One of Those Magical Musical Weekends!

I think that this is the first post I have done that didn't have a picture to attach to it. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I couldn't find any...oh well.

Before the weekend began I received some sad news, via the internet. I belong to an internet group that is composed of moms that have kids who have been missionaries for the church. There are moms all over the world and we discuss every topic imaginable...I can ask for help or an opinion on anything and have responses rather quickly. It really is fun! I think it is kind of easy for people to express themselves a little bit more openly in "cyberspace", when it is highly unlikely that you won't ever meet the people you're writing to. Anyways, "Jerrie from Waycross, Georgia" passed away suddenly last week. Jerrie wrote at least 4-5 posts a week. She had an opinion about everything and usually they were rather informative. She always closed with "Thanks for listening". I felt like I knew her very well, although I never met her. She will be missed on our list.

Saturday morning was our Relief Society Birthday Party. I came up with the theme this year. I was driving around one day and heard the song, "We Are Family...I Got All My Sisters With Me" and I immediately thought of my sisters and how much I love them all. And THEN I thought, "Gosh, that works for Relief Society, too!" And then one thing led to another and I thought it would make a good theme for something like a birthday party, and then I thought we should work up a little dance to start the party with, and then I had to talk some good friends into doing it with me, and then it really happened and we had a great time! Even our older ladies enjoyed it! I have some good sports for friends! Anyways, we had a fun breakfast together and a great speaker. If you want a little reminder of how the song goes or if you feel like dancing...turn up your volume!

Saturday night we went to Maggianos with a big group for dinner...yummy Zucchini Sticks! Maggianos is conveniently located and one of these days I'm going to make the rounds. I'm going to hit Cheesecake Factory and pick up some Avocado Egg Rolls, cross the street to PF Changs and pick up some Chicken Lettuce Wraps, and cross the street one more time and pick up some Zucchini Sticks from Maggianos and head home and enjoy my favorites!

Sunday morning the Relief Society Presidency had been asked to speak at church. I love the ladies that I get to work with and they did a wonderful job. Our topics came from the hymn "Lord, I Would Follow Thee". I shared the following story as part of my talk...

"The story is told of a young piano student. His mother, wishing to encourage him, “bought tickets for a performance of the great Polish pianist, Paderewski. The night of the concert arrived and the mother and son found their seats near the front of the concert hall. While the mother visited with friends, the boy slipped quietly away.

“Suddenly, it was time for the performance to begin and a single spotlight cut through the darkness of the concert hall to illuminate the grand piano on stage. Only then did the audience notice the little boy on the bench, innocently picking out ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’

“His mother gasped, but before she could move, Paderewski appeared on stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. He whispered to the boy, ‘Don’t quit. Keep playing.’ And then, leaning over, the master reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized."

President Faust tells us, “In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and time again, ‘Don’t quit. Keep playing.’ And as we do, He augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created. He is right there with all of us, telling us over and over, ‘Keep playing.’ “

We also had a musical number in the middle. I found an arrangement of "As Sisters in Zion" and one of my friends worked on it a little and added some more to it. Anyways, three sisters sang and then we had the flute and violin and piano also. I thought it turned out great! Music, music, music...it just adds so much!

And THEN...to top it off, Sarah and I went to hear an incredible piano player last night over in St. Louis. His name is David Glen Hatch...right up there with Marvin Goldstein. I'd love to hear them play together...it would be awesome. Anyways, his performance took our breath away. He played several classical pieces and, of couse, a lot of church songs. He told about being asked to play at Arlington National Cemetery on the one year anniversary of 9/11. He played "God Bless the USA" like he did for that audience...amazing! He closed with a medley of "I Am A Child of God", "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief", and "The Lord's Prayer". It was a two hour musical feast! I am so grateful for those who are so willing to share their talents and testimonies in such incredible ways. We were on the 3rd row on the opposite side of the room, so we couldn't see his hands. But we could definitely see the emotion he put into playing...when you watch someone like that play, you can just see how they work so hard to get so much out of their instrument. It was just amazing (I'm out of adjectives!)...one of those times when you walk out and think to yourself, "Did I really hear and feel what I think I heard and felt?" Yep...it was a great musical weekend!