Lindy Kerby's blog

To write or not to write

2009-06-25T12:55:00.007-06:00

Is it possible to not be supposed to write a song?

For over three weeks, I've been trying to write a song that for some reason hasn't wanted to be written. It's interesting to me, because though I can't always guarantee how long it will take me, (a couple of hours to a couple of weeks!) I've usually been able to write a song with the Lord's help.

This time, however, I've been amazed at how I haven't been able to write a song. Every time I've tried to find a quiet time, baby wakes up hungry, child #1 needs something, followed by child #2, #3 (you get the idea...). It hasn't been for a lack of trying, but because of normal every day, "mom" stuff. It even happened after I would pray fervently for the Lord's help. I tried to give him many opportunities to help me, but it never seemed to work out. This isn't the way it usually goes, and I started to wonder if maybe I wasn't supposed to write the song.

Not wanting to misinterpret the spirit. I gave it one more shot. On Saturday morning, it was quiet, and I really thought that I wouldn't be interrupted. If the Lord wanted me to write this song, it seemed like a good time. I prayed that God would help me to use this time effectively and that I would have His spirit to guide me. I also prayed that if I was NOT supposed to write it, that I could just know, in some plain way that I could recognize, so I could know His will, and stop worrying about it.

It wasn't 5 minutes before my older son came down the stairs and said, "Mom, Josh just cracked his head open on the table and he's bleeding all over his head!"

Thankfully, Josh was okay. He had a small cut on the back of his head that was bleeding a lot. It didn't swell up, and he didn't need stitches, but I definitely felt like I'd gotten my answer.

Since that time, (a week ago) I have felt nothing but peace. I feel bad for those that were hoping I would write the song, and the girls that were excited to sing it. But for some reason, I wasn't supposed to write this one. Atleast that's how I'm feeling about it. Instead of the song I was going to write, the girls are going to sing "My Story" from "My Turn on Earth". It's absolutely perfect, and I've reflected on the words more than once as I've thought through the whole experience...

I'm the one that writes my own story,
I decide the person I'll be
What goes in the plot, and what will not
is pretty much up to me....

...This book of mine is very important,
and so someone is waiting right there
to help with my story, He's been there before me
and always as close as a prayer...

I could have written a song. I had a lot of random ideas that I could have put together, but I didn't feel good about any of them. Sometimes I think maybe even though we try to do what the Lord wants us to do, even though the task seems like the right thing, God knows what is needed better than we do. It's not that we're not getting the inspiration, but maybe it's better left undone?

Anyway, thought I'd share. Hopefully another song will come soon, but for now, this question was not to write!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Celebration

2009-06-03T08:31:00.003-06:00

Saturday I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Conference Center and watch the amazing Oquirrh Mountain Temple Celebration. It was an amazing thing. About 7,000 youth participated in song and dance, including my oldest 2 children. They've been practicing for about 2-3 months for this. The costumes were amazing, and the hours and time spent preparing were unimaginable. The performance was great. What was also amazing, was the conference center was FILLED with people. It seats over 21,000 people, and I think it was mostly just filled with the parents and leaders of the youth performing! We were allowed two tickets, but my husband stayed behind to bring all of our children to a nearby church building, to watch the performance through a broadcast there. Both of our parents came there to watch it with them. It was too bad we couldn't all be together, but I was so grateful to see the performance first hand.

The whole performance was considered a culteral celebration, and most of the songs celebrated different time periods of Utah's history, including a celebration of the Armed Forces, and of various countries as well. I was surprised that the temple celebration was mostly of this character, and not so much about the temple or very religious in nature at all. My daughter, Jessica, had invited a non-member friend of hers to watch the performance in the Conference Center, and so I was privileged to sit with her and her mother. It was interesting to watch their reactions. They were very impressed, as I was, at the sheer number of youth, the beautiful costumes, and so many amazing songs and dances performed that must have taken hours and hours to put together. What was most impressive to my non-member friends though, was the simple song arrangement near the end, of our long time favorites, "I Love to See the Temple" and "Families can be together forever". The lyrics were on the screen so that the audience could sing along. These are songs we've been singing since we were kids, and love, but were amazingly powerful. I sat next to another daughter and mother in our ward that lost their dad, a previous bishop and Stake President. We were all weeping at the spirit that confirmed what we know about the temple, and how families can be together forever. My non-member friends on my other side, leaned over to me, and said, "That was beautiful". It truly was beautiful.

This last week or so, I was asked to write another camp song. I've been surprised how I have not been able to find time to write it. My kids have been off-track, and every time I think I have a moment, I've had constant interruptions. I had started wondering if maybe the Lord didn't want me to write this song. After listening to those sweet simple primary songs though, I think I just need to write something more simple and basic. It's nice to be able to write something more complicated and intricate, but it's more amazing to write something simple, and see what happens when the spirit can do His work. I'm just grateful to be one of His instruments here on the earth.

Story of Faith

2009-05-11T20:21:00.002-06:00

This last month I had the opportunity to write a song to sing for Relief Society. The topic was on temples, and about the sacrifices that the early Saints made so that they could have one. Here in South Jordan, we are lucky enough to have 2 temples! The Oquirrh Mountain temple is barely being finished and tickets are barely being reserved (it's free) to go and walk through the undedicated temple. Because we live so close, we get to help be the hosts, and help with the celebration and the walk throughs. There is plenty to be done, and it's exciting to have the privilege to help.

Anyway, the Relief Society president gave the lesson, and based it on Jeffery R. Holland's talk, As Doves to our Windows. So I also had this article as a resource. It was a difficult song to write, but I came up with something that I did like. About a week before I was supposed to sing it, I sang it for an LDS Musicians get together that we had, and then again for my mother, 2 great places to get feedback and critique. Both places gave me some great suggestions, which I did use, both of them telling me it needed a 3rd verse. I don't usually write 3 verses. 2 is usually hard enough! But the stories that I used from Elder Holland's talk were both about men and the sacrifices that they made for the temple. The song needed a verse about the women. This was a hard verse to write, but I was so glad that it finally came together, the day before I performed it.

