Weekend fun

We celebrated a family wedding this weekend, and saw lots of out-of-town family. Congratulations, cousin Jason and Robyn! The festivities were held at a park overlooking Green Bay (it actually IS a real body of water, not just a football team), and it was a beautiful location.

Poor Anya Rashi's nap schedule was completely obliterated by all the fun. Truth be told, though, she kicked off the weekend of sleep-deprivation herself by waking at 4:37 a.m. on Saturday, then 5:38 a.m. on Sunday. Ugh. Not sure why . . . she was perfectly happy, but just ready to be awake.

On Friday, our dear Chicago friends Heidi and Charlie were up for a visit. (They saw Anya Rashi on her very first day in the USA, when they met us at O'Hare.) We had lunch together in the back yard while Anya Rashi napped. When she woke up, it seemed as though she remembered them: she toddled right up to Heidi and asked to sit in her lap. Same story with Charlie -- she went right to him and was very content on his lap. We saw some fantastic pictures of their recent much-needed vacation in Italy. Mmmmm . . . they visited the place where pesto was born (among other much more culturally significant places!).

Peter's brothers Mark, Dave and his family, along with his sisters Lynn, Anne, and Mary and their families, all came from various parts of the Midwest. Aaron and Nathan glommed onto their cousins for the whole wedding reception, and played croquet, kickball, pirates, and more. The three girl cousins Grace, Emma, and Anya Rashi spent a lot of quality time together. They have to stick together, since girls are an endangered species in Peter's family: out of 12 grandkids and one great-grandchild, they're the only estrogen-Americans.

Anya Rashi was in her element at church this weekend, with a whole row of family to bop around between. Anne's and Dave's families, along with Grandma and Grandpa, came to hear Peter give the sermon. (He was subbing for our head pastor, who takes some weekends off during the summer to have some much-deserved study and rest time.) I took her to the parent room during the sermon, since she started yelling "Dada! Dada!" when he walked to the podium. :o)

We had guest worship artists from New Zealand afterward. A family of four sang, danced, and interpreted native worship music and drumming. One of the deepest thrills in my walk with Christ is seeing how people from different cultures love and worship the same God in completely different ways. It gives such a great picture of what heaven will be like.