July 18 I had the pleasure of playing for my cousin Kevin's wedding. His mother Cheryl has always had a special place in our families lives. She is a registered nurse and was there for my parents during the time of my open heart surgery when I was three. She is also very talented in other areas, she has made cakes and cupcakes for special family occasions and best of all she made my wedding dress! It was also a special day because for the first time in three years I performed with my cousin Joelle Lehoux. She is working on her Masters of Music Degree in Literature and Performance (She's an opera singer.) We used to always play and sing together as kids and now we enjoy working together on a much more professional level. We had fun practicing in my home while my daughter who is 4 months old also tried to join in. It has been nice to spend time together again, we both forgot how great vocals and harp go together. Congrats Kevin and Carolyn!

In late early April I was at the Bramalea Baptist Church and performed at a Seniors Tea Party. I had no idea until I arrived but it was also Victorian themed and everyone was all dressed up. I was so disappointed that I missed out on an opportunity to dress up however they didn't expect me to and that's why I was not informed. It was a great time, who knew seniors could be so much fun! I played a few hymns for them in concert style but I didn't speak at this event, they had a fantastic guest speaker from Cambridge. It didn't go without mentioning that we had just adopted a baby girl and everyone praised God with me once again for our little miracle. The guest speaker was truly touching as she spoke about grief. Ironic because it was within weeks of a year ago in that very Church I played for my dear 'friend like niece' Catlyn who died of cancer at the young age of 15. In many ways I am still dealing with the grief after having been there for her driving her and her mom back and forth to Sick Kids Hospital for chemo treatments for three years I have a lot of emotional scars! The speaker and her husband also lost a daughter to cancer suddenly and much too young. Through God's help and direction they started a program called 'COPING' which is designed to help people through grief. I was truly blessed by this message and once again I left feeling more blessed by being there than anyone else. God had me right where He wanted me that day for sure.

On May 30 I had the pleasure of going back to a Church I had performed at and shared my testimony with a year ago. They wanted me to go back and play for a 'Secret Sisters' tea party and give an update to my testimony that I gave last year before the adoption took place. I love tea parties and talking about my gorgeous new baby girl so I gladly agreed. It was a great evening with women inspiring women. I was able to inspire the ladies at the Church with the new developments in my testimony of faith as I walk with the Lord through my life here on earth. My friend who invited me to play at the Church also spoke that evening and she was an inspiration too. She talked about how important it is for us women to stick together instead of tearing each other down. Only women can truly understand women and so we need to be there for one another through the good times and the bad. It really spoke to me and made me think about how I should value my relationships with the women in my life. It was a great evening and I was honored to be a part of it and was so blessed by the message, and the encouragement from others to continue in sharing my story. I think 'Secret Sisters' are great, it was how I met one of my dearest friends who I am now going to be a matron of honor for next June! To God be the Glory for another great testimony evening.

July 4, I had two weddings. One in the morning and one in the evening, both ceremonies. Again it was a nice day, I think I am a good luck charm for good weather because I can count on one hand how many times it has rained at weddings I have played at in the past 13 years. Congratulations to the beautiful couples!

It has been a very long time since my last post. I am not remembering to bring my camera to the weddings and I have also been very busy. I have been playing at weddings almost every weekend in June and July and unfortunately don't have many pictures to show for it. I have a good excuse though because in Feb my husband and I adopted a gorgeous baby girl so now I have a 'mommy brain' and forget things so easily! She has also been my priority over things like blogging. The picture with me and her was taken on the first night we brought her home, of course I had to play the harp for her. Since she was so tiny I was able to hold her in one arm and play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.
The wedding I have shown here was a couple from Texas who decided to get married with Niagara Falls as their backdrop on June 27. It was actually one of the only nice weekends we had in June and the weather was as perfect as newly weds looked and the view of the falls behind them.
Funny things happen though at weddings in public 'touristy' areas, random people videotape me and take pictures of me so who really knows where photos of me end up. Some people even think they're being subtle and try to pose nearby me so they have me and themselves in the picture. I just keep playing and try not to laugh because after all these are not wedding guests these are tourists and sometimes they get desperate for pictures.