3/20/2015

Birthday Story for an 11-year-old

SAM’S SONG
by
Granny B
Happy 11th Birthday Sammy.
Your Grandma Baadsgaard loves you so, so much.

            When Sam woke up, it seemed like a normal day. He did not know that this day would prove to be extraordinary. When Sam walked into the kitchen for breakfast he felt the warm sunlight streaming through the window.  He felt like singing and soaring at the same time. When he opened his mouth, a full orchestra rendition of Morning by Edward Grieg came streaming from his lips as if an entire orchestra resided inside his body. Sam was so startled that he shut his mouth.
            “Sam,” his mother said surprised. “That music is beautiful. Do you have an iPhone in your back pocket?”
            Sam tried to answer his mother but when he opened his mouth the music from Morning continued to fill the warm air of their sunny kitchen. Sam liked this piece of music so well he opened his mouth for a long time while his brothers and sister checked his back pockets. When they were convinced that Sam was not tricking them, they scratched their heads, sat down, munched on corn flakes and listened. Sam was so moved that he walked quietly outside and watched the sunrise accompanied by this gentle lyrical score.
When the music stopped, Sam walked back into the house, got dressed and then went into the kitchen and tried to eat his breakfast. In between bites of corn flakes, Sam heard Jupiter- Bringer of Jollity, from “The Planets” by Gustav Holst blaring through his teeth. At first his mother and siblings stared at him. Sam liked the song so well he ate with his mouth wide open so he wouldn’t miss a note.
“That song makes me feel like I can conquer another day of home school with all you kids,” his mother declared.
Sam’s baby brother Gideon danced up and down dripping milk down his shirt. His brother Liam and Logan marched around the table.
Sam spent the rest of his day reading “Treasure Island” by Robert Lewis Stevenson and listening to programs on string theory and quantum physics on the computer. When he needed a break, he reclined in his chair and opened his mouth. The Pastoral Symphony by Ludwig Van Beethoven came out his mouth and offered a rather nice respite.
Later in the day when his brother poked him, looking for a tussle, Sam opened his mouth and tried to yell but instead the aria La Boheme by Puccini came out his mouth and drifted into the room with such power and beauty that neither brother felt like poking each other anymore.
That afternoon Sam found a quiet corner in his back yard behind the shed where he could be alone and think.
I hope this day lasts forever, Sam thought.
Sam felt the wind and the warmth from the late afternoon sun. Then he heard something so faint and quiet that he almost wasn’t sure if it was a voice or a feeling deep inside him.
            “Find your own melody,” the wind whispered as it encircled his body.
            “Don’t let anyone silence you,” a tiny sparrow chirped as it hopped up on his shoulder.
            Then a caterpillar slowly climbed onto the sleeve of his shirt, slithered up to his neck and rested on the top of Sam’s ear.
            “You are authentic,” the fuzzy black and orange creature whispered in his ear.
            Sam opened his arms trying to soak the whole wide wonderful world inside him. Then he opened his mouth and listened to Un Sosprio by Franz Liszt.
            Sam quietly listened until the evening came. Then he walked back into his home. He wrote down his question on a note pad and handed it to his mother.
            “What does authentic mean?” his mother read on the note pad. She looked at her son and smiled.
“Authentic means you are real – that you find you own melody,” Sam’s mother answered.
            When Sam was in his bed that night he pulled up his covers, looked out the window at the moon, opened his mouth and listened to, Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy.
            Sam never forgot his extraordinary day. Even though songs didn't spontaneously flow from his mouth after that day, they were still deep inside him - and there was something more extraordinary.
Now every single day when he opens his heart - he finds his own melody and the will to sing his own song.

Janene Baadsgaard Temple Square Performance

I had so much fun performing at Temple Square this week.
I love the New Horizon's Orchestra.

3/17/2015

Great Week For John and Alisa Baadsgaard

John and Alisa Baadsgaard 


Alisa Baadsgaard was just selected as student of the month at Diamond Fork Junior High. This award is for academic achievement and citizenship performance.
Way to go Alisa!

John Baadsgaard was informed that he has been selected from Maple Mountain High School to be featured in "Utah Valley Magazine" as the senior most likely to change the world. Each high school in Utah Valley selects one senior for this honor. He will be featured with a picture and information about him in the magazine.
Way to go John!

3/13/2015

Mission Call Came Today!

My son John Michael Baadsgaard just received his mission call to the Copenhagen Denmark mission.

He is so happy to return to the land of his ancestors and deliver the good news about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Baadsgaard is a Danish name. John will learn to speak Danish. 

John will leave this summer and serve for two years. 

John earned all the money to pay for his own mission working construction and teaching piano lessons. This is how John expressed his feelings:
"I can't express how excited I feel to have received my mission call today. I have spent my entire life looking forward to these two years, and have always wondered where I would be spending them. Today I found out.
I have been assigned to labor as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Copenhagen, Denmark. I will be speaking the Danish language. I report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on July 29, 2015.
I can't accurately express to you my feelings, but I can testify to you that I know I am going to right place. I know that Jesus Christ is my savior, and I am more than excited to get to share his gospel for two years."

