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Top 10 Moments of 2024

Every year, I feel further and further behind when it comes to a year wrap-up or new year resolutions. I don't know how everyone keeps up with it all (lol) but I told myself, keep the tradition alive! So here it is, my top 10 from 2024!

10. My 35th Birthday! (December 14, 2024)

I turned the big 3-5 this year! It is a big year, a big number. And I feel like as I've gotten older, simplicity is my favorite way of celebrating my birthday. I told my husband ahead of time that all I wanted was to go get my free Starbucks birthday drink and buy a new board game for us. Haha! He did all that and more (of course! <3) I woke up to the best gifts from my husband - a new JMC book and a Caraway pot that I've been debating about getting. I love that I can tell my husband notices these small things I've been eyeing but can't pull the trigger to buy for myself. Haha! We reheated some steamrolls for breakfast (no cooking!!) and then went to Target to get my VENTI birthday drink. Lol! We also bought two new board games and then came home to play them together. It was perfect. Leng took me out for sushi at Ichiban and we ended the night walking outside to relieve ourselves of all the food we ate. It was chilly but Leng held my hand the whole way :)

9. PAR Life (2024 school year)

I have had a great start to my second year of doing PAR. I have felt really encouraged by my PAR team and see my growth overall as a coach. One of my highlights was being able to share my racial autobiography with my team. I did not realize how emotional this task would be. While compiling my story together, I noticed that I was getting really emotional talking about some of my childhood experiences in Oregon. I thought maybe this was just me getting my initial feelings out as I self-reflected. However, when I went to share my presentation with me team, those same tears and emotions returned. The way my team embraced and met me brought a lot of healing to something that I didn't even realize had been wounded still. It's been really encouraging to also be believed in by my team members and just challenged to try new things and even consider new possibilities. Hearing what others see in you that you don't even realize is really special and I've had so many people on my team share that with me this year.

8. Prioritizing My Health (2024)

This year was a year that I really tried to prioritize my health. I was really inspired after reading Meals She Eats. The book gave really practical advice on how to manage food as someone with PCOS and insulin resistance. It can feel so overwhelming to try and think about how to eat what doesn't trigger your body when what is most convenient or familiar has those types of ingredients. At the beginning of the year, I started a gluten-free, dairy-free diet and I could feel the immediate impact inside of my body. I felt lighter, less bloated. I could tell it made a big difference. Leng and I also got a Sleep Number bed, which was a bit of a splurge, but with my chronic back pain, we dedicated ourselves to saving funds over a time period to make this purchase possible. I'm really proud of us for doing that and we both LOVE our Sleep Number bed. It's already made a huge difference. Leng and I talk every year about doing more for our health because at the end of the day, our health and our bodies are irreplaceable. I'm hopeful we'll continue to walk this path toward holistic health.

7. Dissertation Interviews Completed! (Feb-May 2024)

I officially started doing my dissertation research this year. It was a super exciting and nerve wracking process to start but I'm so grateful because God put some amazing partnerships in my life to ease the work. I'm also so grateful because my amazing husband accompanied me to all my interviews. It was a part of the cultural component of my research, but it was also definitely a great emotional support to have. We started interviews in February and it kept us busy. One of the best things about Leng being in my interviews was that I also go to debrief with him and just talk about the amazing conversations we had with the people we interviewed. I felt super encouraged by the conversations and blessed to be able to do this research. We completed all the interviews by early May and I'm so excited because I can really see the finish line now! Hopefully by the time 2025 comes, I'll be complete with my doctoral degree!

6. YA Ministry (2024)

I've been so blessed to serve in a ministry that continues to grow and bless me as a leader. This year, our leadership team got to continue to grow in our relationships with one another and in our faith journey with God. We did our yearly fellowship celebration by going to the VR Sandbox in Roseville and that was sooo much fun! We were laughing non-stop with all the Squid Game set ups and crazy feelings of falling through the glass floor. Our team also got to go the YA Leadership Conference in Minneapolis and we were super blessed by the conversations and connections. I also grew a lot as a leader through the 1-1 conversations I had with my leaders. I've been so encouraged to see how they all love God and are listening to his voice in their lives. We also saw 1 YA give their lives to Jesus this year, which really reminded us that God is working and we should not grow weary of the work. We ended the year with our new Serve Cohort initiative and again, we've just really seen the hand of God at work in our YAs. I'm so grateful to just see young adults desire God more and I'm hopeful for what He's going to continue to do!

