REWIND: South Asia Wedding #2

  During our trip back to our language city, 

we had the privilege of watching two of our dear friends be joined in marriage.

Tina was one of my language teachers, and Arun was one of  Craig's.

Both are so precious and genuinely love the Lord... and we pretty much think they are awesome!

In South Asia, the wedding ceremonies actually begin a couple days prior to the actual wedding day.

Here are some of the festivities we got to join in:

PART 1 Festivities: Bride's 'Haldi' Party

Any guesses on what they are doing?

  Well... Haldii = Tumeric powder

So they mix it with water then her friends and family all take turns coming up and smearing it on her... And they made sure she was covered!

Traditions are fun... and also make me giggle :)

I honestly felt bad for her b/c if you notice how everyone else was dressed it was FREEZING, and there she was getting "yellow paint" (essentially) smeared all over her.

This is her/ her family's home, where the celebration took place.

It was beautifully decorated with lights and a tent up top.

Some of her nephews, who Levi loved running around with :)

Can't beat guy time and warm chai on a chilly evening:

The bride's mother and father

(Who I think may be the SWEETEST South Asian couple I have ever met... Both always smiling and full of JOY)

 

The bride's father drives an auto, so you can guess where the little boys decided to play all night:

The Bride and I (and Levi):

(and yes that would be haldii on my face~ her little neighbor lady didn't want me to feel left out as they playfully smeared it on each other as well!)

PART 2:Festivities: Groom's 'Haldi' Party 

Well the groom actually skipped out on the 'haldi' part :) Due to some "running behind"... in typical South Asian style... LOVED IT!
Instead there was a small ceremony and challenge from the pastor to the Groom
(the same event took place at the bride's party prior to the 'haldi')

The Groom:

Craig & our Language teacher:

(This picture cracks me up!!!)

The challenge took place inside the Groom's home with friends and family:

Then we bundled up and headed back outside:

Where lots of yummy food was being prepared for us to eat.

Here they are cooking "poori"- which is deep fried roti (the common flat bread eaten here):

Our crew, the Groom, and our language teacher:

(Note: Notice the tent behind us- pink is totally cool in South Asia- no matter the gender~ haha)

We LOVED having this time to celebrate with our friends, and had a GREAT family time too!

PART 3 Festivities: The Ceremony

And this was how things went down in our row:

Gettin' Papa

"Mama, you leave us be" ;)

Playing with cars on the seat

Lounging under the seats eating crackers

(Hey... we do what we gotta do- don't judge LOL)

We thought he looked so sharp with his new haircut & she was stunning!

 PART 4 Festivities: The Reception

We were blown away by how beautifully decorated this tent was for the reception!
Lights, flowers, colorful linens strung up everywhere, a stage for the Bride & Groom, a DJ & dance floor, and a separate area for food... Quite fancy :)

A special treat~

my dear friend, Meena, whose wedding we attended just one week ago came back for the wedding.

She was even more gorgeous as a new wife & it was SO good to get to chat with her!

 

 Our other friends who were in language school with us also made the trek back for the wedding,

and Levi was pumped to have some Uncle Tyler time!

 

And I was thrilled to get to have some quality time with my friend, Erin (Tyler's wife).

What made it even better was we found out, then, that they were ALSO expecting a little one on the way~ We have always talked about what wonderful parents they would make... 

and now (come July 4th) one lucky little baby boy will meet his AWESOME parents!

SO excited for you guys :)

As per South Asian tradition, the Bride changes in between the wedding ceremony & the reception.

My friend showed up in this beautiful red saree looking so beautiful:

Our favorite part was (contrary to the normal South Asian weddings)- our friends were clearly having a BLAST... laughing, smiling, dancing 

Have I mentioned yet that we think they are awesome? 

Yeah- they definitely are :)

So grateful for this couple and the JOY they exhibit.

Excited for what lies ahead of them, trusting HE will use them in such a mighty way!!!

More RECENT: Our Card Castle

 One day our mailman brought us a HUGE bubble mailer stuffed full of fun Christmas cards- 

some from close friends, family, and our amazing home fellowship in WV!!!!

They had precious notes from the tiniest of hands to encouraging updates from families & friends.

So we decided to say THANK YOU in our own way...

