Andrew and I are going to AWCF Gala tonight…and we’re about to get photobombed.

We were so honored to be a part of this wonderful event.

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

– Isaiah 43:1-4

They settled in our lawn and made it their home. Cute.

We had a little tiny baby deer staying with us in our backyard. We think the mommy deer put her here for her protection.

Kids have been very excited (you can imagine!) about our new visitor and kept going outside to see her . We were worried that she may have been an orphan  but mom came back to get her a few days later… We’ll miss you Bambi!

Icicles from Shane’s window

I came home from work and there was a surprise waiting for me.

It was a housewarming gift from my dear friend Susan…. She is one of the sweetest and caring person that I am so blessed and privileged to know…

How beautiful is this tea kettle.

at the company holiday party

This looks like all fun and play but this is actually part of my work day. We are doing our quarterly trend tracking in the city. Our first stop was at Vanity Projects where each of us got “high-end” nail art while visually stimulated by curated video art. Pretty cool.

Melt bakery: unique, seasonal flavored ice cream sandwiches made with locally source ingredients. Yum. Yum. Yum!

@Obsessive Compulsive cosmetics: 100% vegan and cruelty-free cosmetic boutique.

Thank you David for my pictures!

I have been home all week. I had another cyst situation which first happened last year and it has been a miserable week. Even though I had so much me time from being home to rest, relax, then maybe pray and think/reflect, but I couldn’t do any of them. The pain I was in consumed all of me. I couldn’t eat, I was nauseous, constantly vomiting, not to mentioned the abdominal and back pains, fever and chills. I could barely walk, talk without getting out of breath and towards the end of the week, I became very emotionally drained and weak and almost depressed. I cried a lot. I cried myself to sleep, and would wake up with terrible migraines.

It was Halloween yesterday and I had planned on hosting a little kids party after school. But instead, Andrew and I spent the whole day at the doctor’s trying to find some relief for me. I had missed my kids parades, Halloween party and trick-or-treating around our new neighborhood. I thought at least I should take pictures of the kids in their costumes. But by the time I got all my strength to get out of bed, get my camera ready and go outside to take a picture, Shane was not in his costume anymore. He had already been wearing his costume all day at school and he just refused to put it on again. I begged for him to put it on just for one more time so I could take a picture but he refused and ran away and I got so mad at him. I yelled at him like he had done something horrible.

That night, I took the strongest medicine I ever took in my whole life. When the medicine kicked in, I was falling inside a hole and there’s another hole inside the hole and another hole and while I was falling, kids came to me by my bedside to say good night. I started bawling and I apologized over and over again to Shane. I felt so awful. Shane was gracious and forgiving. He was wiping away my tears and said, “Mommy, it’s okay. You don’t have to say sorry anymore. That’s okay. You are nice. You’re nice.” My sweet boy…He ended up getting back in his costume that day right after I yelled at him and he even gave me a big smile for the camera.

This morning my cleaning lady came to clean so I slept in the guest bedroom(my mom’s room) all morning still drenched in medicine. When I woke up I had no idea where I was. I just stared at this beautiful view of the maple tree through the window. What a beautiful color. Then I wondered around the house looking at all the views from every window to admire the beauty of God’s creations. Then all of sudden, I wondered if there was a reason for all this. Of course, there was. I needed to stop my life so I can see those trees. I have been too busy for God.

Too busy with work, with kids, cooking, planning parties, decorating house, catching up on my TV series at night, shopping online while watching, then it’s only when I’m about to fall asleep, I say a short prayer to God. He came at the very end of my day. I always tell my kids that God is the most important thing in our lives and that nothing else matters. I was not living what I was preaching.

I am. A hypocrite…

{ guest room where I was sleeping }

{ from my bedroom }

{ from Chloe’s room }

The Good news is, God’s always been here with me… that I know my Jesus loves me unconditionally. I need to prioritize my life and sort through some stuff so that I can love him more.

This weekend, kids had VBS at our church. They had a blast! We recognize what a remarkable job our Children’s ministry team have done. So thank you for working so hard and making a difference in our children’s lives.