Stretching the legs of four under-ten wedding guests was absolutely mandatory (at least for the two youngest). Finally, a slideshow of the weekend can be found here.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
A stroll through Colonial Williamsburg
Last weekend in Williamburg, our only down time consisted of a super quick lunch before the Saturday afternoon wedding. In total, we had four antsy travelers on our hands, and therefore, we decided to head to Williamsburg for a quick stroll and lunch.
Stretching the legs of four under-ten wedding guests was absolutely mandatory (at least for the two youngest). Finally, a slideshow of the weekend can be found here.
Stretching the legs of four under-ten wedding guests was absolutely mandatory (at least for the two youngest). Finally, a slideshow of the weekend can be found here.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Pray for miracles
We have mentioned a few times here that Skip's cousin, Sarah, has been fighting adrenal cancer, which has been categorized as stage four. The emotions she and her family have experienced over the past 10 months are unimaginable. Following her marriage to Sumit last week, Sarah was hospitalized and underwent a procedure to relieve arterial pressure (both the hospitalization subsequent procedure were unplanned).
Hope remains. We are asking, if you are inclined, to pray for miracles in Sarah's recovery. We believe God is with Sarah, and we believe miracles happen every hour of every day. Therefore, we continue to appeal to God for divine intervention and a true miracle with her recovery. Please join us.
Hope remains. We are asking, if you are inclined, to pray for miracles in Sarah's recovery. We believe God is with Sarah, and we believe miracles happen every hour of every day. Therefore, we continue to appeal to God for divine intervention and a true miracle with her recovery. Please join us.
BIG
So the big news is that Gracie and Lauren are going to be BIG SISTERS! They are so excited, having waited almost 4 1/2 years for the opportunity to delegate, assign blame (more effectively) and to have a shot at bossing someone around. (They try all of that now with each other, of course, but they feel like there will be greater ease with a newcomer, who is scheduled to arrive in July.)
The most commonly asked question we receive is if we are expecting one baby or two. That's a fair question. For those who do not already know, any guesses? If you guessed a second set of twins, are you trying to age us even more? This time there is a single, lone baby, and it has been wonderful, with only minor fatigue, nausea, etc. What a difference a singleton pregnancy is! Or, as Gracie has said, "There's just ONE baby, and (looking around intently at all of us) we all have to SHARE!"
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Friday's quote
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
-Mahatma Gandhi
-Mahatma Gandhi
More from the wedding
So how did our monkeys do during all of the celebrating? That is a great question. We had one ejection during the Christian ceremony (prior to the serious business of vows), and they were able to expend some energy during cocktails and the reception. They also did really well during the Barat and Hindu ceremony.
One minor hurdle involved the below swing. Other than wanting to "go higher!!!" there were no real issues.
Skip and Gracie on the balcony:
Running off some pent up energy:
Lauren garners a lot of attention as our "girly girl," but Gracie really is quite girlish, too (even more so at times). I had initially planned for her to wear the below dress on Sunday, but then one of Sumit's relatives graciously loaned the girls some adorable Indian clothing to wear. When we were getting dressed Saturday, Gracie insisted on wearing her new blue dress because she liked how it shined.
Parenthetically, Lauren introduced a snarly-smile last December (she flashed it in the Santa photos), and it became an ongoing trend. She is perfectly happy in all of these photos. If she is asked to smile, however, she will flash a snarl at least half of the time.
Finally, they were so excited to get dressed in special clothing for the Hindu ceremony. They were fascinated by Sumit riding a horse, and they were in awe of Sarah and her beautiful dress. They thought they were in a Disney fairy tale for sure.
One minor hurdle involved the below swing. Other than wanting to "go higher!!!" there were no real issues.
Skip and Gracie on the balcony:
Running off some pent up energy:
Lauren garners a lot of attention as our "girly girl," but Gracie really is quite girlish, too (even more so at times). I had initially planned for her to wear the below dress on Sunday, but then one of Sumit's relatives graciously loaned the girls some adorable Indian clothing to wear. When we were getting dressed Saturday, Gracie insisted on wearing her new blue dress because she liked how it shined.
Parenthetically, Lauren introduced a snarly-smile last December (she flashed it in the Santa photos), and it became an ongoing trend. She is perfectly happy in all of these photos. If she is asked to smile, however, she will flash a snarl at least half of the time.
Finally, they were so excited to get dressed in special clothing for the Hindu ceremony. They were fascinated by Sumit riding a horse, and they were in awe of Sarah and her beautiful dress. They thought they were in a Disney fairy tale for sure.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Sarah & Sumit's Wedding Weekend
The wedding last weekend consisted of two ceremonies and a reception. The Christian ceremony was held Saturday afternoon, with cocktails and a reception afterward, and the Barat took place Sunday morning, with the Hindu ceremony occurring immediately afterward. Lunch was then served. Needless to say, we were blown away by each event.
I did not take any pictures at either ceremony (all of my energy was focused on keeping two four-year-olds quiet), but could not resist a picture or two at the more informal events. (The professional photos are on AISM Photography's Facebook page.)
