I DID IT!!!!!!!

I did it!!!!

I mean I actually did it! I nailed my audition!

Let me start at the beginning.

One month ago I got the call for the audition in Red Deer. You might remember last year when I had an audition. I didn't make it, but a lot of good came from that audition. Most of the playing I did this last year was a result of the exposure that I got from the audition and gigs with the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra.

I get very nervous about auditioning! I wanted this soo badly!!! I have put in the work and did everything that I knew I could do to practice playing through my nerves. I had some pretty neat experiences that I wanted to share.

I've been praying that I will be able to play well in the audition. I kept telling God that if he would just help me to play like I had been doing in my practice sessions that I would be happy, whether I got the job or not.

Immediately before I went in to the building I said another prayer. Just as I was praying for help to calm my nerves I felt like I should open my eyes. Right in front of me was a key chain I have hanging from my steering wheel that reads ... relax. It is a small thing, but it really made me feel better in that moment.

In an audition setting I can't "practice". It messes with my head. I bring reading material and my IPod. Well today I felt like reading. I made sure that I brought an uplifting book that would make me feel good. The book I chose today is written by Kris Belcher called "Hard Times and Holy Places". I have heard her speak and she is truly inspiring, but that is a different post. I was reading and I came across this verse in the Book of Mormon.

2 Nephi 32:9 "But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform anything unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul."

It is amazing the calm I felt come over me. I felt like the verse was literally speaking to me about my current situation. I knew that I had done all I could and had plead to my Heavenly Father to help me, and he would. Not long after that I felt VERY strongly that I should try a different reed that I had made two nights earlier. I was skeptical because I made that reed and hadn't played on it since. The reed felt really good!!!! I decided to warm up on it and ultimately used it in the audition. Man am I glad I did ... that reed was amazing! How grateful I am for inspiration from above. I know I wouldn't have picked it up without that heavenly guidance.

The audition went great! Was it perfect ... no, but I am still so pleased with my performance. The panel totally threw me for a loop when they decided to let the screen down for the second round. The entire audition is usually blind but they decided to change it up in the second round. I really think this was in my favor. I will be the first to tell you that I am not a good auditioner, but I am a great performer!!!! When I went back after I was hired the conductor kept talking about my poise and aura while I perform. He kept coming back to it and I think that was what separated me from the other candidates, that and how I play the oboe solo from the Brahm's violin concerto ;-)

To say the least I am more than thrilled to have been offered a contract with the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra. I feel very proud, grateful, and humble right now. Thanks to everyone who was praying for me ... it helped! Right now in my life this is my dream job and I can't believe that I have it. What an amazing month this will be for me!!! My birthday is on Friday, in 17 days we will be moving into a house that our entire family can operate in. We hired full time help for Evan, she will start next week (more on that later). I have a pretty incredible little family that I can claim as my own, and to top it off I got my dream job!!! I am one lucky girl!

Maybe I will have a little bit more time to blog now that I'm not practicing and making reeds every night ;-)

COME COME COME!!!!

3rd Annual

Family Fun

Walk n' Roll

Saturday, August 27, 2011

North Glenmore Park

West Side 10AM-2PM

Calgary, Alberta

Proceeds from this event will help provide emotional, financial and community support to children and their families who are living with a Neuromuscular Disorder.

laugh of the day

I had one of "those" appointments today.

As most ladies do I wanted to be as clean and pretty as possible since the doctor has to have his face "down there".

I go into my bathroom to trim up and in runs Landon. He practically sticks his face in my crotch and starts pointing and yelling .... "Gross, Gross! Mama, Gross!"

While I pulled up my pants I informed him that it looked a lot better than it did 5 minutes prior to his encounter.

Anyway, I can't stop laughing so I thought I would share the humor ..... at my expense of course.

I thought for sure the bear story would get at least one comment!!!

waterton and A BEAR

We actually had quite a peaceful sleep in Osoyoos, took our time leaving and then headed out to complete our drive to finally meet up with Daddy. The boys were getting pretty squirrely and I knew it was because we had been away from Daddy for so long.

The drive went .... well.

We drove about 9 hours through the beautiful Okanogan. We stopped and got cherries. We talked. We looked at the beautiful scenery and .... Evan didn't sleep at all! I mean, nothing! Not one long blink!!!! He didn't cry either which was pretty awesome.

Landon was a different story. If he was awake he was SCREAMING!!!!! Crying, yelling insanely loud at his brother. He was as loud as loud can be. He wouldn't eat, and he really didn't sleep very much either.

The closer we got to Waterton the more deer we saw having a party on the road. We almost nailed 3 of them. Every time this happened, Evan thought it was the greatest and funniest thing ever. He kept asking for me to do it again :-) I tried really hard not to appease his desires since I wasn't a fan of the adrenaline that raced through my body after each close encounter.

I bowed out for a couple of hours to drive with my mom to Cardston where there was a reunion for my Dads side of the family. I went so I could visit with people but I felt like I needed to be with my kids at Justin's family reunion. I got lots of pictures (that I don't have) of my Grandma's siblings and visited with lots of other family. It was fun. Mom stayed for the full two days and met up with us after that reunion was over.

