What is a blog for if not to post about the day when your dreams came true? Right? Because on Saturday my dreams came true and I'd like to post about it.
My friend Scott Wiley is a recording another album, this time he has enlisted his favorite friends and musicians in covering hymns and old gospel tunes. I mean, these people are bone-deep talented and tight. I don't know how much I can say at this point, but I think this project is going to be pretty dang wonderful.
And speaking of pretty dang wonderful (and bone-deep talented, not to mention tight), Scott called me one night to ask if I'd like to come down to the studio and record a song or two. Because you know my voice right? You know how my voice makes heaven-elated-and-tickled-white? My belting, especially?
I told him I'd see what I could do, and then I checked my schedule and it looked clear. What is a bigger sign that heaven wants you to sing on Scott Wiley's album than having a clear schedule?
So on Saturday Chup and I left The Chief with my sixteen-year-old nephews for a morning of heavy recording. Some people wouldn't trust their baby with two sixteen-year-old nephews, but Chup and I do. We do. We say, "Just don't let him climb on the kitchen counter top, or give him the whole bag of Pirate's Booty, and you should be good. Again, no kitchen counter top, no whole bag of Booty, and good." See? So easy.
On the car ride over I practiced my scales. And gurgled a Mexican hot chocolate. It really relaxed my voice.
When I got to the studio everyone was buzzing. Musicians and singers and studio lights, and documentarians, and photographers and a table with lots of candy (which I skipped, sugar is not good for my chords).
When everyone was ready Scott said, "Go!" (or whatever he said) and a guy started banging on a suitcase, followed by a fearsome threesome on ukuleles, backed up by several guitars and singers and tambourines and a big stand-up bass and a red retro guitar and did I already mention the ukuleles--yes I did because I had to use spell check--and then . . . then there was me.
Powerful.
Would you believe that the song I recorded was "This Little Light of Mine?" Do you think I am kidding? Because I am not. Here I am, with this little light of mine (my voice) letting it SHINE. Shine, shine, shine letting it shine. So apropos.
I mean, never mind that Cherie Call, Sarah Sample and Deborah Fotheringham were singing the leads, and I was just in a mixed bag choir of husbands and wives (me, Chup, Scott and wife Sarah) and you couldn't really, really hear my voice. But I lent it anyway, my little light.
That is what we do, us people with talent.
After an exhausting couple hours, wherein I was completely enchanted and in love with everything musical and recordingness, we headed home to reunite with our baby. With our hearts full of happy, melodic hormones, we opened the front door to find this:
Kitchen counter top? Yes.
Whole bag of Priate's Booty? On the floor, check.
Where were the sixteen-year-old nephews? Playing Halo.
But, I have never seen The Chief happier in his life. Just had run of the entire place, nothing off limits. Spoons, batteries, crayons, donuts, Mom's laptop computer . . .
Sounds like two of us had dreams come true on Saturday.
(Thanks June Audio!)
93 Pieces of Opinion:
I might climb on top of a counter top to get to an open box of doughnuts too...
I spend half my life say on the top of the kitchen counter...
... and I'm 21 (and its still as much fun)
I had to comment. He looks so DARN proud of himself!!! LOVE it. I just want to swoop him up and squeeze him. Love the blog!
Deborah Fotheringham? Cjane, you are a lucky one!
(Hi, Deborah!)
(And Scott.)
Does Scott read your blog?
That's awsome! I too have had the June Audio experience. Scott is great! There is nothing like it. Glad you were able to experience it:)
DANG he is cute!
What excitement for EVERYONE! What a little man you have there... he is adorable!
Your living room is spotless!
OMGosh! Jenn is right! Your living room IS spotless! Do you erect an invisible force field to repel all clutter?
I'm worried about the gospel songs. I've never been more embarrassed in my life than when I was sitting in the Marriot Center listening to the Men's Choir sing Negro spirituals. So wrong, sooo wrong...Dig deep, find soul, and throw it out there.
This is a delightful post - and your shirt is really cute too!
why did that make me cry? ............oh yeah I never learned NOT to sweat the small stuff,... then I look at the cheif and realize how beautiful those moments are....thanks for the lesson, my house will be messier today :)
ps wouldn't it be cool to make up meanings for all of those word verifications we get in order to comment....we could have a whole new dictionary.....get on that will ya Courtney, you have great ways with words I am sure you could tackle this..."A" is for antioni ...my word verification!
