February Update

Sean had an interview at Sutter for an analyst position. The interview went well and all but turns out Sutter has a hiring freeze right now. He recieved an email from someone who is working with the person that interviewed him and she told Sean not to give up yet. So we are still hoping and hoping. Oh the money... Wouldn't it be great not to worry about paying rent and bills??

Matt gives kisses. He understands "Where" so whenever I say "Where's -----", he responds by pointing. He also understands "Popo" which means "Kiss" in Korean. He makes a lot of different sounds. Before, he only used to say "A-gu", "A-bu", "Dada", "Mama", "Appa", and "Umma". And now he has been saying a lot of "I-do"s, "I-see"s, "That's", "Je-us", "Na-na", etc. It is fun to hear him talk - he certainly thinks he can talk. The boy talks all day! Matt has been sleeping in the crib in his room for about a month now! I am so proud! He used to do it really good until we went on our trip to Korea but after the trip, he hated his crib more than anything. So he slept in our room for about two months before we finally decided that he belonged in his own room. It was hard first three nights but now he falls asleep on his own within five minutes after we put him in his bed. So that is really good news. With a better sleeping habit and pattern, he seems much happier during the day. But the problem is that he doesn't want to nap unless I feed him or hold him. So I guess he has to give me some challenges. Now that he sleeps good at night, he won't sleep during the day!! Before, he napped twice or three times no problem. Ahh... the beauty of motherhood.

As for me.... Well, I had some kind of a flu yesterday. I was sick all day with a fever of 102.1 degrees. I felt a little better in the afternoon but then I got really sick again after dinner. I wasn't throwing up or anything. I had sore, sore, sore muscles and it felt like every joint of my body was going to break. It wasn't a good feeling. I had NO strength to take care of Matt so I finally texted Sean and asked him to come home early to take care of Matt. Of course, Sean came home and took care of both of us.

Sean and I have been losing some weight. Hooray!! Since January, we have lost about 15 lbs. I am happy with the result - not satisfied yet though. I have been going to the gym at least 4 times a week. I hate exercising. I really do. But I still go because I know I want to be healthy and not have a lot of health complications when I get older. I have been feeling a lot better since I started exercising. I am going to keep going. I have many more pounds to lose. So cheer me up!

Where's Jesus, Matty?

I am so excited!! So whenever Matty fusses at church, I take him out in the hallway and look at paintings of Jesus there. And I always say things like...

Is that Jesus, Matty?
Does he love you?
Does he love mommy and daddy?
Does he want you to be good?

Every week for the past 4 months or so, I have been doing that at church.

Well, Sean and I got into a routine with Matthew at night. We go to bed a little late at night. So Matt's night night time is around 10.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can hear you all gasp!
Anyhow, Sean and I take turns to put Matty in bed and every night, we read Matty a book (usually, we check out about 15 books from a local library every other week for Matt), pray together, and look at all the pictures of Jesus in his room. There are three pictures of Jesus in his room. One with baby Jesus and Mary, one with Jesus with two little children, and one with Jesus and missionaries. I am sure you have seen all these pictures before. Every night for the past month, we have been pointing at Jesus with Matt, telling him who Jesus is, etc.

(Consider the Lilies by Simon Dewey)

And tonight, when we pointed at the picture of Jesus with two little children, Matt pointed and said "Je-us" over and over again. We thought maybe it was a coincidence but we brought him out in the living room and asked him where Jesus was, he pointed his finger toward his bedroom and said "Je-us". Sean and I were surprised that Matt was already starting to learn about Jesus. I took Matt back into his bedroom and asked Matt where Jesus was, he pointed again at his favorite painting of Jesus and said "Je-us" again. It was the cutest thing ever!

It is amazing how much Matt loves Jesus already. Whenever he fusses or cries, I show him pictures of Jesus and almost every time, he calms down and smiles big. I wonder if he recognizes him from heaven. Little children are so pure, I bet they can see or feel things that we adults can't. I love being able to teach my baby about Jesus. It brings me such great joy.

Our boy is NOT a girl!!

I don't get offended real often but now I've had it! Come on, people, if Matty was a girl, he would be wearing all pink, from head to toe, and a big bow would be glued on his head. I am so sick and tired of people calling Matt a "she" or a "girl". I think it's pretty obvious that he's all boy!!

Last night, we went to Mongolian grill for dinner and the waitress was so rude! This is the conversation between the waitress and my husband.

The waitress comes to our table with water. Putting down the water on the table, she asks,

Waitress:
So is that your baby?

Sean:
Yes.

Waitress:
(Looking confused)
Is it a boy?

Sean:
Yes?

Waitress:
Oh, he looks like a girl.

I am not sure if it's the Mongolian culture or what, but who says stuff like that?? Needless to say, she didn't get a good tip.

Well, only few people mistake Matty as a girl, though. So that's good news. :-)

Just a note of gratitude

Dear Sean,

You know, when you are frustrated, you start counting things that you "don't" have, instead of what you "do" have. I can think of many things that we don't have - Ooh, money, that's right, that's what we don't have. But then I am sitting here on our beat-down couch that we bought at Ashley's just before we got married, listening to your sweet voice, reading Matthew a cute, little bed-time story in his room... I can think of lots and lots more things that we have that I am grateful for.

We have each other. I can't imagine where I would be, or what I would be doing, if I weren't with you. I am so thankful for your generosity and kindness. You make me feel like the queen of the world everyday. Your thoughtful complements and occasional love notes that I find in the most random places in our apartment make me feel so loved and important. I wish I were as romantic as you but I am working on it.