Of course, as I sang the song, I did fine for the first 2 verses, and then as I began the 3rd verse, my emotions became so strong, that I cried. It's something I've done since I used to perform in my home ward. Thankfully, I got past it, and was able to sing the final bridge and chorus without quite so many sniffles. There were tears all around, and I was grateful to have the experience. It helped me to appreciate the blessings of having temples so close to us.

I encourage you to look over the words to the song. You can find the song at: http://www.kerbymusic.org/music.php?sid=97. I am hoping to do another demo of it, and then I'll send out an update soon.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. I have the best family and husband in the world when it comes to Mother's Day. My husband makes all my meals, and my kids all make cards and gifts for me all day long. It's so fun. My daughter even gave me an hour long hair massage! What can top that?! I also enjoyed calling my mother and talking to her. She is such a wonderful inspiration to me. I realized that I didn't gain all the experience I have as a mother because I'm the oldest of 11 children, I learned it because my mother taught me how to deal with all my siblings. I gained that wonderful experience as she showed me what to do, how to do, and most of all, how to love, and I love her so much!

Crying over Veggie Tales

2009-04-07T20:32:00.003-06:00

Well thankfully, my husband has been employed! We celebrated by going to a dollar movie, and fast food. It's been 6 months since we did that. It hasn't been a horrible experience (atleast for me), and we've definitely learned to budget our money a little better. Hopefully some of those habits will stick. It definitely feels better to know there will be a paycheck coming sometime this month. (Yay!)

Life has been up and down with the new baby. He is so cute, which helps. He actually has been pretty colicky the last month. I haven't gotten very much of anything done. I'm a person that likes to do a lot with my time, so it's pretty hard to look at my "todo" list and not cross off anything.

I've read a couple books though, which I don't normally do, but since that's something I can more easily pick up and put down... I read the biography of Phil Vischer. It's called "Me, Myself, and Bob". It was very inspiring. Phil Vischer is the creator of "VeggieTales". He had a very religeous background, and his dream was to create a media that families could trust. He writes in his book about all his successes. He almost became another Walt Disney (one of my heroes!) before the crushing end, and he lost everything. He lost his company, went bankrupt, and had to start completely over from scratch. His book is not depressing though. He writes about what he learned from the experience. I was crying at the end of the book as he wrote about how he had to let go of "his" dream. All along he felt like God had given him this "calling", but he was trying to do it all "Phil's" way. Now he is letting God lead him wherever he should go. He's the instrument, and God is the one playing. I love that analogy. He's starting over, and I believe he is a lot more inspirational now than he ever was with "Veggie Tales". (I never cried through a veggie tales movie!)

After listening to General Conference (which was wonderful), and reading that book, I've been thinking a lot about what my "calling" might be. Obviously, I'm supposed to be a mother, but I'm hoping to be able to share my music as well. There's a lot I'd like to do. If I didn't have children and a family, I would probably be pretty busy right now.... but I wouldn't be as happy.

Someday I'll have more time to put into it. I actually get quite a bit done in the moments here and there between diaper changes, and my bedtime. The Lord has blessed me to do that, and it makes me happy. When I get comments from my website, it just brightens my day, so that when I don't have anything to cross off on my list of "todos", atleast I touched someone with my music.

So, I guess this is just a reminder to myself, to slow down, and enjoy the moment.

Unemployment and Blessings

2009-03-20T22:11:00.004-06:00

My husband was laid off from his job way back in November of 2008. He wasn't very upset about it at the beginning, since he had worked at his job for a really long time (15 years) and was looking for a change, but with the economy and the stress of supporting the family, it's been getting more stressful for him. I think he would call the last five months some of the hardest he's ever been through.

We haven't had it as bad as many people do. In fact, we've actually been blessed quite a bit. For one thing, he got a really nice severance pay since he'd been working for the company for so long, that has really helped me not to be stressed out about it.

The second thing, is that we've had so many things go right. If I compared the last 5 months to the 5 months before that, as far as spending emergencies go, (car repairs, home maintenance repairs, general necessities and emergency needs) they have all been amazingly minimal. In fact, a few months ago, our dishwasher stopped working and my husband tried to fix it. Usually when my husband tries to fix something, it usually ends up being a huge frustration, and we end up paying even more money to fix the problem. I was a little wary when he wanted to try to fix the dishwasher (I've hated this dishwasher, and would really just like to get a new one instead), but this time, my husband called the company, figured out what part was wrong, ordered the part ($10) and was actually able to install it himself! It was truly a miracle.

I like to notice miracles in my life, and this week was no exception. My baby was going to be blessed soon in church, and I didn't have a blessing outfit for him. I checked "Kid to Kid", and some thrift stores, but I couldn't find one, and I didn't want to spend the money to buy a new one. I decided that I could just make him one instead. I actually use to make kid clothes, when I only had one child, so I actually found a newborn pattern I could use for it. I wasn't sure if I had any white material I could use, but looking through my fabric scraps, I found a small piece of plain white cotton material, just barely enough to fit the pattern!

I did have to go buy some white thread because I didn't have any, and I looked for some snap tape for the legs, but Walmart didn't have any. I started making the outfit, and then today I was almost done with the outfit, and still needed the snap tape. I thought I might be able to reuse some snap tape from one of Tyler's other outfits, but I guess most commercial outfits don't use snap tape, just individual snaps, so I wasn't able to find any.

