YouTube Orchestra

Ben Chan is a NYC resident and is playing in the upcoming Mormon Orchestra concert. He is a finalist with the YouTube Symphony. The performers selected by YouTube voters will play in Carnegie Hall.  

Click here for information on how to vote for Ben (or any others that strike your fancy). 

Surprise!

Spencer woke up this morning to a little surprise. Mom and Dad were sleeping in HIS room. That's right; we've gone back to our old ways. About 4AM FEROCIOUS winds started to blow the trees (big ones) behind the house so that even the thickest oaks were visibly swaying. Being career basement dwellers for the majority of our married lives, we are unaccustomed to hearing the effects of windy nights and wondering whether the siding will survive. There was no way I was going to sleep. I checked on the kids, wanting to make sure they were okay, and the noise was much less violent at the front of the house. You couldn't even hear it in Emma's room (due in part to the white noise from her humidifier). Realizing that I could be close to my kids and further from the trees by moving to one of the front rooms, I quickly convinced Adam to move the mattress from the guest room into Spencer's room where we slept very soundly...until Emma woke up at 6 AM with her usual plea, "Eat! Eat!"  

Anyone else in VA getting these gusts? This is even more wind than a few weeks ago when I was in the Costco parking lot and the take 'n bake pizza was tossed 10 ft. in the air from my shopping cart. 

A Time of Change

A lot has been going on as of late:

-We've changed residences (exactly 2 miles from where we were before).

-I've changed from 2nd to 1st violin in the Mormon Orchestra for this concert.

-That means I change positions a lot more and play the highest note possible on my violin. Yikes!

-Adam has changed the number of businesses he is involved in from 3 to 4...but maybe I've lost count and it's more than that. 

-Spencer and Emma have gone from sleeping in our room (or in an attached closet-like space) their whole lives to having rooms of their own.

-We've gone from being responsible for the cleaning and care taking of one level to three.

And with all of this change, we needed a change of pace this morning. So...we played hookie from scripture class, stayed in our pjs until about 10, played doctor, read books, and now we are going to buy Valentines and rosin (for Spencer's violin) and have fun playing with those this afternoon.

It feels like a snow day without having to shovel, and I am loving it.