Hilarious!! My kids are always on the counters. I love that your nephews were playing Halo. Classic. I guess that's why it never crosses my mind to ask the YM to babysit. haha
Sounds like a fun, dream filled Saturday! Much better than my laundry and house cleaning filled one.
I just laughed out loud at the Chief on the table top. With the pirates booty on the floor. Priceless.
That last photo is hilarious - he looks so pleased with himself!
This is the most hilarious post ever...seriously. Having both a teenage boy and a 1 year old...I can relate. The look on that little guy's face is priceless!
That photo made me very nervous. That, and the knowledge that those boys were off playing Halo. A whole lot more could have happened...like climbing from the countertop onto the stove and fiddling with the controls and about a million other things.
It didn't happen, thankfully, but could have happened. 16-year-old boys are not like 16-year-old girls.
He does look awfully cute up there, though!
I have teens who sometimes watch their younger (3 and 2) brothers. We have the exact same sort of messes that take place and they love to boast of what they "caught" their brothers doing forgetting that the first part of "catching" means they were not watching.
So where can we find a copy of your recording, I'm eager to hear you belt out one of my favorite child-like hymns!
The picture of The Chief is priceless! Glad you both had such a good time!
YW doesn't guarantee perfect results either. :) My then 18 m old locked the sitter out of the house while playing peek-a-boo w/ the back sliding door. Luckily teenage girls are never w/o their cell phones and my husband could get there quickly.
I'm a photographer and when you are shooting weddings you need a fool proof attendant. Leaving while the bride is walking down the aisle isn't good for business so we upped to singles ward.
Still I think it's good to employ YM/YW for things like date nights! What doesn't kill them makes them stronger.
People, you have to realize that the photo was a posed, set-up shot for the sake of the post.
Get those teens to a Safe Sitter class and you'll be good to go.
Four of my children have taken the course.
http://www.safesitter.org/index.html
I love the last picture of The Chief standing on the counter being so happy with himself over his days adventures.
HAHAHAHA....that is the funniest and cutest picture I have seen in a long time. When will this fab album be out, would love to hear your voice singing this little light of mine. Happy Monday!!!
~Molly P
I'm just going to live my dreams vicariously through you, if you don't mind.
Just have to say I watched your Christmas song clip...seriously so funny! You crack me up!
Ha Ha! How did I know that was coming? He looks so adorable up there. Video games often "distract" the male gender, young and old. Just ask my hubby! Our kids could do just about anything when my hubby is playing his video games and he wouldn't notice!
I can completely imagine your cute voice belting it out. You're adorable!
And even more adorable is this picture of The Chief! So glad that all his dreams came true too.
What fun! for you AND the Chief.
Oooh, and for me, I now have common connection with the illustrious CJane - I, too have sung with Cherie Call. We went to high school together and we were indeed in same stake. And I performed in a Stake Youth Choir with Cherie for a stake morality fireside back in the day (high school day, you understand!). So there you have it - my common connection to you is Cherie! Hooray!
I'm glad you had the chance to belt it out! The Chief reminds me so much of my little one!!! Exactly what he does 50000000 times a day!
Dear Courtney,
You are hilarious. I love reading your blog! Hope we can see a little video of your singing session sometime soon...
That is the funniest picture ever. That is definitely a baby's dream come true. Good job Chief, good job.
You and Chup were awesome. Best part of the song...seriously.
Nice clock!
I can't wait to hear your song! Yes, the Chief looks like he is in Disneyland! Next time get the nieces to watch him. They won't be playing Halo I'll wager!
LOL! That picture of the Chief is priceless. It must be a boy thing to climb up onto everything. My little guy climbed up onto the table the other day. He's just younger than the Chief. Thanks for the post as always :)
I just watched your "Let it Snow" link with my 11-year-old daughter. You rock!
This is what she had to say about the video: "She must have done it on purpose, because I'm sure she watched it before she posted it."
I so admire your writing, and even more, your joie de vivre. Thanks for the inspiration.
