November 2001 Hi, everyone!

   Well, how are you all? I am just fine. As you can see I am a little early with my holiday note to you, but I am getting ready to go out with Colors of Christmas next week so I wanted to write to you before I go into hotel limbo. Yes, I have finished my Christmas shopping too. Even took the kids to Target to do theirs already! I have had eight whole weeks off! Joined up in a row, as Jake would say. That has caused me to be incredibly organized and feeling exited about the impending season of joy instead of stressed out. My Christmas decorations are out of the attic and sitting in the garage ready to go up after Thanksgiving and I am just itching to order my Honey baked Ham! So all that being said, I can turn my attention back to the next thing I can share with you....Colors of Christmas. I think this is my fourth year doing this tour. As most of you probably know we start Thanksgiving and end Christmas Eve and it is one of the few times I look forward to going on the road. Stig Edgren, our producer, seems to put together, year after year, a show that is not only uplifting to watch but also inspiring to perform. Colors is one of the few shows that I spend a lot of time in the wings watching the other artists on stage. Maybe it is the spiritual and heart warming nature of the material or the nostalgia it evokes, who can say. All I know is it gets me every time! This year I get to work with Peabo Bryson. I have worked with him many times before and it is always a pleasure. Oleta Adams is on the bill and her voice is amazing, so obviously I am going to love working with her. Michael McDonald is joining Colors for the first time. I have wanted to sing with Michael for years so this will be the realization of a goal for me. His sound is so haunting and his music has been in the background of so much of my life story it will be intense to sing with him in person. I know I am not the only one amongst us to play Michael really loud in the car after a love affair has gone bad! So it is obvious that December is going to be full of music and emotion for me. How about you? Are you looking forward to the holidays? I know it is a loaded time of year. For some, it is unbearable. For others, it is the best. I think I have experienced both. I hope that no matter what your disposition toward the holidays, this year you take the time to be grateful for life's blessings. I am not going to dwell on the tragedies of September 11, but I am sure everyone is reassessing their lives at the moment. I know this is the time of year that we usually take stock. This holiday season more than others, I think it is important to give thanks for what we have and to reaffirm our commitment to living a life that is authentic, sincere, and courageous. Ha! Easier said than done! Living in love, not fear, has been my goal for a long time. Wish me that for the new year and I will wish it for you.

   And on to the new year, I will be returning to the Las Vegas Hilton January 2002 for the whole year. As you know I spent a very happy summer there and they have asked me to come back for a year. You know that since my kids came along I have been trying to find ways to meld my two loves together and Las Vegas is one of the few places on earth that I can work and raise a family. I find it hard to express how happy I am to be working at the Hilton. It was a wonderful summer for me and a real shot in the arm to be received so well at a venue associated with so much historic entertainment. I am looking forward to settling down to work in such a supportive environment again and to creating a whole new show for 2002. I guess it is no secret to a lot of you that I am probably going to move to Las Vegas for the next few years. Los Angeles has been my home since 1982 but it is time for a change and I am embrace it so ....... watch me fly!

   I guess my next year is pretty much mapped out for me, but no doubt there will be many curve balls along the way. I will handle them as best I can knowing that the people I love most will be there with me. My babies, my family, my friends. You will be there too. Let's face it, you wouldn't be reading this if we weren't like minded. I hope you have a blessed new year. Either way, we will deal with it. Keep the E-mails and letters coming. Let me know how it goes.

God bless,
         With love,