Inspirational Workshop with Rob Gardner

Today I met Rob Gardner, the composer of the uplifting inspirational music found in "Saints and Pioneers", "He is Jesus Christ", "The Price of Freedom", and other amazing programs written for choir & orchestra.

He is one of the most unassuming, down to earth, friendly individuals I have ever met. I listened to his class, and afterwards, he came and ate lunch with us at our table. (My favorite part of this picture is that adorable girl smiling in the background.)

One thing that I noticed about Rob, today, is that he truly has his heart in the right place. It seems that in everything he does, he tries to consecrate his actions to the Lord to uplift others through music, and that's something all musicians should strive to do. One of his topics today was about how we can make every Sunday's Sacrament Meeting special through the music. We talked about ways we can lend to the way people worship at Church and be "fed by the Spirit" through the hymns we sing and perform, and by the preparation we put into it before the meeting (coordinating the musical themes with the themes of the speakers talks, practicing for every performance like we would the Easter or Christmas programs, and going out of our way to give opportunities to people who wouldn't normally have a chance to share their testimonies through music).

I was glad to have the chance to tell Rob in person how his music has affected the way I look at my life. I'll never forget the way I was feeling a couple years ago, and how down and depressed I was getting about situations in my life, and wondering when the Lord would answer my prayers. I remember sitting in Gammage Auditorium with tears streaming down my face as the lyrics from "Saints and Pioneers" reminded me of the faith and testimony I do have in God, and in His time frame. A healing process had begun that night in my heart as the messages from the pioneer's lives, and their examples of endurance were expressed through the gorgeous music. It was a turning point for me in my trials & the way I was perceiving my situation. My trust in the Lord was strengthened.

In particular these words (below) from the presentation struck me the most that night. It was as though the words were being sung straight to me that night, and I could relate to Lucy Mack Smith in the presentation as the actress sang "Unanswered Yet".

Unanswered Yet?

Text by Ophelia G. Adams

LUCY MACK SMITH
Unanswered yet? The prayer your lips have pleaded
In agony of heart these many years?
Does faith begin to fail, is hope departing,
And think you all in vain those falling tears?
Say not the Father hath not heard your prayer;
You shall have your desire, sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? Nay, do not say ungranted;
Perhaps your part is not yet wholly done;
The work began when first your prayer was uttered,
And God will finish what He has begun.
If you will keep the spirit burning there,
His glory you shall see, sometime, somewhere.

Medusa? 'Dusa? Puppy?

Last Saturday, Nick got a new puppy. Tyson seemed to think it was no big deal to have a new animal around. What a goof! He looked at it and ran off to play. Someday he'll know how cool new puppies are, especially ones that are smaller than he is at this age.

Nick is back from Morenci. He no longer has a week on a week off. He now works a semi-normal schedule like the rest of us. It's a good thing, too, because now he can take care of the dog he bought.

We were cracking up, because as we were suggesting names, "Medusa" was the one Nick seemed to like best. Trust me, his puppy would not turn you to stone! She's way too sweet. He's still undecided on the name, and the dog is apparently answering to "Puppy" now. He'd better name her fast!

Curses!!!

Confession: I haven't posted since before Christmas. Seeing as we haven't taken our pictures off of our ancient computer, b/c we have lost our memory stick, Christmas memory photos will just have to wait. It'll suffice to say that I had the best 2 weeks off of my life just being a mom. I actually relaxed & got settled. I got a room painted in my house & put up family photos, and our family room is a place I love to be. We also had an excellent New Year celebration with Mike & Erin, and Adam & Liz, and I bought a Zoo Pass--a brilliant purchase, actually...we've used it twice this month and it's paid for itself. After school started, again, Matt & Christy came over for dinner.

Tyson the Adorable, Gorgeous Lucy, and Studly Ben

Matt & Christy got married the same day we did, and we became friends the day we introduced ourselves at Church . It was the first Sunday for both of us, and that's when we found out we shared our anniversary date. They lived down the stairs at the same apartments we did & we became friends right away.

Ben & Tyson becoming insta-friends.

Posing on the couch for fun! Lucy looks just like Christy. She's such a beautiful little girl!

Lindsay gave us the game Curses forse Christmas. When you read the box, it sounds like it might be a little bit of a hokey game, but it came highly recommended. We practically died laughing the first time we played it. Matt happened to be the winner that night--he had a plethora of curses--he spend most of the evening with his wrists at his chest, biting his tounge, and ended up with a witch's voice (just to name a few). Mitch had to speak like Elmer Fudd the most, and he actually broke one of our kitchen chairs while he was fainting for a curse. We had so much fun. I really miss living next to Matt and Christy. They're such a fun, outgoing couple, and they can have a good time doing anything.

Tuckered Out

You've got to be exhausted to fall asleep in the middle of a meal. The first time I fed him baby cereal as I started introducing solids to his diet, he fell asleep. I didn't take a picture that day, because I figured it would happen frequently enough, that I could catch a picture later. Well...it's more than a year later, and he finally fell asleep during lunch last Sunday. He's not so tiny, anymore, but I love him just as much, and it's amazingly adorable to me when he's tuckered out!