heaven & co

I wanted to do one, too! Some of these are songs that I've either listened to frequently or recently found in January!

We've officially hit our one month here! It's crazy, but who would've thought that Jeffrey and I would end up here for the time being? As we're here, we are reminded that God is still so faithful! Us here is all His doing and we are truly learning to walk in obedience to Him. To be honest, I don't really know all of this is supposed to look like, but if there's one thing I know, it's that I can continue to live in obedience to Christ. Sometimes, when you don't really know what to do, just do what you do know. I heard that in college during chapel ... and even though it's nothing fancy, it keeps sticking with me for whatever reason. Haha. 

2017 ... one heck of a year! I usually don't feel like I can say this genuinely about most years, but y'all, this one was the best year ever. I traveled a ton (probably a little more than I was able to handle), graduated, got freakin' married, and moved out of town for the first time ever. So many life changing things all piled into one little year and as I look back .... man I'm just so filled with awe and gratitude. Prepare yourself, this may or may not be a long post.

JANUARY 

Early January, Jeffrey's family came over and we finished the Hmong wedding. I felt like a total noob the entire time when trying to offer fruits and such, but it was such a smooth and easy process. My dad made it so easy and we ended up just talking about life. Later, we took our engagement photos with Mindy (I always look back and think about our engagement). I remember it being the coldest day ever, but we still managed to get out there to take some photos.


Jeffrey ended up staying for an extra week and we continued our wedding planning. We found our wedding venue which was the cheapest price of all the ones we looked at and it fit our needs, so we decided to take it and move on because here's a tip, you just can't be picky when it comes to planning a wedding. One thing Jeffrey continued to remind me of was that this wedding was ultimately not about us.

Okay, not gonna lie, the start of the new school year was .... interesting. That's because, if y'all can recall, I decided that I wasn't going to student teach anymore and I was walking away from teaching in my last semester of college. To be honest, I felt like a quitter and I hate feeling like I gave up on something simply because "I wasn't able to do it". Bottom line - this was a decision that I don't regret.

I can go on and on, but you can read all about it here: Why I Decided to Stop My Student Teaching

FEBRUARY

I loved all the free time I was getting now that I wasn't a part of teacher ed. anymore. I got to hang out more and have actual relationships with the girls at school which was something I totally wanted to do more of.

MARCH

Hello, Spring break! This year, we went to Madison, Wisconsin for Spring Tour and it snowed! I didn't get to go the last two times because I was busy with something else, but I so enjoyed Spring Tour this year. At the end of the week, I was left feeling encouraged and refreshed to be a part of a community.

I visited Jeffrey who was my fiancé at the time. A part of me felt uncomfortable, but I was so comfortable at the same time - weird. Maiya and I just hung out with his family for the remainder of our Spring break. We also traveled down to Kentucky (the most random of trips) with Xf. McYoung/Debbie because that's where he attended school at the time. Fun, spontaneous trip.

APRIL

Just a few more things to check off the list before I could walk across that stage and say bye to undergrad forever. I was ready to go since .... two years ago. Ha! Needless to say, April was one of those months that just come and go in the blink of an eye. I was so focused on just getting through that I think I missed out on a lot of

MAY 

The final push to the end was the hardest. Not sure why I didn't learn from previous years, but up until the last minute, I was still working my butt off to finish assignments last minute. I can still remember so clearly how I sat so lifeless on the couch in my living room just waiting for my assignments to finish themselves up. I motivated myself through trap music or any music with a nice bass drop. Ha!

And hallelujah, I finally got to walk across the stage and graduated. Tbh, there was a moment I didn't think I'd make it. Crazy how little faith I have ..... haha. All of a sudden, the fours years I spent in college felt more like four seconds. When you no longer have something, I think that's when you find yourself most thankful ... at least for me. When I was in college, I was just waiting to get out, but then when I graduated, that's when I looked back and was actually thankful for the time that I got to spend there. It's just part of life, I guess.

Also, having my family there to support me felt like a dream! They were happy. I was happy. We were all happy.



And finally, full-on wedding planning mode! Jeffrey came down a few weeks early and we planned every detail together. Every. Single. Detail. For the rest of the month, we planned and planned, then made sure we were able to execute them well. Lucky for me, he thinks everything out through and through. He's someone who thinks one step ahead, so I didn't have much to worry about. He carried the wedding planning, y'all.

JUNE

Whoa - wedding mooooonth. The most exciting of months evvvvver. While I was super excited for all the wedding things to take place, I found myself feeling insecure about my weight. It was always in the back of my mind and I realized that I didn't have a healthy relationship with food. It sounds weird, but it was truth.

The week before, my bridesmaids and I spent a few nights in Atlanta for my Bach. Super fun and chill and just what I wanted. My favorite was riding our bikes through Atlanta. I felt like I was in a movie amid the humid as ever weather.



And wedding day. I wish I could say everything about how I felt on my wedding day, but that would be forever long. My bridesmaids were the best; they took care of my every need (which was hopefully not that much...) and the groomsmen ... they were a fun group. Every one got along so well and I just feel that both sides of the parties complemented each other very nicely.

I was so happy to have all of our loved ones in the same place and if there's one thing I've really started to enjoy, it's reunions. This was totally a reunion with the company of sweets friends and a whole ton of family. It was my first time getting to meet some of Jeffrey's side, too, so that was really fun (and kinda nerve-wracking).



