Post by cam83 on Oct 6, 2003 0:38:56 GMT -5
Chapter Eighteen
Richard and Mary welcomed twins Kenneth and Kristi to their family on April 16th, 1988. It had been quite a surprise for the whole family. Twins had not run in their family, at least not that they were aware. Agnes and Harold were overjoyed. Karen was thrilled, and spent as much time with them as she could.
At their christening, Karen and Mark "BEAR" Rudolph (their cousin, and Mary's brother) were named the God Parents. Karen was so moved, and so very happy for Richard and Mary. Now it was time for her to have a family.
Karen had been dating some men, but still hadn't found the right one. She heard thru the grapevine that Tom Burris had remarried. She was happy for him, and sent him a beautiful gift for the newlyweds. Karen was not one to hold on to a grudge, and wanted Tom to know that she was happy for him. She had closed that door of her life forever, and the future lay before him.
Karen spent a lot of her free time on fixing up her new house. It had a huge front and back yard. She wanted a bridge, a waterfall, and several water fountains. She wanted it to be a place where she could go and relax.
Inside, on the main floor, there was a large foyer, with a grand staircase. To the right, was a large living room, with wide windows. Behind that, was the homey dining room, which led into a breakfast nook. To the one side of it, was a huge, elaborate kitchen. On the other side of the grand staircase, was an office, a bathroom, and 2 bedrooms. Upstairs were 5 bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. There was also another big living room up there.
In there, was Karen's hundreds of gold and platinum records. Their was a gold, and glass shelves which held her 26 Grammy Awards. The room had several plush couches and chairs. Their was also a sliding door which led to a patio on the outside of the house, overlooking the deluxe lawn.
In the basement, Karen had a lot of storage space down there for her extensive wardrobe and assorted childhood memorabelia. There was 3 bedrooms down there, and a recreational room. It was really homey down there, and she loved to be there. She had a stereo system and television set down there, with a video cassette recorder (VCR).
On the main floor, she had converted one of the bedrooms into her niece and nephew's nursery whenever Richard and Mary would come and visit. And they did come often. Sometimes, they wanted a night off, and so Karen would agree wholeheartedly to watch them. She would play with them, talk with them, carry them, change them, feed them, and even sing to them. This they loved so much. They were mesmorized by her soothing voice. She would sing CRYSTAL LULLABY to them. Sometimes, she would talk to them in a funny voice, and this they liked. They would laugh and coo. She also had lots of opportunity to babysit them overnight, and she would lay on the floor beside their crib. She usually wouldn't get much sleep as she would listen to the voice of their breathing, and wanted to be alert if something should happen.
Meanwhile, Karen's single BEAUTIFUL, the new debut single was released. It lodged into the Top 10 Charts at # 5 and finally dropped to Number One for one week, but it went gold. On the Adult Contemporary Chart it was already positioned at # 1 for 6 weeks. Karen had always loved this song, ever since that first day she had a pile of demo tapes on the floor. She wanted to meet this Rick Bond who had written this powerful song, but he was busy with his career, travelling and performing. She was disappointed, but hoped one day she could meet him. She wanted to see if he had other songs out. When she found a song that she liked, she always liked to be able to meet the songwriter.
Other tunes on this album were SEND IN THE CLOWNS, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, I COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT, and MEMORY. She had hoped that SEND IN THE CLOWNS had been released as a single, but A&M Records didn't see the potential of it being a hit single.
She and Richard headed into the studios in July and August to start recording their 4th Christmas album. They hadn't had a Christmas album since 1984's now in the double platinum stage, CHRISTMAS MEMORIES WITH THE CARPENTERS. So they recorded lots of songs.
Karen even wrote the song with Richard called CHRISTMAS (ALWAYS IN MY HEART). Richard wrote a beautiful arrangement, and Karen's vocals were as stunning as always. Since her solo albums, she now helped with Richard and had more say in matters of producing. She had a good ear, and had learned the technique of knowing where all the instruments went in a song, and where the vocals went. Other songs were MY FAVORITE THINGS, SUZY SNOWFLAKE, EMMANUEL, FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN (which showcased her immense range) and BETHLEHEM MORNING (which her friend Sandi Patti Helvering had sung and recorded, and on this version, Sandi guested with Karen on this song).