5. Lue & Lisa Reconnected! (April 11, 2024)

This spring break, I got to reconnect with my long-time friend duo, Lue and Lisa. We went to EPIC Summer Project together in 2010 and have been the closest of friends. However, we haven't seen each other in almost 5 years after the pandemic and just the life changes we've all gone through. Despite the time lapse, we really picked up like no time had even passed. We met at the U of M campus like old times and just hit the ground running. We definitely did not have enough time to chat even though we got boba and had extra conversation in the car after having lunch. There were too many things to catch up on, and yet I always leave feeling a deep deposit on the things that matter - like receiving the joy of the Lord and being reminded of his love. We've all changed a lot just with the adulting life, but I'm glad to see that we all still love God. We were joking that we'll see each other in another 5 years. Lol! Hopefully we will be able to see each other again soon!

4. Lunch with my Mom & Sisters (June 24 & September 2, 2024)

Time goes so fast and our schedules get filled up so quickly, so it's always so important to be intentional about finding time to get with my mom and sisters. This year, my sisters finally were able to "get out of the group chat" and get together at Diane's Place for Nemo's birthday (she always gets us together. lol) Diane's Place was soooo delicious by the way! I went two more times after that just because it was on my mind always. Haha! I also got to go out for brunch with my mom and sisters in September for her birthday. That was such a great morning -- chatting with my mom about her life changes and reminiscing about her experiences of us as teenagers. It's so easy to forget that our parents are their own people too, going through their challenges and having lived through so many different seasons too. It was a blessing being able to have these conversations still and I hope to be able to keep having them for a long time.

3. Reading & Conversations with Leng

This year, Leng and I did some shared reading of the same books together. My husband is such a wise and insightful person. We often have very different perspectives about topics and situations, but I learn so much when I hear his way of thinking. I always enjoy our conversations, but particularly this year with our shared readings. There was also one specific night that I was scrolling on social media and saw this list of questions that I used to ask my husband. One of the questions was, "what was the hardest year of your life?" That question opened up a beautiful conversation that was both healing and courageous for us and even helped us talk about future things that I think were so meaningful to us both.

2. Thrive Conference (October 11&12, 2024)

I was got to go to MN Thrive Conference this year with the women at my church. It was such an encouraging and beautiful conference. I loved being able to worship with women of faith and especially loved seeing the women at my church get to connect with each other and connect with God's presence. I really enjoyed hearing Hosanna Wong speak about our identities in Christ and was deposited a reminder again of who God has called me to be. I also enjoyed just fellowshipping and joking around with the YA ladies that came, talking late into the night like I was a younging again. Lol! The best part though was being able to drive up and drive down from the conference with my sister. The conversations we had were so refreshing to me and I felt they were definitely God-ordained. We shed tears but we were also just deeply encouraged by the faith given from one another. I left that weekend feeling so touched by God and prayed for. I can't wait to see God continue to use this conference to impact the women in my community.

1. Japan & Korea! (July 9-30, 2024)

Leng and I have been wanting to do our Japan and Korea trip for so long and 2024 was finally the year it came together! Originally, we had only planned to go to Japan, but I wanted so badly to take my husband to Korea too. I studied there for 3 months as a student and had one of the best summers of my life there. Now, I wanted to take Leng and show him all the places I loved there! But we knew that if we hit up both countries - which it would be much cheaper and strategic to do than do two different trips- we would need more than 1 week for travel. Thankfully, we are both so blessed because our jobs both provided us the flexibility to make this trip a full 20 day trip! That was the perfect amount of time to split between the two places.

It was a ton of planning, but so worth it. We went to Japan first and we LOVED Japan. It is one of the few places that my husband said he would go back to. There is so much to do! Even though we were there for 10 days, we barely scratched the surface. Our favorite things were seeing Mt. Fuji, going to the Making of Harry Potter exhibit, and just trying out all the amazing foods! Japan is such a beautiful, serene, and clean place. We were so impressed by how kind, respectful, and mannerly people were. Like... people followed the directions posted by bus stops (lol) and there were so many kind considerations in restaurants to help customers and guest feel comfortable and welcomed. We just loved the atmosphere of all the cities we went to. We stayed in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. It was such a great time!

