Piano Skills Festival 2010

Russ had the first part of his Piano Skills Festival last month and got 2 A's and a B+. This past weekend, he had the second part of the Festival where he had to perform two songs from memory.

As of about a week ago, Russ hadn't even played one of the songs with both hands together. He had been sick the lesson before and hadn't gotten the new assignment. When I realized his Festival was the next weekend, I sort of panicked.

So, for the last week, he's practiced every day and went from not knowing the songs nearly as well as he should to memorizing them and playing them beautifully. I rarely help him with his practicing anymore, but this week, I was like a drill sergeant as I clapped rhythms and reminded him about his dynamics.

At one point, he said, "Why does it matter?" and I said, "Because the judge will be a very good musician and will notice if you do or don't do your rhythms correctly. And they'll definitely notice whether your dynamics were obvious enough." He rolled his eyes (boy, they learn that one early...), but practiced hard and was very proud of himself when he could play both from memory.

When he finished playing Saturday morning for the Festival, his teacher and I asked him how he thought he did and he said, "Okay, but I don't think I got two blue ribbons."

Well, he was wrong. He did get two blue ribbons, meaning two A's. And, those that got 4 A's and one B+ were awarded a medal. He was so surprised when we found out was very excited about the medal.


If he had gotten five A's, he would've gotten a trophy. That'll be the goal next time, but for this time, we were excited about getting the trophy. He worked very hard.

His judge had some very encouraging comments like "Beautiful dynamic contrast! Good contrast in articulation. Excellent legato. Nice attention to note length." And, at the end, she said, "Excellent preparation, Russell! You have an awesome start to your piano study! I enjoyed listening to you play."

He looked a little sheepish when he realized that Mrs. Charity and I were right on the little things we stressed, like dynamics and rhythms.

I video taped him practicing one day, and I finally figured out how to upload videos with our new camera! Yay!

'Tis the Season

My mom made a suggestion this year (for our extended family) that instead of buying each other gifts, we could draw a couple's name and give a donation in that family's name to a cause that would be close to that family's heart. That's for the adults.

Then she suggested that we spend only $10 per child on all the cousins.

To be honest, I thought that sounded a little boring for the adults and a little cheap for the kids...

Shame on me.

Our family is so blessed and if we want something, we generally just buy it. Sometimes, we wait and save up, if needed. Sometimes, we just take money out of savings. Sometimes we buy with the excess from a paycheck. We are so blessed.

Then Dana posted this video on her blog that I cried through. It's not an emotional video. But, it is such a reminder of how blessed we are.



Before my mom had even sent her e-mail with her suggestion, Slade and I had talked about trying to be more careful with our spending for Christmas. We have a lot of family to buy for. So, I've shopped a few garage sales (looking for nice, gently used things, not junk), I plan to make quite a few gifts, and I want to buy from friends or other moms.

But, I needed the reminders to help me think bigger.

And, I want to spend time, not money, on the people that matter the most. I won't wait until the day before Christmas to put our tree up, when I can make it a fun family night if I put a little fore thought into it. Maybe we can plan a night of caroling around our neighborhood or to nursing homes in the area or something, too. Any other ideas? Anyone want to join us?

I so often forget how blessed we are to live in America where so much is available for us and we are free to enjoy it. I'm thankful for family and friends that remind me.

So, I'm going to be more careful as I shop and plan this year. And, I am already thinking of ideas of who/what I could contribute to in Kyle and Christy's name.

Bookworm Song

I forgot to update that Russell did a great job at his piano competition Saturday morning. He got a 5, which is Superior. He also got a blue ribbon. If he gets a Superior score 3 years in a row, he gets a trophy. He can't wait for that.

I didn't know if he would be nervous since he was playing in front of two judges, but he didn't seem to even give it a second thought. He played it before we left and it was absolutely perfect! Here he is after we got home and there are a few small mistakes, but he did great. Sorry about all the background noise; Slade's mom and younger brother were here and I didn't realize how much chatting was going on while I recorded Russ. Oops.

You can see on the piano some train cut outs and a little money bank. Those are some of the tactics we've used to help him enjoy practicing. He gets to choose a certain number of train cars based on how well he plays (and his attitude when he messes up). We also had a day where he got dimes for each song, depending on the same criteria. That money is supposed to go to his Sunday School class, but we forgot to send it yesterday.



The only comment from the judges was that he could/should have slowed down at the end, but the music didn't say to and he is new enough to piano that he just simply played/memorized exactly as it was written. Luckily, that didn't count against him.

When we were in the car heading home after the competition, he said with a big grin, "I knew I'd get a blue ribbon." He didn't say it like he was bragging or showing off, he just knew he had practiced hard and that he was able to play it really well. I'm glad he felt good about the time he'd put into it.

The Lord's Prayer

This video is adorable! I smiled the whole way through. I just want to hug this little girl.



There's another one with her singing Amazing Grace and it's just precious. Her parents are obviously being intentional.

I love YouTube

This will make you laugh. And, maybe make you want to get a group together and try it yourselves... a really big group.

Naturally Curly?!

Just like everyone else in the world with straight hair, I wish I had curly hair. I realize that if I had curly hair, I'd want straight, but since I don't have curly hair, I want it.

Well, I saw a video (scroll up to see the video) on this blog that made me really want this curling iron. I found it on Amazon.com and then on eBay. It was $24.99 on eBay and that's the cheapest I've found anywhere. I put it on my favorites and was just being lazy about ordering it.

