Me, my wife Christine, and Shailee (4 years old)
on the shores of Whitefish Point in the Upper Peninsula
of Michigan - fall 2001.
Me, my wife Christine, and Shailee (4 years old)
on the shores of Whitefish Point in the Upper Peninsula
of Michigan - fall 2001.
Hi everyone!
I can't believe it's been 20 years already! What an interesting world we all in live - who would have ever thought we'd live through the kinds of things we've seen in the last year.
The last few years have been interesting for us. In 2000, my parents both went through very serious bouts with cancer - both at the same time no less. I was told in April of 2000 that my Mom had 6 to 9 months to live and that my Dad was in a little better shape, but not by much. The doctors originally said his cancer was inoperable without first doing chemo and radiation - if they couldn't eventually do surgery, we'd loose him in a years time or less as well. Not a fun time! My Mom did pass away on January 9th of 2001. We were all able to be with her right up to the end. My father had 6 hours of surgery prior to that in August of 2000 after 4 months of chemo and radiation and came through in great condition. He is now fully recovered and cancer free - still lives in the Lake In The Woods in Dunlap.
I had worked at Willow Creek Community Church, the largest church in the country, as a Music Director for 7 years and then for an affiliated organization called the Willow Creek Association overseeing recording projects and printed music publishing for 3 years. In August of 2001, I had the honor of saying I was one of the economic casualties of the forthcoming recession as I was laid off. (Can you believe being laid off by a Church?) But I did get 9 months severance which was great. So what does one do when you've worked for the largest contemporary church in the country? You become a freelance consultant and guest artist for all the other churches in the country, which is what I'm doing now! We're also looking across the country for more permanent positions if the right fit should come along. So life is interesting but exciting!
We still live in Algonquin, a suburb northwest of Chicago near Crystal Lake and Elgin. My wife Chris currently works for ADP (Automatic Data Processing.) My daughter Shailee is the joy of our life. She's four now and really loves Dinosaurs! If life ever settles down for us and we know where we're going to end up, then we hope to have some more little ones!
Looking forward to seeing all of you in July. Please visit my official web site - www.johncarlsonmusic.com
