Back to the Unattainable Utah

Thanks to Utah/Mormon weddings, I had the chance to go back to my Utah. Every second spent in Utah was pure bliss. My little Emily married in the Lord's temple for time and all eternity. It was such a blessing and an honor to be a part of a sacred, beautiful Spring wedding! 

Bridesmaids

Emily's pure and contagious smile.

Post wedding, the remaining days of my trip were spent between both Provo and Salt Lake City with family and friends.

Sandwiched between my rocks, Areum and Becca.

Our Temple, the Bountiful Temple.

Sister and brother-in-law. 

Siblings (minus the youngest).

 I love my family.

Visiting Utah Valley was bittersweet. I am grateful to have finally moved on to a new chapter in my life,

 but it is difficult to see those who were a big part of my life (in Utah) stay there and carry on perfectly happy without me. Their current lives used to be my life. Now, it is my past, my memories. 

My heart did wonder if moving back might be a possibility. But my heart also (quite literally) felt the consequences. Blue again. Short of breath, again. Irregular heartbeats, again.  Utah, although you offer me such comfort with your values, your traditions, your beliefs, and with your people, why can you not offer the most basic necessity, oxygen?  

"A person will be bewildered if he goes in another's road. Rich or poor, your must seek happiness in your own world. We can all reach the same happiness, but you must go in your world and I go in mine. That is life."

--Rita Golden Gelman, Tales of A Female Nomad

.......

Oh Utah, my unattainable Utah, you will always have a piece of my heart. 

The Giving Job

My kids learned about trees this past week. On Friday, during our week recap, my kids told me it was important for us to be nice to trees.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because they give us so much: shade, paper, homes to animals, fruit," they said. "They also give us these shelves, the blocks, and home center so that we can play."
"How can we be nice to trees?" I asked.
"When we are in the art center, we use one paper and flip it to use the other side," they said.
These kids make me proud. I decided I just could not end our unit on trees without introducing Shel Silverstein's  The Giving Tree, and The Lorax, by Dr.Seuss.

 

So off I went to Half Priced Books, a new gem we've discovered. I decided not to purchase the books (Amazon offers a better deal and the books were too dirty). But, I took my time to reread them. There are no words that will explain my emotions that I felt right then. My heart was warm, fuzzy and definitely swelling with much gratitude. My job as a Preschool teacher gives me countless opportunities to not only revisit my childhood, but to remind myself of the most important things in life. With time and age, we get so distracted, so confused with what the world throws at us. We easily lose track the core values of life. I find myself constantly complaining so much about my job: the pay, the management, other staff members, and of course, sometimes, the kids. I forget my job is to teach and guide them. I am there to teach them to love what life gives us and encourage them to make the right choices. And what better way to teach children than being an example myself?

This job humbles me in so many ways. And, I thank my Heavenly Father for guiding me back into the education field. Despite the daily battles I have (with myself) about my job, I am so grateful to be doing what I am doing. With that being said, I would be lying if I didn't say I'm excited to take a break from my monsters. This girl is flying off to Utah in three days. Yay to Mormon weddings!

Side note: My man said he was in desperate need of greasy Chinese food. To spice things up, I brought along kimchi. My man wasn't embarrassed. At all. Marriage does miracles.

Blue Skies & Blue Bonnets

Life has been, well, ..... life. David and I barely see each other as David is buried with schoolwork, and I barely survive each day with my monsters. This is our ninth month in Dallas and we still had not stepped out of our comfort zone to explore the city (and cities nearby). A few of my students' parents suggested that I visit the city of blue bonnets (the State flower of Texas). David, being the good husband he is, happily (?) took us to Ennis. We were joined by David's friend from medical school and his wife. Yay to double dates!

 Pretty. Pretty as a flower, Mr.Eng

Medical school can make life tough for the both of us. We needed a break from the same routine. I've been reaching for traveling books (currently reading, Tales of A Female Nomad ). I have no desire to become a nomad, but I was itching to get out and do something different. We might have not stepped out of the country, not even Texas. But, this short trip was perfect. Beautiful scenery, great company, and good food. For some reason, blue bonnets reminded me of Blue Bell ice cream. Now, that would truly top things off, wouldn't it? .....  David!! 

His Birthdays: Recollection of the Past Three Birthdays.

It's his birthday!! 

I cannot believe this is the third birthday (of David's) that we have celebrated since we were together. 

The first time, I threw him a big surprise birthday party. 

The things I used to do for David. Sheesh. I spoiled him way too much.

He had no idea. 

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 The second one was supposed to be a surprise as well (I invited all his friends to SLC) but he found out.

Our friends drove through a winter storm so it turned out to be quite memorable. 

We miss all our friends in Utah.

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Today, we had the Bartletts over for some delicious Korean food made by yours truly.

My wittle Sawah.

Sarah and the longest noodle

The girls like Korean food! YAY!!! 

Thank you for coming, Bartletts. 

Him, her, and the cake she will finish..

My love, my light, my life, David Eng.

His birthday wish was to watch Frozen so I, being the good wife I am, obliged. Finally. Frozen!

(Yes, he is smart. He knows the happy wife, happy life rule still applies on his birthday).  

I am so grateful that he is mine. All mine. Happy Birthday to the most amazing man I know.