The organist for our church was gone fighting fires in Oregon yesterday so I substituted at the last minute. I was particularly pleased during the intermediate hymn as I played the prelude thinking, “I am doing pretty good for not having played this hymn for a while.” Two measures into the hymn I realized I was the only one singing, looked up to see a confused look on the chorister’s face, glanced at the hymn I was playing and stopped.
“Oops! I am totally playing the wrong hymn! I am so sorry!” I laughed as did everyone in the congregation. There were intermittent bouts of laughter and giggles throughout the hymn as various members could.not.stop.laughing including Mr. Ferrero Rocher who, I was told, had the reddest face because he was trying not to laugh out loud.
So much for reverence at church! After reading about my cousin, Allison’s, experience at church yesterday at least I know it runs in the family! She said she thought about the line from Pride and Prejudice,“For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?” Too true.
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| image via Snapshots of Life Photography in Reno |
Mr. Ferrero Rocher’s family gathered for a family photo a couple of weeks ago. While a big family photo isn’t available yet (they are photoshoppping in a brother-in-law and niece who couldn’t be there) our personal family photo is along with the one below of Mr. Ferrero Rocher with his parents and siblings.
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| image via Snapshots of Life Photography in Reno |
Remember the old family bible that came into our possession? I have finally made some progress in finding descendants!
After typing up all the information I’ve gathered and fixing the photos I’ve taken of the hair locks and writing inside the bible I will be contacting them later this week or next depending on how long it takes.
I cannot wait to make the phone call! This person has been actively involved in doing her genealogy and is a direct descendant so I am excited. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I laughed with you, too. I mean Heavenly Father must have a sense of humor if he gave us one.
What a treasure that family bible is. I wonder who left it behind and lost track of it. Someone will be very happy to get it back.
We aren’t sure where/how the Bible got lost. A trucker brought it to the church years ago where it sat untouched on a shelf in the clerk’s office until my husband discovered it and brought it home.
Too hilarious! I can totally relate to your experience, because it seems that every time I play the organ in Sacrament Mtg, something goes terribly wrong! The last time I played it, I was on the last verse of the Sacrament hymn and decided I’d get fancy and play a little quieter at the end of the verse. Well, just as I pressed the volume pedal, the organ shorted out and suddenly no sound was coming out of the keys! I totally panicked and the congregation sang the rest of the song a Capella. I wanted to crawl in a hole! I was able to press some buttons and get sound to come out for the last bar of the song, but it was totally humiliating. I’ve vowed to never touch the organ again, but somehow I know I’ll break my vow… Funny, funny.
I’m glad you were able to handle the situation with more humor than embarrassment! 😉
Our organ was replaced a little over a year ago, thank goodness! I was playing the old one for the adult session of stake conference and I could hear a thumping noise. It sounded like a child was rinning around on the stand. Nope! Turns out some button got stuck on the organ and the thumping just got louder and louder. I had to switch to the piano for the rest of the meeting.
Love the family photos. Great smile in both Mr. F-R, and captured Hershey’s personality perfectly! When did Brownie get taller than Bon-bon and Semisweet?
She’s not. Brownie’s just wearing boots while the other two had on flats.
Love your family picture. Did you make some of those white shirts with the fabric ruffles? Boy, I’ve really got to get a new family picture…
I’m so glad you could laugh about your organ playing! I’ve definitely had some organ mishaps myself. I kept accidentally pressing the buttons in front of the keys which would change the whole sound of the organ! The chorister kept giving me funny looks. ( : I also love playing for ward choir and starting off in the wrong key- woops! Everyone just chuckles and we get on with it.
My favorite is when someone has been fooling around with the pitch on the organ and forgot to put it back to normal. I remember dying with laughter while the ward I grew up in tried to sing a hymn with the organ set too high. At the next verse the organist quickly turned it down to normal and it was hilarious when everyone tried to follow the pitch back down.
In my current ward it happened one time and I ran up after the meeting while she was playing the postlude and whispered, “Turn the pitch down!” Ahhh, back to normal. I have a very good ear for pitch and it makes me squirm to hear a hymn at the wrong pitch. ( :
I did sew the ruffles! I didn’t want plain t-shirts but we couldn’t find anything so I fancied up the t-shirts.
Awesome photos. I think my favorite part though is that Mr. FR’s parents are holding hands!! How sweet is that?!
Thanks for the laugh. I was doing Pro Presenter (like powerpoint) for a worship service one time. Instead of hitting the “edit slide” button, I hit the “camera” button, and there was my face before the entire congregation.
Oh so funny! “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” I am so thankful for laughter and really hope God has a sense of humor – especially when we make mistakes during our worship services.
LOL! I embarrassed myself in church yesterday, too. Except it was just primary. My husband is musical; I am not. But when the music leader needed a helper to lead half the group in “A Child’s Prayer” she asked me to come lead the “Pray, he is there” part but I didn’t know when to come in and the kids looked lost and didn’t sing and I had to give up and sit down. I could have done it with a book to follow, but on the spot like that? So embarrassing. Oh, well.
Oh, and the same thing happened to the organist in our ward a few months ago, except the chorister didn’t realize and was leading everyone in the right song until the organist figured it out…she had the giggles the whole song, too. It was awesome.
Yup, I’ve done both those things too! I once played O Thou Rock of Our Salvation while the congregation sang Hope of Israel but the words fit so it wasn’t too big a deal. 🙂
These pictures are lovely. I do think that organ-playing moment was very Jane Austen. 🙂
I always like getting a peak at my cousins! You all look fabulous!
About the organ…Aunt Alice got up one time and started playing the closing hymn. She had been sleeping and jumped up when she awoke and there was nothing going on. Turns out it was just a lull in fast and testimony meeting! Oops!
{you’ll have to ask her if I got those details right!}
Too funny Montse! You are amazing to be able to play the organ and sing. It takes too much concentration to do much more than play, but I have a loathing relationship with the organ. Love the family photo.
Loved seeing the picture of your husbands family. It made my heart feel good to see the faces of that amazing family! What a great group of people! We lived in their stake for 5 years ( in 5th and 2nd wards) and miss them all a ton!!!
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So this is completely random, and I don’t know you personally but I’ve been reading your blog for a few years. But as I was looking at the pictures of your husband’s family, I almost jumped out of my seat. I know that lovely lady sitting on the front row on the right – tell me it’s Sylvia!! We were in the same program (and the same lab group for a semester!) at college 6 1/2 years ago! One of the sweetest women I have ever met! What a small world!
(If it’s not her and I’m completely mistaken, then I must be crazy. 🙂 Because it sure looks like her!)
Abby!!! It is truly a small world! I can’t believe it has been 6 1/2 years since our preschool days. That was such a good semster becuase I had such an awesome group of girls in my lab. Man! I was so lucky becuase the other lead teachers had a terrible time with some of their lab members, and I would just sit there and feel sorry for them and try not to rub it in that I got the best of the bunch in my lab;) Are you still in Idaho? What are you doing now?
You are right! Sylvia is so wonderful! All of my kids love her to pieces. We figured out that my oldest looks just like her but with dark hair. We were doing one of those hairstyle programs one day and stuck a short blond hairstyle on her and BAM! there was a Sylvia look-a-like staring back at us.
I have been an organist for decades and have my own little pile of funny organ stories! I loved yours. That is something I’d totally do!