Maryland Adventure Part 2: Wedding At The Beach

             As I mentioned in my previous post James, Joseph’s younger brother and Cathi invited us to attend their wedding on the first week of August.  It was agreed that Joseph would be their best man and Isabella their flower girl.   Isabella had never been a flower girl, and being  just two years old, we didn’t know how she would do.  She’s very shy around people and we worried that she might not want to walk down the isle and throw the flowers.  Our intention was to let her practice at home with a basketful of petals days before the wedding but somehow it never happened.  So we just hoped and pray that she’d be a brave girl or else I would have to walk with her as a back-up plan. 

             In preparation I looked online for flower girl dresses that would match their black and white wedding motif.  After browsing a couple of websites, I managed to find one in Overstock that I think would do.  I thought the dress (pictured below) was really cute and fit her nicely, but after remembering that they’re also going for a beach theme, I thought that it might look too dressy.

Dress option #1

             I’m glad my husband is smart.  He reminded me that Isabella had an unworn white dress in her closet which we bought in the store couple months ago.

Dress #2

             I took pictures of her wearing both dresses and sent them to Cathi, and we both agreed that the second dress would match their theme better. 

Isabella in her dress

The bestman

Me and Joseph

Our family before leaving for the wedding

Happy to be walking barefoot

             Isabella fell asleep in the car on the way to the wedding.   She’d been up since 6AM and it was already 6:30 in the evening when we arrived in the venue.  You can see she was very sleepy and stayed in Lola Alice’s arm the whole time before the wedding started.

             It had been a year since David saw his Lola Lansing so he took her company the whole evening to do some catching up.

The red velvet wedding cake- very yummy!

The wedding entourage

Cathi and James

The groom, bestman, and groomsmen

The brothers

Cathi with her bridesmaids and flower girl

             All our worries disappeared as soon as Isabella started walking down the isle.   It was cute watching her place one petal at a time on the ground.  Her Lola Alice escorted her, not because she was shy, but to assist her in walking down the flight of 10 stairs, since I was busy taking videos for the wedding. 

"Nack (Snack) Attack"- David enjoying his "shicken" (chicken) which was given by his Lola Lansing

Being near the beach made him very happy

             Isabella wore an improvised shawl made of table napkins created by her Daddy because of the chill of the evening ocean breeze (I forgot to pack any sweaters).

 

 

Final shots before we left the wedding…. at 10:45 in the evening. 

With Lola Alice

With the newly wed

             The kids had already been up for 17 hours but we never heard a single fuss from them.   We’re so blessed to have those kids!

             Congrats James and Cathi!

 

Coming up…. Maryland Adventure Part 3: Day Around Downtown Berlin, MD

Maryland Adventure Part I: Hotel

Maryland has always had a special place in my heart.  It’s where my husband was born and spent over half of his life, and where most of his family still reside.  Five years ago, and just newly married, it was the very first place that my husband took me to visit so I could meet my inlaws and enjoy the beauty of the ocean side.  Since then it has long been my desire to go back and see the place again with my family.   So when my brother-in-law and his fiancee announced to us a couple months ago that they’re gonna get married in the first week of August and that they wanted Isabella to be their flower girl and Joseph their bestman, I was happy because I knew that finally we’d be able to travel to MD again. 

Glazed Grilled Salmon Fillet with Orange-Parsley Corn

I love fish.  If I have a choice between fish (cooked not raw) and meat, I’ll take the former anytime.  Unfortunately since seafood is a bit pricey, I don’t serve it often.   When I do buy fish from the store (usually salmon, ) this is my favorite way of preparing it.

I first saw this recipe from an old Taste of Home Magazine I got from Ebay.  Though I’d never grilled anything before, the procedure didn’t seem difficult so I gave it a try.  I’m glad I did, because my husband really loved this dish and has requested it in many occasions.

Where Did My Last Bite of Rice Krispies Go?

This was what my son David looked like after he gobbled a whole pack of Kellog’s Rice Krispies after lunch today.

K’s Rice Krispies treat reminds me of  ampao, a very similar rice treat I used to enjoy when I was young.  The difference that I can think of is that the former is sweeter whereas the latter has only a slightly sweet caramel flavor.  It is also a lot stickier  which explains why a piece of it ended up on my son’s head. 

Hubby’s Thoughtfulness

My hubby has told me many times that he’d give me everything I want/need if we were only rich. But since we’re not and probably will never be, he makes sure to at least give me what he thinks I need the most as a wife and mother.   That’s how I prefer it anyway honestly.  I favor gifts that are practical  and helpful in making my chores easier at home.

