Musical Inspirations

Music is the inspiration to my soul! I love hearing something that brings up a memory, happy or sad, makes me think, or that raises the goosebumps on my arms. I think God gave me some kind of gift musically and while I may not be the most talented pianist and definitely not the best singer, I feel that He is calling me to do something great for Him. I'm not sure what it will be or when. I just know that this fire inside is raging and trying to break free. It's like this verse in the Bible, in the older part (the Old Testament!).

~ Jeremiah 20:9 ~
"But if I say "I’ll never mention the Lord
or speak in his name,
his word burns in my heart like a fire.
It’s like a fire in my bones!
I am worn out trying to hold it in!
I can’t do it!""

{You may notice on the road less traveled that I am often adding music, usually one of several favorite artists that I'd like to make people aware of or songs that I can't get out of my head and which spill out onto everything I touch.}

So I kinda joke with Andy that I'd love to have a soundtrack for my life! And in truth, I usually have a song playing through my head. I have a mind for memorizing music which helps for playing the piano and helps when I'm bored and needing something other than thoughts going through my head! One of the latest songs I keep hearing, either on the radio or my blog, is "God Gave Me You", by Dave Barnes. It now conjures up memories of this summer because I see them playing with the music on the slide show.

New do's and Re-do's

So I have been very productive today. I finally got around to turning my desk around upstairs in our loft. Since it's fairly ugly, I added some fabric to the back, inspired by my aunt. She has actually used the same fabric as "skirts" for chairs and stools but I just love the pop of color it adds to our room. However, for the chair, I did turn it over so as not to be too busy! It was fun turning this ugly, yellow, stuck-in-the-70's chair into something I love! And the reason for turning around the desk is to block off little children from my scissors, glue, and other dangerous crafts, not to mention them getting into my projects!! ;-)

Also, my sister, Jennifer and husband Brad, came up this weekend to stay with us for Noah's 3rd Party. Not to mean him turning 3, but his third actual b-day party!! So, she went to school to be a hair stylist and has cut my hair since the seventh grade, and while I hated what she did that first time (of course she was only in ninth grade!!), she has greatly improved and would do great with a business of her own (hint, hint!). Anyway, long story short (ha, no pun intended) I had grown my hair out for the last 18 months and was ready for a chop!! It took us several hours to get through my mess of hair and to get to the underlying sculpture! It's probably as short as I ever like, but in a few days and with some sticky gel, it's my favorite "do"!!

A Hunger for Learning

Preschoolers and toddlers love to learn and my kids are no exception!! They both crave to know why and how!! And if they aren't given something to stimulate their minds (or at least wear them out physically), they get bored and into trouble. So upon learning that both Hannah and Noah were going to be able to attend preschool, I was very excited!! They were able to meet their teachers in our home before they had an open house and they loved each teacher! They have the best person teaching each, Hannah has a Ms. Sara and Noah a Ms. Sharon. Then for their first week of class, they went for three short days. They are now in full swing and go from 8:00 - 1:30 every day. They have adjusted very well to school and don't cling much when being dropped off in the mornings and usually don't want to come home at the end of the day. They have been doing so well and we are so proud of them!!



"Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they're looking for ideas”. Paula Poundstone

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." Albert Einstein

"Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions." ~Author Unknown

So Noah's latest thing since starting school is "my want to talk with you". He wants to talk about his day or what he wants to do when he's big or imagination of seeing a bear and running, etc. He often tells me he wants to go in a airplane or helicopter and play baseball and football!!

J'ai vu le nouveau La Frazier une expérience

This past week we have once again opened the doors to La Frazier Bed & Breakfast for our birthday guests. We have had both Kim's side and Andy's side come up from Florida. Gramie/Mommy Kunkle (Andy's mom) and Jon (Andy's Bro) flew up on Thursday morning, the kids and I (Kim) picked them up from the airport. We parked and went inside so the kids could see the plane and watch as Gramie and Jon got off the airplane. Noah of course stated he wanted to fly on their plane and he can't wait until he is older because he wants to be a "flyer" (and he is still talking about it)!! Later after we let the jet lagers settle and hopefully rest, we went out to the infamous Watagua and Wilbur Dams. We were able to see how beautiful the Watagua River is with fog gliding across and went up to the lookout point and saw most of Lake Watagua! And of course, we all took lots of pictures and had to put our hands in the water to see how cold!

