It's that time of year again! Excitement is in the air as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the greatest gift ever given.
Nov 30, 2010
Nov 27, 2010
Toddler Bunk Beds
Since it is winter, we had two reasons for moving Hannah and Naomi into our room. 1) We wanted them closer so we could monitor them more easily and 2) We wanted to use their room for the boys who came for the winter. I decided to make toddler bunk beds, since the only ones I found for sale were about a thousand dollars, so we could have plenty of floor space. Here are the beginnings of the project.
Nov 25, 2010
A Special Guest
When asked what she wanted for her 11th birthday, Lisa said, "you" to her mom. Well, it happened.
Her mom came. They are having a nice time together. Now they are in New York visiting some relatives there. Here are photos from the day Lisa's mom Yoosung arrived.
Her mom came. They are having a nice time together. Now they are in New York visiting some relatives there. Here are photos from the day Lisa's mom Yoosung arrived.
Nov 24, 2010
Thanksgiving, 2010
We did something different this year for Thanksgiving. We had usually made it a day trip, but this year we spent two nights in a hotel so we could spend more time at my folk's house and see our family longer. It was great. We had some quality time together. It's especially important for the kids to spend time with their cousins, too.
Nov 23, 2010
Thanksgiving Dinner at SHCS
Lisa was with her mom in New York around Thanksgiving, so she missed out on the school Thanksgiving dinner. Heidi and I and her teacher enjoyed it.
Nov 22, 2010
Naomi and Maple Leaves
Our red maple trees did so well this year--even though we only put them in drink cups! I guess we had bigger priorities.
Nov 20, 2010
Jacob's Birthday Party
We had a fun time at Hannah's friend Jacob's birthday party. Here are some photos.
Nov 19, 2010
Naomi Turns 3
Naomi had been looking forward to her birthday, but on the morning she turned 3 I asked her how old she was and she said "2", strangely enough. It turned out, she wasn't in a hurry to give up the pull-ups. That is why she was reluctant to say she was 3.
On her actual birthday, we made the cake but didn't get a chance to eat it. Naomi got a new Princess Bible that her mom read to her, and she fell fast asleep just about the time we were going to go out to eat. The next day--Saturday, we attended another birthday party, so it wasn't until Sunday that we cut
and ate her birthday cake. We are so blessed to have Naomi!
On her actual birthday, we made the cake but didn't get a chance to eat it. Naomi got a new Princess Bible that her mom read to her, and she fell fast asleep just about the time we were going to go out to eat. The next day--Saturday, we attended another birthday party, so it wasn't until Sunday that we cut
and ate her birthday cake. We are so blessed to have Naomi!
Nov 15, 2010
New Kid's Table
Look what I found on Craig's List for the girls. They were thrilled to have their own little table and chairs. We had it in the dining room for a week or so until the newness wore off. Now it is in their room.
Nov 13, 2010
Lisa Turns 11
Congratulations, Lisa! You are 11 now! It was so fun to see Lisa get all excited about her birthday. She invited a couple of her classmates over and we all went to Chuck E. Cheese's to celebrate.
Nov 10, 2010
Sold the House
God knew all along....
I read in my Bible in the book of Acts that
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live."
Where I live and where you live is no accident. God is sovereign, and it says right there in Acts that He decides who lives where and when. And I'm convinced that God has a hand in each real estate deal.
I went house shopping for my first house about a decade ago. It was a scary experience. I bought hastily because the prices were going up so much each year that I worried about being able to afford a house if I waited too long. I lost bids on a few houses. They were basically, move-in ready, so they sold quickly to folks who bid higher than the asking price. Fixer-upper type houses stayed on the market a while. We ended up buying one of those. We bought a charming house, and even though the house needed work, it had lots of bedrooms, and a park-like yard. It was going to take a lot of time and money to fix it up, but we were new at this, and didn't realize how much time and money it would take, so it was okay with us. Duk-Sun and I were able to use those 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms to take care of international students. This was, I'm sure, all a part of God's plan. He blessed us with the gifts of hospitality, service and teaching, and we are using all of our gifts, thanks to God's providence.
