Thursday, July 31, 2008

Some of you know (and if you didn't know you do now :)) that Eric has been working on a CD this last year. In January he went to Utah as a guest singer for the Young Artist's Competition and while he was there he recorded a CD and it is DONE and ready to go!!!If you go HERE you can see purchase info and listen to samples of each song. Some of my favorites are:
Adam-ondi-ahman
Weepin Mary (oh how I love this song! Every time I listen I just want to set it on repeat....)
Guide Me to Thee
and Amazing Grace

I am so proud of Eric for all the hard work and long hours he has put into this project!! And I know you will all be able to tell how much love he put into as well. This project has really been a work of love & testimony. I can hear it even as he sings. Hope you all enjoy it!!!!


Some snippets about the CD, from his blog:


Well, I can finally announce the release of my CD Sabbath Songs! I have put a lot of hard work and effort into this, and am very pleased with the final product. The arrangements are wonderful, and I worked with some of the best in the business!

For purchase information and clips, CLICK HERE.

If you have any questions about the project let me know. Once my distributor releases the CD on their website and when it goes to Deseret Book I will let you know.

Special thanks to everyone who helped make this possible: to Dr. Clayne Robison and his compiling of the books and continued support throughout the project. To all of the performers who worked with me: Deanna Lunt for her sweet soprano sound, John Allen Kovalenko and his amazing fiddling fingers, and Larry Blackburn for his incredible accompanying. To the arrangers, particularly Dan Carter who did the majority of the pieces, and whose pieces will most likely make up the majority of Sabbath Song III. To Clive Romney and his recording studio, to Cyrus Gardner for his mixing & mastering. And finally to my family and parents for their wonderful support.

I hope you enjoy the CD.

Editor's Note: And
huge thanks to Tim Anderson for doing the artwork for the CD cover!!! Go Tim! We love your work and are so grateful for your talents in art!!!

Oh, and some of you may get this again in email format just because we don't want to miss anyone! So, sorry if you see this more than once!! :)

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Attached or single? Married

Best friend? Rachel (one of my wonderful sisters)

Cake or pie? Cake!

Day of choice? Saturday. I love how it's okay for things to go at a slower pace than as usually happens on other days. It just feels great to relax a little and have fun with the family.

Favorite color? Green

Gummy bears or worms? Bears. Always.

Hometown? Ha! As if! I have still moved more times than my age.

Ideal vacation? Almost anywhere without the kids and as soon as that's over, Disneyland/Disney World with the kids.

January or July? January. Mmmm...hot chocolate. I really need to live somewhere else in January. Drinking hot chocolate in Florida is just not as satisfying as all the colder states. *Sigh*

Marriage date? May 12

Number of siblings? 2 brothers and 4 sisters, 3 brother in laws.

Oranges or apples? Depends on my mood!

Phobias? My kids getting hurt...

Quote? "Give a man to fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Reasons to smile? The dishes are done.

Season of choice? Fall

Unknown fact about me: I tried to learn the bassoon in 12th grade. Keyword being tried.

Vegetable? Broccoli, Green Beans or Corn

Worst habit? Forgetting where I put things...

X-ray or ultrasounds? Ultrasounds

Your favorite food? Chocolate!

Zodiac sign? Virgo

And now I tag: Rachel, Anna & Trishelle. Have fun!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

WARNING: If you're squeamish about blood or open cuts....
skip this post or have someone else read it to you!!!


While Eric was in Costa Rica for 9 days last month (singing with their National Orchestra), we here at home had an exciting time. No, exciting really isn't the word for it.

For one thing, I discovered that it's much easier to be away from him if I'm somewhere else too. I am so grateful that last summer the girls and I were with my mom, dad, and sister. Last summer we were apart for 8 weeks but that somehow felt like nothing to the 9 days he was gone this summer. He's been back for sometime now and we're all doing well and glad to be under one roof again.

But as if me on my own with the girls wasn't enough excitement, Esther fell through our glass coffee table!