To be continued.....

Noah Dancing and Singing his Birthday Song

You may hear someone in the background speaking gibberish...That is Jon, Andy's brother, saying "Hap...Hap...hap..." just so excited to sing and waiting for the birthday song to start! And you may see Kayden so excited to blow out the candles and me (Kim) telling her over and over that it's Noah's birthday cupcake!! She was so excited that we had to re-do the candle because she blew out the first one! But don't worry...she and Hannah each received cupcakes as soon as I had a free hand. ;-)

Continued.....

Then my Dad, Kim (his fiance), her daughter Jamie and Kayden Fleming (Brian, my brother's daughter) all drove up and arrived Friday afternoon. After suggesting a few sites to see, we all headed out to Carter County's Blue Hole. We all hiked down the steep stairs (I said it was steep!) and then Andy, Jon, the kids and I swam in the cold waterfall. Of course it was after Andy and Jon were having fun that I jumped in and then after we were sliding down the waterfall would the kids venture in one at a time! My dad and Jamie went to hike the mountain trail, got attacked by horseflies and got back just as it got dark and we had to leave, so there wasn't time to cool off in the falls. And we all had to trek back up those steep stairs! Did I mention how steep they are because they are very awkwardly spaced and about as tall as three or four normal stairs! Seriously! But still my favorite spot!


To Be Continued.....

Continued on to Noah's Birthday Party...

Celebrating Noah's 3rd Birthday....all day!

On Saturday, we headed a over to Chestoa Recreation Park to picnic, swim in the Nolichucky River and hop on the rocks. We almost didn't get to swim because it was sprinkling, but we held out and beat the weather!! The water here was much warmer, but there is quite a current so everyone was on high alert to watch the kids! Yet, they loved swimming. After fighting the current for a while, the kids played in the sand with their digging tools and buckets under the careful & watchful eye of Gramie K and, after Kayden "messed" up her swimsuit (she is still learning to potty train!!), Kim helped too. The rest of us went out to a big rock in the middle of the river and chilled and then swam over to "hop" or climb on the rocks!

That night we had Noah's birthday party in our church's fellowship hall. The kids had a blast playing with a few favors while dinner was cooking: Hamburgers & Hotdogs and chips on the side! {I think I cans vouch for the adults that we enjoyed watching the kids play nearly as much!} After dinner, we sat down to watch as Noah opened his presents...he was so excited for his trucks that make noise (!), I enjoyed the clothes, and all three kids enjoyed playing with the bubbles!! Then after all their fun playing, we sang Noah's birthday song as Noah danced and sang to himself! And we had to re-do singing the birthday song three times...first Kayden blew out the candle (!), so we re-did it and then we realized Kim had missed it. {Hopefully, I will be able to post the video of Noah dancing and singing to his song!}

Sunday my dad had to leave early and then a few hours after church Andy and I headed out to camp for our anniversary. {Soon we'll be posting our anniversary blog, coming to a blog near you} Monday when we got back, we went up to Johnson City to eat at Cracker Barrel and to Jon's favorite spot: Dairy Queen. Then Tuesday the kids started preschool!! {Once again, another blog in the making along with pictures!} After picking them up, we headed to Kohl's for some grand shopping with great deals and steals! And then onto dinner with my Gramie and Papaw, mom and Lester, and Aunt Gail. Unfortunately, two of the adults (me and Andy) got kicked to the children's table...I suppose someone knew we might cause trouble! ;-) Gramie K and Jon had to leave Wednesday afternoon, so after lunch we said our sad goodbyes.

