So, before you get another post with new pictures of our son I have to post about a great production I was able to be a part of this weekend, "Savior of the World." Our stake did the first act that is about an hour and is all about the events leading up to the Savior's birth. It was an incredibly enriching opportunity that allowed me to reflect on the Savior, his birth, his life and his ministry. I was blessed to play the part of Joseph, Christ's earthly father, and I learned so many great lessons about being a real father. I am so grateful that I was able to share this experience and make some great new friends :) Please bear with all the pictures.
Getting the beard ready - thanks Keenan...
My 'Uncle' in the show - Keenan Fessler as "Micham"
District meetings before the performances!
Mary's and their mother getting notes from Skye Cummins (director)
one of the two cutest kids of the show... my gosh.
the set.
Lyon and Lara Owens (she was my Mary)
with my counterpart (the other Joseph - Drew Graham)
the finished product - like uncle, like nephew...
Mary and Joseph :)
Wedding rehearsal - canopy boys!
The wedding - wrapping a piece of cloth :)
Mary REALLY wants to relocate... "Please, let me come."
Angels appear to the shepherds...
Shepherds... so cool.
other cutest kid - Cale Fessler
The Cummins family - our directors!
Joseph runs into the shepherds...
Mary and Joseph sing their duet.
The whole cast!
These are some of the booths we had set up.
This sketch of the Savior by a friend... the other Joseph
Some great Nativities...
The last scene, Mary and Joseph with the baby - please excuse the camera quality.
Sorry, those pictures came in no particular order. It was an incredible experience to be able to portray this part of the Savior's life - and it was fun to be back on stage again. I'm grateful for my Savior and for the reason that is truly behind the season.
Not only is October fabulous because it feels like the official beginning of fall, but because General Conference is the first weekend of every October. Every six months, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds a conference for all members of the church or anyone interested. The prophet and apostles as well as other leaders give talks to encourage, enlighten and uplift all members all over the world.
The prophet, Thomas S. Monson with his two counselors, Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf
This past weekend we were blessed to hear many wonderful and inspiring messages about family, standing up for what's right, studying the words of God and being better citizens and people. I feel so blessed to be able to hear from the prophet of the world. Like Amos testifies in the Old Testament, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets." In fact one of the speakers at Conference said, "If God spoke for most of the first 4,000 years of earth's history, why would he have stopped?"
One of my favorite talks was about being an effective teacher and parent. Bro. Richardson (fun fact: also was one of my professors at BYU) explains that a parent teaches by the spirit of the Lord. It was such an inspiring talk for me as a mommy-to-be. Check it out here.
Another talk that inspired me was by our beloved prophet, Thomas S. Monson. He spoke boldly about the ten commandments and how we are blessed when we follow them.
Lastly, a comment that touched me the most was by Elder Anderson in which he was quoting a Christian mom's blog post (See it here). She states, "Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children
because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if
you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for."
Sometimes I feel like others think I'm crazy for having a child when I'm 23 years old, or for not spending more time with just my husband before we start our family or because I'm not quite sure that I'm done with my education and because my husband most assuredly is not. However, our decision wasn't based on any of that. It was because we felt that now was our time to start our family. We know that having children isn't easy, but the Lord doesn't always ask us to do easy things. This is not to say that all women every where should be having children right this moment, not in the least. But, the Lord has asked us to make a few small sacrifices to gain some of the greatest blessings...like little peanut that will be joining us soon :) And how he has blessed us...
So... as if I didn't have enough to do in my life, the North Park Stake (for the non-LDS, that is the group of about eight, 300 person congregations) decided to put on a Christmas production to commemorate the birth of the Savior called, "Savior of the World."
This play was written for the church by a group of LDS composers and playwrights and was debuted at the new conference center in Salt Lake City in 2000. We are only going to do the first act, which is all about the Savior's birth, and I decided on a whim that it'd been long enough since I performed - so I went and auditioned. I was surprised when I was double-cast as Joseph and realized that it would just add another layer to my already complicated life... Tonight, we had our first blocking rehearsal. It was fun to be reading lines again and it brought me way back to High School when I performed in Les Mis, Beauty and the Beast, and Big, to name a few.
Emily as my costumer during Beauty and the Beast, circa 2006
Rehearsal was a blast and I've already started to feel the spiritual nature (and coincidence) of me playing Joseph, the earthly father of our Savior, right before I welcome our first son into the world. I only pray that I will be as good of a father to 'Bugaboo' (Emily's name of choice for the baby) as Joseph was to the Savior. I'm excited for this opportunity to be back on stage - it is a blessing to be able to do something I love.
