Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Savior of the World - the recap

Well. It is over.

In a way this is nice - I have my Saturday's back, I'm not running around, I'm not listening to the same music over and over, trying to figure out where we are going wrong and how to fix it.

In a way this is sad - I miss the people and friendships involved.

And there is always a let down after putting 7+ months into something.

But the production is over.

It went well. Everyone was great, the audience was great, and there were no major disasters. The audience was full each time. It would be considered a great show by any standards.

People felt the spirit and were really experiencing the feelings that occurred to Jesus' closest friends and apostles after his death. The cast did a great job with the closing number; truly showing the joy that people had upon learning of his resurrection.

Tera Nelson - as Mary Magdalene - made me cry every time as she performed her "Where is He This Morn" song. The best line in the whole thing is "Where is he who walked with us, where is he who prayed?" She sings this song while at the tomb, wondering where Jesus' body is. This was a very moving moment.

The choir was fabulous! They did everything that was asked of them and worked really hard to get to the point where they were. The women worked hard, at the last minute, to learn multiple accompaniment parts. The men worked hard to be strong and lead in the various songs. They sounded wonderful.

I'm just excited I got to be a part of it. I felt a little bad sometimes, knowing that everyone was a volunteer and I was being tough on them. But hey - someone has to be the heavy and make sure all the little things are being taken care of. That someone was me :)

And now I am excited it is over. I need a little break, and then maybe I will be ready to tackle this again.

Thanks to everyone who made this such a great performance.

If you are looking for pictures, visit: www.savioroftheworldcordovastake.shutterfly.com

Saturday, April 9, 2011

What we've been up to

It has been a while since I have updated the blog, so I am going to try and update most of April (so far) in one post. It's not that I don't like updating my bog, it's simply that it takes time - which I do not seem to have these days. I seem to be losing time. I know there are 24 hours in a day, but I never know where they go. Or rather, I know where they go and I wish I had more. I have tried going without sleep, but that doesn't accomplish as much as I wish it would.



Nicholas learned about making forts from chairs, blankets, and pillows. So now, if we want to sit down on a chair at our dining room table, first we have to destroy a fort. Jon showed Nicholas how to do it to try and keep him occupied while General Conference was on TV, so he could watch, and it has now turned into a whole new thing in our house. Evidently the cardboard fort that mommy built isn't enough. He needs one fort with the sofas, chairs, pillows, and blankets, and another fort out of cardboard.

He says the pillow fort is to share with Abby and daddy (but not mommy) and the cardboard fort is for "me only" - meaning only Nicholas. But he does share with his sister.



We finished our first set of workbooks. I got a bunch of the preschool ones because I'm simply not creative enough to make up worksheets all the time to help him practice. Kids learn through repetition, and so I thought workbooks would be great. He couldn't decide which was cooler - that the certificate had a number 1 on it or that it had his name. Needless to say, it is now posted on the wall in our school room.



We go to library time at the Rancho Cordova Library now. The woman who does it is great. They do an hour of songs and stories and a craft. This was from the rainbow craft. I really like it for him. He says he doesn't have fun, but woe betide you if you try and take his craft away or not let him go. And he sings that silly apple song all the way home in the car. Want to know how many times a 4 line song can be sung from the library to our house? A lot.



We planted. I built some boxes and we planted the first set of plants. And an orange tree, a lemon tree, and an apple tree. And hydrangeas, three different types of lilies, and gardenias. It was a long day of work. And while I am happy with the result, it was hard. I carried 21 cubic feet of dirt from the car to the back yard. Abby liked it too - I put her in her playpen outside, under a sun shade, and she fell asleep for the longest nap she has ever taken on her own. Now I know the trick - put her outside.



And the best fun we've had with friends all month was our Teddy Bear Picnic - or stuffed dog picnic because most of the kids brought stuffed dogs. We did it with a bunch of mom's from the area at a local park. I made signs, and we all got together to eat lunch and play at the park for 2 hours. I cannot wait to get together with these moms again.

Oh yeah, and what else has been consuming my time? A little musical called "Savior of the World." It goes through the three days from the death of Jesus to his resurrection. And when I say consuming a little bit of time, I mean all of it. I'm happy to do it; I love musicals and I like directing and planning them. But, like with all productions, I am ready for it to be done. It has been almost 6 months of planning, practicing, rehearsals, and the like - so it is time for it to be done. I cannot believe I am considering undertaking a production of Handel's "Messiah" for Easter next year. All I need is a little down time.

I also have some projects near completion - Nicholas' Lightening McQueen sweatshirt and Abby's Easter dress are the two big ones. If only there was more time!