Barcelona Spain NCL Gem

My flight arrived safely in Barcelona this morning and I had a pretty easy embarkation process on the ship. Jamie Godfrey took me around some of the market and vendor streets and it was fun to brows around. I found some cool stuff for Sheryl and the girls.

The guy up there is Christopher Columbus!

Some of Gaudi's designs were fascinating. See the one below...

and then totally random people performing on the street doing...who knows what!

Old Port House

The inside of the theater is quite nice

The Gem also has bowling!

looking up...this is the main lobby

The Gem singers and me.

(L-R) Ryan, Tiffany, me, Kwame, Jamie

Barcelona Spain? NCL Gem

Arrington Vineyard

Tonight we went out to Arrington Vineyards with the family, Chris and Gail and their kids, Kevin and Kiki and Jeff and Anna Berry and their kids. It was a perfect night. We enjoyed a picnic on the grass as we listened to a wonderful jazz trio play and watched the sun set with a brilliant display of colors.

Ella wanted me to take her picture inside next to this poster. :)

It was SO HARD not to pick these!!!

Kevin and Kiki

Maddie

Ella Thomas and Ellis Berry

Sheryl and me

Jeff and Ellis Berry

Anna and Parker Berry

Sam and Ellis Berry

Chris and Gail (Sheryl's sister)

Parker Berry cracks me up. He has this "Hulk" act that kills me. He wouldn't do it in its entirety for me tonight but I captured a bit of it here. And...you can see the amazing beauty of Arrington in this short video clip.

Pain Scale...an 8

Some of you know about my back and neck issues I've been dealing with for the last two months. I started really being bothered by it at the end of May when I was on the NCL Majesty. It has been gradually getting worse. Things like being in the studio for three weeks at night didn't help. (if you look at those pics or videos while we were recording, you can tell I was hurting.) While we were on vacation I had some pretty unbearable moments. It's just gotten worse from there.

I've seen a Chiropractor, family doctor, and now also a physical therapist at STAR in Nashville. Honestly, I have been miserable. Yesterday was probably my worst day. I was in tears last night.

I covet your prayers. I'm working hard to get it under control and trying hard not to exacerbate the issue. However, I have a very long flight on Saturday and I am praying it will be ok. I'm flying to get on a ship for a week...in Barcelona. I am excited about being in Spain (I'll also get to see Rome and Malta) but am dreading the flight.

I hate to be a downer, I just haven't even wanted to mention it in blog posts. I am to a point now where I just need it to be different. Have any of you tried acupuncture? I ever thought I'd EVER hear that word cross my lips, but I'm actually considering it.

Ultimately, we know where healing is found. I covet your prayers. Thanks, blog fam.

Without Wax

I've added a new link over there to my friend Pete Wilson's blog. (A different Peter Wilson than the ZOE Petey boy). Pete is doing an amazing work here in Nashville and I am thankful he's here. His recent post about Patriotism in church is something I really resonated with. I've written similar posts here...not extremely popular posts. I encourage you to read his writing. Also, if you tweet, check him out on Twitter. His Twitter handle is "pwilson".

To get to his blog in the future, click the link over to the right. But, for today, I'll make it super easy! :) Click here http://www.withoutwax.tv/

Gary Musick Productions

Our website has been remodeled. Check it out! http://www.garymusick.com

Happy 8th Birthday Maddie!

Happy birthday to my sweet Maddie. Today is her 8th birthday. It's so hard to believe! It seems like just yesterday she looked just like her picture above. She has been such a delight to all of us for 8 years. She is a caring, smart, charming little girl who loves to read and loves to write stories and songs. Everyone told us when we started our family that time flies and to soak in every single moment. They were right. One day they have nursery rhymes playing and the next day they're making up dances to Hannah Montana songs. Sheesh!

My mom took Maddie shopping for her birthday to "Justice". Maddie was so excited about her new clothes.

Maddie and Ella

Maddie and some of her birthday buddies

(Darcy, Sydney, Chesley, and Ella)

Sheryl helps with the birthday craft--ribbon covered flip flops

Maddie models her flip flops

Aunt Kiki gave Maddie a lava lamp! She was SO excited!

Maddie and her best buddy, Sydney. They've been friends since birth and have already informed us that they plan to room together at ACU.

Darcy visits the face painting station

Sam the monster cat!

CAKE!

cheeeeeese

Happy Birthday, dear Maddie!

I love the little girl squeals as they open birthday presents. I know these won't last forever. I love them!

Happy 4th of July!

The last couple of days have been full of family fun. Sheryl's sister and her family are here and our kids LOVE being with their cousins...

One of the highlights of being with Uncle Chris is hearing his bedtime stories. Our kids can't wait for bedtime when Uncle Chris is here.

Tonight we went out to Nolensville for the 4th of July festivities. We ended up getting rained out but had a lot of fun until then. Here's a picture of baby Gracie in a cute outfit that Sheryl gave her today.

Daddy and Sam

a small snippet of story time with Uncle Chris

Sandestin Family Vacation part 2

We are home now but still relishing our days in Sandestin. What a beautiful place! Here are some pictured from the rest of our time there...

Baytowne Wharf

the fam and my mom
Baytowne Wharf

Ella and Sheryl

Kiki, Gracie and Kevin

The kids play at Baytowne Wharf

Maddie took this picture of the ducks outside the condo.

Sam asked Maddie if she was "digging to China". Totally cracked me up!

Dig, Maddie, DIG!

Gracie and Sam

My goofballs

The kids play in the fountains

Thomas Family

Bouncing Ella

Road trip home