17th Year Anniversary

Picture says a thousand words they say. Well it's been a great journey for our first 17th years of marriage, we have had ups and downs, but mostly good times with 3 kids in tow, life is ever more full of adventure. The Lord has blessed us greatly and we look forward to more years with our aching bones and knees as we grow old, lol.

 

Virginia Beach, April 2022

Outer banks March 2022

Elias and Audrey's first temple trip, April 2022

We bought 2 stand up inflatable paddle boards for our anniversary

Mother's Day 2022

San Diego 2006

San Diego 2006

Golden Gate San Franciso 2006

Disneyland 2006

Garibaldi Lake 2006

March 2022, Jim and Pam visit, Elias Tennis journey

 I have had a busy tax season so far. I have felt so bless and I knew in my heart the Lord wanted me to be successful.  I have contracted a job with Life Plan Group, a financial advisor company who provides free tax return service for their clients. So they paid me for preparing returns for their clients both personal and Trust accounts. It was over all about 60 tax returns. I also got a lot of new clients. I felt un prepared at some point. One Friday night, I checked my email and had about 17 email links to a drop box file from Life Plan Group. I suddenly felt overwhelmed. By Saturday morning, I sat at the bottom of the step down to my office and poured my heart out to the Lord. I said, "Lord, I know that thou has blest me so much and now I know that thou has opened the windows of Heaven for me and I currently don't have enough room to receive them. I pray that thou would help me find time, because I am already up 5 am and done working past midnight everyday except Sunday." I pleaded with the Lord to help me find time or at least how to manage it. I work for Intuit 8am to 12 pm Monday to Friday. In the past years I have been able to take on extra hours, this season I am only managing to take on the 20 hours minimum I was required and even took some time off actually. The following week, I have had 3 appointments that called and wanted to move it to a later date which I was glad to do, I knew this was the Lord's help. Another re booked an appointment and when she came, she was apologetic that she had forgotten her first appointment. I told her that the Lord has made her forget at that time because I needed the time that week and it worked out for both of us. 

Jim and Pam arrived March 19th. So thankful for them for being here, they were such a great help. They drove Elias to Zebulon for early morning seminary which started at 6 am, so they had to leave home early to make the 20 min drive. They also took over picking up and driving Elias to his tennis practices and games. They also helped with yard work and making dinner. So glad to have them. We always enjoy having them visit us, but this year has been especially helpful to me as I was caught off guard with the sudden growth of my business, plus having the covid with lingering brain fog effect has kind of put me a bit behind in January. I saw the Lord's hand all the time in my work. 

There was one time, it was 11 am, during my Intuit shift, I felt so exhausted and sleepy. My normal routine was Intuit in the morning and in the afternoon was when I book all my own tax clients in person or zoom meeting, mostly in person clients. Then in the evening was when I stay up and prepare all the tax returns and do management duties. This one day, I felt sleepy and I looked at my schedule for the afternoon and it was full. I knew I would need a break in order to last til pat midnight that day. I looked at my 1 pm client and prayed, "Lord, if only my 1 pm client would cancel, I can take an hour nap so that I am able to keep going til late in the evening. " As soon as I said my prayers, my phone notification made that "ding" sound and I looked to see what it was, and it was my 1 pm client cancelling and wanting to rebook at another time. I teared up thinking, the Lord really loves me and mindful of me and wants me to be successful. I am so grateful that I can feel his Love even at this busy season for me. 

There were times also when I received files from Intuit, cases that I have to work on. I notice a pattern of single mom, raising kids, with multiple W2 barely amounting to $10k a year. Even though I don't know these Intuit clients in person, but only names on paper, my heart was touched and was tender enough that often times I start to tear up. I recognize these women as daughters of Heavenly Father, and that they have different struggles in life, but that though I only knew them by name, I knew the Lord is mindful of their needs and that though it may seem not fair, I know our trials are on equal purpose because we have a fair God and He loves all His Children.

