One of the things I love most about this season is the music. We have had several musical feasts lately, thanks to our talented friends and kids.
Last Friday night our friend Dallas invited the kids over for a Christmas jam session at his house, and the parents too. He has been teaching the kids some songs including Christmas carols on various stringed instruments, mandolin, violin, cello. He even hand crafts some of the instruments. We have the coolest friends. Far from the sedate little semi-recital we were anticipating, it ended up being a crazy, speaker blowing bongo playing free for all and we had a ton of fun. So cool. Thanks to Dallas, Finny has started playing the violin and Gabe gets to extend his violin repertoire to the mandolin. Benj and Gracie joined in on the cello.
This last week also brought orchestra concerts for the three older kids. It was Gracie’s first concert (she even got roses from an ardent fan-her dad), and she loved it! So did we.
Then came solemn little Gabe. He did an awesome job on violin
And finally Benj rocked it out on the cello. Literally.
They played a beautiful (and lengthy) arrangement of Christmas music but finished with a rocking piece complete with light show. The little kids were especially impressed by this. (Benj is the cellist 3rd from the conductor.) WARNING: purists may not be amused
We finished off the week with the annual Messiah singalong at the Richardson’s house.
My favourite moment of this evening was probably this: 0:12
The singalong was followed by informal caroling/jam session with so many talented people. We have a wealth of musicians from the university in our ward at church right now and they are so much fun.
The kids are also preparing for the piano recitals coming up soon. Here Ella is exceptionally delighted at being allowed to play a duet with Gabe. I so love her expression here.
Speaking of duets, on Sunday Gabe sang one at the beginning of Sacrament meeting, immediately followed by his first 5 minute youth speaker gig. He did a fabulous job on both counts. I was particularly impressed by his outward calm leading up to both events. I would have been a wreck about the singing, and I was impressed that he prepared the talk entirely alone, he was asked to base his talk on one given in General Conference in October, and fortuitously he had taken notes when he watched it so he was mostly set. He’s a good kid, that one.
The music that surrounds me right now and especially the people who make it, really makes me feel very blessed. Music is magic. Here’s the high school orchestra playing you out in a more traditionally festive manner…
A month of music
Friday? Is that really you?!
This week has gone extraordinarily fast. Last week this time we were feverishly preparing for my sister’s wedding. And by feverishly I mean….I, along with several other members of my family, was in the throes of one of the most stressful two hours of my life, …oh the stories we have to tell! One would never have known though..
Everything turned out so, so beautiful and happy! Miracles happen. I can’t wait for the professional pictures. Mine, when I thought to take any, were all absolutely rubbish. Oh well..
Some highlights from this week before I launch into my South Africa travelogue (planned for this weekend)…
My homecoming was lovely, but the first day after was weird, getting reacquainted with my life felt very odd. I’m happy to be feeling almost back to normal again. Happily I suffered almost no jet-lag thanks to my sister Shona hooking me up with melatonin (the good stuff from Singapore even) but I had quite a bit of an emotional adjustment the first couple of days. I was thrilled to be back with my little family but desperately missed the family I had just left. Every single one of them. I really like those people. They are funny as hell, so incredibly clever and entertaining and they are kind and work hard to be as good as they can be. Each one of them is an excellent example to me in some way. Our time together is certainly not free of drama or conflict, but we love each other a lot and we enjoy each other. How I wish we all lived closer. How I wish. Wishing aside, I feel really blessed that I could have spent as much time as I did with me. So many selfless sacrifices were made by so many on my behalf, and I am so grateful.
Hanging with my baby girl again was wonderful but strange at first… it almost felt like babysitting someone else’s child and she was a bit distant and definitely “off”. Happily she became MY baby again on the second day that I was home, greeting me with “MOMMY!” in the morning (much to my relief), and she even let me give her piggies AND kept them in. It’s been a long and painful period of her ripping out any type of adornment or style I attempted, (hence the village idiot fringe she is sporting. just to keep the hair out of her eyes) and I was so giddy every time I looked at her little piggies. I hope it wasn’t a fluke…
What a character she is! If you did not see this on facebook, I give you…The Ella Witch Project (with apologies to the Blair Witch project…but this one is far cuter). My favourite part is her maniacal cackle about midway when she realizes she is getting away with it…
Last night was Benj’s first high-school orchestra concert. I did not see him in his tuxedo until he walked onto the stage (they get fitted for them at school and even dress at school) and when I first caught sight of him, I was utterly smitten. As I watched him play Beethoven’s 5th, my mind kept flashing back to him a couple of days old, bringing him home from the hospital, gazing at him as he slept peacefully in his Moses basket. Wasn’t that yesterday? It made me quite emotional. There is something about watching and hearing my kids play music with an orchestra that takes my breath away. Good music is so emotive on it’s own, and seeing my children as part of something so…sublime, so much bigger than just them, makes me so very proud and also makes me realize how much their own people they are. How grown up they are. They have this whole area of lives, this whole skill-set that I have nothing to do with, that I don’t even see develop really, until they give these wonderful performances. It is…breathtaking.
And seriously, how debonair is my guy?
