A Hoppin' Day at Svea

Svea was rockin' out yesterday!  Little Feather, a mime clown, graced our Family Sunday School hour with her version of making cupcakes.  The elementary age boys got quite a kick out of her silent misreading of the directions - "put in 6 eggs" meant shells on, of course, and "put in paper cups and bake in oven" resulted in the muffin cups thrown into the batter and the whole bowl in the imaginary oven.  When she pulled out a pan of cupcakes, one boy said, "You ARE magic!"

Callie played a fifteen-minute harp prelude, which enabled everyone to enter a worshipful attitude (except me   - I had to keep preparing for the various events).  Pete led worship because Pastor Mary's grandpa died.  He had the kids do a skit for the sermon - he was the governor hiring a chief of staff to represent him; David, Callie, Daniel, Andrew & Philip all arrogantly informed him of their superior qualifictions; Hannah, played by Sarah, humbly suggested that she would do her best because she believed in his cause - and was hired.  They improvised and provoked lots of laughter.  Then Pete wrapped it up by encouraging us all to trust God when we are brought low.  Good stories.  Jake gave a Temple Talk to tell us that we're in great financial condition.

Zach Sowers, on his 18th birthday, sang "Who Am I?"  which  fit in perfectly - he volunteered to sing it a couple of weeks ago, knowing nothing of the theme.  Thanks Lord!  After worship, we held a mini-recital.  Nina Thompson, granddaughter of Jan & Ed, played two pieces on the piano; Jordan sang "Danza, Danza" in Italian; Zach sang a piece and accompanied himself on electric guitar; Callie played a very fun and jazzy song called "Great Day" on the harp.

When all this was over, the Luther League families enjoyed a potluck and set some dates for future events.  We arrived home, Pete took a nap and packed up bikes, and Philip, Pete and I met the Sowers, Chambers and Johnsons at the high school for a bike ride to Spicer.  I had good visits with Patti, Dianne, Darla and Dean.  Ethan Johnson sped the entire distance on roller blades!

We parted from the Svea folk, watched the Vikings lose and had pizza at my folks', and Skyped with Michelle and Saul from 8:30-10.  What a day!  Praise the Lord!

Bustin' Our Buttons

David presented his senior voice recital on Saturday at Augustana College in Sioux Falls. Including our immediate family, sixteen relatives came to applaud and enjoy his performance. He sang in six languages - English, German, Norwegian, Italian, French and Spanish - with flawless pronunciation. His range, tone, pitch, diction and expression impressed the crowd - even Weston Noble, the 93-year-old interim director of the Augie Choir who has seen students come and go for over 60 years, most of them at Luther College in Iowa. When Liz Stadem asked him, "Wasn't my grandson good?" he replied, "He wasn't good. He was fabulous!" I agree - we're all pretty proud of what he has accomplished with hard work (and superior instruction by his voice teacher, Cheryl Koch) over the last three years.

We also got to see Callie in the musical, "Zombie Prom," and her junior voice and harp recital. Wow! Her acting and vocal skills shone as Miss Delilah Strict, the strait-laced principal of Enrico Fermi High. She had so much fun with the part, it was a joy to watch. The skill displayed in playing the harp astounded those of us who haven't had much experience with it. There are so many strings! She tossed off her first song with incredible ease, and made the modern English pieces enjoyable (not an easy task).

Basically, we're bustin' our buttons with pride - what a musical duo!

David's Voice Recital Weekend

What a fun time in Sioux Falls this weekend! Our schedule:

Friday - depart at 3:45pm (Pete, Kari, Sarah, Andrew & Philip), hoping to avoid the slippery, snow-packed, low visibility roads that Pete had been driving in (moving turkeys) all morning. We sure did - it was sunny and the roads were perfectly clear all the way down.

Mom & Dad Stadem fed us delicious lasagna, the Tom's came over and the kids played computer and cards, the adults played a card game called 3-13 that we'd learned from Bev Young in Hawaii.

Saturday - We met the Tom's at HyVee, where Dad bought us all breakfast - very good. We visited until almost noon, then the kids went with the Tom's and the parents went to a funeral. We went to Augustana and met Michelle & David. We had lunch with them in the cafeteria and talked about the future - primarily Michelle's - until 4, strolled down to the Huddle and discussed it all until 6, then over to the HyVee Deli and ate Chinese and chicken until 8! We didn't really get anything resolved, but agreed to pray for unity in Christ regarding the decisions Michelle has to make. David has applied to Riverside Bible Camp, Campus Crusade's Summer Project, and summer research at Augustana. He'll wait to hear back from all 3 before making a decision.

When we had had enough, Pete & Kari picked up Philip & Beka at Tom's and brought them to Steve's, who had just arrived home from Lanesboro. The 3 youngest cousins had a sleepover there, and we went back to the parents'.

Sunday - At Gloria Dei Lutheran Church we were blessed by the praise team (Steve played guitar), the sermon and a middle school liturgical dance group. Kari cries during songs whenever she doesn't lead worship. What's up with that? Pastor Tim Selbow's main point: the devil may win certain battles but he's already lost the war. Pete & Tim have a friend in common - Jim Luebe, our colleague from Tentmakers, played baseball with Tim at Luther College.

Dad S treated us and the Steve's to pancakes and eggs at the VFW. Full of good food, we meandered over to Kresge Hall at Augustana for David's sophomore recital. He, Callie Berg and Ali Hoffman sang art music in English, Italian, German and French beautifully. We especially enjoyed an English song about "all the girls I swore to love forever" that really showed off David's range, tone, breath, and control.

Steve & Tanya hosted us all - Browns, Steve's, Tom's, the parents, and our family - for HyVee chicken, potato salad, lefse, chips and salad. It felt like we ate the whole weekend long! After visiting for a couple of hours, we had an uneventful drive home and prepared to re-enter the daily routine after losing an hour to Daylight Savings Time.

Thanks, Lord, for a wonderful family, great weather and beautiful music!