Fiddling at the State Fair

Dylan and Kate competed on their fiddles at the State Fair back in September.

This was one of those days that I just looked at my kids and thought,

"Wow, these little people I am raising are awesome."

Somehow they just seemed really big to me.

I am amazed at how quickly time goes by and how much they change each year.

I can't believe that I am lucky enough to be their mother.

They have such amazing spirits.

I thank Heavenly Father Daily for knowing them.

Kate looked so cute and "country" and I was eating up her toothless smile.

She handles pressure pretty great, which is so weird because she is super shy.

She must get it from her dad because she does not crack under pressure.

The kids have been playing the violin for about 8 months now. They are improving so much.

I love having music in my home. Even if some days it takes all my energy

just to convince them to practice. They are both naturally gifted and it is 

exhausting trying to convince them of this.

I have two pretty great musicians.

My dad drove 3 hours just to come and support them and they loved having him there.

This picture makes me smile.

Kate has flawless skin and a cute little scowl.

I wonder what she was thinking.

Dylan is huge.

His hands are bigger than mine now, and his feet are too.

He is such a nice, energetic kid. He has a great heart.

The other day Sawyer said to Scott and I,

My name is Sausage and I like to eat my name.

This made us laugh like crazy.

It is extra funny hearing him say it with a lisp.

We call him Sauce still.

Wyatt is turning from a baby into a little boy.

This makes his mom sort of sad.

We call him Wiggy, Wiggles, Wart, Warthog and NAUGHTY.

Really Naughty.

I'm wearing a bruise to prove it.

Kate and Dylan didn't place in the Family Category, but they did make some money

and have a great experience.

Kate took 3rd place in her age group.

 

Scott and I were pretty proud.

I think Dylan was a little discouraged that they didn't win first place.

It is pretty heartbreaking watching your child be disappointed in himself.

But.

Boy.

Oh.

Boy.

I was so proud of them.

And then we celebrated.

They begged me to let them ride this swing.

I finally gave in after telling them that they would probably die.

Dylan looking scared and woozy at the end of the ride was the best reward for Me. 

Sometimes I take joy in their pain. 

Just sometimes.

And I will never let them ride this ride again.

Ever.

Ever.

Ever.

Fair rides are so scary.

We had such a great time.

I love spending time with the family.

This picture makes me smile because Scott is so dang cute with his long hair. He had been

begging me to give him a haircut and I kept refusing.

I love my family.

"Say Love" and my interview with Hilary Weeks.

Guess what cool thing happened this week?

Hilary Weeks’ new CD “Say Love” landed on three Billboard charts.

You can buy a copy of her CD Here or  download it Here.

It’s No. 9 on the Top Current Contemporary Christian list, No. 161 on the Top Albums-Billboard Top 200 and No. 2 on the Top Current Albums-Salt Lake City, according to Shadow Mountain Records. This is such awesome news.

My kids and I have her CD memorized and I'm giving away a copy of her new CD on my Facebook Page tomorrow so hurry and enter Here. 

I'm lucky enough to have had a chance to ask her a few questions that were on my mind and I thought I would share her responses with you. Have fun getting to know Hillary as I'm sure you have been enjoying her much for years, just like me.

• How do you balance writing and recording with being a wife and a mother?  It has definitely been a learning process!  When I first started receiving requests to do firesides, my husband and I held a powwow.  We discussed the number of requests I could commit to and still feel like I was able to effectively fulfill my first priority - being a wife and mother.  Once I had accepted a certain number of requests in a month, then I would turn down the rest.  I felt a little bad saying "no" to firesides and other worthy requests, but something Stephen Covey said echoed in my heart, "It is easy to say "no" when there is a deeper yes burning inside."  My "deeper yes" is my family.  There have been times when music has needed more attention and it has caused an imbalance at home.  But my family is very supportive and we work together to get through those periods.  Once the commitments have been met, I am able to restore balance at home.  Recently, while recording the new Say Love CD, I rarely had time to make dinner!  We ate out a lot.  Too much.  (But at least the children were fed...albeit with chicken nuggets.)  One night I actually had time to make dinner.  It felt foreign to eat a home cooked meal, and I practically had to explain, "Children, this is a homemade meal.  It is different than Wendy's, Subway, or Cafe Rio.  Most families eat this every night."  We all got a good laugh.

• What music influenced you growing up?  Afterglow, Amy Grant, Michael McLean, Bruce Hornsby and the soundtrack from "The Man from Snowy River."  I remember getting together with my friend Kari Lindquist on Sunday afternoons and singing the music of Janice Kapp Perry.  She was a soprano, I was an alto and we sounded AMAZING together...at least that's what we thought!  I accompanied us on the piano and we sang for hours.  Then we would eat "Crunchies" -  Special K cereal mixed with peanut butter and topped with chocolate.  (My mouth is watering just thinking about it!)   Kari was an expert at making them. Truth be told, Crunchies were the real motivation behind our get-togethers.

