2-Fifths

This is our story: 2 lives, 1 struggle, 1 journey: brought together, forgiven, walking with brilliant HOPE because HE has REDEEMED us with His BLOOD. We live not for us but for HIM, by HIS grace, love, and mercy. To GLORIFY Him. "Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."

[2-fifths]

JRS Winter Concert ‘15

[2-fifths]

[2-fifths]

Happy (day after) Lunar New Year, everyone!

If anyone missed the Chinese New Year / Spring Festival Gala 2015, it's available online!  =)  Unfortunately it's only in Chinese without English subtitles (there are Chinese subtitles), but there are some fun performances if you skip around... It's also really cute because the broadcast opens with a bunch of individuals wishing their families a happy new year. 

The actual show starts at 2:03:13 and everyone should watch the intro, which is just musical, as it is a nice, pretty capsule of various aspects of China (not all-encompassing of course, but still).

If you want to skim through the intro though, they do include all of the commercials and the footage leading up to the Gala (unlike any American broadcast, it is 4 hours of uninterrupted programming), which are fun in their own way - especially ones by American companies like Jeep (yes, there are Jeep commercials). They do also have the 2014 show, if you want to see past performances as well.

So yeah, this is what we watch in China - well, most people. Basically it's the Chinese version of the Superbowl in terms of watched-ness, except that while the SuperBowl may attract 100+ million viewers, the Spring Festival Gala is said to attract 700+ million to 1 billion viewers (so it's about 6+ times as popular). Just saying. It's also less ridiculous and more supportive of cultural values that apply to a broader and more diverse audience. Oh, and we eat much more delicious food, plus we get money as presents.  =)

We're just that awesome.  B)  Anyway, wishing everyone a joyous and prosperous Year of the Goat*!

*for people who are confused while you might see Year of the Sheep/Goat, it's because the Chinese character 羊 refers to several creatures, including both sheep and goats; so in English translation, translators may opt to select either one. Basically, English sees the differentiation between these two creatures to be more important than the Chinese do.

[kateoplis]

The Art of Lofting

[2-fifths]

Dream space... Unfortunately, Joe is less fond of lofts than I am.  =)

[2-fifths]

This is so breathtaking... I wonder if this is how God sees us... If, maybe, when we step outside the little box of our craziness and pause, if we would see this beautiful world which is so much bigger than any one person. We make it together. And yes, we build the cities, we build the roads, we live the moments. But what a gracious God we have to give us the space to live our lives and build our dreams. To give us such a big world, though we are such small, limited beings. I can only marvel that He would at all.

[monthofmay]

Redditor’s wife knitted a beautiful star chart shawl.

[2-fifths]

Can I just say, "Wow, I really want one of those!" That is incredible! I wish I had the time, patience, and knitting skills to make something like that...

[2-fifths]

Teehee, we have personalized addressing!  =)  It's so exciting! Now we just need people to send stuff to...  ;)  (We just need to stay here long enough for the stamps to be worthwhile.)

We actually got this a while ago, but I have yet to break it out... Thinking about it now that holiday cards are coming 'round the corner though...

I guess I will have to start writing more letters and not just being lazy and relying on e-mail.  >_<  I agree that handwritten things are a lot cooler, but they also take more effort than I am willing to exert when I'm feeling lazy. We'll see though... maybe in the near future... very very soon, I'll be breaking these out... maybe...  =P

But these make me feel so official somehow. Just, like a "real" person.

[2-fifths]

Mixtape

Happy 4-month anniversary, sweetheart.  =)

And to everyone else, please enjoy this compilation of sweet love songs.

[ed-pool-deactivated20141229]

"I want my father back, you son of a bitch"

"And for a moment, he was alive. And my fairy tale came true."

[2-fifths]

One of Joe & I's (is that grammatically accurate?) oft-quoted movies, and a remarkably well-written book. I'd never known this part of the story behind it though... It makes it even more compelling to me.

[thepenguinpress]

Famous writers and their typewriters.

(Photo from Smith Journal volume one. Typewriters from the collection of Robert Messenger.)

[2-fifths]

I want a typewriter SO BAD!! Joe and I got to play with two at Field Day of the Past last Sunday, which was fascinating... it was so strange for me to see "traditional American festivals/carnivals/field days" in real life, and not in a movie. I wonder if it's how other people feel about visiting China.

