I've always been a big fan of the piano, not so much as an instrument to which I'd dedicate myself (I took years of lessons and am not even an average pianist), but as an instrument that I like to listen to other talented musicians play. Tom is an incredible piano player, to the point that if the kids or I mention we like a song - say, "Part of That World" from The Little Mermaid (Hallie), the Star Wars theme song (Will), or One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" (um, Hallie) - Tom will sit down at the piano and figure out the song so that we can all sing along together. I love that the piano allows us to fill our house with music.
I stumbled upon The Piano Guys while I was looking for another video for another post, and even though some of the videos - see the Star Wars parody below - are a little silly and it weirds me out when the cello player replicates himself, their music is beautiful.
Sit back, relax, and listen to this gorgeous music!
Over the Rainbow/Simple Gifts
What Makes You Beautiful
Pachelbel's Canon in D
Paradise
Cello Wars (A Star Wars Parody)
More Than Words/Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
Note: I am not affiliated with The Piano Guys and was not compensated for this post. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Chuck Norris
A couple of weeks ago, as I got out of my car in the gym parking lot, one of my friends mentioned that she'd just seen a man who looked an awful lot like Chuck Norris walk into the building.
"Do you think it's possible it was really him?" she asked.
"I have no idea - does he live around here? I suppose it's possible..." I replied.
We decided to further scope out this stranger once we got inside.
A few minutes later, once the girls had joined their teachers and classmates on the floor to stretch, Jamie, Erin, and I started our investigation.
First, I walked over to where "Chuck" was sitting and while pretending to watch Hallie stretch, checked him out. He was watching gymnastics with a lovely blond woman, and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap which unfortunately made it difficult to identify him as Chuck or just a stranger resembling Chuck. I headed back to where Jamie and Erin were sitting and asked if they'd mind if I just yelled "Chuck!" at the top of my lungs to see what played out. They minded a little, so I didn't go that route.
Second, we noticed that "Chuck" was drinking from a Starbucks cup. We figured that the name written on the side of the cup could be our next clue, so we once again pretended to watch the girls stretch until we could read the name on the side of the cup. (For all the pretending to watch the girls we did that day, I didn't see a single minute of Hallie's gymnastics lesson.)
"Gena".
Of all days for "Chuck" to be enjoying his wife's beverage.
But then we realized we had smart phones - smart phones that would allow us to look up information about and images of Chuck on the internet. One of the first pictures we came across was of Chuck at some kind of fundraiser or event, standing next to his wife...a lovely blond woman named Gena.
At that point we were pretty excited, seeing as we were not even 15 feet away from the man who has counted to infinity...twice.
Finally, because we needed to seal the deal, a friend of Jamie's - who was much gutsier than any of us - just walked over to "Chuck" and asked him if he was Chuck. "Chuck" confirmed that he was Chuck. She asked Chuck if she could take his picture, but he said no because he was there watching his grandkids and they don't like it when he draws attention to himself at gymnastics. He shook her hand though. Pretty awesome.
So in conclusion, a family member of Chuck Norris' takes gymnastics with Hallie and he comes to watch. Often. I can't wait until next Monday!
I'd like to leave you today with a few facts about Chuck Norris.
- Chuck Norris has already been to Mars. That's why there are no signs of life there.
- The only mind Edward cannot read is Bella's. That's because Bella only thinks about Chuck Norris.
- Chuck Norris is spelled with a silent "awesome".
- Ghosts sit around the campfire and tell Chuck Norris stories.
- When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
- When Chuck Norris does a push-up, he's not pushing himself up, he's pushing the Earth down.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Friday Night Prayer
Back in October the four of us - along with our friends Aaron, Stacey, Kendra, and Logan - spent a warm Friday night doing what just about everyone who lives in Texas does on Friday nights in the fall...cheering from the stands at a high school football game.
We attended the cross-county rivalry game between A&M Consolidated High School and Bryan High School last year, and enjoyed ourselves enough to add this year's game to the calendar three months in advance. And as was the case a year ago, the Friday Night Lights experience delivered.