~ We have enjoyed having all of our "Guests" here at La Frazier Bed & Breakfast. There is talk between Andy and I, or rather dreams, of opening a real bed and breakfast in the future on a horse farm. Who knows what can happen when you dream big, I mean, we made it up here to the gorgeous mountains of Tennessee in the Valley Beautiful!! ~

Understanding the Savages

Okay, so my sister Sarah and her husband always have blamed me for their dog being "spastic". Am I, then by transference, a spaz? Well, I have come to the conclusion that I am actually a multitasker who just has several projects going on at once! Today I found a nice dresser for Hannah's bedroom while out at the post office. It is retro blue and, while not a bad color, it is not one of our colors or in our "family palette". And since Gramie/Mommy Kunkle and Jon just left on the plane and since we have been busy lately, I should be napping. Yet once again I am distracted by a project!

However, I already a few projects in the works: 1.) Hannah's dress; 2.) Painting the kitchen, dining room, Hannah's bedroom and Noah's bedroom, along with trim in the said rooms; 3.) curtains to be hemmed and added onto; 4.) other projects that I cannot remember because they have been stop and go!

Therefore, buying a simple item is not so simple for me because it needs to be finished before it can accepted into our home, i.e. holding clothes!!

And while all this is going on this afternoon, I am thinking of things to write on Facebook, blog about here, and what should be being prepared for dinner tonight! Ahh, the life of an "arising artist"!! Ha!

When I find my camera, I will post a few pictures! And if I find it sooner than later, there will be pictures of the blue color, otherwise it will be painted soon! ;-)

God Gave Me You

8 years ago today I hit the jackpot and somehow convinced that beautiful woman pictured on the left to marry that goofball pictured on the right. Even then I knew I was getting from God more than I would have dared to ask for in a wife and future mother. Time has only proven to me that Kim is a gift of amazing grace in my life, second only to my salvation in Jesus Christ.

About this time last year, Kim and I were sitting in a restaurant talking about where life had already taken us and dreaming about what was still ahead. There was no way for us to know we were just a couple months from a complete upheaval of jobs, homes, states, and life in general. With all those changes, this year more than any other in our marriage has tested the limits of our commitment to God and each other.

Having now seemingly come out of the storm, all I can say is there isn't another person on the planet that I'd rather journey through life with than Kim. She is the most joyful, encouraging, supporting, loyal, creative, hillarious, sensitive, beautiful, adventurous, worshipful, faithful, thoughtful, and loving person I know. I have seen in her and learned from her so much more about God and what His love looks like than ever would have been possible without her. She is unique in all creation and I feel so blessed that she is my wife!

I've included a link to a song by Dave Barnes called "God Gave Me You." Kim loves this song and the more I hear it the more I love it because I think of her and what a gift she has been in my life.

Kim, thank you for choosing me 8 years ago and every day since to be your husband and father of our kids. Thank you for unselfishly allowing me to lead our family even when I don't fully understand what we are doing and why. I love you! I'm proud of you! I want to be for you the gift from God you have been for me!

Happy 8 Day!

- Andy

Why me?

   A year ago today, some new friends of ours, the Stampers, got some news that changed their lives forever. Aaron, the son/brother had M5 Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Whatever they had planned for the rest of their day, week, month, year, and life was in that moment suddenly unimportant. About 10 weeks ago, on June 4th, Aaron's life on earth was concluded and his new life began.

   I never met Aaron in person, but I have gotten to know him a little through following his last days on Caring Bridge and talking to some of the people that knew him. He is someone I think I would have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with. This may be hard for people to understand or believe, but I really wish he was here. Aaron indirectly played a significant role in our decision to move to Erwin, TN and he even showed me what could be accomplished in this community by filling the church where I work with people who were touched by his life.

   I am thinking a lot today, and every day, about Aaron, his dad Tim, his mom Sandi, and his sister Andrea. I've been wearing this hard to ignore orange bracelet since his memorial service. My feet still have blisters from the half-marathon I walked at Relay For Life, in memory of Aaron and some other friends and family lost to cancer. I have days like today marked in my calendar. For the last couple of hours I've been sitting in a pew in a dark, empty sanctuary praying, reading, and writing all for someone I never met and a family I am just getting to know.

   Why?

   It's not because I'm some "spiritual giant" or trying to prove something. I think the honest answer lies somewhere in the question that has been at the forefront of my mind lately.

   Why me?

