and pictures of eu-mi from the past month!

(click to enlarge)

so much going on... so little time to reflect upon it

as i think back upon the past month, i am amazed by how much has happened. it has been a whirlwind, and i must confess i am completely exhausted by it all. we have had a lot happen, and we have made a big decision, as well. but before i go into details, i must say it has been a humbling time where both jody and i know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has been with us and has provided for our every need along the way - reminding us that He is our Provider, our Protector, our Leader and our Master. when paul says, "my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus," (phil 4,19) we can fully say we know it to be true and we are learning to rejoice even in times of difficulty!

now as for the details... the last week in march my mom came to visit colorado and to stay with jody and me for a week. it was SO wonderful to have her here. she was able to see many of her old friends - from when she and dad lived here, and we were able to spend good catch-up time together. we played games, talked, watched movies, played with eu-mi, cooked, went and printed out old family pictures for me to hang up on the walls... and just caught up. it was so great!

through her visit, i think i realized that i have been away from home a long time, and whether i have liked it or not, i have learned to become very independent from my family. it is never easy to be away and to see family pictures with everyone there but me... but i have learned through the time in korea and now here in colorado that my home is where the Lord calls me to be. and maybe one day we will live close to them!

--------- much more has happened since writing the above ----------

if i can sum up our lives, i'd better do bullet points. ha ha.

• jody changed his major from an MDiv (3 1/2 year program) to a Masters of Arts in Leadership (2 - 2 1/2 year program). we are peaceful about it. it means less stress on our finances, less time spent in school, less focus on greek and hebrew and more focus on the practical aspects of leading people in the ministry. i think everybody should switch to an MA in leadership. :) it must be seminaries' best kept secret: spend more time in classes learning about heady, lofty spiritual ideas and come out completely broke and yet sure of one's ability to change the world that one has not been able to live in for almost four years.... haha.
  
• a car tire has popped - hence four new tires on the car, the vacuum cleaner has broken, our broom broke, the mirror on the inside windshield broke... and microsoft vista has been destroying jody's new laptop - causing major heart attacks and prayer sessions.... so we're wondering what is happening. :) can anything else go wrong?! oh, yes, i got sick with a really bad cold that kept me in bed for several days! haha. but i recovered, praise God, and i'm doing quite well now! in the meantime, i am choosing to trust God and His goodness in our lives, regardless of the fact that a lot seems to be falling apart. it has caused much meditation in this corner about the grace of God. i have known what it is like to be in a place with NO grace, so this season feels remarkably peaceful (ironically enough)! praise the Lord for His grace.
  
• my job as a nanny fell through because the father wasn't helping the mother pay for child support, so she sadly had to let me go. i'm back to square one on the job search and wondering what God is doing. still, i'm peaceful overall. God's in control. the door may reopen for me to work with the family. we'll see. i'm not holding my breath. in the meantime, looking for another job. if you know of one, please let me know! :)
  
• jody's parents came to visit this weekend, and we had a wonderful time together despite the weather. it was a wet, terrible cold on saturday, it rained yesterday, and it's snowing this morning. ???? REALLY?? but still, we had a great time. :) we visited downtown denver, which is somewhere i have wanted to visit since arriving here four months ago. finally we were able to test out the public transit system for denver. it was pretty good... for an american city, i thought. :)
  
• jody has a few more weeks of classes, then possibly will be taking two classes this summer. my friend christa is coming next week to stay with us for five days. i'm pretty stoked about that. and eu-mi has a new container to hold her food. it's clear... so now she can SEE her food. she was pretty stoked about that yesterday. thanks to pam and alan for their gift! we love it. and we think eu-mi loves them a lot, too.
• hope all is well with you. we love you and praise God for you. be in touch.