The filippino is here!

The filippino is here!

On Saturday at 1:30pm, my twin sister’s husband-to-be arrived in Indianapolis from the Philippines, with his fiancé visa in hand! Jessie and Aldean applied for a fiancé visa in January 2012 and God was faithful to them as He was faithful to Titus and I one year ago!

“Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.”
(2 Samuel 22:50)

“Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.”
(1 Chronicles 16:9)

“He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.’”
(Hebrews 2:12)
Although I am disappointed that our small-but-growing family can no longer fit in one vehicle, I’m excited to see how Aldean changes the dynamics of our family. He’s already laughing at my jokes… laughing at least… so that’s good! And he seems to have picked up Nirtz pretty quickly, so that’s good! And he loves Jessie, so that’s great! (Although I still have to get used to my sister being in a relationship that isn’t long distance or seemingly imaginary.)

That moment when the guys met [again (Titus & Aldean actually met almost 3 years ago at a wedding in the Philippines!)] ... it was a good moment for me!  I trust that they will become very good friends!  Who else could have more in common but these two??  Not only are their wives twins, but this chapter of their lives are almost identical - leaving home [and everything!] for their brides and transitioning into a culture so foreign!  I hope that they will be an ear and an encouragement for each other.  Nonetheless, both incredible gifts to our family!

Tonight Aldean will meet Dad’s side of the family!

Love, Love, Love,
Jewel

We survived Hurricane Sandy!

I received a comment from a blogging friend that he hasn't heard from us since my last post in Baltimore, when we were preparing for Hurricane Sandy! Thank you, David, for your concern!! We are fine! In fact, we were untouched inside the four strong walls of our friends' old home. The storm started before 9am on Monday and faded away during the early morning hours on Tuesday. The winds were UNREAL... unlike anything that I have ever heard or felt. For hours, I expected any minute that the windows would be sucked right out of the walls. It rained and rained and rained HARD! The power flickered off and on all day, but we were fortunate to retain power, (although I’m quite certain we would have more than survived without it for a few days!) In one simple sentence: It was an adventure. A first anniversary to always be remembered! Despite Sandy, it was a great trip! ♥♥♥

Friday and Saturday were especially a lot of fun! We arrived in Baltimore by 10am and were warmly greeted by our dear friends, Sambat and his smart and adorable daughter, Elsie. I couldn’t quite remember how old Elsie was, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw her again (I had only ever met the Long family at our wedding one year ago.) When I got in the backseat beside her car seat and I said, “Hi Elsie! How are you?” and she responded, without hesitation, “I’m pretty good. How are you?” I knew she was well advanced and, over the course of the next few days, she continued to IMPRESS me! ♥♥♥

For lunch on Friday, we ate at a delicious and beautiful Indian buffet. So, so, so good. I could not stop eating! Afterwards, the four of us explored Baltimore city around the bay. We walked a lot! Laughed a lot! And took a lot of pictures! At 5:00, Sambat’s wife, Danielle, joined us and we went to the National Aquarium. Aquariums are one of my favorite things and it wasn’t even my idea to go! SO FUN! The jellyfish exhibit was very cool (I’ll spare you all the pictures!) and they even had a DOLPHIN SHOW! ♥♥♥

 On Saturday, we explored the streets of Washington DC between the Capital Building and the White House. There is so much to see in DC and I wish that we could have seen so much more [I saw a lot on a school field trip in 9th grade, but I wanted my husband to see it all!], but I enjoyed just walking hand-in-hand with Titus; and the weather was beautiful! We started our day at the United States Botanic Garden – a beautiful living plant museum – where we had a picnic lunch outdoors at the First Ladies’ Water Garden. Another big sighting of the day was, of course, the White House! The pictures of me in front of the White House… are not good… but below is a good picture of my husband! Just beyond the White House, we found a 24/7 worship experience happening for 40 consecutive days before the elections. Very cool experience! I made a new Spanish-speaking friend and explained to her that many people think America has no hope, but as certainly do! We have a living hope in Sovereign God and we must seek Him to lead our country, homes, and selves! ♥ ♥ ♥

Other adventures include: shopping at the Asian market, an authentic Vietnamese restaurant, Titus teaching Sambat how to cook, puzzles with Elsie, and movies in the evenings. ♥♥♥
Again, despite Hurricane Sandy, we had a wonderful time in Baltimore! I wish that we lived closer to the Longs and the Novs, our two Cambodian-American couple friends who cannot only relate very well with Titus, but understand cross-cultural relationships.♥♥♥

Love, Love, Love,

Jewel