Beautiful music...food for the soul

I love music.

I spent many years taking piano lessons and I sang in school choirs.

(I should add that I took lessons for so many years because I didn't really practice very much and it took me a long time to sort of master the skill-plus my mother wouldn't let me quit.)

Besides,

we always got out of Sunday dish duty if we would play the piano while our mother, Grandmother, and Aunt Mardene slaved away in the kitchen.  They loved music, too, and as they were standing at the sink we would hear their words of encouragement (or that we were missing a sharp or a flat) to keep us going. 

 Music seems to create a short cut to my emotions.

Whenever I have had a bad day or feel frustrated, a few minutes of listening to a beautiful melody can unlock my feelings and set my emotions free.  

“Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.”  -unknown

 

If you love beautiful music check out this recording of Andrea Bocelli and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

It is beautiful!

(Thanks, Travis, for sharing the link!)

♥

JoAnn
P.S.  If you want to see a funny video of two little girls having a singing competition, check out Liz's blog here.

P.P.S.  Thanks to my mother for her patience with me!

Meet Reese….

Last night we got to meet a beautiful little princess named

Naomi Reese.

(She really is a princess to her three older brothers.)

She and her mom Monica were here visiting from Washington D.C.

That’s Monica on the left and Katie on the right.

They were laughing about the year they got matching pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa and had so much fun being goofy as they spent the week together.

Little Reese will soon be the youngest baby to ever

be fit with hearing aids.

She was born with profound hearing loss.

She inherited the hearing aids from her brother Alexander, who now has cochlear implants.

(Monica, I hope you don’t mind I copied this picture!)

While it is always heartbreaking to have a child with health problems, Alexander is one amazing little guy. 

He has perfect speech, wonderful understanding, and an amazing vocabulary.

His family has spent many hours working with him, taking him to therapy, and watching him undergo several operations. 

Now they get to do it again with Reese.

Here is a picture with some of the other cousins.

(Irene, Andrew, Joshua, Mindy, Cara, Monica, Bransley, Katie, Carley, and Michelle)

Robbie and Joshua

Here is Grandma holding the third little great granddaughter to be named after her. 

Sometimes life sends us on little detours,

but we gain strength and character as we plod along.

“I never said it would be easy.  I only promised it would be worth it.”   -unknown

♥

JoAnn

Day off + snow = change of plans….

We have a day off from school today!

Yeah!

(Did I mention that I LOVE days off?)

I was so looking forward to getting some yard work done,

but woke up to some of this falling outside our window.

(Yes, Ken, I know we need moisture!)

W H A T ‘ S   A   G I R L   T O    D O   ?

(I do have many projects that need attention inside- but I just wanted to be outside!)

To compensate-

I’ve been reading blogs (that is productive- right?)

Here are some fun finds for today:

Irene, our daughter-in-law, made this cute monster and the remodeled shirt from Joshua’s winter turtle neck.  (Maybe she should have saved the turtle neck for this snow!)  She is so creative and talented.

Check out her blog here.

Brooklyn and Madison had a fun day hanging out on the campus of

Utah State University.  (They picked the right day to do it.  Good thing they didn’t wait until today!)  To see more of their fun day go here and say hi to their mom Liz.

This yummy strawberry, chicken, and spinach salad caught my attention on

Our Best Bites.

I think I need to go to the store…..

And finally,

While I will enjoy my time off,

I will be wondering what my students are doing, too.

Have a great weekend!

♥

JoAnn

Itchy fingers…..

I am always restless this time of year as I wait for warm

weather.  It’s hard to be patient as I long for color in the flower beds and along the fences.  Over the years we’ve had some great flowers-a few quite by accident and others for just one year.  We’ve also had some that floundered and barely survived.

These pretties were from a package of wild flower seeds.

The next year only some of the different kinds of flowers came back.  If you really want variety, I guess you need to plant new seeds every year.

These flowers above (I think they are sedums-I’m not sure?) are pretty, but can easily take over the whole yard.  We have to really cut them back, but they do bloom for most of the summer.  

Who doesn’t love tulips?

This ground cover (Could it be flox?) is really nice, but dries up when the summer heat arrives.

