Looking again at what a marriage is…

Lately, a couple (not yet married) that we know of are going through that “final stage difficulties” prior to marriage. Shorty put, things are rocky. It made me realize yet again that relationships are where God is needed the most. Otherwise, we wouldn’t last.Soojin and I are not perfect, to say the least. We fight still. And we used to fight even more back in our first two years or so of our marriage. When we got married, I told myself that neither of us are near even perfect, and with the uncertainty of life ahead of us, the only thing we could be certain of was our promise: our promise to each other to put each other first, and to continue to forgive each other, and through Christ, bring ourselves together and become more like Christ.

Over the years, I’ve had my shares of anger and resentment and loads other things. I’ve head-butted the wall and punched it several times due to anger as we fought. But I’ve never hit Soojin. And I’ve always mended the differences between us over and over again. Even if it was to agree to disagree. We still don’t see everything eye to eye. But if Christ forgave us for all of our past, present, and future shortcomings and sins, both of us know that we don’t have the right to hold it out against the other. Again, it’s the parable of the servant that was forgiven a year’s wage who couldn’t forgive a fellow servant for mere change.

When you enter into sacred holy matrimony (don’t joke about that), you don’t say those vows of “for better or for worse” for nothing. God never promised us certainty about our future. Only that He would be with us through our uncertainties. If one waits till your would-be-spouse is ready or situations were “perfect”, you will be waiting forever. I guarantee it. When you decide to marry someone, you are making the promise to both of yourselves that you decide to accept the other person as they are (as God created).

I feel that lately, with our generation and younger, we give up too easily on things. Especially on relationships. I pray that this will change. After all, would you want God to change His mind about you?

Touches of raising children

Well, there are strange things you experience when you raise kids…

1) JJ’s poop has been getting bigger and thicker… and smellier!
2) JJ and Anna like to ask me to read to them before they lie to sleep.
3) JJ has especially been increasing his food intake!
4) JJ definitely has the face of a clown! And acts like it too… I’m gonna miss it when he grows up.
5) Anna likes to write out the letters (be it Korean or English) on whatever surface she finds. I find that very cute…
6) Today, Anna had that look… how pretty she is… she’s gonna break some hearts when she grows up!
7) Soojin likes to get JJ to say “I love you” while he’s sleeping…

Sheer gold.

Love those rubs…

I love rubs… or a massage.  So I ask Soojin always for a rub on my back.

Well, it must be genetic… ’cause my kids do too!  Either when they are sleepy (before or after sleep) or when they are sick, they always ask us to rub them.  Almost always, it’s the back.  They can take it for tens and tens of minutes!!    And if I stop, they get cranky and ask for more… and then Soojin says, “Taste your own medicine!”  Hee…  I don’t mind that much…

What I do mind is when they say their butt itches and they want me to scratch it!!     Why is that?  Oh well… Physical touch, I believe, is one of the main ways the kids feel that they are loved.  So I naturally try to give them more hugs and kisses… and rubs on their back and their butts!!  Ok… I will say it… “There’s no butt about it!!” 

My Little Anna is Growing Up!

Soojin’s friend from afar (Cypress, whoopi!) came to visit and so we spent the Labor Day at the Kemah Boardwalk!  There’s rides and such… but mostly for kids… OLDER kids.  I didn’t even think that JJ and Anna would even get on the merry-go-round! 

Turns out that I was right… half right!  Anna stepped up to the plate!  She was all excited with the merry go around!

JJ, as you can see in the pic, sat on the seat!  Oh well… he will come around.  Anna, on the other hand, even wanted to go on that aero flyer that goes pretty high and spins around fairly fast!    That’s my girl… she totally owned these rides!!  Hee…  No fear… except for the train ride while going through the wild west tunnels. 

She’s growing up… She enjoyed the rides, that’s for sure!

I am no artist!

It’s no secret… I’m not an artist nor am I gifted in arts.  So whenever Anna asks me to draw for her, I get stressed.  Today, she asked me, of all things, to draw panties!  And then ribbons!

There are two things she loves:  clothing and accessories!  😀  And she doesn’t just want one either!  She then wants me to draw several!   In this case, 16 panties, and about 50 or more ribbons!  😮  Yikes… But she loves to color them in!  So I have draw over and over, in different colors, the things she wants!  C’est la vie, n’est-ce pas?  I try to remind myself that these are the moments to cherish… and that she just loves it when I do this for her!  It’s one of her love languages!  🙂

Shanna’s Pizza Parlor

We go to the county library nearby about once a week…
There, the kids, mostly Anna, pick out books to read.  Well, somehow, she discovered Shanna, a very outspoken and creative girl. The book character, not a real person!    In this particular book, Shanna offers all kinds of strange combinations of toppings for the pizza… it’s actually quite gross combo… even Anna agreed! 

When I asked her what she wanted on her pizza, she went on all over in terms of the toppings.  On top of that, she started asking if you could put non-food stuff on the pizza!!    In the end, I loved the book for encouraging the kids like Anna to think beyond the typical… beyond the average, and teaching her to think outside the box.

You see, when I was in my 20s thinking of what I wanted my kids to learn, I wanted one of those to be for my kids to be able to learn to be both expressive and creative.  I didn’t want my kids to grow up stuck inside the box, per se.  I’m glad she’s way out of the box!    She’s so imaginative… makes me proud.