Behind the Music

I Hope

I Hope

I have a new original song for you this month; it’s about my amazing daughter, Laya. It’s hard to put into words the emotions and story behind this song; the years of ups, downs, efforts, growth, set backs, challenges, struggles, determination and joy that have been piling up in the pocket sized moments of her 12 years of life. As her Mother, I haven’t quite blossomed to my full potential yet, but I feel this fire inside of me that gives me some inkling of what I am capable of. I have glimpsed, during sweet moments of inspiration, how precious she is; and they have been like rays of light continuing to lead me down the correct path. I have a lot of hopes for her and I believe in her. I know she is brilliant, unique and priceless. I just hope she can believe all of it for herself.

He Sent His Son (original 2nd verse)

He Sent His Son (original 2nd verse)

I love this song, (He Sent His Son from the Children’s Songbook) it is one of my favorites. It doesn’t need a second verse, but I thought there were some things that could be added. Some things that feel true to me. To me, the added second verse is a kind of second witness to the message of the first verse.

The Worth of a Soul

The Worth of a Soul

Today I want to go into the background behind May’s song – “As I Ponder My Eternal Value”. The first verse is about trying to recognize and appreciate our own value, worth and potential. I think that before we can truly value other people as individuals, we need to value ourselves. We are all like a $100 bill, worth the same amount. Some $100 bills might be crumpled up and some might be crisp and new, but they all have the same worth, 100 dollars. Each person is like a $100 bill…..equally valuable.

Missing You

Missing You

Happy Music Monday – My bonus song this week is the first song I wrote and recorded. I wrote it back in my junior year of high school and it was later recorded (around 2003) by our talented friend Bodie

A Playful Moment

A Playful Moment

The story behind “I’m Gonna Be There” by Marilee Kay Leishman I’m Gonna Be There – Post In a little room near the entry of our last house, we had a keyboard set up. On a particularly boring day, I

I’m not alone. There’s more in me…than me.

I’m not alone. There’s more in me…than me.

Here’s what inspired the song, “Not Alone”. After two of my three children were diagnosed with a rare and eventually fatal disorder, I had a hard time adjusting to our new normal. And in reality, every time one of my

Fuimos Unidos

Fuimos Unidos

Happy “Music Monday”! As I was working on “Love, Loretta” for my friend Loretta, 🙂 she mentioned the song I was writing for her parents, to one of her friends…which resulted in her friend hiring me to write a song.

How I turned my Marriage Around

How I turned my Marriage Around

How did I turn my marriage around? Well before I can answer that and go into the reason I wrote “Turning Toward”, I need to make a few disclaimers. I could never take full credit for the state of my

Every Second of Our Lives

Every Second of Our Lives

Happy Music Monday! Before I introduce my bonus song, I want to let you know that this is the last week “Love, Loretta” will be available to download. So if you’d like to download it while you can, here is

The Story behind “Love, Loretta” and the Writing Process

The Story behind “Love, Loretta” and the Writing Process

Background Happy Music Monday! Here’s the story behind “Love, Loretta”(iTunes Link, Google Link, Spotify Link) At our Relief Society meeting (Church women’s group) this past fall, we had a service auction where we offered a service and bid on other