The month of love...

The whirl wind we call the month of February... it seems to be when we think we are going to be able to slow down we get caught in a 99 mph storm that takes us to the next adventure and chapter in our lives. We have been getting more sabbath days in so we aren't going crazy. Some major happenings happened in February...

District Youth Conference (DYC) is my (Lisa's) biggest event of the year. All hands on deck in the office. I realized that this was my tenth DYC. I have been at the office for seven years now and volunteered to staff for three years before my hiring. I love this conference. I love high schooler's lives being changed and challenged. It was especially cool this year because my LYNNWOOD crew got to come down and experience the conference. My prayer for them (and the other students) is that they will be forever changed and learn to continually love God with all their hearts, soul, mind and love their neighbor as themselves.

I turned 31 in February. Thirty is such a milestone... thirty one just makes me feel old. I am IN my thirties. I remember when I turned fifteen and said I was half way to thirty, like it was the end of the world. I love being in my thirties... and celebrating it with 500 high schoolers at DYC is always fun! :) I felt very loved.

We kept pretty busy with DYC prep that it was hard to allow our minds and emotions grieve the loss of our beloved housemates to China. They accepted teaching positions in Beijing and left on Thursday, February 24. We spent some quality time the last few evenings they were in town... we took them to our favorite sushi place that we have raved about but never took them to. We had a family dinner with their closest friends the last night they were in town. I was surprised I held it together all night. But when the last person left, I LOST IT! I think I was holding it in that it had no where to go but sobbing tears and no words. Kaden knew there was something wrong... he was very cuddly that night. Thursday 4 AM came too soon... we packed up the CRV and headed to the airport in the SNOW! I am very thankful it was snowing... it made for a happy 2 1/2 year old, not a grumpy sleepless one at four am. :) It helped take the edge off... and I got the day off due to the snow or promise of snow. It was good to be at home without having to try to be someone productive on the day we lost our housemates.

It hasn't totally sunk in yet that they aren't coming home. The basement is cold and empty... the kiddo is a little bored with just the two of us to play with. The black hub (our dinning room table) is definitely lacking. I think the spring and summer will be especially hard.... no gardening buddies, no outdoor adventures, no impromptu BBQs, no late nights at the black hub doing nothing...

We miss you Uncle Zach and Mei Mei. Kaden keeps asking when you guys are coming home. May your adventures in China be full of love & grace for each other and for those around you...  may you remember your past and create beautiful new memories. Thank you for investing so much love into Kaden. He may not remember much of the last two years of his life... but we will forever see the influence of you guys in his character and personality.  And for Joel and I... we are grateful for you guys. We love you two much. Thank you. (Done writing... cause I am done crying.) :*(

The new year... rest, races, and reflections.

Starting off the year at the Oregon Coast is the way to do it... and I have been doing this for the last seven years! My office has our annual Renewal Retreat out at Cannon Beach, Oregon. It's a beautiful way to start the new year off refocused on God... time with Joel... and with 100 amazing pastors and their spouses from our district. I love hearing their stories... seeing them worship... learning from them and the speaker. It was good for the soul.

We also got a visitor at the end of January... Mr. Bob Banker... Zach's dad. Joel had to run to Medford while Bob was here... so, Kaden and I tagged along on one of their adventures: the horse race! Kaden loved the "Lightning McQueen"... or the Red ones. :) hahah!!! My kid associates everything to CARS the movie. It was a fun morning spent watching horses race, kaden cheer, Zach and his dad figure out which to bet on, and hanging with Mei Mei experiencing at all the excitement in the air.

This leads us to sadly announcing (which everyone already knows)... Uncle Zach and Mei Mei (Amanda) are packing up their basement and heading out to China to teach English for at least a year. The little things are treasured these last two months... nights spent at the black hub (our dinning room table)... our silly adventures... the food that flows out of our kitchen...impromptu soccer games, races and dances that happen in the living room. So many laughs, tears, discussions, hopes, dreams, challenges, laughs, did I say laughs?

Kaden not only will miss them greatly, but Joel and I will have a huge hole in our hearts as well. I think I shall stop writing now... this has been a hard day.

To the motherland...

How do we blog about our three week vacation without boring or taking up fifty pages of our blog?? This was my (Lisa) second time to Vietnam... we went five years ago: childless. So, this trip was extremely different from the previous time. This trip Joel, Kaden and I went with Joel's sister and their family: Thu, Thanh, Gabby, Nathan and Zachary. We were at the beach a whole lot more, ate at "cleaner" places, had a driver and stayed at people's houses. I loved having the driver... I think we spent a lot of time catching buses and taxis last time... and with a driver we can stop when we want... go farther quicker... and not have cigarette smoke blowing in our faces at all times. It was really good to be gone during the hustle and bustle of the holidays in the US. We weren't worrying about presents, parties, and all the stresses that come along with the holidays. But it was very weird to be in a warm (hot) place and not all bundled up with our coffee. It didn't feel like Christmas even though everywhere was decked out with Christmas trees and snowmen. Which felt soooo wrong. Hahha! It was great to be with Joel's parents and all the extended family in Vietnam. We celebrated Christmas Eve in Can Tho where my grandfather pastored. I never met my grandfather... he passed away the year I was born. But I felt like I knew him from the legacy of the churches that he pastored and planted all along Southern Vietnam. I loved hearing the stories of the simple stories of our parent's and aunties and uncle's childhood... what they liked to eat, where they went, what they did... very nostalgic. The weather was perfect. The food was okay. (we ate way better on the last trip.... cleaner restaurants usually doesn't mean better food). hahaha! Last trip we did more night life stuff... obviously this time with younger kiddos we were in the hotel fairly early. Overall this was an amazing trip to be with family and friends. I love my people. I love the motherland. I hope Kaden can feel like he knows where he comes from... the hardship, the perseverance, the love, the beauty, the pain, the uniqueness... the motherland...Vietnam. 

Thanksmas!

After a crazy beginning of November, I (Lisa) got back to work the week of Thanksgiving. Then only had ten whole work days before we headed off to Vietnam for three weeks. So, it was a crazy two weeks of getting work done, packing for Vietnam, and celebrating Christmas and Thanksgiving all in one. (AND not feeling quite 100% yet!) It was a whirlwind end of November beginning of December.

Something fun the Tran family did was we celebrated Thanksmas! (Thanksgiving+Christmas=Thanksmas) Joel, Kaden and I packed up for an extended weekend in Seattle. We went up Wednesday evening had Thanksgiving on Thursday...picked names that night. Went shopping on Friday with all the big sales, and decorated for Christmas on Saturday. We had Christmas dinner on Saturday and opened presents that night! It was kinda fun to only have one day to shop for one person. We pre-bought the kids' presents. We also had a family photo shoot and helped my brother and sis in law pack up and move into my parent's house. It was fun to hang out with my cousins and family. Seattle weekends are always super busy but this one was extremely busy.

Merry Thanksmas!!! :)