Tshotsholoza

We are 10 days into our summer break and enjoying every minute!

I had grand intentions for my blog during May, but between recitals, concerts, church functions, graduation and celebrations, our calendar was CRAZY! Blogging definitely took a backseat. I know myself well enough to not make any promises for June, but I'm hoping to post more consistently. We've had lots of happiness around here!

For now, enjoy Soren's shining moment from his middle school choir concert last month. It's a fun African song and I think he did a great job! :)

Let It Be

Gentri posted this sweet song just in time for Mother's Day. I didn't know the story behind this popular Beatles' song until I watched this video (read the text at the start), but it's pretty good advice from a mother to her son. And the song is so much more meaningful now that I know the inspiration behind it. Of course, the men from Gentri sing with such beautiful harmonies that it just adds to the message.

Happy Mother's Day!

Graduation Day

Today is Spencer's big day! Tonight he will graduate from high school - an event he's been looking forward to for a long time. I, on the other hand, wonder how we got here so fast...

Isn't he handsome?

A couple of weeks ago, Spencer got a packet of papers in the mail from his first grade teacher, Mrs. England. She saved them for 11 years and then made Spencer's day when they arrived. Can you believe that? There were several worksheets that Spencer had completed as a first grader along with a few pictures and a note from Mrs. England congratulating him on his graduation.

Isn't that just the nicest thing? I can't get over how thoughtful it was!

Spencer has a lot to look forward to. He's been accepted to BYU and he'll start filling out papers for a full-time mission in a few days. He's got a lot going for him and I can't wait to watch him embark on his very bright future.

You Will Be Found

It's always a great day when BYU's Vocal Point releases a new video! I accidentally stumbled upon this a few days ago and then purchased the song. :) It's a good one.

Violin Recital: Rondo

Jeff's parents drove out from Idaho last week to see Spencer and Sterling in Guys and Dolls. They planned on leaving early this morning for Colorado to see more grandkids, but we were able to talk them into staying an extra day for Sterling's violin recital.

Boy, was it worth it!!!

Sterling played the Kreisler arrangement of Mozart's Rondo. It was AMAZING!!

I hope you love it! (It made me cry.)

Guys and Dolls

The high school production of Guys and Dolls this weekend was amazing! The boys were gamblers: Spencer played Harry the Horse and Sterling was Scranton Slim. I wish you could have seen the Crapshooters Ballet; it was my favorite scene!

One thing our little town consistently does well is musicals. Every spring, we are wowed by a quality production. Music is a high priority and the stigma that exists in some areas isn't as present here.

We've had at least one of our kids in eight different high school productions over the years - including the year Sam and Savannah were in The Music Man as 5th and 6th graders - and we have six more years to look forward to. I'm telling you, it doesn't get much better than this at the high school level.

We're sad to see it end, but we're counting our blessings that our kids have such great opportunities here in Small Town, Illinois.

Just look at those suits! All the gamblers had on wildly colorful suits. I love it!

Just for fun, here's a list of the musicals our kids have been in at the high school...
The Music Man (Sam and Savannah)
Oklahoma (Sam)
Honk! (Sam and Savannah)
Anything Goes (Sam and Savannah)
South Pacific (Sam, Savannah and Spencer)
Bye Bye Birdie (Savannah, Spencer and Soren)
Shrek the Musical (Spencer; Sterling played in the pit)
Guys and Dolls (Spencer and Sterling)

Rain Delay

At 11:00 this morning, I received this message from our school superintendent: Due to expected continued rainfall and its impact on road conditions, all schools in the district will dismiss 2-hours early today. 

School has been canceled due to snow and ice several times, but we have never missed school because of rain. I wasn't completely surprised by the cancellation; we've never seen rain like this. We've got little streams running through Jeff's office and our storage room downstairs. We have some rental properties and a couple of them are sporting huge lakes in their backyard. They don't normally have lakes in the backyard...

This next one has a creek that runs just behind the bushes at the front of the photo, but right now you can't tell where the creek ends and the backyard starts. The bridge to the backyard is completely submerged. Do you see the burn pile in the middle of the photo? That sits in the backyard and is several feet tall. But right now it's just a little mound sticking out of the water.

Tonight was supposed to be opening night of the high school production of Guys and Dolls. Spencer and Sterling are gamblers in the play and we've been so excited to see it! But they postponed tonight's show because of the rain. We're hoping for sunshine tomorrow. The show must go on!

GENTRI

Have you heard of GENTRI? It's short for The Gentlemen Trio and we are fans! We've been playing their music on repeat for the past week and can't get enough.

They also have some great videos to go along with their music. Here are just a few of my favorite songs...

Guide Me To Thee: I bought the sheet music for this one and I want my boys to learn it. So pretty.


Dare: We all love this one. It's also a sweet video. :)


Enough: This is a beautiful song, but the video is a total tear jerker. You might want to grab a tissue. Make sure you watch the whole thing, but don't say I didn't warn you!

I hope you love them as much as we do! :)

Lip Sync Battle 2017

My boys were a hit at the Youth Lip Sync Battle on Saturday. Their number was a definite crowd pleaser and lots of fun! The competition was a little stiffer than last year so they didn't bring home the trophy, but from the many comments they received afterward, they should have! :) It was all in good fun so there were no hard feelings.

I love seeing what these three come up with. The choreography is all theirs and came together pretty quickly once they decided on a song. They were having a blast! Enjoy their performance of "Once There Was A Snowman," by Inside Out.

The Prince of Peace

I'm home! :) I was gone for a week where I was able to spend time with Sam and Savannah out at BYU. Then my brother, Rob, and I drove down to spend time with my mom in Nevada. It was a great trip and I'm so happy I was able to go, even at this busy time of year, but it's always good to be home.

I don't want to wait another minute before sharing this beautiful Easter message from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is what I believe. Reflecting on the events of the past 6 months and everything that happened with my dad's illness and death, I don't know if I could have made it through without a testimony of Jesus Christ and His Atoning sacrifice. I can testify that the Savior really is the Prince of Peace.