Resilience

Terah's been away at a competition for the past week, and while I'd always rather him be here, there are a few perks to living the high life - I can stretch out in bed, eat my way thru the random food we have in our fridge and pantry, and be entertained by my own thoughts!

Some of my thoughts recently... there's been a lot of doom & gloom lately in the news, with people we know, and personally... and that feeling of heaviness is almost palpable in the air. I've been thinking a lot about what kind of person I'd like to be during these times. The word that came to mind: resilience. So here's to fighting for what is good in this world.

Speaking of good things, although we haven't managed to keep up with the instant replay of photos that is Facebook, here's some long overdue pictures from our trip to Hong Kong with the Chan clan.

I have titled it: FOOD. Because really, that is the best way to remember Hong Kong.



Big fat noodles with peanut sauce



mango pudding



fish



pig - notice the head



I'm told this is some kind of shrimp, but it tasted like lobster



duck



buns



sesame balls! I have great childhood memories of going to this chinese buffet in Texas and eating these.



the most fabulous nice big juicy dumpling I've ever had





starbucks was everywhere



dessert



Okay check this out - they have duck wing in a WRAPPER now. what will they think of next??



salty black eggs aka "chinese thousand-year-old eggs"



Ok besides eating we did do some sightseeing. Here's an old fishing village we visited. Their version of Venice....






New years in Hong Kong is really neat - they shoot off simultaneous fireworks from landmark buildings all across the bay. Here's the city lights by night...





God's creation at its finest

Our Christmas Videocard

Here's a special holiday post for everyone. We wanted to send out a special greeting to all of our friends and family and to share this video postcard highlighting the events of the past year. We've had our ups and downs, our highs and lows, but through all of it, we feel very blessed for everything that we have.

Wishing you the promise and hope that is Christmas. Merry Christmas!

when the weather outside is frightful...

It's been a tough winter season so far. This past week we were hit with two pretty big storms and it seems to snow almost every day. BUT, some of you reading this must be thinking "yeah, yeah, yeah, winter, we get snow and we're cold too". Fair enough. Then again, take a look at our temperature today and see if you've felt this cold before...


Yes, the real feel was -28 F today!

Bonus coverage --

what a catch!

A couple of weeks ago, we headed back to Philly for Aaron & Carrie's wedding, a wedding we were definitely looking forward to. Aaron is one of our best college buddies, and an all-around great guy. We have never seen him so happy as when he's with Carrie.

While I caught up with old friends back in Philly, Terah grabbed our camera and headed out to beautiful central PA for the rehearsal...





Standing with the couple is Jason - our college staff worker turned full-out awesome pastor.



Hanging out with Aaron the morning of:













The moment before Carrie appeared













At the reception. Even though it was raining, it was on this beautiful hill with sweeping views of the open fields. Loved it.



Sorry Scott for the finger looking like it's up your nose, but I really like this picture of Kristen. Thanks for taking one for the team =).



Wilson, Ann, and Maddie - the star of the show





It was "good for the soul" to see so many close friends we hadn't seen in awhile. We didn't catch it in photos, but we also got to go back and visit our church, the west philly vineyard - and it meant a lot to us to see everyone doing so well. It reminded us of how much history we have tied to Philly.



Much love to Aaron and Carrie!

catch up

We've got some catching up to do! Fall has passed here in Chicago, and we're well into the season of mittens and earmuffs. I've been trying to finish a 50 pg paper & Terah's been busy wrapping up his interviews. But the big news of the month - we're officially headed for the west coast next year! exciting stuff. Anyway, here's a few snapshots of the past month.

For my birthday, my one request was to go somewhere that I could experience total silence. We ended up in Indiana...











Age comes with maturity (read the sign)





totally Terah's idea.

Then we had some awesome visitors in town. Val, our good friend from philly, was here because Hubie was running the chicago marathon - way to go Hubie!



Then my sister stayed for a week. My parents treated us to a morning at the spa. Best. massage. ever.