Imagine my delight when my hubby told me he’d buy me a Bosch Universal Mixer for Mother’s Day.    I have the item on my wish list for a couple of months now, but I’d wanted one ever since I saw a church mate of ours use it to make loaves and loaves of bread with less hassle.  The only thing that held me back from purchasing it was the price.  It is more expensive that Kitchenaid because of  it’s more powerful motor (800 vs. 575).   It is able to to process 6 2lb loaves of whole wheat bread whereas Kitchenaid can only do 8 small loaves of white bread.  And for me that’s the selling point since my family can go through a loaf of bread (sells for $4/loaf)  in one day.  Baking our own bread will definitely save us money in the long run. 

Promise Fulfilled

Warmer weather means less cabin fever for the kids and more options for outdoor activities.  Though busy and tiring, outdoor activities allow our family to bond and give more entertainment for the kids.  This is good since they’d been sick for four weeks straight with only a week respite between it.  We promised the kids last winter that we’d take them to the zoo when spring comes, and they never forgot it.

Joseph and I decided it would be good to plan a day out during the Memorial Day Holiday, but dreading the crowd, we opted for a smaller zoo close by instead of the bigger Philadelphia Zoo which is more than twice the distance and probably more crowded.  The kids had a lot of fun seeing the different animals and feeding them with a bag of treats (peanuts, popcorns, fruit loops) we bought at the zoo entrance for $3.50.  There were no fussing and tantrums among the kids even though it was close to lunch time and our youngest missed his morning nap.  Below are some of the pictures we took that day.

One More Blessing!

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127:3,4,5

I came from a family of six, which by today’s standard is considered big.  If you ask my mother why it ended that way, she will most likely tell you that it was because she and my father desired a boy.  Providentially, God gave them what they wanted on the sixth try.  If I didn’t believe in the sovereignty of God, I would have wondered  if  I would have been born at all had they got a son in their 2nd or 3rd pregnancy.  Honestly,  I love big families, not only because God used my parents’ desire for a boy and their openness to having a big family to bring me into this world, but also because I see God’s work of providence “big time” in big families.   Yes there are lots of hardship and sacrifice, but you see those even in small families. One thing I see differently is that parents with more children will have more help and care once their children are older and in a position to help, whereas parents who choose to only have one child will put a big burden on their child’s shoulder once they are in their old age and unable to support themselves.

Fun Things for The Kids

This is actually just a continuation of my previous post.  I have other pictures from Josiah’s birthday and my nieces’ visit that I’d meant to post but just now got the chance to do so.  My kids are always happy whenever their cousins are here for a couple of days.   I guess they like being played with and loved on by their Ates especially when Mommy is busy doing other things in the house.   Two days after Josiah’s birthday, the weather was gorgeous, and so I took all five kids in the car and drove them to a nearby playground.    How wonderful it was that we were the only one there.  Josiah was able to ride his bike without me worrying too much of cars driving around the parking lot.  Isabella and David were also quite content just walking and running around the ground without the danger of being knocked down by other careless kids.

Our Eldest is Four!

I kept wondering when I’d finally be able to blog again. I’ve been either busy or lethargic these past weeks, that checking my emails was the only thing I have the time and motivation to do online.

To the four people who faithfully visit my site everyday, you know who you are, thank you very much for your support (*hugs*). It makes me happy to know that there are people who care about what’s been going on with our family and interested enough to read my other random posts. 

Convertible Car seat: A review

We recently purchased a new forward facing car seat for our 14 months old son through Amazon 2 weeks ago.  My husband and I had debated whether we should get the same car seat that our 2 older children have from Eddie Bauer.  Style wise, the EB 3-in-1 convertible car seat looks very good.  I like that most of their designs are very neutral, eliminating the need to buy a new one to suit your toddler’s gender.

Our deciding factor though was what rated best according to user reviews online without breaking the buck.   Evenflow Triumph 5, I would have to say fell in that category.  It’s earned good reviews and is probably one of the cheapest brands on the market. I actually have seen this brand before in the store and didn’t like how bulky and wide it looks.  With our minivan already cramped with 3 car seats,  I’d like to save space wherever I can.

The car seat pictured above, which is the Britax Roundabout has received a five star user rating by users in Amazon.   I’ve searched online for other customer reviews and found only positive comments and praises for it.  It doesn’t have some of the accessories that the EB car seat has like the cup holder, headrest, pillow and arm rest which really doesn’t matter since I noticed my kids never really used them anyway.