soo funny.

I love getting emails from old students in China. This one, Jiyong, is in 5th grade now! She just cracks me up and her emails are like bright rays of sunshine on my long school days...

An excerpt:

hi MRS SARAH!!!

I miss you so much!!!
I can't imagine that you got married!!!!

I just reamember when you were young and so pretty!!!!!

I think you and your husband is destiny!!!!!

And good that he is a nice man!!!

I thought maybe you wouldn't get this mail but thankyou for remembering me too!!!!!

I wish you come back to yanji fast w/ your husband!!!!(I want to see your husband!!!kkkk)

hahaha... she goes on to describe each new students in the school from the past 4 years, to keep me up-to-date. Her descriptions went something like this:

Yehun-He has really small eyes and looks kind and quiet.he was really, super quiet until miss stella prayed for him to get louder..(He is super loud now!!!)

and in 4th grade-Joshua:he is kind of jokester.....and like end of the 4th grader,a boy from newzealand came.....john-He is the smallest height of all people in our grade.he is like 10cm smaller than me....aqnd he has dots all around hisFace

Jonh lee-he stayed almost all his life in Ameica and dyed little bit of his hair in the front .

Hilarious. :) I miss them.

oh yes we did.

It's official - we are in the "old geezer" category. We just ate dinner at 4:15pm.

(I can't help it! I hate to keep things warm in the slow cooker, so I serve it right when it's done!)

On the bright side, wow! So much time before I head off to praise practice! =D

fa la la la la la la la la

I am hoping today will be the day we can deck the halls :) Ideally, it would have been on Saturday (SNOW!!!!!) but alas, it did not work out. I have been looking forward to this for weeks!

{!}{!}{!}{!}

{!} Early Bird. This morning I woke up early - well, earlier than I have been waking up for most of this semester. As much as I adore sleeping, I know that deep down, I am a morning person. It made such a big difference in my day to start it off right...I've been really bad at that this semester, making excuses to myself about adjusting to a new married-life schedule and a new home to look after, blah blah blah. No more excuses. I want to be disciplined.

My heart resonates with this song:
i'm so messy and distracted/ undisciplined and tactless here on the inside/

and yet it swells with this chorus: Spirit, draw me to my knees/ captivate all of me, all of me/ here before You, honestly/ captivate all of me, all of me


{!} Christmas Music. It's funny - last year, I was totally not into Christmas music (maybe because they started playing it ALL THE TIME even before Thanksgiving...). I would immediately switch on a CD when I got into the car. Now I find myself singing along at the top of my lungs on the way to school. I really like this version of Carol of the Bells by BarlowGirl - so crisp and clean! Looking forward to my first Christmas in our new home - and, of course, going back to Shipp to celebrate!


{!} RealSimple. Thank you, Ali, for this subscription! Honestly, I'd never heard of it before, but I really like all the little stories and the DIY ideas, shopping/budgeting advice, and even used a couple recipes for Thanksgiving dinner. Don't tell anyone, but I think Mr.A. likes it too.


{!} Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. What a great hymn. How true - that He IS the fount, the source, the beginning point of Every Blessing. Favorite line ever = Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.

Friday Two

[+] While sitting around our Friday lunch group table, my kids were chattering on and on about iCarly. Never have seen the show, probably never will. And even though she brought up the topic, Leilani interrupted in a loud voice, "Let's talk about vegetables!"

The funny thing? The kids quickly and effortlessly switched gears and then launched a discussion about their favorite vegetables. :)


[+] Yesterday, I brought in my wedding album to share with my co-workers. Since the students were fairly quiet at the end of the day, I decided to show them too. While looking at one portrait of me & Mr. A, one of my students called out incredulously, "That looks like YOU!"

just your typical day.

Setting: Mrs. Park's 1st grade classroom. A few boys are lined up to have mini-conferences with the teacher.

MIGUEL(puffing out his chest): "Mrs. Park, look at my six-pack!"

MRS. PARK: How do you know what a six-pack is?

MIKEY: It's a big round belly!

JHAHIDI: No, it's when you got squares on your stomach!

MIGUEL: My brother has a six-pack. That's how come I know.


*Editor's note: Although it would be quite impressive if true, Miguel does not, in fact, have a six-pack.

babies everywhere!

Seriously. I feel compelled, in the middle of my parent-teacher conference day, to make a list:

RECENT BIRTHS
1. Abe & Kisung had their 2nd child, Josiah, in June.
2. Mike & Catherine had a baby girl, Carlin, in July.
3. Cousins (Jay & Jo) had a baby girl, Gloria, this Sept.
4. Mary & Raef had a baby girl, Helena, in late Sept.
5. Cousin (Sue) had a baby girl recently in Korea.
6. Jason & Kelly had a baby boy, Jacob, last month.
7. Matt & Janelle had a baby girl, Aubrey Mae, yesterday!


ON THE WAY:
1. Cyril & Mary's baby due in December!
2. Co-worker's baby due in early January
3. Another co-worker's baby due in mid-January
4. BELLA BABY LEE due on January 24!!!!! :) :) :)
5. Choongman & Belssi!
6. Richard & Jennifer E.!
7. Nick & NanHui!
8. Abraham & Susanna!
**Edit:***
9. Dr. John & Maria! (Eee! Maria, thanks for sharing!!!)

I am sure I am forgetting many others. But seriously, being a newly wed in the midst of all these babies sure is prompting that same old question (accompanied by an elbow jab and a wink*wink)...haha. In God's good time, is what I say. Right now I am content - more than content! Excited! Exuberant! Ecstactic! - to be an auntie, gomo, emo, tia, whatever! to many many cuties. <3