So evidently, Harrison Ford is still not too old! Later in May 2008, a new Indiana Jones movie called “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” will be coming out!! :O Here’s the preview… I for one think it may be quite exciting!
Funny helping Anna with school work
So since past few weeks ago, our Kindergarten Anna has finally brought… work home!! 😮
She started having quizzes in spelling!! I didn’t realize that K’s also have to learn to spell already!! As I read out the words to her, it feels … weird finding myself helping her with studying.
It’s just odd… is all. I just pray that I won’t become those “typical Asian parents” in lording education over their heads. I want them to love studying and learning, and growing up. Hope I don’t mess that up…
Ugly Betty: A Rather Pleasant Surprise
Wow. What a great surprise!!
It’s freakin’ hilarious and quite original! I’m hooked… see it!
Stress and Ash Wednesday
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday… the day to mark the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period to prepare for the agony and pain that Jesus went through and 40 days reflect the length of time he spent in the desert. Prior to this day, my stress level has been … surmounting lately. I thought I’d share this with the few that read this and ask for your prayers.
1. My mother-in-law’s health has been worsening with her liver no longer allowing her to take any medications, having gone through two surgeries for her eyes, and knees, and because of the liver, they can’t perform surgery on her neck, which has been giving her lots of pain. Her siblings all but two have died of liver cancer, and she shows symptoms of the same disease. I’m afraid that she may not have much time left… 🙁
2. Because of my mother-in-law’s health condition, Soojin has been stressed out about it, and cries a lot of times regarding this… even more so thinking that she can’t help take care of her mom.
3. So naturally, before her health diminishes even further, we planned to visit her this year in Korea, but as most know, plane tickets are not cheap. I’m looking at easily $4000 to $5000 for 4. That’s not a small amount and it’s stressing me out.
4. Unfortunate misunderstandings and timings have brought some bad situation to some of my relationships.
5. My parents haven’t been doing too well either.
6. I’ve had a severe headache for over a week where everything above my sinus have been giving me so much pain that I couldn’t concentrate. Thought it was allergies at first but upon visiting my doctor, she told me that it’s more likely due to sinus infection. I’m on 3 meds now and the throbbing pain in my cranium seems to have gone… for now.
7. Job has been… frustrating to say the least. Not being appreciated at work by the higher ups, and too much internal politics are killing me.
8. Relatively big task came into my hands at work and that’s been giving me stress.
9. My body pretty much gave out on both Tuesday and Wednesday due to stress, and felt too weak to do much.
10. Both of our cars seem to need the transmissions rebuilt… either that or get a different car(s). 🙁
10. Finance (and managing it) has never been my forté and making ends meet is becoming more and more difficult.
Things, honestly, look very bleak right now… but as Ash Wednesday reminds me, I need to keep in my mind how much more of pain and suffering Jesus had to endure for our sakes. May God give me strength to carry on, wisdom to manage, and the discernment to choose wisely.
Glass by Yuri – Online Jewelry Store
I’ve met Yuri (meaning “glass” in Korean) while I was in Austin. Back then, she was only in junior high. Now, she’s all grown up and working in NYC! Now, she has just opened, starting today, her very own online custom made jewelry store!
She has a fairly large collection already online and I’m sure she will add more as time goes by. What’s more, she will donate portions of the income towards local and international mission support! She started making jewelry for sale to help out a local missions group at first. I am so very proud of her.
Please go and support her by buying some! 🙂
Kids and Houston Auto Show ’08
So I was brave enough to decide to take the kids this year to the Houston Auto Show 2008! I knew JJ would love it but wasn’t so sure about Anna… well, they both loved it really! And the unexpected part was that they both wanted to get in all the cars and take pictures! 😀 That was so cute…
We did total of about 2 and 1/2 hours of walking around and seeing all kinds of cars… my favorite was seeing the Audi R8! That car was suh-wheat! Here are the pictures of it… Enjoy! I know I did.
Oh yeah… Buick had a water fountain to show…
Increasing Responsibilities of Parenthood
Anna’s first year in public school system has been great. She loves going to school and is always excited about learning… However, there has been a bit of… concern.
There’s this girl in her class that has been saying negative things to Anna. It all started with “You are not my friend” type of simple (but common, unfortunately) negative comments whenever Anna didn’t play with this girl or wanted to control her. Anna is mostly a very sweet girl who gets along with everyone else and tries to be kind. Unfortunately, that’s her weakness as well and so even such statement makes her cry. 🙁
I remember the first time Anna mentioned it. It kind of came out of the blue and she started to cry. So both of us have been telling her to try her best to ignore what she tells her. Well, unfortunately, things have been getting worse. Last week, that girl told Anna that she’s stupid! 😡 Erg… This girl is currently the only child and so tends to try to be controlling and authoritative. Both of us were so mad.
It’s hard to advise a 5-year-old on how to handle such situation. While being a Christian, we want to tell her to just love that girl unconditionally, I told myself that Ann’s 5 years old. She has no concept on what all that means, let alone being able to process how to not let such negative things not affect her. So until I believe she’s old enough to ignore those negative comments and still be able to befriend her, I told her (as calmly and nicely as possible) to avoid her and ignore what she says.
In her first year in school system, all I wanted for Anna to learn is adapt well into the system. I could care less about how smart she becomes or capable or such things. I want her to enjoy the school life. After all, she will be in it for 12 more years! So on Tuesday, we had our 2nd teacher-parent conference. Anna’s teacher is great. She loves her. And the teacher is great for most part. But she’s a teacher nonetheless and with all her responsibilities, this kind of situation was oblivious to her. So after the teacher spoke about her academic progress (and she’s doing just fine even if others are doing superior), I brought this issue with this particular girl.
Now that she’s aware of it, I hope the teacher does a bit more. And I do pray that Anna grows up to be a very understanding and accepting kind of person. But until I think she’s ready to even understand what that means, I am advising her to avoid her. Man, it’s tough being a parent… 🙁