Nashville bound!

Doing what he does best!

I am writing this as I return from Nashville from recording the first 4 songs of my new project. How fun & exciting it was!! Jonny & I were able to attend our first "Dove Award" ceremony!

Oh my, what an evening with lots of music and "New Songs"!

I'll be returning to Nashville in 2 weeks to complete the recording. I am so full and ready to "sing a new song" to God and bless His name through this project!

Got caught "networking"! ;-P

Doing what I do...

Ready for another day in studio!

Singing a line...

My producer loves me!!!

The family came out to check the studio out!

Preparing Jonathan for future Dove Awards!

Making mommy sound good! Hehe!

I want to share with everyone the incredible things God does! Will you join with me and pray to begin today to proclaim the good news of salvation!?!?

Coming up in the next few days I will be singing in Clearwater with the Florida Baptist Worship Choir and I get the awesome opportunity to be the DJ at a local Christian community event where I will be sharing my music too! How's that for some fun!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter this year as we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior!!! I had the priviledge of serving on praise team for our Easter services at church and our choir did some extra, special music so we were singing the majority of the morning, which didn't leave a lot of time to get family pictures done but we managed to slip out and take them in between services!

Jonathan was handsome, as he always is and "ham'd" up the camera! =)

Later that night we went over to mom & dad's for an amazing dinner and celebrated with our closest friends!! Even with the business of our schedules we managed to have a wonderful, relaxing day!!! Hope everyone had a very Happy Easter!!

Songwriting COMPLETE!!

Every day we cross paths with someone who needs to hear the good news that the Lord saves. We can never fully plumb the depth of God's character & attributes, but with every day and every experience we can discover new facets about God, new songs to sing to Him.

To "publish" means to share. And that refers, not only, to writing books and delivering sermons about God, but also, to sharing what the Lord has done in our own lives so that others might be drawn t0 Him. Each of us can purpose to do that. The most powerful evangelism doesn't take place within the four walls of a church building. It occurs as we share with others in our neighborhood and workplace the good news of what God has done for us individually and for the whole world in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ask God to bring people across your path today who need to hear the good news that God saves and that He loves them. And then ask Him for the compassion and courage to share the reason for your hope and to pray for those people.

Lord, I want to sing a new song to you and bless your name. I want to tell everyone about the amazing things You do. Help me to start today, right where I am, to proclaim the good news of salvation and to publish your glorious deeds everywhere I go. Give me the words to share from your heart with those I will meet.

After many long, sleepless nights...

Countless hours of praying, brainstorming & searching for just the right lyric...

Picking just the right key...

Getting the feeling...

And singing...

The songwriting process is finally COMPLETE!!!! We will be taking about a month rest before heading to Nashville to record my Brand New Project!! Thanks for all your prayers and continuous support as I follow my heart & dreams!

"O for a thousand tongues to sing my great redeemer's praise" - Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

18 months, 50 words, & potty training!!

At 18 months old Jonathan now wants to know what is behind, under, and inside of everything. But unlike a few months ago, he doesn't want to just empty closets and cupboards of their contents. Now after he clears out our kitchen cabinets, he tries to put everything back to see how it fits (though it definitely does not look like it did before). Jonathan is a very busy 18 month old but there are a few things that hold his attention very well: playing in his ball pit, stacking blocks, turning knobs on doors and cupboards, and pushing buttons on telephones, televisions, and stereo equipment (which daddy just loves...LOL). A toy telephone, or even the real one, will keep him entertained for quite some time! He has also started giving some interest to simple wooden puzzles which is really cute to watch. But, of all that he has come to learn at 18 months old the one that has blown us all away is his growing vocabulary. At his 18 month check-up our pediatrician asked about how many words Jonathan knew (at the time I figured 25-30 was a safe number). But, when we got home my curiosity got the best of me and I began writing down all the words he really did know and say! As I started writing the list the words just kept flowing and as soon as I'd write one word another would come to mind. Jonathan was in the room so I started spouting them out to him and he would repeat them!! Jonny and I were shocked at the grand total......of 50 words!!! And, he's still adding words that we totally forgot he knew!! I think as of now the number is up to 56+!! He is such a blessing from God and we treasure every day we have with him!!

We found him playing "Peek-a-boo" (ba-boo) with himself!! Super cute!!

My littl model!!

This is a new face...I think it's the "if I make this face mommy will stop taking my picture"!

Contently watching a movie while mommy & Mimi work!

We recently introduced the potty to Jonathan just to see what his reaction would be!! To our utter amazement he was very interested and is taking to it well!! He will keep a dry pull-up majority of the day unless mama gets busy with what she has going on and then he'll go but overall he has done extremely well!! We are still working on going #2 and for some reason he finds it a game to sit on the potty for quite some time grunting and groaning until I think he just doesn't have to go and then as soon as he gets a pull-up on he'll go and hide and I'll find him (mind you...minutes later) going #2. Oh well, I am still super proud of my little man for even trying at such a young age! We've even been told by many that it is too soon...but Jonathan's pediatrician assured us that if he can say "Bye, Bye Poopoo!" then it is not too soon to potty train!! So here's a couple of cute pics of him doing his thing!! Hehe! I know he will kill me when he gets older and I show them to his girlfriends!! :-P

He's really big into reading on the potty!!