   In a crisis, we ask "Why me?" just to try and make some sense of our world falling apart. I think it would make life less complicated for me to believe that some things just happen and there is no reason for it, but I don't buy that. My natural response to a crisis is to seek out a purpose for it, even though I may never find an answer that satisfies me. My faith in God and his character tells me that the purpose for which God does or allows things to happen that are painful for me is ultimately good. Yet it can still be a struggle to avoid dwelling too long in pity or overcoming the ungodly answers people come up with for why something has happened. Spending too much time on this "Why me?" leads to bitterness and cynicism towards God and others.

   In compassion, we ask "Why me?" from a totally different perspective. When you can get past the idea that the world revolves around you, and actually begin to see and feel the pain of the people around you a new challenge emerges. We have to ask ourselves why do we have it so good when others have it so bad. I've wrestled a lot today with the fact that I get to go home and play with my son. I get to spend time with my brother who is visiting from Florida. When I walk in the door of my home my wife and daughter are not beaten down by grief. I am blessed beyond anything I deserve, while others feel tortured beyond anything they deserve. This is not a bad realization, but if I'm not careful I begin to feel guilt instead of gratitude for God's blessing, and who am I to say that what feels like torture to someone may in fact ultimately become God's blessing for them.

   Today I am asking "Why me?" for a different reason though. I am after God's calling. Clearly I am here at this time in history, in this corner of the world, among this group of people, with my set of circumstances for God's purpose. Not because I think I am so important, but because I can not make any sense of the recent series of events in my life unless someone orchestrated it. Why is it me here instead of one of you? I don't really know. I was happy where I was and thought I was being pretty productive. What exactly am I supposed to do here? I don't have a clue. I've never passed this way before. Will I be successful? Only God can know. All I can say is, "God, here I am. Be glorified in me today."

   Would you take a moment today and consider what God might be calling you to?


In Christ,

Andy

Painting Path Continues

Well, the kitchen cabinets are DONE!! It took all of one day to do the top cabinets. I prepped and painted while the kids were napping and then waited to apply the second coat when they were in bed for the night, after it dried for four hours. Then took another full day yesterday to paint & repaint the bottom and then add the hardware (Andy's job!!). And after two coats of paint and the possible third coat, I decided to distress the wood to help it fit in with the rest of the home. The kitchen needed some character and it was more fun to antique them than to add another coat or two of paint!

So encouraged by my mom & aunt and a comment by local arising artist, "antiquing...brings out character, adds warmth and shows off recessed paneling; also can be used to tie in the new with the old". And I'm an old-fashioned gal and am now in love with my kitchen-to-be!! I can't wait to do this same technique to the trim, windows and door frames and then to finish with the blue paint on the walls. You can see in some of the pictures some blue patches on the wall. Also the first is a picture of the gray color and the second is the first coat of paint

My Painting Jobs...

So on Sunday, I decided to wait to paint until after our family comes up for Noah's birthday. I decided I didn't want to push myself to try and get it all done and get sick because I don't eat or sleep much. However, Monday morning comes and my friends leave and so I think I should nap... twice I tried to nap. That didn't happen because I just kept thinking of ideas for the walls, bathroom mirror, dresses to make for Hannah, ideas for finishing her curtains, etc, etc. So I got up to paint!

Well, when we moved in a little early, it put a halt to some of the paint jobs the church was going to do for us. Which is kinda exciting for me because this means I got to pick out paint colors. While I don't love the task, I love the idea and outcome of painting. To just start from something mediocre or plain and turn it into a reflection of your life is so thrilling to me!

So I gathered ideas from my mom, Gramie, and aunt about what colors should go where, talked over different ideas and came up with the following plan. We are painting the downstairs bathroom, kitchen and dining room my favorite color, blue! It will flow well from the other rooms and we have plenty of decor that coordinates (because we can't just go out and buy new things now can we!!). Also in the kitchen, we are changing the gray cabinets (workshop gray) to a cream color and painting the trim (also gray).

The one finished room is the bathroom since it's the smallest and easiest!



