We made Christmas cards for the parents today. Most of the students wrote that they were thankful to their parents because of all the things their parents buy for them then go onto list the various items including clothing and toys. Some of them thanked their parents for everything they do for them like cooking, washing their clothes, and helping them with their homework. I was also glad to read that all my students thought that their parents are the best in the world. But one student almost made me cry. His family had gone through a difficult year because his mom was found to have leukemia and was hospitalized for treatment for months. He wrote that he thought that his mom, dad, and brother were the best in the whole world. He said that his mom had been a good example to him and that she taught him how to live life. He thanked his younger brother for always being there to comfort him whenever he felt sad. As for his dad, he wrote that his dad was very funny just like himself and that he loved spending time with him. He told his family that he loved them very much no matter what happens. What a mature eight year old he is.

Today I sat down and figured out my daily plans for the upcoming Chicago trip. Within six days I will be meeting with the pastor who will perform the marriage ceremony, visit the church, visit the reception site, book hotel rooms for out of town guests, meet with the photographer, meet with the florist, go to a wedding to hear the ceremony musicians play, and spend time with my family during Christmas. I can already tell that I will need a good long rest after my trip.

I've been stamping a lot lately, not for any particular reason like Christmas but just for the pure fun and enjoyment of it. I think I'm finally getting to the point where I need to buy some stamps and stamping supplies from Susan, especially since we won't be living together in just a few more months. I'm going to have to adjust from having Susan's generous amount of supplies at my disposal to just my own tiny little stash as well as having to do without Susan's inspiration from her samples.

It's been a frustrating week at work with some kids still not getting the double digit multiplication after weeks of teaching and reviewing, one kid refusing to do his homework, and a parent who is uncooperative. But I'm not giving up. As long as the kids are in my class I will continue to teach, review, and demand their best. This feels like I'm giving myself a pep talk which I do desperately need right now. I wish it wasn't so much work sometimes though. It feels like a wrestling match. It's tiring to keep repeating the same thing over and over too. It bores me and I hate it when teaching bores me, but some kids need the repetition so what can I do. And the kid who refuses to do his homework, he's been making me mad all week but today I chose not to be mad anymore and put the responsibility on him. He got no P.E., no recess, no lunch recess today and will not be able to go to the computer lab tomorrow. Am I a mean teacher? At least one kid appreciates me. She wrote me a note today with a picture that said, "You're the best teacher any kid could ever have."

The Winter Wonderland assembly is tomorrow. I'm proud of how well my students have learned their song and dance, but I can't wait until it's all over and they can take their halos home so I don't have to keep fixing them anymore. The week is almost over and then one more week before winter vacation!

It's been raining here since last night, the winter storms in southern California have arrived! It's been drizzling all day so the sun is hiding and it's gloomy outside, but I have been enjoying listening to the plopping of the raindrops. I'm home by myself so I spent the day cleaning the house before beginning to work. It's difficult for me to concentrate on my work if my work area is too messy. What a wonderfully slow and restful day.

Yesterday I went to Linda and Ronnie's wedding. Linda looked gorgeous in a lacy spaghetti strap gown. It was an outdoor afternoon wedding at the Craven Estate in Pasadena. They had a big Lord of the Rings theme going on. The music score from the movie was played throughout the ceremony and the tables were named after places in the book with a quote about each place. They are even going to New Zealand for their honeymoon.

After the wedding, Erik and I went to our small group Christmas party in Huntington Beach. This year we decided to buy gifts and food items for needy families instead of doing the elephant gift exchange so we brought our gifts and wrapped them altogether. There was a bumper pool table at the house and I was surprisingly good at it. I beat Erik and Rachel but then lost to Joanna, who is only nine years old.

Last night I finally received my shipment of the Lateral Thigh Trainer! Erik and Du brought it over after work and assembled it for me. There wasn't too much to assemble. It's made in China and is not nearly sturdy as gym equipments but it's not flimsy either. It's made of hollow steel beams and plastic body. They laughed at me for being so excited and said they give me two and a half weeks before I tire of it and it goes into storage oblivion of unuse. Where is the encouragement? Although it was almost ten o'clock when they left and I was extremely tired from the lack of sleep from the day before, I put on my gym shoes and exercised on the Lateral Thigh Trainer for over ten minutes! In my zeal I began my workout in the same speed as the informercial with three pound weights in hand but soon slowed down dramatically. My goal was to do three hundred sets of strides and I did it and broke a sweat too. I'm sure that the fact that our house is well heated aided in my sweat breaking because it is highly unusual. I did feel my legs burn after just a few minutes which is not surprising since I haven't worked out in months, maybe half a year or more. I couldn't really feel it in my glutes or obliques though. I like it so far but the true test will be if I actually use it frequently enough to make the purchase worth it.

I received a package from my aunt in London on Saturday, inside was a stack of letters my mom had written to her since our immigration to the United States. I read the letters voraciously throughout the weekend and finished reading them all by Sunday evening. I read them in the order that my aunt sent them in but they were not in chronological order. I didn't realize until I read the letters that my mom had only lived in the U.S. for nine years, most of those years were filled with financial and linguistic difficulty. I was glad to know that Scott and I amused my mom from time to time and made her laugh.

Fittingly, the last letter I read was the letter she wrote to my aunt right after her mom, my grandmother, passed away in Korea and I had a good cry. I remember the day that my mom received the phone call from Korea with the news of my grandmother's passing. We were about to leave the house in the morning for school and work and had just put on our shoes when the phone rang. My mom dropped to the carpeted floor, stared out into space, and then began to sob loudly after the initial shock had passed. Apparently my mom had been worried about my grandmother for a long time ever since we found out that she had cancer. We visited her in Korea that year to spend time with grandma. All of my mom's siblings returned to Korea from all over the world. It was the last time her family was all together. In the letter she said that the pastor compared our beloved's passing to the leaving of a daughter from the family when she is given away in marriage (that's the korean view on marriage) because we are sad that they are gone but also happy for their good fortune. In the case of a Christian's death, being with our Heavenly Father. She also gave the verses the pastor used in my grandma's memorial sermon to my aunt, Psalm 116:15 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15.