Gracie approaching Sumit:
The stage at the reception, with seating for the bride and groom:
Funny faces:
Skip with the lovely Lori:
Gracie taking a dance lesson with John:
Enthusiastic dance moves from the groom and father of the bride:
Lauren with David:
The Barat:
I did not take any pictures at either ceremony (all of my energy was focused on keeping two four-year-olds quiet), but could not resist a picture or two at the more informal events. (The professional photos are on AISM Photography's Facebook page.)
Gracie approaching Sumit:
The stage at the reception, with seating for the bride and groom:
Funny faces:
Skip with the lovely Lori:
Gracie taking a dance lesson with John:
Enthusiastic dance moves from the groom and father of the bride:
Lauren with David:
The Barat:
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Lindsey-Gupta nuptials
This past weekend we took a whirlwind trip to attend the wedding of Sarah and Sumit! We were so thrilled to be able to share their wonderful day, and the entire experience was so beautiful. Live the moment, right, Sarah and Sumit?
Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Gupta:
Lori and David:
Amit and Shweta:
The groom's parents:
The bride's parents:
The beautiful bride dances with her father:
The bride's grandparents dancing to "Play That Funky Music".
We are still sorting through pics... more to come...
Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Gupta:
Lori and David:
Amit and Shweta:
The groom's parents:
The bride's parents:
The beautiful bride dances with her father:
The bride's grandparents dancing to "Play That Funky Music".
We are still sorting through pics... more to come...
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Lauren, the enforcer
So yesterday we had lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Afterward, we hit the indoor playground because, really, the indoor playground was the impetus for our CFA visit.
The initial crowd of children cleared out, and two younger children remained -- a boy and a girl, approximately 3 years and 18 months, respectively. At one point, the boy went back to his table, leaving his sister behind. Lauren and Gracie were playing with her, somewhat protectively. Finally, the boy returned, and was trying to coax his sister out of the play park. Apparently he resorted to pulling her by the shirt, and Lauren could tolerate the injustice no longer.
Lauren: "HEY! Stop that!"
(Skirmish continues.)
Lauren: "Leave her alone!"
(Continues.)
Lauren: "Stop pulling her shirt!"
(Girl extracts herself and leaves, returning to the table.)
Lauren: "Don't you do that anymore."
Boy: "..."
Lauren: (Through gritted teeth): "Don't let me see you do it again."
Boy: "..."
Lauren: (Placing her finger on his chest): "You're not very nice."
Naturally, we explained that the boy/girl duo were brother and sister, and that it appeared that the brother was merely following a directive from their mom. But, we praised Lauren for her instinct to help (although we coached her that "you're not very nice" is probably too strong and that "pulling her shirt is not very nice" might be better) and that assisting someone younger is very admirable, indeed.
(We are still recovering from the weekend; updates to come soon.)
The initial crowd of children cleared out, and two younger children remained -- a boy and a girl, approximately 3 years and 18 months, respectively. At one point, the boy went back to his table, leaving his sister behind. Lauren and Gracie were playing with her, somewhat protectively. Finally, the boy returned, and was trying to coax his sister out of the play park. Apparently he resorted to pulling her by the shirt, and Lauren could tolerate the injustice no longer.
Lauren: "HEY! Stop that!"
(Skirmish continues.)
Lauren: "Leave her alone!"
(Continues.)
Lauren: "Stop pulling her shirt!"
(Girl extracts herself and leaves, returning to the table.)
Lauren: "Don't you do that anymore."
Boy: "..."
Lauren: (Through gritted teeth): "Don't let me see you do it again."
Boy: "..."
Lauren: (Placing her finger on his chest): "You're not very nice."
Naturally, we explained that the boy/girl duo were brother and sister, and that it appeared that the brother was merely following a directive from their mom. But, we praised Lauren for her instinct to help (although we coached her that "you're not very nice" is probably too strong and that "pulling her shirt is not very nice" might be better) and that assisting someone younger is very admirable, indeed.
(We are still recovering from the weekend; updates to come soon.)
Monday, March 7, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Friday's quote
The more we live by our intellect, the less we understand the meaning of life.
-Leo Tolstoy
-Leo Tolstoy
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Zoning out
We are not a family of television viewers. In fact, the only time our television has been on in the last several weeks was for the Academy Awards.
To clarify, I am not a smug non-TV watcher. I do watch movies (preferably in theatres); I read; I spend far too much time in the Internet abyss. I am hardly in a position to judge. Since our television is rarely on, our children are not exposed to the joys of most shows and are almost incapable of sitting through a program. Most days, that suits me fine. On others? Like today, for example? It would be really nice if they could zone out on a Disney movie or two.
To clarify, I am not a smug non-TV watcher. I do watch movies (preferably in theatres); I read; I spend far too much time in the Internet abyss. I am hardly in a position to judge. Since our television is rarely on, our children are not exposed to the joys of most shows and are almost incapable of sitting through a program. Most days, that suits me fine. On others? Like today, for example? It would be really nice if they could zone out on a Disney movie or two.
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