Joshua Bell

Tonight the Great Falls Symphony hosted acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell as part of their world artist series. Because I'm lucky enough to play in the symphony, I even got to be on stage with him. The world artist series here is really a phenomenal program. My sophomore year of high school I got to see Yo-Yo Ma, then senior year I got to play with Itzak Perlman. I missed Midori because I was in college, but getting to play with Joshua Bell has been the highlight so far.

His playing was absolutely magnificent. His tone is so pure and his technique is so flawless that it just amazed me. I have never seen anyone play like him before! Not only is he technically brilliant, he also plays with a wealth of feeling and emotion. His piece for tonight's performance was the Tchaikovsky violin concerto, but his encore was the world's most complex version of Yankee Doodle. I can't even describe it. The $4 million dollar Stradivarius violin wasn't bad to look at either.

One of the best things about Joshua Bell was his welcoming, open personality. We hosted an open rehearsal this afternoon, and he had a question and answer session during the break. His responses were candid and self-effacing. He was charming and humble while still commanding respect and awe from everyone in the audience. Even during rehearsal he was gracious and undemanding. He showed us how to play some of the sections and was unfailingly encouraging and kept checking to make sure he wasn't "over-stepping his bounds". I was a fan before, but my loyalty jumped a lot today. He really is a great person.

The best thing about the world artist series is how inspiring it is for my own playing. It's easy to want to give your all when playing with Joshua Bell because he gives his all every second of every rehearsal and concert. Today made me want to be more focused, more driven. Hopefully my determination to always do better lasts awhile because I know that the memories will last a lifetime.

Easter Sunday (at Grandma's House)

Easter Sunday started with Gram and I attending an Easter special of Music and the Spoken Word in the the Tabernacle. It featured the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra on Temple Square, but the real treat was that the prophet, President Monson, was in attendance. He waved to everyone, and just being that close to him made my day. I feel blessed to be one of the lucky few in the church who live in close enough proximity to the General Authorities to see one every once and awhile. The music was also spectacular and helped me get into the true spirit of Easter. Their rendition of Our Savior's Love, one of my favorite children's hymns, really embodied the spirit of Easter for me.

We went to church with Grandma in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, easily the most elaborate chapel in the church. We loved meeting Gram's friends and are glad that she's surrounded by such great people who love her and care for her. It's reassuring to know that she's being taken care of away from home. After church we attempted to take pictures outside the temple, but Max was not cooperating. Max, in fact, was the most difficult part of the trip. It's hard for such a little guy to be outside his comfort zone and off his routine. I feel for him, I really do, but his frequent outburst got a little frustrating. As we (unsuccessfully) tried to take a family picture on the famous "wedding pedestal", I commented a little sarcastically that I was glad we were a big, happy, eternal family- which got some laughs. At least we tried :)

Grandma made us one of her famous, delicious Sunday dinners, but we had to leave all too soon. As much as we miss having her here, we're so proud of her service and example for our family. She's such a good matriarch and, although Max won't remember the trip, I hope that we can tell him stories about Grandma's mission some day and it will inspire him to serve. I know that it inspires Darreck and me. We talked all the way home today about places we want to serve together someday. I hope we get the chance.

Grandma's House- Saturday

Our adventures continued Saturday with a very cold visit to Hogle Zoo. Everyone was disappointed when we found out they didn't have lions. I had been promising Max lions for weeks! Dumb zoo. Luckily it had a carousel and train that made up for the lack of animals.

We went to the Pantry at the Lion House for lunch, and it was by far the best meal we had in Salt Lake. I'm not normally into American food at restaurants, but this was ah-maz-ing!!! Then, we spent the afternoon in my favorite pursuit, shopping. Poor Gram; she suggested shopping, but I think I may have ran her around more than she bargained for. I'm not a huge fan of Salt Lake on the whole, but I have to respect the shopping. Anything I could ever possibly want (regardless of whether I really need it). Dinner was a very cool Hawaiian grill, then, once again, we fell into bed exhausted (and a little sore).

To Grandma's House We Go- Thursday and Friday

We had the awesome opportunity this weekend to go and see Grandma Necia in Salt Lake City. She's currently serving a family history mission on Temple Square, and we were able to go and see her for spring break. The original plan was to drive up on Friday, but we left Thursday to drive to Idaho Falls and beat the obligatory Easter snowstorm. Thursday night was unremarkable except for the fact that we stayed in, arguably, the smallest hotel room in the continental US.

