Holiday Recital

My generous mother-in-law allowed my violin studio to use her music academy facilities for my Christmas recital.  It went well and I love seeing all of my students, from brand new ones, to kids I've been teaching for more than eight years.  Allegra and Ian also participated.  Music is such a gift from the Lord and I'm grateful for my small abilities and for my great appreciation in the field.

October Odds N Ends

September was a bad picture month - the only pictures we took, apparently, were of the first days of school.  We did mildly better in October, so here are some random pictures from the first half of the month (since I can barely remember what happened way back then anyways).

The little girls love their Build A Bears and the piano

Elinor is also a huge Littlest Pet Shop fan - the messes the girls can make with those is epic

We had loads of fresh apples from the orchard, which meant lots of lots of homemade applesauce, yum!

Allegra, Ian, Colin, and Cecily with one of the 4 year old teachers at Shepherd of the Valley, Mrs. DuVall.  They've all had her, and Elinor will make five, once she's in her class next year.  The preschool has been such a blessing to our family.

One of the best parts of being a teacher, for sure!

Instrument of Righteousness

 

I never really considered myself as lacking in self-discipline.  I excelled in school and my chosen extracurricular activities.  I still am (mostly) a quiet peacemaker type who avoids conflict and is super empathetic (too empathetic, sometimes).  But, I think, at heart, I'm a closet lazy daisy.  I have a stubborn streak that resents being ordered around - even I'm the one doing the ordering!  Humans are such complex, silly creatures, aren't we?  Lack of self-discipline was nearly the death of me while pursuing my college degree.  I could fudge it well enough in the majority of classes because reading has never been a chore to me and I have a mind like a steel trap when it comes to memory recall, and I'm a naturally analytical thinker and writing comes easily to me.  But the one area where there's no such thing as fudging happened to be my chosen field - music.  See, this is my ornery, stubborn contrarian self rearing its head again.  Instead of choosing an area of study that came naturally to me, I chose to throw pragmatism to the wind and went with one of the relatively few areas that were a stretch to me.  And that's all well and good, except for that I struggled for all six years of my college career to put my nose to the grindstone.  I loved the idea of practicing religiously.  And, indeed, the few weeks where I had stuck with a consistent, solid practice schedule, I'd be positively giddy about being able to look forward to my violin lesson, rather than seeing my professor's office as a torture chamber.  But still, the full knowledge that I was going to pay the piper later for my lack of discipline was not enough to keep me from caving into my immediate desires to the detriment of my long-term goals and happiness.  I still struggle with the same tendencies.  I really, really, really hate to exercise.  But I love how I feel about myself when I do.  I feel strong, healthy, and in control.  And, getting up early to start the day with a walk pays dividends in so many other ways.  This morning I rolled out of bed at 5:30 and walked for 30 minutes in the quiet, brisk weather.  I used the time to pray and just to enjoy the slumbering world.  After I arrived back home, I enjoyed a warm breakfast of blueberry muffin oatmeal (the instant kind, don't worry - I wasn't THAT good) and two cups of coffee whilst reading at the table.  The kids were still asleep (with the exception of Hero, whom James had taken to the rink for a pre-school skating practice session), so I got to savor the moment all to myself.  I even had time to go upstairs and shower in peace, and finish nearly all of my morning beauty routine, before I heard the first stirrings of the "herd" around 6:50.  I opened the door feeling ready to face the day and it was wonderful.  But I've cycled through this before, and, after a few weeks, I peter out.  Clearly, self-discipline is not a skill set I possess naturally.  But the Lord, through the power of the Holy Spirit, can accomplish all things, and so I give control over my lazy-daisy ways to Him.


image source

The death he died, he died to sin once and for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
Romans 6:10-13 

July Playlist

Happy July! I can't believe we are more than halfway through 2008. In honor of a new month I've added a new playlist to our blog. This month's list is completely random (and nonsensical, LOL). As a shout-out to Independence Day I added the favorite tear-jerker God Bless The USA (please tell me it's not just me who cries when I hear this song accompanied with either a parade or fireworks, LOL). Otherwise you've got a pretty huge mix. Paralyzer is a song I always turn up when I hear it on the radio, but can never remember to download it onto my iPod. Hero LOVES to rock Fergalicious, so that one is for her. In light of feeling very suave and nonchalantly hip after reading David Sedaris' newest book (before it even got to paperback!) I decided to add some Thelonius Monk for some sophisticated flavor. I haven't a clue as to why I included the Barber Adagio for Strings, other than that I've played the piece several times and have always loved it. Trivia tidbit - it was played at the funerals of Princess Grace of Monaco, FDR, and JFK. Finally, as an afterthought I added Escape (The Pina Colada Song), because, gosh darn it, it's an awesome song celebrating that summer staple - the froufrou blended tropical drink, and, even better, have you ever seen the dude that sings the song? Wow - just be glad that it came out prior to music videos and 24/7 celeb tabloid coverage because Rupert Holmes is definitely NOT good-looking, LOL.

My Playlist

You might be wondering about my hugely ecletic playlist, so I thought I'd share the reasons I love all the songs. I originally started with a Love theme since this month is celebrating our anniversary. Love Song by Sara Bareilles is the latest download I've put on my iPod (at Hero's request), and it is cute. The Rachmaninoff is the music I walked down the aisle to on our wedding day nearly 10 years ago (I tear up to this day everytime I hear it). Anything Louis Armstrong is good, so I had a hard time picking, but I have A Kiss To Build A Dream On on my Sleepless In Seattle movie soundtrack CD, so I've been listening to it since I was a teenager. Most everyone who knows me knows how much I adore the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty, and indeed James and I danced to the Sleeping Beauty Waltz for our first dance as husband and wife at our wedding reception. I had the hardest time finding a song by Charles Aznavour - isn't just about anything in French romantic? Stardust is another classic that was on my Sleepless in Seattle CD. I apologize now for the show tunes - I know they are an acquired taste, LOL. But since this is my blog and I LOVE show tunes (probably the big cheeseball, over-the-top ones best) I included two of my favorites: All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera and On My Own by my favorite Les Miserables character Eponine. If there's one thing to be grateful for, it is that you just have to hear the recordings of them, you don't have to hear ME singing along, LOL. I HAD to include something by Frank - my preferred version of Witchcraft is a Sinatra/Anita Baker duet, but I couldn't find it, so this one is a good stand-in. What is there to say about November Rain - I'm a child of the early and mid 90s, and Guns N Roses was "it". I threw it in there for James, too. Moon River is a song I first heard on an episode of Sex & The City (the one where Big moves to California and he plays this record for Carrie in his empty apartment) and it has stuck with me ever since. Okay, yes, I am wordy, I fully admit my fault, LOL.