farewell glasses

This blog is in loving memory of Crystal's glasses. She will wear these beloved glasses for two more days. Monday marks the begining of her new life...without visual aids. A moment of silence for the glasses......

In all seriousness though, please keep her in your prayers. She will have laser eye surger Monday morning. Thanks for the love and support.

stage name

So there has been some confusion surrounding Crystal's name as it appears on The Glory E.P. For those of you who have come to know me as Crystal Kelley there was a time when I was called Crystal Chorlton. For many reasons I have chosen to use my maiden name when doing any music stuff. So now you don't have to be confused because you are in the know, eh? Super!!

The Glory EP...comming soon!

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. -The Westminster Catechism

The Glory e.p. is a celebration of God’s glory and the joy He puts in the hearts of His people. These are simple songs written from the church to her King. We aren’t really a band; we’re just friends who love to make joyful noise. These songs were born out of our church community, Doxology, where we are learning together how to live each day as an expression of praise to God.

We hope this record will be helpful in your journey of joy and we invite you to use the songs in your community’s worship gatherings.

To God be The Glory!

Band-
Casey Hurt: vox/guitar/keys
Chris Cleaver: bass
Crystal Chorlton: vox
Matt Kimmell: drums
Pete Kelley: vox/guitar

Happy Birthday Ruby!!

Today we celebrated the birth of our good friend Ruby.

Good friends and good times! Happy Birthday Ruby!

Birthday girl and her honney!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

We went ahead and started the Christmas season at our house. We have a dear family friend who every year lets us come cut a tree...his treat (Thanks Charlie). We made it a family outing this year: five people, one dog and 6 trees = Christmas.

Joei is super excited to cut her first Christmas tree.

Scotty is the MAN, not only can he set the tree up in the stand straight he also does lights.

Family photo in front of the tree, some more cooperative than others (Joei).

Joei had a stressful time setting up the tree. She is soothing herself here chewing on a dog treat, but she still has those reindeer on her head, she's a trooper.

Muir Woods

While in San Fransisco area we stopped at Muir Woods. This was a nice treat to be outside and away from the business of downtown San Jose.

As you can see I had to be the trouble maker. I found this stump that was completely hollowed out inside. What? someone had to crawl around in the trees.

Go Sharks!!

The last night in San Jose, we had the pleasure of being hosted by one of the owners of the San Jose Sharks. He invited all 16 of us to his box and we watched the game in the most style I will ever have. There was beer, wine, champagne, fancy snack things, dinner, the works. We had a great time.

Here the Sharks are, entering the stadium. They had this cool shark head that they skated through when the entered the arena, kinda hard to see here, but you get the idea.

Crystal's TV show...or wanna be.

The travels with the Latvians have landed us in San Jose. Here we spent a day going through the Kinade factory where they make the prints and canvases and all that jazz. It's actually a pretty cool process, much more work than I expected.

We stumbled across Kinkade's studio where he does his painting shows and what not. This was my first time on a TV set, so I decided to host my own show...or something like that eh?

Seattle...meet the Latvians

This starts the begining of a three week long fundraising effort for BBI. The Latvians that Crystal works with have arrived in Seattle and will tour parts of the US for the next several weeks. Here are some pictures of our time in Seattle for you to enjoy.

The view we enjoyed of Mt. Rainier from the cabin se stayed at on Lake Tapps.

What is Seattle with out some good ol' fish?

Happy Birthday!!

Last weekend we took Crystal's dad to the OSU football game for his birthday. For those of you keeping track, the Beavers lost 27-29. It was still fun though. Here are just a couple of pictures from the game. Enjoy!

Colin Powell wins!

Team: Colin Powell, the boys were victorious again, winning their second game 9-7.

The Ladie Colin Powell's showed their support by sporting t-shirts and supporting their men.

rafting in october...normal

This is the crew that braved the cold of the Santiam River.

Last weekend Scotty and I took a crew from Doxology rafting...this is perfectly normal activity in October. The weather was perfect; it was sunny and semi-warm, we all had a great time.

Dodgeball Schedule, Fall '05

Here is the schedule for the adult city league dodgeball games. All games are at Linus Pauling Middle School (formerly Highland Middle School) which is located on Highland and Circle, next to the Corvallis Aquatic Center. Bring your spirit and cheer on Colin Powell!