• How do you stay grounded when the whole world is singing your songs?  Clean the bathroom!  Haha!  Motherhood and family life take up 90% of my time - music is a smaller portion of my life than you might think.  Folding clothes and doing dishes in more common in my life than signing autographs and taking pictures.  I try to remember why I write and sing and Whom I write and sing for.  That keeps my focus on the glory of God - which is the reason why all of us do what we do. 

• If you could give one message to Christian women and mother's, what would it be? One night while driving home from a YW activity that I had planned, my heart felt sad.  The activity had been a flop.  The girls didn't seem to like me.  I wondered if I was making any difference at all.  The Spirit whispered something to my heart that I have never forgotten because it changed my life.  "Don't worry about what others think of you; worry about what they think of themselves when they're with you."

• Do you ever visit Alaska anymore? My parents have moved to Utah and live seven houses down from me - they are even in my ward!  I love Alaska - I will always be Alaskan in my heart, but I don't visit anymore.  Someday I'd like to take my family on a Disney Cruise to Alaska...but that will take about 50 summer's worth of lemonade stands to pay for!

Can you believe how amazing she is? I can just feel her warmth through her songs. I love singing them at the top of my lungs with my kids accompanying me on our soccer trips. I love it that I can hear my kids singing wholesome, beautiful music...the kind your soul craves...instead of the trash on the radio. What an amazing gift to be able to sing your testimony. I sure try, but my pipes don't sound like hers. I hope you enjoy her CD.

Thank you Hilary!

3...almost 4, Violins

On Sunday, Dylan and Kate played their violins with Scott for the first time in Sacrament meeting. I couldn't help taking a quick iphone picture so that I could remember what they looked like forever. I almost joined them and played my violin, but I chickened out. My pride got the best of me and I didn't want to ruin the number for them, especially since I haven't been practicing lately and my skills are beginner anyway. Maybe someday, but probably not. Dylan and Kate already passed me and they have nerves of steel. I am so proud of them for sharing their budding talent with the our ward.

I'll will never forget it. My cup runneth over.

We are headed to the State Fair

This Past weekend, Kate and Dylan competed in a Talent Competition put on by the Farm Bureau. The winners get to move on and compete in the State Fair. I was super proud of these two. They have now been in lessons for six months and are really taking to the violin. {Just like their Dad!} The violin is a difficult  instrument and they are really pushing themselves. They love their teacher Kera Butts, and she loves them. 

Kate took first place in her age group and took home $25.00.

Dylan took 2nd place in his age group and took home $20.00.

I never would have guessed it, but the judges also picked them for 1st place in the Group Competition!!! They got to split $25.00 for the group win, so they were pretty excited to make a large deposit at the bank.

The Family Peterson Duo will be competing their duet at the State Fair! I am really proud of them for their hard work. And I get to toot my horn too, because getting them to practice and driving them to lessons is NOT EASY! How do mom's do it? Am I the only one that thinks this music business is a HUGE CHALLENGE????

When we got home from the competition they gave the neighborhood kids a recital and I snapped these photos. 

Squeaking by...and The Continuous Conversion by Brad Wilcox

Sunday morning I pulled out my beautiful violin. Every time I open my case I am brought back to Christmas Day. I had no idea what was in that big box, and when I opened it, I wept with joy. I have always dreamed of learning to play the violin. And Scott knew it.

My Violin has now been in my possession for almost 3 months.

I tightened my bow, applied fresh rosin to it, and put my chin rest on my violin. I stared down the fingerboard making sure that I was going to hit an open A and then I started down with my bow stroke. It rang out beautifully until I willfully placed my first finger down, shooting for a B and missing terribly.

SQUEAK!

I quickly corrected my finger placing searching for the correct intonation. On and on I repeated these steps, hitting the note in one instant and then missing the mark in the next.

I practiced Twinkle Twinkle, I Am Like A Star Shining Brightly, and London Bridges. I played for about 15 minutes until I felt that Scott, who was trying to sleep about 5 feet away from where I was practicing, would ultimately get frustrated with my efforts and tell me to be quiet.

"So babe, what did you think of that?", I asked sarcastically, partially expecting abuse and  annoyance for interrupting his precious sleep.

"Erin, I could listen to you play all day", he said in a beautiful, sincere and genuine response.

