Gina Boe

Since I got a friendly "blog-slapping" from Bill F. today, I thought I'd better show up here.  I'm a little surprised myself that I haven't blogged over the past week, but I've had my reasons.    So, time for a recap...

The Dove Awards - Wow.  So real people actually win those things.  It was such a great trip all the way around.  I'm so glad Perry, Hunter and Hannah were there to share the moment.  While we all know "it's not about winning", I was thrilled that we won for so many people who had ownership of this musical.  The writers, our families, the kids from my church who originally performed it, my church staff who has been so encouraging of my writing, and a lot of other people who contributed in one way or another.  It was really cool to share the joy with them.  There were some really cute moments over the past week.  The newspaper that covers all the little towns where I live sent flowers.  The bank branch I frequent sent a congratulatory note.  Little kids from church came up and said "WE won!"  I now own enough Dove chocolate to get me through the summer months.  I just feel very blessed. 

Houston's take on the Dove - When I got home from Nashville I went to pick up the boys at my friend Lori's house.  As the three of us drove out to my mom's to pick up our dog, this was our conversation:

Houston - "So, we won Mom?"
Me - "Yep."
Houston - "What did we win?"
Me - "The Dove Award for Praise Rocks."
Houston - "Who was on the other team?"
Me - "Well, I guess the people who wrote the other musicals."
Houston - "How did we win?"
Harrison - "You see, Houston, Mom's team 'verses' the other teams and then the people that they 'verse' vote.  Right Mom?" 
Me - "Uh, huh.  So, how was your time with your friends?"

In other news - For reasons I'd rather not go into here, this will be the final entry on this blog site.  I will leave this site up for awhile, but will be creating a new site very soon.  For those of you who wish to put my new link on your page, please e-mail me privately and I will get the new info to you.  I won't be long.  Stay tuned...

We're headed to Nashville today for GMA week.  It's a quick trip; in late tonight and back Thursday afternoon.  Basically we're going to attend the Dove Awards, but we'll do a little sightseeing too.   A kids musical I co-wrote, "Praise Rocks,"  is nominated this year.  I've learned a lot from Dave Clark over the years and one of those things is "Celebrate everything because you never know if it will happen again."  So, we're celebrating!  We're taking the older two and I'm so excited to experience this with them.

I can honestly say that the coolest thing about this nomination is the journey this musical took to get here.  It was originally written for the Children's Ministry in my church.  I have a real passion to see kids used their creative gifts for the glory of God and this was simply a tool to get them involved and reach out to their community.  They performed it three times.  Once at church, once at a camp for abused kids, and once at a nursing home.  I was so proud of the hard work they put into it and their genuine ministry each time they performed it.

Over time, the musical found its way to Brentwood Benson and they decided to publish it.  And now we're headed to the Dove Awards.  It just feels like a great example of doing your thing for the right reasons and letting God do whatever He chooses to do with it. 

Yesterday, we headed to the soccer fields for the first game of the spring season.  Our three oldest kids have all tried soccer at some point.  Hunter and Hannah lasted  a couple of seasons and now Harrison is in season two so we'll see how long this lasts.  Whenever we start a new sport season I make sure to let my mom and sister know when and where the games are so they can come and watch.  At some point in my thought process, I start wondering if Mom will be able to get Dad to the game. 

Will he be able to make the long walk to the field?  Will he be wearing his Pioneer Seeds cap and will he have his teeth in?  Will he crack the same jokes he's been cracking since I was Harrison's age?  Will he holler during the game with his hands cupped around his mouth so that everyone in the county will hear his ongoing commentary and occasional encouragement?  Will he scoop up Houston into his lap, placing him on his good knee (whichever one isn't swollen to the size of a cantaloupe that day) and start singing "Old Shep" or "It's a Grand Old Flag?"  Will he limp back to his car after the game stopping half way to catch his breath? Then, in a moment of clarity, I remember he's been gone for over two years now.  And I miss him. 

The last 20 years of his life were agony on so many levels.  And although the hard times far outweighed the easy ones, it really doesn't take much for me to get to a place where I remember him fondly and smile.  He was a good dad.

Okay, all you bloggers who give me something to look forward to every day, get busy! Don't you know I need your words of wisdom, wit and wackiness to get me through the day? Don't you know I've once again cut back on my coffee intake and thus need another stimulant to wake me up every morning? I need, I need! Bill F., you're exempt from this rampage. Keep up the good work. One more thing - you be quiet Lisa!

I'm with Sue. I've never liked St. Patrick's Day. I think I was one of those kids who forgot to wear green and got pinched all day long. I hate being pinched.