If you are in doubt whether or not summer has officially arrived, you should visit the South. Temperatures are already sweltering, and the air conditioners are humming. I’ve been contemplating the next few months and have realized that youth camps are in view, choir tour is around the bend, and a trip to San Antonio is just ahead. I might even squeeze in another visit to Nashville. The summer will end with a trip to New York City just on the brink of my first semester at ULM. What happened to the lazy days of summer? Yep…good ole summertime is here!
Read Complete Story »
The pics say it all!
Here’s a clip of Hayley LIVE on the radio!
hayley-on-the-air
In a few weeks, I will return to a routine as I step onto the campus of ULM. Great news about campus life is that I have been accepted to serve…
In a few weeks, I will return to a routine as I step onto the campus of ULM. Great news about campus life is that I have been accepted to serve on the campus activities board (CAB) and will be a ULM Scout! And to top everything, I will be working for the athletic foundation. Things are definitely falling into place for my first semester as a ULM WaRhAwK!
Here are some pics from iLife - 2010 Louisiana District Youth Camp!
It feels a bit weird not to have reached into my suitcase this morning to find something to wear. After about three months of traveling, I am back home for a few days. Maggie (my sister’s schnoodle-that’s part poodle and part schnauzer) and I have reconnected. I have actually viewed facebook from my laptop instead of my phone. I made a batch of brownies at midnight. I slept till 11 today. Outside, nothing much has changed…good ole Louisiana heat and humidity coupled with a shower of rain. Yes indeed, it’s great to be back home…but not for long…I’m dreaming of Gatlinburg 
with a stopover in Franklin to eat at Dotson’s!
Tour 2010 is winding down. We had a fabulous time in Saraland, AL tonight! Tomorrow….back in Louisiana…bittersweet Stay tuned for pics to be posted soon! Love to all…
Dropping a note to let all of you know that we sang twice today in Miami. We will have the next couple of days off while we visit South Beach and then Orlando. My voice can use the rest
Disney World…..here we come!!!!
Hey everyone! Just want to let you all know that the past couple of nights have been incredible! We have been drenched by the outpouring of God’s Spirit. Today we are in Miami and are taking the day off. Tomorrow, we will be in Fort Lauderdale singing our guts out Dear Florida, we are having a BLAST!
A few days ago, while I was in San Antonio, I needed to access the internet, and so I inserted the wireless card into my laptop and waited. Then I clicked connect and noticed that I could, at any time click abort and end the mission. But since time was of the essence, I decided to stay on task. Once connected, I then realized that I could click disconnect whenever I wanted. The wireless world where, with just one slight motion, I control whether to connect, abort, or disconnect. The thought struck me that, no matter where we are in life, we have a wireless access to God through the Holy Ghost. It’s up to us to stay connected, to abort, or to disconnect. I want my actions, even my smallest actions, to keep me connected to Jesus Christ.
At 4 a.m. on July 15 in Tioga, Louisiana, along with the 2010 Louisiana All State Tour Choir, I will climb aboard a tour bus decked out with all the bells and whistles and head east. We will blast off the tour in Atlanta, Georgia and then travel to Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday. Next, we will be on our way to Miami, and after that, Fort Lauderdale. The Florida tour will then bring us to its center in Orlando, where we will spend a day in Disney World. Clearwater and Saraland will be host for the last two concerts in Florida. We will cap off the tour in Thibadoux, Louisiana on July 23. We are expecting great and mighty worship across this region as we minister in song. If you are in any of these cities, come on out for one of the most rocking choirs on the map!
I am heading home from our annual trip to San Antonio, Texas. We are somewhere north of Austin, Texas. This year we stayed at a different hotel than usual. It was clean. It was spacious. It was “green”…no, not the color green, but eco-friendly. What an experience! Just inside the door of our room was a slot in which we had to insert our key if we wanted the lights on. The sign on the back of the toilet instructed us to flush forward for liquid waste and to flush backward for solid waste.
When we arrived at the hotel at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday and tried to shower, we discovered that the water would not get hot. We called the front desk and were informed that, at that time of the morning, we would have to let the water run for 20 minutes to get hot because it was solar powered. Now, I am not sure this was exactly the case. Whatever the explanation, it seemed ridiculous that we would be conserving electricity while forfeiting the conservation of water. When we quickly pointed this out, we were then told this was, in fact, an issue on which the engineers were working. Lucky for us, however, is that we spent very little time at the hotel.
Church on Sunday morning at Crossing Point, pastored by Brandon Cox, was powerful. Afterwards we had a great lunch with some of our friends that attend this wonderful church.
Sea World consumed two whole days…Shamu, Azul (which replaced Viva), Cannery Capers (the 12:30 show in which the sea lion Seymour decided to have a mind of his own and change everything), Shamu Rocks, and Sea Lions Tonight were quite entertaining.
On day two, since we had the Quick Queue Pass, we were able to ride the Rio Loco, Atlantis, the Steel Eel, and more by automatically going to the front of the line. What was really great was being able to ride consecutively in less time than it would have taken to ride once in the regular line. Nighttime on the Riverwalk was no less than expected. We road the Rio Cruise boat around the city and once again were informed of the many historical details of its architecture. Topped off with dinner and a walk over to the Alamo was the perfect way to end our day.
This morning we loaded the vehicle and headed back downtown to have lunch at The Cove…an eclectic sort of restaurant with food ranging from fish tacos to lamb burgers which have been featured on Food Network. It’s known for its organic flare, sparkling sodas (which are actually very tasty), and the 09er burger. Porches and decks surround the small entrance where we went to place our order at a walk-up counter. We ate in a large room, however, where rows of tables seat a few hundred folks. Although empty today, a stage looked as if it would come alive at any moment with music. We all gradually wandered outside after we ate to enjoy a few rounds of ping pong. They even had a basketball goal for anyone interested. We said our goodbyes to the relatives and headed out of town.
Just north of San Antonio, we decided to exit off the interstate and explore Gruene which was established in the 1800s. A general store, antique shops, grist mill, and Gruene Hall proved to be worth the stop. And the short drive through town surprised us with a view of the Guadalupe River. The Denali was full of gasps and oohs and ahhs as we immediately pulled into a gravel parking lot, flung open the doors and headed toward the bank. It was very clear. We watched a few folks drift through the rapids in small boats. Then we drifted ourselves back to our childhood and began to pick up smooth rocks and skim them across the water. Reluctantly we climbed back into the vehicle and drove farther north to San Marcos where we shopped for a couple of hours.
Our last stop before we get really serious about driving home was at Round Rock Donuts which has been featured on the Travel Channel. One dozen original hot glazed donuts came in a colorful box and put a smile on everyone’s face as we travelled north and then east toward home.
