Heaven is Here

Have you heard of Stephanie Nielson? Maybe you heard of the NieNie Dialogues? Well, if you haven't you are in for a treat....just as a warning, you may want to set aside a LOT of time because once you get sucked into her inspirational story and blog, you won't want to stop. I think it is human nature to partake in inspirational things. To some it is given one talent, and to others another, Stephanie Nielsen was blessed with the amazing talent of inspiring others to be better, to take life one day at a time and to cherish EACH AND EVERY step along the way. To cherish the good and embrace the bad.

I have known about this amazing women for a few years now. Stephanie and her husband were in a small airplane crash in AZ....here's a video to share her story.....

I have followed her story on and off for the last 5 years and am constantly inspired by her. She recently wrote and published a book called Heaven is Here. Here's a quick video introducing it:



 I borrowed this book from a friend last week and LOVED it. It was so neat to here her side of the story, starting before the accident. Seeing her go through the experience "in the media" (ie. blog, newscasts, Oprah, magazines, etc.) she always showed such hope and dedication to getting better. The book is an open book to her life and emotions that she went through since the accident. It was a great reminder that no matter what someone is going through, and how they seem to be handling it on the outside, we are all human and have deep, heartfelt struggles. Just because someone says they are doing fine, may not mean they are TRULY doing fine. If you feel a prompting to send them a note, bring them dinner, or just give them a call, DO IT. Another lesson I learned was the importance of families- I know this already, but it was a great reminder. Her family network was crucial with her recovery, our families are important and we need to constantly be working on those relationships, even if they live scattered across the country!

The third and most important lesson that I have learned from Stephanie Nielson and her book is to cherish my calling as a mother. I have learned that even the moments of 3 spilled cups of milk in 10 minutes, tantrums in the grocery store, arguments about constipation issues, and endless amounts of diaper changes should be counted as blessings. Blessings because, as frustrating as they are, I am HERE to be a part of them. I am alive and healthy and able to help my kids learn and grow each and every day. I am able to help my kids zip up their coats, button their shorts, make them scrambled eggs. I am here to comfort them in the middle of the night. I am thankful for each breath I take.

I am so thankful for the strength, dedication, and passion for life that Stephanie Nielson shows to the world. I am thankful that she has chosen to share it with the world.

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"I Am His Daughter"

I'm back! I hope to have a weekly post from now on! ! If you like what you read and want more go ahead and become a "follower", I truly appreciate it! I also LOVE reading comments, and would love to hear your thoughts on uplifting things you come across. Thanks for joining me

Silence....

Its been a rough few days for me. Really rough. Just one thing after another "going wrong". After a good breakdown/cry session on the phone with my sister I felt better, picked myself up and moved on. A clean house top to bottom was first on the list....it won't last very long, but it always helps me to have a better attitude about things, and handle my patience levels better too! Something else I noticed was my Ipod was missing from its dock for a few days (almost 2 yr old decided to put it in big brothers backpack...not a place I think to look!), and that meant no music for a few days! I was pondering this today and came back to my conclusion on how powerful music is. I play music during the day, almost always, to keep an upbeat mood, and keep the spirit in my home. I didn't have that for a few days and I felt it, so did the rest of the family. I still have my few favorites, namely Mercy River, Nichole Broome, and Hilary Weeks...I also listen to "Headphones" by Brit Nichole a lot now too (my previous post), its such a FUN song! What are some uplifting songs or albums you enjoy listening to, to keep an upbeat attitude?

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Thanks for stopping by!

This goes to the kids!

I was on my daily (well, nearly daily) phone call with one of my sisters today and asked her for some ideas for todays post. She had a great idea! She said how about something for kids? She remembered a music artist that my kids used to LOVE, particularly Tyler. Her name is Laurie Berkner. She is part of The Laurie Berkner Band. Boy, if you haven't heard of her, and you have kids, or work with kids, you are MISSING OUT! I totally forgot about how much my Ty loved listening to her music and watching her music videos when he was 2. I have many videos of he and his cousin dancing to her music....I'll even share one today!
I feel that music is crucial in the healthy development of children, which is why I have music playing almost all day, every day. It teaches them creativity, how to have FUN, teaches them patterns, beats, oy, I can't list everything! Take time to play some music for your kids sometime, you'll be suprised the fun time you can have with them!

Some of my (and my kids) favorites from the L.B.Band are I'm Gonna Catch You, The Goldfish, and We Are the Dinosaurs- as with most of her songs, they are songs that you can join in on the action, kids love it and adults have fun joining in too! You can find her on YouTube and watch a ton of her videos, she is also on NetFlix! Perfect activity for when its just too darn hot (or too cold!) to play outside!

Grab your kids and start dancing!

and here's one of the fun we have had with Laurie Berkner at home!

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Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment!

Britt Nicole- Headphones

Another new music discovery for you all! As I said in my last post, one of the reasons for this blog is to help others discover new, uplifting music! After discovering Rachael Lampa I started looking for some more, fun, upbeat, uplifting music in the same genre...and discovered a few great music artists!