I love the fanfare, the action, and the elaborate halftime shows. I especially love football players who are also members of the marching band and who participate in the elaborate halftime shows in their football gear. These young men always seem to play the tuba...
About 15 minutes into the game the four kids completely lost interest in football. (We should have seen this coming, as Aaron, Stacey, Tom, and I have taken the kids to baseball, soccer, and football games and they ALWAYS lose interest, especially when they're together.) Instead of trying to engage them in the game or entertain them or feed them (my go-to solution for Hallie), we just gave up and handed over our phones. All eight of us enjoyed the evening much more once the phones came out.
But the most memorable moment of the night, at least for me, had nothing to do with football, or the halftime show, or our kids.
Near the end of the first half, one of the A&M Consolidated players was badly injured. The nature of the player's injury was unclear, which made the several minutes during which he didn't move - at all - incredibly tense. We watched from the stands as the coaches formed an outer circle around the diligently-working trainers and as the player's parents were called down from the stands and led onto the field. Eventually the EMTs drove out onto the field and loaded the player onto the back of the cart, and when he raised his hand to show he was alright the entire crowd breathed a collective and audible sigh of relief.
But the injured player wasn't the memorable part. The memorable part was that while the coaches huddled and the trainers worked and the fans held their breath, the players prayed.
I understand why there exists a separation between church and state, and I understand why many people believe that prayer doesn't belong in public schools or at public school sporting events, concerts, etc. But on that night, prayer belonged on that football field.
We attended the cross-county rivalry game between A&M Consolidated High School and Bryan High School last year, and enjoyed ourselves enough to add this year's game to the calendar three months in advance. And as was the case a year ago, the Friday Night Lights experience delivered.
I love the fanfare, the action, and the elaborate halftime shows. I especially love football players who are also members of the marching band and who participate in the elaborate halftime shows in their football gear. These young men always seem to play the tuba...
About 15 minutes into the game the four kids completely lost interest in football. (We should have seen this coming, as Aaron, Stacey, Tom, and I have taken the kids to baseball, soccer, and football games and they ALWAYS lose interest, especially when they're together.) Instead of trying to engage them in the game or entertain them or feed them (my go-to solution for Hallie), we just gave up and handed over our phones. All eight of us enjoyed the evening much more once the phones came out.
But the most memorable moment of the night, at least for me, had nothing to do with football, or the halftime show, or our kids.
Near the end of the first half, one of the A&M Consolidated players was badly injured. The nature of the player's injury was unclear, which made the several minutes during which he didn't move - at all - incredibly tense. We watched from the stands as the coaches formed an outer circle around the diligently-working trainers and as the player's parents were called down from the stands and led onto the field. Eventually the EMTs drove out onto the field and loaded the player onto the back of the cart, and when he raised his hand to show he was alright the entire crowd breathed a collective and audible sigh of relief.
But the injured player wasn't the memorable part. The memorable part was that while the coaches huddled and the trainers worked and the fans held their breath, the players prayed.
I understand why there exists a separation between church and state, and I understand why many people believe that prayer doesn't belong in public schools or at public school sporting events, concerts, etc. But on that night, prayer belonged on that football field.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Thanking Our Veterans
Veterans Day was technically yesterday - on Sunday, November 11th - but when the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday it is observed on the Friday prior or the Monday following. Perhaps it's better when this occurs, as it means we are given an opportunity to celebrate and thank our veterans twice.
On this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew
our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families
Once
Twice
 |
| Incredible, right? I especially love that this display was created by my very own Green Bay Packer fans at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. |
On this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew
our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families
who have sacrificed so much so that we can live free.
~ Dan Lipinski
Friday, November 9, 2012
You Found Ferris
If you've been following my blog for a while you've probably read about and/or listened to music by my singer/songwriter sis-in-law, Jenna Christine. (If you haven't, click here, here, and here for a quick recap.) She's incredibly talented, and I like keeping all of you in the loop on what she has brewing so that when she "makes it big" you'll be able to say you got in on the ground floor.
First, Jenna has moved on with her professional identity from "Jenna Christine" to "Ferris". If you're interested in following her on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., check out the links at the bottom of this post.
