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Before I tell you about our family trip to the Ky Opry this past weekend, I want to share with you the…
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Now to my post!
This past Saturday our family headed back down to Draffenville, Kentucky for Jonathan to participate in the Elimination Round in the Beginner’s Division at the Kentucky Opry.
I was looking forward to this trip SO much because it is such great family time!
The first time Jonathan performed at the Ky Opry, we just took Luke with us. But this time we had the whole crew with us!
I dressed the younger three brothers alike to help me keep up with them! 
It is a four hour drive to Draffenville, so this time we decided to get a hotel room instead of driving back home in the middle of the night.
We got to our hotel before the performance and chilled out for a few minutes by watching some tv. (Except for Eli!)
I asked Cy to take a picture of me with my four handsome boys!
Can you believe I am so outnumbered, girls?! I could have never imagined that God would have blessed me with four boys. I have always wanted a daughter, but I can truthfully say that my heart has never been so full. I wouldn’t trade a million daughters for one of my boys!
I asked Jonathan to get a picture of me and Cy together since I always forget to. I realized that when we got back from our Spring Break vacation this year that I didn’t get one single picture of me and Cy together. 
This man is the love of my life!
We arrived at the Ky Opry early to let Jonathan practice his song with their incredible piano player, Angela Mosley. Angela is sooo amazing! She was born blind but can play music by ear. Her talent is beyond words!
After Jonathan practiced, we hung out in the lobby at the Opry a bit. Here is Jonathan with his little amigo, Eli…
Daddy and Luke just chillin’…
Jonathan and Adam being sweet, and Eli being…well…Eli!
Eli decided to rest for just a minute…
Which gave him just enough energy for this picture…
Which at this point, Cy and I decided that we should get in the car and get a bite to eat before our boys tore the place down.
We had about an hour and 15 minutes before the contest began, so we jumped in the car and headed to Arby’s to get the boys a quick meal.
Luke was entertaining his brothers with a story before the food came…
After we filled our bellies, we headed back to the Opry with 30 minutes to spare.
Then we had to wait for the show to begin. We were checking out all the contestants on the audience ballets.
There were 14 contests in this round. They were the weekly winners in the Beginner’s Division.
Jonathan sang fourth, and he sang the Chris Tomlin version of Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone.)
Jonathan sang his heart out (even though he was battling a cough and a sore throat, and only one of his hearing aids were working!)
This is the same song that he sang at my mom’s funeral (by her request) almost three years ago. I know my mom would have been so proud of him for singing it at the Opry.
I almost wanted to raise my hands in praise as he sang out “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free!”
God is so good.
After everyone had performed, they brought all the contestants on staged and announced the 7 winners that would be advancing to the semi-final round.
Jonathan made it to the top 7!
We were so excited!!!
We have been to the Ky Opry twice now, and I cannot tell you what a wonderful time we have had each time.
It is the most wholesome, family friendly thing we have been to in a long time. Clay and Barbie Campbell, the owners of the Ky Opry, are so incredibly sweet! As I sat in my seat, I just thought about my parents and grandparents, and how much they would enjoy being there. To me, it’s the way family entertainment should be. I sang out loud and strong as we clapped and sang “I’ll Fly Away” and “Rocky Top” with the Ky Opry Band.
It’s just pure goodness and sweetness to the core.
I am so very thankful that our family has gotten to be a part of this talent competition. You just can’t put a price tag on times like these with your family!
Thank you to everyone who thought of us this weekend and prayed for Jonathan. We truly appreciate it.
Here is the video of him singing at the Ky Opry:
(If you are reading this in a reader, you may need to click over to my blog to view this video.)
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WOW! He’s got an amazing voice! What a beautiful gift! Thank you for sharing!
Yay Jonathan!!! He did AWESOME!!! Looks like you guys had a great trip & some quality family time!! Eli seriously cracks me up!! What a cutie!! God has definitely blessed you with 4 handsome boys!!
Hand me a tissue Tito …. can you keep a straight face without tears running down your cheeks when your boy sings?? I don’t even know him and I can’t and I several states away! God has blessed you. He sings like an Angel. Thank you for sharing!!
Wooooo! Yeah! Clap, clap, clap!!! I got chills!
Sharon @ mrs. hines class
CONGRATULATIONS Jonathan!! EVERY time I hear you sing, I cry…what an amazing voice! It makes my heart smile.
Traci, he has a great gift! It was so good my husband, who sings, had to put down his book to come over to watch and listen. Beautiful family pictures! What a good looking family! Thanks for sharing with us.
Can’t wait for the Semi finals! Go Jonathan!
Blessings,
MarLaney
Wow and wow again! You can honestly tell your son was singing from his soul, like his spirit just wanted to do the same as you wanted!!! Praying that God will continue to use your son for His glory! TY for sharing!
I’m not watching that video tonight because I do NOT want to cry! You have 4 beautiful boys! When I’m finally given the opportunity to have children, I kinda hope I have boys. ;) I’ll be happy no matter what, but I still have a preference. lol.