Korea was a bit harder for us to navigate. Thankfully, my husband caught onto the Naver app more quickly than I did so he really became the trusted navigator. We got lost a few times, but Leng always helped us figure out how to get home. I'm so grateful for him! We started off in Busan, which I had never been too. The ocean coast is so beautiful! We also got to see Gamcheon Village which was a big bucket list item for me. We spent the rest of our time in Seoul, which was more familiar and easy to navigate with the subway system. Leng and I did all the typical touristy Korean things, and even though I'd done some of the before, it was more fun being able to share them with my husband. I definitely enjoyed the food scene in Korea more than Japan. Leng loved the dakgalbi (spicy chicken with cheese). We had it multiple days in a row!

Overall, it was definitely a once in a life time trip. I am so grateful for my husband who is not only my traveling partner, but is always so supportive of all my crazy travel plan ideas. I know how lucky I am to be able to experience all these amazing trips with him.

Overall, it was a year of gratitude. Life has been feeling so fast. Every year seems to go faster and faster. I find it harder and longer to process everything. But one thing stays the same and that's the simple and profoud gratitude that I feel at the end of each year.

#ptlife #reflection #end of year #new year #2024

Top 10 Moments of 2023

2023 felt so fast, and yet when I look back, it feels like I lived quite a few different seasons within this year. Parts of the beginning of the year feel so far from life now. And yet being here now, I'm so grateful for all that 2023 gave me. Here are my top 10 moments:

10. Harry Potter Journey (Jan - April for books, May - Dec for movies)

Rediscovering and rereading my Harry Potter series was one of my joys of this year. I decided in January to reread all the books. I am a huge Harry Potter fan, but I read the books when I was in middle school. Sometimes I felt like a fraud because I loved the books but I couldn't recall all the intricate details that hardcore fans could. So, I wanted to reread the whole series fully for the first time as an adult-- and man, it did not disappoint. I had such a greater appreciation for the overarching themes, details, and character development in the story. I got so engrossed in the books and I loved the moments of humor that would have me snickering outloud on the couch.

After finishing the series, I got Leng to watch all the movies with me too. That was another joy: sharing my joy with my husband. Haha! He has never read the series and only sporadically watched parts of the movie series. We took our time working through the movie series--mainly because my husband would fall asleep if we watched for longer than an hour (lol), but he seemed to build stamina with the more movies we went through. Haha! I think this was also because he got invested in the storyline ;) I enjoyed when he would be shocked by small things simply because he didn't read the books, like the fact that Harry's first love interest is Cho Chang ("Harry Potter liked an Asian girl), or Hermione likes Ron (lol!). It was a fun touch to this year.

9. MYC 2023 (Oct 19-21, 2023)

This year, my husband and I got to help be chaperones for our youth ministry's trip to MYC. MYC is a special place for us cause that's where we kind of got (re)introduced to each other while serving together as the drivers of the church van. But more so, it was really different and meaningful to go back this year as chaperones for our youth. The services were really encouraging with amazing times of worship and really good sermons about pursing Jesus wholeheartedly. Sometimes as adults, we don't get enough moments like that, to sit and soak in an area full of people pursing God and listening to God's word. It's really special. I also enjoyed having down time to enjoy our suite as well as grab dinner around downtown Rochester. The weather for mid-October was perfect too! It was our first chaperone role since being married and we really enjoyed it.

8. YA Ministry Team (Feb 24 & Aug 13, 2023)

Ministry is always a challenge every year. It's a place where I am always wrestling with God about what to do and how to do it. I can be really hard on myself, but serving with a strong and encouraging team makes all the difference. This year, I got to do two fellowships with my YA ministry team. One at the beginning of the year and one in August before one of our members moved away. We did an escape room at the beginning of the year which was a lot of fun. We escaped in time and almost got to put our names on the wall but I asked for a lame hint in our last room, which took away our "no hint" streak. Either way, it was a lot of fun. In August, we went out for Korean food to celebrate our member Charity who would be moving away with her little family. All I remember is that we were having way too much fun talking and laughing that the owner had to tell us to lower our volume (lol!). I don't think she minded us but there was an older lady that was kind of grumpy about our energy. I feel really blessed to do ministry with a group of people that genuinely enjoy each other's company, deeply desire to live for the Lord, and take ownership to help make the ministry load lighter.

