13 Hours of Rain

We : first-person, plural personal pronoun. First time, as an adult, I am moving due to someone else's career (i.e. my husband). And it is not just I. It is we . My husband, my two beautiful children, and I. 're contraction version of the word are . Are : first person plural present indicative of be . This IS happening and it is NOT a joke. And we need to do this as fast as possible this summer (Thus, we don't have time for the "a" in "are"). God willing, I'll be blogging from our NEW imaginary house (with a yard!) in a NEW urban center (albeit smaller) come August. Moving : relating to or involved in a transfer of furnishings from one location to another . We need to pack up our little condo and transform it into a viable property for someone to purchase. It is my hope and prayer that the future occupants of our current home will live such beautiful memories as I have in this place. While my heart is filled with sadness as I say goodbye to many ...

As a mathematics teacher, it bothers me when I encounter professionals who make blatant calculation errors, errors that should be avoided as part of the job. Last week, I took my son for a routine physical exam. The nurse at the clinic weighed him and told me he was 4.71 kg. All good. Then she punched some numbers into her calculator and reported, "He is 10 pounds, 3 ounces. Well, almost 4 ounces." I nodded while thinking, "You converted wrong, again ." So here is a mathematical contest for all my readers. Answer the following questions in the comment section of this blog post. If your response is correct and thorough as well as unique , I will seek you out and award you a prize! You have ONE week to respond. What did the nurse do on her calculator to convert 4.71 kg to 10 lbs 4 oz? What was the nurse's conversion error? What is the nurse assuming to be true which resulted in the error? What is my son's correct weight in pounds and ounces? Explain how to ...

I should be sleeping, right now. Both children are napping. A rare moment. Should've... I find I say that a lot. Often, the words echo in my mind after reflecting on some decision I have made. Take my son's birth announcement, for example. The morning of the picture shoot was rushed. We made it to the studio on time to discover that the family before us was running late. My husband and daughter are not the biggest fans of professional photography (According to my husband, the situation is highly fake. Though, he appreciates the results in the end. My daughter is two. Enough said.). I, on the other hand, enjoy posing for a photographer. My son is indifferent. :) The session began, finally. We worked with our daughter to "kiss" our son. The photographer tried to capture the moment. After obtaining a few precious pictures, my husband scooted off with our daughter so that I could finish the session with our son. Once done, I rapidly picked the birth announcement and other...

She has started to sing. Her sounds are not very melodious, yet. But she is hilarious! Often, our daughter will interject random words into the lyrics of known songs. And she receives the response she desires: giggles from her parents. Yesterday, as we serenaded each other with "Jesus Loves Me", she emphatically sounded, "Yes! Jesus loves my sockies!" I cracked up laughing! Now I am trying to keep a straight face so she doesn't botch the timeless words of a childhood classic forever. He has started to gurgle. It is so adorable, especially when he tries to "talk" to the beaming faces in his world. Plus he possesses a smile that can melt a person's heart. When I gave birth to my daughter, I wondered if I could love a baby boy as much as I loved my little princess. Now I know: I can. Sweet beautiful sounds fill my world. I am thankful.

My husband and I watched an fascinating lecture by Jordan Peterson, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto. The talk was entitled Reality and the Sacred which "explores the human search for meaning in a chaotic world and how our perceptions and beliefs shape our sense of reality." Peterson proposes that life is full of two key states of being: chaos and order. These dichotomous ideas are wrestling to rule our lives. How we view chaos and order has a huge impact on our day-to-day interactions. Peterson illustrates this point by utilizing different religious viewpoints such as Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Taoism. Honestly, I will not do Peterson's lecture justice by attempting to summarize it here. If you are curious, I encourage you to take the time to listen to it (click on the name of the lecture above). However, there are a couple of things I would like to highlight. First, I was intrigued by Peterson's view of Christianity and its approach ...

I have been pondering the issue of church and how the institution utilizes money. In my experience, most of the money donated to the local church is dispersed to pay staff. Very little of the funds are allocated towards missions or the less fortunate. Thus, we have para-church organizations that specialize in the crucial admonitions of Jesus: sharing the Good News of Christ's death and resurrection in word and deed outside the walls of our local church. This is not necessarily a criticism, but rather an observation of reality. Personally, I highly respect the pastor of our church and believe she deserves the money that she is paid. Actually, she deserves much more, as do pastors in general! Having stated that, I admit we do not contribute our entire offering to our local church. Why? Because we are financially committed to supporting causes associated with global missions. In addition, we desire to be open to the needs around us, whether that is a new charity that ends up at our ...

I was settling down for a quick afternoon nap. The sound of rain drops were in the background. A comforting sound, a sound that took me back to a more leisurely time in my past. I was living and working in south-east Asia. It was a typical Saturday morning during the rainy season. The hum of the air conditioner filled the background of my flat while water was steadily pelting against the window pane. I had slept in. My time to recover after a busy week of teaching. Except for an assignment or exam to grade and some self-relegated housework, the day was mine for the taking. What to do, weather permitting? Walk down to the local bakery for a yummy coconut bun and then take a stroll in the park? Catch the mass transit rail to engage in bargain shopping at one of the many markets? Hop a bus to a semi-tropical hiking destination and bask in the sounds of nature? Meet a friend for supper at an ethnic restaurant of our choice amidst the stunning skyline of the city? Or curl up with a good boo...