Tuesday afternoon we boarded a plane and headed back. Abriel has, in the past, been great to fly with because she sleeps for 85% of the flight. This flight was a little different. We left at 5:30pm which means we was still awake (and by "awake" I mean "wired"). She is almost always a happy kid and she is almost always bursting with energy. The plane ride was no different. She squirmed and yelled (in a friendly manner) to other passengers, played with every toy she had in her diaper bag, chewed on the seat in front of us, watched what was going on out the window, ate snacks, played "take daddy's glasses off" a hundred times, watched part of a Baby Einstein video and became fascinated with the little fan thing above the seat. Then the seat belt sign came on and we were ready to take off. This was going to be a long flight.
We made it through the flight with very few problems by alternately taking turns holding Abriel and resting. My dad and sister graciously picked us up from the airport and drove us home so we could sleep in our unnervingly quiet house. There was night and there was morning light. The first day. And so began the chaos.
Wednesday morning we got up and got ready to take Abriel to her doctors appointment for 10am. We didn't have time the night before to grab any groceries so after a quick bite to eat at Tim Horton's (a side note: Dominican coffee has ruined Keeleah's Tim Horton's experience) it was off to see the doctor. Upon arriving at the doctors office we found out that our appointment was for Thursday morning at 10am. Thinking back to early fall before we had left we remembered that we had said it would be better to get the appointment for Thursday so we could sleep in on Wednesday after our flight and first night home. Oops! We went to the seamstress who was making Keeleahs dress for the wedding and did a fitting and then went to Keeleah's parents house and had lunch. Wednesday night our good friends Wayne and Mellisa came over and brought us dinner. It was so good to see them and the food was delicious!
Thursday morning looked surprisingly similar to Wednesday morning (go figure) except that I dropped Keeleah off at her parents before going to the doctors so she could make some last minute preparations for Thursday night and finish a few errands we had to do while we were back. The doctor let us know that Abriel seemed great. She was still off the charts for height and had an average sized head and her weight was about right for her age and height. That's always good to hear. We also got a few hours of snow when we were home. Even though Abriel didn't actually use the snow suit she tried it on for when we return back to Canada in February. Still a little too big.
Thursday evening was Carrie's bachelorette party. The evening started off with mani-pedi's (a term I have become familiar with since being in a serious relationship) for Carrie, Corinne (my other sister), my mom and Keeleah. After that there was a scavenger hunt for Carrie to pick up a few "items needed for a successful wedding night". Then the girls met up with a bunch of Carrie's friends and family at Kelsey's for dinner and dessert.
Friday morning was picking up the (now finished) dress and decorating the reception hall. It was fun getting everything set for the wedding. We got to joke around with our family and meet some of Dan's family. The hall looked awesome by the afternoon! Then it was off to the church for the rehearsal. Everything went smoothly at the rehearsal and soon we were sitting down to the largest rehearsal dinner I've ever been a part of. The Dragos's and Edwards' make for one big group of people.
Saturday morning was the start of the main event! Keeleah went over to my parents house around 7:30am to start her hair and makeup. Tim (my brother) and Ashley went over at around 8am so Tim oculd get his hair and makeup done as well (just kidding, Tim didn't need his hair done!). Actually they made us breakfast and it was fantastic. The whole family sat down together and ate at the table. I love those times.
The reception speeches were very nice and I almost cried at Carrie and Dan's. They are nice people and I'm glad they are married. The dance consisted of half of the original Edwards family dancing like crazy with the "add ons" leading the way (Keeleah and Nathan). If there was a contest for who could make up the most unique dances I think Keeleah would take the cake. And if ever there is a "Cotton Eyed Joe" contest my money is on Nathan for winning. That boy knows how to Cotton Eyed Joe it up!
After the evening festivities were done and the hall was cleaned up we had A LOT of food left over. My parents asked us to take some and we brought it to the Salvation Army downtown. The men of the drop in centre were so thankful and we even over heard one the guys say "I haven't had cheesecake in a long time.... and it's my favorite!". It's nice to be able to give something away of quality instead of just a can of pickled asperagus heads that have been in the back of your pantry for three years and you're never going to eat them anyway because they are disgusting. I would encourage you to donate things or food that you actually enjoy wearing or eating because chances are the people receiving the clothes or food you're giving away actually have to wear it or eat it. Anyways, that's just a suggestion.
Sunday morning we were back at Community Church. I have mentioned it before and I'll mention it again: I love Community Church. They gave us some time to talk about what we were up to in the D.R and several people talked to us afterwards and gave us words of encouragement. It's great knowing that we have people behind us cheering us on with what we are trying to do down here. Thanks Community!
We went to my parents for a quick lunch (left overs from the wedding) so they could say their goodbyes before we left again and then we headed to the annual friends Christmas party. We have a great group of friends and it's easy hanging around them and talking to them and just being with them. We thought there was a secret Santa exchange happening but apparently there wasn't so in typical Chris and Keeleah fashion we had a game tournament in order to find out who would take home our secret Santa gifts. God times.
Monday we got to hang out with the Matta's and play a few games with them. They bought us Swiss Chalet (my favorite). They even offered to watch Abriel while Keeleah and I went out and got a few more things we needed before we came back to the Dominican. That was good. I'm glad Abriel will grow up with the love of not only her parents but also all her aunts and uncles and all her grandparents.
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