My One and Only Whiny Post

This sucks. There, I said it. I know I have to find joy in my sufferings...but sometimes, it just sucks. I just downed a handful of my medications and my tastebuds are shot. Can't enjoy food right now. I'm prepping myself for another injection with Neupogen, which stimulates white blood cell growth. But the bone pain that comes along with Neupogen isn't fun. 

Shaved off my hair last weekend and have been confined to my knit caps and Sunday wig. I thought Isaac might freak out upon seeing me for the first time sans hair. Such a good kid...he just wanted me to play with him. 

My Sunday Wig

Everyday is a battle for me. Depression is right around the corner. Not an easy feat to fight it off.  But I'm taking measures to prevent myself from throwing in the towel. Having personal quality time with Christ on a daily basis is key to keeping my outlook positive and uplifting. I don't know what His plan is for me but I know He will reveal it to me in His perfect time. I just have to remain patient and faithful to His calling. 

Family Vacation

One of our favorite vacation destinations is Lake Tahoe and I love to visit in the summertime. We headed up north Sunday morning and arrived at the Hyatt Regency Resort in Incline Village, Nevada. All five of us crammed into a tiny hotel room surrounded by paper thin walls and noisy neighbors. Fortunately, Ikey managed to sleep through the noise but after he woke up at 5am this morning, we knew we had to get more spacious accommodations. Eugene loves Old Greenwood Estates in Truckee so we packed up our things and booked a town house over there. So glad we changed our accommodations because now we don't have to keep "shushing" the kids and don't have to stress over Isaac screaming all the time. What's up with that, by the way. That kid screams ALL THE TIME. I need to teach this kid some sign language STAT! 

Eugene found our old cameras and gave one to each kid. We created a scavenger hunt and the kids had to take pictures of each item on the list. Items they had to photograph included pine cones, a firepit, motorboats, a bear (just kidding). The kids had a ball and never once asked to play Minecraft. Say what?!?! 

Poolside fun with the family

Say cheese! The girls have the cameras dangling from their necks. 

A selfie with my baby

Stumbled upon a roller rink at Northstar Village and kids were loving every minute of it. 

Acting silly 

SoCal Trip Part III

On the last leg of our trip we joined the Park family for lunch in Burbank. Sam and I have known each other since we were in Kindergarten at LA Young Nak Church and I met Kylie when I attended the Young Nak College Retreat in 1991. 

They have the sweetest kids and the oldest, Jaylen, was so gentle and nurturing with baby Isaac. 

SoCal Trip Part II

Heading down to Carlsbad from LA is an easy 1 hour and 40 minute drive. Next stop was Minah and Lewis's home for the next two days. The girls were uber excited to see their buddies Nathan and Ashley whom they had not seen for almost a year. Minah said her kids stayed home from school because they were equally excited to greet us and wanted to maximize playtime with Maddy and Alicia. But as soon as the kids greeted one another all they wanted to do was play Minecraft on the iPhone and iPad. So much for playtime. Minah invited a few friends over for dinner which was like a mini OKC reunion. Grace, Sally, Minah, Ho-Jhin and I attended OKC and Sunny Hills together. Sung and Chris were in town so they were able to join us, too.

Sung, Sally, me, Grace, Minah, and Kitty

Sally's three girls: Jordan, Kaitlyn, and Lauren; Minah's daughter: Ashley; my kids

On Saturday, we headed over to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad to attend Dale and Mai's wedding. It was a gorgeous venue to hold a wedding since the grounds were filled with rows upon rows of beautiful spring flowers. 

My sweet kids

Nathan giving Isaac a lift

Pak boys

Me and lovely Minah

The wedding ceremony

SoCal Trip Part I

During the first weekend of April, the family drove down to LA to visit family and to attend a wedding in Carlsbad. Our decision to drive down was practically made in the 11th hour. We weren't sure how Isaac would do in the 5.5-6 hour drive and if I would be comfortable sitting in the car for such a long time. Isaac was a trooper and we only had to stop once for fuel. Praise God for His traveling mercies! As soon as we arrived in LA we met up with my cousins (just half of our clan since I have so many in the LA area) and dined at Soowon Kalbi. Delicious! My cousin-in-law Jessica is friends with the owner's daughter so we received a lot of freebies. Sweet! If you're ever in Koreatown I highly recommend this restaurant. It was one of the highest rated Korean BBQ on Yelp. 

The family at our one and only rest stop 

Mi Familia...aren't we a handsome group? 😊

Posing next to the turtle at the hotel

My parents with Isaac 

Happy grandparents with their pride and joy

My Friend, Grace

Grace was visiting from the Philippines because she had to attend a couple of work functions. Fortunately, she was able to ditch one of her meetings to be with us. We always have a good time whenever she visits. Here we are celebrating Shua's birthday. 

At church with Grace, Betty and Tina. 

I miss her already :( 

Happy Birthday Gloria

Spent a lovely Sunday afternoon celebrating Gloria's birthday at Neiman Marcus's Rotunda. If you've never been, I highly recommend dining at the Rotunda. Beautiful architecture with so much natural light throughout the restaurant and a gorgeous view of SF.

The lovely birthday girl sandwiched between me and Margaret.

Tasty delights

Friends gathering around the guest of honor.

Trying to get the massive ceiling in the pic.