(Although China in the movies is not always comparable to China in real life since the country is so big, and the media tends to capture very select aspects of it.)

Tasted funnel cake for the first time. That was interesting. And had a corndog from a stand. By the time we got down to the roasted corn though I was too full to eat it. It was rather tragic.  >_<

It was also my first time seeing roller coasters (of a sort) and other rides NOT at an amusement park! Along with the assortment of target booths - no typical "shoot the rifle at the target" though. The closest it got was launching a bow and arrow (well, launching the arrow with the bow, naturally) at a target.

Also got to see some lassoing - there was a high school rodeo? competition happening too. Also saw some piglets racing.

All in all, it was a fascinating experience.  =)

[2-fifths]

Wei & Joe || Wedding Photos »

Wedding photos are up! Well, at least most of them. With 900+ photos (and I'm not uploading all of them), uploading just takes up a lot of time... but there is a sizable number of them available.  =)

While I could make the pictures available on facebook, I'd rather not mess with privacy settings... and I wanted it to be findable for folks who don't have facebook and don't want to get on it. Plus, the slideshow option is pretty nifty!

So the photos are currently on our Wedding Party app site. These links are open to the public. You can peruse the various albums (there are 100+ photos in some of them, so I would recommend looking via album online), or, if you just want to let the pictures cycle, there's our slideshow: 

Our Wedding Slideshow »

If you DO want to make an account, you get the benefit of being able to tag, comment, like photos, etc. But we completely understand it's not for everyone, even if I think it's neat (I'm a sucker for certain types of technology).

If you want more information about how to get to Wedding Party and account features, check out the post I made explaining it!

Again, more photos are coming, but there's some fun ones up now*.

*specifically, all the family photos are up, and all the bridal party photos are up, and a number of the ceremony & reception photos, including a lot of dancing photos!

[2-fifths]

Wedding Party App is pretty easy to use. Just go to the website or download the app (it's available for iOS and Android) and make an account. It's as simple as that!

You'll be prompted to put in the "wedding name" - ours is "wei&joe".

And all the photos should pop up!  =)  Navigation is pretty straightforward as well, and then you can look at the different albums and whatnot! If you get stuck/lost/confused or want to do something and don't know how, here are some FAQ's to help.

Can guests download and save photos from the app?  

For instructions on how to save a photo from the app to your phone, go to this FAQ article.

If you want to download photos from the app to your computer, go to our website on your computer, just left-click the photo you'd like to save, and choose the "Save Image" option. The photo will save to your computer.

NOTE : if you want the full-quality photo of any of the photos, just leave a comment on the photo with your e-mail and I'll send it to you!  =)

What are guest profiles?

Guests are able to create profile pages for themselves*. The information included on their profile page includes their photo, how they know the bride/groom, and whether or not they have a role in the wedding (ex. The Maid of Honor, a groomsman, etc).

*this function seems to only work on the phone version though

[2-fifths]

Although we were unable to get the livestream to work out (we literally had all the equipment purchased, but on the day of, got too distracted and busy with other things...  >_<), Joe's - and I guess now my - Uncle Gene videotaped the entire ceremony!  ^_^

It's not edited, so it's the full ceremony, for those of you who want to watch - or revisit memories.  ^_~  I will try to put up the highlight reel sometime...

Also, under charge of my beloved sister, Ruthie, wedding photos will go up tomorrow (likely LATE tomorrow), so be excited!

[2-fifths]

Life Update:

This is just a little note to those of you who are wondering what we've been up to. If you're not interested in every single detail of our lives, you don't have to read it - I won't be offended.  =)

SO, it's been 33 days since Joe and I got married! We've been super busy opening presents, unpacking, buying furniture, and (well, at least I've been) decorating! Marriage has been an interesting journey of discovery, to say the least, but God has blessed us richly, and I am profoundly grateful for my husband. Even if we don't always see eye to eye... on most things...  =P

I also wanted to let everyone know - if you hadn't already - that Joe's been at work for a while now! He started his new position at Carmax on Monday, July 14th, and has really been enjoying getting to know the company and his coworkers. I've also met a number of the folks he gets to be around, and they're very witty and impressive.

Their home office, where he works, is also inspiringly beautiful.

Speaking of scenic vistas, our apartment is also in a lovely area, and we are lucky enough to live near the breathtaking James River that I have showcased above!

