Women's Conference and Wildlife

No-- the women at the Stake Women's conference were not wild.   They were all very well behaved, mostly in Sunday dress, even.  I was a rebel and wore slacks.  Mike saw what I was wearing this morning and asked, "Are you going like that?"  When I informed him I was, he said, "Don't you want to call some friends and ask what they are wearing?"  Maybe it was my lack of sleep, I don't know, but I said I didn't care what anyone else was wearing.  It was a Saturday and I was Not putting on a dress.  So ha!  (Ok, I didn't say that last bit, but it was implied.)

The conference was a success.  If anything it went a bit too smoothly.  I'm not sure how many of these we've done now-- maybe 4?  But I can definitely say that planning a conference for over 200 women is now something we can pull off like clockwork.  So afterwards we decided that if we're still at this next year, we're shaking things up a bit- doing something completely new and unusual.  (Notice that "if".  It seems pretty big to me.)  

We had wonderful speakers presenting on many aspects of happiness.  My favorite was Rachel Ashbey (hmm... don't think I spelled that right), a psychologist we imported from Virginia Beach (and Karen's sister!) who talked about The Psychology of Happiness.  Why do some things make us happy and others not?  I had a bit of an "Ah ha!" moment during her class when she was talking about how we identify ourselves in certain ways, and then when those things change, we go through a bit of a crisis, wondering who we are.  And yes, I am 40.  I've scheduled my mid-life crisis for this April.  It was good of Rachel to point out what I might do to avoid it, if I should decide I'd like to cancel that appointment.  =)

We've had a few run-ins with wildlife over that past few days.  Since it's after midnight I'll be brief.  (Remember how the lack of sleep affected me this morning?  If I don't go to bed soon I will undoubtedly be going to church in my pajamas tomorrow.  And my bathrobe.  It's COLD in that chapel!)  

While walking Heidi yesterday, Bethany encountered a fox.  She and the dog gave chase (whether Bethany wanted to or not), but the fox got away.  Bethany lost her earbuds in the process and got a few scratches, but had a good run through the woods.  I assume she'll write more about it on her blog.  It was quite the little adventure!

And then Rachel told me about the ducks.  Apparently she and Elizabeth were walking past the duck pond on their way to school (wild ducks live in a little pond just south of campus) when they noticed one duck across the street from the others.  When they went to investigate, the duck came up to look at them, followed them, ate from their hands, let Rachel pick it up, and eventually came and sat on Elizabeth's lap!  Rachel had her camera and got some pictures which she said she'll post on her blog.  I won't tell you the end of the story.  Check out Rachel's blog to find out why the duck crossed the street and to hear the Paul Harvey.  =)

And!  You'll never guess!  Naomi actually made a joke!  And it was funny!  (First I need to explain that Naomi rocks from side to side during the night.  We have to move her bed away from the wall so she doesn't bang-bang-bang on the wall while she rocks, and when she wakes up in the morning her hair would make any London hairstylist proud.  I have tried for 9 years now to get her to stop rocking, but nothing works.  Sharing a bed with her is simply impossible.)   

Anyway, I was telling Mike that I've figured out what activity hurts my elbow the most.  (Sore elbow-- orthopedic doctors, PT, no improvement-- don't recommend it)  It's sleeping.  During the day my elbow is bearable unless I do something stupid- like pick up my purse.  But at night I think heavy duty pain killers would be in order.  Or just general anesthesia.  Mike suggested I try a brace at night, but I said that I think the problem might actually be that I'm holding still.  Naomi piped right up and said, "Mom!  You should try rocking!"

And now, to bed.  And tomorrow, church!  Who knows what I'll be wearing?  =)  

Notes on a Violin Recital

Today was our solo violin recital, and as you can see from the photos, three of our kids played.   Bethany was third on the program, right after the amazing Andrew, who is 8, (I think) and played like he belongs in Carnegie Hall.  The teacher introduced Bethany, saying it was her first recital, and Bethany said, "And I have to play after Andrew!"  We all laughed.  Bethany played Andantino by Suzuki very nicely.  =)  Naomi was a couple of students later and played Minuet 1 by Bach with beautiful dynamics.  And several students later the teacher announced a special guest.  Peter got up with his chicken puppet (the guest) and had the chicken announce his piece, The Happy Farmer, by Schumann.  

These recitals are a wonderful mixture of advanced students playing amazing pieces, and young beginners squeaking out a few notes of a Twinkle variation on their tiny 1/16 size violins.  

While some of the students merely play notes which fall onto the floor of the church panting and gasping for breath-- others play music that rises like light, filling the air with emotions drawn from the very souls of those who hear.  The difference has nothing to do with age or technical proficiency.  Little Andrew can play like a gypsy and coax the cold stones from the wall into dance, and some of the very beginning students bring feeling to a Twinkle variation-- while a technically advanced student may, when she is done playing, find her notes lying in a puddle on the floor before her.