It's been 10 years.....

It literally just feels like yesterday when our cute little family of five piled into a minivan and made our first trip to Marion, Indiana. We were so nervous about making our first appearance in the States. I remember the very first concert we did at the Northern Gospel Singing Convention. The emcee gave us a huge introduction and people stood to their feet anxious to hear what Canadians sound like…We were the new faces in Southern Gospel Music…My hands were sweaty and my stomach was a ball of nerves, I thought for sure I was going to puke right then and there…. Then…our sound track started and we started to sing our first song…”Goodbye World Goodbye”….we were off….the only problem was…”Goodbye World Goodbye” wasn’t the track that was playing….So…We were singing “Goodbye World Goodbye” to the sound track of “We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown”….we were off to a smashing start. I remember Jessie finally noticed that our vocals and the track didn’t match up, so she stopped us, and then we all looked at the sound man horrified that he played the wrong track….everyone laughed, and Dad told the audience…”This happens every time we’re in the States”...hahaha! Those were good times

HFM is Celebrating our 10^th year anniversary, and we want you all to be a part of it. On Nov. 21^st we’re hosting a celebration concert at Calvary Church on Ireland side Rd. in Simcoe, On. We are going to re-introduce some of the “old classics” like; “Standing on the Rock”, “When He Was on the Cross”, “I’m Satisfied”, “Feeling Fine” and many, many more. We’re going to share funny stories, super embarrassing photo’s, and never before seen photoage. Sharing the stage with us, our emcee, and dear friend, Drew Geerts from Indiana, “DW and Jessie”, “Kingsway Quartet” (who were very influential to us in the early years), and the “Johnson Quartet”. It’s going to be a great night. There’s no admission, but a loving offering will be taken. We just want you come on out, laugh with us, cry with us, and re-live “The Glory Days”, I can hardly wait….

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Change Is In The Air

Well, the Hilton Family is going through yet another transition of change. In August our drummer Brandon Bouwma drove out to Saskatchewan to start the next chapter in his life at college. We are so proud of him. Brandon brought energy, a servant’s heart, creativity and laughter to Hilton Family Music. We will miss him terribly! Even though Brandon is moving on, we are excited to have a new fresh drummer come on the scene. Gregory Kekes. Greg is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, he’s 17, and lives in Simcoe with him mom and dad and 2 younger sisters. Greg has played drums in his Church praise teams, but this is his first time in a band. We hope we won’t teach him too many bad habits! :) With Greg’s sweet humble spirit, and his quickness to flash his handsome charming smile we’re sure that we’ll have those single girls piling in to our shows!! Hahaha!! Greg is constantly smiling, and we are so blessed to have him apart of our team. We are so excited to see all that God has in store for us. When someone like Greg has this much talent, I’m you’ll be seeing him a lot in the music industry.

Greg’s first concert with HFM will be on
Sept. 26^th @ St. Paul's Presbyterian Church - Burlington, ON - 7pm
& Sept. 27th @ Rosebank Brethren In Christ - Rosebank, ON - 6pm.
So common out and meet the new face in Country Music.

Summmer!!!

So summer is finally here. That means no more running outside in your slippers…starting the car, and then making a mad dash back to the house before frost bite sets in. No more heating bills…YES….and my personal favorite..no more snow shoveling…oh wait…I don’t shovel snow. Thankfully my wonderful husband looks at snow shoveling as his work out for the day…what a great guy…I should marry him…oh yeah…I DID! Haha!!

I love summer, not only because I love soaking up vitamin D on the beach, but because HFM gets to sing almost every weekend. We have already started our jammed packed weekends full of travelling, lots of junk food, crammed sleeping quarters, 3 hour set-ups, 2 hour sound checks, hour and half performance, 45min tear down, midnight snacks, late nights, early morning, and then…doing it all over again…but…It’s not always that glorious!! :) We often get very exhausted, sometimes discouraged, and emotionally drained…So we’ll need lots of your prayers this summer!

Check out our schedule for when we’re in your area. We’d love to see you .http://www.hiltonministries.com/Tour%20Schedule.htm

HFM has been so overwhelmed with the awesome response we’ve had from our new CD “READY TO SERVE”. Everyone has been so encouraging! It has been such a blessing for us to hear different stories about how our songs have been able to touch your life, or encourage you in your spiritual walk. It makes all the long hard hours we’ve put into each song worth it! So thank you!!

We hope you’ve been inspired with our new album just as you inspire us each day with your support and prayers!

To My Mom.......on Mother's Day

I like to say that my mom is the perfect KJV (King James Version) mom/wife. Common…you know what I’m talking about…you know those sermons we hear about wives being submissive, obedient, prudent, wise,  and hard working?? The ones we all despise? Well…that’s my mom. I hardly ever remember my parents fighting…and if there was a “disagreement” Dad was always quick to apologize and my mom was even quicker at forgiving. I’ve never known someone to forgive so quickly. Mom is just one of those people that you instantly fall in love with. She’s bubbly, friendly, kind; considerate, extremely emotional, selfless, and Godly…just to name a few…

Growing up my family didn’t have a lot, but some how mom always was able to come up with something for dinner. I’ve never known anyone else in the whole world to make soggy wet celery look and taste so wonderful. She taught my sister and me to always make sure the men of the house get enough to eat. She taught us to put others before us…But most importantly…my mom has taught me to live, laugh and love….she’s taught me to take everything to the Lord in prayer….