Waterton was great!!! I don't think I have ever experienced nicer weather in Waterton. It was beautiful. By far my favorite thing to do in Waterton are the natural waterfalls at Red Rock Canyon. With the weather being so nice it was even more amazing!

The last day in Waterton we went on a short hike. I will tell you now that I am very much an out of sight, out of mind girl. I hear about the bear encounters. I have a bear bell and I am more than a little paranoid about using it. Unfortunately I forgot to bring it on this hike. I just never, I repeat, NEVER want to see a bear unless it is at the zoo or from my car.

The hike was beautiful and we had a great time at Crandell lake. We turned around and at this point I didn't have any of my children. I was up ahead with my mom when I heard a very LOUD rustling in the bushes on the very small cliff to my left. I look up and see a black bear running. Do you know how freaky it is to see a bear that close, running???? I turned around soooo fast and ran the other direction. The problem was that we had to continue hiking in the direction that the bear was running. Can you imagine how annoying I was on the rest of the hike using my special clap and special bear call that a ranger taught me. I can't believe I saw a bear!

On the road ... again, and again, and again.....

So after two fun filled day with my Grandparents we said goodbye to Nanaimo (and Auntie Alycia, who flew home to move) and began our long drive east. I wish that I had thought to get a picture of Alycia and the boys crammed into the car. There was even more stuff in the middle because we were using a portion of the space in our car top carrier for Alycia's luggage. I'll tell you this ... I felt pretty darn proud of myself for packing, and unpacking, and packing, and unpacking, and packing .................... so many times! I pretty much became a pro!

Mom and I caught an early-ish ferry and drove to Osoyoos, BC. After a LOT of confusion at the hotel over parking (there was a hummer parked in the handicap stall! You can imagine what the note I left on his windshield said.), and the complete inability to find a luggage trolley the hotel upgraded our room. It took a while to get everything in our room and everyone settled so by the time we were done we ran the boys to the restaurant to eat.

Dinner was actually delightful and calmed a frazzled mothers nerves. I knew if I didn't "run" Landon we would pay for it that night. Since our hotel sat right on the lake we decided to explore their private beach. Imagine my surprise when I put my foot in the water and IT WASN"T TOO COLD!!!! I am so used to bracing myself for frigid water up here in the northern tundra, but this water was actually kind of warm. I come to find out that it is actually the warmest lake in all of Canada. (Why haven't we been vacationing here???)

Anyway, it was a beautiful night. My favorite parts were burying Evan and watching Landon's face when Grandma splashed him!!!!

By the end of the night I was starting to feel pretty miserable (female problems ... sorry boys) and I made really good use of the hotel hot tub. It actually was a really nice place to stay and I kind of wish we had more time there.

Nanaimo

Since we were so far out west we drove our red sienna an extra 2 hours, hopped on a ferry and traveled to Vancouver Island, to visit my grandparents. We had so much fun taking in the beauty that the island has to offer.

We had a great time riding the ferry over with our friends from Calgary. They had the same idea that we had, so we continued our caravan to the west coast. Do you see the picture of me and Karen?? This woman is an angel on earth in more ways than one. The Manerikars met with us the first week that Evan was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. They brought us into their home, allowed us to meet their children and ask them anything we wanted. They gave us hope for the first time. We could look at our lives differently after we met them.

We arrived in Nanaimo quite late, but not late enough for the boys to miss being showered with gifts from their great-Nana. She made them these adorable oreo cookie blankets! They loved them and Evan kept trying to eat his :-)

Grandpa and Nana took us to "Goats on the Roof" in Combs again. We went with them last year when we saw them at Easter. I have to admit that it is probably my favorite place to shop .... EVER!!!

Just outside of Goats on the Roof there were two girls offering pony rides for a donation. Evan really wanted to do it and since the ponies were little I was able to hold him on. While Evan was getting used to the feeling of sitting on a horse "by himself" the horse was sleeping. When I started to move the wheelchair a little the horse spooked a bit. Let me tell you about the terror that I felt as my baby turned into a rag doll and flung backwards off the horse. I caught him and he actually didn't even go that far, but man alive ..... my heart didn't calm down for about 5 minutes afterwards.

Needless to say, Evan was a little freaked out but he was a brave boy (a real cowboy as we say) and he got back on the horse and had a great ride!

Grandpa and Nana also took us to a professional sand castle competition. It was GORGEOUS!! We had a great time!!!

We also were priveleged enough to see Cathedral grove! WOW, all I can say is WOW!!! It is just like the Red Woods in California but on the island. It truly feels majestic and we all were overwhelmed by the beauty of this gem.

We spent our last night picking cherries together from my grandparents cherry tree. We gorged ourselves on fresh BC cherries, reveled in our discovery of a frog in Grandpa's pond, and celebrated my Grandpa's 70th birthday!!!

We were sad to leave the next day but we are so grateful we had so much fun together.