Austin Singers Shameless Plug

Come see the Austin Singers! We're performing a collection of folk-songs arranged by John Rutter and a Haydn mass, with a chamber orchestra and wonderful soloists.

It's been fun (and a lot of work) to sing with this group. I can only hope that I'll be able to adjust my work schedule and be able to sing with them in the future. So just in case this is my only concert with the group, come hear us this saturday and sunday!

Saturday the 18th at 8pm, or Sunday the 19th at 4pm. Locations and ticket prices can be found here.

(For those of you in the ward - Tim Workman is the director. It's fun to see him in his element.)

John Sings?

I love my husband. For oh so many reasons. One of them is that he sings.

WAIT! Hear me out!

I know he doesn't sing well. I still love that he does it.

The first time I sat next to John in church, I think I nearly gagged on my own spit when I heard him sing a hymn. I couldn't stop staring at him. He had to know what he sounded like, right? Being such an awesome girlfriend, I pointedly told him how bad he was.

Let's fast forward to when John met my family. I was much more afraid that he would turn and run as fast as he could than any kind of judgments my family would have. (I assumed they would be awed by his relative normalcy.) So we're sitting in church and the first hymn starts. My family is made up of trained singers or those who appreciate vocal music. The instant John opened his mouth, every head in our row turned very slowly in our direction. They were all looking at me with this "You're OK with this???" look on their faces. I think it was the most unified my family had been in many, many years.

By that point, I could laugh at them. John pointed out to me on that very first sunday that hymns are prayers. And that if I asked him to stop singing because I didn't like it, I'd be depriving him of saying those prayers.

Now I love that he has the guts to do it. That the prayers are more important to him. And I love that he sings to our kids. (They love it too.)

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I wrote this because I saw a writing prompt (and hilarious story), and because I was at choir rehearsal about an hour ago. It seemed appropriate.

The prompt is: Why even sing? Write about a time when people were singing badly.

For My Dad

My dad is always reminding me that I should sing more. Especially at home. I know that during the happy times, my mom singing was one of his favorite things. And I promise dad, we do sing a lot around here. Probably not as much as I should, but I'm trying.

I just read this post about a woman who appreciates her good-enough singing voice as a gift for her and her family. Even if she will never sing on Broadway. Mine isn't amazing, but it's good. And being low, it stands out more than average. It's a goal of mine to perform again. But for now, I want to remember the gift that it can be to my kids, my husband, and to me. Thanks dad for helping me see how much it can mean to our family.

Earning a Lollipop

The bishop in our new ward hands out candy to kids who come to his office and recite a scripture, an article of faith, or for the young ones, tell him the name of a prophet. Ethan caught on pretty quickly.

1st time - Ethan was shy and wouldn't say anything, but the bishop gave him a treat anyway for coming up to shake his hand.

2nd time - With prompting, Ethan named President Hinckley to earn his candy.

3rd time - Ethan quickly named a prophet and gave a big, sly grin while he chose a treat.

Today - The bishop had to meet with someone, but a member of the primary presidency was continuing in his stead. Ethan was the very last one, after helping fold chairs in the gym. He walked up and SANG. Picture our little guy belting out "Life could not be better. 'Cause I choose the right down to the letter. Hey look! My mom made me a sweater. Life could not be better." And then, because the sister was so amazed and didn't know the song, Ethan sang Nephi's Courage with her. The boy really earned his lollipop today.

The song is from this movie. Watch the video clips. It's so cheesy. But Ethan LOVES it. Nephi is his new hero. We have Nephi, Ammon, Alma, and Esther, but Nephi is by far the favorite at this house. (I'm partial to Alma. John thinks they're all ridiculous.)

And yes, I'll get video of Ethan singing this song. It shouldn't be hard. He sings it CONSTANTLY.

Jazz Hands

John was reading reviews of some of the local schools and came across a listing of charter schools. He asked if we would ever consider send our kids to one. I said yes, if Ethan or Edward had a particular talent or skill at something and there was a charter school that emphasized it. (Music or science would be areas that wouldn't surprise us.)

John immediately mentioned that maybe we should do more to encourage our little singer. Ethan is constantly singing the songs he knows and making up new ones. I've been thinking about singing more and playing more, and more appropriate, music (Sweeney Todd and some of the Camelot songs are a little much coming out of the mouth of a three year old).

Later that same evening we were sitting at the dinner table talking about the good parts of our day. Ethan burst into made-up song to finish his sentence and ended with jazz hands. I turned to John and said "We need to introduce this boy to show tunes."

Any suggestions? I've never been a huge fan, so I don't know very many. I'd love your help in finding some shows that Ethan would love!