The Silent Monks

Prayers For Hazie Please!

Hazel Jo

Our littlest munchkin is in the hospital getting antibiotic therapy for a blood infection. Please pray for her that the infection will be under control soon and the Abs won't fry her little tiny veins. Please pray that she will not be afraid and unhappy as doctors have become very unpleasant to her with all the poking and sticking that goes on in the hospital. Please pray that her Mommy and Daddy and sisters can hold up well under all the worry and pressure.

For Hazie and Jennifer!

This morning I posted a link to Linda Ann's post about Lanette. I hope neither one of them will sue me for snagging the lullaby that Lanette sang at camp. I wanted little Hazie to be able to hear it in the hospital over the laptop. She loves music and I am sure she is very well-acquainted with her angel friends. Maybe it will bring her comfort, anyway that is my prayer. Thanks everyone...we will keep you posted!

Heart Warmer #10~Music For The Soul

It is said that Music is the Language of Heaven.

Most of us probably cannot even imagine a world without music. It seem to be present just about every where we go. There are so many types of music that we enjoy in our home. We love sacred music and hymns, classical, Broadway, pop music, the oldies from the 40's era and our parents' generation. Our earliest memories of our music favorites come from the late 50's and 60's~all the moldy oldies. We like some things from the 70's, 80s and 90's. We can be a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll too. We both really like jazz. Good music is good music no matter what the genre. There is always new and beautiful music being written. I love a great music collection. We love concerts from the large arena spectacles to the high school gymnasium.

For home and personal use, I think the iPod is one of the coolest inventions ever and I love adding new songs to mine on a regular basis. To be able to carry around your entire music collection in that little thing is absolutely mind boggling to those of us over 50.

Quite a contrast between the iPod and the Gramophone

It is so wonderful to be able to play your own selection of music with no commercial interruptions on your headphones just about anywhere. Although some people over do this in a big way It can be great! What I like even more is being able to use your iPod in the car, and by using a docking station you can listen to your music in any room in the house or take it and the docking station with you when traveling for great music anywhere you want it.

Music really touches the heart and emotions and creates a mood for just about any setting. Often it's also very obviously missing when a place just doesn't "feel" quite right. Since part of what I do professionally is to create an inviting and comfortable environment~music is always included.

Music makes everything more beautiful and more enjoyable

Music seems to be universally enjoyed. I have only known a few people who don't like it much. I tried to think of one song to include and of course I couldn't think of just one. But I do love this song by Billy Joel. I just love the message of the song just knowing there are some people you can just relax with and be who you really are. What a rare and special blessing.

Mamma Mia Reprise

This one is just for you, Laura! 

 My girl with the golden hair!

The lyrics of the first few measures of this

 song do not apply to you, however! 

I love you, Mom

XOXOXO

Mamma Mia~The Movie~The Music

Mamma Mia is a really fun, poignant movie and I love some of the music. Meryl Streep is absolutely and definitely one of the most talented people in show biz. Who knew she can sing along with everything else? Love her and love this song in particular.

"Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I'm losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sleep in our eyes, her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
Then when she's gone there's that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt I can't deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
(Slipping through my fingers all the time)
Well, some of that we did but most we didn't
And why I just don't know

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Schoolbag in hand she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile"

What mom of a daughter does not relate? This song makes me cry every single time I hear it.

I also really love this one! The Winner Takes It All!

And we (the girls in the audience) should all play this one and dance around once a day just because it would be fun and energizing and we all are Dancing Queens!

By Popular Demand...drum roll....Who IS Michael Ball?

Michael Ball is a Welsh singer that lives in London. He has the most beautiful voice both while speaking and singing. I discovered him several years ago while watching a video of the 50th Birthday Celebration of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

He created and played the first Marius in Les Miserables and has been in many other productions including Phantom of the Opera, Passion, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and he is currently playing John Travolta's part (Edna Turnblad) in Hairspray in London.




Michael has done TV and radio and of course lots of concerts. He is more well-known throughout the world than he is in the US. He has a huge following in Australia. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tevor Nunn and other London composers and producers love Michael for his amazingly versatile and accomplished tenor voice and for his great personality. His forte is primarily musical theater but he can sing just about anything better than the person who made it famous and he does some song writing of his own . He has been named the best performer to come out of the West End (London's Broadway) in over 30 years. He has played on Broadway twice in his career, most recently in Woman in White. He has many CD's and concert DVD's out and his signature song is "Love Changes Everything" which was a big hit for him after his long run in Aspects of Love in NYC. He has never taken singing lessons so his voice is truly a God given talent. I became interested in his career and followed it for a few years for which I was teased mercilessly by my kids and hubby. I am not a groupie but just enjoyed his music and his one inch dimples and his nice gentlemanly ways.

He has only done 2 live concerts in the USA and they were held at the Abravenal Hall in SLC. Can you quite imagine my excitement about that?

Anyway, Jen and I went one night and she was doing a lot of hooting and hollering (just to humor me she says) so she can tell you all about it. The following night Jim went with me which was great. I watched them both when I could take my eyes off the stage and they were enjoying the concert quite a bit themselves. We stood up and sat down so many times I thought we were in a Catholic church! I guess that is what you do if you are a real fan. It was the most fun time I had had at a concert since, well...ever!



When Jen and I were setting up my blog template we added the pics just for fun and I am not sure who came up with "the eye candy"...you will have to wonder....?? It is all in fun..don't worry... it is all good!

Michael was given the key to the city (SLC) by the mayor Rocky Somebody and was supposed to perform with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir but became ill and had to cancel. This was a big disappointment to his fans but my friend, Lloyd Newell, told me he was the most wonderful man and is invited to return whenever he is back in SLC. That was in 2004 and so far he has not been able to come back to sing "Amazing Grace" with the choir. May 4, 2004 was proclaimed by the mayor to be "Michael Ball Day" in Salt Lake City. I concur with Rocky...it truly was his day and maybe a little bit mine too! Ask Jen, she'll tell ya all about it.

Well... I hope she doesn't tell all!



P.S. OK, now that Jen has totally "outted" me, I will admit that that is me standing in the lower left hand corner of this photo. I am the one calmly and maturely standing there wondering what is up with all these crazy women! And the list of who I have actually given this website to is racing frantically though my head!!





This was the performance in Salt Lake City! Amazing! I cannot believe I was actually there!

Daughters-Lyrics by John Mayer

OK, I just spent a billion hours getting that Daughters post done and think I made every mistake you can so now I feel I really understand slide.com. I wanted to include the lyrics to the song but was afraid to edit that one even one more time for fear of messing it up again. So......................here they are:

JOHN MAYER LYRICS

"Daughters"

I know a girl
She puts the color inside of my world
But she's just like a maze
Where all of the walls all continually change
And I've done all I can
To stand on her steps with my heart in my hands
Now I'm starting to see
Maybe it's got nothing to do with me

Fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too

Oh, you see that skin?
It's the same she's been standing in
Since the day she saw him walking away
Now she's left
Cleaning up the mess he made

So fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too

Boys, you can break
You'll find out how much they can take
Boys will be strong
And boys soldier on
But boys would be gone without the warmth from
A womans good, good heart

On behalf of every man
Looking out for every girl
You are the god and the weight of her world

So fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too