Sundays

Here's a little glimpse into a typical Sunday.

There are a few toddlers at church, but Daphné is the only girl. 
She has completely stolen the show.

Here she is surrounded by a bunch of young boys.... they love her.  They were even singing little nursery rhyme songs to get Daphné to dance and giggle.  It was so cute. 

[Thanks Pierre for these photos.]

There was Jake, Esteban, Colin, Gaspard, Marius and Benjamin.

And they stayed for a long time... Daphné was in heaven.

Then she found this beauty, and we conveniently left it at church.  HA!

She did pretty well without much explanation.

Sitting on Papa's guitar.

Papi often pushes her around on this.

Love Linz

Christmas music 2015

It's about time for my 3rd annual Christmas music recommendations!  For some of you, I know you would have probably appreciated to get this in October =).  Just bookmark it for next year!

See my list from 2013 and from 2014.

And this year, I'm absolutely loving Spotify's Holiday Playlists.  I've imbedded 3 lists for you to listen to right here on the blog! (thanks to my talented husband who knows all about geeky computer fanciness)  Happy listening!  You'll need to have Spotify already on your computer.  Get it HERE.

1) Pop Christmas (I like to dance with Daphné in our living room while listening)...

2) Folksy Christmas (you'll either love it or not at all)...

3) and Christmas is Coming (a fun, wide variety of popular tunes)...

I think my all-time favorite Christmas album will always be A Charlie Brown Christmas
Happy listening!

Love Linz

Christmas Music

Last year around this time, I blogged about some Christmas tunes.

Well, I'm still listening to ALL of those, and I've added a few more albums.

See last year's list HERE!

And for this year (in alphabetical order)... 

:: LISTEN NOW ::  :: BUY ::

Diana Krall Christmas Songs.

She is such a classic jazz singer with a soothing voice and great style.

:: LISTEN NOW :: to 3 songs  :: BUY :: 

Hillsong We Have a Savior.

I really enjoy the different Christmas medleys.

:: LISTEN NOW ::  :: BUY ::

Lincoln Brewster Joy to the World.

This is a good one to clean the house to, upbeat and fun.

:: BUY ::

Matthew West The Heart of Christmas

I really enjoy the lyrics of Day After Christmas... so true.

:: LISTEN NOW ::  :: BUY :: 

The Nutcracker.

I've seen this ballet several times, and the music is still just as magical.

:: LISTEN NOW ::  :: BUY ::

Phil Wickham Songs for Christmas.

I've always enjoyed his worship albums, and I can't believe I only just found out he had a Christmas album... better 4 years late than never =)

 :: LISTEN NOW ::  :: BUY :: 

Plus One Christmas.

This CD actually goes way back to university.  My sister and I used to listen to it all the time together.  Classic Christian boy band material, don't expect anything more.  For me, it's nostalgic.

 

:: BUY ::
Toby Mac Christmas in Diversecity.

Definitely not your traditional Christmas album, but really fun to listen to.  Just skip track 12, Santa's Comin' Baka'round - I found it annoying.

Happy Listening.

And don't forget last year's list HERE.

Love Linz

Amy T : This Joy

I love using this blog as a platform to support my friends.  This girl is gifted.  I bought her CD the day it released on iTunes this week, and I've been listening ever since.  What an anointed compilation of songs.

BUY IT HERE !

Amy is the sister of Tonio's good buddy in Seattle.  I'm blessed to know these guys.  Marriage is cool - you get more family and more friends =).

I think my favorite song right now is Patiently Wait, but they are all good and super fun.  Oh, and Barnabas is the name of her husband's group.  What a cute and talented couple !

So, go preview the songs HERE if you're curious.  It's only $7.99 to buy the whole CD.  Sweet deal.  I hope these songs encourage you to trust God deeper and live life more abundantly !

Amy, thanks for sharing your God-given gift with all of us !

