Nuestra Boda Civil

"Our Civil Wedding"

Yeah!

On the 17th of May we headed up to Tucson with Seth & Jenna for our civil wedding.

What are really good friends for???

To help you find a last-minute way of escape in the bathroom! ;)

I must not have wanted to escape too bad. :)

At the courthouse before the wedding... other than being totally PINK, the building is kind of neat.

This is just such a cheesy, cheesy picture, but I wanted to include it because of our justice of the peace's footwear. ;)

We are so blessed to have amazing friends!

Thanks for going up with us, you two...

And as Jenna put it, "Do you realize that we will have our names written on your marriage certificate forever and ever?"

Yeah, we do... couldn't ask for anything better! :)

After the wedding...

... and crossing back to our van.

Notice Joel's "boot?"

Yes... that foot is STILL broken. :(

When we got home that night, this was taped to our front door... :)

"Welcome home Mr. & Mrs. Rinkenberger! Congratulations Mom & Dad. I love you. Marcos. And Aaron and Diego and Candi."

And for something slightly random...

I walked into the bathroom the other day and found Ariel sitting like this. Upon my querying look, Candi informed me that Ariel was hitting Flounder so she had to sit in time out. ;)

I love these kidlets!

Please pray for this coming week and the work team that will be here. Also, we have several preparations for the wedding next weekend, but our main request is that you would pray that God would be glorified through the weekend. No matter what details get left out, what things don't happen or go as planned... He is still in control, and we praise Him! We want the weekend to be about Him, not about us. Thanks!

A Month's Overview...

... starts with Easter!

[Sorry for the blogging silence... turns out I've been a little preoccupied! :)]

We had a sunrise service on the montecito near Santa Ana again this year. It is always such a blessing! And it was even moreso this year with David & Steph Sceggel and Mark, Barb & Leah Gerber down to share it with us!

We generally do breakfast at La Casa Rota after the service, so we have a pretty full house!

The kids' table outside... :)

Osmara & Candi... good friends every other day! ;)

Joel turned 29 at the end of April and Fede decorated his birthday cake... the Gator!

[With crutches in back, of course... ;)]

I'm sure that my future brothers-in-law are quite content seeing that deere right thar... but, I personally would have shoved his face in a deere-decorated cake as well if the kids hadn't been so excited to do it! What else could it possibly be good for??? :)

After I got home from my visit to Colorado in April, the kids were over the top.

First, they stuffed their shirts full of clothes, stuffed animals, etc. and stood in the doorway and laughed and bounced into one another and laughed and fell down and laughed again...

... and when I finally let them come into the room while I unpacked, they all flopped down on the bed (wrestling every once-in-a-while like in the above photo) and talked non-stop [literally] for an hour and a half!

Nice to know I was possibly missed... ;)

I came out of my room one morning to find all four kids like this... giving one another backrubs!

[The boys informed me that Candi had to go in the back b/c she was a GIRL and they weren't giving her a backrub because that wasn't okay! Yeah for an early start on courtship... ;)]

Joel and I took the kidlets to Cafe Sed one morning during break for some quality reading time. What makes me smile about this picture is that, though they both are wearing "town clothes," Diego and Aron's knees and legs show that they're really country boys... whose mom didn't check close enough to make sure they got all the dirt off their skin! ;)

This is the sign that was up in the dining hall for a few days:

"Happy falling in love Joel and Steph!"

And the kids can't seem to see two of anything (salt & pepper shakers, electric poles, insects, and rocks to name a few) without saying, "Look! It's Joel & Steph! They're in love!"

It's cute. For now. :)

Please continue to pray for our small family here as we adjust to life with a male, specifically a dad, around; and on a larger scale, please pray for CVE in general as these next few months have quite a few changes! Change can be good... and we've seen it be extraordinary when the ordinary is blessed by God. Thank you for your prayers!