I spent my entire summer in Dallas and it was one of the best summer breaks I have ever had. It was a time of great emotional trial juxtaposed with times of true joy. It was a time of trying new things whilst enjoying the everyday things that we often take for granted. It was a time for family. While living at home, I did have the urge to write several blog posts, but it didn't feel quite right. I was spending time with the people that normally read my blog anyway!
My summer started with a nice, long drive from Los Angeles to Dallas. My dad flew out on the day of my last exam and we spent two days cleaning and packing. We left early in the morning on Sunday, May 8th, and we arrived late-afternoon the next day. It was a fun drive, but I was glad to be home.
May turned out to be a very eventful month for the McKee family. During my first weeks back, my brother went to Kenya on a two week mission trip and my dad went to Belfast, Northern Ireland for my grandfather's 80th birthday. Upon his return from Belfast, my father found out that he lost his job. This was a huge blow to our family, but we banded together and prepared for what the future may hold. I truly feel that we became closer and more dependent on God during this time (since June, my dad has applied for jobs all over the country and still seeks full-time employment).
June was all about cutting back and enjoying the simple things in life. I spent a lot of time with my family, my church family, Julie, and my closest friends. My brother and I decided to play summer softball with the college guys at our church. It was great to get outside, learn a new sport, and fellowship with some of my oldest friends. Before this summer, I never gave baseball (or softball) a chance, but I grew to appreciate "America's past-time" and I can now say that I enjoy to play this sport.
During this time, Julie and I started working on our Summer bucket list. You can read more about it on her blog: justjuliec.blogspot.com. We had a lot of fun buying lottery tickets, watching fireworks, going to Cars and Coffee (twice!), eating Thai food, making new desserts, and going to NRH2O. There were so many other wonderful things on the list, but the thing that I enjoyed most was sharing my love of running with Julie. She was hesitant going into it, but after a few sessions she is now running on her own! I am so proud of her for trying something that she didn't really want to do and for giving it her best.
On June 24th, my brother turned 20 years old! To celebrate, I made him work for over two hours in the hot sun. Let me explain...
Julie works for the Center for Brain Health in Dallas and they planned a company picnic to take place on June 24th. For this picnic they wanted live music, so I decided to get a small band together. I asked the closest people to me for help... my family! I played guitar and sang lead vocals, my dad played bass and sang both lead and backing vocals, and my brother played drums and sang backing vocals as well. It was really fun to rehearse and prepare the two hour set-list which included selections from: The Beach Boys, The Eagles, Jack Johnson, Oasis, Kings of Leon, Fastball, The Fray, Weezer, Keith Urban, Don McLean, Mumford and Sons, and Lynyrd Skynrd. The only thing missing was my Mum playing keyboards. Next time!July brought forth celebrations of independence and more musical endeavors. Julie and I went with two other couples to see Le Freak at the Glass Cactus. For those of you who don't know, Le Freak is a disco band that play the greatest hits of the disco era. It was a crazy concert experience and we had a really great time watching both the band and the audience in attendance. On the eve of my Mum's birthday, July 6th, the family band played a second gig at my brother's "Thank You" Concert. This concert was our way of thanking the everyone for supporting William on his trip to Kenya. He took the time to share many of the wonderful things that happened on the trip. You can read more about the trip here:
http://www.baylorkenyamusic.org/
July also brought forth the opportunity for me to enter the recording studio with an old friend and band mate. While getting ready for the "Thank You" Concert, I received a call from one of my oldest friends, Adam. He wanted me to go into the studio with him and help him record his debut album. I said that I would love to help without even thinking. Then he told me that the studio was in Denver. This didn't change my answer. Two weeks after the call, we flew to Denver with the hope of completing the album. After two and a half long days in the studio, we finished the recording process for the album. I played electric guitar and some acoustic guitar parts, saxophone, and sang some backing vocals. It was a great experience that is worthy of its own blog post (I will get to work on that soon). You can hear AJ's music and learn more about him here:
http://www.ajadamsmusic.com/AJ_Adams/Home.html
After getting back from four days on the road, the rest of the summer was really a blur. I spent the remaining weeks with loved ones and friends, enjoying the fleeting moments of the season. There were several poker nights (which I hope continue when I come home for winter break). I played a few shows with NOVA during my last weeks (ahh yes, I failed to mention that I had been rehearsing with NOVA once a week since May) and it was awesome to reunite with my Dallas band again.Celebrating our anniversary two weeks early, Julie and I decided to exchange gifts and spend a really nice evening together on Saturday August 14th, knowing that we would have to be apart for our actual anniversary. I bought her a pair of running shorts and a gift card to get a massage at Massage Envy. She bought me a watch from Fossil. It is beautiful. She is too good to me! On Sunday, I played my last gig with NOVA and then ended the evening at BJ's Brewery for a get-together with some close friends. It was awesome and a reminder of how blessed I am to know such wonderful people and to be able to call them my friends. I also really like that this evening saw my friends from college mingle with my friends from high school. Again, this summer was about the simple things.
And that is all. I am sure that I have missed some things, but I always strive to keep my posts brief. However, I feel that I fail miserably at this, fancying myself somewhat of a writer.
I hope that your summer was as blessed and as peaceful as mine was and I really hope that you will take some time today, or this week, to be thankful for all that you have. That is what I feel this summer was for me; a time to be thankful for all that I have been given.
Goodnight.
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