Mallard Island Yacht Club

We got to travel this past weekend to New Jersey for my brother's wedding.... no shenanigans like our Denver trip, probably because we flew Southwest this time.  Even if there had been shenanigans, it was well worth the effort to get there to be part of this fun weekend.  My brother and his beautiful wife did a great job planning the weekend.  The whole deal went down here, at the Mallard Island Yacht Club...

It was probably the most well-planned wedding I have ever been to - and great weather.  Since Ruby was a flower girl, we spent part of the day hanging out with the other girls who were getting ready in the bridal suite, which took up the entire top floor of the building.  Here's one of the amazing views from the window (of where the ceremony took place), as well as one of the amazing views of inside the suite....    

Ruby did a great job - from travel to meeting new relatives and friends to her flower girl duties.  She did get a little overwhelmed halfway up the aisle, but no major tears:)

Matt was a groomsman, and the two of them made a pretty cute pair.

We are so happy for Mike, and so glad to welcome Kina to our family!

The trip had some other highlights, including Ruby's first time at the beach.  Pretty awesome to watch your little one playing in the (real) sand for the first time.

My brother and Kina were very generous to include their wedding party in the stay at the yacht club the night of the wedding - the whole second floor was set up with 10 guest rooms where Matt and I were fortunate to stay while my gracious in-laws took care of Ruby that night (we figured she would need an early night after her flower girl duties).  I made the unfortunate decision right before the ceremony began to have a last-minute snack just to make sure I didn't pass out during the ceremony from pregnancy hunger.... unfortunate in my choice of a sandwich off the tray that had been sitting out for maybe 5 hours?  Mike, if you are reading this, I completely take the blame - I mean, it had mayonnaise, everything.  I should have known better.  So around 1:30 am, it all backfired.  And in the amazing guest room, on our fun night to ourselves, on the marble floor of the bathroom bigger than my kitchen in Fairway, I sat and vomited up all the delicious dinner, and wedding cake and everything.  And I have two reflections from this incident.
1.  I can never give my husband a hard time again for the unplanned food poisonings he has experienced on previous trips we have taken - our honeymoon in Belize when he ate cod at some local hole in the wall, and our trip to Brazil on the night of our first anniversary.
2.  All that reading of  Ann Voskamp's blog must be rubbing off on me - the night after this experience, we had traveled back to North Jersey in order to be close to the airport for our early flight back to Kansas the next day (after Denver, we will hopefully never again make the mistake of cutting it close getting to the plane on time).  I chose a hotel that I thought would be conveniently located right near Newark airport. And it was.  It was also in the flight path so not even the A/C on full blast and the white noise app on our phones up high could block the sound of the jets landing, it smelled strongly of curry, and I made sure that all bolts were on the door and a big heavy suitcase was parked in front of it as well....  it stood in strong contrast to our setting the evening before, let's say.  But I was able to say to Matt and my mother-in-law, that I was thankful that if I had to be sitting on a bathroom floor puking my guts out, that it had happened at the nice, clean, spa-like yacht club versus the Newark Howard Johnson.  So I feel like some of the focus on gratitude is paying off.  Thanks for letting me share some memories.  

Rita Springer

I have thought about posting, started a post, stopped, and here I am - my monthly post:) is overdue (I don't intend for it to be monthly, just how it's going right now).

Ruby is running a fever. And as I am starting to learn - I can't think of much else today. She is sleeping again right now, so I am blogging in order to feel some semblance of attachment to the world. To take my mind off all the "what ifs." To try to refocus a little I guess.

I have been reading this little devotional this spring called, "Jesus Calling." Sarah Young wrote today that we are to trust God in all our circumstances. Maybe a broken record in my life, but I fight this call daily. I was thinking about what I am waiting on right now - I am waiting for my daughter's fever to break. I am waiting for someone to want to come look at our house and buy it. (It has been on the market a week at this time). I am waiting for God to help me become less self-centered. And I was reminded of this verse from somewhere in the Bible that I can't remember and am being too lazy to look up, where it says that we are to "trust Him at ALL TIMES" (emphasis mine).

A woman I admire greatly went through an unbelievable week last week. She is on my heart often these days. She wrote something awhile back that challenged me, when she said that she likes to connect the statements in her life with "and" instead of "but." Her way of indicating trust sort of. Like when I could say that "It's my day off, but it's raining outside." Instead I could say "It is my day off, and it's raining outside."

I am so thankful for the words of others today. In a little devotional. In a friend's blog. In a monthly newsletter I read. In this song that I have been thinking about that I tried to include in my post when I started writing it before I stopped. We sing it in church from time to time - have you heard it? I am loving it these days.... and it is worth mentioning that I am loving soy sauce as well, in my no longer nauseous state.

Rita Springer - perfect on a rainy day.