Just Garth and Us...

...and a big bunch of other people.

Including this gang.

In December, we got the chance to do something that I never thought we would.  We got to see Garth Brooks in concert.  The country singer has not toured in over ten years, so I thought that the "seeing Garth Brooks in concert" ship had definitely sailed.  But it had not.  Yay!

To my, and apparently a bazillion other people's delight, he opted to perform NINE shows in Nashville in December to benefit Nashville flood relief.  He was originally only going to perform one show, but the response was so overwhelming that he opened up eight more.  What a guy!  And what a cause! 

That was definitely one of the best concerts I have ever attended!  There wasn't a lot of flash and lights, but there was a whole lot of energy and awesome music from Garth!  Whoa!  During the concert, I discovered why I am unable to remember what I had for lunch yesterday and why I sometimes forget to pack Caleb a snack for school.  Apparently, there is an entire section of my brain that is dedicated to Garth Brooks hits. Stored in that little space must be the entire collection of Garth Brooks songs, because from out of nowhere (well, I guess it was from somewhere, like that little Garth Brooks section of my brain that I didn't know existed until that night), I was singing word for word songs that I had not heard in ten, fifteen, even twenty years. 

Garth definitely rocked and he put on quite a show, but the highlight for me was getting to see my awesome hubby in action.   While I was singing my heart out to Garth tunes, Eric was busy at work, interpreting, so that some deaf fans could enjoy the show, too.  Eric's agency was hired to provide interpreters for three of the shows.  Eric "took one for the team" and gave up a Friday night for "work". I guess being the boss does have its advantages.

I couldn't get any good pictures of Garth, so I settled for getting some good shots of this guy:

 

I know it sounds odd to say you enjoy watching your spouse work.   I mean, how exciting can that be?  Well, with Eric's profession, it really is.  Sign language is a beautiful language and I absolutely love to watch Eric interpret, especially performance interpreting.  He is a person who was truly called to his profession.  I don't know if I have ever seen anyone do their job so naturally.  He is amazing!  Okay, I may be a little biased, but if you ever see him interpret music, you will be blown away.  Eric's gifting is totally God-given.  There is no other explanation.  Even when he was an interpreting student, he was told several times that he signs like someone who has been around the deaf community his entire life.  Well, the truth is, he was almost twenty years old before he was ever exposed to the language and culture.  Eric was an occupational therapy major who took American Sign Language to get a foreign language credit.  He had no idea at that time that he would develop a career helping the deaf communicate. But he fell in love with the language and the culture and the rest is history.  This is so amazing to me and such a testament to the sovereignty of our Lord.  We serve a God who will even use our weakness for his magnificent glory.  Eric is a shining example of just that.  When Eric was a child, he struggled with stuttering and word blocks.  It got so bad that it truly hindered his communication.  He had speech therapy for a number of years and made great strides in that, thanks to a wonderful teacher named Mrs. Ross.  What an amazing God we serve.  One who takes a little boy who struggles to speak and makes his life's work about communicating for those who cannot speak. 

God is good!  God will use whoever He chooses for His glory...no matter how unlikely it may seem!  Praise Him!

We had a great time and my favorite song to watch was "Thunder Rolls."  Eric nailed it!  Well, Garth did, too, of course.

And Eric was excited to get to interpret one of his favorite Garth Brooks' songs, "Two Pina Coladas."

Eric did have a great team interpreter, too.  Scott rocked some Garth Brooks, too.

What a fun night!!