See You . . .

. . . at Liberty Day!


Photos courtesty of www.libertyday.net

The Month of Weddings Concluded

My brother Peter captured this image. I thought it encapsulated the joy of the day. (Click on the picture for a full resolution version).

This past week, a few members of the Serven Clan had the privilege of attending another covenant marriage. Justin Turley and Melissa Keen were united as one this past Saturday afternoon. What a beautiful testimony of God's sovereign goodness.

Springtime's a' Comin'

Winter to Spring.


Brown Gold.


Prairie Muffin.


Spreading the wealth.


Agrarian style pogo sticks.


Green stuff.

Details

Interior shot.

Nathan's house is nearing completion. All that is left is to install counter tops, a few more faucets, and the carpet. The finish line is in view!


Front entry.


Ceiling fan.


Classy lights.


Bar counter.


Oven wall in kitchen.


Choosing counter tops.


Details for comfort: fan on the porch to bring a cool breeze inside.

The Gillogley's Wedding

Daniel and Jenny.

What a joy and honor it was to witness the vows and join in the festivities for Daniel and Jenny Gillogley.

Jenny (Keulen) is a long time dear friend and encourager. We met thirteen years ago . . . but were not fast friends at first. We tried--honestly! The Lord had his timing though, and several years later, He grew a beautiful friendship between us girls. : )

Over the years, Jenny and I spent countless hours walking, talking, praying, crying--it is amazing to think that now the Lord has called her to the very thing we desired for her! How wondrous are the providences of our God.

Wedding Preparations Around the House

Keulen Couples on the Fridge: Daniel and Jenny, Bob and Molly, Jon and Aimee.

It was an honor to stay with the Keulen family the week of the wedding. There was much busyness and much joy. Tasks to be accomplished were many. Most centered around the stove, the sewing machine, the iron, and the computer. : )


Celeste, seamstress extraordinaire.


Last minute Costco Run. : )

The Lord gave such precious conversations in the midst of the work. The Keulen family is an absolute delight--we felt so incredibly loved.

Time for Tea

Tea table.


A joyful bride to be.


Dear Julie with her new nephew.

Rehearsal Day

Cherry tree in bloom: God's timing is perfect!

The Ganage family opened up their home and property for the wedding. A California spring was well under way and the Lord supplied beautiful weather.


Making signs.


Gardens growing in sunny California.


Set up.


Johnsons, Keulen, and almost (now) Keulen. : )


Mrs. Ganage and Mrs. Kerr: gracious hostess and wedding coordinator.


Everyone had worked so hard to spruce up the property. It was gorgeous!


Fast friends.


Flowers abounded.


Practicing: Aren't the carvings neat!?


Bridesmaids practice the processional.


A young laddie killing time rolling down the hill.


Make-do train.


Miss Claire and Jenny.

The Wedding Day Arrives

One last photo with Genevieve Keulen. : )


Ruthie with her sweet nephew.


The Bride in white raiment.


I can't believe this day has actually come!


What precious times--happy tears abounded.


Oldest and youngest sisters.


The bride and her maidens.


We've prayed so long for this day. God is good!


The processional: the bridesmaids followed in the spirit of Psalm 45:14.

The ceremony was beautiful. We'll just say, all the bridesmaids, the bride, the groom, the father of the bride and half the congregation were crying. : ) May the Lord be praised.


Priceless look.


The wedding party.


My bouquet.


Beth played the harp beautifully for several parts of the wedding.


Melissa and Celeste, sweet gift attendants.


A joyfilled bridesmaid.


The Kauffman family: Mrs. K. was the pianist for my choir.


Mr. and Mrs. Charles: Mr. C. was our home school music encourager.


The cake: lovingly made by aunts and friends.


Sarah Kate's newest little guy. : )


The Wethers family: Nathan helped teach me to tune pianos.


The get-away car.


Time to go!

Jenny was sweetly bidding goodbye to each of the people who were still around . . . after a while, Daniel decided the time had come to leave. He scooped Jenny up, carried her to the car, and they drove off into the sunset. : )


The end of a beautiful day.

And the maid of honor, Julie, aptly spoke, "Jenny was the bride of my dreams!"*

*Insert background music from "Anne of Avonlea". : )

The Month of Weddings in Progress

Keulen Couples: Bob and Molly, Daniel and Jenny.