Other songs were recorded as well, as over 17 tracks were recorded, and only about 12 would be on their upcoming album. They would use the leftover songs for their slated Christmas special this winter, which would be a 2 hour special, and would look over their Christmas specials from years past.
Sandi Patti and Karen became good friends. Their interests were quite similar, and they found each other to be a kindred spirit. Vocally, there voices blended so nicely with each other, and Karen was very flattered that Sandi had made known in articles and books that she admired Karen as a singer. This was a promising friendship, that had only just begun…
Karen had a lot of fun taking care of her god children Kristi and Kenneth, who were now at the crawling stage. Richard was back in the studio compiling another Greatest Hits album titled THE SINGLES 1981-1987 which would have their latest hits. A&M Records was looking for a blockbuster greatest hits collection and knew that The Carpenters would be it. THE SINGLES 1969-1973 was already certified at 8 million units sold, with THE SINGLES 1974-1978 certified at 5 million units sold. Everyone of their 1970's albums was certified double platinum. Their sales worldwide was now at 150 million units sold.
Karen and Mary would spend the day watching the children, and talking. They had always been close as cousins, and now the bond of them being sisters-in-law was now greater. Or they would head over to their parents home on Newville Avenue, and visit.
Agnes and Harold doted on their double pride and joy, and spoiled them as grandparents are apt to do. Karen was amazed at how her Mom especially seemed more calm and more at peace. Maybe it was because she was taking extra care of her husband Harold, who was not doing well at all. Those kind of thoughts scared Karen, who didn't want to lose her Dad. She wanted Harold to walk her down the aisle whenever she got married.
Karen was at her new home, doing some cleaning up. She had Florine to help her, but Karen being so practical, liked to do it herself if she could. She was vacuuming around her spacious living room, having picked up all the scattered toys that had been laying around. Kristi and Kenneth had just left, and now Auntie Karen was cleaning up. She loved her house, even though to her it was empty. She wondered if there would ever be the sound of pitter patter down the stairs, of kids jumping up and down on their beds, and their toys everywhere. She sighed, as she imagined her life all alone.
Richard and Mary welcomed twins Kenneth and Kristi to their family on April 16th, 1988. It had been quite a surprise for the whole family. Twins had not run in their family, at least not that they were aware. Agnes and Harold were overjoyed. Karen was thrilled, and spent as much time with them as she could.
At their christening, Karen and Mark "BEAR" Rudolph (their cousin, and Mary's brother) were named the God Parents. Karen was so moved, and so very happy for Richard and Mary. Now it was time for her to have a family.
Karen had been dating some men, but still hadn't found the right one. She heard thru the grapevine that Tom Burris had remarried. She was happy for him, and sent him a beautiful gift for the newlyweds. Karen was not one to hold on to a grudge, and wanted Tom to know that she was happy for him. She had closed that door of her life forever, and the future lay before him.
Karen spent a lot of her free time on fixing up her new house. It had a huge front and back yard. She wanted a bridge, a waterfall, and several water fountains. She wanted it to be a place where she could go and relax.
Inside, on the main floor, there was a large foyer, with a grand staircase. To the right, was a large living room, with wide windows. Behind that, was the homey dining room, which led into a breakfast nook. To the one side of it, was a huge, elaborate kitchen. On the other side of the grand staircase, was an office, a bathroom, and 2 bedrooms. Upstairs were 5 bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. There was also another big living room up there.
In there, was Karen's hundreds of gold and platinum records. Their was a gold, and glass shelves which held her 26 Grammy Awards. The room had several plush couches and chairs. Their was also a sliding door which led to a patio on the outside of the house, overlooking the deluxe lawn.
In the basement, Karen had a lot of storage space down there for her extensive wardrobe and assorted childhood memorabelia. There was 3 bedrooms down there, and a recreational room. It was really homey down there, and she loved to be there. She had a stereo system and television set down there, with a video cassette recorder (VCR).
