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Well, I'm back from the wedding in the Dominican Republic and I made it alive. It was great time with people I love. Because it was a destination wedding, it was an intimate event with less than 50 people. All of the bridesmaids represented the different stages of Stephanie's life (Melinda her sister from the beginning, Tiffany from elementary school, Jenny and Jenny from middle and high school, Diana and I from college). I loved the way we all got along as if we had known each other forever. It was such a testament to how wonderful of a person Stephanie is (and how well she picks friends, he he).

I felt really blessed to be a part of everything. Ben was unable to attend due to school and cost, so I stayed with my old roomate Diana Lee, another bridesmaid. It was great to catch up with her- I haven't seen her since two years ago at my wedding because she headed out to California for seminary soon after.

It felt like old times in Athens:

Oh, and because Stephanie and David are so fun-loving, the bridal party certainly did learn the Hoe Down Throw Down, and better believe we did it at the reception (after we did a soul train line to Austin Powers for our introduction). I can't say we were all that synchronized, but I had "put your hawk in the sky, move side to side" in my head for about three days. Here it is for your viewing pleasure. They do the actual dance at 3:54.

And here's a picture of the lovely bride and groom.

I was surprised at how difficult it was to travel and be in a destination wedding while pregnant. I found myself quite run down by the end of the trip between all of the flights, wedding events, standing for long periods of time, late nights and little down time, and inability to access a bathroom every hour :) I underestimated the strain and limits that pregnancy puts on your body... and without Ben there to help with the travelling, it was a struggle to make connecting flights, wait in lines, and juggle my bags across the different airports. I was especially frustrated trying to get home, because my flight in the DR was delayed and I wasn't sure if I would make my connecting flight in Philadelphia. I called Ben and had a meltdown because I hadn't had time to eat or drink anything in hours but had to haul tail across what happens to be the world's largest airport... finally arriving home at 2AM before work the next day! I think that from here until April, significant traveling is out unless I have lots of assistance from the husband, he he :)

My Latest Homemade Addiction

Crepes with Nutella and bananas. 'Nuff said.

Festive-ness

I wasn't planning on putting up anything Christmas yet, but all the music and decorations this weekend got me thinking, "why not?" I'll be out of town the next two weekends, so while I have some free time let's start the Christmas spirit. I'm not big on going Christmas-crazy, but I have a darling little tree my parents handed down to us when they moved. I like it because it's the perfect size for an apartment, and it reminds me of my home in NY where this little tree would be lit up in the window all wintery-snowy season.





Ben and I started the tradition of buying an ornament every year that we've been married. We try to find one that represents the year for us. The one on the left is from 2008 and was given to us by my parents, it represents our wedding. The star is from India and represents 2009 which marked our 6 months in the country, and the horse and buggy is from Charleston and represents 2010, where we spent our last anniversary "just the two of us" with Baby G on the way.



Here's a shot of the backs. You can see the dates added in.



Just a few other small Christmas touches. We don't have much.



This little Advent Calendar was made for us by my step-sister and family. The santa climbs down the sky each day in December and on Christmas eve reaches the roof. I loved this growing up, so they made me one of my own when I went off to college.

Merry Christmas!

Baby Girl

We saw baby for the first real time last week and found out we are having a girl! Yay! I thought we might be having a boy based loosely on something God had spoken to me, but I wasn't sure, and as for that gut feeling, I had no idea. We are so excited! Baby girl looks healthy and has all 4 limbs, spine, etc. We actually saw her face which was kind of weird and skeleton-like on the ultrasound. She had the hiccups and was bouncing around like crazy. I was getting tired of waiting to actually feel her move and, soI poked her and, sure enough, she moved for me! (does it make me a bad mama that I poke my baby? :)

Right now she's in the breech position but the doctor said that's fairly normal, and she has a lot of time to switch around.

W-O-N-G

My friend Stephanie had her wedding shower this weekend and it was so great to see her. It's hard to believe I'll be in her wedding in less than 3 weeks! She is getting married in the Dominican Republic to this man:




This is David. He is great. I couldn't be more excited for these two awesome people.

I have known Stephanie Wong for about 5 and a half years. We met at UGA when I happened to be randomly paired with one of her close friends, Diana Lee, in the dorm rooms. The first year I roomed with only Diana, the second with Stephanie (while Diana was in Taiwan) and the last year we all lived together at East Campus Village.



Stephanie is one of the those amazing people where I think God was feeling extra generous the day she became a part of my life. She's probably the most kind-hearted, thoughtful, generous person I know... and she's also uber-talented. Not only does she share my love for all things dance, but she was practically an olympic gymnast, UGA cheerleading firecracker/tumble queen, coach, AND is probably the best physical therapist that ever existed.... well, at least for being only in her first year out of school! She'll likely accomplish more in 5 years than I will in a lifetime, because she's always starting some amazing new endeavor or mastering her next skill.
I'm convinced she can do more with her right foot than I can with all 4 extremities.

Did I mention she's the most down-to-earth, sensible person? You didn't expect that from all the above activities, did you? Despite her amazing-ness, she will usually just blend into the crowd. Unless she has friends who brag about her the way I do. We usually try to get her to perform some tricks or diagnose our illnesses to show off her skills. She's a good sport about it.

In all seriousness, she's not just smart and talented, she has the most incredible attitude, I've literally never seen her lose her temper EVER, and she's always giving herself out to others, expecting nothing in return. She is quality in every way.

Here is Stephanie giving her maid-of-honor speech at my wedding. Those are her parents in the background. They are equally as awesome. sometimes I secretly wish I were a Wong. The family humors me and lets me hang around when I'm in town.

In conclusion, Stephanie Wong is the friend of all friends. If you haven't met her, you're missing out.