The new Lee residence!

Observation #13: Moving takes longer than you anticipate...

So our big move was on Saturday and now we are living in the chaos of boxes, not-yet-placed furniture, sawdust and paint cans. Our hope is that we'll exit our chaos by Wednesday. But like K said right before falling off to sleep last night, "I'm so happy... I couldn't be happier." I agree. It's a blessing to be starting off our family in a home we can dream of making our own (still a long to-do list of renovations ahead of us) over the next 5, 10 years.

So, moving. We decided to have movers come in to do the move, as Kevin was unbelievably busy with dealing with contractors for our kitchen the past week and would have to be at home on-site on the day of, and I am of course pregnant and therefore not much use with lifting anything. We figured that the 4-hours we allotted to professional movers would be sufficient, since we thought we don't have too much stuff. I still don't think we have that much stuff, but long story short, the move took twice that amount of time. Maybe it was too many smoke breaks those guys went on... I don't know. I wonder what our next move will be like, with so much more stuff I'm sure we'll accumulate in the years to come.

As crazy as my house is right now, I can't wait to go home today! 1.5 hours left... Time, fly please.

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By the way, we found out last week, it's a girl! Chloe Joowon Lee... Can't wait to see her pretty face.

Boy or girl?

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I was scheduled for my second ultrasound yesterday. We had big hopes to find out if our baby was a boy or a girl and..............

(drum roll please)

.....we don't know yet.

Our baby apparently had the umbilical cord between its legs so we couldn't determine if there was something else there or not... The technician says to us, "Seeing that there's just a line here, I think it might be a girl. I'd say there's a 50% chance it's a girl." Ummm... no duh. I could have told you that myself!

So Kevin and I left feeling pretty disappointed, but happy to hear that the baby looks healthy so far. I'm just passing the half-way mark now, so so far so good!

He/she's been kicking quite actively lately, so that's been an awesome experience. Kevin was able to feel a kick with his hand for the first time last night. Big smile on his face. :)

2010, here we come!

What a year 2009 was! I think by any standard it was an overwhelmingly eventful year. It included: planning a wedding, getting married, getting pregnant, selling our condo, buying a house and all the other fun stuff in between.

I can't imagine 2010 being any crazier, but then again, I've never been a new parent before. I'm sure giving birth and raising a child with my husband will be full of surprises and unexpected situations/emotions. But like I said, here we come! I'm excited for all the upcoming events...

Today Kevin and I will be getting the anatomical ultrasound for our baby. Hopefully we can find out today whether it's a boy or a girl. We've been looking forward to today all holiday long, so I'm just counting down the hours!

Wishing everyone a truly happy, crazy 2010!

stressed.........

Observation #12: I don't think I get stressed too often, but when I do, I don't think I handle it too well.

I can't go into the details of why I am stressed, but I do need to just put it out there to release! Some situations just feel more complicated than they should be...

I wanna be #1

It's been a long time since I've last blogged... I've just had writer's block lately. This is like my 3rd attempt in the last week to write something, but I've just kinda stared blankly at the screen and then turned to Facebook Scrabble instead...

Observation #11: I like to win.

Speaking of Scrabble, I'm pretty sad that my rating has dropped, and now I have the 3rd highest rating out of my Facebook friends. It feels good to be on top and I enjoyed it for a while, but my latest losses have bumped me 2 spaces down. I do realize that this competitiveness has kinda made playing less fun and more stressful. I'll feel much better when I'm back up there again. Haha...

I guess I've always been a little competitive. Especially when it comes to games that I feel like I have a decent shot at. Being sports-un-inclined, I'm not that competitive when it comes to anything involving a ball or moving object, but that's only because I think I'll lose anyway so I just don't play. So maybe even that's a sign of my desire to only win and never lose. Games involving words, guessing, trivia - you get the idea - I can get a little aggressive. But all in good fun, right?

Yes! I just won a game of scrabble! #1, here I come.

Colds suck

Observation #10: My husband must truly have a strong immune system, because he's not once got a cold despite the half dozen colds I've brought home.

Since working at Yonge Street Mission for the past year and a half, my proud belief that I am a relatively physically healthy person has been reduced to more of a wish than a fact, given my history of colds in this short time span. I've kind of lost count of how many colds I've had, but I think it's around five or six, and I know I've used my fair share of sick days at work. I am battling out yet another cold this week with a stuffy nose and sore throat that comes and goes. And all this despite getting 10+ hours of sleep a day and washing my hands all the time.

I've been too chicken to really check out the symptoms of H1N1, but maybe I should do it right now... just in case...

Okay, whew. I only have like 2 out of the 9 major symptoms. I'm pretty sure I'm fine.

But like I said in my observation, throughout all this time, Kevin has not once caught my cold. And I mean, we were dating, and we're now married, so I can unabashedly say that there's been some kissing going on, so he's had more than a small chance of catching my bugs, but nope, he's been staunchly healthy enough to take care of me. (Maybe I'm jinxing it now...) He is my hero. Haha...

I can't wait to get better though. :( I'm sick of breathing through my mouth.

Grace

Observation #9: We all need grace - perhaps the area we need it most is in being able to extend it to others... because that's often the hardest part.

I am quoting a piece written by Rick Tobias, CEO of Yonge Street Mission, where I work. It is a privilege to work under his leadership, and I'm sure you'll be able to understand why after you read the prayer below.

Prayer by Rick Tobias

Grace. God, grant us grace;
enough that we can see the beauty and value in individuals, even when their outward appearance obscures it completely; enough to see their honour, however deeply hidden and to grant respect, even when we think it is undeserved.
Help me to recognize the wounds and understand the shame that lies behind each act of rejection and moment of repulsive behaviour. Grant me grace to believe that most of us are doing the best we can in the midst of our personal brokenness.

Grace. God grant grace to a dad who cannot love; to a man crushed by the weight of his own neglected childhood and facing a son who spends his wealth and spits his name. Grace to a parent who gives up, and who drugs the pain by choosing vacation over children. Grace when the weight of failing, and of being failed, overwhelms. Grace to dads and grace to moms who, having no grace left to give, receive little in return.

Grace. God grant grace to the caregivers who over-spend every loving emotion, and who, finding themselves empty and void, act out love through sheer strength of will and commitment to justice. Grace to all, who having poured out their lives into others, discover that love is not all you need, and who live to see those in their care self-destruct. Grace to those who so freely give themselves to others yet sometimes forget to grace their selves.

Grace. God grant grace to me, when there is no place in my heart for a wounded child; when my life is so consumed with me and mine that I have little love to give. Grace to me when I pretend not to see, or turn away in fear from the ugly, untidy, or strange. Grace to me when I am so absorbed in my own life that I forget to be grace to others.

God, grant us grace. Enough for all we have experienced, and all that we have become, and enough to be all that you desire.