By building a Card Castle

And their gift kept on giving... Levi examined it carefully from all angles:

 And then we had a countdown...

5 - 4- 3 - 2 -1

GO GET IT !!!!

Thanks Cross Lanes family and friends for loving on us so well :)

REWIND: New Buddies & Old Pals

 Like I said, while we were back in our language city visiting in December, our friends from our NC fellowship were ever so GRACIOUS to let us crash at their place for our 10 day stay :)

Yeah- they pretty much ROCK!

Levi & their little girl were quick buds right off the back- 

playing with toys, giggling together, mocking each other, hiding in the closet & busting out laughing...

Levi would wake up and immediately start calling for "Baby Clara"... Pretty PRECIOUS!

One other HUGE perk of getting to stay with them, in our old apartment, was that I got to see our old house helper EVERY DAY we were there.

We had a ball chatting, laughing, and cooking together- Just like ol' times!

AND Levi was not quick to forget his normal routine of going for a "walk" down the stairs with her when she left each day... I think she MAY have just LOVED that part as well :)

The kiddo train with a Papa caboose:

And moments like these always melt. my. heart:

Love these two, so grateful for the family who let us crash their place right before Christmas, and LOVED the good times we got to all share together while we were there.

More RECENT: JAX :)

 One other family from our city has two precious little boys:

Jack (9) and Max (5)... AKA- "JAX" by Levi 

Well before we left town, we got to have them over to hang out with them for the day & I think we all had a blast!

They had fun playing cars, Mr. Potato Head, building caves, working "together" on listening & giving direction skills... hehe.

Levi even checked in on Papa while he was working at his desk:

Apparently it didn't look to interesting :)

They played games and worked on learning new things like counting, reading, letters, etc...:

Levi was definitely mesmerized:

These little faces just make me happy!!!

We had a ball eating apples, grilled cheese, drinking hot chocolate with MARSHMALLOWS, and making some yummy brownies for their special Mama...

Thanks for spending the day with us boys- hope you come back SOON!!!

... L.O.V.E. ...

 This technically would fall under the "REWIND" category... but fits so perfectly for today:

** Valentine's Day ** 

A day when I can stop & just ADORE the two guys the Lord has BLESSED my life with SO MUCH!

 

A simple day in our old city, brings back sweet memories of precious time I got to spend with them BOTH!!!

Craig suggested we have a "coffee date" during Levi's "nap time".

So off we went to the Cafe Coffee Day where we ordered some yummy cappuccinos:

(I really do LOVE this man with ALL my heart!  

I couldn't ask for a better leader for our family or best friend.

He adores our little boy and is an incredible Papa, he can make me laugh harder than anyone I know, he knows how to work hard but also how to take a break and HAVE FUN, he is a gifted teacher and invests deeply in the guys he is around here.

I don't tell him this enough, but it's ALL true- 

You are a GIFT to my life, Craig, and I know you are to MANY others as well.  

Thanks for asking me to be your wife~ Happy Valentine's Day, Love

Back to our Coffee Date....

While we sipped on our yummy drinks, Levi sipped on his juice so he didn't feel left out:

 AAAAANNNDDD...

It turned out that "nap time' translated better to "play with cars/ watch a movie on the ipad " time instead :)

eh- sometimes you gotta have those kind of days too!

What a LOVELY time we all had:

chatting together, sipping on our drinks, playing/watching movies, crocheting, reading a book

It was a WONDERFUL date in my eyes.

And to my other Love... Levi Elliot,

you have brought nothing but JOY to this heart of mine since you were born.

I have LOVED deeper than I ever thought I could since you came around.

You teach me so many things with each day~ I know one of my jobs is to disciple you... 

but buddy, we are BOTH learning SO much along the way.

What a gift you are, my precious boy.

Thank you for the privilege of being your Mama.

I pray you know just how GREATLY you are LOVED today!

By me, your Papa, our God, and SOOO many others.

And our beautiful baby girl,

We can't wait to start this journey with you in just a few short weeks.

We love you already, but we KNOW that our love will only intensify the moment we lay eyes on you.

What incredible LOVE we will bring to our family.

See you soon!

 

Happy Valentine's Day Y'all!

May you know the GREATEST Love of all... the Love of the one who created both you and I.

This truly is the greatest gift I have ever received!