We managed to go away to Outer banks at end of March for Jim's birthday. I worked extra hard that week to make sure I am able to go with the family on vacation even though I had planned to work while on vacation. My laptop was packed in my business bag and Scott has prepared to bring the extra screen for ease of work. That night before I left my office, I prayed on my knees asking the Lord to help me relax and have some quality family time despite the work load I have at the peak of tax season. Well, after driving for just over 3 hours, we got to the condo and surprisingly, all that was brought was the spare screen and not my laptop. I asked Scott later on if he was terrified to let me know he had forgotten my laptop, he said he was. But all I said was , "oh well", there was nothing anyone could do. I couldn't make him drive home and back totaling 9 hours in one day. I was surprisingly calm and thought, I suppose the work can wait. What I was realizing was, "be careful what you ask for"! I asked Heavenly Father to help me have some quality time, it would have meant for my laptop to be forgotten to enjoy my family time. So thankful for that peace I had received and the phrase that kept coming to my mind was, "let the Lord prevail."

December 2021 (January 2022), Covid At Christmas

 Christmas eve, I was delivering cookies around the elderly ladies I know around the lake. I snuck out for a few minutes to do so while my dinner guests were entertaining themselves at home, Joy and James Park family. On my way back, a police car followed me and caught me speeding. Thankfully, he only gave me a warning. Ok, I was speeding because I visited a lady that invited me to her home. Despite her effort to hide it from me, I knew she smoked cigarettes because I can smell it, and the smell I really dislike. I don't like that it sticks to my clothes and in my hard so on my drive home, I opened my window and I guess with the desire to get rid of smell, I unknowingly sped up. So glad I did not get a ticket. 

By the evening, I started to have a sore throat and runny nose. As it turned out, that was the beginning symptom of covid. It seemed for like a cold and head cold. We had planned on taking the kids to downhill skiing in Boone during Christmas break. We were going to stay at Bridger and Katie Park's place but since I had not yet tested at that point, we decided to book a hotel for a night. We went to drop by and say hello at their place though on our way home. It was a hot day so we were sweating in our thermal gloves that we got for Christmas and in our snow suits. We only ski for one day. I felt unwell going there, but surprisingly, I was able to ski for a full day, but then the next day on our way home, I felt very sick with headache and pretty much slept all the way. We finally received the covid test result and came back positive. I felt bad that we went out, but thought it would be ok since we were wearing masks and it was out door as well. 

I really was surprised I was able to ski for a day because the days and weeks that followed was not great. I felt so weak and had this incessant headache that would not go away. It was terrible, I thought I had something going on in my head far more than covid. As it turns out from other sisters that I had asked that also had the covid, they also experience the headache. I slept for maybe for 16-18 hours a day. I was that exhausted and I can only keep oranges to eat, had no appetite to eat much. I felt sick and threw up one time, but mostly the constant headache and the feeling of exhaustion, and to give some description, my cell phone felt heavy to even carry and try to text someone. I was supposed to perform christmas song on violin but we now have to quarantine. the rest of us also got it except for Elias, but I was the only one that was severely affected. I meant I slept mostly and actually wore out my side of bedsheet. I don't wish it on anyone. 

There was a point where it really had me ponder about the purpose of life and thought I was ready to cross the veil come what may. I had at one point felt alone in my burden and asked my Heavenly Father whether He was aware of me and that with all the millions of people in the world, that He would be aware of my needs. I felt like a child just aching to cuddle with a parent, my Heavenly Father. After a thoughtful prayer, I felt the Lord's assurance and almost a comfort blanket that enveloped me letting me know that He loves me and that He was aware of me. So grateful that I had survived it. 

I had started training with Intuit in December and was supposed to start work early January but I didn't really star til the 18th of January. By the time I got better, we were able to go stay at the Park in Boone and go for a day skiing. That was quite an ordeal, there was a ton of snow, we beat the snow storm by going there Sunday morning instead of Sunday evening. We bought a snow tire. The Parks were leaving for disneyland and we were to have the place to ourselves starting Monday. After a day of skiing on Monday, which was a blast by the way despite the wind. There was a point at the top of the hill that we couldn't for a second move forward because that wind was pushing us backward. The kids were brave and we all enjoyed the slopes. On the way to the park, our tire chains broke multiple times at the bottom of the hill where the Parks live. We were there for over an hour trying several attempts to go up hill and replacing the chains over and over and over again as it would break. Finally, we decided, we can't make the hill and scott didn't want to leave the car on the side road so we decided the 3 of us, Elias and Scott and I to run up to the house and gather our stuff, lock the house and just make our way home as we thought the highway would be much clearer. We drove for about an hour til we can finally breath and relax as the road was a bit slippery and Scott said he has never driven in such bad road in his life and there I was having full confidence in him that he has done this before in Fort St John, thankfully we made it home safe. 

Then we actually got snow in town so we got to enjoy sledding by the dam as well.