I decided I'd look one more place, and checked all my old sewing bins and craft buckets. In the very last bin that I looked in, I found a scrap cut off piece of snap tape EXACTLY the right size that I needed. Another miracle! I was so happy. I sewed in the snap tape, and the outfit is perfect. I'm so glad I made it. The cost to make it was $2 (for the thread). Of course now the outfit is actually priceless, as it can be an heirloom, and is much more special to me than any outfit I could have bought or borrowed from someone.

Tyler's been pretty fussy lately. I think he has a bit of colick, but thankfully everything else is going well. Occasionally I'm getting a good night's sleep (a 4 hour stretch!) I've actually written 2 more songs in the last couple of weeks. I'll post one of them very soon.

Hope all is well with all of you, Blog again soon,

Lindy

Brother Nawroz

2009-03-01T21:12:00.006-07:00

Last Sunday I received an email from someone I came in contact with through my website many years ago. The subject header said, "wish come true". I was overjoyed to get this email. It had the wonderful news that my friend, Nawroz, had become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It has been quite a journey for him, and I'm so grateful that I got to play a part in it. For those that are interested, I have Nawroz' permission and I would love to share the story with you. It's a little long, so read it when you have a chance to relax! =)

I came in contact with Nawroz about 7 years ago. I had just barely started my website, and only had a few piano songs available to download. I received my first email from Nawroz just a couple of months after 9-11 (2001). I don't remember much about the email, I think he wrote to tell me that he liked my music, but I did remember that he was from Iraq. I was a little concerned that maybe he was a terrorist, so I was cautious in my response, but he hadn't asked for money, and he seemed very kind. I didn't expect to hear from him again, but maybe a year later, he wrote another email. This time he wrote to tell me that he had arranged many of my songs for orchestra, and that they were to be performed there in Iraq. He sent me many midi files of the arranged music. I was amazed and surprised as well as very impressed with his talents. This was one of the first times I wished I could have been there, I would very much have liked to attend the concert of my music being played by a live orchestra, in Iraq!

Throughout the next few years, I heard off and on from Nawroz. I've always liked getting emails from Nawroz. It is really a neat thing to have contact with someone that lives on the other side of the world. It was also interesting to hear from someone on the other side of the war in Iraq. Nawroz wanted to compose. He wanted to have an education. Many of the freedoms that I take for granted everyday, he yearned for. When the elections began, there were times Nawroz told me that he feared for his life. He didn't tell me many of the details, but I could tell that things were rough for him, and I was grateful that my music helped him to feel some peace in the world.

I didn't hear from Nawroz for a couple of years before I received an email from him a few months ago (in November). Nawroz again, wrote in his broken English of some of his hardships. One line from his email began,

"It is Christmas for everyone but for me it is loneliness and sorrow your music is my only way to prevent me from falling...."

He also wrote, that he definitely had no doubt that I was S T R O N G (put in capitals WITH the spaces). He had attached a couple more arrangements of my music that he'd arranged, and told me that they were arrangements from a great composer.

My heart immediately went out to him. I felt such sadness that things were so hard for him. I also worried that he thought too highly of me and my music. I appreciated his adoration and arrangements that he had done, but it was too much. I wrote back to Nawroz telling him of my faith in God. I told him that this was where my strength came from and that the only way I have been able to find balance is with God helping me every step of the way. I told him I'd pray for him and that I hoped things would get better. I told him that he could also find joy, through Christ, that He was the way.

After this email, Nawroz opened up to me. He told me much more about his situation and story. Nawroz taught piano in Iraq. Because of the Islamic tradition, women are required to wear a scarf to cover their heads. Nawroz asked them to remove the scarf from just their ears, so that they could hear the music while they played. Because of this, Nawroz and his wife (who was also involved in some of the women's right's groups there) became a target from some extremist religious groups. His mother was attacked and hurt because of him, there home, computers and everything were destroyed, and they were forced to flee to Turkey and then to Sweden to avoid being killed. At that time, Nawroz was afraid that they would deport him back to Iraq. He was sure that if he had to return there, he would be killed within hours of his return. Truly I could see how desperate his situation was, but what made my heart ache even more for him, was what he closed his email with (in his words),

"my dream when I was a child was to change my religion to Christianity. I believe that Jesus is the only and the best prophet in mankind history and I believe in him strongly that why I care so much about your music ms.kerby that was my story do you know what I can do now ???"

I have never before quite appreciated the gospel as much as I did at that moment. It must be so difficult not to even be ABLE to learn about Christ. I wrote back,

"Nawroz,

I feel so sorry for your situation. Thank you for sharing your story with me. I forget how blessed we are to have the freedoms that we enjoy here. I hope someday that you can come to the United States (if that is your desire), and have those same freedoms.

You wrote about having a dream to become a Christian. I know that is possible. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. If you wanted me to, I could arrange to have missionaries come and visit with you and your wife there in Sweden. They would be able to share with you much of the knowledge that I enjoy as a member of this church. I know this church to be true, and believe it with all my heart. Jesus Christ is the head of this church and I know that the missionary's message would bring you much peace, comfort and joy, even in your desperate situation.

Nawroz, thank you for your trust, your friendship and your music. I will pray for you that you will find happiness, and the peace for which you are seeking.