Such an amazing talent and gift from our Savior. Congrats!!!
What an amazing voice he has! Congrats on advancing to semi-finals!
Beautiful boy. Beautiful voice. Beautiful song.
You are blessed beyond measure. Amen.
Amazing!
beautiful!
Thank you so much for sharing. Jonathan truly has a gift and is using it well! Your family is beautiful. Thank you for shaing all of your blessings with us the way you do. God is truly shining on you!! xoxo
God has blessed Jonathan with a gift that will reach many people…thank you for sharing him with us – what a gift to start my morning this way.
You have a gorgeous family – and your son has a beautiful voice!
I’m from a family of all boys – my mom had 6 brothers, dad had 3 brothers, and I have 3 older brothers! My husband and I have an 18 month old son and I would be honored to have another house full of boys! :)
What talent! Brought tears to my eyes. Your boys are all so sweet. Such precious family time!
What an awesome family you have! Congratulations to Jonathan, he was wonderful!
What a beautiful voice! Congrats to Jonathan and your entire family!
He is SO talented!!! I love this version of Amazing Grace. Please tell him, he brought tears to my eyes…loved it!
Wow! He did an amazing job! I was truly a few minutes of worship!
I’m a regular reader, but I don’t think I’ve ever commented. I must say that your Jonathan never fails to bring tears to my eyes with his singing. He is blessed with a wonderful gift and you truly are blessed with a beautiful family! I’ll be praying for Jonathan’s continued success. Now I have to go fix my eye makeup! :)
Traci, I have listened to your sweet Jonathan sing this song three times now. His voice is AMAZING and I am sitting here bawling. I have had one of THE WORST weeks of my life. In my darkest moments, hope seems to be all I have left, but I am now reminded that I have more than hope. I trust Him to pull me through. Thank you for sharing your son’s amazing talents with us all! :-)
Such a God-given talent he has! I am truly moved to tears when I hear his voice singing such sweet words. Blessings to him and your family as he continues on this journey!!
This is just so beautiful. Blessings to Jonathan and the rest of your family.
Beautiful, Traci! I know you’re so proud!! =) He is one talented guy!
Way to go Jonathan!!!! :)
WOW….that was AWESOME!!! Love, love, love it!!! Way to go Jonathan!!!
Oh my goodness…he is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing the video. I was dying to hear him sing through the whole post!
oh my goodness that boy is good! and cute too! I pray my daughter can find a man like him one day. She’s only 12 right now – but I hope she can find somone who loves God as much as your son. (Rascall Flatts is her favorite too – they have something in common already *wink* wink* lol!) I think it’s wonderful he uses his talent to worship God – that’s what God gave it to him for after all. Congrats to all of you!
Wonderful talent….but it is all about the heart. You’ve given him the gift of knowing Jesus. Now he can share that gift in song. Good job mom and dad!
We were at KY Opry when it was first starting. Friends we were visiting at that time was a judge and we went with them. My sister lives in Draffenville. You have some handsome men there! I used to dress our 3 boys alike to be able to keep up with them also. Then once another little boy had on the same shirt and he kept hanging around our boys. I had to count twice each time to see which ones were ours and which one wasn’t! Enjoy them, they grow up too fast. Ours are 53, 51, 49 now.
What a blessing you have given to your readers this morning! Please tell your son thank you for sharing his gift with us all! God has truly given him a special gift! You have a beautiful family!
B E A U T I F U L, just beautiful, Traci….. Jonathan’s performance, your family, your amazing life! You are SOOOO blessed. Thanks for sharing this – been waiting to see it all week.
What a gift he has! Your sons are all so handsome – that little Eli is so precious! It looks to me like Eli and my daughter Josie have very similar personalties. We should try to keep them from ever meeting one another. ;)
That boy needs a record deal! His sweet spirit and God given talent are so precious! Thank you so much for posting this. I bet your sweet mom was enjoying her view from above!
You have a beautiful family! Jonathan has an amazing gift and I love it when you post his videos. That Eli reminds me of my son always hamming it up. So sweet!
You and Cy are so blessed, Traci. So richly blessed.
I’m so happy for Jonathan! I love the way he sings that song. Your mom would be so proud!
Okay now, I want to know–what part do you sing on “I’ll Fly Away”?
I’m believing Jonathan is going to win this contest and that God is going to use him in a powerful way. Such a precious, sweet spirit for God. Can hardly wait until May! Thank you for sharing with us, Traci.
He has the voice of an angel. Praise God for such a gift. Thanks for sharing his talent with us.
Tears are running down my face. How beautiful.
Let me know when he puts out his first CD.
What a gorgeous family and fun times together. Truly memories to last a lifetime for all your boys! :O)
He did so great! I just can’t get over the beautiful tone of his voice.
God is so good…a blind piano player and a hearing impaired singer performing Amazing Grace. Amazing, indeed.
