Alisa Baadsgaard's Carnegie Hall Performance and NYC visit

Trinity Church

My daughter Alisa Baadsgaard had the awesome opportunity to perform in Carnegie Hall with her school orchestra in February 2016. They have to audition and meet a high level of excellence to be invited to perform there.

During the trip she was also able to visit all the well known and exciting places in NYC pictured below.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral

The Rock

Broadway Plays

Statue of Liberty Cruise

Metropolitan Museum in NYC

At the Met

Mass at Cathedral

LDS church and temple in NYC

Carnegie Hall Performance

911 Memorial Museum

Central Park

Lily's Gift - story for my four-year-old granddaughter

Lily’s Gift

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy fourth birthday my precious granddaughter Lily. I love you so.

Once there was a family of three white lilies that grew on a hillside above a small village including a grandfather, mother and young girl. In the winter, the lilies were dormant bulbs that slept deep in the soil. In late spring or early summer, sun created warm soil and the bulbs grew slowly toward the light. Gentle rain fell and soon three small spears of green appeared. Slowly the family of lilies grew upward until delicate petals appeared at the tip of their stems.

“I want to live on this hillside forever,” the young girl said to her mother.

“I love it here too,” the mother said, “but remember people from the village often climb this hill and choose us to help with their happy times and sad times.

“But if they choose me, I will die,” the girl said.

“Yes, you will die,” the mother said, “but only for a season. When spring comes again you will return.”

“Don’t be afraid,” the grandfather said. “I have been chosen many times. Eventually we all die from the killing frost. The only question is whether we will learn how to love before our season ends.”

But the young girl was still afraid because she had never been chosen before and she longed to be with her mother and grandfather forever.

One bright summer morning, a young man from the village raced up the hill and quickly picked the mother lily.

“This will be the perfect flower to give my wife to celebrate the birth of our first child,” the father said dashing back down the hill.

The young girl was sad as she watched the father race toward his cottage.

The next day a happy bride in her wedding gown climbed the hill and chose the grandfather for her bridal garland.

“This will be the perfect flower for my wedding bouquet,” the bride said.

The young girl was sad as she watched the bride hurry to her wedding celebration.

Now the young girl was alone. She missed her mother and her grandfather. She did not want to be alone.

The next day an old woman climbed the hill and knelt weeping next to the young girl. Then she reached out and picked the small lily before she slowly descended the hill. At first the young girl was scared. She did not know what would become of her. Then she felt her petals and stem placed on the polished wood coffin of the grandmother’s husband. She felt compassion for the old woman.

Then a man in a black suit opened a black book and said these words, “Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if you are not of little faith. Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat: or, what shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” 3^rd Nephi 13:28-33

The young girl did not know lilies were mentioned in sacred books. She did not know how exquisite she was. Now she knew and she would never forget.

That fall and all that long winter, there were no lilies on the hillside. Then one spring day when the sun was warm, three small green spears pierced the soil. After days of gentle rain long green stems grew upward toward the light. Soon the grandfather, mother and young girl lily appeared again.

“You were right,” the young girl said. “We did die, but only for a season. Here we are together again. I wonder who I will learn to love this year.” 

Alisa Baadsgaard Performs at Carnegie Hall Feb. 13th 2016

My daughter Alisa Baadsgaard performed on the cello at Carnegie Hall today.

Here is the play bill and ticket.

This is Carnegie Hall looking out from the stage.

Emma's Baptism Letter From Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy 8th birthday to my beloved granddaughter Emma.

Dear Emma,

I’m so excited that you are turning eight years old this year because that means that you are old enough to choose to be baptized. I’m so happy you have made that choice.

I remember when I was baptized. I was baptized on my eight-year-old birthday on a Saturday night in a little white church across the street from my house in Union, Utah. My congregation had all the children being baptized sit on small wooden chairs and talked to us for a while. I don’t remember what they said, but I do remember what I felt.

I felt excited and a little scared before I was baptized. When I was baptized, the water was warm and I felt clean. After I was baptized and put my dry clothes back on, I walked out of the church into the cold January winter air. I remember looking up and seeing lacy white flakes of snow falling all around me. Even though it was cold outside, I felt warm inside. I knew God loved me and was pleased I wanted to come home to heaven someday.

I also knew that Jesus was my best friend and that if I tried to live like Him that I would be happy. When I was your age, they waited until Sunday to confirm me at church and give me the gift of the Holy Ghost. I felt protected when the men with the priesthood made a circle around me and put their hands on my head as my father confirmed me.

What I didn't know was that the man I was going to marry someday was being baptized on the very same day, January 6^th (my birthday) in a little town called Spanish Fork, Utah. He was a little scared and excited too. Because we both wanted to be like Jesus, we found each other many years later. We recognized that we had the same dreams and plans for life.

           When he returned from him mission to Samoa, we were married in the SLC temple. We made special promises to God. We were sealed for eternity. Pretty soon your dad was born. Then he grew up and married your mommy in the temple and then pretty soon, you were born.

Being baptized was the beginning of everything wonderful in my life. Being baptized is such a special time because we are able to participate in our first saving ordinance and make our Heavenly Father our first official promise. You are a daughter of God, Emma, and your Heavenly parents love you very much. They want you to be happy so they have made a plan of happiness for you to follow so you can return to them someday. 

Up until now, you have been a child who is learning, growing and maturing. You have made some mistakes; everybody makes mistakes. That is how we learn and grow. Now that you are eight, God thinks you are wise enough to know the difference between right and wrong choices. Heavenly Father knows that some of the choices we make will not be wise. Because He loves us, He wants us to know how to change so we will not be trapped by our mistakes and bad choices. So He invites us to make a promise to Him and then He makes a promise right back to us. When we make a special promise to God and He makes one right back to us, it is called a covenant. Heavenly Father never breaks a promise.

The promise you make to God is that you will remember Jesus, follow Him and keep His commandments. Heavenly Father promises you that He will forgive you if you make a mistake or do something that you know is wrong if you feel sorry and repent. He also promises you eternal life. He also gives you the gift of the Holy Ghost to help, guide, protect, warn and comfort you.

When you choose to be baptized you tell Heavenly Father that:

*You want to be a follower of Jesus Christ

*You will serve your fellowmen

*You will stand as a witness of God all the time

*You will obey the commandments of God

 God promises you that:

  *You are accepted as a member of Christ’s church

   *You can be forgiven of your sin if you repent

   *You can have the gift of the Holy Ghost

   *You can live in the kingdom of God

          Everybody makes mistakes after they are baptized so Heavenly Father gave us the sacrament every week on Sunday. That is when we remember the covenant we made when we were baptized. We think about our week and decide how to be better during the coming week. We think about our Savior Jesus Christ and how He atoned for all our sins, pains, disappointment and grief. We also think about Christ’s resurrection and that we can be resurrected too someday.

I hope you will write about how you feel in your journal when you are baptized. Never forget that you are a child of God and that you can inherit the eternal life God has planned for you. And never forget that your grandma loves you with all her heart.

Love,  

Grandma Baadsgaard.   

Carnegie Hall Performance Tonight!!!

My daughter Alisa will be performing in NYC at Carnegie Hall next week with the MMHS orchestra and choirs. She will be playing the cello. 

If you want to see their Carnegie Hall Performance before they leave 

be sure to come to their dress rehearsal concert tonight at 7:00.