3/07/2015


Tessa
 and 
the 
White Buffalo

By
Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy fourth birthday Tessa dear. 

I love you so.



Once upon a time there was a little girl named Tessa. She wanted a pet buffalo more than anything.
When she asked her parents to buy her one, they said, “Oh Tessa, how about a kitten or a puppy?”
But Tessa didn’t change her mind. She talked about buffalos. She dreamed about buffalo. Tessa drew pictures of buffalos until they filled the entire space on her bedroom walls.
“Can I have a white buffalo - please,” Tessa said to her parents at supper.
“We do not live on the wide open plains,” her father said. “Buffalos need to roam.”
“We could move to the wide open plains,” Tessa answered.
“Buffalos like to eat lots of food,” her mother said. We only have a small refrigerator.”
“We could buy a bigger refrigerator,” Tessa answered.
“One pet buffalo would get lonely,” Tessa’s father said.
“We could get a whole family of buffalos,” Tessa answered.
Tessa’s mother and father shook their heads and said, “Sorry Tessa - no.”
One day Tessa’s Grandma and her Aunt Alisa came to visit. Tessa talked about buffalos. Grandma and Alisa listened and listened.
Then Grandma said, “Tessa, now it is your turn to listen. When I was a little girl I went to a Native American village. The elders in the village told me about the legend of the white buffalo. Did you know that the white buffalo is a symbol of abundance? Abundance means our life is not just about struggling and surviving. God’s love is all around us. We are all connected. God supplies all our needs. Did you know that the birth of a white buffalo signifies the renewal of the relationship God has with the people of the earth? The white buffalo ties all of us to the sacredness of life. Some even see the white buffalo as a symbol of the second coming of Christ – God’s greatest gift to us.”
“Well,” her Aunt Alisa said, “Tessa, your mom and dad gave me a pattern for a stuffed animal for my birthday. I think I might share my abundance with you on your birthday.”
Tessa waited and waited. Finally her birthday came. Her grandma and grandpa and Aunt Alisa came over to give her a present.
 “The gift that was given to me is now my gift to you,” Alisa said.
Then Aunt Alisa gave Tessa a large stuffed white buffalo.
When Tessa fell asleep, her buffalo was at her side. That night she dreamed of a beautiful woman dressed in white robes.
“Everything is connected,” the beautiful woman said. “Pray and follow your path to discover the love of God. Then you will find peace of mind and spirit.”
When Tessa woke, she looked at the white buffalo and smiled.
“Someday I will be the beautiful woman dressed in white and I will guide others on their path back to God’s love,” Tessa said.
Then Tessa looked out the window and saw white clouds in the east as the sun rose over the mountains casting a warm glow over the earth.
"Everything is connected," Tessa whispered. "God's love and abundance is all around me and inside me forever."


3/03/2015

John's Science Olympiad Team did a great job at Regionals

Science Olympiad Takes 1st at Westminster Regionals


Attributions: 
Story by Kyle Miller


The Science Olympiad team competed in their second and final regionals competition last Saturday at Westminster College and competed against 18 other high schools from the Salt Lake Valley. We took 1st place overall and won medals in 16 of the 20 events in which we competed. This is the first time a team from Nebo School District has won at Westminster, and this sets us up strong for a run at State which we will compete at on April 11th. Here are the individual results:
Air Trajectory - Jason Syndergaard & Adam Syndergaard - 2
Anatomy & Physiology - Rachel Bybee & Scott Griffin - 1
Astronomy - Sam Dallon & Jason Syndergaard - 1
Bottle Rocket - Jonny Stites & Eric Larsen - 1
Bridge - John Baadsgaard & Heidyn von Bose - 1
Chem Lab - Rachel Bybee & John Baadsgaard - 3
Compound - Machine Scott Griffin & Eric Larsen - 2
Disease Detective - Rachel Bybee & Sam Dallon - 2
Entomology - John Baadsgaard & Michaela McCown - 2
Exp Design - Robert Nay & Becca Bair & Jason Syndergaard - 4
Forensics - Robert Nay & Becca Bair - 2
Fossils - John Baadsgaard & Daniel Tolley 1
Game On - Daniel Tolley & Michaela McCown - 1
Green - Generation Robert Nay & Becca Bair - 4
Hydrogeology - John Baadsgaard & Heidyn von Bose - 1
Its About Time - Scott Griffin & Michaela McCown - 3
Mission Possible - Scott Griffin & Ryan Smith - 3
Scrambler - Ryan Smith & Adam Syndergaard - 2
Write it Do it - Becca Bair & Heidyn von Bose - 8
Wright Stuff - Eric & Jonny - 6
A huge congratulations to the team who have worked incredibly hard to achieve these results!