update on James and Lisa

A few weeks ago I wrote a little about our dear friend James. Last Saturday, Brett and I were privileged to witness their sealing at the Salt Lake Temple. The couple was glowing and the spirit was strong. What a blessing that these two great people found each other. Brett and I were the only people from James' past in attendance. He's made amazing friends in his ward and has inherited a huge extended family from Lisa's side who are so excited to take them in under their wings.


James & Lisa sat on the front row of the play Matthew and Brett were in a few months ago and were the first in line to buy tickets to the girls play, Bye Bye Birdie. James and Lisa fell in love with Sarah's voice and asked if she would sing at their wedding. She hesitantly agreed and hoped they would just forget about it. Well they didn't. She sang her heart out and left the sweet couple in tears. She sang, Someone Like You from Jekyll and Hyde. I was also so caught up in the moment that I didn't even get a picture. The words to that song describe them so perfectly. Thank You Sarah for sharing your gift with them. It meant so much to them and everyone present.


As we were rounding up our crew to say goodbye to the happy couple, Joseph pulled on Lisa's dress, looked up at her and asked, "Do you guys think you'd like to come over later and play games?" "NO, not tonight! Maybe some other time though," Lisa replied. Brett of course chimed in that he'd be calling them later that evening to make sure everything was going alright and that the boys wanted to try out thier new slingshots by throwing little rocks outside their window. They just laughed and laughed.


Best wishes to this beautiful couple. May the Lord's blessings constantly rain down on you!

Sammy & "Lisa" as he likes to say. Best buddies these days. So fun to watch.

A Jazzy little number...

I thought the Kroghs and Grandma Zarate might enjoy this little clip of Sarah singing with the Jazz Band at her school the other night. We had a blast hearing her perform in front of a hundred or so people. She is one cute, brave little soul. While studying voice this last year with her amazing teacher from the U of U, we have discovered that Ms. Sarah is a Colouratura Soprano. This Jazzy little number is light years from that. She has worked hard on her lower register and all in all has done pretty great. We are proud of her diverse range. She has a voice recital end of May where she will sing an Italian Aria. We'll have to share that when it happens. Enjoy!

My Heartstrings

While reading a talk Analisa's friend Stephan gave on Mothers Day I came across this quote:

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

How true, how true! These priceless little spirits that exhaust, test and worry us are eternally linked to our hearts. To me, Mothers Day is a day all about celebrating that connection.

Thank you little ones, for being patient with me and loving me so unconditionally. I truly am one of the luckiest girls on the planet!

WOW

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7279582211546311635

Today has been an exciting day at the Nielson household. Many emotions have made the rounds these last few week leading up to today. When Analisa announced to us that she was going to run for a student body office Brett and I were a little apprehensive knowing from experience what this entailed. Having a high GPA and CPA were prerequisite. There were 3 other people running for the same office of dance which made the creative process of how to promote yourself a little tricky. We pulled out the stops by enlisting the help of our amazing friend and photographer, Michelle to take some pictures of Analisa dancing. We spent several hours at the craft store and came up with a cool poster that had pictures lined up of Lisey dancing and the logo, "Dance like you just don't care" (pictures coming soon). Next came the interview with the current SBO's, faculty and PTA representatives. Since she was running for dance she had to also present a plan of how she would organize a school dance given an allotted budget. The outcome of this interview counted for 55% of the vote, 45% from the student body vote which then narrowed it down to two candidates. Making the cut at this stage meant scrambling to find 4 people to be in a skit of her choosing which would then be presented to the student body the following week. Analisa choreographed a dance to 4minutes by Justin Timberlake and Madonna. She spent that week teaching her cool moves to four very cute friends who did a really nice job boogieing in front of the entire school. After the skit assembly the student body voted again and then came a very long week of waiting.

Since Sarah is a current SBO she has spent the last 3 weeks preparing for the big reveal which is know here as The WOW (which stands for Wasatch Office Winners). Sarah has had a blast being an SBO. She has become very close to the other 8 officers and considers them all her family at school. Having a daughter run and win and then having her 1 year apart little sister run is very hard on a mother. You worry so much about the 2nd child feeling inadequate as it is. Watching her set herself up for possible failure is heart wrenching. Sarah has been more nervous for her than Analisa has been for herself. When talking to AL about the possibility of losing she said, "You know Mom, of course I'd be disappointed if I lost but I'd also be very happy for the other girl because I know how much she wants it too." Once I heard that I knew either way it would all be just fine.

Sarah and her crew did an awesome job performing skits and dances and presenting her slide show (THANK YOU AMY!). When the time came for the presenting of the new dance officer I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. Poor little Katherine was shaking up a storm. I'm hoping that the little video clip above captured the excitement of the moment. Hearing her name read up on stage was so exciting. At the same time my heart just broke for the sweet kids who didn't make it. There were happy tears and oh so many sad tears. The kids all hugged each other and were really supportive of one another. Analisa has planned to use her piano teaching money to buy her opponent a Build a Bear. It will be a fun and exciting year for Lisey but also one filled with hard work.

Congratulations sweet-heart! We're excited for your new adventure. You'll be a great SBO!

AL with one of her biggest fans -Kate


The girls with thier beloved student gov. and drama teacher, Ms Dodge

A busy week...

This last week was a busy one as usual. Started the week working in the yard for hours before we got slammed with snow and cold weather. I cooked with Crystal for 12 ladies at Bunko night on Tuesday. Went to my 3rd and hopefully final installment of maturation night on Wednesday. Drove several carpools to the last day of Dance on Thursday. Helped Analisa prepare for her skit assembly everyday of the week which thankfully took place on Friday. Picked up the sweet Wihongi family from the airport later that night. Enjoyed catching up with them. Saturday was spent cleaning, shopping, driving to tennis, attending Sarah's piano recital, hanging out with Michelle and two of my girls for a delightful photo shoot (pictures soon to follow). And ended the evening by loading up 12 of Analisa's friends into the back of my seat less mini-van for Slurpee's at 7-11. There were loads of exciting moments some of which included jump starting my dead battery, taking Joseph in to the Doctor for a nebulizer treatment and inputting visiting teaching reports at the clerks office. I think I could write a blog entry on each and every little event, but who has time! Needless to say, it's been a good week.



I have seen the hand of the Lord in so many aspects of the day to day stuff. On Monday, I felt His love for me through examining the beautiful tulips that have popped up all over my garden. On Tuesday I felt it through Crystal's willingness to drive down from Provo and cook with me, like only she can! On Wednesday, through watching Katherine's cute face blush as she held my hand learning about the the changes our bodies go through in preparation to become women and mothers. I felt an answer to prayer when Joseph's wheezing finally subsided. I was awakened to it when I heard Sarah practicing her gorgeous piano piece Rustles of Spring by Sinding. I so believe the Spirit is found in beautiful music. On Thursday, I witnessed it watching the girls leap across the wood floors of the Virginia Tanner studio. On Friday I felt God's love for me while helping Samuel put on his shoes. Samuel put his little hand on my face and said,"Mommy, you're so cute." Also through my warm embrace with my sister Moni after her long day home from New Zealand. I could go on, and on, and on. God's love for me and each and every one of us is all around us. As mommy's we get so, so busy. Let's never forget to take the time to see and feel His constant presence in the everyday.