The Girls at Plain View Farm

The First Annual Girls' Retreat at Plain View Farm was a smashing success!  For Sarah and me, it began with the arrival of the Coats girls (Mary and Rahila) for lunch on Friday.  After Pete visited with his sister for an hour or so, the four girls piled into the Coats van and headed for South Dakota.  Catching up with each other's lives, Mary and I chatted the whole way while the two teens entertained themselves with a movie on Rahila's portable DVD player.

We strolled through the further-updated Barna Velkommen - impressive!  Much of the siding is on; the cupboards (without doors) grace the kitchen walls, and all the windows offer beautiful views of the surrounding countryside.

I had volunteered to serve Friday's supper, so after hugs, unpacking and the tour of the Barn, I rolled out the biscuit dough and scorched their bottoms a little.  We feasted on Chicken Divan and biscuits, gabbed for a couple of hours, and turned in.  Summer has definitely arrived, and we could feel the heat in the upstairs bedrooms, but slept anyway.

Saturday morning brought eggs and sausage, served by Mary, and a "red-hot mama" talk as the aunties shared their accumulated wisdom about the facts of life with the nieces.  The perennial flower beds received attention from most of us, followed by a delicious salad lunch prepared by Judy.

 In the afternoon we napped, had facials and nail paintings,

 scraped the Spyse Hutte, and yakked some more!  After a feast of fried vegetables with couscous and quinoa, and a little more discussion about the upcoming PVF work reunion, the Coats and Crown Farm girls took off for Minnesota, chattering and watching another movie the whole way.

Much as we love our men, we thoroughly relished their absence.  I don't think we need fear becoming an auntie-dominated clan, as the Stadems were when I joined the family 27 years ago, since the entire older generation was female except for Dad Leroy.  The four Stadem men, plus John B, Bernie I, Todd S and several more, ensure that the male perspective is heard and seen.  It was pleasant to just have "girl talk,"

eat only vegetables, and not worry about clothes, hair or makeup.  I hope there will be many more!

More Transitions

We visited Sioux Falls last weekend for three purposes.  Niece Aanna graduated from Dordt College and got engaged, so we wanted to see her; Callie performed her senior harp recital, and we celebrated Mother's Day with Mom Stadem.  We arrived at about 4:30pm on Friday, and departed at 8pm on Saturday, as the Svea Sunday School kids sang in church on Sunday and needed Philip to sing with them and me to direct.

Our schedule boggles the mind:
Friday:
  5:00 - visit with Tom and Judy after bringing Andrew and Philip to their house; take a walk outside in the gorgeous sunshine
  6:30 - take Mom and Dad Stadem to Ruby Tuesday's for delicious dinner, compelling conversation and blissful blessing
  9:30 - meet Tom and Judy at the Shrine for ballroom dancing
 12:00 - back to Mom and Dad's condo to sleep
Saturday:
  8:00 - meet Aanna at HyVee for breakfast and all the details about Nick's proposal and their courtship
  9:30 - Pete finds a coffee shop; Kari drives with Tanya and Aanna to Brookings to drop the latter off so she can get a ride to Pierre for a wedding
 11:00 - Tanya and Kari stop by David and Callie's apartment so Tanya can see it and we can say hi
 11:30 - Pete helps Steve with log-splitting while Kari helps Tanya make lunch; we eat lunch with Steve, Tanya and her parents
  2:00 - Travel to Augustana
  2:30 - Enjoy Callie's fantastic performance on the harp.  All the above-mentioned people attend the recital as well
  3:30 - Help Laurie Berg serve Bundt cake and berries for a little reception after the recital.  Visit with the Browns
  5:30 - Savor Old Chicago pizza with the Bergs and the David's
  7:30 - Pick up Andrew, Philip and Greta at Tom's; bring Greta home; get coffee and tea while Philip jumps on Greta's trampoline with her
  8:30 - Travel home via Sacred Heart to wish Jeannette Agre a happy 60th birthday
  12:30 - Home!

