And the winner is...

Congratulations to Rosalee, who won Rachelle's drawing for a free CD! I hope you'll enjoy it!

Today one of my friends here in Virginia shared something with me that made me smile. She is a 6th grade teacher, and has set aside time each day for her students to listen to music while they are working. This past week she took my CD in to give them something new to listen to, and they are really enjoying it. I thought that was fun to know!

Have a great week, everybody.

Family Heritage projects - some food for thought

Lately I've heard a lot of powerful statements on the importance of connecting past generations to our future posterity. Maybe it's because I've just finished this project and that subject has been on my mind, so I'm more attuned to things of that nature right now. Maybe it's because there's still more I need to do so it keeps coming back to my attention. Either way, I want to share a couple of my favorite quotes that are inspiring to me.

“Not one of my children has any recollection of my grandparents. If I want my children and grandchildren to know those who still live in my memory, then I must build the bridge between them. I alone am the link to the generations that stand on either side of me. It is my responsibility to knit their hearts together through love and respect, even though they may never have known each other personally. My grandchildren will have no knowledge of their family’s history if I do nothing to preserve it for them. That which I do not in some way record will be lost at my death, and that which I do not pass on to my posterity, they will never have. The work of gathering and sharing eternal family keepsakes is a personal responsibility. It cannot be passed off or given to another.”
- Dennis B. Neuenschwander

In a BYU devotional entitled "Keep the Chain Unbroken", Gordon B. Hinckley recalled a time when he had been reflecting on the lives of his great-grandfather, his grandfather, and his father. He was with his daughter, his grand-daughter, and his great-grandchildren.

"I suddenly realized that I stood right in the middle of these seven generations - three before me and three after me. In that sacred and hallowed house there passed through my mind a sense of the tremendous obligation that was mine to pass on all that I had received as an inheritance from my forebears to the generations who have now come after me."

One of the exciting things to me about the idea of passing on our inheritance is that it can be done in so many ways. Preserving, compiling, or reproducing pictures, letters, journals, stories, artwork, music, poetry, video footage, recipes, heirlooms, documents, traditions, favorite sayings, little songs, family jokes, dreams, goals, memories...there is so much of our ancestors in us and so much of us that is or will be in our posterity. What a gift to understand a little more about who we are and what we're made of.

One of my favorite memories with my great-grandmother (Great Granna, pictured here at age 30) is when I was in my early twenties. She came out to Missouri to visit and gave me a hot pad she had just crocheted. When we said good-bye, she gave me a hug, looked me in the eye, and said, "Now, you make sure you don't change a bit." (I thought she was going to say something like, "Because you're great just the way you are.")

But her reason surprised me and still makes me laugh: "Because you're short, just like me!" It's true, there we stood eye-to-eye at five-foot nothing! And I am happy to be just like her in that way, in addition to all the other things I've received from that great little woman. That was the last time we saw each other; she passed away at age 99. If I can only be as gracious and clever as she was to the end of my life, too! This is one cute little story that I need to tell my boys. I think I'll do that today.

Welcome, Wilkinson Quints blog followers!

Rachelle is one of my favorite people in the whole world - a fun, dear friend who came into my life just at the right time. But with my family’s frequent military moves, we lost touch over the years. When I recently found Rachelle on Facebook, I looked at her profile picture and thought, “How fun that she and Jayson got all their nieces and nephews dressed alike for a picture! They must have just been to a reunion.”

You can imagine my shock when I realized that those were actually their own children…all five at once! Suddenly my own busy life was put into a whole new perspective. (Not nearly as busy as Rachelle’s must be!) And she continues to be a great example and inspiration to me.

I’m happy to share my new CD with one of you for free! I hope you’ll enjoy my blog along the way. Be sure to take a look at "Why I made this recording". Email your answer to: Wqplus2@gmail.com

A couple of new features...

I now have a Paypal "Buy Now" button on the sidebar, and I've just added another audio clip to my music player. Enjoy!

Open House Highlights

Doesn't it just feel good to look at this? Mmmm....

What a treat to perform in such a gorgeous home, with a wonderful accompanist, for people I love.

I'm thankful for such great friends who hosted this beautiful evening!

CD Feedback

I want to share a few comments I've received about my CD so far...you guys are great! Thanks so much for the feedback, everybody.

"I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful CD that you made. It's so eerily beautiful. Your work is so special, creative and sweet... Thank you again for your music, it's given me endless hours of pleasure." - California

"...I loved, loved, loved what I heard!" - Virginia

Why I made this recording

When I was nine years old my parents asked me if I'd like to learn to play the violin. My dad and Grandad both played the violin, so I said yes, and I fell in love with it! But that isn't really the beginning of the story.


When Grandad was eight years old his dad asked him if he'd like to start playing an instrument, and he chose the violin. Grandad and I used to play Meditation from Thaїs together on our violins each time I came home from college. That's when he told me he used to play it for his mother when he came home from college.

I miss that tradition now that he has passed on. It was my privilege to play Meditation from Thaїs at Grandad's funeral on his gorgeous old violin. His brothers told me it took them right back to when they sat at their mother's feet, and he played that piece for her as she listened from her rocking chair.

At that moment, I knew this connection that spans four generations was more than just a story; it is a deep, important part of who I am. It is in this spirit that I have approached this project - to honor my heritage, and to make sure my children will know what Meditation from Thaїs sounded like to their great-great grandmother. With each piece I express gratitude that in this life, I have been given a time to love.

(Pictured from top to bottom: me, my dad, my grandad, and my great-grandparents)