Another one done!!

This blanket is for Isabella, Jonathon and Britney's little girl.

"I Know Jesus" from Babylight

For a while now I have been wanting to put pictures to one of the Babylight songs. Tonight turned out to be a good time. Here is the final product. The CD is full of neat songs. There is a link to the website on the right of my blog.

http://www.childslight.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p126H0qcGN4&feature=channel_page

Blanket for Eliza - It's Finished!!!

So, I try to make a baby blanket for each of my nieces and nephews when they are born. When the girls were born, I planned to do a pretty intricate pattern (seen here). I did it once for Savannah but then had a hard time bringing myself to make one of those again.



















So, I decided I wanted to go back and make the girls a blanket because they got skipped! Only this time they have to be bigger! Toddler-size. So, here is the first of the girl's blankets.






























This one is for Eliza (Thelissa's little girl). I got a call yesterday morning though from Savannah. She asked if she could have it. I had made one of the softer ones, besides the pink one in the picture above, for Savannah as well. So, the girls are switching or sharing. They love them! That makes me feel good. :)

So here it is!

"A Giant Among Men" Screening Tonight

"Gordon B. Hinckley: A Giant Among Men" movie poster.
















Tonight was the screening at The District. It was a lot of fun! Here are some fun pictures.

























Levi Larsen portrays the young Gordon B. Hinckley.















...With Lauren Brady (portrays Ada Hinckley, Gordon's mother).













It was so nice of my parents to come and also my friend Craig Miner.


A few things from this week:

Filmmaker re-creates early life of President Gordon B. Hinckley

November 24th, 2008 @ 6:14pm

By Carole Mikita

A Utah filmmaker has made a movie about the early life of President Gordon B. Hinckley and is donating the ticket sales to a charity.

"Gordon B. Hinckley: A Giant Among Men" will show in two theaters tomorrow evening, and the proceeds will go to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Perpetual Education Fund. President Hinckley created the fund to help young Latter-day Saints in third-world countries who have served missions with training or education.

The film focuses on President Hinckley's childhood and early years, giving viewers a look at his life long before he became the 15th president of the Church.

"[I] found wonderful material to illustrate his life as a boy and what he learned that brought him to a prophet," said T.C. Christensen, the film's writer and director.

Christensen's biggest challenge was casting the adult Gordon Hinckley and Marjorie Pay. "I looked at a lot of historical photographs and I would just think, 'Who do I know who looks like that?' And Levi Larsen and Tamilisa Wood were just two who came to mind," he said.

The young actress playing Marjorie Pay had been told she resembled her before. "When I got to the auditions, T.C. also had a picture of Marjorie Pay Hinckley, and sure enough, it kind of looked like me," Wood said. "It's such a privilege to portray her and look like her and be like her and think about her."

Larsen says he never imagined playing this role. "To be a part of that, and to be able to possibly help people change their lives through the stories of President Hinckley, is really cool," he said.

"Gordon B. Hinckley: A Giant Among Men" will play at the Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons in Sandy and the Megaplex 20 at the District in South Jordan Tuesday night at 7:00. It will also be released on DVD on Tuesday.

E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 20, 2008

Hi-Res Photos Available Upon Request

President Hinckley Film to be Released Nov. 25

Profits of Screening to be Donated to Perpetual Education Fund

SALT LAKE CITY – A Gordon B. Hinckley tribute event will be held Tuesday, November 25, 2008 to release a new film about the life of the former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Gordon B Hinckley: A Giant Among Men” will be played at two Megaplex theaters on Tuesday night, and proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Perpetual Education Fund, an LDS charity created by Hinckley while he was President.

The movie will air at 7 p.m. at the Megaplex 17 at Jordon Commons in Sandy, Utah, and the Megaplex 20 at District in South Jordon, Utah. Tickets will cost $8 for adults and $5.50 for children and seniors. Movie-goers can get more information and purchase tickets at Megaplextheaters.com.

The film was directed by T. C. Christensen and produced by Living Scriptures, and will also be released on DVD Tuesday, Nov. 25.

Because the film is a drama, Christensen had to find seven President Hinckley look-a-likes to play the part of the former LDS president. The seven actors represent Hinckley from ages 5 to 92, and they all come from Utah. (Comparison Photos available for print)

“I looked at old pictures of President Hinckley and his family, and I thought who do I know who looks like that?” Christensen said.

Young brothers Koleman Stinger, Kalvin Stinger, and Kaleb Stinger from Farmington, Utah, play Hinckley from ages 5 to 12.

Levi Larsen from Orem plays the role to depict the future President from ages 18-40. The older years are played by David Emett from Salt Lake City and Austin Garner from South Jordon.

“The appearance really is uncanny,” Christensen said. “I think it makes all the difference to the viewers that the actors actually look like the man they know so well.”

Christensen said he hopes as viewers watch the depictions of President Hinckley’s life, they will understand that prophets start out like any other men, but the people and the choices they face along the way make all the difference.

“Prophets are men too,” he said. “They have experiences as they are growing up. They get prepared along the way. They don’t live this sanctified holy existence the whole time. They are people just like us.”