7. Finishing teaching and starting my new job (June 13, 2023 & August 7, 2023)

This year, I completed my 10th year of teaching. This year was a big transition since I was in a new school building this year and was still gathering my footing. Teaching has always been a beautiful challenge, but it's become even more so post-pandemic. There were many times during the 22-23 school year that I didn't know if I was going to make it to the end. I think that when the last week of classes in June rolled around, I was overcome with such an emotion of relief and pride that I had made it to the end. I was also touched with gratitude by the friendships I had made with students and colleagues over this new school year. In the end, this 10th year ran close to as hard as my first few years of teaching, but unlike my first few years, this year of teaching made me realize that although I love teaching and working with students, it was time for me to step out of the classroom.

Having been in the classroom for a decade, I also had a lot of anxieties about starting a new job outside of the classroom. Besides the typical new job anxieties of new co-workers or new schedules-- most of the anxiety was around the unknown of being outside of the classroom. It felt like starting completely over. Leaving my classroom supplies and decor or recycling folders of student work and lessons was more emotional than I expected. But my new job as a teacher coach turned out to be the most positive and emotionally healthy change in 2023. I have such a supportive and welcoming team and being a learner again has been such a catalyst to my professional growth. The flexibility of the schedule and the coaching work is so different and yet so refreshing. This new job has be one of the biggest blessings of 2023.

6. Last Weekend of Summer (August 4 - 6, 2023)

The only downside of my new job is that we started a month earlier than I would have as a classroom teacher. June and July were so busy with school going into mid-June, with church conferences, and with many ministry events. By the time August came around, I told Leng I was sad I hadn't even gotten a chance to go out on the water before the end of my summer. Despite having a leg injury, Leng had us go out and paddleboard on that last weekend of summer. We went out on Lake Johanna and had the most beautiful time out in the water. It was breezy and so peaceful. We also went out and got some delicious food that weekend - Filipino food at Kusina as well as some amazing food at Gainoi. Since Gainoi is in Minneapolis, Leng and I also got to take a walk after dinner in the beautiful early August weather. It was a great last weekend of the summer.

5. New York (Sept 9-10, 2023)

My sister was a part of a fashion show in New York City this year and we couldn't miss the opportunity to be there to support her. And since we were going to be in the big apple, we had to stay a few extra days to enjoy it! Although I've been in New York City before, it was Leng's first time. The weather leading into the trip was pretty bad. Our flight was delayed twice - I was anxious we might not even make it into the city in time to see Maisee's fashion show. Thankfully we made it! We stayed in New Jersey, which was nice because our Airbnb was in Korean Town. There were a lot of great food choices nearby. However, if we were to go back to NYC, we will definitely stay in the city.

My favorite part of the trip was seeing Lion King on Broadway. It was such a nostalgic and spectacular show! The music, the stage design, the humor, the choreography - it was breathtaking. It made the whole trip worth it! I also loved getting hot pot with my sister and brother in law and just recaping the trip as well as talking life.

4. Nkauj Ying's B-day Celebration (Nov 12 - 13, 2023)

This year, my little sister turned the big 3-0! We had been wanting to do a bigger celebration for her but life just gets so busy. There were a lot of curveballs that life threw as well and it made some parts of the year really low. Because of that, I felt that it was even more important to still get together and celebrate life even though my sister's birthday had long passed in the summer. We decided to spend a day doing some of my sister's favorite things - painting ceramics, manicures, and having good conversations. It felt like a perfect way to slow down and be present to each other.

3. Spending Time with my Mom (Aug 1 & Dec 15, 2023)

This year, I got to spend more intentional with my mom. That's been really meaningful to me. A part of this was driven by a few health scare and concerns I had this year. My mom is always the first to check in with me and take time to sit down with me to share ways to take care of my body and prioritize my health. At the beginning of the year, we got to get some massages together at her favorite spot and enjoy a meal together. I also took her with me at the end of the year to go buy Hmong clothes as a Christmas gift. She used her haggling power to get me an amazing price for the Hmong clothes I bought. We also did some shopping at Target and then she bought me some Starbucks. It felt so surreal sitting there, drinking Starbucks with my mom. She is such a chic lady :) Around the summer, my mom had dinner with my sisters and I too. It was one of the most special times, hearing my mom share intimate stories about her life-- being able to share that moment with my sisters was really special. At one point, we all had tears in our eyes. This was especially special this year since the years have made me see that my parents are getting older and I am realizing more and more that I will not always be able to be there with them or help them in all the ways I wish I could, especially when it comes to their health or their worries about life. Because of that, these moments really mean a lot.

