Helicopter Rides

At a Memorial Day celebration in New Jersey this week, Dad and Mom told us kids that there was a "big surprise" waiting for us. We sang twice in the afternoon and the suspense was killing Bristol, who asked every hour if we would get the surprise soon. After tearing down and loading the bus, we drove across the street and found out that our host, Bill Welte, had arranged for helicopter rides for all of us!

What a treat to be given this once-in-a-lifetime privilege! Thanks, Bill!

What's Up With the Hitch's?

Since we have disappeared from the blogging world for over a month, it's about time we gave you an update...or several! I'll let the pictures take the place of an explanation.....

Thankfully we were very close to a repair shop when our tag tire blew, and it was only a short while until we were back on the road again and homeward bound!

Recording

For the last two weeks we have been in the studio from morning until evening every day working on a new CD! Since they say "a picture's worth a thousand words," I'll let the photographer tell the story...

Behind the scenes of every recording project is an engineer who is essentially the glue of the process. We have been blessed with Evan as our engineer for most of this project. We appreciate you, Evan!

SPRING UPDATE!!

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Delaware! We were blessed again by amazing hospitality all along the way.

We're so thankful for the opportunity to do what we do. God is good!

Here are some pictures of the last couple weeks.

We always smile at the long Amish clotheslines
that are strung all across Lancaster County, PA.
We loved these so much, we installed one at our house!

We shopped the "Amish K-Mart", the name used by locals for
the local Amish-owned variety store near New Holland, PA.

The Transport for Christ Benefit at Yoder's Restaurant in New Holland
was a great evening. These folks provide chapels and spiritual leadership in truck stops across America! We enjoyed a Pennsylvania Dutch meal, which we don't get too often!

Jim and Kathy enjoy a happy moment singing on stage at the Simon

Graber Complex concert in Odon, Indiana.

Sterling shares his musical gifts at the Risser's Mennonite Church in Elizabethtown, PA.
We appreciate his stepping up to take over some of Luke's parts for the group.

A friend, Karen Stoltzfus, came to one of our concerts at

Southside Baptist in Dover, DE. We enjoyed catching up before

and after the service. Thanks for coming, Karen!

Pastor Chris Kondracki, of Southside Baptist Church in Dover, DE, and the boys share some special moments before the Easter service.

Avery shares a testimony on Easter morning. It was a joy to share the victory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ's glorious resurrection with our spiritual family on Resurrection morning! His powerful resurrection is our bond of unity with believer's everywhere!

Sharing some "sibling cooperation" during the Easter concert!

How DO they do that?

Lucas ministered an original song for the congregation.

Spring means baseball, and the Hitch's had a friendly game at the Stauffer's in Ephrata, PA! Here, Sterling waits for the pitch. . . . .

. . . . Havilah concentrates on getting a hit . . . . .

. . . . Blake takes the turn at first base . . . . . .

Kathy was our pitcher, and leans into the pitch . . . . .

. . . . O-o-ps! Luke was covering second and collided with Blake in a close play . . . . .

. . . . that stopped the game for a medical time-out. Superficial injuries only . . . . . .

. . . . brought Bristol up to bat. His focus and form were a set-up for a great hit!

. . . . Bringing Lacey up to the batter's mound. The outfield was ready . . . . .

And Blake waited for the play. . . .

and the afternoon went on-and-on 'til everyone was too tired to go on anymore. . . . .
. . . . and then we talked about it for days!

We renewed friendships again on this trip, and thank the Lord for His blessings of family, friendship, health, spiritual security, and the privilege of serving Him every day, be it through music, fellowship, prayer, counsel, finances, physical labor, personal testimony or just standing firm in our faith in Him! HE IS THE PURPOSE OF IT ALL!!

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." I Pet 1:3-5

G L O R Y !

Lacey

Larissa (Lacey) Leigh Hitch was born on March 30th, 1984, thirty days past her due-date and only thirteen months behind her older brother. She had so much hair when she was born that Mom had to style it almost from the first day!

Lacey and Nick had a very close relationship...perhaps partly by coersion? [smile]

Lacey loved taking care of "the baby" when we were younger and she always tried to be the first one to earn the dime or quarter Mom gave away when we girls changed a diaper while Mom was pregnant and couldn't stomach it. Lacey was a classic older sister who took it upon herself to fix up the bruises and mishaps the rest of us created, and although we never could figure it out, she could often put Nick in line by her persuasive smile and sweet voice.

Lacey has loved fishing since she first got a rod in her hand but none of us liked taking Lacey along on our fishing escapades because she always came home with a fish when the rest of us came up short on our luck. Lacey even let us have her secret fishing spots after she'd gotten her catch of the day but it never did us any good. To this day she holds the reputation of being the master angler in our family!

Lacey graduated from high school in 2002 and has since taken over homeschooling Bristol. She also pays the family bills, makes the majority of the meals, strives to keep the house clean, her horse worked with and her mandolin practiced. And after all of that, you can always count on Lacey to have a listening ear to anyone who needs a long talk.

Happy 23rd birthday, Lacey! We love you!

Bristol

When baby Bristol Levi Hitch was born at home on March 24th, 1998, we had a kitchen scale to weigh him on. We were taking bets as to how much he weighed but no one came anywhere close to guessing right! When the scale said 10 pounds, 4 ounces, we quickly assumed that the scale was incorrect. Much to our surprise, we discovered that it was accurate and our baby weighed over 3 pounds more than any other Hitch baby had weighed at birth. He was full of surprises from the first breath!

Having three older sisters who thought he was the cutest thing alive, Bristol couldn't ever escape from a camera...even to have a thoughtful moment in the garden.

Our very first concert was less than two months after Bristol was born. While practicing for countless hours in the basement, Bristol would sit in a sling on Avery's hip and he quickly learned that falling asleep was his best option at the first note he heard.

Bristol's favorite attire was that of a "real cowboy."

Always trying to stay up with his big brothers, Bristol learned young to tie his own tie (which he always does for stage), style his own hair, polish his own shoes, and...well...keep those whiskers from showing.

Happy 9th birthday, Bristol! We are so thrilled that God has put you in our family!