Life definitely does through things at you! January and February saw a number of life events for the Kim Clan. First, my eldest, Justin, graduated from middle school. Jordan and Aidan passed their grades with flying colours. Jordan will go into grade two and Aidan will be going into grade four in March. January and February also brought news of three different deaths. A dedicated teacher in the KOTESOL passed away, my neighbor's father, and the elderly father of the blessed soul who organizes things for English Sunday School also passed away. Quite a few ups and downs for the beginning of 2019.
Let's begin...
Justin will jump into high school! His graduation was on a Wednesday in January. I finished my class early in order to get to the ceremony that started at 11:00. He was one happy camper and thrilled that his aunt from Seoul came to celebrate with us. Aidan was also rightly proud of his brother.
January also saw a jump into responsibilities. The boys were finished their classes before my winter class was finished. I gave them a list of things to do during the day and came home to find that most of it was accomplished. Hansung was teaching a seminary class in Nepal, so the boys really were alone in the house for a good part of the day.
The end of January saw us take a trip to Cambodia. It was a trip that I had wanted to take for quite some time. Out of all the places I have seen in Asia, Angkor Wat has been a favorite and I wanted to see it again. As well, we got to spend time with Shannon Smith, Justin's former youth pastor from Korea Nazarene University's International English Church. She is now a missionary with the Nazarene church and is learning Khmer. We were able to hangout for two days and had a grand time together.
Let's begin...
Justin will jump into high school! His graduation was on a Wednesday in January. I finished my class early in order to get to the ceremony that started at 11:00. He was one happy camper and thrilled that his aunt from Seoul came to celebrate with us. Aidan was also rightly proud of his brother.
January also saw a jump into responsibilities. The boys were finished their classes before my winter class was finished. I gave them a list of things to do during the day and came home to find that most of it was accomplished. Hansung was teaching a seminary class in Nepal, so the boys really were alone in the house for a good part of the day.
The end of January saw us take a trip to Cambodia. It was a trip that I had wanted to take for quite some time. Out of all the places I have seen in Asia, Angkor Wat has been a favorite and I wanted to see it again. As well, we got to spend time with Shannon Smith, Justin's former youth pastor from Korea Nazarene University's International English Church. She is now a missionary with the Nazarene church and is learning Khmer. We were able to hangout for two days and had a grand time together.
We had a few days to recover before the Lunar New Year holiday. In Korea, this is three days. The first day is to travel to wherever your family lives, the second day is the holiday, and the third day is to travel back home. We went up to Seoul to see Grandma in the nursing home on the second day, as its only about an hour and half up to Seoul.
Grandma was ready for visitors! Considering that the woman is in her nineties, she really does have quite a bit of energy! She was well dressed, smiling, and had prepared the little bit of money all children receive after they have bowed to their elders. We visited for about an hour before she showed signs of getting tired.
In other news, I finally got around to putting a world map up on the wall beside the kitchen table. I had fun watching Aidan the other day look at the map carefully. He found the state of Virginia (Mom's name!), Austin (his cousin's name) and Dallas (my sister's name) in the state of Texas, and Jordan (his brother's name) the country and the river. I was greatly amused when he asked if there was a city or town called Aidan or Justin somewhere in the world!
The boys and also also spent three days at Elior English Camp, which for me has become a spiritual retreat of sorts. The mountain air, the good food, the conversations with friends, and the workshops all were blessings that brought me through all the grief and depression to a place of thankfulness.
The three big lumps in February have been the laundry lump (or amazing pile up), the food lump (putting together three meals a day when you are used to only two can be a challenge), and handwriting lump (the boys are writing out Bible verses everyday morning and writing in their diaries in English)! God bless the women who homeschool and do this as a regular part of their routine. I am already tired and looking forward to when the boys go back to school.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
Grandma was ready for visitors! Considering that the woman is in her nineties, she really does have quite a bit of energy! She was well dressed, smiling, and had prepared the little bit of money all children receive after they have bowed to their elders. We visited for about an hour before she showed signs of getting tired.
In other news, I finally got around to putting a world map up on the wall beside the kitchen table. I had fun watching Aidan the other day look at the map carefully. He found the state of Virginia (Mom's name!), Austin (his cousin's name) and Dallas (my sister's name) in the state of Texas, and Jordan (his brother's name) the country and the river. I was greatly amused when he asked if there was a city or town called Aidan or Justin somewhere in the world!
The boys and also also spent three days at Elior English Camp, which for me has become a spiritual retreat of sorts. The mountain air, the good food, the conversations with friends, and the workshops all were blessings that brought me through all the grief and depression to a place of thankfulness.
The three big lumps in February have been the laundry lump (or amazing pile up), the food lump (putting together three meals a day when you are used to only two can be a challenge), and handwriting lump (the boys are writing out Bible verses everyday morning and writing in their diaries in English)! God bless the women who homeschool and do this as a regular part of their routine. I am already tired and looking forward to when the boys go back to school.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
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