Gabe had his first concert of the year last night too. Oh how I love that sweet, diligent little face. Watching him last night reminded me of how just a couple of years ago he would sit watching Benj’s concerts, literally on the edge of his seat, in absolutely rapt attention. He has always wanted to play the violin and when he does, I see him really just feeling the music, it is the sweetest most touching thing.
Looking forward to a weekend with the family. We have this to look forward to. I call it my spiritual spa. I always feel inspired and rejuvenated after.
Hoping to have plenty of SA photos up by Monday! Have a good one friends.
Week in review…
Ok, this is how my kids differ from me. Gabe came home very tired and very discouraged when we got home late from his soccer game on Friday night. He was sad and truly upset and exhausted. Like fetal position on the couch sad and exhausted. But before going to bed he remembered that there was a 5k Saturday morning (which he hadn’t signed up for, mind you). Now when I am upset and exhausted pretty much the last thing on my mind at 10:30pm on a Friday night is the thought of getting up early on a dreary Saturday morning after a strenuous week of daily soccer/cross country practice, a cross country meet and a soccer game…in order to run a 5K for which I have not signed up for. Yeah. I can confidently say that it at that time of night, in that state of mind, running an early morning race would be approximately 2 places higher on my list as signing up for a non-mandatory root canal or deciding to clean out my garage. But he did it and he did it so well. Gabe is awesome. It’s a known fact.
And check out his finish time. I can only dream. Not too darn shabby for his tired little legs.
Benj went through traditional shearing of the head ..required of the high school soccer team…
Before (Sniff) During After
(Poor Benj has a pretty grueling schedule, since he is now getting up for early morning seminary and playing soccer every day. On Tuesday he left the house at 6:15 for seminary and got home around 10:30pm after an away game. That’s a long day with a lot of living packed in between. Which explains the car catnaps. I love that he even sleeps in his crouched bushman pose). Benj never whines about everything he has to do and he never slows down or blows anything off because he is too tired. Another child who does not mimic me in any way.
Ella showed Finny some new tricks on the computer. (Sitting on the couch in front of a computer..ah yes, at last- there are my genes!)
Gabe at his cross country meet (he’s the one NOT in focus here..unlike the bus..which is crisply in focus-thank goodness!)
Gabe’s soccer game (where mom took more really terrible token pictures). This week wasn’t my finest hour, photography wise. Or really life-wise…but more on that in the next post.
Finny had a game at which I took moderately better photos (I seriously cannot get enough of the intensity on his little baby face when he plays. I imagine it will soon go from really cute to really intimidating. That kid means business.)
Gracie started playing the cello….she is so excited! We now have a string triplet 
Ella mastered the coy royal wave from afar..don’t you want to eat her? Too bad! I already did. She was DE-licious.
And confirmed her status as Daddy’s Girl.
She also had a terrible cold..(yep I really jinxed us all by talking so happily about the 15 months of perfect health) and so she spent a lot of time in our bed or on the couch instead of her cribs for naps. (I would be lying if I didn’t say I kind of loved it..not the being sick part of course..it was just so sweet to watch her sleep again..)
In between all of this, everyone had school, piano lessons, church (Benj gave a really good talk last Sunday on the importance of education. I was so impressed!) and you know…chores…tail gating, eating and occasionally sleeping. There is a lot of action coming out of this little hub of a house once the school year starts. We’re starting to hit our stride but I’m already ready for Thanksgiving break…or you know… TWO WEEKS IN SOUTH AFRICA…because check out what else happened this week…
YES!!! Whohoooo! Now I can focus all my energy on freaking out about leaving my family particularly my BABY for 2 weeks. AAAAACK….That and flying for 18 hours…always my favourite activity. The excitement is still far outweighing the nerves though. I haven’t been home in over 5 years! So excited to see my lovely country, my family, friends, meet my sweet nephews and see my baby sister get married. AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! AWESOME OVERLOAD. Oh! And EAT! I get to eat again on the day that I leave…in TWO .WEEKS. We have been on the hateful diet for 3 weeks now and I must say..it hasn’t really been that bad at all this week. I still miss the normalcy of eating..well, normally but it’s not a big dramatic deal anymore. I’m not at all hungry, and it is extremely effective. Aaron in particular looks so different! He is down about 30lbs in total. I am wearing clothes 3-4 sizes smaller than I was. I still have some to lose but I’m starting to feel more like myself and that is a great feeling. I don’t have great confidence in maintaining any loss that I leave the country in a couple of weeks because.. South Africa? They have good food man. And I plan to eat every single thing they have to offer.
Anyway..I must say…my kids really have to stop doing stuff for a while so that I can turn this blog back over to some serious navel gazing. Folks, I am feeling as it is long long overdue time for a character overhaul. I have come to the uncomfortable realization that I am not moving in the right direction as an individual..things need to change. But change is so hard! Especially when you are inherently lazy, and impatient and judgmental and short tempered and hormonal and moderately insane but change must come. It simply must. I do not like who I am lately and I have a feeling that getting my soul back in shape is going to be a lot harder and more painful than even the HCG diet. But I’m also certain it will be a lot more rewarding.
Enough! More later! You have been forewarned.
