MUSIC

"Music speaks what cannot be expressed,

soothes the mind and gives it rest,

heals the heart and makes it whole,

flows from heaven to the soul."

I'm sure we all agree that music is powerful. How many times have you heard a song that brought you back to a completely different time and place? I was listening to some music in the car a few days ago. The song from Lion King "Just Can't Wait to be King" was on. Immediately I was brought back to 1995. Dave and I were newlyweds expecting our first baby. We were students working just to get through school (we were SOOOO poor!!!). The movie Lion King had just come out and we decided to splurge and go see it at the theater. It was such a fun movie. We enjoyed the music so much that Dave surprised me and bought the CD for me. We brought that CD to the hospital with us (along with several movies, games, and a CD player - we were well prepared!). I had to push for two hours with my first baby (thank heavens it has never taken that long since then) and we listened to that CD the whole time. The song "Just Can't Wait to be King" was playing as Akayla finally entered the world. It is a fitting song for her!

I loved listening to music while I was in labor so with each of my babies I brought my favorite CD at the time and every time I hear them I think of that child.



Corina was born to the song "Orinoco Flow". The funniest thing is that I have never told her that story, but she has always loved Enya. In fact, she likes to turn it on while we clean on Saturdays and her favorite cleaning song is "Orinoco Flow'.

I love the Disney classic CD's. They have so many fun songs on them. My parents gave us this CD for Christmas the year I was pregnant with Tanner. I don't remember the specific song, but this was the CD we were listening to when he was born.

While I was pregnant with Adriana we put a huge addition on our house and we became really good friends with our contractor and his wife. They were really sweet with our kids, and they were really excited about our new little girl who was going to be born really soon! They actually finished our addition the day we came home from the hospital with Adriana. Before we went to the hospital they gave us the book and CD "The Dance". It is still one of our favorite CD's. It is simply delightful!

I had wanted the CD from the movie "Anne of Green Gables" for a long time, and while I was pregnant with Annalisa my mom gave it to me for my birthday. Annalisa was my first birthing center baby. We had tried epidurals with all the other kids at the hospital and I had a miserable experience each time. The epidural didn't work at all with Adriana, so I knew I would have a more pleasant experience at the birthing center. I'll never forget sitting in the big jetted tub right after Annalisa was born listening to my favorite CD. It was such a peaceful and beautiful feeling.

I love all of the Jane Austen books and movies, and I love the composer Rachel Portman. About a month before Mariah was born I ordered this CD and allowed myself to listen to it only once before she was born. Mariah was my first baby born in the water, so it was a particularly sweet delivery. Even though labor is difficult, being in the water made it so much more peaceful. I always remember that feeling when I hear this CD.

I had never gone into labor with any of my babies before, so I expected to be started with my 7th baby. I didn't even bother packing a bag for the hospital since I knew I would be started on June 11th. I should mention that there aren't any birthing centers here so we decided to go to Salt Lake City (2 1/2 hours away). I would drive there every month for an appointment with the midwife and have lunch with my mom then drive back home. It was a little bit tough when I had to come every other week and then every week at the end, but it was worth it! On June 8, Dave and I had gone on a date (it was Friday night) and gone on a long walk. We came home and I sat down to work on my birth announcements (thought I'd get a head-start) and my water broke. Typically for me that means my baby would be born in less than 30 minutes so we panicked since we had to drive all the way to Salt Lake. Dave got the kids together and told them to get some things to bring to Utah. We jumped in the suburban and luckily made it there in time. We met Brandon & Ayrial (my brother) at the birthing center. They took our kids home (thanks guys!) and we felt very blessed that we didn't have the baby in the car. In fact, we arrived at the birthing center at 1:40 a.m. and I didn't have Elora until 1:40 p.m. the next day.

So, the reason for my long story....I didn't bring any music with me. My two favorite CD's at the time were "Wicked" and "Miracle" by Celine Dion. I wonder which one we would have listened to. I did enjoy the music my midwife played. I probably ought to buy it so I can think of Elli whenever I hear it. It was some kind of celtic string music.


There are so many other songs that bring me back to special times in my life. I was specifically thinking about the music that reminds me of the 7 happiest days in my life (not including the day Dave and I were married).

What music brings back special memories for you?


Good things:
The love of music
Musical Talent
7 beautiful days and a way to remember them