busy times....

wow! things are so busy at the moment. in less than a week, paul and i travel to boston for a job fair. i had reports to write this week and have sub plans that i am working on. not to mention, packing and getting everything ready to go. i cannot believe that the time is here. my dear friend, sheree, came over this afternoon for a fashion consult for the job fair. it was fun and she was thrilled to see what i had stowed in my "war chest". i am working on ticking more things off the "to get done before i leave" list.

prayers are welcome and appreciated. i am still reminding myself of the same verse, "trust in the Lord..." proverbs 3:5-6.

laughs, smiles and small moments....

i love a great laugh. a moment when you laugh and smile until your cheeks hurt....

today i was reflecting on sayings or phrases that have made me laugh/smile.

here are a few....

"and we are off like a herd of pregnant turtles." --anne, sfs colleague

"oh dear." --natalie, current student, stated right after i said, "oh guys, i am so excited." and in the perfect silence just after i finished she spoke. it was a classic moment.

i love to share these moments with friends. it is amazing. makes life and all its curve balls worth while. it's these small moments that make me know that i am ok, i am going to be ok, and all is well in my little, tiny world.

trust...

it's a hard thing to learn and intentionally do when in the midst of life changes. i know that there is a plan for us, i do. i know that God will make it happen.

i learned this lesson the last time i had a major change in life.....knowing i would leave the elementary school i was teaching at in houston and do something else. i resigned with nothing in line at the time and people thought i was nuts. crazy! i just knew inside, i had this peace that something would happen and it would all be ok. my response to people at the time was, "i am out on a leap of faith. God will make it work. i have no doubt." i still heard lots of criticism, but deep down i knew that it would be ok. i also had already figured out the worst case which was find a job somewhere and do that for a year or so. no biggie. it would not kill me, nor would the world end.

so here i am again at the same situation. i have given up my job at seoul foreign and now i wait. i wait for God to make it happen. i have done my part---signed up for a recruiting agency and fair, sent out resumes and emails, and am tapping all my resources. now i wait. this time i find it a bit more challenging though. i think because now instead of it being just an I, it's an US--paul and me. i still know in my head that God will make it all work out and i don't need to worry, but i do just a bit. i have my ups and downs. i have good days where i am totally ok with whatever happens and then i have my days when i freak out and worry to no end.

what am i doing to help me through all of this? well, i have been praying. i have been reminding myself that God does have a plan and that no matter how impossible things seem or appear that He can make the impossible possible. i also repeat to myself often the following verse from proverbs 3:5-6, "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." He will make it happen, i know.

the first week back is over....

whew! it went fast, but also was exhausting. i have taken a nap everyday after school this week except for today. the week went fairly well. the kids and i were both adjusting to being back at school and most of the gang were struggling all week with being tired.

the highlight was listening and learning from my kiddos. they gave presentations this week from their science creatures from another planet and also their home inquiry projects. it has been exciting to see them share and present with the class. i have been trying to work on their presenting skills and getting them to "command" the audience by waiting before they began. fun times. they did an amazing job and worked really hard.

the other highlight was watching them help each other with learning how to scan images into photo shop then save them all in their folder on the student network. wow! they learn fast. they also learned how to import pics into microsoft photo story. so fun and exciting. next week the goal is get all their audio recorded and their digital story books will be complete. it has been a crazy process as technology resources are slim.

paul has had a stressful week with work, but i think the bulk of that is behind him. thank goodness. now we are just hanging out, thinking about schools and countries, and preparing for the job fair. any prayers are appreciated!

have a great weekend! peace......

welcome home to snowy seoul!

reading.

gosh it is truly one of my favorite activities and borders on the edge of crazy. i love to read! it is a great thing, but i sure do a lot of it. just over the last two weeks, i have read four books and started a fifth.

currently reading...

without reservations: the travels of an independent woman by alice steinbach (i read her other book this summer which was really good)

most recent reads...

stones into schools: promoting peace with books, not bombs, in pakistan and afghanistan by greg mortenson (follow up to three cups of tea)

a long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldier by ishmael beah

crush it!: why now is the time to cash in on your passion by gary vaynerchuk (recommendation from paul and it was quite good)

tribes: we need you to lead us by seth godin (another one from paul)

i have a huge stack of books "to read" which is exciting and a little daunting since i start back at work on monday. although, i resolved to do more reading when i have down time. this includes saturday mornings when i wake up and paul is far from it. this is a nice time to have a warm cup of coffee and spend some time "massaging my brain" as i tell my students.

have you read anything worthwhile lately? i would love more to add to my list of books to read. pipe up, friends!

it's been a long, long time....

i know, i know. if there is anyone still reading my blog, thank you. it is ridiculous that i just stopped blogging. the lack on consistent internet is partly and mostly to blame, to be honest. very frustrating part of the summer trip in europe, but here i am.

so since the last post, we finished our month long adventure across europe. glasgow, edinburgh, felton (england), genoa (italy), amsterdam (the netherlands) and lastly munich (germany). edinburgh, felton and amsterdam were the highlights. edinburgh is just an amazing city. everyone should go there at some point in their life. felton is the home of dear friends from sfs. we had a great time experiencing the small english village and their village fair. it was great times. amsterdam is just as amazing as edinburgh. quaint, full of history, home to my favorite artist, and a place that is dear to my heart.

school started up and things have been interesting. we have battled h1n1, dealt with all sorts of scheduling interruptions and managed to stay on top of things the best we can. my kids are great. they have enjoyed this year so far it seems and things are going well. it is hard to believe that the first half of the school year is almost over. two more weeks until the semester ends. wow! time has flown and been full of all kinds of ups and downs.

paul and i have decided to move on from seoul. it was hard, but we know that now is the time. we are going to a recruiting fair in boston the first weekend in february. we are hoping to end up in southeast asia--vietnam,, cambodia, or thailand. we have made contact with some schools in the big cities and hope to know something before the end of february. we know that God has a plan and are excited for the next adventure.

we have been to chiang mai, thailand as well as saigon, vietnam this semester. so much fun! we really do love southeast asia. chiang mai was for a teaching workshop and then saigon was for the chu sok holiday. while in saigon, we visited some of the big schools there, interviewed, and had some great discussions.

for the christmas break, we headed to houston to spend time with family and friends. we had not been to houston for christmas in two years, so we figured it was time. although very, very busy and full, it was good to see folks and be able to catch up. paul and i both got new computers for ourselves while in texas. fun times!

now back in seoul, there is tons of snow on the ground. just before returning the city had about a foot of snow in one day which is record. the last time seoul received this much snow was in 1973 or so. crazy! it is pretty and does make life here more magical. although the streets are kind of gross due to the mix of snow and sand. very messy. i am not a fan, obviously. i prefer the non-sandy snow that is magical to look at.

school starts back on monday. i hope to be able to get in some good rest and read more books between now and then. i also hope to blog more frequently this year. i will work on it, for sure.

i am hoping there is someone still reading this blog.....if you do, please comment and let me know i still have some readers. :)

until then....