Sincerely,
Lindy Kerby"

Nawroz was thrilled to think that maybe his dream could come true, but at the same time, the Swedish government was asking Nawroz to leave within the next month and a half. Nawroz was desperate to find some way to leave Sweden without getting deported. The end of his email brought me to tears as he wrote (again in his words),

"any way they great news for me is just when I hear or I read greatest word (Jesus) that is my only hope (through you) please do that as soon as possible and if there is something like visa or anything make possible from prevent me going back to Iraq please please do it now because I don’t have time …………..I don’t know how to thank you my wife crying now when I read your letter ….god bless you don’t know how much hope you give us …… Nawroz"

At that point, I felt like I needed to find some way to get him to an Embassy or something, but after calling around for options, it didn't seem that we could help very much from here. I did call the missionaries (a couple times) and put in several referrals to the missionaries so that they could come visit with Nawroz. He was overjoyed, and waited by the phone for the next few days for the missionaries to call. They didn't call for a whole week, and by then Nawroz was very disappointed. I tried to locate a meetinghouse in Sweden that Nawroz could maybe go to. The closest building was 5 hours away, in a different country, or 9 hours away was the next closest building! I again could not believe how much I take for granted living in the United States, with the freedoms that we have, and the fact that right now I live in Utah, where my church building is within walking distance of my house! After I gave Nawroz the phone numbers that I found, and addresses of these distant buildings, I received one more email from Nawroz. He wrote,

"I have called those numbers but they didn’t answers ... I told you before that for me this is at little difficult but if you contact them it will be easier. Here ... there is thousand of churches, why I should go so [far away]? And time run away"

It was an interesting question. He was looking to become a Christian, why should he go to some distant church, when there were thousands of churches there? I started to think that ANY christian church would be better than none, but I really wanted him to hear the missionaaries and gain the same testimony that I have.

That Sunday, I bore my testimony and asked the members of our ward to fast for Nawroz. I prayed that the missionaries would come and be able to contact him. That evening, I received one more email from Nawroz. It said,

"Tonight they called me and I will meet him at the city library on Thursday at 3-30 so wish me luck "

Over the next few weeks, Nawroz told me about getting the Book of Mormon. He told me about the first time he went to church. He played the piano and they were very impressed. At first they thought it was a CD playing, but it was him! They asked him to play a musical number for their next Sunday meeting. A nice family there took Nawroz and his family under their wing, and Nawroz called them his "angels". He told me that this family was helping him with the government, and that things were going to work out. Nothing made me happier though when he wrote,

"... I knew that the church and the Mormon book are true and Joseph Smith is the true prophet of god..."

Nawroz was baptized on February 28th. He told me that my music was playing while they changed clothes. That made me feel so happy. I couldn't be there to watch that wonderful moment, but atleast I was there in spirit.

His last email told me I could call him Brother Nawroz, and that he would call me Sister Kerby. This was just a really neat experience for me, and I wanted to share. I hope it inspires someone to bear their testimony and share this great gospel with someone that doesn't know about it yet. And if you're reading this, wondering how to find out more, please send me an email, or visit www.mormons.org

6 week check

2009-02-26T13:46:00.002-07:00

Today was my post 6 week check up. It shouldn't have been a big deal, so I left the baby with my 2 oldest that were staying home sick today. My husband was also home in case they needed help with anything. It ended up that my doctor had an appointment that morning that lasted a whole hour! It was someone's very first appointment for a pregnancy, and she had brought in a list of 40 (or more) questions that she had written out for the doctor. Questions like, "How do you feel about forceps?", etc. I just can't believe my doctor gave her the entire hour to answer her questions. She's a nice doctor.

Unfortunately, I was waiting in the waiting room for almost the whole hour. About 45 minutes into my wait, my kids called me, telling me that the baby was crying and they didn't know what to do. My husband had to leave in a few minutes for an assignment, and she didn't know if she could handle him until I returned. It's lucky that I live nearby the doctor, and I had my husband drop off the baby on his way. It worked out, except that he cried while the doctor was checking me, and my husband forgot to bring a diaper bag, socks, a jacket, or anything else for the baby. I found it all very funny. Thankfully, I was taken back into the office just after we did the hand off, and was done within 5 minutes. Isn't that how it is?!

Bundle of Joy

2009-02-17T21:36:00.003-07:00

We're all finally feeling back to healthy! Feels great. Tyler is well, and starting to be awake more. It's harder to find time for all the fun things I like to do in my life, but I love spending time with my baby and watching him grow. People have told me how different he looks already. It's hard for me to notice, when I see him so much everyday, but yesterday I could tell he was focusing on my face. A new skill for him. His little eyes are so cute! I just love him...

Last week, my mother in law offered to watch Tyler and Joshua for a couple of hours so I could run errands or do whatever I wanted to do. I have to say, it is wonderful having family close by! I decided to stay at her house and record my song on her gorgeous Schimmel grand piano. I also recorded some video while I played the song which I'm using to make a little "youTube" video. I've spent the last few days figuring out how to splice and transition between pictures of Tyler, and the video of my playing the piano. I think it's turning out pretty well. It's not anything spectacular, but it's almost done, and I'm excited to share the song and pictures with everyone. Hopefully I'll get it done in the next couple of days, but then again everything takes a little longer than it used to...

As One Sister Recording

2009-02-10T12:50:00.002-07:00

I'm sure you are all surprised to hear from me again on even the same day, but I thought I'd share what I did this morning in my "feeling good" mode.

This morning I got an email from someone who had picked "As One Sister" to perform for their Visiting Teaching Conference in the next 2 days. The sister asked to sing, was having a difficult time with the rhythm, and this sister wondered if I had a recording they could listen to, in order to help her learn the song.

I didn't have any recording of the song, but I appreciate requests like this, because they give me a reason to make one. In this particular case, I even had the accompaniment track done, since I'd sung it for our ward a few months back. Unfortunately, I had never recorded the vocal, and being as I've been sick all week, I didn't think I would be able to record one today.

I started to write an email to this lady to apologize that I couldn't help her, when I had the thought that even though I might not be able to make a perfect recording to put on the website, I could atleast record a rough demo, even with a terrible voice so that this sister would be able to have some help learning the song.

I decided to try. I said a prayer that Heavenly Father would help me, and even help me to make it sound in a way that I was comfortable with. Of course I'm only writing this, because the miracle happened. I was able to make a recording to send this sister, and though it's far from perfect, I feel good enough about it to let others listen to it as well, that it might help others to learn the song.