Love Linz

the wedding

Félicitations Thomas et Maëva !!!

 set-up

 before

 programs

 the church

 ready to sing

we were honored and blessed to help with the music for their ceremony

singing in a catholic church sounds so angelic - i love the acoustics

 candle lighting

 Allume le feu qui ne s'éteint jamais...

 the beautiful newlyweds

 so happy for these guys

 view from our chateau (castle) room

pinterest, eat your heart out... well done with the decorations Maëva !!!  i think these rocks came from the beach in Nice... haha !

 the personal touch of the bride

and they even ordered a rainbow for their special day =)  thank You God for Your promise

 Tonio and Joseph setting up the reception

he cleans up nice, doesn't he?

 here they come ready to party

 brunch the next morning

 a little volleyball anyone?

i'm proud to say that Tonio back handed this one to the ground for a point

what a fun wedding all around... Thomas and Maëva, we will never forget this memorable weekend.  We love you guys.

Love Linz (and T)

Christmas tunes

What I'm listening to...

You can listen too !!!

LISTEN

My favorite new Christmas album this year !  This guy is really good.
Favorite song: Do You Hear What I Hear?

LISTEN

Thanks to my brother-in-law, I learned about this amazing brother-sister album.  It's the kind of music that just gets better and better with every repeat.  This led me to Tyler's individual album above.

LISTEN

Our friend Riley always has an intriguing approach to songs, and Tonio helped his with the pronunciation of the French song {which we started singing here at Calvary Chapel Nice}.

LISTEN

I fell in love with Zooey in the movie Elf, and now she's great in New Girl.  Sometimes when I'm listening to her sing, I think of Jess from the TV show and giggle {but just a little}.

LISTEN

I think my favorite is when he sings Jingle Bells with the Puppini Sisters.  So much fun !

LISTEN {to most}

This one goes down in the all-time favorites along with :

 

A Charlie Brown Christmas 

Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas is You

and

Sufjan Stevens' 10 volumes of Christmas songs

So much more good stuff, but I think that will tide you over for a bit.
Enjoy !
I have "Hark the Herald Angles Sing" in my head... how about you?

Love Linz
ps - of course you are welcome to go buy any of these albums, but I just wanted to share some links to listen for free.  Merry Christmas !

guest musician

Brian Campbell

{go to his website}

Nous avons Brian Campbell avec nous pour quelques jours.

We have Brian Campbell with us for a few days.

Il a joué au Café Colombe hier soir, et c'était impressionnant.

He played at Café Colombe last night, and it was inspiring.

Mon mari a joué avec lui aussi (cajon).

My husband played with him as well (cajon).

Apparemment, je suis vraiment douée à prendre les photos floues - ha ! 

Apparently, I'm really gifted at taking blurry pictures - ha !  No extra charge =).

Voulez-vous son album GRATUITEMENT?

Do you want his album for FREE?

 Trouvez cette image parmi les autres albums gratuits.

Find this image amongst the other free albums.

Il est un mec super cool, et j'espère que vous aimez bien sa musique.

He's a really cool guy, and I hope you like his music.

Website

Love Linz

un mariage à l'église

a wedding at church
8 Sept, 2013

Féliciations Mauro et Daniela !!!

 le gateau par Barbara - beau

the cake by Barbara - beautiful

Tonio et moi avec le couple italien.

Tonio and I with the Italian couple.

Nous avons fait la musique pour la cérémonie, et Tonio a chanté Hallelujah par Leonard Cohen (rendu célèbre par Jeff Buckley) pour eux, par leur demande.  Ils étaient touchés tout les deux, and pendant que Tonio a joué, Mauro est venu jouer le cajon {Il est batteur dans un groupe à Nice}.  C'était trop bien cette improvisation !!!

We did the music for the ceremony, and Tonio sang Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (made famous by Jeff Buckley) for them, as requested.  They were both touched, and while Tonio was playing, Mauro came to play the cajon {He's a drummer for a band in Nice}.  This improv was so cool !!!

Ahhh !!!  Nous avons le vidéo !!!  Merci James.

Ahhh !!!  We have the video !!!  Thanks James.

Voilà.

Merci Seigneur pour ce mariage.  Bénis ce couple.
Thank you Lord for this marriage.  Bless this couple.

AMEN.

Love Linz