Ever wonder what it's like living at our house? Here's a little peak into our lives this last weekend.
It all began on Friday evening...
Ten rehearsals or concerts (plus other stuff!) that various people in our family either went to, listened to, or performed in. It makes me tired just to think about it!
Our little daily calendar boxes get pretty crammed from all the scheduling on those types of days.
Friday evening:
1. 5:00-7:00 pm Silas had NIJO (Northern Iowa Junior Orchestra) practice, in which he is first cellist, and brought treats this time - our signature yummy homemade chocolate chip cookies!
2. 7:00-9:30 pm Luke had symphony rehearsal with the Wartburg Symphony Orchestra.
Saturday:
3. 10:30-12 am Karen had a rehearsal with the Metropolitan Choral. She played in the orchestra that accompanied the choir. (I enjoyed going along with her to hear them practice - such a big, room-filling sound!) The Met Choral is an 80 voice choir whose director has conducted at the White House, the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., and Carnegie Hall.
4. 9:00 am Luke had Easter choir practice at our church for our Palm Sunday celebration.
5. 1:00 pm Luke had Wartburg Symphony rehearsal
6. 7:30 pm Karen and our mom went to hear a famous violinist, Bella Hristova, at the Des Moines Symphony, getting home after midnight, driving through a rain and lighting storm.
7. 7:30 pm Meanwhile, the rest of us went to hear Luke perform with the Wartburg Symphony and a famous pianist! On the way to the concert, we were trying to dodge a large hail storm in our new Sprinter, Van Gogh. Large dents would not improve its appearance!
Some of the hail was pretty frightful!
We had second row seats in the concert hall and could turn around and see all the way back to the doors where sheets of hail were coming down like crazy.
The thunder accented different parts of the concert, especially in the soft sections of the music.
With the pianist, Gabrielius Alekna, after the concert...
8. 9:00 am Even though all of us got to bed after midnight, we had to be up again, ready for the day, breakfast eaten, and at our church by 9:00 am for the Palm Sunday celebration. In the picture above, you can see Luke singing in the choir during the service.
9. 3:00 pm After eating brunch at church and helping with the cleanup, we did some practicing at home separately, and then Karen was off to her Metropolitan Choral concert.
10. 3:00 pm Abigail, Silas, our mom, and I went to the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center to hear the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalist, Vadym Kholodenko. His playing was nothing short of spectacular!
11. 3:30 pm Luke, Seth, and Daddy left home with our instruments and sound equipment to go set up at Whitten for the Whitten Gospel Sing. Those of us at the Van Cliburn concert arrived home and raced around to get ready for the concert with Karen arriving home shortly after we did. (Just so you know, all of this running around in the afternoon and evening is being done in the rain.) Piling into one vehicle, we drove to Whitton, helped the guys set up and test levels, ate supper with everyone at the gospel sing, and then gave our evening concert. By the time we finished playing, talking, and then doing a bit of jamming, it was definitely getting late. We drove home, unpacked, and then fell into bed. Morning comes early.
Oh, and by the way, we were up again at 2:30-3:30 am to see the Blood Moon on Monday night/Tuesday morning.
Sometime soon we are going to catch up on sleep. Maybe.
Have a wonderful Easter celebrating the death and then rising again of our amazing Lord and Savior!
I am so thankful for all He has done for us. Without Him, there would be no reason to live.