I love the countertop photo.
I have followed you for a while, and your sister longer... no offense. I jokingly call myself a silent stalker... silent appreciator because I never comment. I just laugh and enjoy the tidbits of Provo where my parents are from and where I spent a lot of time as a child and at BYU. Enough of the background.... I usually don't comment but had to on this post. My brother Dominic Moore was there on Saturday singing with you. I listened to the tracks yesterday and loved "This little light of Mine." I also loved, "Ye Elders of Israel." He flew in from Phoenix and sang all day (10am to 10 pm) on both Friday and Saturday and loved it. Just wanted to throw a shout out. Thanks for the great blog.
I love it that you and the Chief have similar expressions on your faces. I love the Chief's cute outfit. And I love, love, love the fact that you combined the chorus from Heart's song with your Christmas song in the link. That was awesome! :)
What I love most about this is your healthy approach to what you found when you opened the door.
(Good for you!)
How dare that "Debbie Downer" say that the counter picture was posed!! Of course they took a picture of him at the edge of a high countertop instead of running to scoop him up. Sheesh, some people are so negative.
That picture made me smile inside and out. A bona fide classic. Hooray for dreams coming true!
I am going to die laughing at that picture of The Chief.
I just love that picture. How perfect is that?!
i babysit a lot for shopping money, sounds a lot like what the house turns into, but i be sure to tidy up after they have all gone to bed! isnt the chief getting big!! so gorgeous!
Hahahahahah - glad Chief was safe but it was a great pic and I completely understand as I have had similar situations when my guys were little and teens ;) Would love to see more pics of house - LOVE your decorating.
I'm sure that was a posed photo.....but it still made me laugh out loud when I saw it! If the chief didn't do all that on his own, he will in time. lol My now five year old has always gotten into EVERYTHING. I realized right away the importance of taking a picture before cleaning up his mess. He has overturned a container of cupcakes on the kitchen floor....then stood in the middle and ate the mess. So glad I have the picture of it!
My family gatherred around the computer to see what I had laughed hard about!
By the way, FREE GIVE-AWAY ON MY BLOG TODAY!
What a full and happy life you lead. I enjoy your posts so much. The Chief is about as yummy as they come. My Jamos (Jamison) is a little opportunistic as well. He'll do exactly what he wants if not closely monitored. I'm sure he'd love to have two 16 year old babysitters.
The Chief is awesome! That Christmas song from 2007? Completely totally awesome! Your blog entertains me so.
> yes I did because I had to use
> spell check--and then . . . then
> there was me.
On the subject of spell checkers, there is a good program Spell Check Anywhere (SpellCheckAnywhere.Com). It adds spell checking to all programs.
I love the look on his face - that is too cute. And I love your response too - kids should be allowed to have a little bit of wild and crazy fun now and then! ;-)
I'm not going to be too quick to pass judgment on your nephews. I can't tell you what crazy things my 18-month son gets into while I am on my computer (usually getting my daily dose of cJane)!
The Pirate's booty showcases the snazzy new kitchen floor very nicely!
I love your blog sooo much and I think that is soo cool that you got to go there!! :) and I LOVE your sis's blog (and yours of course)
That is SO AWESOME!!!
(and The Chief? Adorable!)
Ok, no one asked the question...What is Pirate booty???
I love pirates. I love booty. I think I might like some Pirate's Booty! :)
You are hilarious and my favorite person!
Im sitting here in bed(b/c im resting ppl do that sometimes) with laptop and husband taking nap beside me when while reading your post all of a sudden the bed begins to shake and tears begin to flow down my cheeks and I realize this is the freakin most funniest post of the day! (tis true, you can shake a bed when trying to laugh quietly, its hard, but doable.) husband is now wondering why the bed was shaking...
Pirate's Booty is (are?) yummy, organic cheddar cheese puffs. My 11-year-old son loves them (always has), and devoured an entire bag of them after school one day last week.
Yummy stuff, indeed!
The Chief looks precious! Come on, isn't that what kitchen counters are for, and as for the bag of chips? Don't they put the chips in a bag for a reason? They are so easy to carry around that way. The Chief not looks precious he looks entirely happy.
