And The Winner Is....

Wayne just returned from another whirlwind trip to Utah. He was nominated for 3 Faith Centered Music Association (FCMA) Pearl Awards. This is like the LDS music world's version of the Grammy's. He was up for Instrumental Song of the Year ("Home Again" from the "Becoming" Album), Inspirational Album of the Year ("Becoming") and Male Recording Vocalist of the Year.

He was nominated last year for 2 awards and was shut out. This year didn't seem to be any more promising, given the company he was with in his categories. As the evening progressed, he saw one nomination go by without a win. Then another...and these were the categories that he had a pretty good chance of maybe, possibly winning. He had pretty much written it off, that it would be another disappointing year. Then came the category for Male Recording vocalist and to his astonishment, they called his name! He was totally unprepared for it and was truly surprised by the announcement!

He stumbled through some remarks and told of how he had a very frustrating event happen just days before. He noted that he has a "side job that keeps (him) very busy". He had just been on call for the last 4 days and actually didn't get home until about 12:30 am the other night. It was only moments later that he realized he had completely missed the deadline to vote for the Pearl Awards. He didn't even get the chance to put a vote in for himself!

Well, not all was lost! He can now add "Pearl Award Winner" to his list of accomplishments and awards. Hopefully, this will open some of those closed doors and get him into some of those tight music circles.

So, with Christmas on the horizon, I'm putting in a shameless plug for his newest CD release..."THIS NIGHT ~ THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION".

I know I have said that the last CD was his best yet, well, this one is even better. There are guest performances from Jenny Jordan Frogley, Alex Boye, Cherie Call and Justin Smith. But I think one of the highlights is the performances of Emmy and Azia on the album.

If you are looking for some new Holiday music, a gift for someone on your list, or want to help support Wayne's music "habit", feel free to check out his website. Oh, and check out his first music video for the song "One Life."

Busy, Busy, Busy

The title pretty much says it all. Things have been kind of crazy around here lately. So this is sort of a "catch up" post.

We enjoyed one of the warmest Halloweens in recent memory. I actually don't remember the last time that we were able to take the kids out trick-or-treating without layering on the clothes, clunking their tired feet in their boots and bodily fluids dripping from their noses! It was a pleasant change.

I became Super Mom for one afternoon and made 2 Jedi costumes for Parker and Cardiff. Ever since they watched the "Jedi Training Academy" at Disneyland, they have been somewhat obsessed with all things Star Wars. I have to admit, I'm quite pleased with how they turned out.

Emmy opted for the elderly lady look (costume compliments of Grandma Burton) and Azia made a great hippie.

Wayne even dressed up for work; opting to omit the fangs and blood. Sawyer enjoyed his first Halloween and dressed as a shining star.
On November 1, temperatures reached a balmy 18 degrees celcius! It is a good thing, since we had a major sod-laying party planned. We recruited some help: 4 Missionaries, my Dad, Wayne's Dad, his cousin Ben Orr and his 3 kids, Wayne's brother Kelvin and his 3 boys, Deb Duncan, Denny and Christian Burton and even a couple of our soon-to-be neighbours. We proceeded to lay almost 20,000 sq. ft. of sod! Everyone worked so hard and we got a lot done...but not all of it. We finished laying the sod on Monday for FHE with the help of Wayne's nurse Linda, his MOA Coralee and the Jones family joined us for their FHE activity.

We are SO incredibly grateful for all of the help! A good portion of our yard is now landscaped. We have a driveway, a bunch of grass and things are finally moving along INSIDE of the house. Our lawyer has been pressuring our builder to get things moving and is pushing for a possession date of December 1. I'd be happy if we were moving on December 23...just as long as we are in by Christmas. After weeks (and even months) of very little progress, there are now days when there are 2 or 3 trades working at the same time. Stucco guys, paving crews, cabinet installers and the finishing carpenter are often all at the house at the same time. It's finally becoming "real" and I'm very excited!