Olivia's first serenade

Our kids do their homeschool work on the second floor of one of the buildings on the seminary property where we are living. Today, we listened as a group of students (all guys) began to sing down below us. I guess they had a free hour or were skipping class or something, but they sounded so nice and had themselves a little sing-a-long for a while - guitar, harmony, the works.

Suddenly the idea came to me to ask these guys to sing "happy birthday" to Olivia. (She turns 11 today) So I ran down the stairs and told them she was upstairs and asked if they would sing for/to her. They were more than happy to, so I ran back up and told Olivia to look down below for a second. She leaned over the balcony and quickly stepped back! By now, there were about 12 guys, and they began singing to her, much louder than they had been, now drawing the attention of the students and professors in class. They had even formed into a tight group and were looking up, a regular serenade! It was so cute!

Of course, Olivia was mortified, but I saw a smile on her face, too. She peeked back over the balcony a couple more times before they were through.

Here in Peru, there are endless versions of "happy birthday" (at least it seems like it). They sang four different versions - "happy birthday" in English, with a strong Spanish accent, two of the most common Spanish birthday songs, and one of the several Christian versions. I wasn't sure when they were going to stop! They sounded beautiful and I don't think Olivia will soon forget her first serenade by a group of handsome young men!

Where's the video camera when I need it??!

Miriam