2. Seattle Trip (April 3-7, 2023)

I have been wanting to go to Seattle for a long time and my husband is the best at allowing me to plan yearly trips for us. This trip was one of my favorites because it felt like a perfect balance between sightseeing and relaxing. We got to enjoy the Space Needle, which was one of the best I've been to. We got to eat some delicious foods, relax in the most beautiful Airbnb, buy local jewelry from the Pike Place Market, watch Ohtani play at T-mobile field, and see the most beautiful cherry blossoms. We also saw Micah from Love is Blind in the Pike Market area when we were in Seattle. It was so funny and surreal because Leng and I watched the Seattle season and never expected to see her or any LIB contestant. Overall, it was such a relaxing and fun trip.

1. My Dad's Doctoral Graduation (May 10-13, 2023)

The biggest highlight this year was seeing my dad graduate with his doctoral degree! My dad has been working on his doctoral degree for a long time and there were so many times I know that he wanted to give up-- yet he never did. The dream of achieving this goal was bigger than his doubts or frustrations. I don't think I know anyone more hardworking than my dad. Being able to see him finally accomplish this dream he has been working so hard on was complete joy. I have never seen my dad smile so much. The lightness of his step and the pride in his eyes made me so grateful that we were able to be there to cheer for him. There was such a special twinkle in my dad's eyes that I've never seen before. It made me so proud and gave me such peace to know that my dad had finally completed this long and hard road he had been walking on. I also loved seeing the beautiful campus of Liberty University. It is surrounded by majestic Virginia mountains. The whole graduation celebration made me remember how good God is in our journeys. Although we bought the worse flights ever and still had to drive 2 hours from our hotel to Liberty University, it was completely worth it. I loved being there with my siblings too and having that time together to make my dad feel like the star of the show.

Reflection for this year took longer than usual. I have felt every year taking longer to unpack. And I've been trying not to rush the reflection. Life goes so fast and I want to try and remember, notice, give gratitude to, and linger on the many blessings God gives me every year. In many ways, this year was quite paradoxical -- feeling so busy and yet so slow at times, feeling so adventurous and so mundane at times, having to endure the burden of teaching and now feeling so liberated in my work schedule, ending a huge life chapter and starting a new career path, planning for the future and yet waiting on God's timing-- it's been all the highs, lows, and middles. And I'm grateful because it reminds me about trusting God who is the stability of these times. He never fails. And his mercies are new every morning. I continue to lean into that and bring it with me as we enter into 2024.

#new year #reflection #ptlife

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One and the Same - The Clouds

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Top 10 Moments of 2022

2022 flew by. Honestly, it was a big year to process. There were so many lows. It was a really hard year in so many ways. Even still, there are undeniable many more things to be grateful for amidst the low. Every low made me more grateful for the sweet sweet things that came in 2022. Here are my top 10:

10. Birthday Celebration (Dec 14, 2022)

This year, my wonderful husband went the extra mile to show me love and care on my birthday. Usually, I take the day off on my birthday, but this year, I ended up doing some curriculum writing for the school district. However, when I got home, my husband surprised me with some cake and flowers. He also planned a few options we could do for fun. Since I would also be doing curriculum writing the next day and I didn’t have to worry about teaching, we decided to go the extra mile and stay out ice skating. It was so fun! We haven’t ice skated since our dating days - the nostalgia!! Leng also took me to go eat at my favorite poke place which was so yummy! He also got a remote starter installed in my car since I drive to work every day. I was so grateful!! It was a wonderful birthday.

9. PTL Korean Dramas (2022)

I am adamant that my husband has become a bigger Korean drama fan than me! Lol! One of my favorite things this year was just watching Korean Dramas with Leng. He is such a goof-ball when we watch but he also gets so invested. I especially love when Leng is excitedly waiting for the second seasons of dramas that he likes. There were definitely a few seasons he was eagerly waiting for this year. Hahah!

Here are some Korean dramas we watched this year:

1. Alchemy of Souls - Had to start with Leng’s favorite Korean drama of the year. Hahah! We really liked this series. Leng wanted more action - which I agree with. I wanted Naksu to get her powers back sooner and I wanted to see her fight more. But otherwise, it was a pretty good story line. I originally liked Yul better in Season 1, but Jang Uk grew on me. Hahah! Leng wished that Jang Uk had an epic fight scene with Jin Mu. Hahah! We were glad the series didn’t go into a season 3!

