Saturday: University Singers' concert at BYU
Sunday: Draper Temple Dedication with my hub and my #1 boy
I'll start with Sunday.
Larry and I were planning on going to the Draper temple dedication, and then we found out that our oldest boy was able to go, too. We were so excited for him to experience the joy of seeing a temple turned over to the work of the Lord. As a little background, we were up VERY late on Sat. nite (more on that later), so we were all a little tired. So Hadland basically slept through the entire dedication until Pres. Monson stood up to speak. W
e were FINALLY able to wake him up long enough for him to hear the prophet speak. It was a glorious occasion. There were many speakers, but they all took only a few minutes, so it didn't seem long at all when Pres. Monson spoke and then gave the dedicatory prayer. As we waited for the dedication to begin, they showed pictures of the different rooms of the temple. I loved explaining to Hadland what everything was--the murals, the bride's room, the celestial room, the sealing rooms, all of it. Temples are such as amazing blessing in our lives! I am so grateful to be sealed to my family, and I pray that there will never be any "empty seats" for any of us.
On Saturday, the whole family went down to Orem/Provo for the evening. The kids spent a fun evening at Delyle and Shauri's while Larry and I met the Livingstons for an amazing choral experience. A little background...when I was at BYU, I was blessed to be a part of Concert Choir under the direction of Mack Wilberg. Let's just say, "GLORY DAYS" for a singer, ok? I loved every single moment I spent in that choir. Yet Concert Choir wasn't the elite of the choral dept at my beloved alma mater. The University Singers, directed by Ron Staheli, was/is the cream of the crop. That group, made up of approximately 30 fantastic singers, is the pinnacle of choral singing at BYU. Unfortunately, I was a lot more immature then (I know, unbelievable, right?), and I consoled myself that I didn't really want to be a part of that bunch of snobs. Yikes! It hurts me to even say that now. Now, being so much more mature than then, I can see that I was just consoling myself that I was having the best experience to be had in the BYU choral department. I never tried out for Singers, but I don't think I was really a good fit (but, to be honest, I would have loved to be proven wrong).Jeez, I didn't start this post to have a true confessions session! Anyway, since leaving BYU, I try to get my hands on any and all choral CDs that come out of BYU. Most of them happen to be by Singers. And I love them. I adore them. I could listen all day long to the AMAZINGLY talented people who collaborate on those recordings. Many of my friends were Singers at one point or another, and I am proud to say that I am one of their biggest fans (now that I am more humble about my experiences :). The funny thing is that Larry also had many friends in Singers. One of them contacted him on facebook a while back that he was traveling from Florida to attend a Singers reunion/concert. When Larry asked if I wanted to go, I was thrilled! Then I asked my good friend Liz to come along, and it was absolutely wonderful! Better than I had expected, far better. They even sang a piece by one of my favorite composers, Morten Lauridsen. I sighed with contenment, shed a few tears, and, in the end, gave them a standing ovation (by choice, not by peer pressure). I don't know what it is about choral music that finds such a deep place in my heart to touch, but I know I can't live without it. Let everyone else have their favorites, mine will always be choral music. My ipod proves it. I have even converted Larry (although he keeps his dance music close by).
Let's just say that this weekend I felt so blessed by the beauty in my life. Blessed by temples that dot the earth, and blessed by heavenly choirs singing what is in their hearts. How grateful I am!!
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