I've been wanting to add a brief summary of our trip to my brother John's wedding on February 17. It was a good one. We drove down on Wednesday night and got to spend some time with the family, albeit brief. We returned Sunday afternoon after an adventrous snowy night
Before the wedding
We drove down to SC to deliver a crib to my step-brother Craig and his wife Leah for their twin daughters. Felt good to leave our family crib (bought it when Samuel was born and Rebeca used it) with family. Then we went to pick up our tuxes at the mall and hung out with my older brother Jamie for a bit. That evening we had dinner with my younger brother Tim and his family as well as my parents (who had flown in from China a few days earlier). Finally, that night we drove up to Rock Hill, SC (near NC border) to stay with some family friends who have known Lina for years.
John commissioned me to pick up the pastor at the airport. He's a family friend who flew up from Orlando, FL. Samuel came with me and we drove him to the hotel near the church. We went out to eat at the Golden Corral. Meanwhile, Lina and Rebeca were shopping with Lina's friend in Rock Hill. When we arrived, we had about half an hour to get ready for the rehearsal. We ended up getting there late, but it all worked out well. The rehearsal dinner was at a Chinese Buffett place. Later that night I got to spend some time with John and a few other friends as we went out together.
The wedding
Was very organized and perhaps a tad more structured than what some of us were used to. However, there were some very special parts that made it memorable:
- Samuel did a great job walking down the aisle w/ his little pillow as ringbearer. He had a new black suit for the occassion along with a gold-colored tie. With his fancy black shoes, he looked handsome and knew exactly where to walk and stand on the stage (marked with a special masking tape "X")
- Rebeca walked down with her basket full of bright red petals but was only throwing out one petal at a time. She took a long time to walk down the aisle and at one point when she threw more than one petal, she reached down and picked up the extra one and put it back in her basket. It was cute for a while, but eventually John asked me to go get her, so I walked down from the stage to pick her up. By now she had made it to the front row. When I picked her up, she protested since she wanted to throw petals all the way to her place on the stage. She asked me to pick her up. I had her in my arms for most of the wedding ceremony. It was special :)
- Well-selected worship songs led by Phillip Biddulph (a fellow missionary kid from Spain and joint owner of John's interpreting business). A former roommate of John's played the guitar and it sounded beautiful.
- Lighting the candles to the song "In Christ Alone" And in general seeing the love John and Bethany showed each other.
- A good word from the pastor, who had been my dad's youth pastor.
- The reception was a good time with family and friends. It was a good meal, company, dancing, which ended around 10:30 or so.... which meant our journey back to Chicago began just after 11 PM
Return trip
We drove up North Carolina with a goal of crossing the southwest tip of Virginia and getting into West Virginia to stay for the night. As we crossed into the border it started snowing hard. We drove a little more and got to the point where I was going 25 MPH, the fastest I could safely drive on the interstate which I had to myself. It was snow-covered and I had a hard time even seeing the lanes. Thankfully the side rails and median gave me certain guidance. We arrived in Beckley, WV shortly before 3AM, only to find an exit with 3 to 4 inches of snow on the ground and a Courtyard that was booked full and where the receptionist told us that each of the 14 hotels in town was also booked full (apparently good skiing season). Recommended a hotel 20/30 mins out of our way or else go to Charleston an hour away. We decided on the latter. After recharging w/ a small cup of reception area coffee, we took off. We made it to Charleston a few minutes after 4 AM and checked in to sleep. The kids transitioned from the van to the bed just fine. We woke up around 8:30, got some groceries and took off on the rest of our cold journey. Made it to Chicago around 6 or 7 PM.
We drove up North Carolina with a goal of crossing the southwest tip of Virginia and getting into West Virginia to stay for the night. As we crossed into the border it started snowing hard. We drove a little more and got to the point where I was going 25 MPH, the fastest I could safely drive on the interstate which I had to myself. It was snow-covered and I had a hard time even seeing the lanes. Thankfully the side rails and median gave me certain guidance. We arrived in Beckley, WV shortly before 3AM, only to find an exit with 3 to 4 inches of snow on the ground and a Courtyard that was booked full and where the receptionist told us that each of the 14 hotels in town was also booked full (apparently good skiing season). Recommended a hotel 20/30 mins out of our way or else go to Charleston an hour away. We decided on the latter. After recharging w/ a small cup of reception area coffee, we took off. We made it to Charleston a few minutes after 4 AM and checked in to sleep. The kids transitioned from the van to the bed just fine. We woke up around 8:30, got some groceries and took off on the rest of our cold journey. Made it to Chicago around 6 or 7 PM.