2. Money Heist: Korea - I really liked this drama! We started the first season and then the second season came out at the end of 2022. Leng and I both enjoyed the premise of the drama and the characters were so likable. I like the tightness of group and I liked how the villains and heroes were swapped. Leng and I liked the ending of the drama too. I would say this was one of my top Kdramas from this year.

3. Bad and Crazy - soooo, Leng wanted to watch this one. LOL! As we got into it, it reminded us a lot of Moon Knight. Leng and I thought the storyline was a little all over the place. It felt like half-way into the drama, all these new characters got thrown in and we didn’t really know how it was all going to tie together. In the end, we wouldn’t recommend watching this drama. It was just alright!

4. Extraordinary Attorney Woo - I started watching this after my little sister kept posting about it. At first, Leng wasn’t into it so he didn’t watch much of the beginning with me. Lol. But as the series kept going, it got more interesting and Leng hopped back in. Haha! We enjoyed it. I’m interested to see how they will continue the series if they choose to. I liked seeing how the drama shed light on autism. It was a good drama but not my favorite.

5. Little Women - sooo I suggested this one for us to watch. Lol. And it was just alright too. It definitely has a spooky vibe. I had a bad dream after watching it once. Lol. Leng and I like mystery, but we did get annoyed with the older and younger sister. Only the middle sister had her head straight. Lol. The ending definitely felt a little anti-climatic, but justice was served so we’ll take that!

6. Twenty-five Twenty-one - outside of Alchemy of Souls, this might have been a favorite for Leng and I. Hahah! We really enjoyed the fencing part of the drama. Of course... (spoiler) the ending suckedddd. Major crying fest, but I guess that is life. Lol. We enjoyed this one but not on a level where we’d rewatch it at all. Haha!

7. The Good Detective (Season 2) - We enjoyed the first season and were really excited for the second season. The second season was not bad. Again, Leng and I are mystery detective fans so this was right up our alley. We love the relationship between the two main detectives. The first season had a more satisfying ending than the second season. The ending for the second season felt a bit more incomplete. It made us think that maybe there’s another season coming.

8. Bulgasal: Immortal Soul - You know, we really liked the concept and some parts of this drama, but it just dragged on. It’s one of those dramas where the whole plot hinges on one incomplete memory and that memory is withheld until the last 15 minutes of the last episode. Lol! And Leng and I were just barely holding on! Lol. I guess it was worth it to finally get the missing piece, but it was definitely hard to wait 16 episodes!

9. All of Us are Dead - So Leng and I watched this one after my little sister’s suggestion, and we surprisingly really enjoyed it! I am not a zombie fan, and this drama had a lot of bloody zombie eating scenes. Lol! But I liked the characters. I was annoyed with the main girl and how rude she was to the guy who was her close friend (and he protected the group the whole time!!). Leng and I are excited for the next season! We’re hoping (spoilers) that the guy isn’t really dead. And we’re glad the smart girl is alive too. Hahh! (sorry I forgot all their names. LOL!)

8. Zong and Mai C’s Wedding Trip (Aug 19 - 21, 2022)

Leng and I were blessed to be able to go down to South Carolina and witness the marriage of our friends and family, Zong and Mai C. Although it was a short trip, I was so grateful to see our family down south and be able to celebrate this special moment. My niece was also in her first flower girl gig and that was so fun to watch! The best part of the trip was being able to go down to South Carolina with my sister and brother-in-law. We flew down together and got to stay together in the same Airbnb. This made it super fun because we stayed up all night just having life conversations and ministry conversations. It was so wonderful. We also go to go see the beach and just enjoy the beautiful weather. We also rode this superman amusement park ride that was sooo fun and a little scary. Hahah! The most funny part was it was Leng’s idea even though he has a major fear of heights. Lots of great memories and convos that I am grateful for!

7. MN State Fair with Leng (Aug 26, 2022)

The Minnesota State Fair is a tradition for Leng and I. This year, we had so much fun walking and eating and just enjoying the day. We left earlier in the day and got to eat our fair favorites (fried picklessss for me!). We also got to try the new Hmong food stand and we even ended up on the news. Hahh! Of course we had to ride the sky glider and got to see the fireworks at night. I loved that we got to just go slow and not rush the day. We got to enjoy the fair fully. It’s been a long time since we got to just hang out the whole day at the fair. When we got home, we noticed that we got totally sunburned from being out in the sun all day. Hahha! Leng’s tan was the worst cause he had been wearing his basketball jersey. It was a great way to end the summer.