I'm so grateful for everyday miracles in my life!

You are welcome to download the song here.

Life with 7 kids

2009-02-10T08:38:00.003-07:00

Another week has flown by. I'm surprised how fast the time goes! Last week we've been suffering through a little bit of sickness which hasn't been too fun. I had a terrible sore throat, and my littlest ones were coughing up a storm. The baby seems okay, but even his poop has turned bright green (I thought you all would like to know...)When my daughter was up all night with her ears hurting, that's when I decided it was time to go to the doctor. My daughter did have an ear infection, but the rest of us will just have to suffer a little longer with whatever this virus is.

Sleep, has been a little bit of an issue for me. It's amazing how important it is to really feeling good. Last night I was up twice with the baby, but they weren't for too long, and I actually feel rested! It feels wonderful. I'm just now trying to decide what I want to do with all my "feeling good" energy!

I did finish my lullaby for Tyler. I named it "Bundle of Joy". I am anxious to share it with everyone, except for the fact that my keyboard is on the fritz again, and I'm not sure how I can record it. I could put the sheetmusic alone on the site, but I think it's so much nicer if people can also hear how it sounds. Maybe I'll just have to do a little video of myself playing it. It won't sound as good as a recording, but I'm also a little hesitant to put myself "on camera". I'll keep thinking about that idea.

Well, I don't have much else to report. Things are good. The kids are loving the baby and Tyler is a doll. It's funny, I've run into two different old friends this week that I found out both had 7 (or 8) children, and both times I found myself with the same reaction I've always had of "Wow, that's a lot of kids!", it's always later, even a few minutes later, that I have to shake my head and realize, Wow, that's how many kids WE have! Crazy. Still the Lord blesses me to keep it all manageable. I'm so grateful, I don't know how I would do it otherwise...

What is MY will?

2009-02-02T09:18:00.004-07:00

Well, the last two weeks haven't been that bad. My baby is already on a pretty nice schedule, and slept for a 5 hour stretch last night. I feel good! =)

After staying home from church for the previous 2 sundays, yesterday I switched off with my husband, so I could go for atleast the second half of Church. I don't know if it was just being gone for a few weeks, or if Church was just especially good yesterday, but I was spiritually fed. One of the things I really like about my church is that on the first Sunday of the month (which it was yesterday), people from the congregation are invited to share their testimonies. Many times, I'm inspired by what others have to say, as they go through trials and bear testimony of how the Lord teaches them, or they recognize the Lord's hand in their lives.

Yesterday, I listened to a sister who, like me, thoroughly desires to do what the Lord wants her to do, but she use to pray that the Lord would tell her what she should do. She called this the "lazy" approach. It kind of cut me to the quick, because that is exactly how I had been praying. This sister said that she had learned that SHE needed to have a will. She needed to decide what she wanted to do, and then pray to know if this was also the Father's will. She said it's when the Father's will and OUR will's come together, that great things happen.

This has totally changed my perspective. I'd been thinking I needed to focus on "just" being a mom. But that's not MY will. MY will is to be a mom (and not "just" a mom, but a "good" mom too!) AND to do more. I don't really feel happy unless I'm doing more, and doing more also helps me be a better mom. Realizing that, I feel much happier, and I'm looking for more opportunities to serve and share my testimony and talents.

It's great NOT being pregnant anymore! I'm loving that, and the kids absolutely adore the baby. THAT has been fun. Here's the latest picture, Enjoy!

Bringing Home the Baby

2009-01-18T13:32:00.002-07:00

Today we brought home our brand new baby boy. We're not positive on the name yet, but I think it will be Tyler. He was born January 16th at 7:53 am. He weighed 6 lbs 13 oz. and was 19 inches long. Both me and the baby are doing well. We barely made it home when it was time for the rest of the family to go to Church. Of course the kids were very anxious to see and hold the new baby, so we did spend a little bit of time letting them each hold him for just a minute or so before they left for church.

Of course I think this plan worked out perfectly, and I've very much enjoyed the last few hours alone with the baby. I only have a few minutes left before the family is all home again, and life with baby number 7 really begins. Hopefully we'll survive. Thankfully Tyler seems very sweet and mellow. I don't believe I've ever had a baby that was quite so mellow. It must be a blessing. The Lord always knows what we can handle! Wish us luck!

Feeling a little more "prepared"

2009-01-09T20:47:00.004-07:00

Well, as expected November and December have flown by! I'm surprised how fast they came and went. Our little Christmas Oranges play was very fun to perform for our family, and now Christmas has been put away, and my kids are finally back in school!

A couple of days ago, I went to my doctor's appointment, and was told that I was already at a 2+ and 80% effaced. I cried all the way home. I'm not due until the 4th of February, so this just took me by surprise. Talking to my mother, it's very possible, it could still be a few weeks, but not even having a car seat yet, I felt very unprepared.

Last night, my husband and I bought a few things, and set up our old crib. It's made it through the last 6 kids! We didn't have ANY thing for the baby, because we really thought we were done, but we bought stuff to make up the crib, and a bunch of nail clippers, towels, baby lotion, onesies, diapers, etc. It really is amazing how much stuff there is to buy! Wow!

At any rate, I feel much more comfortable. The hospital is only 5 minutes away, and this will be the first time my older kids will be old enough to tend the others if it happens in the middle of the night (which mine tend to do!)

I've know the old adage, "If you are prepared, ye shall not fail", but it's really been driven home this week for me. My biggest Christmas present to myself was getting my year supply of basic food storage. Lest you be too impressed, that means living on wheat, rice, and beans pretty much. In fact I went down there to get some peanut butter, and I only have 2 more containers. (That's not part of a basic BASIC supply!) So, it still needs some expansion! =)

Still, I'm grateful to say we could survive, and now I also know I'll survive (I hope) bringing home a brand new baby. I'm starting to get a little more excited about that. Who can ever know if they are really ever "prepared" for a baby, but having those bare necessities is imperitive!