I've been thinking of this continually this week. How could Scott, a seasoned Master of the violin, appreciated my small offering of a few pure notes and a thousand missed ones?

In the book The Continuous Conversion by BradWilcox he says,

Am I willing to gradually be perfected, or am I impatiently just wanting to be instantly made perfect?
To instantly play perfectly?
To just pick up my violin and play like the Master?

In the book, Wilcox uses an analogy that I loved.

"Many people, as they feel themselves falling short of perfection, are tempted to quit trying. But are there only two options?"

He continues, "When a person is learning to play the piano, are the only two options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting?

NO!" he writes, "Growth and Development take time. Learning takes practice. Discipleship is a journey, and true conversion is a CONTINUOUS PROCESS."

So why is it that Scott, who plays the violin Perfectly; the perfect tone, the perfect vibrato...could appreciate and enjoy my squeaks?

Could it possibly be because he has been there?
Could it be because through years and years of practicing he has already paid the price?

Don't you think that one who has paid the price and put in the effort could enjoy the missed notes of a novice more than someone who never played the violin could appreciate the squeaky notes of an imperfect player.

And doesn't the Savior, our Master, appreciate our true, most sincere efforts to continually practice for perfection?
To strive to "learn heaven" and not "earn it."

Perfection takes time. It takes a Continuous Conversion.

And guess what?

The savior appreciates our continued efforts because:
He has been there.
He has already paid the Price.

And just like Scott said that he could listen to me play the violin all day, the Savior invites us too to make our best offering.

And through the atonement of Jesus Christ our tune can be perfected, our efforts magnified and we may all hear those precious words, "Well done thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things , I will make thee ruler over many things, enter thou into the joy of the Lord." (Matt 25: 21)

This book was wonderful and I strongly recommend it.
To purchase go to Deseret Bookstore

Sunday Thoughts: Stephens Vision, Acts 7

Today our primary lesson was on Acts chapter 7. I'm not really sure why the story of Stephen didn't ring a bell. I know that I have read it several times before, and yet I could not remember it. It was like reading it for the first time.

As Stephen is being stoned to death he looks up and being full of the Holy Ghost he sees Jesus Christ standing on the right hand of God.

 55 But he, being full of the ^aHoly Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the ^bglory of ^cGod, and ^dJesus ^estanding on the^fright hand of God,

 56 And said, Behold, I ^asee the heavens ^bopened, and the ^cSon of man standing on the right ^dhand of ^eGod. 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their ^aclothes at a ^byoung man’s feet, whose name was Saul. 59 And they ^astoned ^bStephen, ^ccalling upon ^dGod, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my ^espirit.

 60 And he kneeled down, and ^acried with a loud voice, ^bLord, lay not this sin to their ^ccharge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen sees God the Father and his son Jesus Christ standing next to each other.

 I know that many Christians have been taught their whole lives to believe that God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost are all the same, as in the Holy Trinity.

One major fundamental difference in the Doctrine taught by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is that we believe that God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and The Holy Ghost are all separate personages; yet one in purpose.

I think that this chapter in the New Testament perfectly illustrates that they ARE separate beings.

Joseph Smith also had a vision. You can read about his vision {HERE}.

 I saw a pillar of ^clight exactly over my head, above the brightness of the ^dsun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

When the light rested upon me I^bsaw two ^cPersonages, whose brightness and ^dglory defy all description, ^estanding above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My^fBeloved ^gSon. Hear Him!

The prophet Joseph Smith also saw both God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Here I have shared two witnesses of God and Jesus standing side by side; Distinctly different beings.

The Prophet Joseph smith also brought forth and translated The Book Of Mormon which you can read {HERE}. 

I feel so blessed and grateful that I have this knowledge. I am so grateful for my testimony of  a loving Heavenly Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

I feel that by understanding their true nature, I am able to know them more fully and exercise faith in them more strongly.

~~~~~~~~~~

I also wanted to include a video of Scott {my super cute and awesome husband...oh, and talented too} playing his violin at a fireside last night. The camera was discretely sat on my lap so ignore the blurriness.


Scott Peterson on the Violin from Erin Peteson on Vimeo.

Hope you enjoyed it. I have a love for violin music. It cuts me to the core!!!

Primary Program: Peterson Family Sings

Well, there is a first for everything. And tomorrow will be the first time the Peterson Family sings in church. We get to sing one of my FAVORITE primary songs. A Child's Prayer. This would be an extremely proud moment if either of my two singing kids could actually carry a tune. So, tonight as you are saying your prayers, remember us because we could use a few prayers.

The Plus side is that I also get to hear my extremely talented husband play the violin in church. It's my one weakness {swoon}.

i {heart} him.