Faith in Every Footstep

Our pioneer cd is now officially complete. All of the widows in the ward probably thought we'd forgotten about them because Mother's Day came and went and we never delivered a cd. This cd was scheduled for July 24th, however -- Pioneer Day!

When I begin a cd, I have a vision in my mind of how it will turn out (I already have the next 4 cd's planned out in my mind). This cd turned out 95% the way I had envisioned it. I am very pleased with how the pictures turned out. I was very determined that we look authentic, and I think we looked as authentic as our budget would allow. We went to Martin's Cove on Saturday to take the pictures. At times it was hard to get a shot without something modern in the background (a plaque, a fence, a building, etc.). Still, when I looked at the photos I could imagine that we were real pioneers.

The Story Behind the CD:
A couple keys on my piano don't always play. In fact, most of the time they don't play. This is very evident in "The Spirit of God" since the melody line is missing sometimes. That is disappointing, and I don't know how to fix it. I have tried many things. The next thing to try? Having James and his buddies switch the upstairs piano with the downstairs piano...

After Micah's piano strike, James and I decided to take him off Zyrtec (for his allergies) because we thought that was affecting his mood. It is not like Micah at all to be so obstinate. He's stubborn, yes, but he has almost always been respectful to me and obedient in the past. There was a real change in his attitude after that. It also helped that James had a nice "chat" with him about respecting his mother. I also told him that while piano is definitely not optional in this house, soccer, tennis, track, cross country, and basketball definitely are. If he doesn't have the time or energy for piano, then one of those optional activities has got to go.

Micah did work on his duet. He really tried. But 1) I was monopolizing the piano practicing for the big stake missionary fireside this Sunday that I'm accompanying the choir for, and 2) the piece is a difficult one. I didn't realize when I bought it that it is the same duet that Kris and I played in sacrament meeting (and I think it is on one of our past cd's as well). When Kris and I play a duet, I always give her the harder part because she is a much better pianist than I am. I had given Micah Kris' part. I am sure that Micah could have learned it if I had actively taught it to him all along, instead of leaving him on his own to learn it and assuming that he was (I definitely learned a lesson there!). But it changes key a few times and has multiple melody lines going at the same time and also has multiple sharps and flats, so it can be confusing and difficult to play. It is not a piece that I should expect a twelve year old to be able to perfect in a week. So, I told Micah that I would play it instead and let him off the hook. I also told him that he wouldn't be on his own for piano anymore. I would be passing off songs with him weekly and I would introduce another reading book so he could have more practice sight-reading (the hymns are too familiar, he is just relying on his ears). He looked very relieved and happy. That evening Cameron and I recorded the duet.

Jamey and I sang a duet called "Rock Creek Hollow" that I was hoping he would be able to sing as a solo. Again, it is a difficult song, and I ended up singing it with him. I tried to harmonize with him, but whenever I did he would follow me, so we ended up not singing the melody all of the time. Still, it is a pretty song and has a touching message. Most of you have probably not heard it. I had never heard it before and it was sent to me free of charge with some other pioneer music that I ordered. They also sent a pretty song called "Sojourn" that I was either going to do as a piano solo or violin solo, but there wasn't room for it on the cd.

One day when I was recording my piano solo, Lizzie walked into my office, picked up the microphone and started singing. She was so cute. She really thought she was a star. Her solo is at the end of the cd.

I am happy the cd's are finished and I like how they turned out. If Micah and Cameron had played the piano duet, it would have been 100% of what I had envisioned it would be. But I also learned that I have to be somewhat flexible sometimes (that is VERY hard for me!).

The kids keep asking me when they are going to start learning their songs for our next cd (Micah already has his picked out, and he's relieved that I am not having the kids do piano songs next time... at least I think I'm not...). I have about 40 projects to finish first, and then I'll start working on the accompaniment. It will be a fun one!