6. Chicago Spring Break (April 1 - 4, 2022)

With Leng getting a new job this year, we didn’t go anywhere far away for spring break. We did a short get-away for few days at the beginning of the week in Chicago! Leng and I went to see Chicago in the summer of our first year of marriage so we decided to see some different sights this time. We went to the Chicago Institute of Art, which was huge! We also went to the Garfield Conservatory, which was so beautiful! It was definitely a highlight of the trip. We also went on the Willis Deck Skytower. It was pretty cloudy and the visibility wasn’t very good from the sky deck. I was super disappointed but Leng was such a good sport. He kept making me go back in the sky deck lines to take more photos. He was so positive it made me have a better attitude. Hahah! We also decided to try out more foods this time around. We had the best deep dish pizza and some delicious eel from Joy Yee. Leng has vowed to go back just for the eel. Haha! Honestly though, the best part of the trip was being in the car with Leng for five hours and just talking. Our way back specifically, we answered some cards from “We’re Not Really Strangers.” Those conversations were the priceless.

5. Nemo’s Surprise Birthday (June 11, 2022)

My sisters and I decided to surprise my little sister with a surprise birthday. It was so fun seeing how surprised she was since we told her it would be just another sister hangout. Instead, we had a surprise birthday set up that was themed after Stray Kids, her favorite Korean pop band. Nemo had originally planned to go see Stray Kids in Chicago but my parents didn’t want her to go by herself so she had to sell her tickets. She was pretty down about it and my sisters wanted to cheer her up so we did a mini Stray Kids themed birthday party for her. Her reaction when she came in the door was priceless. She was so shocked and the funniest part was when we were taking a video of her and all she kept saying was that she didn’t put any make up on. LOL! I loved just spending time with my sisters and talking about life and faith and everything. We are so so busy, especially now that most my sisters are moms. It was just the best conversations and time. Wish we could do it more!

4. Johnson Send-off (June 2022)

So, one of the hardest things about this year was being cut from my job at Johnson. I had been teaching at Johnson for nine years and I just love my co-workers to death. It’s such a rarity, but the Johnson community, especially my department, is just so wonderful. Such good people. And I love our students. To say I was heartbroken about getting cut would be an understatement. I was giving a staff PD the day that my principal called me into his office and told me I was being cut. I remember the moment I left his office, my eyes were tearing up and the first person I saw was one of my English colleagues. She started tearing up and just hugged me. I remember her telling me that it was just so unfair and that I would always be a Govie. I called my husband right after and just cried.

Despite it being one of the hardest days, the send-off that I received was so beautiful. During our last staff meeting of the year, we had a special time where staff gave words for the teachers that were cut (there were like 10 of us - it was hard). I was filled with such gratitude at our amazing Johnson community. One of my dearest colleagues spoke specifically for me and it was such a special moment to me. My AVID students also gave me a beautiful send-off. We had an end of the year party and they gave me a beautiful Coach wallet that they had all pitched money together to buy. I started crying. Even though I was so sad, I was so loved and I couldn’t help but feel so grateful.

3. Winter Break (Dec 19 - Jan 2, 2022/2023)

We had a full two weeks of winter break this year and it was just fabulous - so refreshing and relaxing. It was just a dream! I tend to turn on my productivity mode when winter break comes. I create check-lists and try and do as much as possible. With this year’s winter break though, I told myself that I would take winter break slower - enjoy each day, be present. It definitely made a difference. I got up without the pressure of accomplishing too much and I just really soaked in the sunshine that was coming through our house. One of my favorite days was when Leng and I went to get crepes together. It was pretty snowy that day, but because Leng was having a slow day, we went to get lunch together. We had the yummiest crepes at Cafe Astoria! Leng and I also got to spend our first Christmas together this year. It was different, figuring out what Christmas looked like for just us. We exchanged our gifts, enjoyed the newly released Alchemy of Souls episode (lol). My favorite part was staying up and playing Sorry together. I didn’t know Sorry could get so competitive. Hahah! Leng won the first but I swept him the last two rounds ;)

My sisters also came over to my house over winter break and we did some acrylic painting. I loved that day. We spent hours just painting and talking about the 2022 year - what we had learned about ourselves, what we had learned about God. It was a gem of my winter break. I wish winter break could last forever!

