Stylin!

It's so great that our kids are old enough now to actually play together. Often times, Jeremy follows Grace around trying to keep up with her, and other times, she gets annoyed with him copying everything she does that she's trying to get away from him. Lately, they've been playing really well together. This is their latest thing, a result of Jeremy learning how to get on the stool in the bathroom by himself. They now play "Hair," with Grace pretending to be a hairdresser, and Jeremy as the customer. It's funny that Jeremy, who is usually very squirmy when we need him not to be, actually cooperates and lets Grace do whatever she wants with his hair (on this particular day, he was actually "brushing" his teeth, but he definitely didn't protest!).

Ready for the final result?!

TA DA!

Random Stuff

Several things happened this week that I just thought I'd share about.

1) Jason and I decided this past September that I would be taking a leave of absence from teaching this next year. With both of us working full-time, coaching, with two kids who go to different places during the day, church stuff, Grace's lessons, etc., our lives can be pretty hectic. We thought that if I took next year off, I'd be able to spend more time with Jeremy, and be available during Grace's first year of school! Well, it's official- last week, I submitted my request and it was granted. I get to be a stay-at-home mom next year! As someone whose identity is greatly wrapped up in my job, the idea of being at home overwhelms me... But, for the first time in my life, this is something I really desire, as opposed to something I'm doing because I feel pressure to do so. When I return the year after, I am guaranteed a position, and my tenure, years of service, salary, and seniority will be reinstated. Unfortunately, I am not guaranteed my current position at my current school. I am saddened by that! Teaching 5th grade with David, my grade level partner, has been the highlight of all my years of teaching. I know things will work out as they should! My thoughts for now are on how I'll get to focus on my family next year!

2) I registered Grace for kindergarten this past Wednesday. I had parent-teacher conferences on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoon, but stacked my Tuesday conferences so that I could leave early on Wednesday. One of the parents who didn't show up on Tuesday, showed up on Wednesday just as I was about to leave school. She was upset that I was making her come back on Thursday, so to avoid making things worse, I went ahead and sat down with her. Of course, the conference went on too long! When I arrived at Kratt Elementary School, I ran into my co-worker's mom, who also happens to be one of the kindergarten teachers there. We chatted a bit, and then she took me to get register. The teacher who helped me said, "Oh great! You just got the last spot for A.M. kindergarten!" I was so relieved! I joined another guy at a different table to fill out some papers, and a few minutes later, the teacher returned and said, "Actually, you got the last spot (pointing at the guy I was sitting near). Turning to me, she said, "I'm so sorry. I spoke too soon and we miscounted. It looks like you're the first person for our P.M. kindergarten." What?! AAAAGGHHH! Anyway, she put me down on the waiting list for A.M. kindergarten. I know, I know. There are lots of pros to P.M. kindergarten, but part of the reason why I would like A.M. is because I wanted to spend some alone time with Jeremy in the morning, and some alone time with Grace in the afternoon (while Jeremy is napping) next year. We would also like to be able to go watch Jason's volleyball games, which start before P.M. kindergarten ends. It would also be nice to have Jason drop Grace off sometimes on his way to work in the morning. We're hopeful that since we're first on the waiting list, that something will work out! On another note, I can't believe that Grace is heading to kindergarten!!!!

3) My school's annual carnival was this past Friday. Considering our economy's current woes, I was surprised by the turnout- it was great! Jason brought Grace and Jeremy to spend some time with me. It was fun for me to introduce my family to my students and staff. Grace loved the inflatables, getting her face painted, and playing some of the games. My class's booth was Spin Art, so she got to create one. Though the turnout was great, we didn't have enough volunteers for our booth. It was a reeeaally long day- I didn't end up leaving school until 9pm.

Day 42, Kitchen Remodel

Today is exactly 3 weeks since I've given an update on our kitchen remodel! I am so sorry! I just haven't had the time to update with pictures! Since our last update, it seems like a lot has happened. The floors have been prepped for tiling, walls have been textured, and Jason spent one weekend painting. The most important thing is that our cabinets got installed last week! We were so excited to come home and see that- what a difference! Unfortunately, it wasn't until after the cabinets were installed that we realized how much they blend with the newly painted walls. We really want the cabinets to stand out, and yellow just wasn't right. So, since then, with Jason's mom's help, we've picked out different colors and Jason's mom came and spent her day repainting for us today. Isn't she awesome?! We know how lucky we are!
Over the weekend, we had people come out to give us quotes on quartz (silestone) and granite countertops. We wish we could go with quartz, but the market for granite seems to be much more competitive (reasonable), so we settled on granite. Tomorrow, Ron, our contractor, will begin tiling the floors, and the countertops will be installed later this week. There's still a lot to do, like pick out our sinks, faucets, pendant lights, dining room light, backsplash, etc. I hope to give another update this weekend!