On the main floor, she had converted one of the bedrooms into her niece and nephew's nursery whenever Richard and Mary would come and visit. And they did come often. Sometimes, they wanted a night off, and so Karen would agree wholeheartedly to watch them. She would play with them, talk with them, carry them, change them, feed them, and even sing to them. This they loved so much. They were mesmorized by her soothing voice. She would sing CRYSTAL LULLABY to them. Sometimes, she would talk to them in a funny voice, and this they liked. They would laugh and coo. She also had lots of opportunity to babysit them overnight, and she would lay on the floor beside their crib. She usually wouldn't get much sleep as she would listen to the voice of their breathing, and wanted to be alert if something should happen.
Meanwhile, Karen's single BEAUTIFUL, the new debut single was released. It lodged into the Top 10 Charts at # 5 and finally dropped to Number One for one week, but it went gold. On the Adult Contemporary Chart it was already positioned at # 1 for 6 weeks. Karen had always loved this song, ever since that first day she had a pile of demo tapes on the floor. She wanted to meet this Rick Bond who had written this powerful song, but he was busy with his career, travelling and performing. She was disappointed, but hoped one day she could meet him. She wanted to see if he had other songs out. When she found a song that she liked, she always liked to be able to meet the songwriter.
Other tunes on this album were SEND IN THE CLOWNS, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, I COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT, and MEMORY. She had hoped that SEND IN THE CLOWNS had been released as a single, but A&M Records didn't see the potential of it being a hit single.
She and Richard headed into the studios in July and August to start recording their 4th Christmas album. They hadn't had a Christmas album since 1984's now in the double platinum stage, CHRISTMAS MEMORIES WITH THE CARPENTERS. So they recorded lots of songs.
Karen even wrote the song with Richard called CHRISTMAS (ALWAYS IN MY HEART). Richard wrote a beautiful arrangement, and Karen's vocals were as stunning as always. Since her solo albums, she now helped with Richard and had more say in matters of producing. She had a good ear, and had learned the technique of knowing where all the instruments went in a song, and where the vocals went. Other songs were MY FAVORITE THINGS, SUZY SNOWFLAKE, EMMANUEL, FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN (which showcased her immense range) and BETHLEHEM MORNING (which her friend Sandi Patti Helvering had sung and recorded, and on this version, Sandi guested with Karen on this song).
Other songs were recorded as well, as over 17 tracks were recorded, and only about 12 would be on their upcoming album. They would use the leftover songs for their slated Christmas special this winter, which would be a 2 hour special, and would look over their Christmas specials from years past.
Sandi Patti and Karen became good friends. Their interests were quite similar, and they found each other to be a kindred spirit. Vocally, there voices blended so nicely with each other, and Karen was very flattered that Sandi had made known in articles and books that she admired Karen as a singer. This was a promising friendship, that had only just begun…
Karen had a lot of fun taking care of her god children Kristi and Kenneth, who were now at the crawling stage. Richard was back in the studio compiling another Greatest Hits album titled THE SINGLES 1981-1987 which would have their latest hits. A&M Records was looking for a blockbuster greatest hits collection and knew that The Carpenters would be it. THE SINGLES 1969-1973 was already certified at 8 million units sold, with THE SINGLES 1974-1978 certified at 5 million units sold. Everyone of their 1970's albums was certified double platinum. Their sales worldwide was now at 150 million units sold.
Karen and Mary would spend the day watching the children, and talking. They had always been close as cousins, and now the bond of them being sisters-in-law was now greater. Or they would head over to their parents home on Newville Avenue, and visit.
Agnes and Harold doted on their double pride and joy, and spoiled them as grandparents are apt to do. Karen was amazed at how her Mom especially seemed more calm and more at peace. Maybe it was because she was taking extra care of her husband Harold, who was not doing well at all. Those kind of thoughts scared Karen, who didn't want to lose her Dad. She wanted Harold to walk her down the aisle whenever she got married.
Karen was at her new home, doing some cleaning up. She had Florine to help her, but Karen being so practical, liked to do it herself if she could. She was vacuuming around her spacious living room, having picked up all the scattered toys that had been laying around. Kristi and Kenneth had just left, and now Auntie Karen was cleaning up. She loved her house, even though to her it was empty. She wondered if there would ever be the sound of pitter patter down the stairs, of kids jumping up and down on their beds, and their toys everywhere. She sighed, as she imagined her life all alone.
