One Year! Already?! How Time Flies!

Hey y'all. So last Monday, June 2, Linda and I celebrated our One-Year Wedding Anniversary. Can you believe it? We've been married for a year already. Time really flies. We are so very thankful for all that we have experienced over this past year. And we are just amazed by how much the Lord has blessed us in this last year. And thank you friends and family for all of the love and prayers you have poured out over us. Here are some photos of us over the past week. I bought Linda a camera as an anniversary gift, so these photos were taken with that.

Linda and my character, Renee and Simon also celebrated their wedding anniversary this week. So we had fun celebrating our anniversary with our friends on set.

During the skit, Andrea's character, Olga, teaches everyone how to polka.

Last weekend, Linda and I had a chance to go up to a hot spring resort hotel in Beitou. It was really nice. Linda and I really enjoyed relaxing there. Muchos gracias to our friend Christina and her mom. =)

On our way back we took a picture at a nice fountain in the area.

(You can tell we're both a bit sleepy from all the relaxation.) =)

So that's it! That's been our week of celebration. We've yet to cut our wedding cake yet. We're still trying to find time to do that. =) But when we do, we'll be sure to post some pictures.

Love ya!

Brace Yourself!

My relationship with dental braces first started back in 1993. The relationship lasted for 5 years. Oh, the every month of my dad driving me to San Gabriel to Dr. Whatishisnamenow-Iforget so he can tighten my braces even more. And the every day struggle of not having the wires tear at my mouth. And the times my parents made me congee because it's hard to bite down on anything and chew actual sustantial foods. The worst is when I played clarinet.

Those were the days.

But wasn't all that moaning and groaning worth it when after Dr. Reallywhatishisnamenow took off each bracket and brace, when I tasted the slimminess of my straight and beautiful pearly whites? I am ever thankful for my parents. This was a good investment.

... Now, back are the days. Friends, I have braces again.

Ever since I was little, I have one tooth in the back where it just took forever to grow. And it was crooked. Now, finally, it decided it's going to face the world and push and push... and it's pushing into another tooth. Dr. Sunday (bless his heart) recommended that I get braces again to upright this bad tooth. So now, I have 6 brackets. 3 on the top, and 3 on the bottom. The plan is by 9 months, I'll have my freedom again. But until then, I am a waxed covered (wax protects my mouth from those pesky wires), reliving my teenage days, braces lady.

Holler back and let me know your (love) affair with braces or your teeth!

Maybe I'll include a picture of me with braces next time. Stay tuned.

-L

Here We Are in Angkorwat

This is a little video we made in Thailand for our friend Mel T.

11 months . . . already?!

Hey Friends,

Time just doesn't stop does it? Today is Linda and I celebrate 11 months of being married. Where did the time go? I can't believe we're almost through with our first year of marriage.

What are some highlights?

Well, I'll write some and Linda can write some later.

1. Sharing life together. It's really a great joy to have our own place and to be able to just have life together.

2. Seeing 2 families become one. We are so thankful that our parents have become really good friends. And it's wonderful to experience our two families, both immediate and extended, embrace Linda and I. Also, I love seeing Linda interact with my parents. And I'm really thankful for her parents, too. And I'm growing more and more comfortable with them all the time. They have really become my parents, as well.

3. Our trip back to New York and Canada. Being in New York with both of our parents was wonderful. It was a trip filled with memories. Also, of course, going to Canada and being able to attend the wedding of our beloved Daniel and Andrea.

4. Our trip to Thailand with Daniel and Andrea. This was our first trip together with another couple. And it was fun! =) Really relaxed, but we got a lot done.

5. Co-MCing our friends Lisa and Peter's wedding banquet. That was a challenge cause we had to do it bilingually, but it was a great bonding and learning experience.

6. Seeing the way that the Lord has changed and molded the two of us. For me, I have definitely changed after marriage. A lot of people have sensed it, including me. I am more stable, more confident. I feel more grounded. As for Linda, she has changed, too. She's more secure, more confident.

7. Seeing some of the cogs in our machine start to fit together. While we were dating, my dad told me that Linda and I were the type of a couple that was a "perfect match." This doesn't mean that we were exactly alike in every way. Actually, it meant the exact opposite. It meant that we were very different. But our differences complimented each other in such a way that they matched. The challenge with that is to see fit the differences together so we can run smoothly without butting heads. Over the past year, I've seen countless examples of how God has created us opposite but complimentary.