Many of my fans will be happy to know, that I've almost finished another "baby" song. I've been playing through it for the last couple of months. I hope, like with my last baby, that he will recognize the tune, and it will be calming to him. I am planning to put the new piano piece on my website for all to enjoy.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and has wonderful plans for the New Year. I'm looking forward to this year, and all the opportunities it may bring! =)

Christmas Oranges

2008-12-13T21:18:00.002-07:00

Since my kids are all off track, I decided to write a little mini-musical, "Christmas Oranges" for the kids to work on during the Christmas break. I finally finished all the music today. I had each of the kids record their parts, and I made a little CD for the kids to practice to. It's so cute! We only have a week and a half to get this whole thing together, but it is the funnest thing that we do. All of my kids LOVE to perform, and this has been a neat adventure. Of course, everything else is behind, and NO, I'm not at all ready for Christmas yet.

Right now it's snowing though, and it FEELS like Christmas. It's in the air more when it's snowing.

I bought a really cheap camcorder yesterday. It won't be good enough (I don't think) to make the music videos I'd like to sometime in the future, but it will be fun to tape our kids performances, and get the birth of this brand new baby. Have I mentioned he's a "mover"?

Anyway, hope the holidays are going well for all.

Lindy

Christmas Preparations

2008-12-09T21:27:00.005-07:00

Well, the season is in full swing, and I haven't even started my Christmas shopping yet. It really is a bummer, since now my kids are all off track. Still, it hasn't been too bad, and we've started on our Christmas play. I've written out the script, and made up two songs that the kids can sing. I hope we have time to finish it. We may have to perform it the week after Christmas... it's less busy then anyway.

I got to play the piano with the Middle School beginning orchestra today. We are preparing for the Christmas concert that will be held tomorrow night. I've been accompanying the Middle School choirs for a couple years now, but this was my first time to play with the orchestra. It was fun. Once I have the baby, I'm not sure if I'll be able to continue, so I've been trying to enjoy the time I have.

Our Ward Christmas party was last Saturday. We had a traditional breakfast. I like doing the breakfast thing. My absolute favorite foods, are almost all incorporated in the breakfast meal of the day. Two of my friends and I sang my song, "Angel's Carol" as a trio. It was so fun, and sounded great. One of my friends thought that it could have been written as a women's trio. It worked wonderfully for us and for the program!

Everything's going well. This baby is a "mover". Not so much a kicker, but constantly moving. It's nice to not be wondering if he's okay. Only 8 more weeks to go. Today at the school, a bunch of giggly girls came up to me after the rehearsal, and asked if I was having a girl or a boy. I told them it was a boy, and they all acted relieved as they had been wondering the whole time if I was pregnant, or just had eaten way too much for Thanksgiving dinner. I laughed so hard! It was funny. I'm looking very much past the point of wondering, "If she's pregnant".

Holiday traditions

2008-11-29T09:26:00.004-07:00

It's almost December! It's amazing to me how fast these months fly by. Of course I know why. There's always so much to do to get ready for Christmas. Everything seems to culminate at the end of the year- dance recitals, Christmas parties for church and for school, as well as end of the year commencements. My kids will be off-track all during December. Last year, we decided to make Christmas presents for each member of our family. It was a really neat thing to do, and I imagine we'll remember that year for a very long time, but I don't think I want to do that again for awhile. Still I'm thinking creatively about making a little Christmas skit that my kids could participate in. Maybe a musical version of "Christmas Oranges". I'm not sure yet, but I think it would help the time to go by faster for the kids. It's kind of funny how slow the month can go for them, and at the same exact time, it's moving like lightning for me. I guess it's all perception.

I'm guessing when January hits, it will be the slowest month ever for me. My last month of pregnancy, and the hustle and bustle of Christmas over- isn't that a recipe for "slowness"?

We enjoyed Thanksgiving at grandparents, and have enjoyed many of our holiday traditions like watching "The Polar Express" (love that movie) and eating dessert for dinner Thanksgiving day. Puzzles are always fun, and my daughter has been making pumpkin pies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin fudge out of her Halloween pumpkin which she named "Fred". I am guessing this will be a new tradition, as she loves to cook.

I am enjoying the season. "This is the season to sing" quoting from one of my Christmas songs. I hope everyone is feeling the happiness of the season. There's a lot of turmoil in the world, but there is also much to celebrate. Especially the birth of our Savior. If not for that one reason alone, I'm going to try to enjoy the season! Happy Holidays!

The Greatest Girls on Earth

2008-11-12T21:41:00.003-07:00

Tonight was our Young Women in Excellence program. It went really well. Our circus theme celebrating "The Greatest Girls on Earth", was so well done. It was casual and fun, and the girls had amazing projects to show off. I'm constantly amazed with their talents and abilities.

Just before the leaders sang my song, "The Greatest Girls on Earth", our Young Women's president gave a short little tribute to our girls. It was a celebration of who they are, their Father in Heaven's love for them, and their inspiration to us, as leaders and parents. I was so thankful, once again, to have had the spirit guide me in writing a song that fit the theme for this night. Writing it was a bit challenging, but in the end, it fit perfectly, and I was touched as the leaders sang and I played.

Later in the program, I directed the girls in singing Jenny Phillip's "Like the Stars" song. They did such a good job. I feel like I have the best calling in the world. Of course it's easy to feel that way, when you get to be with "The Greatest Girls on Earth"!

A new adventure

2008-11-10T20:33:00.002-07:00

It's kind of funny how life is. One minute you're feeling like life is just slowly passing by, and the next you have more going on then you can handle! The last few weeks have been moving rather quickly, and I definitely have enjoyed the faster pace.