All through my childhood, my family had moved around and at each house and at each church, there were construction projects. So I saw my father and other church members with tools in their hands a lot. By the time I bought my first house, I was itching to try my hand at carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work. Let's just say that remodeling a kitchen, a bathroom, and a sun room gives one a chance to try carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work!
But there is more to the story. We didn't just finish all that work, then sell the house, then find another house. Quite the contrary. In the spring of 2008, were in a fix. We felt that God was calling us to host and teach international students full time, but there were no schools within commuting distance that really had a vision to take in international students. We had a house that needed time, work and money before we could sell it. We had also found some schools that were willing and able to take in international students, but they were across town.
It was around this time that a friend who used to live nearby, but had moved to Canada stopped in for a visit. We knew each other pretty well, because I had taught and tutored their children when they were still fairly new in the country some years back after they moved here from Japan. Anyway, Duk-Sun and I briefly and casually explained our situation with her. We had no idea she could help us, we just talked as friends.
Much to our surprise, a couple of weeks after her visit, she called and blew our minds. She had talked to her husband and they had agreed to help us move across town. They were going to buy a house that we would pick and we were going to live there, fix up our old house, either rent it out or sell it and continue from there. They were typical middle-class people, but had made some money buying and selling houses on the west coast. They gave to us so much more than we could ever imagine asking anybody--to tie up that much money in a house so far from where they were--it is still hard to believe.
I believe God was the One who laid it on their hearts to help us. I have no other explanation. I feel that He knew He wanted us in Marietta opening our home to these international students, so He moved them to do this. It all seemed like a great idea.
Now comes the sticky part. At the time our friends proposed this, I'm sure they were thinking the economy would not nosedive, but it did. This put a strain on both our friends, and us. Especially the second year, they needed rent money from us, but we had so many obligations, we often didn't have it to send to them. I felt like a total jerk--like I was not making enough progress on the Doraville house, and meanwhile, my friends, who had been so generous to me were having to suffer on my behalf. It was rather easy to beat myself up about it.
Although I know God is faithful, I was growing so impatient for Him to help us find a way out of the situation we were in. He didn't make it easy. I still had to balance family, church, work and my second job, which was working on the Doraville house all that time, but God did provide--in a big way, and here is how it transpired.
This summer, two and a half years after we moved out, I had finished all the remodeling jobs and the painting. All that was left was to refinish the floors. I placed a sign in the yard and on Craigslist and started looking for a tenant. But to my dismay, I couldn't find anyone I wanted to trust with my house. You get emotionally attached to a house like that--especially when you do so much work on it yourself. I wanted a family to have that house that would appreciate it, take care of it, and add something to the neighborhood. Well, just when I was getting serious about one rental applicant, a phone call came from the neighbor's wife's brother, Hector. Hector said, "Mr. Paul. Do you want to sell your house? I have a loan, so I can buy it if we can agree on a price." That was music to my ears.
The rest is history. At a time when so many people cannot sell their house. At a time when they get much less money than their home is worth, we got a fair price (for the market) and the new owners love the house, and we didn't even have to put it up for sale, and from the time we got it ready to sell to the time it sold was negligible. And we can now fulfill our obligations to our friends. Praise the Lord! He has delivered us from the hand of the bad economy.
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
I read in my Bible in the book of Acts that
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live."
Where I live and where you live is no accident. God is sovereign, and it says right there in Acts that He decides who lives where and when. And I'm convinced that God has a hand in each real estate deal.
I went house shopping for my first house about a decade ago. It was a scary experience. I bought hastily because the prices were going up so much each year that I worried about being able to afford a house if I waited too long. I lost bids on a few houses. They were basically, move-in ready, so they sold quickly to folks who bid higher than the asking price. Fixer-upper type houses stayed on the market a while. We ended up buying one of those. We bought a charming house, and even though the house needed work, it had lots of bedrooms, and a park-like yard. It was going to take a lot of time and money to fix it up, but we were new at this, and didn't realize how much time and money it would take, so it was okay with us. Duk-Sun and I were able to use those 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms to take care of international students. This was, I'm sure, all a part of God's plan. He blessed us with the gifts of hospitality, service and teaching, and we are using all of our gifts, thanks to God's providence.