--Mari
Just sitting here at my kitchen table, with my husband off to school, baby #2 is down for the night, child #1 is living out his star wars acting fantasy a few feet away from me, and I'm just snigglin' away. (snigglin' is a word that means the-kind-of-laugh-you-get-during-sacrament-meeting-but-can't-let-it-out-because-we're-supposed-to-avoid-loud-laughter.)
Your blog just makes me so happy. I will totally download you on itunes.
When I record my album, "Songs from the Dark Corners of the Cellar Known as My Heart," I'm totally going to have you singing lead vocals along with me.
Enough said.
Congrats on the dream come true. And I have to say this is one of my favorite posts ever! I just LOVED the punchline--I had to laugh out loud.
I can hardly stand how cute that last photo is. I would love to come home to that scene.
So much fun! What a proud boy!
That. Was. Hilarious!
What I need to know is how you are able to keep your pumpkin on your coffee table. Van would be chanting "ball, ball, ball!" and it would be rolling around on the floor. Do you duct tape it down? Maybe glue? Maybe it's a hologram?
I love reading your blog, you are an exceptional writer. My sister (Debra Fotheringham) mentioned you were in the studio with them that day. I got to hear a little sample...well done!!
How fun...I really enjoyed reading this post!
Awsome! I am afraid I will never be asked to sing for anyone for any reason...I am that bad!
seriously love you, but.......why isn't anyone concerned about the potential danger here?
"hopeful", no one is worried about potential danger here because we all know, as some have stated previously, that "The Chief" did not get up on that counter by himself. It was a set up, posed shot to make the post cute and funny. You know how you can tell that some videos on "America's Funniest Home Videos" are set up, because who would have a video camera running at a time like that? Same thing with some bloggers and their photos. Not all the time, just sometimes. Cute photo, but not spontaneous. I guess you could call it "poetic license" in a blogging way.
Funny.
And like I said last time, I will understand when you turn comments off.
So sorry.
I love your blog, Courtney. Please keep blogging.
I did not put that explanation out to be mean. It's just the truth. Why is that so bad? There's nothing wrong with posed pictures. You wouldn't want anyone to think a child was put in danger, right? Gee, Patti, she wouldn't shut down her comments because of a little truth. I would certainly hope not. Sorry if I offended anyone.
Cjane, you are freaking hilarious. I wish I could be half as cool as you!
Those babysitters are the best. I need a pair like that in AZ. The photo is better than words can express.
Good for you! btw - i love that song, I can still hear my grandmother singing it to me as a little girl some 25 years ago! :)
i sat down yesterday to do my usual blog check-ins. i came to yours- scrolled down once..scrolled down twice- then, bam!! there's my husband playing the ukelele in a picture w/ you! we were over at the studio again yesterday but i wish i would've been there on saturday! can't wait to hear how it all turns out- i'll be listening for your heavenly vocals!
Cheers! Here's to dreams coming true and NEW babysitters!!! Please!!!
You've got me rolling on the floor!!! Loved this post. Love you!! I wanna hear you sing sometime!
OH MY GOSH that is the best ending EVER! I guffawed out loud...it wasn't just a LOL it was a GOL, hee!
You gotta love when they start doing things that make your stomach feel like you just fell off a 1000 ft cliff. You have an ADORABLE little guy.
The front room looks tidy.
(((smiling))).
Wendy
I love it, What a great day.
Just bought the album...Or is this on her new album? Perhaps I should read THE ENTIRE post ;) AT any rate--the album--wow--spiritual wisdom.
I'm a background vocalist--sung for Steven Tyler at one point--back when I use to be 'clever'...so a shout out to your inspirational post at the top--truly moved me. Thank you.
I had never seen that rendition of "Let it Snow" before- CJane, you're freakin' hilarious.
I check in everyday...I smile most every day too!! This post lead to me to say thank you!! Love you!! Love your perspective!! Love the humor!!!
Okay, that picture of your son and the post following was hilarious! Discovered you through your seester's blog.
So I have lil singing group out here in Mesa. And my girls fav song to rock out and sing to is this little light of mine! We do the original tune and use the 3 Aerosmith versus lol. It's a hit. Glad you let yours shine :)
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