Such a big boy!

P.S. Here's the word list Jonathan says:

Mama, Dada, Opa, Nana (for Mimi), Yoda, Book, BooBoo, Bye Bye, Hi, Nose, Shoes, Ball, Turtle, Dog, Tractor, Bulldozer, Ma (for me), ChooChoo, Truck, PooPoo, Baba, Juice, Banana, Cheese, Pizza, More, Doc & Mac (Car's Characters), TV, a dog goes woof woof, a cow goes mooo, a lion goes roar, a pig goes oink oink, Duck, MillMill (for windmill), Snack, Bob (Veggie Tales character), CC (for Aunt Courtney), TT (for Aunt Stephanie), Chuck (For Uncle Chris), Santa (he usually says Ati?), Bath, No, Bad, NightNight, Nemo, Fish, MowMow (for Mower), Star, Door, Bus, Giraffe, Jesus, Bird, Bug, Lila (for his girlfriend), JoJo (for Joey at our church nursery), Pool, and Cat

(And, I'm sure that there are several I still haven't written down but these are here for your enjoyment)

Valentines Day & 17 months old

Valentine treasures are people who

have often crossed your mind,

family, friends, and others too,

who in your life have shined

the warmth of love or a spark of light

that makes you remember them;

no matter how long since you've actually met,

each one is a luminous gem

who gleams and glows in your memory,

bringing special pleasures,
and that's why this Valentine comes to you:

You're one of those sparkling treasures!

Happy Valentine's Day from The Pike Family!

Such a handsome little man!!

My LOVE!!!

The Bestie & Me

Since my last post we have been running our selves crazy!! But we have enjoyed every moment together! Jonathan is now 17 months old and I have come to realize that the statement "all boy" definitely fits Jonathan!!! But, behind all the rough & tough play is such a sweet little guy!! He LOVES to give hugs and kisses and definitely would not miss snuggle time with mommy!!!

We've recently introduced him to the parks of Lakeland! Now that he's mobile and able to maneuver through obstacles we thought it would be fun to let him release some energy and meet new kids! He absoulutely loves going to the park and we love watching him grow into a social butterfly!!

Hanging out in the tunnel!

Weeee!!!

He LOVES all the slides!!

And, of course, we can't miss the swings with daddy!! "He makes me go high!!!!"

Such a cutie!

Mimi & Opa took me to McDonalds and all I wanted to do was play with the CAR video game!!!

Looks like we may be getting this for his next birthday!! Takes after his Opa! Hehe!

Songwriting and Vacation

WOW! What an incredible month this has been. I can't believe that so much has happened since I last wrote! We have entered into a new journey of our lives and I can't wait to see where it leads me!!!! I am very thankful and blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know and work creatively with songwriter, Don Koch from Nashville. God is allowing me to learn how to deepen and expand my music ministry by working side by side together with talented professionals who love God and want to serve Him. "Write ye this song for you, and teach it to the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel." Deuteronomy 31: 19. God had commissioned Moses and Joshua to write a "song" to be taught to the people. God made it clear that the song waas to be a witness to remind them of their sins.

Of course, that's just one way God uses songs and songwriters to teach, preach and minister in the world. Songwriters for Christ are messengers that compose real life experiences and heart felt emotions into lyrics and then set them to music.

In Nashville we first had a time to share together about my project and we spent a lot of time for Don to get to know me, my family, my passions, my heart for singing and songwriting. Then we began!! The first song.....lyrics, then on to the music. How fantastic! There was intense working, composing, talking and sharing. We then took a break and drove on over to our mountain vacation homes in North Carolina for several days. When we arrived we were greeted by a white world! It had snowed before we got there and our properties were covered in a beautiful blanket of snow. And what else do you do in snow?!?! PLAY!!

We spent one afternoon making snow angels

and sledding down the front hill!!

Jonathan LOVED the snow!

:-) We had a ton of fun!

After a few days Don and his wife and son joined us in NC where him and I continued the writing process there. With the background of mountains, hanging clouds in the valley, snow, and falling leaves in our view it made it easy to describe in song our hearts. Praise God!! We'll be writing again this month and I'm so excited about how God is working in and through Don and me.

There is so much more than my simple words can try to explain that goes on in writing and producing a project. From the preparation both before the project even starts all the way until the last musical note is written and played by instruments the songwriter must be focused and committed to God and His plan and purpose for the mission.

We are now back home and trying to adjust back to the real life!! Hehe!! It was an amazing trip and one that I will never forget!! Until next time...

Happy New Year!!!

First we wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year!! We pray that God will truly bless 2010 and any resolutions you may make be fulfilled!! Looking back on the months gone by, as a new year starts and an old one ends, we look back on what has brought us joy, and we think of our loved ones and our friends. Remembering all the happy times and how they changed our lives, we reflect upon who really counts, as the bright new year arrives. And when we ponder those who do, we immediately think of you. Thanks for being one of the reasons we'll have a Happy New Year!

We were excited to have our annual bon fire to ring in the New Year!!!

We got together with several of our close friends

and burned all of our Christmas trees.

We had such a great time roasting marshmellows, listening to music, and fellowshiping together!

What a great way to ring in the New Year!!!!