Are you like me?  Just like to get away sometimes and think?  This has been a busy day for me tracking the progress of the projects I have going on right now.  Talking with Debbie at CRT about my upcoming DVD that will be going out to TV shows around the country, Jared and I have talked and text all day about the artwork for my new CD.  Not to mention several text to Rodney in Huntington about my lost sample DVD.  Actually though, I really enjoy this stuff.  It’s all a part of being an artist.  Being creative and seeing your work finally come together and you eventually will enjoy putting the first one in some ones hand.  Hopefully, the “first” of many!  

Theresa holds the newest member of the family!  Our new great-nephew CARTER was born yesterday.  Erica and Doyle are the proud parents.  Theresa’s brother Tim and sister-in-law Anita are first time grandparents. Carter makes the fifth generation.  

How do you succeed in Life?  One key word is preparation.  I’ve thought about this a lot in the last few days as I “prepare” for my upcoming Elk hunting trip to New Mexico with my friends.  Actually, I am far less prepared this year than I have ever been before.  There are different reasons for this.  The first one is I am just being lazy about it.  Second, I have been pre-occupied.  I have been so busy with recording, traveling, making videos, ect. that I have neglected my preparation for this trip.  Pictured here I am finishing a 4 mile ride on my horse “Tucker.”  If I fail to get an Elk on this trip it will probably be due to my lack of preparation.  It will be my fault.  

Be sure to not fail to “prepare” for eternity.  We can get too busy in everyday life to look ahead and realize we won’t live forever on this earth.  By excepting Jesus as our Savior we can make our preparation to go to Heaven.  When we do this, we have really begun to succeed.

Just as I return from my trip to New Mexico and prepare to start back on the road, my new CD will be ready. I started this album in April and have put a lot of effort in to it.  I am excited about the songs on this CD. Check out my schedule for this fall and come out and hear some of these new songs.  I believe you will be blessed by them.  My new 3 song DVD will also be going out to TV  in late August or September.  It has been a busy summer getting this all done, but I love it.  Delilah has been working hard on getting in touch with all of the TV shows that play Christian music around the country and she is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new DVD to send to them.  Thanks for your hard work Delilah!

Not Again!  I guess so.  Theresa has found her newest friends in the Woodshed today.  Does anyone out there need a good kitten?

Most people sit down and plan their vacation months ahead and go to some place far from home to “Get Away”.  That’s understandable but it isn’t what Theresa and I did this week.  We took a vacation right here at home in northern Ohio.  Pictured here is Theresa riding one of our horses named Tucker.  We have had this horse for four years and it was the first time she road him.  Usually one of my friends like Kevin Washington, Wes Washington, or Larry Liebhart rides Tucker while I ride my black horse Flicka.  We road on this particular day with Theresa’s cousin Nancy.  Had a great ride.  

We also filmed a music video for the song “Long Black Train” while home this weekend.  Would you like to see some video clips from the videos we have done this summer?

Theresa and I travelled to Goodlettsville on Saturday for a photo shoot for my upcoming album with Nashville’s photgrapher Kim Lancaster.  She is great.  I will feature some of her work here in the future.  My new CD is on schedule to be released in September.  Kim has give so many unique shots that now the tough part is to figure out which ones to use on the CD!

You all know by now that Theresa and I had our friends from Ukraine visit us for three weeks.  We had a great time with them.  Part of our trip included the cowboy state of Oklahoma!  We spent two days with our friends Joe and Sandy Nemecek on their J&S Ranch.  What a great time we all had.  Joe, LeAnna, Raven, and I took a horseback ride across the “Fruited Plains”.  This was LeAnna’s first time on a horse and she was pretty nervous but I did manage to catch this picture of her with a “Smile”. LeAnna had many “First time” experiences including, first trip to the U.S.A., first roller coaster ride, first commercial airplane ride, first time to record in Nashville, TN,  first time to go fishing, first ride on a four wheeler, just to name a few.  She emailed us yesterday and said it was the happiest three weeks of her life.  Everyone loved LeAnna.  I’ll tell you more about Roma and Roza in the future!

My wife Theresa celebrates her birthday today.  I won’t tell her age here but I will admit she is quite a bit younger than I am.  Picture is of us last night when I took her out for dinner.  Everyone knows Theresa is a BIG part of my work and ministry.  By the way, how old do you think she is?

At church last Wednesday night, My friend from Ukraine and I are trying to see how far it is from Ohio to Kiev, Ukraine.  It is somewhere around 6,000 miles.  Maybe some of you can tell me how far it actually is.  We are guessing.  Anyway, it is a long way.  I have made this trip two different times to sing there in orphanages and prisons.  Many of you heard Roma play his guitar and sing while here in the states and you will agree that he is a talented guy.  I will miss Roma when they leave tomorrow, but I am thankful for the time we have had together.  I plan to return to Ukraine in 2009.