Second, Jenna's first professional recording - a collaborative effort entitled "Moving On" - was recently released on iTunes. The song was produced by Universal Music's DJ Filipe Guerra, co-written by Jenna and Bernardo Sim, and recorded at Aces Nation Studios.
Moving On was released by Universal Music in Filipe's native Brazil on October 15th (the song rose to #5 on the iTunes Electronic Chart in less than 24 hours) and in the United States on October 23rd. You can preview the song - and purchase it if you'd like - here.
The Moving On video was shot primarily in Orlando, Winter Park, and Smyrna, Florida, but small segments were also shot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The video is in the editing stages and should be released in less than a month through Universal Music - I'll be sure to share a link to the video once it's available to me.
In the meantime, check out this up-and-coming superstar for yourself!
FERRIS
Singer|Songwriter
youfoundferris@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/youfoundferris
http://www.youtube.com/youfoundferris
http://www.twitter.com/youfoundferris
Instagram: YouFoundFerris
First, Jenna has moved on with her professional identity from "Jenna Christine" to "Ferris". If you're interested in following her on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., check out the links at the bottom of this post.
Second, Jenna's first professional recording - a collaborative effort entitled "Moving On" - was recently released on iTunes. The song was produced by Universal Music's DJ Filipe Guerra, co-written by Jenna and Bernardo Sim, and recorded at Aces Nation Studios.
Moving On was released by Universal Music in Filipe's native Brazil on October 15th (the song rose to #5 on the iTunes Electronic Chart in less than 24 hours) and in the United States on October 23rd. You can preview the song - and purchase it if you'd like - here.
The Moving On video was shot primarily in Orlando, Winter Park, and Smyrna, Florida, but small segments were also shot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The video is in the editing stages and should be released in less than a month through Universal Music - I'll be sure to share a link to the video once it's available to me.
In the meantime, check out this up-and-coming superstar for yourself!
FERRIS
Singer|Songwriter
youfoundferris@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/youfoundferris
http://www.youtube.com/youfoundferris
http://www.twitter.com/youfoundferris
Instagram: YouFoundFerris
Thursday, November 8, 2012
One More Thing...
I wasn't planning on writing anything else election-related, but on the day after the election I came across three things that I felt were worthy of space on this blog.
First, Romney's Concession Speech.
I was moved by the words he spoke - words of thanks to his supporters, unity among all Americans, and support for the President - to his supporters on Tuesday night. I will use Romney as an example as I continue to teach my children to work hard for what they believe in and how to graciously accept defeat when that hard work does not translate into victory.
"At a time like this we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work, and we citizens also have to rise to the occasion...We're counting on you to invest, to hire, to step forward, and we look to Democrats and Republicans in government at all levels to put the people before the politics.
I believe in America. I believe in the people of America...Like so many of you, Paul and I have left everything on the field. We have given our all to this campaign...I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader, and so Ann and I join with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation. Thank you and God bless America. You guys are the best. Thank you so much."
Second, Obama's Acceptance Speech.
I didn't stay up late enough to hear either speech live, but I heard the end of Obama's speech while I was huffing and puffing on the treadmill at the gym the morning after. Obama's tone was of course different than Romney's, but his speech included, as Romney's did, words of thanks, unity, and support and made me proud to be an American. This election and Obama's victory will allow me to teach my children that our country's political system is messy and complicated, and that even in times of great controversy and confusion, it's alright to believe that we are one.
"America, I believe we can build on the progress we’ve made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.
I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We’re not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.
And together with your help and God’s grace we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on Earth. Thank you, America. God bless you. God bless these United States."
And third, A Bad Lip-Reading of the 2012 Debate Highlights.
It's very funny, folks, watch it if you need a good laugh.
First, Romney's Concession Speech.
I was moved by the words he spoke - words of thanks to his supporters, unity among all Americans, and support for the President - to his supporters on Tuesday night. I will use Romney as an example as I continue to teach my children to work hard for what they believe in and how to graciously accept defeat when that hard work does not translate into victory.
"At a time like this we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work, and we citizens also have to rise to the occasion...We're counting on you to invest, to hire, to step forward, and we look to Democrats and Republicans in government at all levels to put the people before the politics.
