Ahhh, to be in love!

Okay, I don't want to get all schmaltzy here, but this IS a wedding blog...

There's an age-old question that I've heard over the years: How do you know when you're in love?

Is love an emotion? a mental state-of-mind? a decision to be made? or an obligation?

Answering a question with a question doesn't further the debate. So I turn to the scripture that will be read during our wedding ceremony.

First letter of Paul to the Corinthians:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful;
it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or
resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will
cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect;
but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child;
when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I
shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.
So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

So, how do you know when you're in love? This scripture speaks to me in many ways. It's about having the maturity to transform love as an obsession into a willful obligation. It's about realizing the qualities in your partner that make you whole. It's the peace of mind that you feel when nothing else is going right in your life, but you always know there's someone to turn to. It's being there 24/7 for each other. It's being brutally honest about your hopes and fears and your inadequacies. It's the acceptance of these with your partner.

I love Ngoc for these reasons and many more. It's a strong feeling and responsibility that I hold and cherish.

Wedding Book

We just sent our wedding picture book to be published. Here's the front cover. Our wedding is less than a month away...


Here's a few pages from the book.

Update

It's been a while since we posted, the last few weeks have been busy getting ready for the wedding and celebrating birthdays. Last weekend, we celebrated Chanel's 16th birthday at our house. I was happy to see so many friends and family show up. Here are some photos from the event.

Ngoc is currently working in Dallas for the next few weeks (The pay is great, but I miss my baby.). She's been coming home for the weekends, but both of us can't wait till this is over. She just accepted a position in Houston and will start after the wedding.

Anyway, just wanted to check in. We've been receiving the RSVP's from everyone, and we're getting excited about seeing y'all in September.

Cars...

Ngoc and I are getting ready for our big day in a couple months. Most of you know I've been commuting to Lake Jackson for my work, and I've been using Ngoc's Nissan Altima to try to save money on gas. She's been driving my 2000 Mitsubishi Montero to work and to run errands. Even though that SUV has served us well, it's time to put it out to pasture (sell it) and get something that's more reliable. So I'm in the process of selling it, hoping to get $10K for it. I've listed it on Autotrader.com.

As for my BMW 330i, it's very likely that we'll sell this as well. It's only 2 years old and has less that 50k miles, so I'm hoping to get $30k for it.

So what will we get to replace these? It's anyone's guess at this point, but we've been looking at the Toyota Highlander and Nissan Murano. My top priority is getting something that's reliable, so the Toyota has the edge in this category.

Anyway, check out this photo I created for selling my Montero on-line (click on the photo to enlarge).

Update... I sold my Montero on 8/19 to a family from El Salvador. They're going to use it to travel home... I wish them the best of luck and hope that they arrive safely.

Independence Day

My mom is flying into Houston tomorrow to spend the rest of the week with Ngoc and I. This will be a good opportunity for my mother to meet Ngoc's family. We have a special lunch planned for Saturday afternoon where we'll formally discuss our upcoming wedding and intentions. In the Vietnamese tradition, the parents play a central role in the courtship and wedding.

I'm looking forward to our time together.

Here's the restaurant we're going to for our luncheon. I'm hungry already...

Another weekend

Wow! Another busy weekend... My brother and I went to the Police concert on Friday. On Saturday, Ngoc and I saw the Houston Astros with her daughter and a friend. My mother is coming into town on July 4th to spend the weekend with me. Lots going on right now...

Engagement photo shoot

Ngoc and I spent the morning and early afternoon with our photographer. Here is a preview of the photos...

Less than 4 months and counting

It's hard to believe that our wedding is less than 4 months away. We have gone through so much change in the past few months. I moved up to Houston 6 weeks ago. Ngoc started work at a new cancer center this week. Chanel and Jasmin just finished their sophomore and freshman year respectively. We're repainting the house, remodeling the upstairs bathroom, buying mattresses tomorrow, buying furniture this summer, etc... Hey we're doing our part to contribute to the US economy. Life is good.

40

Coincidentally I'll be turning 40 during our honeymoon. I can't think of a better way to start the second half of my life.

Order your cake and eat it too

Ngoc and I visited a restaurant called The Colosseum Italian Restaurant and Bakery this evening. Ngoc heard about them after tasting their wedding cake at a friend's wedding a few years ago. So we drove down to Clear Lake to meet with the manager and pick out a cake design. Of course Ngoc already had a design picked out, so it didn't take long to work out the details and put a deposit down. They let us try a couple slices of cake, their Italian Cream and Chocolate Suicide (weird name for a wedding cake). They even offered us a free dinner but we had other plans.

After having dinner at Frenchie's restaurant, we visited the U of H Religion Center near downtown Houston. It's a beautiful building, perfect for a medium-size wedding ceremony. I would have snapped more pics, but there was a wedding rehearsal in session.

Tomorrow we will be getting ready for Sunday's house-warming party. It is likely that we'll have over 30 guests (friends and family). We're boiling crawfish and grilling ribs. Bring your appetites...