2013: a Photo Recap

I know we're almost halfway through the first month of 2014, but my college roomie (who blogs over at Run With Holly) just did a Year in Pictures post that I really enjoyed, so I thought I'd follow suit while 2013 still feels fresh on my mind. :)

Roomies for 3 years, friends for 13 and counting!

2013 was a year filled with joy!  It was a lot of fun to look back at my pictures from this year because so much of what happened and what God did made me smile :)

2013 in Review:

January:
We were delighted to discover that we were expecting a baby girl!
We also celebrated cousin Bella's 3rd birthday with a costume party (for the kids)

February:
We saw Pentatonix in concert! I'm forever amazed by their vocal ability and musicality!

March:
Over spring break, Aug and I did a bunch of date days instead of going on a long trip...I loved it!
One of them included a Thai cooking class - yum! :)

April:
My sister kindly did a maternity photo shoot for me (and included my beloved cherry blossom tree)
Aug turned 31 :)

May:
On Mother's Day, our church family threw a joint baby shower for my friend and me.
Jonathan mopped the floor as a Mother's Day gift to me ;)
I said goodbye to teaching (for now) and ended the school year early with maternity leave.

June:
Abigail was born!
(This was taken when she was 3 days old.  My co-teacher sweetly made this blanket with our class for Abby)

July:
Jonathan turned 2! We celebrated at Glen Echo park, where we watched a puppet show and rode the carousel, which he found slightly terrifying :-/
My mother turned 60 (a special birthday in Korean culture)
We celebrated 4 years of marriage!
Abby went to her first wedding :) (Dream & Chris)

August:
We went on a family vacation to Deep Creek
We went to the fire station on the final day of summer vacation!
Aug started a new position at his school, while I tried on the Stay-At-Home-Mama hat for the first time. :)

September:
I turned 31 :)
We celebrated Abby's 100th day (another Korean tradition)
Gummy Bear Mama was born.
We soaked up the fall weather with lots of play dates at the playground
We went apple-picking and came home with lots of Honey Crisp..mmm!
We bade farewell to Uncle Joe, who moved across the country for his new job

October:
Firefighter Jonathan saved the day with Dalmatian pup Abby by his side :)
We learned about God's generosity all over again as the yard sale for Carlin yielded over $2,000!
Kinda-sorta started potty-training Jonathan :)
I entered the 21st century - upgraded from my trusty flip phone to a smart phone 

November:
Abby was Aug's date for my dear friend Alison's wedding for which I was a bridesmaid (bridesmatron? haha)
Abby became mobile and started eating solid food (she was skeptical at first, but now is completely sold!)

December:
Abby's first Christmas!  She started crawling on her belly right before Christmas day.
This was Jonathan's third Christmas but first time actively participating in the decorating! He made sure that one patch on the very bottom half of the tree was extremely well decked out with ornaments.

Every year, everyone in our church chooses a Bible verse to focus on for the year (we call them "key verses").  Last year's verse was all about generosity, and while it challenged me a lot, I am grateful because I learned a lot about generosity through the opportunities that came up and through the ways God showed His generosity to me.

This year, my verse is about encouragement.  It is my hope and prayer to be intentional about encouraging others and being encouraged through His Word.  I want to look for opportunities to encourage those around me (especially these two little squirts and their daddy) and build them up!

"Happy 2014! WE LOVE YOU."

 Looking forward to great things to come in 2014!

Six Years Ago Today

On that chilly January evening, this beautiful thing called "you and me" began.

photo credit: E.Naikal

We tied the knot a year and a half later.

photo credit: Studio Marais

And that love grew...

photo credit: E. Naikal

And grew...

photo credit: E. Naikal

Just look at us now... I wouldn't change a thing about this journey we've been on. :)

photo credit: E. Naikal

So grateful for you.  So grateful for us. <3   Happy us-anniversary!

Off the Blog Wagon

It seems that I've lost some steam in blogging these days...so I thought I would just ease myself back in (not unlike the way I used to get into swimming pools) with some random thoughts and photos.

1. We've had a number of milestones around here lately.  Abby recently started rolling over, so now if I lie her down on a floor mat, she's rarely in the same spot a minute later.  To be specific, she's usually on the other side of the room...

Abby turned 5 months last Friday, which is difficult for me to believe!  Tonight she had her first taste of "solid" food.  I think her expression says it all. :)

"Um, what IS this you're feeding me?"

2.  I've always expected the most significant milestones/changes to occur in the first two years, so this third year has been a pleasant surprise.  I think it's mainly because I notice nearly every day the new words Jonathan is picking up.  His sense of humor cracks me up, and so does his laugh.

Reading Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton  (Admittedly, it is a pretty funny read)

3.  A couple weeks ago (right before sickness struck our household), Aug and I explored a new (to us) restaurant for a lunch date.  My fortune cookie at the end of the meal:

When you're in the business of raising kiddos, this can be encouraging to hear.

