Revival Recital 2018 - 7th annual

7th Annual Revival Recital

This recital was so amazing because we had several new performers- ladies who were participating for the very first time!

I shared these quotes from Brene Brown at the beginning.

 I really do think that we are brave, 

reviving 

renewing

learning for the first time 

and then putting it out there 

being vulnerable

for others to see 

I always like to do an opening number that is fun and a little bit of a surprise. I performed "This Is The Greatest Show" and not only did I play it, I played it in costume.

And I totally messed up and made some funny faces. But I don't have a problem with that. 

Mr. H retirement

My high school choir teacher, Mr. H, retired this year. At the final Madrigal concert, many of the alumni took to the stage and raised our voices in tribute of this wonderful teacher and friend!

This is what I shared on Instagram. It sums up my feelings pretty well so I won't belabor you with more words.

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During warm-ups, Mr. H would give each section a note to sing. Then he would modulate the chord, pointing to sections to move up or down, augmenting and diminishing, moving through chord progressions. It was not lost on me, the ability for one part to change the entire chord. 

🎵
Sometimes we would stand in a circle, mixed parts, holding hands, eyes closed. I learned to stand on my own and sing my own part while surrounded by those singing something different. I found that music sounded deeper, fuller, more beautiful, when we stood outside our section and blended. 

🎵
Thank you, Mr. H, for being a great teacher, friend and example. And also teaching me not just to love music but to feel music. Happy retirement!

Every end-of-year madrigal concert ends with the song "You Are the New Day" arranged by the King Singers. Past madrigal members join together on stage for the number because we have all learned the song. 

This year, the crowd was enormous!

Then the past madrigals sang "For Good" from the Broadway show Wicked. It was very emotional.

So here is the shorter version of the songs we sang.

They also made a book for Mr. H and this is the letter I wrote to him. The Instagram post is a shorter version of this. 

Mr. H-

I always thought I was an imposter in the Madrigal choir, having earned my spot not because I had an amazing voice but because I knew notes and theory. I’ve always been grateful I squeezed my way into the choir.

In the Madrigal choir I first learned to feel music. I remember you giving each section a note to sing and then modulating chords, pointing to sections to move up or down, augmenting and diminishing, moving through chord progressions. It was not lost on me, the ability for one part to change the entire chord and the meaning that has outside the classroom.

I remember standing in a circle, in mixed parts, eyes closed, holding hands and having to stand on my own and trust myself to sing my part surrounded by those singing something different. The result was that the music sounded better when we stood outside our section and blended together. What a powerful life lesson!

Some of my favorite songs my choir sang were “And So It Goes,” “My Love Loves Me,” “What Sweeter Music” as well as “Chooka Train,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing”. Each of these songs, in their own way, helped me learn that music is more than notes and theory. Music is a conduit to emotion that is unique, individual and unifying.

Thank you for not stopping. Thanks for pushing through the difficult years. Thanks for choosing amazing music. Thanks for believing in.a group of crazy kids year after year. Thank you for high expectations. Thank you for being YOU! Because you made a difference!

Random December

Helping put up Christmas lights.

The kids have been working really hard to get me to buy them a dog. They covered my room with notes about puppies.

They changed my lockscreen and wallpaper on my phone and ipad to puppies. And they are cute. The puppies and the children, but I'm not getting a puppy.

Sydney went to a Christmas Formal dance with her good friend, Ben! They make a cute couple. (This was actually girl's choice at his charter school, but he defied the social norm asked her anyway.)

Here's one more picture of my beautiful red cake.

This Pickles comic made me laugh because when Sterling was gone in Washington D.C., I completely forgot to put out our garbage can on garbage day and it was already FULL. 

Sydney went to the Westlake Christmas dance with her friend, Gavin. (Boy's choice)

Um, yes. This is so true.

Sterling and I were given tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. We've never been before and it was AWESOME! We went for dinner first, at the Nauvoo Cafe, one of my favorites. And we happened to run into to Sydney and Gavin on their Christmas dance date. (See the photo above)

Sterling's Birthday! He turned 44!!! Woot Woot. 

He requested Build Your Own for dinner. And Pumpkin Squares for dessert. Well, that's a warm dessert. But I wasn't thinking about that when I put the candles in and lit them up. 

Talk about burning a candle from both ends. 

And then I had to scoop out the wax before we could eat it. Duh!

And then his favorite Christmas movie, "The Polar Express" for dinner. 