As you can see, I am not an expert on the variety of flowers I plant.  (Many were given to me as starts.)

I don’t always get the look I want.

Sometimes, even the best nurturing and good intentions can’t compete with shade, snails, insects, and heat,

but I sure can’t wait to see what surprises this year’s gardens will hold!

Bring it on!

JoAnn

Another testament to love…..

How about an almost  71 year romance?

They have been together through lean years and times of plenty;

through good health and sickness.

They are still sweethearts!

JoAnn

 

Love…will it last?

Last night I watched the television show

“The Bachelor”.

I haven’t watched the show at all this season, but curiosity got the better of me last night.

I just wanted to see who was chosen.

O.K., those promotion ads lured me in!  I’m a sucker for a good sales pitch.  (Keep me away from those infomercials!)

I must admit,

I have a hard time watching someone be so passionate about so many different women all at the same time-and expecting it to mean something.

(Apparently, so did the girl who was chosen.)

I also felt so much empathy for the girl who thought she was going to be chosen, but wasn’t.  

For me,

real love means :

friendship

respect

trust

patience

caring

sacrifice

service

loyalty

and waiting

Can you get those things while dating so many women at the same time and with the whole world watching?

I think it would be very hard.

My parents knew what real love was.

This picture was taken just before my dad left for the army during World War Two. 

Now they knew what LOVE was!

JoAnn

P.S.  I do think that the scenery in South Africa (on the show) was spectacular!

I’m putting in on my Bucket List.

P.P.S.  I was going to post our recipe for Cauliflower Soup tonight, but when I got home from work I found someone had finished it all off and I didn't get any pictures!
Guess I'll wait until the next time we make some.

A little excitement…not one, but TWO moves!

 

Good news!

We have some exciting news to share.

#1.  Michelle is buying a brand new townhouse and Katie is going to live with her.  They are planning on moving at the end of April when the construction is completed.

#2.  Karl got a job right here in the Salt Lake Valley.

(We were a little worried that Arizona, Idaho, or Washington might be their new home town-and that would make a long drive for spoiling grandkids.)

  After three long days of hunting, they found a nice house to rent.

Thanks, Andrew, for the assistance in finding both places!

(photo taken from Google.com)

It wasn’t planned, but they will be about 10 minutes apart and just around the corner from our niece, Melissa.

YEAH!

I guess that calls for a party- before all the work begins!

(Anyone want to help???)

 

Brooklyn and Maddie doing their celebration dance!

JoAnn

P.S. 

It’s almost time for this!

 

Water, water, everywhere….again

This morning we awoke to a new, heavy coating of snow all over the lawns, driveways, sidewalks, and cars. 

I’m tired of winter,

BUT it was very pretty to see the clean white fluffy snow.

Utah is a desert, and snow and rain in the winter mean healthy crops in the summer

(and green lawns, pretty flowers, and happy gardeners).

Some years we have a shortage of moisture and other years we have water to spare…..

These pictures were taken a few years ago in Southern Idaho.  The ducks are actually swimming on a baseball field.  The water wasn’t too deep, but it didn’t have anywhere to drain.

We had gone to celebrate Easter with family.

(We had an indoor party that year!)

Sometimes the weather can be an inconvenience, but I will gladly put up with the winter storms to have water to give life to  our gardens in the summer.

Now….isn’t it about time for SPRING?

JoAnn

 

Reading is Fun, and a birthday with a twist…..

Want a good book to read?

Our school was given enough free books for every student to have their very own take home book.

As a way of thanking the RIF (Reading is Fundamental) people, we had a book cover coloring contest.

Do you remember reading any of these books?

I think my students did a great job with their covers!

“The more that you read, the more things you

will know. The more that you learn, the more

places you'll go.”

-Dr. Seuss

(I know I quote Dr. Seuss a LOT, but he is one amazing author.)

****

And….

Happy Birthday to Katie!

We had a little Mardi Gras mask making activity.

Can you tell who everyone is????

JoAnn

Pigging out…

I just have one question:

Why do we stuff ourselves with junk food when we are stressed?

JoAnn