I actually love the taste of fortune cookies and think the fortunes can be really amusing.  The funniest one I've ever opened said, "Smile if you like this fortune cookie." Ha!

4.  Jonathan has been really into looking through our photo albums lately.  He calls them "books," and I have to smile at the sight of him "reading" our history via photographs.

His favorite thing to do is point to someone and ask, "Who's DAT?"

5.  I love baby cardigans.  And this baby in a cardigan.

What, you don't laugh wildly whilst wearing sweaters?

My brother's mom-in-law, Sherry, is one of the sweetest, craftiest people I know. She's constantly creating things for other people and this little sweater is one of the many gifts she's made for Abby and Jonathan.  I'm so inspired by her thoughtful and generous heart!



The end.  :)


And what about you?
What's the best fortune you've ever gotten from a fortune cookie?

Something Better

My husband and I have been together for almost six years, and one thing that he knows well about me is that I like surprises.  Of all kinds.  Whenever he plans a special date, he keeps everything a secret just so I can be surprised.  This is one of the many things I love about him.

Last year, I turned 30.  The day fell on a Thursday, so Aug said he wanted to take Jonathan and me out for a surprise family celebration.  

He took me to a cute Korean restaurant that served one of my favorite dishes (kimbap - aka Korean cooked "sushi" rolls) and then we drove around a beautiful park.  

Everything about the evening was so thoughtful and sweet, but somehow as we were driving around, I started getting inexplicably sad.  Now that I look back on it, I realize I had just gotten pregnant then, so maybe it was the extra hormones flying around.  But despite all of the sweet gestures and plans, I think I felt sad because I was turning 30 and I hadn't realized until that moment that I had actually wanted to celebrate with other people.  I had built it up in my head as a magical and amazing day with everyone dropping by with birthday wishes... but as the day came to a close, I found myself feeling discontented because it was turning out to be a relatively normal day (especially in comparison to the grand day I had imagined.)

On the drive home, I cried to my husband out of confusion ("I'm not sure why I'm crying!" and "I didn't realize I wanted a big celebration!"), all the while unsuccessfully trying assure him that I was really grateful for all of the surprises he had planned - and that this was just a hormonal moment.  Aug was so sweet through it all, patiently listening and enduring my brattiness.  I dried my tears and got over it myself.  30 was just a number, after all.

Saturday rolled around, and Aug told me that he wanted to take me out on a date.  

Little did I know that this date would turn out to be a surprise birthday party at a restaurant filled with many of my closest friends!  Aug had been planning it for weeks.

I was stunned and sincerely touched by everyone's presence and, most of all, by my husband's thoughtful plans and patient silence as he had given ear to my whiny complaints just two days earlier.  

He knew what I didn't.  He knew something better was in store, just around the corner...something even better than what I had imagined.  Yet he loved me enough to let me wait for the surprise.

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I used to be a pessimist.  I used to tell myself, I would rather have low expectations and be pleasantly surprised than have high expectations and be sorely disappointed.

But this isn't the way God works. 

William Carey once said, "Expect great things from God.  Attempt great things for God."

My Father knows what I don't.  He knows the greater things yet to come, and He always comes through.

Instead of settling for low expectations so I can be "pleasantly surprised" by the mediocre, He is calling me - challenging me - to expect great things from Him.  Even when His answer to my prayers is "No," or "Wait," I can hold onto the truth that it's because He has something better planned.

And I'd take that over the best things I myself can fathom any day.

Ten Things

I love making lists.  Apparently there's a German word, entlistungsfreude, that so aptly puts into...word...why I like lists.  This word means the satisfaction achieved by crossing things off lists.  (btw, I don't speak a lick of German.  I read about this in this month's issue of Real Simple)

So when my husband told me about this trend that he's been noticing around the Web, I got kind of excited:  101 Things to Do in 1,000 Days.  We have been meaning to make our own elaborate lists, but haven't found the time to do that...so we simplified.

I give you... Ten Things.  

Ten Things to Do By the End of 2014.  Because we're simple like that.  My husband took me out on a surprise lunch date, and after we ordered, he pulled out 2 slips of paper and pens and we got to work. 

Here's my list:

1. Potty train Jonathan

2. Start blogging as Gummy Bear Mama

3. Write a draft for a children's book

4. Go running/walking every week & lose baby weight

5. Learn to make pho

6. Complete a project with the sewing machine

7. Download iPad app and make my own fonts

8. Fill up photo albums with all of the photo prints we already have

9. Raise at least $500 for Carlin*

10. Finish reading through the Bible and read through it once more

Things can get pretty competitive between my husband and me (friendly competition, folks) so I may or may not have jumpstarted this blog just so I can cross it off on my list.  Well, for the sake of "winning" and entlistungsfreude, of course.  :)

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*Carlin is the sweet 4 year old daughter of my friends Catherine & Michael.  She was diagnosed with cancer over the summer and has been bravely undergoing many medical treatments.  You can read more of her story here and buy a t-shirt here to help out their family.  Thanks!