They really ARE here!!

Rachel and Craig have arrived back in the US after three months studying Portuguese in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil! We were very honored to be able to host them for a week soon after they landed down in this English-speaking land. It's been really good to spend time together and hear their stories and challenges from the last few months - and see baby blue growing in Rachel! (only two months to go...)

Hard to believe that exactly two years ago the four of us spent 2 weeks together in Cape Town over the Christmas holiday! At that time, Rachel was living in Uganda and Craig in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and they came to Cape Town to see us and 'figure out' their own relationship. That was also our first time meeting him. And one year ago exactly was their wedding! And now here we are.

And of course we had to take them to our new favorite restaurant, Turkuaz Cafe, for lunch. It's a little Turkish cafe across the street from where we attend church, and we also went when Katie was here - and after this our 2nd visit, the verdict is confirmed: excellent food!!!


Rachel and Craig don't have any more winter clothing, and it's been a HOT summer down in Brazil, so they were a bit shocked with our freezing temps. Fortunately we had enough fleeces and hats and jackets to share between us and stay warm.

Here's Rachel and I drinking our tea and having a garlicky red lentil soup appetizer. Yum.


And my chicken and spinach pide - delicious too.

The Nutcracker - a Christmas tradition!

This past weekend we were able to see The Nutcracker with a group of Jim's co-students in the HESA program (from 1st year to 4th year doctoral students) - what a fun way to mark the beginning of the Christmas season and the end of the semester! Every year IU performs this ballet as part of their Opera & Ballet Theater season. Read more here. Since the university has a nationally renowned music school and a ballet theater school, this was a very well done production. I also particularly enjoyed the set design - beautiful!!

Jim's 'partner' at his assistantship position, Debbie (a 2nd year student), organized the tickets and a pre-show Wine & Cheese tasting, which Desi hosted. Here's Jim with Desi, Rebecca and Malika. We had four types of wine, two types of goat cheese, Brie, two types of Gouda, bruschetta, cranberry relish, and strawberry pepper sauce.

I was the only non-student in the group, so I felt quite privileged! Here's Debbie in the middle of the ladies below. (Oops I forgot it was Glamour Night at the Ballet and didn't dress quite appropriately...oh well, they still let me in.)

And the men of the group, standing in the lobby of the auditorium. What a very fun evening! (and thanks to Debbie for sharing these photos)

More Wedding!

The beautiful newlyweds!!

These photos are all thanks to Aunt Elaine, who thankfully kept busy snapping shots on the wedding morning. Here she is with her sister (Mom G) below.

The banner suspended in front of the organ reads, "Great is thy faithfulness", which was a theme throughout the ceremony. Auntie Marge and cousin Wendy sewed it.

The twins were very well-behaved all the way through the family photos. Look at those cute little bundles.

Jul with Susie and Wendy, two Gieser cousins who were also bridesmaids. They both live in Wheaton with their families and so Katie has grown quite close with them over the past years.

Noah (center) with his older brother, Josh, and younger brother, Daniel. All three siblings live in Memphis (as do the Brink parents).

Two of the Brink nieces were flower girls (a 3rd is not pictured). They did a perfect job walking down the aisle, and aren't they cute, too? Auntie Pat made the wreaths that they are wearing.

Noah's chocolate Groom's Cake - he loves to read and discuss literature, and two of his favorite authors are CS Lewis and GK Chesterton.

And here is the wedding cake - the most delicious one we've ever had! (except ours, of course)

Wedding Time for Noah and Katie!!

Saturday 28th November: the wedding! Katie look gorgeous, as you can see. Here she is with Jennifer, one of the College Church's wedding coordinators, on the morning of the wedding. The service was at Noon, and all the photos were taken beforehand. It turned out to be a somewhat mild day (for late November) and the sun was out, so they even took some photos outside.

Hmm... what is everyone thinking here? A brief pause before another round of photos. A Gieser family shot (sorry, it was taken from the side so Mom is not quite in view) - we've grown from 7 to 10 this year! A moment of rest after the ceremony and before the reception. Noah thoughtfully gazes at his goofy new bride. The father of cousin Ruth has this 1920s vehicle (sorry don't remember the specifics) which he kindly offered to the newlyweds as the getaway car (and then served as their chauffeur). Can you see them in the rumble seat at the back? So classy.

*thanks to cousin Melanie for these photos*

More Wedding Prep

Four Elam family siblings (center) and two in-laws (outside) were able to be together for this wedding - this is Mom Mary's siblings. She is pictured here with her three older brothers. In fact the 5th sibling (sister) was also in town for the wedding but not around for this photo.

On Friday, the day of the rehearsal and set-up work day, the bride and bridesmaids took a break to have coffee and get manicures. What fun! There were 8 bridesmaids, 4 family (3 cousins and 1 sister in-law, that's me) and 4 long-time friends. Here is Katie with 6 of her bridesmaids: me, Rebecca, Jess, Katie, Sarah, Melanie and Kathy.

After the Rehearsal Dinner, the women of the bridal party went out to a 'chocolate cafe' for hot chocolate. To help calm the nerves? It was a lovely time. Melanie (matron of honour) made sure Katie looked particularly cute, which amused us (that's Jess next to Katie).

The following morning, the day of the wedding, Tiffany did Katie's make-up.

Meanwhile downstairs in the kitchen the two brothers took care of the twins. Avery, what are you trying to tell your Dad?