I’m pretty sure that the reason my mom is such a great mom is because of her mom. My Granny has been gone for 8 years, and I miss her dearly. She was awesome. She was the kind of Granny that brought chocolate syrup with her, when she came to visit, so that we could make chocolate milk. She would take her false teeth out and my sister and I would giggle hysterically as she used the teeth to tell us crazy stories. Granny was my family’s biggest fan. She bought up pretty much all of our CD's. To tell you the truth…I think she was the ONLY one buying our CD's. lol. She would be so proud of us today.

When my Granny was in the hospitable, she somehow always managed to put on a smile for us kids. She lots a lot of weight near the end, and I remember distinctively her lifting up her one leg, and making jokes about it. She told us kids that her legs looked like a scrawny little calf leg. This of course sent us into hysterics. She was something else.

The last time I saw her I remember giving her a hug and a kiss….and she whispered in my ear “Don’t forget your little ole Granny”…I hugged her tight and told her that I would never forget her. So today…this mother’s day…I want to honor my Mom and my Granny…These are the people that I hope to be one day. These moms preserve, encourage, live life to the fullest, and inspire…..

I love you mom, and I miss you, Granny!!!

A little history....and a trip down memory lane...

Many of you know that the Hilton Family started off with just my Mom and dad, and then later my sister (Jessie) and I joined, followed by my younger brother (Dale). For years we traveled just the 5 of us, in a mini van and trailer. Those were the days.....So often my family and I take that trip down memory lane and laugh and joke about all the memories we shared at that time in our lives. Just the other day we were talking about how every time we used to arrive at a hotel in some different town or State, it would be Jess and my goal to hid the TV remote on Dale. Oh we hid it in the garbage can, microwave, fridge or inside his pillow case...where ever! Dale would get so mad at us, and Jess and I would sit on the bed laughing our heads off. And then at some point Jess would go into the bathroom, and Dale would hid in the closet. And every time Jess came out, we would ask her to check the closet and see if there were any extra blankets. And without fail, Jess would open the closet and Dale would scare her half to death. Jessie never expected it, and if she did, she would still scream. It was just one of those things. Mom always got great deals on hotel rooms, she one time got 2 room with 2 twin size beds for $66 bucks. The poor guy at the desk didn't know what hit him!! Dad taught us so many things about traveling and saving money. For instance, Dad would make sure to get a hotel that had continental breakfast. And in the mornings he would tell us to eat as much as we could. Preferably oatmeal or something heavy. Something that would last us a long time. And then we wouldn't stop to eat till around 2:00PM. And it was usual pizza....we would over order, so we'd have at least one box of pizza left over. Most times we wouldn't eat again until after our shows. Which was about 9:00PM. The worst part was, the next day we would eat that left over pizza for breakfast, lunch and super...and any snacks in between. If you were hungry...you could either eat the cold greasy pizza that was shoved under neath the seat of the van, or you can ignore the hunger pains, which Dad often said would "eventually go away". Hahaha! Yeah, I've never see anyone make the best of one box of pizza then we did. The funny thing is, my husband and I did a road trip down to Louisana not to long ago, and I found myself pulling the same money saving skills....minus the cold pizza under the seat of the van. :O)
All of us look so fondly on those times we spent together as a family. It drew us closer together then most families. I love my family so much, and the exciting part is our family just keeps growing. For instance, a couple years ago, my sister Jessie met the man of her dreams. Tall dark and handsome, and a Florida boy at that. DW brought the first major changes to the Hilton Family. He added his talents to our group for several years, and our family band just kept on making more and more memories. We had to up-grade to a bus, due to the fact that DW is 6'4'' and couldn't get very comfortable in a mini van. About 3 years later, I started taking interest in a certain talented young man from the Johnson Quartet. He traveled with us, adding his talents to our quickly growing family. In 2008 Ray and I were married, and Ray officially joined the Hilton Family. Brad (Ray's younger brother), also exremely talented, began coming with Ray as we traveled, and Dad quickly put him to work as part of the band...he didn't have a choice!! LOL! In 2008 Jessie and DW had their first baby...Christy May Crutchfield. By this time you can imagine our bus is getting smaller and smaller, but things just became funner and more exciting. Just this year Jess and DW have stopped singing with the Hilton Family. We miss them terribly, but are happy for them starting their own duet ministry.
Since the beginningof this year, we've added a new drummer...Brandon Bouwma. He's added his amazing talents to the family group, and he just feels like another brother. We're having a blast traveling with him, and we each are inspired by his heart for people, and passion for music.
This year we've also had the privledge to record our brand new CD, "READY TO SERVE". We are so excited about this CD. We had so much fun recording it. We wrote and arranged 8 of the 12 songs, and we feel that this CD has become more "personal" because the stories in these songs are "our" stories...It's just us!! Down to earth farm raised family, with a passion to get out in the world and serve the people that need to hear about Christ.
Our Ready to Serve Album is being released on May 8th at Emmanuel Bible Church in Simcoe and also May 10th at Hagersville Penetcostal Church. There is no admission for the concert. We would love to see you there. For more information contact us at 519-587-4717 or check our our site or fan page on facebook.

As you can see God has been so good to Hilton Family Music, we stand back in awe at all he's done....

Julia's Journal

Hey everyone!!

Well, I no longer can do my Julia's Journal over the email like before, so we've opened up this blog, for those hard core Hilton Family fans. :)
We hope to keep you up-dated on funny and crazy stories of our travels, and also let you know where we will be and when.
We can also keep you better up-dated on video's and photo's.
So enjoy......you'll be hearing from Hilton Family Music SOON....

-Julia