My sister got married and I did finish the 3 yellow bridesmaid dresses. They were so excited to wear them! I got a picture real quick after I put them on for the very first time. It was a good thing that I did, because by the reception that night, there were little spills, dirt, etc all over their dresses, completed by some really nice chocolate stains from the chocolate fondue at the reception. I'm just really glad I got this picture! =)

This last week, I was finally able to finish the redesign on my website (inspired by my girls yellow dresses). I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's quite a feat to condense all the information and songs that I have, and make it so it's easy to find what you're looking for. I think this design will work well. In addition, my big accomplishment, is also the store. I am now able to accept secured credit card payments (in addition to Paypal) from directly on my site. It's been quite a bit of work, but I'm happy that it's working now.

I added 3 new songs to the site. One was my "One Sister" song, that has now been renamed, "As One Sister". It's a great song for Visiting Teaching Conferences and the like. Also, a song I wrote for the Young Women leaders to sing for our Young Women in Excellence program. It's called after our circus theme of, "The Greatest Girls on Earth". I don't know if anyone will actually be able to use this song, but I figured I would share it anyway.

I also added an arrangement I wrote last year of "Away in a Manger". I didn't put it on the site last year, since I didn't finish the song until the day before Christmas when my daughter and I sang the song together. Somehow I lost the file on my computer, but I re-entered the song in today, and hopefully many can enjoy it for this Christmas.

Life is good. My pregnancy is going well, and I'm finally in my 3rd trimester, enjoying the kicks and movements that come from having a big belly. Thanks for all the sweet comments and emails. Every time I get one, it just makes my day!

One Sister

2008-10-18T14:50:00.003-06:00

Another week and a half has gone by- just a short report on my progress... I have finished one of the bridesmaid dresses, and I'm about 2/3 of the way done with my second one.

I also got to sing one of the new songs I wrote called, "One Sister" for our latest Visiting Teaching conference in my ward. I loved how well the words fit with the message. I am working on a whole redesign again for my website which should be done soon, but I will put the music to this song and a couple of others as well.

Having 2 websites to maintain was a little difficult to manage, so I'm putting it back together again. I really love how it's looking. I continue to feel invigorated and feel that I have purpose again in my life. It's amazing how being busy creatively, comes at the expense of never having enough time. Suddenly time is going by much quicker again. That's not a bad thing though, when you're only 5-1/2 months pregnant, and wishing it was already over. But then, comes all the baby fun, so I think I'll just continue to enjoy the present moments!

Feeling Better... and Charged!!

2008-10-07T20:25:00.003-06:00

Though I can't promise that my sudden burst of energy is a result of my creativity back in action, but I can hardly deny how much better I am feeling! It is like day and night! I have finished 1 song, I'm working on 2 other songs, and today I bought some material to make 3 bridesmaid dresses (a project, I'm a little worried I have over guessed myself at). Still, it's creativity at work, and it is working miracles! I am feeling incredibly better! I haven't even needed as many naps throughout the day. It is truly amazing, and besides that, I suddenly feel again that I'm doing something good with my time. I don't know why that's been so important to me, but it always has been. It is my new found goal to continue this NO MATTER WHAT!

I absolutely loved listening to General Conference this last weekend, and feel very invigorated in many areas of my life. What a wonderful privelege to hear from modern day prophets!

I'm sure this is probably just a "high" that will wear off soon, but for now, I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. Enjoying the journey! =)

Creativity and Compassion

2008-09-29T21:08:00.003-06:00

Okay, so it has been a REALLY long time since I wrote. I guess that's for a few different reasons. I'm guessing the biggest reason is because my kids have been "off track". It's the fun time of the year, when I still need to get my oldest to middle school, but I have 5 other kids home during the day. It's been a little busy.

This pregnancy has been also different from any of my other pregnancies. I've always loved being pregnant, but this one has had me completely zapped of all energy. I've felt completely useless! I mean it's hard, when all I can say I did with my day was take a 4 hour nap, and several other snips of naps throughout the day. As a "wannabe continuous blogger" it makes for not a lot to write about!

Still, I do have some news to report... We found out that we are expecting a BOY! This was a TOTAL surprise, as my husband felt quite strongly that we would be having a girl. We planned girl names. I figured out where we could put our PINK room, and how could arrange the kids rooms. It never even really crossed my mind that it COULD be a boy. So... surprise!

Also, I went to the General Women's broadcast on Saturday, and absolutely LOVED President Uchtdorf's talk about Creativity and Compassion. WOW! I have always been driven by a need to create. I love to be creative, not just songs (and kids!) but learning new things, and trying out stuff. I absolutely loved the talk. I will try to send out a link when it comes out, but basically it was all about how sharing our creativity helps us to find happiness no matter what trials we may have. This has certainly been true in my life. It was interesting because a few days before the broadcast, I had decided that I needed to write more songs again. I think I haven't felt as good inside, because I haven't done as much creating. Yes, it's hard for me to find the energy, but everytime I do, I DO feel so much better.

So--- you might be seeing a whole bunch of new music coming soon! =)

My "less is more" Week

2008-08-28T21:01:00.003-06:00

Last week, one of my very best friends came to visit me from Florida. We use to be roommates in college, then later, we were next door neighbors for over 3 years. I was so sad when she moved away. (She'll say, I moved away first, but atleast my move was still within the state!!) It was wonderful to see and talk with her again.

This last week or so, I've really slowed down. I haven't worked on my projects. I have emailed people less. I haven't spent as much time on my computer. Instead, I've spent more time with my family. It wasn't anything I planned, but it's been a great week.

