Twenty-seven.

27 years of life. 

14 years walking with Jesus. 

5 years with an amazing husband. 

4 years adventuring in South Korea. 

8 more days until California. 

An uncountable amount of people who love me. 

I am so thankful. 

read more "Twenty-seven. "

Whirlwind Wedding Weekend

John and I are now back in Korea after our whirlwind trip home to California for my brother's wedding. It was SO beautiful! We had such a wonderful time seeing family and friends, and celebrating my brother and his new wife. 

Here are some photos of the beautiful day: 

Getting ready with the seester & my big girl shoes. 

From top left, clockwise: brother, dad, mom, husband

Here comes the beeeeautiful bride! 

The handoff. 

CUTE decorations! 

Dancing in to the reception. 

Table 12--I helped make the wedding favors! 

Speeches & songs. 

Dancing & cake. 

The getaway car. 

Congratulations SO much, Mr. & Mrs. Majzoub! 

I love you both dearly! 

read more "Whirlwind Wedding Weekend"

Déjà vu

Around this time, in August 2008, I was crying. 

We had quit our jobs, sold or given away most of our stuff, moved in with my parents for a month, and we were just a few days away from moving across the world--far from cultural familiarity, family, and friends--to South Korea to take jobs that we didn't know how to do. 

I woke up in the middle of the night, weeping. 

I felt so scared, so not ready, so overwhelmed, so emotional, so inadequate, so insecure. 

I didn't want to leave my family and friends, my home, my idea of happy. 

I wept and wept, hot tears covering my pillow, until I couldn't breathe. 

My brother and my husband rushed in to comfort me, 

but they couldn't take away the fear, the pain of being uprooted. 

Anne said it best, 

"'I've put out a lot of little roots these two years,' Anne told the moon, 

'and when I'm pulled up they're going to hurt a great deal.'"

Little did I know then what God had in store for me. 

As it turns out, it was way better than I could ever have dreamed. 

And now, four years later, with a heart full of new framily members (framily = friends that are as close to you as family), a head full of new memories and experiences, and a hand full of new skills, I'm crying. 

And I can't stop. 

There's a big chunk of my heart that is SO excited to be returning 'home' to California. 

I am overjoyed at the thoughts of seeing and doing life with family and friends again. 

And, I'm not going to lie, I can't wait to go to Target and the Safeway produce section.

But...

the other big chunk of my heart HURTS. 

I feel so scared, so not ready, so overwhelmed, so emotional, so inadequate, so insecure.

I don't want to leave. 

I don't want to leave my framily, I don't want to move across the world again, I don't want to make a transition,  I don't want to feel culture shock in my own culture, I don't want to tear apart our little apartment, and I just don't want to 

stop doing life as I know it. 

That tear-stained night in August 2008 helps me believe that these tear-stained days of August 2012 will bring forth more of God's good plans for my life. And just as I didn't expect it then, it may be better that I could ever dream.

 And yet... 

I have put down many roots these last four years,  

and when I'm pulled up, it's going to hurt a great deal. 

read more "Déjà vu"

Soaking it up

These are our last days in Korea and I want to soak it all up as much as possible. 

These are the days we will probably remember most vividly in the future, 

so I'm hoping to make them good ones. 

Two weekends ago we visited a beautiful east coast beach with some dear friends. 

We have always wanted to make the trip to this specific area, 

and we were finally able to go. 

It was a super relaxing weekend, filled with walks on the beach, good food, 

and great conversations. 

Other things we've been up to these days:

Teaching the last month of our ESL classes. 

I can't believe that after 4 years of this, we're almost done. 

Enjoying the bright, long summer nights, 

and trying to stay cool in the humid heat. 

I bought a new day planner, and I love it. 

It's full of all sorts of wonderful Konglish. :) 

(Konglish = Korean + not so good English) 

We've been doing a lot of driving these days, which is unusual for us. 

We don't drive our car that much, because Korean public transportation is so great. 

But these days, we're driving a lot; driving to see dear friends and familiar places. 

Driving to save time and stay out of the heat. 

Here's one of those dear friends that we often drive to see. 

He's the cutest. 

I've also been working on something secret and exciting! 

I'll let you know when the time is right. ;) 

I even found some time to sew recently! 

It's been such a long time since I've been able to sit down and sew something pretty. 

What do you think of my new shirt? 

That's all for now, friends. 

Stay tuned for more posts as I try my best to chronicle our last month in Korea. 

read more "Soaking it up"