It struck me that yet another transition forces our Sioux Falls visits to look very different.  In the past, our big blob of a family traveled down in the big van to someone's house for a big gathering with the whole family.  Now, the whole family doesn't get together much because half the cousins have separate lives.  The big group did gather on Sunday, but we couldn't be there.  Daniel and Sarah didn't even come with us because they had other things (Sarah homered in her softball game).  The fragmented family fractions require small groups instead of large blobs.  Although it makes for a lot of miles on the car, it's kind of nice to focus on individual conversation.  Every cloud has a silver lining.

Thanksgiving Thanks

Things about the Thanksgiving weekend that I'm thankful for:

1.  About 15 Sunday School kids showed up for the Thanksgiving Eve service.
2.  We had as many choir members as Sunday School kids.
3.  The kids were fairly focused during our rehearsal.
4.  The choir was so patient while singing "All You Works of God" 8 or 10 times so the kids could master their parts.
5.  The church service was well attended with the families of the kids.
6.  The accompaniment CD worked well and the sound balance was good.
7.  The Coats family arrived in time to join in on the singing.
8.  Communion at the service.
9.  Delicious pies afterwards.
10.  The visiting dogs settled down OK.
11.  David and Callie were here for three whole (and parts of two more) days.
12.  We made it through the cold windy part of the Turkey Leg 5K.
13.  We enjoyed the last part and Mary and I had a great conversation.
14.  Pete finally won his age category in a race this year.
15.  We won the Largest Family Group award, with 12 members running or walking, compared to 7 in the next largest group.
16.  The award was gourmet snack boxes.
17.  Mary's sweet potato dish and broccoli slaw.
18.  Jody Brown's pies.
19.  Seeing the Browns and the Coats, especially Cara and Elisabeth home from college.
20.  Traditional Thanksgiving food.
21.  Make-ahead cream cheese mashed potatoes.  Yummmmm!
22.  Cousin love.
23.  Family sharing time in the evening.
24.  Rahila shared about her school fund-raising for Heifer International and collected $63 on the spot.
25.  Browns brought me a poinsettia.
26.  We adults had a really excellent discussion about life, not always agreeing, but agreeing on the main things.
27.  Hugs.
28.  We got a 40" TV with an amazing HD picture and watched "Brave."
29.  Delicious Applebee's food and stimulating conversation with David and Callie.
30.  Even if I didn't have all these other things to be thankful for, I would still be thankful for Jesus Christ and His love for me.  He will never leave me or forsake me, and if everything else passes away, He will remain.

Thanks Lord!  Amen.

You Never Know

Two weeks ago, one of the posts on Faceboook informed me that Lori Wilson had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the worst of all cancers.  I called Shelley, my college roommate and Lori's sister, a couple of days later; Lori was at the U of M getting a second opinion and information about her options.  Now Lori is back home, able to eat, full of faith, but facing an almost certain death in a matter of months, apart from a miracle.  Her daughter and fiance moved their wedding date to December 8 so Lori can attend.  She will never see a grandchild, a fiftieth wedding anniversary, a parent's funeral.  I can't imagine how distraught her parents are.  She's 50.

This weekend we celebrated Dad Stadem's 85th birthday in Sioux Falls with 4 of the 5 children, 14 of the 18 grandchildren, a niece and a great-nephew with their families.  His joy, and all of ours, overflowed as he watched an Augustana football game, received compliments and reminiscences, feasted on several hotdishes and a Norwegian birthday cake, listened to "Happy Birthday!" sung by his congregation, sipped coffee and munched on quick breads during coffee hour, and heard "God Didn't Give Me Much" sung by his family in the second worship service.  (That song isn't what the title implies!)

Why does one see all his children's children, and one see none?  We don't know; it's in God's hands.  But I want to hug those I love, live each day to the fullest, and "grow in faith, love and obedience to the will of God," because you never know how many days are left.