Ubehebe Crater Revisited

Instead of putting this on the last post I decided to just create a new one (lazy me) :D I found that "finding us" in the picture of us in Ubehebe crater was virtually impossible due to many other tiny dots at the bottom! It is filled with rocks... Perceived as dots from afar (as in the picture). Aren't I great at making games?? I make it so easy for you all! (ode to sarcasm...)  So, here's a slightly zoomed picture with a bit of help ;)

If you haven't read the last post, I'd recommend reading it, as this post will make much more sense. :)

Happy Spring! (A bit late)

Hey all! (or hey ya’ll… depending on what side of America you’re from.)
The first thing we’d like to say, is how incredibly, extraordinarily overdue this post is! We were actually traveling right after the last post and then were so busy in the weeks following! This is not an excuse, of course and I promise you these posts will be more frequent then this one has displayed. Naturally, after traveling you get the sensation of quite a few bricks smashing into you, and all you have the will to do is sit lazily on the sofa recovering from the mere exhaustion. Of course, this is an over-dramatization, but you get the idea! In the following days after our arrival home, we quickly got to work on new songs for a “project”, which I will touch base on later in this post. (Just building the suspense, to keep you interested as you read, so you might just make it to the end, awake!) 

So where did we run away to without even a small post saying “Going on a trip, be back soon!”…? Well let’s just say, we had but a miniscule time of preparation, from the lack of warning of the trip, on our part! I (being CheyLee), got accepted into the ‘Durango Songwriters Expo’ after our Mom received an email regarding it about a week prior. She immediately got in contact with the director, and they said I was welcome to come! So, I went to work preparing 3 of my songs for the expo-- finished them, polished them, recorded rough tracks of them, and put them on a demo. Two days later, we found ourselves in gorgeous Santa Barbara, California (where we stayed at our Uncle’s ranch!) The expo (located almost an hour from the ranch in Buellton) was extraordinary! It was great to be surrounded by fellow songwriters—those who have the same passion we have. It was definitely an educational experience, and I enjoyed learning all about the trade and the business! I was actually the youngest writer in the crowd, being 14. On the last day I was able to meet Christian artist Scott Krippayne, who was very nice and willing to talk with me about songwriting and singing. It was among my favorite moments at the expo.

P.S. Just a few days ago we looked up Scott Krippayne’s song “I’m Not Cool”. I think it is now one of my favorite songs!! I recommend it!
As I mentioned a few sentences back, we stayed at our Uncle and Aunt’s ranch! We took an extra day to spend time with our Uncle and Aunt, before we went home, as the expo consumed the first 3 days of the trip. Our Mama, Tiff, and I all stayed in the Coach out back, under the beautiful canopy of trees (something we don’t see much here in our lil’ Nevada desert!) The horses were to the left of the coach, which made my week even better! That last morning we stayed was so perfect, to me! Waking up on a ranch, surrounded by trees and plants growing freely around us… Tiffany and I were in heaven.  

 Oh, the joy of waking up and silently... carefully slipping out of bed, as to not wake my sister, who is somewhere between “far away in a distant land” and comatose. The chill of the air tickles (okay, let’s be frank… It was biting cold.) my skin as I hurriedly find a jacket and my “fluffy” socks. I slide my feet into my riding boots, saying good morning to my slumber-dazed Mama curled up on the couch, who has clearly not had her morning coffee yet, and open the door only to meet the crisp morning air. A short walk to the outhouse later and I am sitting in the corral with my and Tiff’s favorite horse “Angel”, who presses her neck to me, keeping me warm…  We both watch the ground squirrels bounding around in the foliage, some wrestling, some chasing one another, and some merely lone rangers in search of breakfast.
The air is almost foreign to me… Being only a few miles from the ocean, it feels moist and almost mysterious— it’s the sensation of fog, being in a cloud perhaps. The air is light, yet heavy, filled with tears of bliss I can tangibly see floating through the air, finding their way to leave tender kisses on my bare hands, the only skin my jacket—and “my” horse— doesn’t cover. (– that’s something I scribbled down that day, to relieve my thoughts from staying trapped in my mind.)
Mornings were in another world entirely for those few days, and although that is but another typical morning for those who live there, it was new and awe-inspiring to me... It was as if God had painted that moment in vivid colors, just for me to take in the emotion of the final artwork. Ode to the wonderful, God-given things in life, like the simplicity of the morning air as it fills your nose with the sweet scent of dew, the birds singing their song, whilst you feel the warm breath of a horse on your neck, as she gently nuzzles your cheek. God’s creation never ceases to amaze Tiffany and I.

