Where Have I Been?

I haven’t posted anything on the church blog website in quite a while.  I will try to be more consistent, but I know that may be hopeful thinking.  And there are many reasons why I haven’t been posting consistently.
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There is a lot going on in my personal life.  Nothing bad, however, nothing great either, nothing too stressful, but a bit annoying, but just a lot going on in my life.   And honestly, usually when there is alto going on in my life it gives me a tonof material to write in the blogs.  But the problem is because there is just a bunch of little things going on piling up on top of each other, I do not have to the time to reflect on my bits of ongoing life circumstances.  I do have time to write, that’s not the problem, but it’s all about not having the time to reflect and be thoughtful.  Because of this, I just haven’t been writing.
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But I hope to give some clarity to my situation for you all. 

So what has been going on!

Firstly, my wife’s sister’s family just immigrated to the USA at the end of August.  That is probably the last time we had any kind of consistent uploads on the blog.  They are currently living with us!  SO that is a family of four living in our house in the time being.  Which is honestly…. A HUGE BLESSING!  I thought that life would be hard and that everyone would find themselves to get space, peace, and rest.  But that is not the case.  It is totally a full house!  Ben, Norah and their cousins, Sihyeong and Juhyeong are some good mates together.  And Eunwoo and Jieun do so much to help around the house by doing cleaning, cooking, and everything in between and behind the scenes.  I cannot be more grateful for their presence.

But there is a lot of work to be done.  Eunwoo is busy doing a ton of interviews, traveling, and posting more resumes.  And since September they needed help adjusting to the USA and Altoona.  Buying a car, getting a drivers license, social security card, bank account, registering their kids, and getting the kids adjusted to school, and learning English every day. 

Despite all the work that is done and continues to be done, we have so much joy in our life.  We feel that our house has a ton of space for all of us.  Other than the food cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer… those are always being filled.  A lot of grocery shopping, a lot. 

SO that’s a big change in our life.  The other stuff is as my kids are growing up, they are getting busier.  Norah is very social at school and since September she had a ton of birthday parties she’s been going, as well as Ben with his friends.  Norah also celebrated her birthday, now 9 years old.  And both Ben and Norah have a lot of school activities going on.  Also needing to get ready for all holidays coming up… for Ben and Norah to enjoy. 

And speaking of holidays, I have to start thinking about Thanksgiving.  And expect my sister’s family and my mom and dad coming over.  Im wondering if our house can handle more people!  But I feel confident that everything is just going to be very nice, it’s just a lot of work to be done.  But it is exciting.

And also in work at church I find myself doing more and more visitation than expected.  Which is never a problem, but something I enjoy doing.  My working hours are getting longer, but again, I enjoy every moment of working in this church and doing everything I can to always serve God first.

But not everything is all roses and sunny days. 

I am also dealing with my son constantly getting sick and missing school and also apparently battling with the schools evaluation of my son needing to attend ESL classes.  Which is funny, because English is his first language.  Not this situation is messy.  It is messy because I think the way the ESL screening is done is wrong and really messes with self-esteem.  Listen. PA state, I am sorry that my kindergarten son cannot spell “GRASS” correctly… he missed a letter.  Sorry he couldn’t write a story…. He’s in kindergarten.  I’m sorry that he couldn’t read the book by himself completely…. He’s in kindergarten, right?  It’s funny because I know first graders that are just learning to read on their own…. But why my kid is getting screened for his English ability?  Ahhh… that’s right… we speak two languages in our household…. And apparently that is a disadvantage.  We are planning to change our household for English only, so our kids don’t feel that they are in a disadvantage from the rest of their classmates.  Shoot I didn’t want to write this much concerning the subject of ESL…. But to be honest.; it weighs heavily on my mind.

Eunkyung at work a few weeks ago got stabbed with a needle by a convict (not too sure if that is the politically correct work for prisoner).  Luckily after taking a blood test from her and the “person in prison” everything is ok, but it was a worry that lasted for about a week.

Ok… I think that is enough…. Yeah, a lot of things and stuff going on right now. 

Oh.. one last thing…. I found a tick on me that according to the internet has been attached to me for at least 72 hours… which makes sense because I went fishing 3 days ago.  The bite area is red and swollen and I am told to keep an eye on it for the possibility of Lyme disease.  Apparently, I have a 50% chance of getting Lyme disease.  But I’m ok… I think that’s treatable… just have to wit to se if I get a rash, fever, muscle aches and whatever…

But this I life isn’t it.  Life is supposed to be busy, and with our busy schedules and life circumstances comes joy and annoyances.  Life what the Bible says, rain falls on the righteous and unrighteous alike.  So I accept everything this is going on and will continue to accept all the wonderful things that life throws at us.  I always feel that when I make a list of all life situations, many times the good experiences always outweigh the bad, and many times the bad isn’t really bad, just hiccups. 

When life gets busy, we need God to be our guide and that faith in God be our foundation.  When I think about my life being in God’s hands… I feel at total peace.  It doesn’t change how busy I am. But it gives me the assurance that God is with me through it all.  And that I am thankful.

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