When we arrived in Salt Lake City Friday, we met Gram at the Church Office Building for lunch with her in the employee cafeteria. After lunch we got to see her office in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, then we left her to get back to work and toured temple square. Max spent the afternoon blowing kisses to the sister missionaries (he's learning young!) and enthusiastically shouting "Jesus!" every time he saw a picture of Christ. Right before meeting back up with Grandma we took the world's longest tour of the Conference Center. It was so inspiring seeing the original artwork that is in the scriptures and in our meetinghouses. It was beautiful and the theater itself is awe-inspiring.

That evening we went to Trolley Square for dinner at Spaghetti Factory and then fell into bed, very glad we had decided to leave the night before. Spending an extra day with Grandma was well worth the extra effort.

Irony

Mad-Man-Max has learned to climb out of his crib- fun fun for all. He's getting better at staying put, but I found this afternoon a little ironic. He kept sneaking out of bed during nap time to sit in his rocking chair and read his books. Meanwhile, in between putting him back in bed, I was reading a book while wanting nothing more than to take a nap. On escape number seven, I finally asked him if mommy could take the nap and he could stay up and read. His response was, "mommy, go, nap, go". So, I did.

(Side note, he did stay in his crib after that and fell asleep, not that I cared much at that point)

Shopping for a Cause

I love shopping. No, like, I really really really love shopping. What's more is that I'm also really good at it (just ask Darreck), but my shopping adventure today was extra fun because some of it went towards a really good cause. Let me explain...

Every six months a local mother's group has a children's consignment sale, and I've bought some things for Max at these sales in the past. Today I went twice, once to their regular price sale in the morning and then to see what was leftover that afternoon during half-price hours. I managed to get 35 items of clothing for $33.25. You can't beat that at most garage sales, and all the clothing at this sale was way nicer than what you'd find anywhere else. But that's still not the best part. Over half of what I purchased today will be going to the YWCA mercy home to clothe the women and children who seek shelter there. Our ward is doing a drive to gather needed materials for the shelter, and I have found a very good excuse to go shopping!

All joking aside, I really feel strongly about the purpose of the mercy home. I can't even imagine how terrifying it would be to leave an abusive home with next to nothing. Our family is going to, over the next six weeks, continue to get items needed at the mercy home, and Darreck and I feel really good about being able to help in our small way. I'm so thankful to the members of our ward who developed this project, and it has inspired me to keep looking for more ways to serve locally. We may not have a ton, but we have been blessed with so much more than so many others. We feel that it is our duty, not only as Christians, but just as human beings to share our abundance with others. I hope that this can always be one of the guiding principles of our family.

General Conference

I had the most amazing General Conference weekend thanks in large part to my wonderful primary children. I printed out a conference packet for them last weekend and figured, if I was going to expect them to fill it out, I better be willing myself. This was the first time I really listened, like really really listened, to every session of conference. Taking notes helped me focus on the parts of each talk that pertained directly to my life, and my notes also helped me share what I had learned with Darreck, since he had to miss two of the sessions for work.

The major theme I noticed of this session was the call for greater charity. In this time of economic stress and uncertainty, Heavenly Father's living prophet counseled us to give more. I loved when President Eyring said that "when we give crusts, we get loaves in return". It's such a true principle that Darreck and I have been blessed by over and over.

I also found a lot of inspiration in Elder Robbin's talk on parenting and Elder Scott's talk on the importance of marriage. I know that my greatest trials and my greatest joys are found in family life. I cannot even express how grateful I am that Darreck and I were sealed in the temple and, together with Max, we can be a forever family. I'm even more thankful that we have faithful men and women who have consecrated their lives to reminding us of how much we have to be thankful for and to help keep us on the right path.

Sick, Sick, Sick

All winter our family has been sick! Unfortunately, this time around it has hit poor little Max the hardest. Even more unfortunately, he can't seem to sleep when he's sick. He got that from his father; I'm a champion sleeper and need a ton of it. Therefore, I haven't been feeling like a very patient, loving mommy lately. I try so hard to be nice when he's sick, but I'm mean sleep deprived. Between the wining and snot and not sleeping lately, I'm excited for Max to get better just so we can all get along again. It's a micro-example of why families are so essential to our self-progression. We get a chance to see our weaknesses up close and personal and decide every day if we are going to try and be better or let things slide. Every day this week I have chosen to bite my tongue a little more and think about myself a little less, and I hope in the long run I'll be better for it. If nothing else, we're building up better immune systems, and there's something to be said for that.