My Boys

I've been sick with a knockout cold since Sunday and am feeling a little bit better today so I thought I'd write a little about one my favorite subjects, my little sons.


I'd like to begin with my two oldest boys, Matthew and Joseph. These two little pups represent two different strands of my DNA with a force multiplier of 10. This time I'll focus on Matthew. Next will come Joseph, then Samuel.




Matthew David is my first born. He just turned 8 years old last month. His baptism was an especially powerful experience for many who were in attendance. He absolutely couldn't wait for his time to be baptized. We practiced it over and over again prior to the event.

When his Tia Monica gave a talk about the meaning of baptism, Matthew knew every answer and not just the Sunday School answers either. He seemed to have internalized the symbolism of rebirth and also death and resurrection.

His Mom gave a great spotlight on him. She really captured his personality. Matthew is very observant and has been since he was a baby. He is very curious, like his Dad, and wants to learn about everything. He is also very artistic and gifted musically. You can here him composing on the piano at 7:00 AM every morning. He says he wants to be a composer because it has the greatest job satisfaction of any career!

For his birthday he wanted some hand sanitizer because his little mind is intrigued with the chemical reaction that it creates on your skin as it kills all the harmful bacteria.

Matthew is also a good at athletics. He swims like a fish, shows talent in gymnastics, and seems to have a knack swinging the tennis racket. I think if he wants to pursue these he will have success, but for now his primary love language is for music.

Recently he auditioned for a local musical called "Power in His Touch". They immediately accepted him because they said he had perfect pitch. When I took him to a rehearsal a couple of weeks ago, we found that they needed more men in the ensemble so they asked me to try out too. During my vocal audition, Matthew started harmonizing with me during my "Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" rendition. This did not escape the directors notice. I think he upstaged me, that little progidy! I need to teach him respect for his elders.

Later during the rehearsal I noticed that Matthew had disappeared. I went to look for him and found him with a group of kids. He was in a room auditioning for a child solo piece. When he didn't sing loud enough the first time, he asked for a do over. He didn't need any encouragement from me. We just learned he won that little solo. He knows it by heart and sings it with gusto.

The funny thing is that he just can't refrain from bursting into song. During our rehearsal he stayed with me for two hours without getting bored and sang out at full throttle with the rest of us. He came in with perfect timing on his tiny solo and surprised everyone who didn't even know he was there. You should have seen the smile on the music director's face when he heard him.

If you would like to come see Matthew and me in this production I know you'll have a good time. This show has top talent and I'm serious. Come see it. You will love it. It shows March 21, 22, and 24th at Cottonwood High School. Tickets can be purchased at smithtix.


Got to go now, Matthew's upstairs reading his new scriptures and has a question about a new word he's just read.