recently there have been lots of people i know who have been going through some rough times. my heart goes out to them...how i wish i lived closer so that i could be there for them in their time of need. i hope they know that there are so many people out there praying for them and sending love their way. things will get better...they always do.
my students asked me recently why God allows bad things to happen. i didn't really have a straight answer for them, but instead asked them how anyone would know what true joy felt like unless they first felt pain and sorrow. how could we ever know what love is if we first do not experience heartache? how can we know life unless there is death?
praying for you, my friends.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
change
i'm not a fan of change. i don't hate it as much as i used to, but i wouldn't say i'm welcome to it all of the time. in fact, most of the time i try to avoid it.
today we had a very chill evening with the cousins for steph's last night in the bay. pizza, rock band, and forgetting sarah marshall. i was pretty tired from the day's events, but i was more sad about her leaving. i think i really was one of the people who really pushed her to go away for college and have the experience that i had. at the same time, there was a huge part of me that was selfish and wanted her to stay closer to home. i'm afraid that i'll miss too much of her life, that she'll have all these experiences i'll never know about, and perhaps i just don't like the idea of her being out of my "reach." little girls have to grow up sometime, i guess...
but even now, i'm telling myself to take comfort in the fact that she'll be in my hood. she'll be in a place where i reconnected with God, found life-long friends, and decided to dedicate my life to His ministry. no, i don't expect her to follow in my footsteps despite what the family says (not that that would be such a bad idea ;P), but at least i know she'll be surrounded by good people, and that she'll always have a safehaven to run to...just in case.
i really wanted to go with her this weekend to move in. i think it's better that i don't. it'll be emotional enough with her family, so i'll just cry by myself this weekend and wallow in trying to accept the change that is inevitable.
pray for us, please.
today we had a very chill evening with the cousins for steph's last night in the bay. pizza, rock band, and forgetting sarah marshall. i was pretty tired from the day's events, but i was more sad about her leaving. i think i really was one of the people who really pushed her to go away for college and have the experience that i had. at the same time, there was a huge part of me that was selfish and wanted her to stay closer to home. i'm afraid that i'll miss too much of her life, that she'll have all these experiences i'll never know about, and perhaps i just don't like the idea of her being out of my "reach." little girls have to grow up sometime, i guess...
but even now, i'm telling myself to take comfort in the fact that she'll be in my hood. she'll be in a place where i reconnected with God, found life-long friends, and decided to dedicate my life to His ministry. no, i don't expect her to follow in my footsteps despite what the family says (not that that would be such a bad idea ;P), but at least i know she'll be surrounded by good people, and that she'll always have a safehaven to run to...just in case.
i really wanted to go with her this weekend to move in. i think it's better that i don't. it'll be emotional enough with her family, so i'll just cry by myself this weekend and wallow in trying to accept the change that is inevitable.
pray for us, please.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
pictures!
CHARLES' 2ND BIRTHDAY
i love this picture. it really sums up the personalities of the 3 siblings. if you knew the type of people they are, you'd laugh at this pic...in a good way, of course!
uncle david and charles
no, we are not trying these on for fun! standard emergency drill...
go for the GOLD, baby! we totally won at family feud, got these gold medals, and went around the whole night sporting the gold! so. much. fun.
the girls after dinner
view of the sea
we were on the bus to rosarito and there were these people that were singing songs that i've never ever heard of. they were young like us, too! so, maria and i started singing hiphop songs to our friends and they would guess the song.
** next picture post: em, fran, and chellebee's visit to SF! **
so it began
as you can see, i've jumped on the bandwagon following people who have been changing their blog templates. i was ready for a change, and i think i like it.
3 weeks ago we started back up with school, hence, the blogging hiatus. it has seriously been non-stop since day 1. my year looks promising; i have a new position in school, am getting closer to all the teachers, and have a class that is drastically different than their predecessors. while i have to deal with the usual chattiness and rolling of eyes you get in any 8th grade classroom, the disrespect does not go further than that. they are easy to get along with, higher performing academically, and trustworthy. i took them to mass this morning to attend a funeral for a custodian that used to work at our school, and i was actually able to pray and be fully present during the celebration. last year, my eyes darted about during mass, and i could usually be seen walking up and down the aisle making sure the students weren't using their cell phones, touching themselves, or laughing inappropriately. all in all, i say it's going to be a great year. busy, but great.
oh, we're also going to washington, d.c.! as a supplement to our goverment and civics curriculum, the students will be visiting the white house and several monuments around d.c. 36 catholic school tweens running around on the other side of the country on their first trip away from mommy and daddy...i'm scared. we'll be going in may, a week before graduation, a month before my wedding. it's going to be interesting!
aside from the happenings of being a teacher, there are a few more updates in this life of mine:
3 weeks ago we started back up with school, hence, the blogging hiatus. it has seriously been non-stop since day 1. my year looks promising; i have a new position in school, am getting closer to all the teachers, and have a class that is drastically different than their predecessors. while i have to deal with the usual chattiness and rolling of eyes you get in any 8th grade classroom, the disrespect does not go further than that. they are easy to get along with, higher performing academically, and trustworthy. i took them to mass this morning to attend a funeral for a custodian that used to work at our school, and i was actually able to pray and be fully present during the celebration. last year, my eyes darted about during mass, and i could usually be seen walking up and down the aisle making sure the students weren't using their cell phones, touching themselves, or laughing inappropriately. all in all, i say it's going to be a great year. busy, but great.
oh, we're also going to washington, d.c.! as a supplement to our goverment and civics curriculum, the students will be visiting the white house and several monuments around d.c. 36 catholic school tweens running around on the other side of the country on their first trip away from mommy and daddy...i'm scared. we'll be going in may, a week before graduation, a month before my wedding. it's going to be interesting!
aside from the happenings of being a teacher, there are a few more updates in this life of mine:
- our YA meeting was postponed due to venue issues, but is now back on and set for 9/27. prayers are much needed and appreciated!
- i started dancing for Te Mau Tamari'i A Tiare/Na Kamali'i A Kiele along with my cousins and siblings. there are 7 of us in the family who dance together, and it has been a lot of fun! it's more difficult than i thought it would be, but i enjoy the challenge.
- david and the cousins joined an asian basketball league. they have games every sunday. unfortunately, their record isn't very good, but they are definitely improving every week!
- david's nephew, charles, turned 2! the party was fun -- lots of kids and vietnamese food/people. he's more engaging now and at a very fun age.
- i went on my first cruise ever a week before school started. i had the time of my life!
if i remember and/or have some time, i'll try and upload some visuals of the past couple events. i'm so bad with pictures! (even though i love posing for them...haha!)
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