Christensen said the trait that sets Hinckley apart is that he listened, he learned, and he assimilated quickly to the lessons his parents tried to teach him. One scene in the film portrays the boy Hinckley coming home from school and swearing. His mother quickly washes his mouth out with soap, and Hinckley records that he basically never swore ever again.

The film also depicts the beloved story of Elder Hinckley struggling on his mission and writing to his father that he wanted to come home. When his father responds that he should forget himself and get to work, Hinckley declares that he decided to listen to the advice and that every good thing that happen to him in his life could be traced back to that decision.

“I think viewers will connect to that experience and that moment,” Christensen said. “Everyone needs to have a day in their life when they decide to keep going, where they say, ‘I am not going to give up. I am going to stick with it.’”

In addition to depicting Hinckley’s relationship with key characters in his life, the film also depicts Hinckley’s life and decisions during many hard times. Hinckley battled through times of economic depression, unemployment, war and political strife. Viewers are likely to see their own life experiences through President Hinckley’s eyes in Gordon B. Hinckley: A Giant Among Men,” Christensen said.

Tonight! Tonight!

http://www.megaplextheatres.com/showtimes/feature.php?feature=10001603

"A Brand New Year" show

Well, I can't post much about the upcoming program we've been working on. I wish I could show you the awesome stage in the Conference Center. But I can show a little bit of what I've been up to in preparing my part.
















First of all we have been collecting tapes from around the world, of youth bearing testimony. Where needed, we've also done some filming here locally to supplement the submissions.















We filmed on BYU campus in order to have testimonies from Young Adults as well. This is Cody (one of our Intellectual Property Assistants) and Rachel (Production Assistant) displaying the legal signs for the students who would walk by.















Then began the editing! Travis Eberhard is my editor for this show. He does an awesome job and works very fast.















Then, there has been the filming for the "behind the scenes" video that will also be played at the event. We have been taping choir rehearsals, orchestra rehearsals, auditions, youth discussion groups, host rehearsals, etc...
















Then there has been the logistics like keeping tapes labeled, finding b-roll video, having paperwork signed for video participants, gathering usable images, etc. This is Rachel and I figuring out the tape situation.















It's been fun to be able to meet people from around the world. We interviewed a youth from Hong Kong named Joseph.















More editing with Travis....















Then began the rehearsals...
As a temporary set-up, we practice with the video through a rear projector.















At the tech rehearsal, Travis and I ran the video from back stage.














This is where I sit during the show, it is where we control everything.


BLOG ENTRY UPDATE: Show time!!!






























This is the project why I need to catch up on sleep.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates on this project! We still have the DVD and website. And you can find out more about it on the homepage of LDS.org and on the Church News webpage. :)

Blankets...

With the birth of TWO nephews in one week, I've had to work fast! Here are the two crochet blankets for each of them.

This one was for Joey.
This one was for Liam.

Pumpkin time again!!

It's Pumpkin time of year!! Look how cute this pumpkin is that Travis Eberhard painted! It's a witch...not just any witch...it's Elfaba from Wicked!

Thanks Travis!

Joseph Powell!

Little Joey!!















"An Eye-opening Day!"


"First Bath!!"



"Bright Lights!"


The Story....


WELCOME TO THE WORLD JOEY!!

I'm An Aunt! (Again!)

At 2:40 am on September 12, Liam Shumway Wood was born! I'm an aunt 12 times over! Liam is Jonathon and Britney's baby.






Here are some pictures and a little video of Liam's brothers and sister welcoming him to the world!



















"Who's going to be the best big sister?!...."

Sisters, Sisters

Today I'd like to tell you how wonderful my sister is.

Most of you know her. Her name is Thelissa. We've always been close, especially because each of us only has one sister! She is always willing to listen to my ramblings and thoughts. I love getting her advice on just about anything and everything!! I know I've always wanted to be just like her. It's been a life quest to reach that point. But, I'm sure I will just have to keep striving and never get there. She's always way ahead of me! She is always so much more in touch with the way things should be, than I am. A clear perspective is what I get when we talk.



This was the two of us way back when!!!


And this is the two of us on Christmas Day, 1998.

This is the two of us in the Spring, 1981.

She always supports me with all my crazy things I like to be involved in and laughs at my silliness too. Now she is married and has fun kids that I love to be 'Aunt Tam' to. I'll always remember the days though, growing up, when she would call down the hallway for me to come into her room before we went to bed. We'd talk, laugh, and I'd give her a foot massage. :)

I count her as one of my greatest blessings.

Thank you Thelissa! I love you so much.

FIRE on the Mountain!!

FIRE on the mountain!! This is the view from my balcony of the fires this week!












This is the Sun behind a lot of smoke.



These are the flames that you could see if I zoomed in!!!!

Deseret First Luncheon in the Park

Miles To Go played this last Friday at a picnic for all the downtown Church-owned businesses. There were about 3,000 people that stopped by for a hamburger and to sit down and listen to the music. Our music! :) Last year we played at this event as well. We sold out of all the CDs we had brought with us. My parents stopped by too!



Thanks to Travis Eberhard who took pictures from my camera! And to my mom who took some from hers.



Can you say Sunburned!!!?

Playing Wagon Wheel. Trent sings this one and always does a great job.