might want to pray it for yourself, as well :) Please also continue to pray for this family. They are a very special family. Thank you to the Cleary's for allowing God to use them as His instruments.

-Love to you all

Silly Boy

2007-09-25T11:29:00.001-05:00

A few pics from the past couple of weeks. Hudson got to play with his "Fischer" cousins (all 8 of them!) & Uncle Dave a little while back & had a blast! There were so many kids to play with, he didn't know what to do! Then, he got to spend a whole day with his buddies Kaden & Kyler. They played outside in his HUGE pool & rough-housed all day! Hudson just stands at the door, face smushed up against the window when Page is outside. Also, daddy thought it would be funny to put him in one of his shirts, which ended up looking like a dress!

Around the world............in more than a day!

2007-09-10T21:51:00.001-05:00

Photobucket Album

I just got home and the jet lag is definitely still hanging on. I took off on Aug 27th to go to a little island off the coast of Iceland, called Faroe Islands. It was an amazing place and I wish we could have seen more and stayed longer. It took four days of travel to play one show. Good math, I know. We had a layover in Copenhagen, Denmark. We took off for Faroe and were about to land when the pilot had to turn around and go all the way back to Norway. At this point we were already exhausted, but we finally got on board and left for the Faroe Islands. It was quite the temperature change from Oklahoma. It was around 40 degrees the whole time we were there and rainy. Despite the weather, it was an amazing place. The terrain is indescribable and my treo's camera doesn't do it much justice. There were thousands of waterfalls and the sheep outnumbered the people about 4 to 1. After that journey, we got to go back to Copenhagen for another 11 hr layover then start our journey to Australia......via LA??? Yeah I know what you're thinking and yes its the longer way to go, but hey, why do it smart when you can do it.........uuhhhh not smart! ;)

We arrived in Perth after what some might call "a ridiculous amount" of flying. We got to go to a wildlife reserve and play with some animals. It was a blast, I must say. I got to hang with some kangaroos, hold a koala, play with a baby croc, pet a dingo, ride a giant pig, kiss a camel, and feed some demon possessed ostriches. I also got to take in an Aussie Rules Football game between the Port Adelaide Power and the West Coast Eagles. This too was an amazing experience. We had a great time, but I'm glad to be back at home with the family. Now I gotta finish this record.

rob

Math 911

2007-08-28T10:04:00.001-05:00

This is so cute. I wish some of my Math students would have thought of this!

Happy Birthday to Robby!

2007-08-20T13:42:00.000-05:00

Today is my sweet hubby's birthday! I think he's 22? Kidding! I'm very blessed to be married to such a passionate, loving, sincere man. We've been through so many things & I'm very thankful that God has brought us so close over the years. Rob, you are the rock in this family and the leader I have prayed for. Thank you for the sacrifices you make for this family. We appreciate you and thank the Lord for you every day!

Love,
Linda and Hudson

30 Days to Live

2007-08-19T23:07:00.000-05:00

Well Linda finally talked me into doing a blog......so here it is.

I've been out in the studio for the last couple of weeks working on a new record. Linda and Hudson flew out to Knoxville, TN to join me for a few days because I was missing em both so much. We parted ways last Friday so I could go to Cleveland, OH for a show and then on to Seattle on Saturday for another one. When I finally got home on Sunday I was ready for a good "Sunday Afternoon Nap." Once I got up after about a 30 min power nap we took off for church. One thing I love about our church is the fact that they have a Sunday evening service. So when I travel on the weekends I can usually make it back for that. This week was no exception. I made it back and was very happy I did. The service was awesome. The title of the series we are doing right now is "30 Days to Live". It is amazing, to say the least. There wasn't a dry eye in the service when it was over and that just doesn't seem to happen in real life. It was a very surreal moment today and if you are remotely interested you can check out the messages of the people who are encouraging our church right now through their incredible stories. If you only had 30 days to live, what would you do? What would really matter to you? Life takes on an entire different meaning when you start to focus on that thought. The story we heard today in the sermon was about a man named Larry. You can go to the link at the bottom and listen to his story or actually listen to the sermon. Both have an amazing impact on your heart.

Click on: http://www.30daystolive.tv/

I guess this is enough for my first blog entry. Now that Linda has me broken in, I'll have to write more later.

-rob

My niece's wedding - take 2

2007-08-17T23:02:00.001-05:00

My niece's wedding

2007-08-17T23:00:00.001-05:00

This past weekend my niece was married in Grove, OK. She is the first grandchild to get married out of 42 (and rising). It was really nice that most of the family was able to make it. There were 13 out of 15 of the Duell siblings attending. It was a quick weekend, but a really awesome time spent with family.

Grandpa Duell & Uncle Dave's visit

2007-08-17T22:46:00.001-05:00

Photobucket Album

Grandpa Duell & Uncle Dave (Linda's dad & brother) were able to come and visit us this past week on the way to my niece's wedding & hang out a little. We had a lot of fun just relaxing and watching Hudson show off. Grandpa is VERY good at spoiling his grandkids with anything they can put in their mouth. (Including the pen from his pocket!)

More visitors !

2007-08-08T14:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I decided I had better "get after it" with the posting of pics this month, since it is a busy month full of company! Actually, this week is craziest of all. My "little" niece (Erica) is getting married this Saturday in Grove, OK - a little over an hour away. Sooooo most of the family (about 13 out of 15 siblings) are coming down for the big event. I am excited to have a few of them over to visit since they are from so far away. Here's the play-by-play: A goofy pic of Hudson being tortured by his mommy for pure entertainment (piggy nose), a couple of poses with his cousin Annie & Aunt Sheila (from Hennessee, OK - they stayed 2 nights last week), Hudson trying to figure out who the big hairy creature is posing to be his daddy (Chewbacca dressed for our "At the Movies" series at Lifechurch.tv), Hudson's 3 cousins - Kasja, Arianne & Sadie (from Loveland, CO - came to stay on the way to the wedding), daddy reading a nighttime story to our little man and Hudson playing with his buddy Ezra (we went over to babysit him last night : )
OK - breath - I will probably post more VERY soon!

Love to all,
The Beckley's
P.S. You are not allowed to count my typos this month!

Friends from down south

2007-08-01T13:00:00.000-05:00

This past week we were blessed to have a visit from our good friends from south of Houston - James & Shanna Flora & their two boys, Levi & Jace. Shanna and I met about 8 years ago at a camp I worked at near Huntsville, TX. We have kept in touch ever since & get to see each other about once every year or two. We had a blast with them & can't wait to do it again! We love you guys & miss you already :)

Our very first blog!

2007-07-27T21:42:00.001-05:00

Yay! We have finally ventured out into the world of bloggers! After realizing how addictive it is to send out pictures of our little guy (not Rob, Hudson) and getting teased about being part of the "linda beckley monthly subscription", we decided to finally present it all in a somewhat organized manner. Rob came up with the title for our blog - "Behind the Music", but those of you who know us well already know what the "rockstar's" life is like behind closed doors ;)

We look forward to sharing our life with you !
Love,
Rob & Linda.........and Hudson too!

(Our very first family picture)