This used to be part of our eating area!

The holes for the microwave and oven will be cut to size later this week.

A bigger window for more light into the kitchen.

Our mocha brown island!

The french doors leading outside.

Jesus Loves Me

Jason was driving home from grocery shopping yesterday with Grace when out of the blue, she announces to him, "I prayed for God to come into my heart." Jason had just pulled into the driveway at that point, and just to make sure that he heard her correctly, he asked, "Can you tell me that again?" She repeated, "I prayed with Teacher Kari for God to come into my heart." "What does that mean?" "It means that Jesus loves me." "Do you love Jesus?" "Yes." "How does that make you feel?" "It makes me feel happy."

Grace's news definitely makes Jason and I feel happy! As people who desire to follow Christ, we praise God that she is responding to Him, in her own understanding... We pray that this continues to be prevalent in her life journey.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)

Day Twenty-One, Kitchen Remodel

It has been a few weeks since we updated everyone on the status of our kitchen. Ron and Phu have done a lot of wiring. Can lighting has been installed, and a ton of new outlets and switches have also been installed. We replaced the window for one that was about a foot wider. We took out another window and installed some french doors. The floor has also been raised in what will become our dining area and the heating ducts and registers have been moved. The old soffits have been removed and later this week all the holes will be patched and texturized. At the end of next week our cabinets will be installed and it should start to actually look like a kitchen again.

Family Time at the Park

We took the kids to a nearby park this morning because it was such a nice day outside. It dawned on us that this was the first time that Jeremy got to "experience" the park on his own. It was fun to watch him climb up the playground equipment on his own, to go down the slide for the first time, to feed the ducks for the first time... Needless to say, it was fun!

Our kids are growing up so quickly... Grace saw the doctor this week to get her immunization shots for kindergarten. I can barely believe that she will be going to school in August! I actually got emotional waiting in the doctor's office. I commented to the nurse that it doesn't feel like it was that long ago that I brought Grace to the doctor for the first time after she was born! Wow... Anyway, kindergarten registration is taking place at the end of this month. Jeremy has been up to a lot, as well. Just this past week, he has decided to try to talk. In addition to baw (ball), and nana (banana), we have now heard him say hhhht (hot), tat (cat), tnk (thank you), chees (cheese), apa (apple), and buk (book). He continues to be such a bear, though. He really exhausts us, particularly when he doesn't get his way and throws huge tantrums. It's easier to deal with at home (walking away so he doesn't have an audience, and then coming back usually works), but what do we do when we're out in public? We haven't figured that out yet, aside from carrying a screaming and kicking kid out of the store (which Jason did earlier this week). He is also such a crybaby- how do you toughen up a kid? Suggestions anyone? Boy, it's a good thing that he's so darn cute when he's not throwing tantrums!

Feb. 14

We had a wonderful day today. Earlier in the day, we went with Jill, Adam, and Micah to see Fresno's Chinese New Year parade in Chinatown. I have no idea why the parade was held today since New Year's was on Jan. 26. Anyhow, for those of you who don't live in Fresno (actually, many who do live Fresno don't even know there's a Chinatown), it's not anything remotely close to what you'd expect. While Fresno's Chinatown is in the early stages of revitalization, they have a looooong ways to go. There are only a handful of businesses and they pretty much only take up about a block. Anyway, it was something new and different to try, and we were happy to spend time together and with the Lees. We thought it was a perfect occasion for Grace to wear an ao dai (traditional Vietnamese outfit) and for Jeremy to wear his. Adam got Grace the ao dai during his travels years ago, and Jeremy got his from Di Dao (my sister). Micah also celebrated with his own outfit! The kids got many compliments. There wasn't much to the parade (it wasn't very long, either), but the highlight was definitely seeing the lion dancers. Afterwards, we walked around and found a carnival ride for Grace to go on. We decided to eat lunch at the Central Fish Company, and since there was no room to eat inside, sat ourselves down and made ourselves comfortable right on the sidewalk!