A) Spending habits. Linda's more of a saver. I'm more of a spender. This doesn't mean that Linda doesn't spend and I don't save. But I have noticed that her saving nature balances my spending nature. And vice versa. At first, I'll admit, I was a bit frustrated because I felt that she was, "cheap." But I felt God nudging my heart and reminding me that if she weren't like that, we'd probably be broke within the first month. =)

B) Rest and Activity. Linda tends to need more rest than I do. I tend to enjoy hitting the ground running. So when we take trips, I want to go out and get going and see everything. But Linda often needs a break, or time to rest. At first, again, I was frustrated. I felt like she was holding me back. But again, God reminded me of something. Sometimes my go, go, go attitude isn't always healthy. I believe God put Linda in my life to slow me down. This sounds negative but it isn't. We all need to rest. I think half the time I don't realize how tired I am because I'm running on adrenaline. With Linda, I am forced to slow down. I'm forced to take a breath. To "stop and smell the roses" if I may borrow the cliche.

C) Introvert/Extrovert Linda and I are both introvert/extroverts. But not at the same time. What I've found is that many times when Linda's feeling introverted, that's when I feel extroverted. For example, she'll want to stay home and I'll want to go out and hang out. But many times when I'm introverted, Linda's extroverted. For example, calling people to set up appointments. Meeting new friends, and building new relationships.


God has really created a perfect match for me. This doesn't mean we're perfect yet. And we're still discovering new things all the time. But I'm thankful for my honey. I'm thankful for who she is, even if I don't understand her all the time. ;)

For me, I'm praying the Lord would help me to appreciate and cherish Linda for the way that he has made her, instead of trying to form and make her into who I want her to be.

I love you, Lin! =) You're my best friend and a dear gift from God.

Praying for all of you to find love in your lives.

Blessings.

-C

Fun in Bagkok

We're back from Thailand! And it was quite the adventure. =) Here are some pictures.


Linda and I at the Grand Palace in Bangkok

Temple of the Emerald Buddha

The gang at the Grand Palace.

We didn't eat at this restaurant. But we liked the name. =)

We took a riverboat.

Our wonderful traveling buddies, the Bastkes.

The riverboat drove us through the canals of Bangkok. That was quite the experience. Bangkok is known as "The Venice of Asia" and we could see why. There were hundreds of houses and buildings built right on the water. Some of them were really nice. Others reminded me of driving through bayous. Not that I've ever been in a bayou.

Some kids who were taking an afternoon swim in the canals.

Fun in a Tuktuk

(picture taken by our driver)

The travelers at dinner.

We visited The Chang Massage Parlor at the Bangkok Airport on our last day.

Off to Thailand

The Changs and the Bastkes are off to Thailand today.

I'm so excited. I've never been to Thailand before, so this will be quite the experience.

Yahoo! Keep posted for some photos!

Join My Book Club

I moved to California after going to first grade in Taiwan. The transition to a foreign country was hard and scary although I don't remember too many details. The memories I do have are still quite vivid though. The memories come in emotional bites. Like I remembered I felt scared when my two classmates harassed me because I was different. Or the joy and triumph I felt the first time I read an English book and I understood every word in it. I still remember the children's book was about apples. :)

When I was in elementary school and much better at English, I read--a lot. I loved reading. I read Beverly Cleary and was well aquainted with Ramona and Ralph. I went on mysteries with Nancy Drew. I read classics and most of the Newbery Medal books and I loved Shel Silverstein's poems. And... I admit I read the Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley High too.

From junior high to college, I took a long hiatus from reading for pleasure. Actually, no. In high school, I still read, but mostly nonfiction and mostly have to do with Christian living.

But since I have been in Taiwan, I pick up reading again. And I love it! I want to recommend some books I just read and not just enjoyed them but am changing because of them.

1. The Shack
Fiction written by William P. Young
www.theshackbook.com
The tagline is something like "when tragedy meets eternity". I won't tell you about the plot but friends, can I just tell you what God has done in me through reading this book? God has set me free from a lot of misconceptions I didn't know I had of him. And I sense a new fresh awareness and the truth that Holy Spirit lives in me!

2. The Kite Runner
Man, was this a hard read! But I am so glad I did. Verses popped in my mind when I read this book actually. Verses about Jesus and how he willingly laid down his life for us. Jesus as the innocent lamb. Themes of sacrifice and redemption and how evil the human heart is. More thoughts about this book but don't want to spoil the plot for those that haven't read it yet. So talk to me in person or email me for more details. :)

3. Hadassah
By Tommy Tenny
I read a bit of God Chasers when I was in school. And I thought it was pretty cool. And I heard him share a few times at Harvest Rock in LA. God Chasers and his talks were all very good. But it's this book, Hadassah, that I learned the most from Tommy. I read it before my wedding and marriage to Campbell. And I thought it was so fitting that I did. Tommy weaved historical accounts into the story and gave us a better context for what took place in Esther's time. I cringed and teared up with Hadassah and shouted "Glory!" when God's faithfulness and sovereignty triumphed. But more than anything, Hadassah reminded me of what is true beauty in the eyes of the Lord. The secret is found in 1 Peter.


And now I am reading Khaled Hosseini's second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. More book review later...