Ugly Christmas Sweater Party!

Last night Jen, my bandmate, Collin and his wife, Jenna, drove in the snow 2 hours to get a our Manager's Christmas party! Nashville drivers...UGH!!! They do NOT know how to drive in snow! The roads were not bad at all but for some reason everyone freaks out! Needless to say, when we got to the party we were ready to be out of the car. It should have taken us 30 min. tops! The party was a lot of fun!! It was an Ugly Xmas sweater party so dressing up for the occasion was quite hilarious! They even had Dirty Santa and I won a baby doll. I named him Jeremy! I'm taking him on the road in a quest to make Jeremy famous so I can auction him off on ebay next year and have the last laugh! Regardless of the traffic, the night was fun. We did miss Chris and his wife, Joy. They were at home in Mobile, AL. :( Maybe next year they'll get to come! Check out these stellar pics... The one of all the guys is Collin, our manager, Gabe, Me, Michael Farren (Pocket Full of Rocks), Jason Roy (Building 429), and our other manager, JT! And isn't Jeremy handsome at the top with me and Jen, Collin, and Jenna?!?!

LAST MINUTE GIFT IDEAS

Looking for a last minute gift idea??? Here is a gift that is funny and won't break the bank! My friend, Jeff Anderson, is the inventor of theCRICKETtoy. Have you ever had an awkward pause in a conversation where you could have sworn you heard crickets chirping? Now you can ACTUALLY hear
crickets chirping. theCRICKETtoy™ is for any awkward pause.

Right now, some awkward situation is probably running through your mind. And if your family is anything like mine, the upcoming holidays should provide countless opportunities for this little green guy to interject a chirp or two. (great stocking stuffer!)

Jeff has several awkward videos posted here and you can buy your own cricket on his website. Matter of fact, it would make the ideal stocking stuffer for the teen in your life. Everyone knows they are full of awkward moments…

And get this...until Christmas theCRICKETtoy is only $5! So what are you waiting for??? Buy one for everyone in your family!!!

Hearts On Fire!!!

Man, did we have an amazing weekend! 33 spent all day in rehearsals this past Friday working hard on our Christmas show which I have to say is going to be awesome! 90% of it has been arranged by our very own Chris Lockwood and he has done a stellar job! After rehearsals we drove to Gatlinburg to get ready to play Hearts On Fire, a very large youth conference. We headlined this event last year and were blown away that they asked us to come back this year as the "surprise" guest! We played on Sat. for 6,000 youth and it was a blast! We saw about 50 kids surrender into full-time ministry that day. God did an awesome work at Hearts On Fire. This is one of our favorite events now and we look forward to going back again one day. We then drove to Chesapeake, VA, to play a show for Faith Alive Church. The worship pastor, Jason, was a friend of Chris' from their days in TRUTH together so it was a reunion of sorts. We had one of our best shows and 15 Food For the Hungry children found sponsors!!! It was an incredible weekend. The drive home was not fun, but getting to be home for 10 days straight is something to be thankful for! What are you thankful for?

Live From Studio B

33Miles had a great weekend! On Friday night we reunited with our good friends at Tabernacle Baptist in Decatur, IL, and had an awesome time! We drove to Chicago afterwards because we had the day off. I love Chicago! I had fun shopping on Michigan Ave., hangin' with the guys, seeing the new Bond movie with our drummer, Adam, and topping off the night with my favorite pizza from Giordano's!!! It was an awesome day. The only way it could've been better would be to have had Jennifer with me! On Sunday we drove to Goshen, IN, for a show there and then to South Bend for radio and TV tapings. Today we were on the WFRN morning show which was a blast as well as Pulse FM! We wrapped up the day with a taping for "Live From Studio B"! We had a great time taping a live set for this show. I will try and find out when it's going to air and on what network. The pic above is the set we played on. I think we may steal it for our set! Whatcha think?

Christmas Already?

To everyone who reads my blog let me please offer up a sincere apology for my lack of posts the past 2 weeks. I have been taking some time off and focusing on my family while I have been home. I've actually been home more this month which hasn't happened in quite some time. 33 has been burning up the roads and it's great but I need my family! They are my main ministry so to not get the time I need with them is painful. Needless to say, the time off has been a huge gift!
It feels weird to see my last post being Halloween pics and now I am posting a Christmas pic. Isn't it cute though??? We are officially decorated for Christmas at the Barton house! Why you ask? Well, we have no family in Nashville. Every year we travel to LA for Christmas. We typically leave right in the middle of December around the 15th because of 33Miles shows. This year we made the decision to decorate early so we could enjoy our home in all of it's Christmas glory for at least a month!!! The pic is the boys decorating their own tree in their playroom! Aren't they precious?? Getting your kids their own tree is something I recommend. We bought this lil 6ft tree at Target after the holidays last Christmas for $5 and all the ornaments are ones that they made or have been in our family for years! It's a great tradition we have added to our home and the boys think it is the coolest thing in the whole world!
Look, I know that Thanksgiving comes first and I will definitely give thanks for all of God's blessings in my life. I'm just going to give thanks listening to Christmas music and watching twinkling lights!!!

Happy Trick-or-Treat Day!!!

Jake decided yesterday that "Happy Halloween" just didn't work for him so he changed it to "Happy Trick-or-Treat Day" and what a happy day it was! Jen took Jake to a costume party/play date with friends while Jonah and I stayed behind and worked out to prep for the candy consumption that would take place later. We all met up for lunch at Mellow Mushroom for pizza and then home for naps (more preparation). I got the yard shaped up and then it was time!!! Woody and Buzz had a BLAST being wheeled around the neighborhood collecting (and consuming) candy!!! Mom and Dad did as well. God bless whoever invented Smarties and the KitKat!!! We also went to a party at our friends the Guice's. We had a great night. The boys were so precious in their costumes and it was fun to watch them trick-or-treat. Jonah really suprised me. He would squeal with excitement and was so polite..."trick-or-treat, please, thank you"! I was so proud of both of them! Jen and I ended our night by staying up late watching The Bodyguard! Sing it with me, "and I...e-I...e-I...will always love you....!"!!!!

Fall Finally

Is it just me or do you think that fall is a little late this year? Normally in Nashville the leaves have all changed by the 3rd week in October but this year they are just beginning to turn and it's the last week. I hope that doesn't mean that we are in for a long winter. Don't get me wrong. I welcome winter, but I don't want it to stay for a long visit! 33Miles was in Stuart, VA, last night playing a youth rally for God's Task Force, a local ministry to teens. We had a great night back after a few days off. The promoter put us up in this cute cabin in the woods, complete with beautiful Fall leaves, wrap around porch, and running stream. It was so peaceful there. The view made me glad that Fall is here...finally!