It's a Hard Life

The first time I heard the song Hard Life by Brad Paisley tears welled up in my eyes. It felt like the song was written for my Noahie. I made J listen to it the next day and he immediately felt it too.



The chorus says:
"Yeah, it's a hard life
But I'm okay
If I didn't have this, I wouldn't be who I am today
And I have lots of friends
Oh, and I have love
And yeah, I have a hard life but in some ways everybody does" 

The part about having lots of friends and love just about makes me do the ugly cry Oprah loathes. J and I have always said that although Noah may not be able to run a marathon or be the CEO of a huge corporation, he has already in his short life touched many people lives and he has SO many people that love him. Every time something big happens in our lives, like Noah's Scoliosis surgery last year or the recent grand mal seizure emergency J and I are always humbled at the amount of prayers, thoughts, and love shown to Noah and our family. People who have never even met me or my child in person have shown him tremendous love.

Not every person is lucky enough to receive the amount of love that Noah has in his life and I think love and kindness from others can make living a hard life just a little bit easier.

Christmas Music

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

I think the music has to be one of my favorite things about Christmas. I love singing carols and listening to all the beautiful holiday themed songs so I thought I'd share my top 5 favorite Christmas songs.

In David Letterman top ten fashion, we'll start with number 5 and work our way to number 1!

5. Christmas Eve Sarajevo by Trans Siberian Orchestra - This is a beautiful instrumental arrangement of Christmas music.
4. Carol of the Bells - I love all the different parts going on in this song. I think that it is probably a favorite because of singing it in while in chorus in high school. One year, instead of being on the stage, we sang it accapella standing all spread out around the auditorium and our voices were practically bouncing off the walls and it was simply beautiful.
3. Little Drummer Boy - I just love the beat of this song.
2. O Holy Night - It's just beautiful. I particularly love the Mandisa version which I have linked you too.
1. Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant - I love, love, love this song! Just listen, really listen, to the words. It really makes you think about what Mary went through. And it's just beautiful.

I leave you with Breath of Heaven. Enjoy!

And tell me, what is YOUR favorite Christmas song?

Beautiful Heartbreak

This song, Beautiful Heartbreak by Hilary Weeks, speaks to me on many different levels and facets of my life. The first time I heard it, it gave me chills.

Have a listen!

PS. You may recognize another blogger in the video, Stephanie Nielson (and family) of NieNie Dialogues.

You are my Sunshine/Momma

One of the songs I have always sung to Noah over the years is the children's classic, You are my Sunshine. At some point, I started changing the word sunshine to "Noah." And then at some point, he started saying "Momma" when you should say "sunshine." It's the closest I'll probably ever get to really hearing Noah sing and my heart melts every time we get to his "part and he says "Momma."  Recently I was telling some friends about our rendition of this song and they urged me to video it, so I did.

It's a little hard to hear Noah although he does get louder as the song goes on. Note to self: next time get closer to Noah and make sure you sing a little softer since you are holding the camera.

Enjoy!

Music From the Heart

There was a special moment on the Country Music Awards last night. Well, many special moments for many artists but the one special moment I'm referring to was one for adults with developmental delays and special needs. 


Darius Rucker sang a special song called Music from the Heart. Last year during the ACM Lifting Lives camp for adults with special needs, the campers along with songwriters Chris Young and Brett James, wrote the song. Twenty five adults with special needs sang the song live during the Country Music Awards.


What a special moment for them! I got tears in my eyes as I could see the excitement and joy on their faces. 


You can watch the video below.


See how much they are getting into it! See the beams on their faces? Beautiful. Just beautiful. 

Mandisa

On Friday night, my Mom and I went to see Mandisa in concert. I became a Mandisa fan when she was on American Idol during season 5. After becoming eliminated on Idol, she went onto become a popular contemporary Christian singer. 


Her newest single, Stronger, really speaks to me. In fact, it kind of reminds me of my little "You Were Made for This" mantra. To quickly summarize the lyrics of Stronger, it basically says that even though you might be going through a rough spot at the moment, things will get better and this rough spot is going to make you a stronger person. That has been true for many of the obstacles in my life. 


I leave you with the video of Mandisa's Stronger. Enjoy!