love stories

a few weeks ago we talked about dating, first impressions, and how people meet in class. their homework assignment: interview a classmate about their parent's love story and write about it.. most of them said they met through a "matchmaker" or mutual friend or relative.. but here's a few of my favorites that are pretty sweet :) (i think if you click on the image it will be a larger more readable size) enjoy and happy reading!





your turn.. how did YOUR parents meet?

we are family

ah, i have a moment to sit down and blog (i'm suppose to be on a plane to china now but my one to san francisco was not operating and there was a lot of mah-fan aka trouble but now it's good and i'll be on a plane later tonight.. i think!)...

this past week came and went so quickly and it still feels like a dream.. flying over the ocean, culture shocked by all the americans & english everywhere, overcoming jet lag, adjusting to slightly warmer weather outside but colder weather inside, seeing family, grieving with family, eating with family, playing with my niece, meeting my cousin's baby, remembering my uncle's life, speaking lots of chinese with my grandma, and just being HOME.

it's not everyday you can just pick up your bags and fly over the ocean and get to see everyone in your family... i feel extremely blessed and thankful for the opportunity, timing, helping hands (my teammates taught 6 of my classes!!), and His hand over this week.

mi familia and i at my parent's favorite shanghai style restaurant


something cool that happened was that i experienced one of my first immediate prayers being answered! okay so it was a small request, but it was pretty cool how he listened and answered and showed himself to me in a simple, small, but powerful way. the other day we went to visit my cousin's newborn baby girl who was having a tough n' fussy day and hasn't stopped crying for hours (poor parents!) we all tried holding her, bouncing her, rocking her, checking her diaper, patting her, soothing her.. nothing worked (and she already ate a ton!) and she wouldn't stop wailing...

as an "experienced auntie" that i am haha.. i tried everything that i knew and sometimes you really can't do anything else. then it dawned on me that i could pray and ask the Father to help... so i did- i said a simple prayer out loud "..please help Alyssa to sleep and calm down"... about 2 seconds later she instantly stopped crying and fell asleep. WOW!! it was pretty cool.. it was a great reminder to know that he listens and cares and hears us... sometimes answering right away and sometimes waiting.

me and alyssa right after she fell asleep :)