Welcome and Introduction

Welcome to Music and Chairs! We are Jeff and Debbie.

You've heard of Musical Chairs, right? Music And Chairs is kind of like that. Except that we want to have an extra chair instead of not enough chairs. Here we will talk about music, family, and unexpected things.

Music: Jeff is an avid musician. You will get a peek at some of his music work here. He plays a lot of guitar and saxophone and and a bit of other instruments as well. He plays at our church and in his studio/home office where he also enjoys the production side of things. He's always dreamed of playing for a living, but "starving artists" is a real thing, and he ultimately has chosen to provide for a wife and a family for the past twenty nine years and to work on his music on the side... so far.

He loves all things technology and looks for fun anywhere he can find or make it.

He is an undiagnosed textbook ADHD card carrier. It makes life fun and sometimes too much. It is an all the time task to balance all the ideas with the very real need for family time.

Family: We met in college and married a semester before graduation. We raised four children into adulthood and somehow still have good relationships with them after all the years of homeschooling and figuring things out as we went. The homeschool community still holds a part of Debbie's heart. We are grateful to be grandparents now to five littles and are crazy about each of them. 

Family isn't always blood related. Our God is a relational God, and Proverbs tells us He puts the lonely into families. Hence the extra chair. We want to live relational lives. We are not perfect by any means, but healthy and real relationships are a growing passion of ours.

Chairs: They represent relationships. In the center of our living area sits an old, wooden, long, ornate table that was once the Sunday dinner table at Debbie's grandmother's house. She grew up eating at that table with extended family and listening to their interactions. Over time the table moved to her dad's house where we continued family meals, and now it is at the center of our home. 

What is a table without chairs? Chairs are where we sit to eat, to talk face to face, to play board games, to work on schoolwork or an art project together, to make memories. Not all of our memories are at the table and in those chairs, but many are. We will share games we think you might enjoy and other things that happen around our table.

Unexpected Things: There have been many, as we are sure is true for most people. Debbie has a chronic illness that has changed some things the last five years. A former athlete and a certain high energy bunny status has been traded in for a lot of rest and symptom management. We will talk some here about finding what works now. Date night ideas that consider low energy needs, fun activities that keep us together when stress is getting high, how we manage and make the most of sick days and grace days. It is a wild ride sometimes.

In the unexpected, we tend to see things we did not see so much before. Debbie was task and accomplishment driven most of her life but has come to see people and relationships as of most importance. She now prioritizes her family first and then looks for the next person in need. Jeff has always been a people person and has friends pretty much everywhere he goes.

So, Music and Chairs... The place where Jeff's and Debbie's passions come together. I hope you will follow along with us!