Last night Annette and I got to attend a concert at Cox Pavilion of the group that Annette sang with for many years, the Heritage Singers (www.heritagesingers.com). They were great. Most all of the singers at the concert last night were friends that Annette sang while in the group, so it was a real blessing, and a lot of fun. My biggest disappointment was that they were unable to be with us here at Green Valley on Sunday morning.
Val Mace is one of Annette's dear friends, and one of my favorite singers ever. Connor quickly fell in love with Val during the hour we visited with them at the Doubletree Hotel!

Rob Burkey and his wife Kerry are dear friends of Annette's. Rob is a Worship Pastor in Northern California, and an incredible soloist. I would love to get Rob to come by himself and lead worship at Green Valley sometime!


(Left to right:) Heritage Singers founder and friend Max Mace, Caleb, Annette, Rob, Val, Connor, and Tim Clahoun. Okay, one more- Tim is also an incredible soloist, and I would love for him to come and minister at Green Valley sometime soon as well!

One of the things I've started doing since Annette began singing with the Wayne Newton Show is to google blogs, in the outside chance someone commented on a show she performed in. Here's an interesting one...

A very talented artist from Canada attended Wayne Newton's show last Thursday, and gave her bloggers-eye-view of the show. What was pretty cool is that since she couldn't take a camera into the show, she brought a sketch pad, and made a series of sketches throughout the show. The sketch above is one she made of Annette while she was singing her solo. The others are of, of course, Wayne Newton.

Here's her blog address: http://plasticmasters.blogspot.com/2008/03/i-saw-wayne-newton-at-casino-rama-on.html

I found this on YouTube recently, and it just knocked me out. The idea and the editing are both superb. Enjoy!

Today, my mom, Geraldine Peterson (see here last year with Caleb, top, and Chloe) turned 80 years old. Mom lives in Yuma, Arizona, with her husband, Robert Peterson. She's celebrating low-key today, but she's gearing up for her big 80th party we're having in two weeks in Yuma. All of my family will be there, and I am looking forward to seeing everybody- especially my little sister Lisa, who hasn't seen Caleb or Chloe yet. Chloe is named Chloe Violet after Lisa, who is Lisa Violet. Happy birthday, mom- I love you!

I finally got my first real TV commercial. Hope you like it!

Okay, it's not real, but hopefully, it made Annette laugh. She is in Ontario, Canada, singing in the Wayne Newton Show. Just to update you, Annette is on the road this week for three dates- two in Canada, and one in upstate New York. It's the longest road trip she'll have to take, and the big deal is that she'll miss Easter at church. I always have her sing, and she will definitely be missed by many at the church. She will be back on Sunday afternoon, so our family can spend time together then. She is rehearsing a duet with Wayne, the Everly Brothers song "Let it Be Me", and looking forward to singing it. Although she's a little homesick, she is having a wonderful time.

Annette had a pretty lifestyle-altering change this week. In the span of a week, she went from stay-at-home mom to a background singer/ soloist for the Wayne Newton Show. Really! One of our dear friends is Marc Atkinson, Musical Director for the Wayne Newton show, and one of Annette's biggest fans. He has been talking about this for a couple of years, but this week it came about. Last night Annette sang in her first concert, in Pendleton, Oregon, at a sold-out show, and had a featured solo. She sang Martina McBride's "Valentine," and had a very good reception. Word from Marc was that Wayne was very pleased, and so Annette is looking forward to the next concert in Florida, this Sunday, although being away from the kids is still really hard. I'll keep you posted on what's going on. Only is Vegas!