WON 9-7 Game #2 Tues. Oct. 25th @ 7 PM
WON 9-5 Game #3 Tues. Nov. 1st @ 9 PM
WON ?-? Game #4 Mon. Nov. 7th @ 8 PM
WON 8-5 Game #5 Tues. Nov. 15th @ 9 PM
LOST 5-9 Game #6 Tues. Nov. 29th @ 7 PM
Forfeited WIN Game #7 Tues. Dec. 6th @ 9 PM
--- Game #8 Mon. Dec. 12th @ 8 PM

Colin Powell and Dodgeball

The boys had their first dodgeball game of the season last night. Their team "Colin Powell" (formerly O'Doyle Rules) was undefeated last season and started this season out strong.

The game started with a tight 1-1 score at the end of the second match. But the boys pulled ahead strong and ended the game with an astounding 13-1 WIN.

We will keep you updated as the season progresses, go Colin Powell!!

Brother cuts the tape in Latvia.

My brother, Brian, has been volunteering in Latvia off and on over the last year and a half. He has been working on the design, construction, and other technical details of the first Christian recording studio in Latvia, AKA Project Nehemiah.

September 24th was the dedication ceremony for the studio. He was honored for his sacrifice and service; and helped cut the tape for the opening of the studio.

Currently he is finishing the final touches on our good friends Metanoia's album, then he will be coming home end of this week. We are all very excited to have him back.
(to read more on Project Nehemiah or Metanoia use links on the side)

a week in the Wallowas

Us the first day of our trip, notice how clean we are...it gets dirty.

We spend this last week backpacking in the Wallowa Mountain range in NE Oregon (think border of WA, OR and ID). We packed in with us all the luxuries: freeze-dried meals, ultra light sleeping pads, 2 man tent, and our own personal security system...Joei. In all seriousness this was a luxury trip, we packed in altogether about 140 pounds worth of gear food and water (this is including Joei's pack as well). These pictures don't do the place justice, but hopefully you will get a feel for the beauty of the Wallowas.

The diversity of this place is outstanding, there are meadows, mountain passes, granite boulder fields, dense forests, rivers, lakes, cliffs...it is called "the Alps" of Oregon.

This is a mountain pass, Carper Pass to be specific. A stunning view of the valley we would camp in that night.

Our home for the week, a luxurious comfy tent...at least it looks that way to Joei.

Mirror Lake with a view of Eagle Cap.

Yes, it really did snow our last day.

the history of the Labor Day...

Many people do not know the history of the "Labor Day". It all started way back in the factory/depression days when work was SO hard to find that you were grateful if you found it...regardless of what it was. So, all the workers worked Labor Day for free as a way to say "thank you" to their employers. Thank goodness that has changed, eh?

For our "thank you" to our employers, we spent the weekend at Smith Rock. This is becoming old hat to us, our default place to play. We of course had a good time and have some fun photos to share of this beautiful place.

View of the canyon from Misery Ridge trail.

Scotty and Joei at the top of Misery Ridge looking into the canyon.

Joei carries her own gear when we hike.

Happy Anniversary!

Last week we celebrated our 2nd anniversary. Can't believe how fast it went. A lot has happened over the last two years. Just for fun...how about a "then" and "now" comparison?

Then: August 16, 2003

Now

Liverpool and the Beatles

Yesterday Jeremy and I headed off to Liverpool to check out the birthplace of the Beatles. We visited the famous "The Beatles Story" museum. Sorry guys, cameras not allowed inside.

Entry to the Beatles Museum.

We also spent a lot of time just walking around and checking out the city. There are a ton of old buildings (as there are in EVERY city in Europe). Just a few pictures for you to enjoy.

Crystal by the Liverpool Military Memorial.

Floral wreaths left at the memorial.

Liverpool is a pretty cool little place, right on the River Mersey, that feeds into the Liverpool Bay. So it has this cool San Francisco feel, but it's much older and not so hilly. It's also not as windy because it's not directly on the bay, but still has the coastal city feel because the river brings the boats in.

A cool water fountain, as Jeremy was taking the picture I was getting sprayed from the fountain, hence the funny look on my face.

Today is my last day in Manchester, I will head home tomorrow (my Tuesday). It's been a great trip and I am glad to have experienced it, and the timing of coming home is great as I am starting to miss my hubby and my family and friends. Peace out guys!

Something to look forward to, getting back to Scotty and our "child" Joei.