When we left for our honeymoon, I had to say bye to my parents and family. It was the hardest thing to do and even as I'm writing this, I still get teary eyed. This was when I realized how much of a baby I really am. I always thought that college eased it up for me and that I'd be alright when it was time for me to say bye, but nah. I probably cried half-way to our honeymoon.

When we got to Indy, I cried again because Pang sent me a letter and I made the mistake of reading it right away. Rivers and rivers of tears because I missed my family and the fact the that I wouldn't be able to be with them ever again made me so darn sad and so .... more tears.

JULY

Now, enter all the traveling. I kid you not when I say that we traveled so much. Right after our honeymoon, we stayed here in Indy for a day and then made our way to Colorado where we stayed for two weeks. You can read more about our Colorado trip here: Our Trip In Colorado



We then traveled over to Kansas where we stayed for one night. Visited some friends and played some volleyball. Then took off the next day.

Next, we went to SALT 2017. Thankfully, we're only three hours out form Wheaton! We volunteered this year (lil' nerve-wracking since they were like all my age!) and got to see Shane and Shane. Very talented worship artists! Always love their gospel-centered worship.

Lots of job applying days happened as well. I took unemployment season as a blessing. I've worked since high school, so having some time off wasn't all that bad, but boy, did we need an income quick. Ha! Jeffrey and I started budgeting and doing more adult things as well.

AUGUST

Anyway, one more trip for the summer! Late August, we went to the Heart Conference which was a regional conference. To be honest, I actually felt super out of place and I knew like ... no one. However, I was encouraged because it didn't matter who I did or didn't know, but we were all united in Christ.

That same week, I got offered a job to work with kids at a daycare/after school program. I worked specifically with 2-3 year olds and they are the cutest bunch! I loved the place and the people, but didn't plan on being there for long. In fact, I decided that I'd give it a year before I started looking elsewhere (that was until I found out we'd be moving soon).

SEPTEMBER

I was finally getting comfortable with my new fam! We'd finally established a routine, I'd help to cook at a certain time, Wednesday nights were prayer nights, and everything is feeling normal. It did take me a while to get used to a new family and one of the hardest things I had to stop doing was comparing my own family to my new one or vice versa.

We also got to see John Mayer in concert! It was like a fun wedding gift turned date night idea! This was our first concert together and we always listen to his songs to think back on this memory. He's also just as good live as he is recorded. So beautiful, raw, and just pure talent.

OCTOBER

Jeffrey celebrated my birthday with a new hair-do! I really needed a change, y'all and a new hair-do felt .... overdue. Ha! So I got a cut and color done (went much lighter, totally not used to it) and then we went out for sushi! The whole hair dying thing ... let's just say that it was a good experience to finally dye it after so long, but in the long run would be such a sad thing for my hair. Ha!

Another trip! Our family traveled down to Georgia for Mai Kao's wedding where we helped take photos. Fun opportunity and Mai Kao made such a beautiful bride!

NOVEMBER

This month, we made yet another trip, but to Wisconsin to visit a church. I got to speak with the N. Tsev and wow, what an interesting thing. This is what it looked like to feel like a baby and share with women who are twice my age, but they were so kind. While preparing for this trip, I felt a lot of things ... of course, I felt incapable, but was encouraged by friends who ensured me that focusing on our God who is capable was so much more worth it. A continuing theme that I keep on seeing even today is that when God opens these doors for us, we need to be walking through them with the understanding that He's already equipped us for it.

DECEMBER

Oh December. I've long awaited this month for all things Christmas. A lot of things happened ... including more trips! Early December, we were very sad to have heard about Yawm Say Chu's passing and road tripped down for the funeral. Even under the circumstances, it was good and refreshing to be with Jeffrey's side of the family.

A few months ago, we purchased plane tickets to go back to GA for Christmas, so just three days after the funeral, we made yet another trip back down to GA and enjoyed the holidays with my family (a freakin' dream!)

Then, Jeffrey and I made our last trip of the year and traveled to the mid-west. More mid-west, I guess. We got our own apartment and made it all nice and cozy. Pastor gave us a table and a couch - we are so thankful.

Hello and happy new year from the new place!
People, I can't believe it's a new year. Wow, wow, wow.
And a lot has happened.

Anyway, as y'all know, Jeffrey and I have landed in our new little apartment (first time renters, y'all) and there are already a few mistakes we've made along the way. Ha. Like ... hrm, we probably should've asked for a non-smoking room (not even sure if that's a thing to be honest) because our apartment was smoke-filled when we entered. Ha! It's funny looking back at it. Also, we forgot to even ask if this place came with a laundry unit. Good news is that it does (and we read that on the site), but bad news is that the laundry unit is downstairs. Downstairs! It's all good, though. Really, it's all good.

Being in a totally new place with zero family has been tough because ... well, I don't know anyone here! And that's just a personal problem for me because I get that it's not about knowing people, etc. But I sure did feel lonely. The first night, some of the boys came to help us move in and we went out for dinner and that was very nice. Jeffrey and I came back to a dark, empty, cold apartment and I couldn't help but think about my family and just wanting to be in a place of comfort.

Things have gotten better since the first night. Ha! My in-laws came to visit with the rest of our stuff. We've tidied up our place. Made it cozier. And this place feels like our place now. It's definitely exciting ... this whole being on our own thing, but if I'm being honest, I'm not used to this. And I don't think I will be yet. But it's okay because my hope is in Christ alone. I know that in Him is where I find true comfort and rest and because of Christ ... this is all going to be just fine.