Psalm 19:1 (NIV) The heavens declare the glory of God;
The skies proclaim the work of his hands.
That was probably the biggest “side-bar” you will ever have read, but the writer within gets the better of me sometimes (okay, so most of the time!)  ;) Back to our current reality, that I have just so kindly disturbed with my book there…

We returned home the next day, only to leave again on that Thursday to go camping in Death Valley in the 5^th wheel. It was our first trip as the entire family since we went camping in California 2 years ago. We even took Milly (our dog)!  It was a lot of fun, all of us together, hiking and just having a good time. Due to my sciatica down my leg, hiking was limited substantially, but I did accomplish something I never thought I could or would do. After viewing a few things like Scotty’s castle and some natural desert springs, we found our way to Ubehebe crater (try saying that 5 times fast), an immense hole created by a volcano. Tiffany and Daddy were amazed, excited, thrilled and walked to the edge immediately— peering into the huge, almost canyon-like chasm, that I was almost certain would cause me a heart-attack. I have never had a fear of heights, but the sight of that brought on some major paranoia. They then spotted a very steep trail— you guessed it— winding down into the crater… all… the way… to the bottom…
I was very reluctant,  then, for some crazy, insane reason I decided that I was tough, could handle the steep path with my leg, told myself fear is nothing, and trudged to the edge… All four of us (excluding Mama, including Milly as #4) climbed into that crater and it was breathtaking! (From both exertion and how amazing the experience was.) When we reached the bottom, the silence was almost loud. The wind you felt standing on the edge was gone and it was completely still…
The climb back up was endless, but we were glad we did it.

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

We are all home now, and this past month (or 2), we have been busy at work on school and our music. We decided to let you in on a secret, just to those of you who read our blog. Tiffany and I are currently working on our new CD, consisting of old hymns that we want to bring back in a new light and perspective. Shortly after I finish this post, we will begin learning another hymn and begin creating something new with the original. We are beyond excited about this project and have been enjoying ourselves in the process.
Also, Happy Resurrection Day to everyone! God has blessed us tremendously… He was willing to give his own Son, so we could have everlasting life. Take a moment to remember what he did on that cross for our sins. One of the most popular and powerful verses is

 John 3:16 (NIV) For God so loved the world, he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Like I said earlier, I will keep the blog posts coming frequently! Keep checking in! I will also let everyone know when a new one is up on our Facebook page!

Well, thank you for reading another post! Questions or comments can be written below, or in an email to cheyleeandtiffany@cheyleeandtiffany.com
If you’d like to talk to one of us, we’d be glad to answer any questions!  If you have a prayer request, we’d be MORE than happy to pray for you and with you, if you’d like. Don’t hesitate to contact us!
You can also write us individually with the following emails, which we check on a daily basis. cheylee@cheyleeandtiffany.com
tiffany@cheyleeandtiffany.com

God bless your week!! Hope to hear from you all! Keep an eye out for our next posts! (which won’t keep you from your day as long as this unexpected special travel edition did…)
Pictures (of course!) are below and we will begin posting some videos soon!!





Car Rides! Oh, the joy.

Me (CheyLee) at the songwriter's expo with my guitar!



Tiffany enjoying a quiet morning with the piano at the songwriter's expo.

 


I don't think anyone understands the impact of this picture. IT'S RAIN! Water falling from the sky!! We live in a desert. Rain is something of utmost awesomeness to us. It's the epitome of wonderful. The perfection of amazing. I think you get the idea ;) I took this picture of the windshield as we drove to the Ranch.



Me, Angel, and Tiffany

 

Angel: One of the most beautiful, sweetest creatures alive.



 




Me and Tiff in (as the sign reads) the Danish Village of Solvang!! If you're ever there,
Go to the bakeries ;) Yummeh. That's all I have to say.



Cream puff in Solvang. Anyone else notice Tiffany's face of
"Don't you dare get that close to my cream puff!"



Yes, we went into a kid's clothing store in Solvang and I found the pajamas of my dreams! I love my moose ♥



Milly ready to go on her first camping trip! To make it clear, my Dad drove! :)



Tiffany and I in front of a tree. Just in case you didn't already figure that out ;D



Milly, Daddy, Me and Tiffany at a pond near Death Valley.
Where Milly attempted multiple times to go for a swim! :)

See that big hole to the left of the picture? Yep. We climbed into that! :D



There we go.... Sliding down :)



Can you find us? Tiffany and our Daddy are in the red all the way at the bottom, while Milly and I are climbing back up. We're just tiny little dots!!

