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James And Marilene

Birthdays: Jim -May 25,1960   Marilene -also May 25,1964      Married Aug.28,1982 

Jim, Dad, became the rhythm guitar player of the band when the children began music in 1996. It was his goal to have an entire "live played" band. If it were not for his high goals, nothing may have come of Atnip music. He truly labors days & some at night to be the supporting backbone all through the process. He is a General Contractor  (Atnip Construction, LLC.) He had to buy and learn a sound system, chose to put on 9 years of Gospel festivals, bought all the family instruments, takes the family on tours, bought and converted a 40 ft. bus which the family did not really have the extra cash for.  He went from barely being able to "carry a tune in a bucket" to lead singing for the family in 1998, when his family soon learned that he had the strongest voice in the family. This continued to the point that he was  nominated and voted "Male Vocalist of the Year 2003" by the regional Country Gospel Music Assoc. He is very much a "Daddy" & adores his family.

Marilene, Mom, is song teacher, friend & supporter of each family member’s abilities. She plays acoustic bass, & sings any part needed.  I guess one could say she “goes along for the ride” with most of Dad's new ideas and had to laugh a lot at the disappointments of being in ministry together.  She was chosen by American Mothers as  "Wyoming's Young Mother Representative of the year 2000." She helps home school her children, spends a lot of her time helping in the family business, and has many friends in the senior community. She loves company and entertaining and "the more the merrier" is her theme. She especially enjoys hosting uplifting youth gatherings, and has a special concern for youth. Also she has a special respect for elderly and handicapped. She, of course also keeps busy enough on all the various things a mom  must do to keep the family's schedule surviving.
 

  

   
Benjamin
Birthday: September 18, 1984         batnip@gmail.com
What a welcome Benjamin James received when he came into a quiet home! Benjamin was the firstborn, & how could his parents dream he would be the oldest of 10 children? Beginning preschool age, what a blessing to have him, the oldest, also as a great Christian example to his many younger siblings! He loved truth and fairness. He has helped his dad Jim in Construction, especially since age 13 (and is still a board member in the family business.)  He’s been playing Banjo since he was 12, self- taught from the MURPHY METHOD. The banjo has brought great joy; he has played "fill-in" for other bands, and has sold lots of "Murphy Method" learning videos. At least several other young men, in Gospel groups across the country, have learned to play banjo because of his influence. He also picks guitar on a few songs. He always appreciated home schooling, was easy to teach, excelled in Math and was always an A student. He graduated from Thompson Education (correspondence high school) in 2002. Since then he had continued as the family's computer teacher, flew RC planes, and was an outstanding chess player in his spare time. In 2005 he enrolled in On-line college, & uses his spare time toward his bachelor's degree in aviation. First becoming a private pilot in Cody, in 2006 he then went to ATP in Mesa, AZ and is now a Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor. On April 2, 2007 he is scheduled to begin his first flight instructing job in Tulsa, Oklahoma. So far he has been able to join the family for every big singing tour and for prison crusades, but no one is sure of the future.

 

 
Kimberly
Birthday: June 16, 1986        
Kimberly Dawn, the oldest daughter, has been the fiddler and fiddle teacher of the family. She has a priceless smile that has warmed many guests at concerts. When she was 4 years old, she  invited Christ into her heart, and when 6 years old, she determined to serve the Lord the rest of her life. Her motherly, patient nature is winning to the many children she babysat, & also to her siblings. She has helped her parents on construction cleaning projects since a child. Having scored all A's in academics in school, she finished High School in January, 2003. Following that she immediately began a career in elderly care.  She has the gift of organization, and her family views her as more a perfectionist in all her doings. She is not a peer dependant person, and serves as a compassionate, yet solid Christian example to local youth. She helps her father in book keeping for the family business . In 2004, at a local College, she obtained a one year certification as a nurses-aid .She currently owns & manages "Kim's Home Care"  of which she and her employees tenderly care for elderly/disabled clients who remain in their own homes. She is an extra clean, particularly organized homemaker for her clients.  Having one of the best gifts of memory, she has so many qualities that one of the best descriptions for her is “pure dependability”. Many are excited to see how the Lord will lead her future.

 
Joseph
Birthday: March 13, 1988
Joseph Stan was the first born of twins, to a sister Julie. He loves the mandolin picking, and can also play violin, etc... and is beginning to play musical saw. He won a 2nd place award in mandolin in a state musical contest in 2006.He always a particular type of a guy in all his doings. (As a toddler he was upset if even his hamburger toppings would slide out of place.) He learned to read before kindergarten age (mostly from his older siblings.) He always could do his school swiftly, went far ahead of his age level, and graduated with all A's at age 16. He did much of his school on the way to, or way home from working for his father. Not only was he an immense worker around the house, but also helped Jim in construction since 9 yrs old, & currently remains a board member in the family's construction company as well. His Dad finds him to be incredible help in construction and the family is currently grateful that he not only likes construction, but also that he, so far, does not have any plans to change careers.   He was always a serious, quiet boy; he is one who still makes every job look simple. Because of always quietly doing his work without complaining, he helps his family's entire household & business run more smoothly. The Lord has used Him in a wonderful way since he has chosen His path.


