‘Fro Me to You -- Better Late than Never

This week’s edition of Kristen’s Thursday blog carnival will be different. I won’t be flashing back to the distant past or rolling any unsuspecting family member under the Partridge family clothing bus. Those things will be put on hold this week and I will resume my fabulous flashbacks next week.

Today will be a special edition for a special person. This special someone celebrated her 30th a monumental birthday on September 22 and it, well, went by un-noticed by her family. Yes, you heard me, her family. I guess they could be described as “THAT” family. If you will, Kristen.

So people of the blog world, today I want to proudly introduce you to my sister-in-law, Aki! She has officially been a member of our family since my brother and her weddings last year. Yes, plural…..weddingS. There were two of them.

On June 9th we held the American ceremony here in God’s country, at the Greek Orthodox Church in Mobile. And for the second ceremony, seven of us traveled to Japan for the October 6 nuptial and spent their honeymoon with them as tourists in the Land of the Rising Sun.

I wish I could tell you the exact story that led up to my brother and Aki dating. Which then resulted in their marriage, but *sigh* I am old and can’t remember all of that.

Despite the slight language barrier, Aki is a wonderful young woman and I am so glad she is a member of our family.

In photos, here are reasons why I love my sister-in-law:

She loves Disney World. Oh, and my brother.

I think it was love at first site! And the Princess knows who to call if her Hello Kitty supply is getting low!

My kids love their Aunt and Uncle in Japan. And we all look forward to their visits. Thank God for the Internet which keeps us closer than the good ol’ days.

She loves to travel.

She came all the way to America to have a traditional American wedding. Complete with about 20 other friends and family member! It was beautiful.

She has a wonderful family whose hospitality rivals that of any Southern family.

She loves my little brother. Can’t you tell?

She has a beautiful smile.

The girl can cook! And she rocked the bib!

I cannot begin to tell you how funny she is.

Aki, I hope you had a very happy birthday! Don’t worry it is already marked on the calendar for next year! I cannot wait to see you (and my brother) at Christmas this year.

Too bad South Korea isn’t within driving distance or you probably would have found 30 of these outside your front door:

Or maybe a HUGE one of these:

誕生日おめでとう!

I sure hope that reads “Happy Birthday” in Japanese. I’ve trusted Google on this one. It could say I am a jelly donut for all I know. My brother will be the first to let me know…. unless some of my ‘Fro Me to You peeps read Japanese characters.

Please feel free to leave Aki a special belated birthday wish, since she is now going to be an American celebrity! The Japanese paparazzi will be all over her.

Thanks for letting me do a little something different today for Kristen’s Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You carnival. For more carnival fun, click here for some Thursday fun.