Neighbor, Heather, brought over a fun Christmas game for the kids. She wrapped a lot of toys with rolls upon rolls of plastic wrap. One child unwraps the plastic wrap, collecting toys as they fall out. The next child rolls the two dice until they get a double. Then it all moves to the left and the next child rolls the die while the previous roller unwraps. 

Its a super fun game. Heather had two left over balls from her classroom Christmas party and invited the cul-de-sac kids to my house (while her baby slept at her house) to play the game. I love our cul-de-sac so much.

Sterling and I weren't the only ones who got to see the temple square lights this year. Sydney went with Ben. (She's been seeing a lot of him lately.)

A few other things have been keeping us busy the last little while. Camille started learning to ride the unicycle this fall. She's pretty good now. You can see in the video, from the beginning and then after a little practicing, she's riding all over the place.

Parker and Ethan spent a lot of time bouncing ping pong balls. Its better than playing computer games or staring at a screen. 

Another day, friend Jackson came over and they did a little more.

Stake Music Festival

I love directing our ward choir. We have fantastically talented and dedicated choir members.

Every year, our stake puts on a Stake Music Festival. And every year we have so much fun preparing and singing. This year, we out-did ourselves.

I got a crazy idea to do a Moana song.

"We Know the Way."

And then I decided to add drums.

And then I decided to add dancers.

And then I decided to add a real-life Maui (Bro. Sika)

Camille was one of the dancers. Parker and Sydney were in the choir.

We kind of were amazing!

The video begins with our sacred song (Father, Be My Guide) and then our secular song (Moana) and then Moana again from a different angle)

Some of my favorite things from this experience:
* I loved including the youth both as dancers and singers.
* I loved hearing only the youth sing this solo section of the song:
"We are explorers reading every sign.
"We tell the stories of our elders in a never-ending chain."
* I loved including non-member, Rory, to help with the music. Seeing as how he is a fantastic, experienced, music-industry musician afterall.
* I loved including the drums and that this gave Jordan the perfect excuse to buy a gigantic drum he's always wanted.
* I loved that everyone was so willing to come to extra practices and go the extra mile. 
* I LOVE MY CHOIR!

December stuff

In December, Sydney received her Young Womanhood Medallion. There was a lot of work and effort and faith that went into her projects and we are really proud of her for accomplishing her goals.

She also got her driver's license. She is legal and official. I wrote a cute little ditty about her, her license and her purse over here. (click)

Also in December, Sterling celebrated his birthday. He even received this beautiful, hand-crafted birthday crown. Lucky boy.

The family went to Home Depot to run a few errands (with cousin J) and we discovered a music speaker to put in the shower. It was pretty awesome and now I want one.

At the Dewey family Christmas party, we decided to try something different for the nativity. We started in an effort to do a shadow box play and instead, ended up with a puppet play. It may have been a little rowdy and imperfect, but the kids really enjoyed being behind the table and working the silhouette puppets. 

Uncle Mike is always a hit at family gatherings. In good weather, he skateboards.  In cold weather, he does all kinds of tricks inside. 

One of our favorite Christmas activities was going to see "Forgotten Carols" by Michael McClean. It was awesome!!! And the perfect lead-in to Christmas!

One more thing for December. I bribed my kids with their own box of ice cream and their own box of toaster strudel to sing Great Grandma Gabbott's song, 

"Around the World at Christmas Time"

for the ward party. 

It was awesome. She left behind beautiful words to music and I'm so grateful my kids learned it and that it could turn their hearts to their ancestors. Even if it takes a little bribery.

Day 15: Jesus Worshipped through Song

Day 15: Jesus worshipped through song and so can I!

SONG

I sat in the temple in anguish. Confusion and doubt pulsed out of my heart, racing upward, seeking audience with the Heavens and seemed to stop short at the high ceiling. They rained back on me like falling tears.

Why are there no answers? I clutched my chest and bowed my head. Please hear my prayers. Please at least send comfort!

The large room furnished with comfortable couches and chairs, most occupied by reverent, peaceful looking people, felt empty. I was empty. The drive home was somber. No answer. No comfort.

Looking for distraction, I pulled up Facebook in the five minutes I had before picking up my kindergartner. The first thing I saw was this post by Hillary Weeks. It was the only post I saw that day. (Please be sure to read her words below the video)



She posted for me. FOR ME. Why did God not answer my pleading in the temple? Why did He instead use another person? And Why in the world did He use Facebook? 

I don't know. It was painful to feel abandoned. It was lonely, confusing, scary. But this experience was not without grace. And learning. And increased understanding. 