Our new address, for any of you who wants to send cards, is:

1210 Buckingham Station Dr. Apt# 3B Midlothian, VA 23113

I'll try to post more photos/thoughts as they come along, but there are no guarantees they'll be in a timely manner. We have half of our living room set up right now, with wall/bookshelves and a nice comfy sectional (that I've been taking naps on). 

Please be praying for our marriage, and Joe's work, and my job search. We love you all! God is good!  =)

[2-fifths]

We have a COUCH!  =D  After much tedious searching (and a considerable amount of driving on Joe's part) we have secured a place for our visitors to rest their rump.

Or for me to nap. Which I plan to do lots of as it is a very comfortable sectional. We tried to decide between the more colorful version and the classic black and white decor, but as everything else is already mostly black in the house, I thought the color would be a nice touch. (yes, I am aware that it's not that much color, but this is me we are talking about...)

We eventually cut off some locations because of time constraints, though it had already taken most of the day, and even made it to the Kickers game!

All in all, a good day.

[2-fifths]

Wedding Update!

(yup, posting it on the blog just to doubly ensure that everyone sees this!)

To our lovely guests, beloved friends, cherished family, and all manner of wonderful folk,

Sorry for the long break in communications! I can't believe the wedding is so close at hand! I'm very excited to share this day with all of you, even those of you who cannot make the event physically. Thank you for all the kind wishes and notes!

Please forgive the pacing of everything - it's been a little difficult, so I hope you'll just have patience with us. As a result, this note will be rather long, but I hope you will read all of it, as the information is pertinent to a number of you.

PLEASE RSVP if you haven't already. At this rate, if you have not RSVP'ed, we will assume you are unable to attend. Whether you are or are not able to make it, please let us know if you haven't already.

to those of you who wanted physical invitations - I certainly hope to honor that request, but it may not be until after the wedding... So, I would like to offer all of our guests the option of receiving a "memory packet" post-wedding, including a save-the-date, invitation, and whatnot. More details to come - probably after the wedding... Please forgive the unconventionality of it all!

and importantly, to those of you who ARE coming: please kindly respond with a message letting us know the following:        --- when you will be getting in town        --- where you will be staying        --- if you need a ride from a train/bus station/airport to your hotel/place of lodging, and from the place of lodging to the wedding        --- if you're driving and have space to bring fellow guests to the wedding Our lovely and wonderfully organized friend, Alyssa Hickson will be coordinating this, so you'll be hearing from her. =)

Thank you to EVERYONE who's written to either Joe or me wishing us the best - I really hope to respond to all of your messages personally and thoughtfully, but I have not yet had the time to do so. Please have patience with me!

to those of you who CANNOT make it: we are working our best to set-up a livestream, possibly through Google Hangouts & Youtube! More information to come once I figure out how the Hangouts-on-Air events work... =P

I love you. Joe loves you. God loves you. =) We're very happy and very excited!

If you have any questions, please let me know. I do realize that I make things much more complicated than necessary sometimes. >_< Thanks to all of you who have offered to help and who are helping make this possible!

Much love, and God Bless! - Wei

[2-fifths]

Something Old, Something New

In the course of a person's life, there comes the time to answer "the big questions": what are you going to do with your life? Who will you spend it with? What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything? That moment, in my life, for at least one of these questions, is AUGUST 2, 2014, and so, with that in mind, I have decided to take something very old: this blog, and give it some new things: a new name, a new look, and a new purpose.

If my blog is novel to you, feel free to peruse its history, and read about the origins of its name and intention. Even if you're a frequent visitor, it may give some context for that which you have seen.

But now, it has a new name: 2-Fifths and a new rai·son d'ê·tre: to tell OUR story. As we walk forward in life together, we wanted a way to share our struggles and successes with those who have loved and supported us through the years, and also to set it down for ourselves, that we can see the work God has done in our lives.

Joe and I picked the name 2-Fifths to remind us that in this relationship, we are but two small parts, but that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit play the much larger role.

If anything, our relationship has been a continual reminder that apart from the grace of God, there is very little that we can do.

It is a lesson we hope to carry forward into our marriage and the rest of our lives. I will still have my ramblings from time to time, as usual, and Joe will as well, but we will also, I hope, be able to share encouraging, funny, touching, and real moments as we start the next chapter together.