The next one I'd like to share is Britt Nicole. After looking around on YouTube I found this FUN song, it is totally going on my workout play list! I LOVE it, and think it is SO perfect for teenagers in the world today. I love the message it gives to be yourself, and remember to look UP and remember the love our Father above has for YOU. I love that it teaches that music can uplift you and help you remember who you are and that things are going to be okay.

"Headphones" by Britt Nicole

"Keep your head up, dust off your shoulder, It's alright, no it's not over

Anytime you feel alone, put on your headphones,

Love, Love's coming through your headphones!"

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blog to watch the video.

Thanks for stopping by and as always, please leave a comment if you liked the video or if you have any song or music artist suggestions for me to check out!

Rachael Lampa

Have you heard of Rachael Lampa? Me neither, until a few weeks ago. A friend of mine from highschool (Nicole Broome...I blogged about one of her songs HERE) was doing a "giveaway" for tickets to a Rachael Lampa house concert she was hosting. I was curious, so I googled her...and WOW, I am SO glad I did! I wish I lived in NC so I could have entered to win some tickets!
She has an AMAZING, unique, fun, soulful voice. I LOVE it! And sheesh, she is gorgeous too! Rachel was in the music scene a few years back when she was younger, and was exploding with success, but decided to stop. You can really tell that the time off taught her many things and helped her mature and realize the true purpose of music, to uplift others. I'm so grateful for fresh, new music artists that truly LOVE the talent God has given them! Some of my favorite songs that  I've discovered are "Remedy", and "When I Fall". She has both "secular" and "christian" music, which I love.
One of my purposes for this blog is to introduce others to music artists, as well as force myself to look outside my normal favorite few, I hope you take some time to check out her WEBSITE, I think you'll like what you find! On her website, under Media, she has a few videos you can watch. In the meantime, check out this acoustic performance of "Remedy"!

(*Update...I thought she looked familiar, and now I now why, I just discovered she was in the group called "The Collective" on last season of "The Sing Off"!)

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Do you have a favorite music artist/song that uplifts you that I might like too? Please leave a comment or email me so I can check it out!!!

She Put the Music in Me

Sorry it's been such a long break from me posting. My grandfather passed away at the end of March, and I got off track for a while after that. I will miss him so much, but am so thankful for the memories I have with him and for the knowledge that I will see him again someday.

I came across a new video released today by a new music artist, Calee Reed. Her voice is magnificent! I'm sure I will post about her again soon! (I've also come across a few more music artists that I'm excited to share with you soon!). Calee released this music video today in honor of Mother's Day on Sunday. She lost her mother to cancer last year and this song is a tribute to her, and to all mothers.

 As I was watching and listening to the song, my thoughts, of course, turned to my own mother, and to who I am as a mother. I love the title of the song, "She Put the Music In me". My mother truly put my love of music in me. My parents always taught us the importance of music and it played a huge part in our family growing up. I was taught how important music is in feeling and teaching by the spirit. How it can bring peace and inspiration. Each child in my family played an instrument. On any given day you could hear the many sounds of music coming from our windows- from Chopin and Beethoven, to Michael McClean, to Celine Dion, to Brittany Spears, to Louie Armstrong, to Garth Brooks...I could go on. You could hear flute, piano, viola, cello, violin, trombone, trumpet, a little guitar, and of course voice. That's a lot of music! My mother has a beautiful voice, I have fond memories of her singing to us at night before bed her french lullabies when we were young. I can hear them now as I think about it. My parents also sang together sometimes, we loved hearing them sing duets!


My parents and I last November

I am so thankful for the many things I have learned from my parents, as the song says, they were sent to me by my Heavenly Father. I share this music video for her, and for every women out there who has loved, taught, and cared for another....all women are mothers.

Happy Mother's Day!

Better than a Hallelujah

A cell phone camera and a fun app provides lots
of entertainment some days.



I'm not sure I can say it enough, the group Mercy River is AMAZING. When I heard months ago that they were getting ready to release a new album I was SO excited! Mercy River is made up of three down to earth moms who have a passion for music. (I have posted about them previously) Maybe that's one reason why I have been so drawn to them, I can relate, and dream to be in their position one day, inspiring others with music! I was so excited when I found their album on iTunes the night before it was officially released, if we still listened to cassette tapes mine would be totally worn out because of how much I have listened to it. I have had a hard time picking just one song on the album that has inspired me, that I wanted to write about- they ALL have inspired me in some way.