Perhaps He wanted me to know what it feels like to not receive answers, even in the temple. Perhaps He wanted to remind me that "God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs." (Pres. Kimball) 

What I learned most of all though, is that HE KNOWS ME. He knows me enough to speak my language, and sometimes speak to me through Facebook. He knows me enough to know music would touch me in a way that would penetrate directly to my heart, which has direct access to my Spirit. He knows I would be able to listen to this song over and over and remember. Remember the pleading, the loneliness, the answer and the Love! He knows me!

Though some of my questions are still unanswered, my Faith in God, His plan for His children and His Love, will not waver. Not Ever. 

I am so grateful for prayers, answered and unanswered. I am so grateful for song.

And thank you, Hillary Weeks, for following the prompting of the Spirit. Your post and song continue to bless my life to this day. 

Also:
This is one of my favorite Sunday (really any day) songs by my good friend, Christine Comstock.

Also: 
Here is another blog post I wrote for Segullah that has to do with music. 

March stuff

And now,

for your entertainment,

a running list of random things that happened in March.

I love love love that Bryce goes over to our neighbor's house on an almost daily basis to get a handful of candy and other times he'll just go over to sit in the rocking chair and talk to Sal. That's a special relationship right there.

I also taught Hash how to play Colored Eggs, a game I used to play ALL THE TIME when I was little. They played it for an hour!


We had a day off of school in March (professional development) so we joined Sterling on Capitol Hill during the legislative session. We did this last year too. This year, we invited the Finkens and also ran into some neighbors, the Pease's. We had a lot of fun.

Chris Finken said something that made me chuckle. He said it was nice to see Sterling in his natural habitat. And to some, you may think Capitol Hill, surrounded by lobbyists is his natural habitat because its his job and what he does everyday. But really, his natural habitat is exactly the opposite. His true natural habitat is farm fields surrounded by crops or livestock. Sure love that man who can be comfortable rubbing shoulders with politicians but would rather be standing in a field somewhere.

This was a nice little note to see on my girls' piano notebook. Someone appreciates me!!!

Parker is doing well in scouts. He is cruising through it. He received his life award at this Court of Honor. And they always tell the boys to bring up their moms because in most homes, the moms do a lot to help. But in OUR home, I don't do a thing. Sterling does it all. But he always insists that I go up with Parker and Parker pin the parent emblem on me. This is the last time though. Because the next award is the Eagle and I refuse to take Sterling's glory. 

And PARKER! He's the one doing all the heavy lifting around here!

On the last day of the month, the younger three and I participated in the Stake Cultural Arts production, "Ponder the Path of thy Feet." It was a wonderful activity. During the rehearsals, the director would subtly teach the gospel principles the children were singing about. It was so wonderful. Besides the musical numbers, they also did a shadow box puppet play. Look at these puppets and set. It was AMAZING. Truly! I'm so glad we took the opportunity to get involved!

EVERYTHING IS AWESOME

STUDY THE SCRIPTURES

MY TESTIMONY GROWS - This song was written by Mabel Jones Gabbott, my grandma. I was so thrilled when I found out this was the song we were singing. So grateful my girls got to learn this beautiful song!

Random March pictures

Sterling made this beautiful mantel for the fireplace. Then we picked the wrong stain and didn't test it anywhere before applying it. I can't even bear to post a picture of the finished project. It's just so sad. #badstain

There was this day in late February when hundreds of birds descended on our yard. It was amazing. 

Also, I turned this yard into 

these cute little guys.

Rachel is in the dual immersion Spanish program at school. She is learning so much and doesn't seem to mind that half her day is in a language she is just beginning to understand. The Spanish program had a "Fiesta" program where each grade performed a song and dance. 

Notice what Rachel does with her feet during the big group song. What a little turkey!

Sydney likes to take lots of selfies. I always find lots on my phone. I think she's beautiful!

For Christmas, we gave my parents tickets to the Utah Symphony's performance of Peter and the Wolf. Which is funny because my brother, in Texas, also gave my parents tickets to the Utah Symphony for Christmas. But not the same performance. Anyway, I remember listening to Peter and the Wolf growing up and going to the family series with my siblings when we were younger. I loved it. So this was very sentimental to go to Abravanel Hall (or "a boring hall") with my own children and my parents. 

Sydney's school choir (the Songbirds) had a concert and they were fantastic. Especially for a Jr. High school choir.

You need to make sure you notice the stare-down Syd gives the camera during the last song. Classic!

Every once in a while, Syd gets to the temple with friends!