Songs of Our Land

Being a home schooling mom to one has its advantages. One of those is the ability for Christopher and I to attend the Edmonton Symphony every once in a while. The ESO does a yearly concert series for school children, and has graciously made it possible for home schooling families to get in on the fun!

The concert ‘theme’ for this year was ‘Songs of Our Land: music celebrating the spirit of Alberta’. They started out with Aaron Copland’s ‘Hoedown’ from ‘Rodeo’, which is something I remember playing parts of in orchestra back at university, so that was a treat. Since there is a very strong Native influence in Alberta, we were treated to a Metis fiddle group from one of the local schools, a Cree drumming circle (complete with a dancer!) and an Inuit throat singer. ‘The Song of Hiawatha’ from Dvorak’s ‘New World Symphony’ was presented, as well as ‘The Swan’ by Saint-Saens. The finale number was performed by a group of Metis Jiggers, and was a perfect ending to an amazing concert.

This was a very emotional concert for me. It started off with the singing of ‘O Canada’, and as I sang the words to that hymn, I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude and love for my adopted nation. When the ESO played the Dvorak, tears were streaming down my face as I recalled that piece of music being a favourite of my Grandpa Rees, and the sentimentality of it carried over to remembering my Grandpa Goodrich who passed away almost a year ago.

As poignant as those moments were though, the real emotion of this morning was amazement at the beautiful music of the Native peoples. Their connection to the land and to nature and to the Great Spirit was very evident in the way they played and sang and danced. It made me grateful to be an Albertan.

January Reading Roundup

I’m going to take a page from Beth’s blog and start doing monthly roundup posts, detailing at least what I read and stitched during the previous month.

In January, I completed 5 books. I’ve set a goal for myself to read 75 books this year, so I think I need to up my pace, though I finished half of a book I had to return to the library, as there were holds on it, and read 95% of a book in January, but didn’t finish until yesterday, so it will have to be counted for February’s finishes.

The first book I finished in 2012 was ‘Snowflake Bride’ by Jillian Hart, the fourth book in her ‘Buttons and Bobbins’ series. The series chronicles the friendships and love stories of 7 girls in 1880s Montana. ‘Snowflake Bride’ is Ruby’s story, and it’s my favourite of the series so far. I really related with Ruby, as a shy girl, who often doesn’t feel like she deserves to be loved. Ruby is also a crocheter, like me, and the name of the book refers to the crocheted snowflakes she makes for her friends’ Christmas gifts. Because Ruby’s family is poor, and work is hard to find, she seeks employment as a maid with one of the wealthiest families in the area. Lorenzo, the family’s son, knew Ruby from school, and has been drawn to her kindness and compassion. As Lorenzo and Ruby come to know each other better through more constant interaction, they must face difficult choices if they are to find out God’s plan for their lives. (four stars)

The second book I finished was Ally Condie’s ‘Crossed’, the second book in her dystopian ‘Matched’ trilogy. In this book, Cassia, who has already started questioning what the Society wants her to do with her life, goes on a journey to find the young man she loves, Ky. The book alternates from the points of view of Cassia and Ky, as they try to find their way back to each other. Each one must also decide if they want to return to the Society, or if they are willing to risk joining the Rising and fight against the Society for a chance to choose what they will do with their lives. I enjoyed ‘hearing’ Ky’s point of view, and it helped me understand the motivation behind some of his choices. I’m looking forward to the conclusion of the storyline. (four stars)

‘The Healing’ by Wanda Brunstetter is the second book in the ‘Kentucky Brothers’ series. This book tells the story of Samuel Fisher, a widower who decides to move to the Kentucky Amish community where his brother lives in hopes that the memories of his deceased wife will stop haunting him. He hires Esther Beiler to watch his children while he is working, and as Samuel heals from the loss of his precious Elsie, he finds himself drawn to Esther. Misunderstandings and jealousies arise and both Samuel and Esther must open their hearts to see God’s hand at work in their lives. (three stars)

I was so excited when it was announced that the Church would be publishing a book on the history and work of Relief Society. ‘Daughters In My Kingdom’ did not disappoint! As I made my way through the chapters, a sense of awe, and joy captured my heart at the very fact that I am a member of a society that has blessed the lives of so many. I felt inspired to try my best to live up to the examples of the righteous women of Relief Society who have gone before me. I will be reading this over and over again, to remind myself of what my Father wants me to do. (five stars)

I belong to a group of Amish fiction lovers over on GoodReads, and each month, two books are chosen for the group to read together. January’s ‘Amish’ choice was ‘Hannah’s Journey’ by Anna Schmidt. Most books in the ‘Amish fiction’ genre are set exclusively in the Amish community itself.  This book was set primarily amongst a circus community in the late 1920s. Hannah’s son, Caleb, has run away with the circus that wealthy Levi Harmon owns, and Hannah turns to Levi for help in bringing her son home to their Amish community. Levi suggests that Hannah come with him to meet up with his circus train so that she can find Caleb and bring him home, and as Hannah makes her journey to find her son, she finds unexpected friendships along the way, including one that will change the life of her and her son forever. As mentioned earlier, this book is a departure from the norm in Amish fiction, but I enjoyed it and will be reading more of Anna Schmidt’s work.  (three stars)

2012 book count ~ 5/75 

Answered Prayer

I had the neatest experience last night and into this morning. One that still makes me smile and tear up. Last night (and it’s a long story why, involving my OCD and organising the blogs I read into various categories ~ don’t ask!), I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to make me aware of one of His little ones who was going through a medical trial and needed my prayers. At the time, I thought that the likelihood of that prayer being answered specifically was a wee bit slim, and resolved to pray for ALL of Father’s little ones, even if I couldn’t pray for them by name.

Oh me of little faith! God answered my prayer in a big and unexpected way this morning. I was reading blogs like I usually do in the mornings, when I came across Ashley’s (Make It and Love It) blog post for today: all about her college roommate Katie, and her 1 year old son Dylan who will be having leg amputation surgery on Wednesday morning due to a medical condition. (The details of Dylan’s story are found in Katie’s blog about the topic.)

Wow, was I ever humbled. As tears ran down my face, I prayed for Dylan’s surgery to go well, and for Katie and her family to be blessed with peace. I also thanked my Father in Heaven for showing me that He is bigger than my imagination; that He can answer even the most seemingly ‘obscure’ prayers in a BIG way!