New Life, New Hope, New Year

The family and I just stepped outside for our annual MIDNIGHT BASH – i.e. banging on pots and pans as loudly as possible and screaming “HAPPY NEW YEAR!!” at the top of our lungs! (Yes, I am sure all our new neighbors love us now).

And thus we say adieu to 2016, and hello to 2017.

A Lot Happened In 2016

Wow – what a year 2016 was for us! It was a year of amazing blessings, several highs and several lows, deep sorrows and beautiful joys. Some of the highlights:

• THE HOUSE: We spent the entire year building a new home, and trying to sell the old home. Not for the faint of heart.
  • Forced to remodel the old home after mold was discovered.
  • “Sold” and “unsold” the house 6 times! (that must be a record)
  • Finally “really really sold” – just in the nick of time
• MAMA ELAINE: We lost Mr. Mo’s dear mother Elaine in June to pneumonia.
  • Miraculously, we were able to say our final farewells and participate in her funeral before leaving for Europe.
  • We know she is having amazing adventures on the other side of the veil. But, it still hurts terribly she is not with us.
• EUROPE: Mr. Mo and I traveled for three weeks in Europe with the Choir.
  • 6 Countries. 10 Cities.
  • Singing in some of the most beautiful and historic venues in the world
  • Incredible, wonderful memories.
• USA ELECTION: We all endured one of the nastiest and dismal presidential campaigns and elections in history.
  • I met Evan McMullin, and his campaign gave me hope for the future
  • I blogged about keeping perspective after the ballots were counted
• SINGING: 2 Easter Concerts, 2 Pioneer Day Concerts, 6 General Conference Sessions, 4 Christmas Concerts, and hundreds of hours of rehearsals and Sunday morning broadcasts!
• MOVING: a brand new home!! A new city, new Ward (church congregation), new friends, new life, new beginnings
  • A lot of boxes! Packing and unpacking…
• CHRISTMAS: parties, unpacking, celebrating, unpacking…
• BIRTHDAY: The big 5-0 happened.

As of today, I think our family is feeling just a bit more ‘settled’ into our wonderfully new little house. We are ready for the next chapter!

And, it’s going to start off with a bang. [But, I’ll leave that for another post.]

In conclusion, I am sharing one of my favorite songs, appropriately titled “New Year” and I have included the lyrics below because the poem is so beautiful – I hope you’ll take a moment to read them.

Happy New Year everyone! Let’s make this a wonderful year  – filled with more peace, more light, and more love. – MoSop

NEW YEAR – Music & Words by John Rutter

Turn your eyes to the Light, cast away the works of darkness, let them go

Turn your eyes to the Light.

Turn your face to the Sun. Feel the warmth, the hope of new beginnings

with each new year.

The light was always there, if we could but see it,

and warmth was in the air, if we’d known how to feel.

Turn your eyes to the Light. Turn your face to the Sun.

New Light, New Hope, New Year.

New Light. New Hope. New Year!

Turn your ears to the sound. Somewhere near the voice is calling, “Hear the news.”

Turn your ears to the sound.

Turn your heart to the Love. Christ is come to bring the world new Life.

To bring new Life.

The voice is always there, if the world will hear it.

And love is always there, if you search in your heart.

Turn your ears to the sound. Turn your heart to the love.

New Life, New Love, New Year.

New Life, and Love, and Light and Hope.

This Good New Year.

New Year.