Then, I was in the mall last week and there was a kiosk where they were curling hair with the same curling iron! The lady demonstrated it on my hair and it looked adorable! It also felt so soft after it had been curled. And, the curls weren't crisp from having to use product to get the curl. The ceramic barrel helps to form the curl without needing curling products!

I was excited because I thought I'd save on shipping. So, I asked the lady how much the curling irons were and she said $80. I almost fell off my chair (and that would've been very embarrassing!). I told her I had found the same curling iron online for $25. She spoke to the other associates in some other language and they all laughed and said that it wasn't possible to find it for that cheap. Then she showed me a print out they had "from the Enzo Milano website" and they were selling there for $125. She said she could sell me at her discount of $70, but that there was no way I could get it for $25. I thanked her and left.

Then I came home and double-checked. First of all, there isn't an Enzo Milano website that I could find, just various websites selling their curling irons. Some do sell it for as much as $125 and a few sell it for less than $50. Then I went back to my eBay favorites and there it was--exact same one that she had tried out on me! So, I bought it!

And, it arrived today! I still haven't showered yet today because we slept in and hung out around the house until about 2 hours ago. Then Slade and the boys got ready for the day while I cleaned one bathroom. While they were gone (Christmas shopping for me--how sweet!), I cleaned the other bathroom. Then we ate lunch and now I'm blogging. And, those are my excuses for why it's 12:30 and I still haven't showered...

So, I'll tell you how it goes! I'm very excited! I bought the 25mm barrel because I like wider curls. The tight, springy curls don't fit my personality. :-) So, if you like the loose curl look that seems to be everywhere, you might want to check out the Enzo Milano curling iron.

Christmas Piano Recital

Russ had his Christmas piano recital today. It was a lot of fun. Charity has quite a few students now and I think that adds to the kids' excitement.

Here's Russ' pre-recital face in the van. Can you sense the nervousness?!


Peggy, Slade's mom, is smiling in the back.

Randall's sweet smile. (Notice the built-in carseat that Randall is in? It can be down to be used as a carseat or can fold up into the seat so that a non-carseat person can sit. One of our favorite features of the van!)


Russ played Good King Wenceslas and Away in a Manger. He did a great job! He was calm and not at all nervous. When he finished playing his first song, he sat down by me and whispered "No mistakes."

I took pictures during his first song and recorded a video during his second. We brought our video camera, but, of course, the battery was dead. Should have checked that a few hours earlier, eh?... If I had been thinking, I would have recorded him playing Good King Wenceslas because it was a little more difficult, but I didn't think of that.

Getting his music ready.


Playing Good King Wenceslas. No jitters...


Done with his first song.


Playing Away in a Manger.



All of Charity's students (with Charity in the back, on the right).


A close up of a sweet, smiling boy.


A close up of a silly, goofy boy.


The piano cake Charity made for the reception after the recital.


Russ realizing it was a cake.


It was fun listening to all of the children and seeing how many of them have improved since the last recital. Charity has a lot of young students and beginner students, so their progress is a lot easier to hear.

The entertainment was fun and the food was tasty. What more could you ask for?

So, a reporter walks into a bar...

That's almost as funny as when my younger sister, Kylene, was arguing with a friend and saying, "I am not ditzy..." just as she ran right into a pole.

Just a little chuckle for you.

You're not alone!

Just watch these videos and laugh because you're not alone!



This one doesn't have a way to embed it here, so just go check it out. My mom sent it to me. You might have to listen more than once to catch it all (and to hear the words you miss because of your laughing).

Memorize the words and sing them to your kids when you would rather throttle them... *grin*

John 3:16

Last week, when I was helping Russ to memorize his Sparks stuff (motto, key verse, pledge to the AWANA flag, etc), Randall was memorizing, too! I want to get Russ on video, too, but I haven't remembered when he was at home, so I've just gotten Rand so far.

I am such a sap..

After crying through Paul Potts' performance on Britain's Got Talent, I told myself it was just because Paul was so good. And, he is a great singer. But, I have cried through at least 4 other performances on YouTube of other performers...and it would have been more, but I stopped watching...

One break danced (broke danced?) and I cried when he got three "yes's". He did a great job dancing, but it was more his personality. These people have put themselves on the line, so to speak. I'm sure it feels personal when they get a "no", even though it doesn't mean they are inedaquate as people or anything.

The tap dancer who had such a sweet story on why he tap dances made me cry and I was so mad at the judge, Piers, for giving him an X. I could obviously NOT be a judge because I think I'd want to say "yes" to everyone just because they'd all worked hard...okay, well, some of them don't look like they worked that hard, but still...

The other night, Slade and I began watching American Inventor on abc.com and I just boohoo-ed when the people got "no's". I finally told Slade I just didn't want to watch it anymore. I just kept thinking how devastating to be turned down when you had placed your dream on the line. And some of the judges were a little rude. I just felt so bad for the inventors, not only having their dream invention laughed at, but also having it happen in front of millions of people!

Like I said, I could not be a judge. And, I should probably stop wasting time watching and sniffling through these acts, too...

Britain's Got Talent!

To quote Steve Camp, "A humble unassuming man named Paul Potts from South Wales has set the music world on fire. By day an average looking man who is a car phone salesman... BUT, he has a tremendous gift that is nothing short of spectacular."

I don't know why, but I was moved to tears listening to him and watching everyone's responses. I'm not big on opera, but his voice is so clear and so gentle; it's easy on the ears.



There is just something about Paul Potts that makes you feel... proud of him, maybe just happy for him. He has a sweet way about him and such a beautiful voice.