April

My goal has been to be creative enough and disciplined enough to write something each month; and I thought I had done so in April but I guess I didn’t.  It was mostly for a good reason and some of it was because I was not feeling like I had anything to say.

So, here’s a little recap of what happened in the month of May…

Part of my family came for a visit.  The primary reason was for Joseph’s ankle replacement surgery; which was very successful actually.

 

Joseph, my mum Jenny and me

Out to dinner with the Borns (Jarron, Keilani & Ron).  The Borns were very kind and helped me a lot with taking care of the family when I wasn’t able to.

Old friends – dinner with Lindsey

Mum and me :)

It was so good to have my mum here and to spend time with her.  I wish I had more time than what I was able to afford but it was a crazy season of life.  Thanks mum for taking care of me and for the many good conversations we shared.

Another thing I got to do during the month was to lead worship and play in the band as well for our AG Network (District) Conference.  It was a huge honor to be asked to lead one of the main sessions and I had a blast.

That pretty much summed up April 2010.  Now to try and stay on task and keep up the writing.

Jesus is Lord and He loves you…

Pictorial Updates

The last few months have been pretty uneventful so I haven’t been able to post much pictures of my adventures.  I have, however, been able to reconnect with old friends, meet new ones and keep up with good friends.  It has been fun engaging these people in conversations and relationships and walking along with them on life’s journey.  I am very blessed and grateful for the opportunities and trust.

My big brother, Joseph, came for a visit and for a doctor’s visit.  It was so good to catch up with him!  Looking forward to have him back for a longer period in a few months.

Celebrating Chinese New Year with my closest childhood friend, Aik.  He is living the “bachelor” life now because his family has return to Asia for a long visit.  They’ll soon be reunited when he heads over, but in the meantime we get to hang a little.

My life group feasting at Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant.  I love these guys and have thoroughly enjoyed living life alongside them.

(L to R – Jarron, Kami, Elise, Lindsey, little Zoe hiding under the table, Dave, Jireh & Sheree)

Enjoying a meal with dear friends in honor of Kami’s visit.

Summer Weekends

This past two summer weekends have been pretty entertaining.  I got to play music to a pretty large audience with some really fine musicians and I also got to go to a Mariner’s baseball game (last minute plan).

Here’s a recap:

Here’s my view from the stage as people were gathering and we were getting to ready to play at the Bite of Seattle.  The Bite is an annual food festival in Seattle where restaurants from all over come and set up booths to sell their food.  It was quite a treat to be able to play in a band for the festival.

I am waiting on some pictures of the performance; in the meantime here is what the stage looked from the audience:

My friends Tina, Lindsey & Dave, along with my boss Tim and his wife Sandi were very nice to come and watch me play.

While we were setting up, the MC brought up this couple and the dude proposed on stage in front of the crowd.  She said Yes.

Here’s Tina, whose family is from the Philippines, posing in front of the Philippine food stand

Hanging with my homie, Tina Timbang

Then, thanks to a hook up, Jarron and I got to go and see the Mariner’s play at Safeco Field.  It had been a while since I went to a game so it was a fun opportunity to go hang out at the old ballpark.

A not so clean shot of baseball superstar Ichiro Suzuki.  He is the man!  We got to sit slightly to the left of the man.  It was quite fun!

Jarron & me

This shot didn’t do justice to how beautiful downtown Seattle was; blue skies and sunshine.  It has been a fun filled couple of weekends.  I am glad I got to enjoy these activities.  I guess I will update more when I get more pictures.

We Made It

We finally made it to Orlando after traveling through the night.  We left Seattle around 10:30 pm (PST) and arrived in Orlando around 10:30 am (EST).  We had about an hour layover in Charlotte, NC.  It was quite the experience being in Charlotte even though we were there for a short period of time.

Our arrival gate was right across from where our connecting gate was; and to our excitement, so was Starbucks.

We headed straight for the mermaid and got the drinks going.  Next we decided to walk around the airport to check it out and maybe find a breakfast spot.  We finally settled on Bojangles – it was the only establishment that had very long lines.  Apparently Bojangles is a very popular eatery in the South.  Josh turned around in line and asked a very southern gentlemen for recommendations.

For a while we had trouble really settling in and even sleeping on both flights because we had a crying baby who wouldn’t be consoled on each leg.  By the time we arrived in Orlando we were quite out of it – jetlagged and tired.  We picked up our car and headed to our hotel.  We were thankful that our room was ready when we got here because check in times were usually much later in the day.  We got settled in and we figured it was time for lunch.  We headed to have some sushi after which we then went over to the a massive outlet mall to shop.  I was the only one that bought something so it was fruitful for me.

We went back to the hotel after shopping to grab a camera but we landed up staying for a few hours and I even managed to take a nap; it was very worth it.  After our short break, we made our way to Universal Studios/Resort to check it out and have dinner at Hard Rock Cafe.

 

 

 

Josh, Jeremiah and Lindsey

 

 

 

 

 

Universal City Walk

 

 

 

 

Taking over the world, one store at a time

 

 

 

 

The Hard Rock Cafe Restaurant and concert venue

 

 

 

 

My Hickory BBQ Bacon Cheese Burger – YUM!

 

 

 

 

The Goo Goo Dolls were next door at a private function

 

Next you’ll see a sequence of Josh trying to jump:

He did it!

 

 

 

And to end our night, we went to Starbucks, again.

 

Well, it is like midnight here I think and I am ready to crash.  Until tomorrow…

Easter Weekend

Jesus is alive and Jesus is Lord!  What a great weekend of celebration!  I am a little wiped out but it was worthwhile.

Here are some highlights:

Community Easter Egg Hunt – Every year our church put together a Easter Egg Hunt for the Redmond Ridge community.  It is very exciting to be engaged with our community but it takes a lot of work and a lot of manpower.  Every year we also experience little miracles with regards to the weather.  Basically every year rain is forecasted for the egg hunt and every year it rains before and right after the egg hunt.  God answers our prayers and clears up the sky for the period of the outdoor egg hunt.  It is pretty amazing.

 

 

 

Janelle, Lily, Aik & Lindsey

 

 

 

 

 

The Chens and me

 

Opening up the eggs and keeping the candy.

Justin & Bree’s Wedding Reception – Later that evening I went to a wedding reception for my boss’s (Tim) stepdaughter’s wedding reception.  My co-worker Rick and I went together.  I have known Bree since she was a high school student and she worked with us just before she graduated high school.  I was also looking forward to see Adrian (Tim’s son) who has been living in Alaska the past few years.  I have seen Adrian grow up from a young boy to a young man today.  It was a fun evening of catching up.

 

 

 

 

 

Tim & Bree

 

 

 

 

The boys all decked out. (Rick, Adrian and me)

 

Easter Sunday – We had an awesome Sunday gathering.  We put together a really cool presentation using real stories, images, music, scripture and spoken word to illustrate the power of the resurrection and how our lives can be changed.

My good friends Marcelo and Elise invited me for Easter dinner later that evening.  I love these guys and it was a blast to hang out, eat and just chill.

Elise made a wonderful meal and I am thankful for the invitation to celebrate together.

That was my eventful weekend and now I am ready to crash and start a brand new day and new week.

Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross of my sin and life is different because You defeated death and rose again.