After listening to the album, I don't know how many times, the song Better than a Hallelujah caused me to stop what I was doing, restart the song and really LISTEN, and feel the words. I know the spirit was telling me to stop being busy and take in the message of the song. Here are the words:

Better than a Hallelujah

by Mercy River, from the album Higher

God loves a lullaby
In a mother’s tears in the dead of night
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes

God loves the drunkard’s cry
The soldier’s plea not to let him die
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

The woman holding on for life
The dying man giving up the fight
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

The tears of shame for what’s been done
The silence when the words won’t come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

Better than a church bell ringing
Better than a choir singing out, singing out

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

I grew up in the south, and in the south there are many "Hallelujahs"! It was fun to sing the "clap your hands, sway back and forth, shout hallelujah " songs in highschool choir and the youth city choir. Those kinds of songs can uplift and inspire just as much as the more quiet, reverent songs. So, I really felt I understood what they meant when the said "Better than a hallelujah". As I began thinking about the words of this song, it made me think about the counsel we are given to pray always. I love the first phrase of the song because I can relate to them most, "God loves a lullaby, in a mother's tears in the dead of night." SO many times in my life in the past 6 years I have cried holding my crying baby that just won't go to sleep. My tears truly were a prayer, pleading for help with my sweet child, for help keeping my patience and showing them love, when I all I wanted was for them to sleep so I could sleep. The last 6 years of my life have taught me more about having a constant prayer in my heart than the previous 22 years. God wants us to turn to him, he wants to hear the honest cries of our breaking hearts.  Not that he enjoys seeing us this way, but more because he is there waiting with open arms to comfort and direct us. He wants to hear our honest cries more than he wants to hear our loud "Hallelujahs". He wants to hear our thoughts turn to him, He wants to bless us with peace. He wants us to turn to him in prayer as a family, and in the quiet peace of our bedrooms. I hope the words of the song can inspire you as much as they have inspired me!

"Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:12-13

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you" Matthew 7:7

"Prayer is the provider of spiritual strength. It is the passport to peace. Prayer is the means by which we approach our Father in Heaven"- Thomas S. Monson



A recent family picture taken at the Denver LDS Temple



Guess what?! If you don't already have the new Mercy River album, Higher, you can go enter for a  chance to win a copy of your own! Mercy River is on a blog tour and will be stopping by TODAY  to guest post on my sisters blog, Moments! So head on over and check out her fun blog and enter to win!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Isn't it amazing how the simple word "sunlight" can evoke such wonderful, happy, joyous feelings? Say it out loud....it makes you feel good doesn't it? I just came across this video from the oh so amazing Piano Guys. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"- yes I know, the song title doesn't have the word sunlight in it, but rainbows happen because of sunlight. How can you not look at a rainbow and smile and instantly want to show someone else? I also felt it appropriate with St. Patrick's day (or as my boys call it "Leprechaun day") around the corner I post something about Rainbows.

Enjoy this video, what thoughts of peace and joy come to you when you listen to and look at the beautiful scenery in it?

Walking in Sunlight by Stephanie Mabry

I am SO excited to have recently found this song! How could you not get in a good mood just from reading the title of the song, let alone the fun beat it has!? The message of this song is so simple.  So often I teach the youth (girls ages 12-13) in my Sunday class that if they live righteously, and strive to be like Jesus Christ, they will have the Light of Christ shining with in them. Not only is it the way our Heavenly Father wants us to live, but it is the way that will help us to feel good about ourselves. It truly is a beautiful feeling. It truly is like walking in sunlight. You know that feeling you have when you've been stuck inside all day and you walk outside to the warmth of the sun? That's what it feels like to have the Light of Christ, warmth, happiness, love. If we live the right way, others will notice it in us, and want us to show them how they can have the same thing. I know there is a reason I have always LOVED sunrise and sunsets. They fill me with so much joy, and remind me of the love my Heavenly Father has for me. I want to shine with that light and be a window to others of that light. It is human nature to long to be happy, feel loved, and show love to others. WE can walk in that sunlight, and help push the rain clouds away from others and share the light.

Walking in Sunlight by Stephanie Mabry 

(EFY, 2010)

It's a beautiful day, even though its dark out there

You've got sun on your face take it with you everywhere

And it warms your heart that's beating, it comes from believing

And it's a beautiful, a beautiful feeling

It's like walking in sunlight, when the whole world is covered in rain clouds

Your walkin' in sunlight, find the whole truth and living it out loud

Yeah when you know whats right, it's light walking in, Sunlight sunlight

Its amazing to me, how someone else can find

The light that they need, radiating in your eyes

Then it warms their heart that's beating

And suddenly your leading them to that beautiful,  beautiful feeling

It's like walking in sunlight, when the whole world is covered in rain clouds

Your walking in sunlight, finding the truth and living it out loud

Yeah when you know whats right, it's like walking in sunlight, sunlight

It's easy to forget how blessed we are

but life's better, when we remember, when we remember

It's like walking in sunlight, when the whole world is covered in rain clouds

We're walking in sunlight, finding the truth and living it out loud

Yeah when you know whats right, it's like walking in sunlight, sunlight

Sunlight, sunlight

Sunlight, sunlight

(the words to this song were transcribed by me, I apologize if they are not entirely correct)