Winter wonderland...

Our first snow picture here so far...

job news & autumn colors

[L]: Thank you Lord for His provision! I recently was offered a job at a local hospital nearby. It will only be a part-time job, but it will a big help with our current tight budget. Thank you so much for your prayers.

It will definitely be a balancing act with Edwin in school full-time, and me working part-time, juggling our schedules to take care of Jocelyn. It will be tiring for sure, and I will miss Jocelyn so much. But I am thankful for the Lord's provision for this season in our life.

Oh no... does this mean that my very limited time to blog, is now even more limited? I hope not! =P

Anyhow, I wanted to end this post with some fun fall pictures. The leaves finally have turned completely yellow/red/orange this past week. We recently took Jocelyn to go visit a nearby pumpkin patch. This afternoon, we went for a walk, and the fall colors are just gloriously beautiful.

I thank God that He made the earth tilt, so that we have 4 seasons. Being in Texas most of my life, I think I missed out on autumn. It's not until we moved here, that my eyes are treated to the beautiful radiance of fall colors. I better enjoy it till we are slammed with snow and harsh, brutal winter. =)

Photos below: On our walk this afternoon...

On the farm & pumpkin patch...

Silly girl

[L]: Here's another post on the same day! Aren't I on a roll. So while we were in Rockport with Jeremy, Edwin got super excited about all the cool places to venture and explore. So much so, that Edwin started trespassing. He totally walked past the sign that says, "Area for motel customers only. No trespassing." Yes, he walked right past it.

The motel owner started hollering at Edwin saying, "Excuse me, excuse me!" Of course, with those thick ear covers on, Edwin didn't hear. Jeremy and I started hollering... EDWIN! EDWIN!

And a few minutes later, we hear "Eh-win." "Eh-win." Jocelyn was totally copying us! If it weren't for Jeremy as my witness, I think I could attest it to me just "hearing" things from Jocelyn. But she totally said it! And she said it multiple times that afternoon.

But the next day, she went back to her usual "Uh-Oh."

I guess saying "Eh-win" was just a one-day phase.

Family Photos

[L] I am so behind in my posting of photos...so where shall I start. Someone once told me that if I get too far behind, I should just start from the present moment...and hopefully, one day, I can go backwards. Otherwise, it will just be an endless cycle. So, to start with the present moment -- let's start with this weekend.

It was a wonderful weekend full of visitors from Houston! We got to see Jeremy and his dad, Sam, the Chens, and the Ips. What a blessing! While spending an afternoon hanging out with Jeremy and showing him around, he took a bunch of pictures for us. These below are just a few. (Thanks Jeremy for being our awesome photographer!! Seriously, he needs to go pro.)

Brrrr.... it's cold! Here we are in Rockport.

These (below) are in front of our school. It was a beautiful day. We are so glad to be able to take pictures that day, because the next day, it started raining, sleeting, and snowing! Yes -- SNOWING. In OCTOBER!

And here (below) is a photo at home. It's daddy and Jocelyn. I love their expressions. Thanks Jeremy for catching these everyday moments on your camera. Come visit again soon!

[Note: Thank you Isabelle for your gift for Jocelyn. She loves her jacket!!]

Pictures

I am working hard to keep up with all the pictures I take. In the title of this blog is a picture I recently took of a beach only 10 minutes away. I love how the evening sun just bounces off the water causing a beautiful shimmer. I am so excited to learn how to finally my incorporate a photo into the title of this blog. Gosh, I am so techo-UN-savvy.

The other background of this blog I got is from Shabbyblogs.com. Until I can figure out how to incorporate my own photos into the background, I'm thankful for this site which makes it a little more interesting. =)

See... as I promised, I am making progress. I am not neglecting this blog as much as I used to.

Time Management Myths

[L]: So, as you can tell, I've been MIA on the computer. I have fallen behind on emails, facebook, and even blogging. And that's because I've been on a quest: A quest for an organized home life. Perhaps for many others, it comes natural and easy. But for me, it seems to be the holy grail in my life that I am forever chasing, never attaining.

I feel like I have to work so hard just to keep things from looking like a bomb shelter...only for it to return to a chaotic look after a long day. Where does the dust come from? Why do random bits and pieces of junk always find its way into our living room? I guess I was able to live with it for a long time... but with Jocelyn crawling everywhere (and pulling herself up), she somehow is able to find the smallest things to eat (like fuzz, paper, etc)... suddenly, this is now a problem.

And of course, that's just the living room. What about all the other aspects of my life that needs to be organized. I feel hopeless thinking about it -- all the old photos from 10 years ago that still needs to be sorted. Let's just say I am ten years behind. And then there's all the other things that needs to get done. But it's all in my to-do list...for "someday".

How do other people do it? How do YOU do it? What system do you follow? I would love ANY ideas at all.

At the same time, I don't want to miss out on the present moment of life. Jocelyn is learning to mimic and recently learned how to do a high-Five and say "Uh-Oh." I don't know why she likes the word "Uh-Oh" but she prefers to say it more than anything else. Everything is UH-OH. =) It's so cute, and it makes me want to just stop. Stop cleaning, stop sorting, stop organizing, and just sit and play with her.

I just recently read an article by Kathy Peele about Time Management called "Time Management Myths". Here's the link. She says it's not about finding the "perfect" system to life, but rather, finding a "rhythm" to life.

What's yours? I am still looking for mine. Perhaps I am a slow learner...so I need just more time. =)

I passed!