I believe in America. I believe in the people of America...Like so many of you, Paul and I have left everything on the field. We have given our all to this campaign...I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader, and so Ann and I join with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation. Thank you and God bless America. You guys are the best. Thank you so much."
Second, Obama's Acceptance Speech.
I didn't stay up late enough to hear either speech live, but I heard the end of Obama's speech while I was huffing and puffing on the treadmill at the gym the morning after. Obama's tone was of course different than Romney's, but his speech included, as Romney's did, words of thanks, unity, and support and made me proud to be an American. This election and Obama's victory will allow me to teach my children that our country's political system is messy and complicated, and that even in times of great controversy and confusion, it's alright to believe that we are one.
"America, I believe we can build on the progress we’ve made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.
I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We’re not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.
And together with your help and God’s grace we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on Earth. Thank you, America. God bless you. God bless these United States."
And third, A Bad Lip-Reading of the 2012 Debate Highlights.
It's very funny, folks, watch it if you need a good laugh.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
It's Over! On to Something More Fun.
It's over. The election is over, and the emotionally-charged political television commercials, radio advertisements, and Facebook posts that accompany election season have come to an end. Thank goodness.
I had originally planned to say only that (above) about the election, but after reading more than 100 election-related Facebook posts - many of which infuriated me - last night and this morning, I've decided I need to say more.
Today is a difficult day for some, a wonderful day for others. RESPECT THAT. BE KIND. If your guy lost, respect and be kind those who believe they made the right choice for our country. If your guy won, respect and be kind to those who believe that our country would have been better off with someone new in the White House. And now that the decision has been made, PLEASE, let's stand behind the President of the United States in an effort to make the next four years good ones for ourselves, our families, out communities, and our country.
Moving on.
Now, because today seems like a good day to focus on something fun and uplifting and not at all controversial, here are a few pictures of my adorable kids dressed up for Halloween as the gold Power Ranger and Tinkerbell. The Halloween pictures are followed by a few pictures of those same kids, having a bit of fun on the soccer fields of College Station.
First up, Halloween:
Next up, soccer season:
In case you're interested, you can read more about our Halloween celebrations here and more about our crazy, sports-driven fall here.
Happy Day After Election Day!
I had originally planned to say only that (above) about the election, but after reading more than 100 election-related Facebook posts - many of which infuriated me - last night and this morning, I've decided I need to say more.
Today is a difficult day for some, a wonderful day for others. RESPECT THAT. BE KIND. If your guy lost, respect and be kind those who believe they made the right choice for our country. If your guy won, respect and be kind to those who believe that our country would have been better off with someone new in the White House. And now that the decision has been made, PLEASE, let's stand behind the President of the United States in an effort to make the next four years good ones for ourselves, our families, out communities, and our country.
Moving on.
Now, because today seems like a good day to focus on something fun and uplifting and not at all controversial, here are a few pictures of my adorable kids dressed up for Halloween as the gold Power Ranger and Tinkerbell. The Halloween pictures are followed by a few pictures of those same kids, having a bit of fun on the soccer fields of College Station.
First up, Halloween:
 |
| The kids with their "carved" pumpkins. |
 |
| Hallie and the cupcakes I made for her class. |
 |
| A close-up of a few of the SEVEN DOZEN cupcakes I baked and decorated. |
 |
| Tinkerbell and the Gold Power Ranger. |
 |
| Captain Hook joins the party. |
 |
| Playing defense... |
 |
| ...and making a stellar stop. Take that, boy with blue socks! |
 |
| Just a quick sprint. |
 |
| And another one. I like taking pictures of my kids running. |
 |
| Hallie is unbelievably precise about everything she does, soccer ball kicking included. |
 |
| Again with the kids and the running. |
 |
| I love this picture because it looks like Hallie is juking her coach (who played for the Aggies and could never be juked by a three-year-old). She's not. Not even close. |
 |
| I love this picture because Hallie's coach looks like she's having the time of her life. |
 |
| And I love this picture, just because. |
Happy Day After Election Day!
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