2. Italy! (Oct 19 - 27, 2022)

Leng and I went on our first international trip this year! When we got married in 2019, we had talked about taking our honeymoon in Italy. But because we got married at the beginning of the school year, we decided we’d postpone our honeymoon to a later time. Well, of course after the fall of 2019, we had everything 2020 and Covid. So in many ways, this Italy trip was nearly three years in the making. But it was definitely worth the wait!

Leng and I had such an amazing time in Venice, Florence, and Rome. We flew into Venice and it was just breathtaking. We walked around the canals in the night time; it was just beautiful! Our favorite city was Florence. It looked just like a story book! We went to see the Duomo and all the amazing museums. We had the most delicious clam pasta and the out of this world Florence steak! Those were definite highlights of the trip. Rome was beautiful but so so busy. Trevi Fountain was one of my favorites. We also got to see the majestic Sistine Chapel and Michelanego’s David. We walked over 15,000 steps some days. But we loved it! I can’t wait to see where we’ll travel next!

1. Home Sweet Home (July 11, 2022)

One of the biggest heartbreaks from this year allowed also for the best thing that happened this year. Leng and I finally got our home. We had started looking for a house in 2020. However, because of the craziness of the market, we were outbid every time we put in an offer. After multiple losses, our realtor suggested that we look into building a home. This way, we wouldn’t have to compete with other buyers. After finding a rare lot within the city, we started building our dream house in 2021. The house was completed in March of 2022. We were so excited to close and finally move in. We were completely blindsided when things went south. Within a few days of our close date, we had the rug pulled right out from under us. Because of conflict with our builder, we had to walk away from the home we had designed and spent the last year building. The decision to walk away wasn’t easy, but Leng and I truly felt that having a house built upon such unease wasn’t the purpose God had for us. I shared with Leng how I had been praying about our situation and the verse God led me to was Hebrews 3:4 - “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” When I shared it with Leng, we cried and prayed together. We knew that even though we had been mistreated in this situation, even though things had worked out unfair for us, we could trust God who is our builder, the builder of everything. We wrote down our hopes of a home and what God promised to us on a sheet of paper and we put it in an envelope, trusting that if we let go of our dream home, God wouldn’t desert us. He is the builder. Even though our builder had been a man who mistreated us and betrayed our trust, God is not like that. God is not a man that he should lie. He is the builder of all things and we trusted him to build our future home, wherever and whenever it would be.

That moment of surrender really broke me. But it also taught me about trusting God and seeing his faithfulness in everything. Leng and I didn’t start looking for homes again until a few months later. We wanted to do things slowly and intentionally. The market was still crazy and there were a lot of things that frustrated us, but God brought us through it. When we walked into our future home, we loved it. We had no idea it would be our home. It is so different from the house we had built. But it has become everything we needed. We closed on our home in July and it has become the safe haven I have longed for. It has been a place of rest for my soul. I love that Leng and I get to be together freely - eating, laughing, farting, crying, singing - all of it. It’s been the best part. We get to create memories and build the life we desire. Of course, Leng and I have had to learn so much about being home owners, but even the house work doesn’t lessen the joy of our home. Even when we went to Italy, I was excited to come home and be truly home home. On my weekends or days off, I love to just sit on the couch with the window shade up and take in the sunlight. In those moments, I thank God for giving me not what I wanted but what he knew we needed in this home. The wait was hard, but I’m better for it.

2022 was hard, almost the hardest. I joke that God really pushed me to the limit this year. For this year, my word was “BECOME” because I wanted to focus not on performance but on who God was creating me to be - my character. And refine my character he did this year. There were so many things that happened to me this year, but I realized through the trials that God was forming me and seeing who I would be in and through the situations. I hope that I’ve become better - more tender, more faithful, more wise, more loving, and more true. Thank you 2022 for all you took and all you gave.

P.S. Here are my previous year lists: (2021)(2020)(2019)(2018)(2017)(2016)(2015)(2014).

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Christmas • A day of gratitude and laughter together. Exchanging our gifts, some in the original Amazon box 😂 and being so grateful for the best gift: our Savior and friend, Jesus Christ 🤍 #ptlforever #christmas https://www.instagram.com/p/CmnH2MUL_C1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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