Both kids enjoyed long naps when we got home. Jason's mom volunteered to watch the kids for us this evening so we could enjoy a Valentine's Day date. We couldn't have asked for a better day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago in celebration of the New Year (forgot to post them). Here is Grace in another ao dai (from Di Dao).

Day Four- Kitchen Remodel

Yesterday was Ron's first day working on our kitchen. This is what we came home to! With the cabinets completely out, I am finding it much easier to visualize what the kitchen will look like. It really is a bigger space than I had thought. Tomorrow, Jason will go get our French doors and Mark will come and layout where the cabinets will go when they arrive... So exciting!

Day One of... How many?

Well, after many years of Jason and I dreaming about remodeling our kitchen, we are now officially going forward with it. Adam came over on Saturday and helped Jason begin the demolition process. Huge thanks to him (and Jill for letting us "borrow" him), as well as Jason's mom (who had both kids overnight on Friday) because we definitely couldn't have begun without their help!

We spent this past week packing up and trying to figure out how we're going to "live" in our house with all of this going on. It's not going to be done until, well, maybe the end of March? It's not just the kitchen- we're also changing our family room area to add a new dining area. So, that's a pretty big space we're portioning off. We've moved our fridge, dining table, and a couch into our living room (it's a separate room at the front of the house), moved our computer armoire into our room, packed away many toys, and will be washing our dishes in our laundry room. Phew! This is going to be a very interesting process, but at least this time (Jason remodeled our kitchen in our first home), there are at least 2 things we can be certain of: it won't take 7 months, and neither of our bathrooms will have to become our make-shift kitchen! We can also be certain that there will be many meals eaten out (feel free to invite us over, ha ha ha) and as a result, we might all gain a little weight from fast food! Just kidding. Check out the slideshow for more pics. Stay tuned for updates!

The kids' packing experience

Who needs toys when you've got boxes?! (Oh, except all of our boxes have been used for packing!)

Update on the Kiddos

Every time I talk to my parents, all they really want to know is how Grace and Jeremy are doing. It has been a while since I've done an update on just the kids.

Grace has had an eventful few weeks. She has definitely been testing out boundaries and it has made parenting a lot more... what's a good word? Interesting? Difficult? Exhausting?Embarrassing? Anyway, let's focus on something positive! Last week, we decided that she was old enough to start being held responsible for her chores. Lots of people have differing views about allowances- some children are expected to help out around the house and don't get paid for it, and some do chores to earn their allowance. We have decided to do a mix of both. There are specific chores that we want Grace to do without us having to continually ask. She will earn an allowance for those. We also want her to understand that as a member of our household, she needs to help out regardless of whether she gets paid or not. Well, for these past 2 weeks, she has earned her allowance! Tonight, Grandma came over for dinner so Grace was able to show off her chore chart and show Grandma where her money goes.

Not much is new with Jeremy... We think he's fighting yet another ear infection! Our doctor said last time that if he gets another one this season, we'll need to discuss our options (possibly tubes). Jeremy has turned into "daddy's boy!" Everything lately has revolved around Jason. Jeremy will get jealous if Grace or I go anywhere near Jason (eg. hug him). He throws huge tantrums, especially when he gets hungry... We still haven't figured out what to do with that. He's learning how to use a fork and is so proud when he gets a piece of food with the fork and it makes its way to his mouth. We actually placed him in time-out for the first time this past week because he threw a remote control at Grace's head and laughed. Jason had to keep putting him back on the "time-out stool" but he finally got the message. He stayed on the stool and cried after the 7th time. Despite his roughness, he is still the cutest kid- really active but so sweet and adorable.

Our kids... boy do they keep us busy! :)

Chuc Mung Nam Moi (Happy New Year!)

Today is Lunar New Year... Most people refer to it as Chinese New Year, but the Chinese are not the only ones to celebrate the lunar new year. Vietnamese people have their own traditions as well, and if you were to visit Vietnam around this time, you'd be experiencing a huge celebration called, "Tet." Anyway, since I am not a part of the Vietnamese community here in Fresno, this day went by like any other. I do want to instill in Grace and Jeremy that part of their identity is Vietnamese, so we recognized the significance of today by going to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner with our close friends, Adam, Jill, and Micah. We even gave the kids "li xi" (red envelopes with money inside), a tradition I grew up with. Chuc Mung Nam Moi!
Jeremy is really upset he didn't get more in his li xi envelope... No, just kidding. He was upset that we made him stop eating to take a picture.Here is Jeremy in a better mood- now that he has his food!
Grace loves lemon grass pork chop with rice!