I took my youngest to the zoo. It was so much fun. This was the first time I've only taken one child! Since it was just the 2 of us, I even splurged for the train ride, and the carousel. It was fun. I also got to go to an activity for our church group which involved all the women getting together in a friend's backyard to eat dinner and socialize. I love those kinds of activities! Afterwards, we shared the extra bounties from our home gardens (I had lots of cucumbers to share...) as well as some testimonies of the bounties of the gospel in our lives. It was very uplifting. I always enjoy going to those activities.

Today I spent time weeding in the back yard. The weeds are still taller than our vegetable garden (yes, this includes the corn), but I'm making progress. If I only look at the little places I'm weeding in, I can see a lot of progress. I suppose that's how my life is right now. It doesn't seem like I'm making any noticeable differences, but if I look in those small areas I'm working on, I can see the difference.

Today, I spent some time trying to iron out a quarrel between my kids. Because I actually took the time to talk to both of the contendors, I enjoyed a special moment with each of them. Hopefully the contentions will lesson, but I won't get my hopes up!

The LDS Music Fest

2008-08-18T13:51:00.002-06:00

What a wonderful time it was to go to the fest, to perform, and to be with friends. I got to hear Alex Boye perform for the first time, and it was incredible. I really like the uplifting spirit that was there during his concert- it was all very inspiring.

I also got to meet so many new friends. There is a new group I met that came up from Las Vegas area- Musically Inclined, and it was fun to get to know them better. We went out to lunch, and that was fun as well. My mom came for my performance in the evening. She tried to record my performance with her camera in movie mode. I'll try to maybe post it, though the screen will only be about an inch high!

Sunday, she also recorded my performance, but with a little better camcorder, so I'll try to post that as well. Jessica Perry and I did the duet we performed at Women's Conference... so fun! I just love to get to do that. Any one have an excuse for us to come do it again? =)

Anyway, it was a great weekend, and I had a lot of fun. My husband was sweet enough to watch the kids the whole time, so it was a little mini-vacation as well. Now I feel rejuvenated, and ready for.... well, you know, the regular, I guess!

BTW, if anyone really wanted to watch that little TV spot that I did, you can watch the clip at: http://www.kjzz.com/entertainment/hometeam/26881229.html.

My TV debut

2008-08-11T21:27:00.002-06:00

Well this morning was my first big TV debut. It really didn't go too bad. I have learned some interesting things about myself though. When I am really excited about something, I don't sleep very well, though I feel very AWAKE. Right after whatever it is that I'm doing i.e. appearing on TV, singing at Women's Conference, etc. I am almost totally exhausted! Again, I was so tired when I got home. I couldn't believe it.

The taping was a fun experience. The TV show was LIVE, so it was neat to see how everything was done. Julie (de Azevedo) Hanks looks like a natural all the time, and does a great job of filling in the gaps, and looking beautiful. Our segment wasn't very long, only about 7 minutes with Sam Payne performing a song for 3 of those minutes. It was just enough time to explain a little about the festival, and how a mother of 6 (expecting 7) can stay connected to the world through technology. It really is a pretty cool thing. Sometimes I just take it for granted that people all over the world can visit my website, or play songs that I've written all over the world. It really is a cool feeling.

When I got home this morning, my 3 year old rushed up to me and said, "We saw you on TV! I waved and said hi to you, but you didn't answer. It made me cry." How precious. It was just so sweet. I had to tell him that I wasn't actually IN the TV, and that if I could have seen him waving, I would have definitely waved back!

I'm looking forward to singing this weekend. I've written 3 new songs that I will be performing on Saturday for the pre-concert from 6-7:30. It's has been a fun few weeks. I really do enjoy having so many fun things going on in my life. I never know where it will all take me, but I'm sure enjoying the journey!

Learning by Doing

2008-08-07T20:59:00.004-06:00

Today my daughter had a new opportunity of babysitting for a new family in our ward. She was asked to watch their 3 children for almost the whole day (8-5). In addition to this new experience of being mom for the day, she also was blessed to take care of their 7 year old autistic boy. She did a really great job. She was obviously a little tired and worn out from the day, but she came home full of a new found respect for me and all I do as a mom.

Tonight I had to go to a 'Meet the teacher' type thing at the Elementary School. It's quite a task to meet 4 teachers in time only allotted for 2! A challenge, I must say, that I did well. I actually got to get a pretty good feel for all my children's teachers, and even talked to 2 of them specifically about my children. Whew. At any rate, I asked my son to babysit thinking my daughter would be totally exhausted from babysitting all day (which she was), and to my amazement- she actually OFFERED to babysit tonight (my son wasn't excited to). She was thankful that our kids are so easy to tend. I told her that you learn by doing. It also helps that you know your own routines and can adjust as one child comes at a time.

I had a "learn by doing" experience just yesterday. I got to do an interview for a radio show that will air this Sunday on KOSY 106.5. I am part of a LDS Musicians Festival that will be performing Aug 15-17, and I got to help give the details about that. Although I have performed in many musicals, drama presentations, giving talks, etc., I had never interviewed for radio before. Because I wasn't really prepared with what I would say, I became completely tongue tied, and couldn't speak. It wasn't until I told Joan Peterson, "Let me say what I'm trying to say OFF the record..." that I could again begin speaking clearly. Of course Joan kept recording, and hopefully my message was received. Thank goodness for all the editing that is done behind the scenes. Hopefully I can use this experience, and realize that these kinds of things get better with time! The good news is, my CD is now on KOSY's playlist, and they will play "Living Water" right after our interview. Hopefully once people hear the song, some will request it again, and the CD can be heard. Another blessing.

This next monday, I get to talk about the Music fest once again, except this time, it will be LIVE (no editing) at the KJZZ studio for Julie De Azevedo's Monday Morning Show (9 am). I'm hoping my experience with the radio station will help me. I'm very nervous but I've learned some things. I'm going to prepare a little more for what I'm going to say. I'll also try to pretend no else is watching!!!! Wish me luck as I learn by doing!