[Lilly]: I have good news to share. I passed my pharmacy law board exam! YAY! Praise God! Yes, it really must be God because I felt that it was hard and tricky and I thought I did terribly. But I just received my new license in the mail for MA and so I guess I must have passed. =) So now I am in the process of looking for a job... we'll see what the Lord provides.

I hope to get organized, catch up, and keep up this blog. But so far, it's been so hectic that by the end of the day, I barely have a chance to check email, not to mention blog. But, I really miss friends and family and want to stay in touch...and so I will try my hardest!

As you can see, it's 3:30am EST. I guess that's about the only time I have to get on the computer un-interrupted...

but then again, it's zzzzzzz time. :(

Studying!

Hellooo friends!
I can't believe we've been in Boston (suburbia) for almost a month now! Edwin and I totally do a double take every time we hear the Boston accent (ahem... i mean BAAH-STON accent). Yesterday, I overheard one lady say, "I've gotta get my caaahhr. " Wow. For us with Texan ears, it *almost* sounds foreign. hahaha.

Anyhow, it's been fun so far. Unfortunately, I feel like I haven't had a chance to really do much yet because I am holed up studying for my Massachusett board exams -- well, at least the law portion for pharmacy. Every state has different law requirements. So in order to transfer my license from Texas to Massachusetts, I have to read (memorize) pages worth of dry law stuff. Ugh! I've also had to do 30 hours of continuing education to renew my license for Texas.

So I still have a LOT of STUDYING to do before I finish unpacking since my law test is coming up....SOON. I totally have senoritis syndrome where I would rather do ANYTHING than studying. But study I shall.

I *promise* to update more after all my exams are done. =) I have a lot more pictures to update, but I shall be disciplined and refrain from doing so until all my studies are done!

Jocelyn is 6 months...oh wait, almost 7 months!

Hello friends!

Where did the time go? Life has been so hectic and crazy, I am kind of shock that it's now June. Of course, we are busy and so I haven't had much time to update. But I do want to check-in and give a brief update. =)

I can hardly believe that Jocelyn is already almost 7 months. Her last check up at 4 months, she was 90th percentile (height & weight). This time at 6 months, she was 90th (weight) and 95th (in height)! How did our little 6 lb 11oz baby become this chunky girl? We know it's definitely NOT from our genes (especially the height). It must be just a phase! We'll enjoy her rolls of fat while it lasts... =P

This past month whizzed by. Since the last blog post, she has been able to sit all by herself unsupported. Her little two bottom teeth has also recently come in.

Another big milestone is that she has also finally started solids. I've been really hesitating starting her on solids because well...I'm just kind of lazy. Nursing her is just easier than having to pull out a bib, bowl, spoon, and spoonfeed her bite by bite. But as she has gotten older, she has been eyeing our food and seems just hungrier and hungier -- ESPECIALLY when we are eating. So, it was time to feed her solids.

Here are some fun pics of her first time eating. She was so ready for it, that at times, she was literally lunging for the spoon.

Getting ready to take a bite:

She's loving it!We also had some fun recent bathtime pictures. It's been fun bathing her since she can sit up and splash water around.

Here's a picture showing more of her two bottom teeth:
Well, that's all the jocelyn update for now. As for update on us and life, we'll save that one to another post for next time.

I will *try* to keep my posting up and not get behind...

A brief update! =)

[L]: It's been such a long time since we've been able to update this blog. But for the very faithful 1 or 2 of you that maybe still check this blog, I really appreciate it! =) Thanks for caring about our little family. I tell myself that I will update this soon, very soon, soon-enough...and uh, never get around to it. There's SO MUCH to update...and I think I just don't know where to start... so I don't do it at all. Sigh.

For example, let's just start with our little sweet Jocelyn who has won over her mommy & daddy's heart the day she was born. She has grown so much since then! She now laughs, squeals, rolls over, and knows our little games we do with her! She has even grown from being in the 10th percentile to now a 90th percentile baby (height & weight!) hahaha. She has been the daily delight and joy.

We have taken literally hundreds/thousands of pictures (we even bought a mega memory card to hold it all)... and we daily add to it. So when the task comes to pick out a few to download onto our blog, facebook, whatnot... how do we choose?!! So as a I result, I have done nothing about downloading pics. But I promise, there will be one day soon when I post my fav pics. There's just too many to choose from at the moment (as if this problem will be solved by waiting later...?) sigh! =) I guess I'll just start by posting the latest pics (see below). We went to a strawberry farm with our friends who also have a little girl only 3 days older (Jocelyn's friend Isabelle). It was so much fun!

In other areas of life... well, it's been busy too. Back while we were in Asia, I loved blogging regularly because almost everyone dear to us were on the other side of the ocean. And it was our way of communicating and sharing our life. Now, well, most everyone is within driving distance! hahaha. =)

But sadly, all of this will change once again! This July we will be moving AGAIN. As you may know, Edwin will be attending school in the New England area at GCTS to get a Masters -- M.Div. So I guess that means I need to get busy and start paying some attention to this blog again...as we sadly prepare to leave our beloved H-town once again. Sniff, sniff...

This time, though, it's comforting to know that we won't be so far away on the other side of the world...and, yes, there will be lobsters and clam chowder where we are heading to! :)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PICS: At the strawberry farm last week with our chunky monkey! And of course, who could resist dressing her up with such cute accessories...