Then upstairs, we are repainting/touching up the trim in all the rooms and painting the kids rooms. Hannah is finally going to get lots of pink! We're putting a soft shade of pink on the walls, a green border with possible cream stenciling, and a green closet. Why the green closet? I don't know, except Hannah has asked for it and it will look tidy and cute so why not! In Noah's room, we are doing a blue (supposedly his favorite color) on the walls that will match his football/baseball/etc quilt and then have some pops of red from the quilt on a shelf and in his curtains. His new "big boy" bed (full size in both kids rooms - great for company!) is black so I'm going to paint his new dresser to match. Of course after we picked out and bought paint, he asks where we're painting yellow! So I'm not sure if that is an actual favorite color or if he has one yet!

We can't wait to see the finished project, but seeing how much there is to do, I am forcing myself not to try and get it done today or tomorrow! So if you come to visit or see things in pictures, know our house is a work in progress! I will be adding a slide-show when more of the rooms are done and hopefully will have enough before pictures for you to see that something was even done to a room! And I am realizing how time consuming painting a small space can be when you need three or more coats of paint to brighten something dark! But I find that I can paint a little with my left hand to get into small areas or give the right side a break!

And speaking of breaks...I am so glad for Andy taking the kids out at times to find new spots to visit or out to play! Like right now they are somewhere Roan Mt and have been gone long enough that I put two coats of paint on almost all the cabinets! Also, we have played hide-n-seek with our kids, so earlier today, I encouraged them to play together! So Hannah sends Noah to count to 20 first (hey, she is big sis!) and he starts counting to 11, and I help with a few and he skips 15, and gets to 19 and thinks he's done! And he is pointing for some reason while counting! Then Hannah comes in to tell me where she hid and speeds through her numbers ready to find Noah or give him a chance and pretend she doesn't see him! Love these moments! Maybe I'll brave the video option and tape some of these precious moments!

A Gentle Disposition

So we had some friends from FL come up to visit us this weekend! Right after the Frazier Trio left, there were about 40 hours of resting, cleaning and cooking done to get ready for the Lindenmuth family. Michelle and Todd are close friends we met at Dade City Christian Church and our kids have literally grown up with their children. They have 3 girls (ages 7 - Abby, 6 - Bella, & 5 - Jules) and a boy (Luke - 2 1/2 yrs) and Hannah and Noah both love all the kids although I'd say Hannah and Jules are the closest and are BFF. Noah's probably too young to say he has a BFF and it seems like boys (in my opinion) don't form the same relationships as girls.


They got in pretty late Friday night due to some "accidents" in the car, lots of stops and being turned around, and some construction thrown in for good measure. So on Saturday we got up and headed over to Watagua and Wilbur Dam to the lookout point and to see the beautiful Lake Watagua. Since it was raining, we picnicked inside the glass building while the kids would go outside to sing in the lite rain. After some playtime, we headed over to the Watagua river to touch the ice cold water, feed a momma and baby duck, and just play by the rocks! Then we headed back down the mountain.


After church on Sunday, (and Sunday naps) we went up to Rock Creek Recreation Park to explore the trail, find the waterfall and swim in the pond. Of course our adventures didn't exactly go as planned! First off, the boys were tired. Very tired!! Luke would not walk, he wanted to be carried and he wanted his mommy and did I say he didn't want to walk. ;-) So he was transferred back and forth until he was finally asleep! And since Luke was carried, Noah decided he didn't want to walk and Andy and I carried him some, but we made him walk as he's probably 8-10lbs heavier! Also on the way up, the girls, namely Hannah, got pretty tired so when we came to the lower falls, we turned around. We hiked about a mile and half to that point and there may have been another mile to the bigger falls, but the adults were also tired from carrying the boys, so we looked at the little falls and headed back down! On the way down, Michelle found a big spider climbing his way up Todd and fortunately whacked it off before it did any damage! The rest of the way was pretty quiet and relaxing with only a couple slips and a few potty breaks. Back at the pond, we got dressed to swim, but being mountain water, only the Lindenmuth girls got in to swim while the adults rested, boys played in the sand and Hannah watched thinking she might join them until we left for home.


Overall it was a fun and adventurous visit and we look forward to our next visit with our friends. We hope to continue to stay in touch and with little vacations like these, we plan to do so!