We have the cutest little boy - maybe the craziest- that we can claim he's "ours". As Hal in Malcolm in the middle would say, "We are the only ones that can call him -our boy-" I know he challenges both of us everyday but also teaches us millions of different things about being parents and also reminds us of the goodness of Heaven. I love when you come home, he crawls towards you so fast that he falls down once or twice. I love when you call me on your way home, Matt grabs my cell phone just so he can hear your voice. You know how it breaks our hearts when Matt starts crying when we put him in his crib so he can go night-night... We make sad faces and pray that he will fall asleep fast? I am going to miss that.

Oh, the memories... I love that we have lots of great stories to share with each other - that many of our nights were sleepless because we talked and talked and talked about our high school drama, missionary experiences, classes, etc. I love how there are still brand new stories that we haven't heard about each other and those stories just come to us randomly. I love how we can laugh about the corniest jokes, ever. I know lots of people think we are cheesy, but I like being cheesy and I love my cheesy husband.

I am so thankful that you and I are sealed for eternity through the temple marriage. I am so excited to spend the rest of my eternity with you. Some people say it would be boring to be with the same person for eternity, but I say I am so stoked that you will be with me even after this life - with our beloved children. Umm, I really hope that we don't have to change our kids' poopy diapers in heaven!

I am writing this to you while we are listening to Matt crying in his bed, waiting for one of us to come and pick him up. I know we both feel bad but Matt's getting used to it more and more each night. So I am thankful that we have our bed to ourselves. I didn't realize how big a queen size bed could be for just two people! Now we don't have to be on the edges of our bed, trying not to fall off the bed. I love you. And this is the end of this note.

Love,

Sook

The new Levi's ads

Well, I've been seeing these trashy ads for Levi's lately and I just wanted to say that I "HATE" them. I know it probably won't make a difference by me saying this but I thought I would anyway. The new Levi's commercials are sexual, not funny, and trashy. Two teenagers talking trashy (it is obvious that they're talking about sex, even though they were really talking about jumping off the bridge) and taking off their clothes in public. Those teenagers don't even look like they're 16 yet! And two high school or college kids, who knows, trying to have sex in someone else's apartment. I am just so disgusted by the idea of these advertisers who think that sex is the only way to advertise for their products. I really miss good, heart-melting commercials. There are so many trashy garbage on TV right now. I just wish that we could somehow show the advertisers that sex DOESN'T SELL.

Just a thought..

I was just watching a news show on 9/11 and thought about the pride cycle in the Book of Mormon. When 9/11 happened 7 years ago, all Americans were united and prayed for the innocent people whose lives were sacrificed for the "sacred" mission of the secret combination in Afghanistan. When they reunited, America was stronger than ever. The world was moved by their sincere prayers and prayed with them. Now, 7 years have passed, America is falling apart again, the world is falling apart.

I don't mean to sound so negative and pessimistic, but people don't fear God anymore. The same people that prayed so sincerely for the sake of others now have forgotten how to pray. They believe that 9/11 have passed and something like that will never happen again because their government would never allow it. Strangely enough, during the tragic times like 9/11 back in 2001, people united in harmony, remembering that America was founded on the principles of Christianity, prayed together all night in tears. Now only 7 years have passed, people are putting God on trial, trying to destroy his doctrines and principles of morality.

I've heard others say that Satan has gotten so powerful these days but I think it's people that have gotten weak and wicked so it's easier for Satan to take over their minds. We, Mormons, are fortunate to know that we have a prophet in our day to guide us through righteous paths. Sean told me about the law that passed in Colorado how men may be allowed to enter women's rooms and locker rooms and there is simply nothing women can do about it because they can get sued. Sometimes I wonder if people are seeking their rights because they want those rights or if they want to sue others and get money off of them.

In California, they are voting on proposition 8 (the traditional definition of a family). If it does not pass, many churches won't be able to refuse to marry homosexual couples. I don't believe in homosexuality. All the awful things that are happening in the world are designed to destroy our families. Strong families build a strong community, later a strong nation. It is frightening to think that our children might grow up thinking that gay marriage or homosexuality is just a normal part of life and that they can choose either to become a homosexual or a heterosexual. Sean told me the other day about an article that he read on the newspaper. A teacher in a public elementary school in Messachussetts read her kids a story of a prince and another prince. Basically there was a prince who decided that he didn't like any princesses, so he marries another prince from a different country. They kiss in the end and live happily ever after. I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT!! Our children will be exposed to this kind of teachers if we do nothing about it. I don't know what this world is coming into...

Everybody hates me except Sook

So I have been watching Nathan and Alex for the past two days. It's been so much fun. So Alex always says that I hate him because I have been giving so much attention to baby Matthew. He's a little jealous because I used to give him so much attention before Matthew was born. So I have been bothered by it a little bit because I do love Alex. Anyway, today, Alex has been saying this phrase all day. "Everybody hates me.... except Sook." haha I think it's funny because he's been saying that I hate him. So I am glad that he knows that I love him. :)

I just bought my childhood favorite book on Half.com!

So I just had to announce that I just bought my childhood favorite book on half.com for 7 bucks! I am so excited! I bought "fairy tales" by H.C. Andersen. He's seriously one of my favorite authors. He wrote "The Little Mermaid", "The Lovable Ugly Duckling", "The Emperor's New Clothes", etc. Woohoo! I am excited to read them for myself again and for my son, Matt!!