62 Months and a Concert!

Before I tell you all about the concert in photo form, you have the chance to hear about it in story form! (Don't miss Ryan's impression of Sandi Patty!)

Listen here

Last Friday was our 62nd monthiversary!! And my goodness. Did we ever have a fun (and unexpected) time! We actually did have plans for the evening several weeks in advance. Our monthiversary happened to fall on the first Friday of the month, and Kokomo has First Friday celebrations every single month! This month's theme was fire and ice: a chili cook off and ice sculpting. We figured we would be in for a cold night, but we thought it would be fun to go, walk around downtown, sample some chili, watch the ice sculpting, and do something different!

And then...plot twist!

One of the couples in our small group had mentioned in passing during small group last week that they had tickets to go see David Phelps in concert this past Friday night. I may have made an idiot of myself exclaiming how much of a David fan I am...you know...maybe. Well, it turned out that the couple ended up being unable to go because of illness (boo!!!) and they couldn't think of anyone who would enjoy the tickets more than we would. (I can't imagine why!) So they gifted us the tickets! 

Ryan is so gracious to embrace my love of southern gospel, even though it's not his first love, and he didn't give me too hard of a time over the change in plans. 

(Bonus! We actually got to have lunch together on our monthiversary too, because his work had a carry-in and I joined them!)

So after work, we took our quick OFFICIAL monthivesary photo:

And then we hopped in the car to scurry to the concert. It was about an hour and twenty minutes of a drive for us to get to the church, and we wanted to stop for a snack on the way, because you know how quickly I unravel when I get hungry. HA! We stopped at a Wendy's, where Ryan got his chili. I apologized later for not pulling some ice out of my cup to sculpt for him. :) 

The concert was at a pretty big church over in Anderson, Indiana. We have driven by it many times (it sits right beside the interstate) but neither of us had ever been inside. The seats were general admission, and we were able to sit about halfway back. I couldn't get the best pictures all night because the floor wasn't sloped very much, and the heads of the people in front of me kept showing up in my pictures. :) But that's okay. We still made memories!

(You can't see it in the above photo, but just over Ryan's shoulder, on the other side of the doors at the back, there was a staircase that led up to the sound booth. Partway through the concert, I looked back, because the stage lighting was shining brightly against the back wall. There were two policemen standing on the stairs with these blinding lights glaring at them. I felt like we were in that last scene of the Sound of Music! Ha!)

The concert was amazing. David was there, of course, since it was his concert, and he had his band with him, including his daughter, Maggie Beth, and the amazing Charlotte Ritchie. I've decided Charlotte must live on the road permanently because she's at every concert I ever attend. He was also with a newly formed group: Cana's Voice. I knew all three of the members of this group from previous groups they'd been in, but their blend was excellent. I enjoyed them!

Here are a few pictures I did get during the concert. The lighting wasn't great for photos, so I apologize for that!

The heads and the concert. LOL!

 Jody McBrayer. He used to sing in the group Avalon, which is how I knew who he was. Now he's part of Cana's Voice.

 TaRanda Greene. MAN. She can sing. Unbelievable pipes.

 David!!!! I sang along with every song. Quietly. I think.

 David with Jack Daniels (the person, not the drink). And Charlotte Ritchie. HOW MUCH do I wish I could pull off that shade of red hair?

 David and his daughter, Maggie Beth. She has a beautiful voice too. (It's probably a Phelps genetic requirement.)

 David again. I forget the guitar player's name. Bad Bekah!

 I always have to get one of him going for the note!

 Doug Anderson, on the left, is the third member of Cana's Voice, along with Jody and TaRanda. And he's from right here in Indiana!

It was a long concert. I love that. Those southern gospel folks know how to give you your money's worth! (Or in our case, our friends' money's worth.)

After we left, we went to Steak n Shake for coffee and milkshakes. They were a bit understaffed, so it took a little longer than planned, but oh my goodness. Worth every moment of the wait. 

Our second cup of coffee got us home - about 12:30. Poor Ryan had to work on Saturday, but he powered through!

Happy monthiversary to us! :)