 

Easter Morning, before leaving to church! :)

Easter picture. Thanks for reading our blog! :D

Our First Blog!

Hello fellow people of the internet,

If you haven’t already noticed, we just made our first blog, making this none other, than the first post! I think this calls for a yay! Tiffany and I have been itching to make a blog to keep you all updated on what we’ve been doing as of late. Since I (I being CheyLee) always have the impervious need (and want) to write, and we both enjoy doing something fun together, we have teamed up to bring this blog to the world wide web! (try saying that 5 times fast)

I find first posts the most difficult, as you have to cover all the first post necessities. At least a paragraph of introductory sentences, describing ourselves, explaining our music… But we decided, we aren’t going to go through the heaps of awkward sentences, in an attempt to cover every key detail about us in the first post. Instead, we will let this blog tell you about us, much like a book would tell you it‘s tale as you progress through it. As you turn every new page of our story, our daily life and personalities will unfold to you.

To save you from the bore of reading about jumping right in to the blog, to set aside any unnecessary and awkward introduction, why don’t we just go ahead and take the plunge into our recent events, instead of formulating an introduction about… well… not doing an introduction…

We have now entered the month of February, the month where a groundhog makes the decision of having an elongated winter or a spring come early, also the month of hearts, love, and other mushy-gushy things, as well as being the month that finally settles us into this new year. Tiffany and I have begun to learn a few new songs and have been working hard on our guitar, piano, and school studies. I was blessed with a guitar, this Christmas, and needless to say, my fingers might just have permanent string indents in them. Then, for Tiffany’s sweet 16th birthday, she received a guitar, as well, and in my opinion, is doing amazingly (although I might be bias.)

As you have just read, Tiffany did in fact turn 16 on the 26^th of January! Where has time escaped to?
Her and our dear friend Emily (adopted sister would actually be the more appropriate term) had a joint birthday party, as their birthday’s are only 17 days apart. They chose the theme “Star Wars”, due to their limitless love for the (I must admit) timeless movies. They dressed up in full Jedi costume-- light sabers and all! It was nothing less than a great and epic time, filled with a lot of “punny” food from HanBurgers, C3beanO Salad and Jar Jar beans! Aside from the exciting party, it was also a time to reflect on all the God given blessings of another year of life on this earth. She says, “I am so thankful for the blessings God has given me. I have a wonderful family and another opportunity-filled year to spread his message.”
Well my beautiful sister, I love you very much, and I am so happy God blessed me with such an amazing older sibling.

"I always thank God for you
because of His grace
given you in Christ Jesus."
(1 Corinthians 1:4, NIV)

"For we are God's masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things
He planned for us long ago."
(Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

We also want to thank the Lord for bringing us together with a wonderful Christian family, who we have become good friends with over the past few weeks. They are awesome people, who we hope to get to know even more. God keeps blessing us in so many ways and thank you does not say enough for all he has done in our lives.

Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:20, NIV)

I’m afraid we have reached the ending of our first blog post. Of course, there is much to come! We’ll keep you updated on our recent shows and concerts and what’s new! Feel free to ask questions and comment. Check back soon! God Bless ♥
                                                  -- CheyLee and Tiffany

P.S. What’s a blog without pictures? Below are some pictures from Christmas and the delightful month of January, to occupy a few more seconds of your day.



The cheerful homecoming of CheyLee's guitar!

The guitar is not named as of yet, but will be named soon, once I get to know it a bit more ;)


Before show preperations... As you can see,
we are very serious about our pre-show ritiuals.

Sound check at a Christmas Performance and apparently some deep thinking by Tiffany, there.



CheyLee Singing "Mary Did You Know" at a Christmas Performance.



Hiking up in the desert, early January
and Tiff and I having fun on some gorgeous rocks and mountains!

  For those of you who do not understand the content of this picture, I (I being CheyLee) started saying 'wash a cow' one day and have said it ever since on any occasion, really. It has become my tag line. Washing a cow is now one of my biggest dreams in life. So pictured here, is me washing a giant cow. Unfornuately, I left my bucket and sponge at home that day, so I made due with a jacket. Yes, I was ecstatic.

 Here is Tiffany and I eating one of the most delicious cakes we've tasted in our lifetime. Thank you G-Pa for taking us out to lunch for Tiffany's birthday! If anybody would like to take us with them to their birthday lunch, we'd be more than happy to join them! 

 

                                                                                        

                                                     

  And what would be a blog co-written by CheyLee, without a picture of her horse? Kojack ♥ ♥