 
Julie Ann
Birthday: March 13, 1988
Julie Ann, Joe’s twin, is our creative, original thinker, enjoys reading, & adds much laughter and enthusiasm to the family. For the first years of our music, she was content to just be babysitter. The last few years she sings lead vocals, sometimes with her twin Joe.  In the recent year or two she took up “yodeling”, getting numerous requests for yodeling now. She also can play bass but in public she usually prefers to just be babysitter and let her Mom play, but also plays piano in the home. She loved cooking since old enough to stand on a chair in the kitchen and watch mommy. She is also a creative cook, testing new dishes on the family. She works hard at home, quietly doing laundry and ironing.  She got all A's in school and graduated at age 16. She is certified to keep disabled children on the Wyoming Medicade Waiver, and enjoys children. She also enjoys animals, and she enjoys obedience training for Bichon dogs and horses. She is a very easy person to get along with and her little siblings certainly enjoy her motherly nature. She is a good teacher, who brings attention to higher standards in her younger siblings. She is a remarkable Christian example in our home, and loves her seasonal job cooking in Cody at Dairy Queen.

 
 

 
Karissa
Birthday: May 30, 1991
Karissa Lorae is a laughing and sweet homemaker with her own style of beauty. She took up twin fiddling with her sister Kimberly in public in 2002, and has kept that her instrument of choice ever since. As a youngster, she was a very easy daughter to raise.  As a child she loved the indoors. She is a great dishwasher, cleaner, and the last while her good cooking and love for sewing clothing is beginning to be a real asset to her family. She was as quiet natured as a baby comes, and content to be in the house more than most children in her toddler years. She still values privacy and home life.  She finished high school on Christmas Day, 2006, at age 15 1/2. She became aware of sin at a young age and committed her life to God. She is now beginning to drive, and also loves 4 wheeling and being with close friends.

 
Duane
Birthday: August 28, 1993
Duane Lee was born in Spokane, Washington & came to our small home on his parents' 11th anniversary. Soon his family got to move to a larger home, but what a sweet and easy going nature he was given. He began playing Dobro for the family in 2004, and how his family  appreciates him playing a song or two in public. He rededicated his heart to God on a singing tour at around age 11, and "Wow," he always made his daddy want another boy just like him. In his early childhood years he was so content and quiet that his parents often had to check for sure that he was around the house. His strong point also is quick memorization, which makes him easier to home school, but at his present age he certainly prefers outdoor work to school books. He is beginning to enjoy wood working in the shop. His family & friends still delight in his "easy going" nature, and he gets along well with others. At age 13, he was very happy to finally be given a younger brother, David Wesley.

 
Kaylena
Birthday: December 3, 1996
Kaylena Rose is a child who is sensitive to the Lord. She took up violin at age 6, and is quite precise in it. She is known best for a song that she began to sing at about age 3, which got reproduced heavily for a Child Evangelism ministry & reportedly was sent to several states.  She has abundance of energy, an interest in things like cart wheels, climbing, and all kinds of bouncing liveliness. She has a sweetness few could compare to. She gets along well with others, is a very hard worker, great in school, neat in her writing, and a very accomplished person. One of her most outstanding talents is how well she treats her younger sisters especially and teaches them many things. Dishes is not currently her favorite hobby.  She loves activity , especially having company, making friends, going to Bible events, and values her girl-friends.

 
Luanna
Birthday: June 26, 1999
Luanna Joy came into our home a charming, cuddly 8th child. We recall a pastor standing up and holding her, announcing how she had attended three gospel concerts by the time she was four days old. (It was true.) She could hum a perfect tune before she could even say the words eligibly to a song. So she began sing at a very early age and is a quick learner. Soon she became our ‘Grandma” for the song ‘Grandmas Rocking Chair” , but so sweetly gave that beloved job to her younger sister when the time came. She could read many words at age 3 yrs. and three months. She began violin at age 4. She is so gifted at expressing her feelings and has a most unique gift of explaining and putting her thoughts into words. She loves reading and thinks someday she would like to be a school teacher . Her toddler prayer was that "everybody is a Christian." She is very spiritually minded, does much Bible study, and often has deep questions about the Bible.

 
JaLynn
Birthday: December 31, 2002
JaLynn Rae is a joyful little girl who LOVES to sing, especially on stage.  She is trying to begin playing on the violin. As a baby she loved hugs and closeness and seemed determined since she came home from the hospital birth, that she was not going to like sleeping alone. She was the third girl in a row, and just such fun that her Daddy always said she was “cute enough to be a boy.” She has an easy smile and loves to tease and play and tell her many older sibling what the facts are. She enjoys reading, writing, coloring, and activity, and never seems to lack for energy. She is kind to her baby brother and entertains him a lot. She is beginning school work at age 4, because she is so anxious to read.

 
 
David
Birthday: Nov.3, 2006
David Wesley came into the world without crying, (the nurse said he was too "in shock" from being born so quickly to cry.)  He is the  "picture of health" and words cannot describe all the joy he brings. He is doing everything at the age a healthy baby should, and he gets complimented for being very alert, and his one dimpled, huge smile captures nearly everyone's hearts, of those who take time to talk to him. All his siblings certainly play with him and can hardly hold him enough, but no one takes place of "mommy" at this age. He is very content, but when hungry he lacks no volume letting the world know, either. His family cannot thank God enough for bringing him into their home. After three girls in a row, the Lord did not forget the desires of his daddy's heart to "have another boy". His Daddy now introduces him as the one who "does his singing at night."