All through my childhood, my family had moved around and at each house and at each church, there were construction projects. So I saw my father and other church members with tools in their hands a lot. By the time I bought my first house, I was itching to try my hand at carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work. Let's just say that remodeling a kitchen, a bathroom, and a sun room gives one a chance to try carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work!
But there is more to the story. We didn't just finish all that work, then sell the house, then find another house. Quite the contrary. In the spring of 2008, were in a fix. We felt that God was calling us to host and teach international students full time, but there were no schools within commuting distance that really had a vision to take in international students. We had a house that needed time, work and money before we could sell it. We had also found some schools that were willing and able to take in international students, but they were across town.
It was around this time that a friend who used to live nearby, but had moved to Canada stopped in for a visit. We knew each other pretty well, because I had taught and tutored their children when they were still fairly new in the country some years back after they moved here from Japan. Anyway, Duk-Sun and I briefly and casually explained our situation with her. We had no idea she could help us, we just talked as friends.
Much to our surprise, a couple of weeks after her visit, she called and blew our minds. She had talked to her husband and they had agreed to help us move across town. They were going to buy a house that we would pick and we were going to live there, fix up our old house, either rent it out or sell it and continue from there. They were typical middle-class people, but had made some money buying and selling houses on the west coast. They gave to us so much more than we could ever imagine asking anybody--to tie up that much money in a house so far from where they were--it is still hard to believe.
I believe God was the One who laid it on their hearts to help us. I have no other explanation. I feel that He knew He wanted us in Marietta opening our home to these international students, so He moved them to do this. It all seemed like a great idea.
Now comes the sticky part. At the time our friends proposed this, I'm sure they were thinking the economy would not nosedive, but it did. This put a strain on both our friends, and us. Especially the second year, they needed rent money from us, but we had so many obligations, we often didn't have it to send to them. I felt like a total jerk--like I was not making enough progress on the Doraville house, and meanwhile, my friends, who had been so generous to me were having to suffer on my behalf. It was rather easy to beat myself up about it.
Although I know God is faithful, I was growing so impatient for Him to help us find a way out of the situation we were in. He didn't make it easy. I still had to balance family, church, work and my second job, which was working on the Doraville house all that time, but God did provide--in a big way, and here is how it transpired.
This summer, two and a half years after we moved out, I had finished all the remodeling jobs and the painting. All that was left was to refinish the floors. I placed a sign in the yard and on Craigslist and started looking for a tenant. But to my dismay, I couldn't find anyone I wanted to trust with my house. You get emotionally attached to a house like that--especially when you do so much work on it yourself. I wanted a family to have that house that would appreciate it, take care of it, and add something to the neighborhood. Well, just when I was getting serious about one rental applicant, a phone call came from the neighbor's wife's brother, Hector. Hector said, "Mr. Paul. Do you want to sell your house? I have a loan, so I can buy it if we can agree on a price." That was music to my ears.
The rest is history. At a time when so many people cannot sell their house. At a time when they get much less money than their home is worth, we got a fair price (for the market) and the new owners love the house, and we didn't even have to put it up for sale, and from the time we got it ready to sell to the time it sold was negligible. And we can now fulfill our obligations to our friends. Praise the Lord! He has delivered us from the hand of the bad economy.
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
Nov 2, 2010
Tutoring
When new kids come to Atlanta to attend school, they always need feedback and follow-up, but when they are new, they need tutoring and help developing their study skills. Even if they are used to getting good grades in their home countries, they have to learn how to effectively use time to master subjects in English. In American schools, so much is different--the kids need a lot of tutoring at first. With Heidi and Lisa, the best place to teach them after school was at various restaurants around town. We kept changing places so they wouldn't get distracted and could keep focusing on their homework. Here's a shot of them at Wendy's one day.
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