Whew! There's so much to tell I hardly know where to start, but I can tell you this: Stuff happens in a wad. What I mean by that is that sometimes you're just minding your own business in the middle of your usual-ness, and them (as Emeril would say), "BAM!" And all the sudden you're slightly upside-down, but in the best possible way.

Viral Stuff Happens
And when I say "viral" I am not talking about the things that are monitored by the Center for Disease Control. It would seem that the YouTube clip I posted for Mother's Day struck a universal chord amongst the moms on planet earth because it quickly got passed around and passed around and passed around via emails and blogs, not only here in the good ol' U. S. of A., but in a global sort of way. Thanks to many of you who read this newsletter for sending it out to your friends, who sent it out to their friends - you get the picture. This led to a v-e-r-y early phone call one morning by a producer on the Good Morning America show asking if Diane Sawyer could use it in a segment. Well, I might have had drool on my cheek, a pillow crease down my face and mental fog where brains usually reside, but I didn't really have to think too hard about that one. I somehow got a sleepy "yes" outta my morning breath mouth and - BAM! - the Total Momsense song was on TV. Unfortunately, it was so early that we couldn't really call a lot of people to let them know, but we did start receiving phone calls from some of our friends who have real jobs that require them to get up at a respectable hour or children that require them to get up and pour them cereal and drive them to school. Within a matter of minutes the show Inside Edition started calling asking for an interview - and we didn't really have a clue what to do about that. All we could figure out is that we had awakened into THE ONE DAY that Brittney-Brangelina-Lindsey-Paris-Nicole- O.J. had not bothered to come out of their houses and there was absolutely NO OTHER NEWS. So by the time evening rolled around the clip had aired on GMA in the morning and Inside Edition in the evening. And then BAM! We were off to New York City to be on Good Morning America, The CBS Early Show, Gayle King on XM Radio, and Fox and Friends Morning Show. Much thanks to everyone who wrote to say, "You looked good on tv," or "we saw your kids" (and they loved New York, by the way), but let me hasten to say the things you can only know by being there: 1. Diane Sawyer is so incredibly lovely and classy. If that's what you perceive from watching her on tv, multiply that times 1000 and that's what she's like up close. 2.Hannah Storm's backside is about 10 inches across. I am not kidding you. She is beautiful, has a tiny behind, and she's articulate. She must have some kind of flaw --- maybe she snores. 3. Gayle King is tall and funny and kind. No wonder she's Oprah's BFF (best friend forever). 4. There is not enough makeup in the world to cover up dark undereye circles you might get from not sleeping the night before you go on tv.

While we were in New York we went to The Lion King on Broadway. I know, I know: we're probably the last people on earth to see it (AND we still haven't taken our children to Disney, either) but it was spectacular nonetheless. John and Austin went to Ripley's Believe it or Not and I think their "we-are-men-so-we-like-bizarre-stuff" natures might have enjoyed it a lot. Elyse and I opted to go H & M.

Since then the story of the song has shown up on various newscasts from everywhere (Australia!) and we are happy that it is going around the globe. The Momsense song will also be available on iTunes beginning this Tuesday October 16th. We hope that people will enjoy having a high-quality version of the song on their iPods, as well.
The comedy dvd project "Total Momsense" should be available in stores in the next few weeks.

Songs in the Key of Solomon Now in Stores!
John and I have loved the initial responses to the new devotional book, Songs in the Key of Solomon: In the Word and In the Mood. We have heard from many who say things like, "Finally - a devotional that my husband loves" and "He really gets it!" We are T-H-R-I-L-L-E-D. We also got an email from our publisher letting us know that the book is in its second printing and it has only been in stores one week. The magazine ads and radio/tv interviews don't really start on this book until November, so we are taking the immediate reprint as a sign that it's connecting with people already. You can get it in your favorite bookstore, or through our website. If you are married consider it a tool for a stronger marriage. And it's fun - we promise!

Dayspring Greeting Cards Now Pretty Much Everywhere
We may have been premature as we thought the Dayspring line of Anita's greeting cards were in all stores in August, but found out that they didn't hit the larger bookstores until this month - so we hope you can find them and that you like them! They're pretty funny. Give em a read.

Momsense on Your Radio, Too
We are also pretty excited to hear that many radio stations are adopting the Total Momsense song as a regular feature of their morning show. If your station isn't on the bandwagon, call and request it. Other mothers in your listening area will thank you.

The Family Scoop
We have had many familial important things to happen lately. I'll try to make them brief (you have stuff to do today, right?) Calvin is engaged! He and his beautiful girlfriend, Lisa Speers, are betrothed and we could not be even a teensy weensy bit happier. She is a gem and we think Calvin may be immensely more intelligent than we previously thought because he picked a wonderful girl. They are getting married on July 5th, 2008 and we are gonna do some happy dancin' that day, for sure! Austin is out living on his own and is working on a really, really great demo for a song that belongs on the radio now - although it takes a little longer than that to get cds done and music careers built. He is looking for some jobs to support his art and he is a poor, happy artist. If you see him, feed him. Elyse is moving downstairs. Now that all the boys have abandoned the household she is taking over the bottom floor. There is much painting and tile-ing and reworking the downstairs to fit her exacting standards of taste. Once she gets it like she wants it we may have her forever. That would suit her daddy just fine.

John has been selected to be an Elder in our church (Destiny Metropolitan Worship Church) and we are so proud of him. We know that he will be a fantastic Elder as he is qualified both spiritually and in the graying of the hair department.

John, Austin, Elyse and I got to spend a few days in Hawaii over the week of Labor Day. We now more fully understand why people call it "Paradise". We were there working with the Salvation Army on the island of Oahu and here's a picture of us being totally chill.

The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us "To everything there is a season" and I pray that your fall season is one of blessings and a rich with the gifts of harvest time in your life.
Blessings,