As I type this morning, dear friends of ours are preparing to unite in marriage in central Oregon--Bob Keulen and Molly Schultz. Providentially, we are unable to attend their wedding ceremony. We rejoice greatly with them and anticipate the Lord's hand of blessing in their lives.

Speaking of Keulen weddings, I'm finally working on formatting the pictures from Daniel and Jenny's wedding, just 2 weeks ago. That's right folks. The Keulen family had 2 weddings in 2 weeks!! What a joyful and busy time. I'll hope to post those photos over the next couple of days.

Recording: Photo Shoot

Genevan Song, fresh from a recording session.


Our Producer/Photographer Extraordinaire.


Shooting the Shooter.

Recording: Fun with the Psalms

Just getting warmed up (pun intended). : )

After a day of rest on Sunday, our second day of recording had a very different feel. Levity abounded, sometimes to our detriment. Happily though, we were able to pull together and complete the Psalm CD.


Let's get serious now.


Much needed voice break.


Evaluating takes.


The Genevan Song Team.

Recording: At the Studio

Real Time Update: Yesterday, Benjamin and I completed the mixing for the two CDs down in St. Louis.

The production quality is much higher thanks to Alex at Clayton Studios. Our former CDs were done in a jiffy; recorded in our boy's bedroom. Plus we actually practiced for these recordings as adverse to "Hey guys, how about we try this song?", which is the way we ran the projects for Volumes 1 and 2. Thus the tone quality is much cleaner on these newest volumes.

We hope they will be a blessing to families who are learning how to sing. I'm hoping to get the graphic design complete over the next 3 or 4 weeks (several other projects and trips going--busy times).

-Rebecca : )


Through a glass darkly.

After a day of collaboration, we headed down to the city for our first day of recording. Today's focus was the Hymn CD.


Prepping the studio.


Pre-recording warm-up.


"How are we ever going to get all these songs recorded!?"


Mixing board.


All business, no play.


The all important "Talkback" button; necessary for the producer to communicate to artists in the live room.


Chad, tenor.


Nathan, bass.


Beth, alto.


Rebecca, soprano, and official "tell it like it is" person: "Ok guys. Let's try it like this."


"Hey that was a good take. But let's try it just once more to be sure."


The Producer gives the 50 cent tour of the studio to adoring fans.


Watching from the main room.


Observation from the next generation of Genevan Song.

Recording: Friday Practice

We'll be posting on the recording process over the next few days, then stringing them altogether on www.genevanfoundation.com for an "official" report.

Last month, we started working on some new recordings. Our friend, Chad Roach, flew out to join us as we recorded two CDs in a weekend. The first task to accomplish: our brand new line of "learn-how-to-sing-the-Hymns-in-4-part-harmony". Second on the docket was another volume of Psalm CD (Volume 3).


First warm-ups.

Friday was devoted to practicing and pulling everything together. We've sung together on several occasions, plus practiced a bunch in our various locales, but this was the first time to get serious about singing all the same spot.


Down to the business of practicing.

We did take a few breaks from singing, and put the guys to work trimming trees!

Though we don't know who will win the battle, We know Who has won the War

The War is won. The Battles still rage on.

In keeping up with the situation in California, it is good to remember God's sovereignty. He is the King of kings and has all the quandries of our lives well ordered in His plan.

Listen to Kevin Swanson's radio broadcast about the recent worldview battles in California.

If you haven't yet, take time to read Doug Phillip's blog post to get an overview of the proceedings.

Home Schooling Alert

Dobson calls it "an egregious ruling". For those of you who haven't heard, on February 28th the California Appellate Court ruled that "almost all forms of home-schooling in the state of California are in violation of state law". If you wish to show your opposition to this decision (and we hope you do) please go to www.hslda.org and sign the petition there. Members, Non-members, non-voters, and non-homeschoolers are encouraged to sign. Focus on the Family is airing a radio program today with Dr. James Dobson, Carry Gordon Earl, Mike Farris, Roy Hanson, and "Kathleen" who is an anonymous home-schooling mother all of whom will be speaking on this issue. You can find a station airing this program near you here. 

--

Benjamin

Home Again

Serven Sisters at the Gillogley Wedding.

After a beautiful and busy week in California, Beth and I have returned home safe and sound. What an honor it was to witness the vows of Daniel and Jenny Gillogley and spend time with the precious Keulen family. We'll try to post pictures of the wedding as time permits. However, if you are itching to see what we were up to, you can see photos on our friend Celeste's blog. : )

Cousin Jam

California Cousins playing hymns on a Sunday afternoon.