It was pretty amazing. I was in the other room and heard Heidi screaming semi-frantically so I ran to investigate. Heidi was holding her own foot and screaming (but uncut), whereas Esther was standing in the remains of the coffee table, not holding her foot, and not screaming.

I snatched her out of the mess and then realized she was bleeding. I wrapped my hand around the cut and went to the bathroom to clean it off. Still, no crying. And as she was sitting on the bathroom counter playing with her toothbrush, still, no crying.

And since she was being so mellow and my cell phone was right next to me on the counter (having just called a friend to come watch the other girls), I snapped a picture....


Definitely stitches material, no?

And then because she still wasn't crying and we had taken care of things for the moment, I sat her in her booster chair so she could eat dinner. I had just finished making dinner when she fell.

My wonderful friend came over to watch the girls and then Esther and I left to go to Urgent Care. We were there for 3 hours and she did SO well. When she wasn't being seen by a nurse or doctor, we played. Little games like, "climb up the exam table, slide down the exam table", or "use mommy's keys to open mommy's fist, close mommy's fist and do it all over again", along with the usual toys I keep in the diaper bag. I'm sure she thought it was great having so much one-on-one time with Momma.

Esther whimpered, only whimpered, a little bit when the PA stitched her up. She said, "Hurts, hurts." And then, "All done", when she had decided she'd had enough. That being the only complaint from her, I was very glad I had agreed to the 45-minute numbing gel before the actual anesthetic shots.

We were very fortunate to have our "seamstress" be a PA who had previously worked for a plastic surgeon. Talk about some straight stitches. She did a fantastic job and even our pediatrician was impressed.


Of all my babies, Esther has spent more time in the hospital and urgent care than her sisters. There's something a little sad about a two-year old who says "Medicine" perfectly. :(

We had already made a trip to the ER earlier in June when she was having a hard time breathing. The two of us were gone from 4pm to 12am. Wow. They even gave her an IV.


And after only a few hours in the ER, this is what she looked like.



I got some good cuddle-time out of it.
I wish I had brought my book though... :)

In the end, our pediatrician decided she has asthma. We'll just have to wait and see if she grows out of it. For now, she's become very good friends with her "mask" she holds up to her face for a breathing treatment each night. (We're only doing the treatments for 4-6 weeks to ensure no relapse and then we'll just keep emergency meds on hand.) I am so grateful for modern medicine!

Oh, and one more thing about her stitches -- She is always happy to tell us about the whole incident. If we haven't mentioned it for awhile, she likes to point at her foot, say "band-aid, ankle, table broken". And if we use any of those words in normal conversation, she interrupts to tell us the story again. Such a cutie.

Her stitches have been out for over a week now and she's doing great.
What a trooper.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

my Shape

Until recently, I have not enjoyed shopping. It's always so hard to find things that fit right. So I've been watching a lot of TLC's What Not to Wear trying to figure out what works for ME. I even read the book that Stacy & Clinton wrote to go with it. I still wasn't sure what my shape was and what kind of clothes are flattering on me.

Luckily for me, Eric has a great eye for that kind of thing! I love taking him shopping to help me find clothes. Talk about lucky, huh? How many guys like to shop and are good at knowing what looks good? (Although in defense of other guys, maybe all guys like to see their women dressed well and have a better idea of what that constitutes than we may think.)

The other day he found this website called myShape where it tells you how to measure almost every possible part of yourself and then it tells you what your shape is and shows you TONS of clothes that work for you! The site also has a store where you can buy all of the clothes but I think they're a bit overpriced. At least, for me, right now -- they are. :) But what a valuable tool! To have an idea of what clothes work on you based on all your measurements!

I'm an "M". What are you?

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Okay...I've been struggling to find a way to get some pictures off of my phone but have not been successful. Once my memory card adapter turns up or Eric's arrives in the mail -- I will be able to remedy the situation. Apparently that's the only way to get them off of the phone. BUT, once they are I'll be able to blog about MY CUTE KIDS and our first experience with STITCHES because a post just wouldn't be complete without pictures...