Solo & Ensemble

Spring entered 4 events for Solo and Ensemble this year.  She played a trumpet solo, cello solo, trumpet trio, and cello trio.  She has worked really hard for quite a few months preparing for these events.  It was an exciting day for her.  She did amazing on her cello solo and then moved on for her trumpet solo.  Nerves got to her a bit and she had trouble at some points getting the sounds out...the buzzing just stopped.  She persevered and finished the piece but I could tell she was disappointed, frustrated, and worried as the song progressed.

As soon as she finished she picked up her music, covered her face with it, and tears began streaming. She took off out of the room and I tried to follow. Man, can she ever walk fast. She was just trying to find the closest exit.  When we were finally  outside we talked some.  She was frustrated because it was the worse she felt she had ever played.  She was disappointed and angry with herself, and a bit embarrassed. She was worried Mr. Newman would be disappointed in her.  I tried to assure that all great musicians have performances like this.  I told her this is where her grit and character come through...could she move on and perform in her next 2 events?  We talked about what she could learn from it and so forth.

She finally felt she was ready to go back inside.  As we got inside each of the directors put their arms around her and encouraged her.  They could encourage her and give her feedback in ways that I could not because I don't speak "music" like they do.  She really is surrounded by amazing mentors and teachers.

As it all turned out, she received Superior ratings on ALL 4 performances!  The adjudicator for the trumpet solo noted that she was obviously prepared, she had great tone (which she has been really working on for the last year or so), fingering was perfect...nerves caused her to press her lips too tightly which makes it impossible to buzz.  The directors were very pleased that the adjudicator saw beyond the nerves and rated her accordingly.  

More than anything I am grateful for the lessons she learned today. She learned that we all make mistakes and the test of character is what we do when we make mistakes. She could have easily quit halfway through her piece but she didn't.  In talking to her she even said that thought never crossed her mind.  She learned that there is more to a performance than what meets the eye. She learned she has great friends that buoyed her up when she was feeling down.  She learned she can be that friend to others as well.  She was reminded how much her directors love her. She learned that her intense work on her tone has paid off as she has improved leaps and bounds in that area this last year.  She learned that at the end of the day all that really matters is if you did your very best in all you do.

And I learned, once again, that my mom heart can be torn and broken time and time again as I watch our children go through painful experiences in life.  It would be easier to shield them from such experiences, but once again I learned how grateful I am that I can be by their side to listen to them and love them as they learn these life lessons on their way to becoming who our Father in Heaven knows they will become.

Happy Birthday, Mary!

Our sweet Mary is now 10!  She was excited to be the first sibling to have a birthday cake made by Spring.  I think Spring showcased Mary's personality perfectly with this cake...bright, happy, beautiful, cheerful!  All things Mary.  We celebrated her birthday one day early since her birthday fell on General Conference.  Grandma and Grandpa Powell went in on a gift for her with us and she received horse riding and grooming lessons!  Her eyes about bugged out when she opened her gift.

Mary loves all things horses and all things with animals. Her dream is to live on a farm with lots of horses, cats, and all other animals.  She has a tender spot in her heart for animals.  Mary loves math and figuring out complicated problems.  She loves to ride her bike with friends and play with stuffed animals.  Mary enjoys coloring and listening to music.  Mary is happy when she is serving other people.  I'm grateful for the kind and loving person she is in our family.

Birthday Flowers from Dad

Moments in March

Joel and I have been able to help in Cub Scouts the last month or so.  It is fun to be with Josh and see his excitement and enthusiasm.  I really miss being in Cub Scouts.  I would trade callings in a flash if I could.  I'm much more comfortable with a bunch of boys than with a bunch of women!


We had another wonderful Upward Basketball Season. Spring, Sam, Josh, and Gideon all played this year.  Spring and Sam made some wonderful friends and actually ended up spending a lot of their Saturdays hanging out in between games and helping.  This is the 6th year we have played with this church program.  They have an end of the year celebration each year; however, it has always been on a Sunday so we don't attend.  We have had the opportunity to share why we don't attend.  This year they changed the celebration to a Saturday so our family could attend.  We are so grateful that they could do this.  They were excited to tell us too!  Blessings definitely come from living our standards and being willing to sacrifice to keep the Sabbath Day holy.  I hope our children always remember this lesson!

Mary is Rebekah's pal.  Rebekah is often found staring out the screen door at all the kids playing outside.

Wind Ensemble...Highest Band in the High School.  Thomas is in the middle back.

Midnight Snack for Spring...she must be growing....

Sam got contacts!  To say he loves them would be the understatement of the year!

Jacob benefited from Spring making frosting for her car project!!!

"Mom! Rebekah's eating poop!"

One afternoon I heard Sara gagging in the kitchen.  With the winter of sickness we have had in our family, my first thought was, "Oh no! She's sick AGAIN!"  I ran into the kitchen knowing I was going to find Sara throwing up.  I turned the corner to see this! Sara was next to Rebekah gagging. When Sara finally saw me she exclaimed, between gags, "Rebekah's eating poop!"

Fortunately, I saw a mushed up Oreo cookie in Rebekah's hand so my mind was quickly at ease.  I tried and tried to explain to Sara that it was NOT poop; it was only a cookie.  She did NOT believe me. Her gagging intensified as she ran off to the bathroom and began puking.

I began to take Rebekah's clothes off of her which had their fair share of mushed up cookies on it.  I was about to head upstairs to give her a bath when Sara came out of the bathroom.  I asked Sara if she would please wipe up the floor for me while I bathed Rebekah.  She took one look at the floor and ran back to the bathroom to throw up some more.  Luckily, Jacob had a strong enough stomach to clean the floor for me!

Sara still will not eat an Oreo cookie!

Learning to Decorate Cakes

Spring wanted to learn how to decorate cakes for a Genius Project at school.  Sister Ulrich, a YW leader in the ward, decorates cakes and has made cakes for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Studio C, and many others.  Spring asked her if she would teach her to decorate cakes in exchange for free babysitting.  Sister Ulrich gladly agreed and the two of them had a wonderful time working together.

They got together once a week for about 3 weeks to learn a new skill each week.  It was so fun to see the progress each week.  Spring loved spending time with Sister Ulrich as much as she did learning the new skill.  In fact, when her final project was over she was really sad because she wasn't going  to have the opportunities to hang out with Sister Ulrich as much.

Spring wanted her final project to reflect her life.  I think her design was absolutely perfect!  The bottom layer is Stow colors with Bulldog footprints to represent the city and schools she attends.  The middle layer is all about her love of music.  She even piped the notes from the High School fight song.  The BYU layer represents her college of choice, and the Goofy hat on top represents her love of Disney movies.

She loves designing and decorating cakes.  The funny thing is...she isn't too fond of eating cake!  She has volunteered to make all her siblings their birthday cakes this year and she is beginning to be asked to make cakes for people.  I have a feeling this new talent will become very profitable for her!

10 Months

Rebekah is now crawling all over the place very quickly.  She puts herself to a standing position but then gets stuck and can't get down.  This is super bad when she stands up in bed and then cries for someone to come help her lay back down.  Let's just say I make many, many trips up and down the stairs! She continues to be a Mama's girl.  She wants me to hold her ALL THE TIME!  She is super light and easy to carry around but it sure makes it difficult to get things accomplished.  I find myself sneaking around the house if  she is playing happily so she doesn't see me.  If she sees me then she immediately crawls over and hangs on my legs until I pick her up.

She is super cute and fun though.  I love how she scrunches up her nose when she smiles and her giggles make all the hard moments worth it.  We are so blessed to have her in our family.