OMG…talk about the event of the year for my family!! Welcome to my crazy family everyone!! For anyone that doesn’t know, I come from a huge family. In total, I have 5 sisters, 3 brothers, 12 nieces, 4 nephews, 3 sister-in-saws, 4 brother-in-laws and my parents!! That is a grand total of 36 of us including me, Andy and Stanley 🙂 Wow…36 people; that is considered JUST my immediate family, haha!!

This is officially, the first time EVER that my entire family has ever been together…ever!!! So, this wedding was more than just being there to support my sister say her I Do’s to her man…it was also the coming of our Thor family for the first time in our lives. Family means so much to me and this wedding day is one I will never forget.

My sister Monley (the sister just after me in age) lives in Oklahoma with her husband and daughter. Therefore, we don’t get to see each other often. And then there is my brother (the brother just after me in age, also the youngest son of my parents) who lives in California with his wife and son. He is in the Navy and has always been stationed far away, so visits are always few and far between as well. Everyone else resides in Wisconsin.  

Large family = hard to keep track. Which is why I don’t hold it against anyone for not knowing who I’m talking about when I say…my sister or my brother. 

One thing that is especially important, is my dad. He isn’t in the best health…nor my mother. However, my dad has become a hermit and rarely leaves the house. So, for him to come out not just once…but twice!!! (rehearsal and wedding) It was a world record for him. 

Sally (Rob’s mom) only had Rob, and so she always wanted Rob to to have siblings. Well, I guess she prayed just a little too hard, because she inherited all of us! LOL. I think she’s most happy about being a  new grandma to all the little ones that we have!

Rehearsal went great! Expect for the fact that the best man showed up over an hour late, lol! Oh well, it was all in good fun and we al made fun of him enough. So long as we didn’t miss the awesome dinner at Brau Haus, we were good! And of course, as baby Stanley’s first time out and about, we measured Stanley in comparison to Andy’s beer, hehe. I think Ly and Jeanne (our photographers and officiant) just really wanted Stanley time!!

With something to remind us of our Hmong culture, my mom sewed on these coins onto my sister’s bouquet. Good thing that she just did the plastic kind, because the regular coins we use (old french francs) would have been super heavy and loud!!

There is just something about spending time with family that just touches my heart. I could literally spend all day with my family…not even talking to each other, but just in the same place and I would be absolutely content and happy. Just knowing I’m surrounded by my family is enough to make wherever I am, feel like home. 

And what a special treat for both my sister and brother to fly in. My sister Monley is living in Oklahoma while my brother who’s in the Navy is out in California. I miss having my whole family together!! 

Rob and his guys. Now THIS is his family! Being an only child, his friends and cousin become his closest family and it really was great to see his friends and family there to support him on this day! Rob has a great personality and I’m so glad that he knows how to be fun and have a great time…like hiding behind a wall of ivy? haha!

Because Monley lives out of state, it’s always been super challenging to get all us sister’s together. Our last sister picture was from many many many years ago…and we took it at Walmart and OMG did we all look SO different. It’s nice to have an updated photo of all us girls.

Our Mom is seriously the strongest person we know and we all would do anything for her! Seriously, all of us and she gave birth naturally and didn’t make a sound at each delivery!

She was so happy and it just made all of us even more happy. This woman…man!! She not only raised all of us kids with so little, but she loved loved loved us all with all her heart. There is so much to say about her but I will leave that for another day:)

We all love the 90’s still. So, of course, our reception entrance was to…none other than Ganster’s Paradise, lol!! LOVE IT!

This was funny because my Dad was not expecting all the rest of us daughters to join him and my sister. I think he was secretly very happy:) He even wanted to leave and go home but we told him he was required to stay till at least this dance. I’m so glad he did!

All in all, this was quite possibly the 2nd best day of 2015 (followed only by the birth of my baby boy of course!). There is nothing better to soothe my soul, than to be with my family and to now have all these memories and photos locked away for a rainy day. I wish I could re-live this day…this week actually and just have all of my family together always. 

Mina and Rob are doing so well and I love that they allowed us to really focus on family during their wedding. We are all now his and he is now our family and when you are welcomed into my Thor Family…you are there for life!!