Oh my. That was so awesome, and I echo all the other comments I just skimmed through. I got chills as he sang and tears in my eyes as I applauded at the end here in my office. :-) I often pray for you and your family, Traci, and I thank God for how he is shining his light though all of you.
I’m the mom of three sons, all adults now, and I loved raising boys. Now I’m blessed with incredibly sweet daughters-in-love, and I thank God for the joy of being called “Mom” by such lovely young women.
(Btw, I was struck by the first picture I ever saw of Eli, because he reminded me so much of my middle son, Travis. Eli’s antics in today’s photos confirmed that they have more in common than looks! smile)
Sweet blessings on all of you!
This post made me laugh and cry. Eli, because he is a character, typical younger brother with all the humor of everyone in one little person. Jonathon, because of his sweet innocent voice and courage to get up and perform for a crowd.
What a wonderful family adventure.
Thanks for sharing.
XO
Thanks so much for sharing. It was so great – can tell it was sung from his heart. obviously, he has a heart for the Lord. What more could any parent ask for. How wonderful to use his talents to honor the Lord.
I don’t even know where to begin. As the goose bumps are finally gone and the tears of pride (and he isn’t my child) are drying up, I can’t get enough of his voice. What is the prize when he wins? Oops did I say when he wins? He has such a fab voice. Is there an admission price at the contest? My husband and I would love to see him sing in person. You are beautiful parents and are doing a great job with all 4 of the boys. Thanks for sharing!
Wow! He was perfect!! I know as his Mom you are sooo proud of him, this brought tears to my eyes!
I just love reading your posts, your family is precious!
I was so blessed to hear your son sing. What a gift! Your family is lovely. Just started following you and really glad you shared.
Congratulations to Jonathan! He has a beautiful voice!
My most favorite hymn. :-) How can you stand it??!! How proud you must be! Way too exciting. Jonathan has a singing career in his future. :-)
What a beautiful family!!! and talent abundance! Love to hear Jonathan sing! Thanks so much for posting so we “readers” can hear! Good Luck, Jonathan! and
Pink Hugs to all!
Dee
Oh my word…..that is the most beautiful song ever. Jonathan, you were so great. I am in awe.
He did an awesome job! Love the song!
Debbie
Traci, you have such a beautiful family! And Jonathan seems so at ease singing in front of an audience at such a young age! He has amazing talent! I enjoy reading your posts about all of your unbelievable projects and your sweet family! God bless you!
What a great job Jonathon did! He has amazing poise for his age. Traci, if you ever decide to do a demo song, please contact me privately. My son is an experienced music producer and engineer in Nashville ( mainly Christian music). I’m anxiousl to see what god has in store for jonathon!
That was so beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing that video.
Wow! Gave me goosebumps. Loved it and shared the video on my facebook page. Good job, Jonathan! Can’t wait to hear more
AWESOME! What a blessing God has given this young man of yours. He is so amazing and he sang one of my favorite songs by Chris Tomlin and he did a wonderful job. May he bless the lives of many!
BEAUTIFUL! Absolutely beautiful. The sweet spirit in that boy sure does shine through when he sings. Jonathan, I sure do love to hear you sing.
What a handsome family you have (wow..living with 5 men!). Jonathan is so talented & its obvious he loves to sing. I know your mother would be so proud of him (heck..I’m proud of him & I’m a stranger!) But we are all part of Gods family & I rejoice with you.
Wow! He’s pretty amazing!
WOW! Now that is TALENT. I got chills :)
What a great job he did! Wow- just wow! Truly a gifted young man using his gift to share his testimony. Blessings to you all!
Jonathan, I just wanted to say you did a wonderful job in this competition. Congratulations for making it to the final seven!! I know your Grandmother was watching, and was Oh, so very proud of you. Good Luck and thanks for sharing with your Mom’s readers. Linda S. in NE
Awesome!!!!!!! As always.
Dear Traci,
I don’t know if I can adequately convey what I’m feeling… After listening to Jonathan’s performance, I went back to listen (again!) to all the other ones you’ve shared with us. There is just something about Jonathan, not only his voice, but his presence (as it comes through the video; how wonderful if I could hear him in person!), that touches me deeply. Bless him, Oh Lord. Thank you, sweet Traci, for sharing him and your whole family with us. May the boys always be close.
Love, Michiganhome
Wow! That song gave me goosebumps when I listened to it. Jonathan is one talented boy. Thanks for sharing with us Traci – you have a beautiful family!
So…..is it wrong that you guys are a big part of why I’m homesick…..I’m missing out on too much….great job, Jonathan!!!!
I was moved by your son’s performance. His voice is amazing.
Oh my goodness what a cutie! What a gift he has–thanks for sharing his great performance! Congrats on being in the top 7!
He is awesome…Best wishes through the rest of the competitions…
I am just catching up on posts. I want you to know how much I LOVE listening to your son sing. I keep hoping for more videos with that sweet voice. I would seriously buy a CD of his if you ever make one. Thanks again for sharing his gift with us.