Trust in the Lord!

Long Time No See!

2010-10-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Sorry it's been SO incredibly long since I've blogged! So much has been going on; I have no idea where to start. Which is probably why I've neglected to blog for such a long time. Any way, I shall try to summarize all that's happened since February....

My special ed kiddos mostly passed the TAKS test so I am so grateful to God for that! Over the summer, we went through quite a few changes; my sister moved in with us so now the guest bedroom is occupied! She is such a great help with the household and keeping my sanity. :) Harlen and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary as well! We had a fun time ziplining and staying at a bed and breakfast in the town of Wimberly, Texas.

Our summer ended with me learning that I would not be teaching special ed but just regular 6th grade math! (I heard the news about 3 days before school started btw.) So far, it's been a challenge, but very fun! I love my kiddos for the most part!

We took a short, and I mean short, trip back to Singapore. My dad's mother passed away so the whole family got to take a trip home for the funeral. It was sad but also great at the same time to see the rest of the family.

Harlen and I are now on a house hunt. We've been praying and looking for the right home to buy. It's been somewhat of a challenge but we think we might have found one! Going to put in the offer tomorrow.. If it's the one, we will get it. The needs some TLC but we are very excited to get working on it.

Some good news on Vicky's end: she got all A's so far!! We are praying for a continuation of her scholarship. The one she received only lasts one year. So we need to find funding from another source at the end of this year. But God will provide, as He always does! She has been struggling about what major she will major in but we shall see what God has in store for her.

Okay that's it. The end. :) Pictures later.

Meet Remi!

2010-02-19T16:05:00.001-08:00

Haven't blogged in awhile but life is going great! The school year is winding down.. less than 3 months left and the TAKS test is coming up!! I'm sooo excited yet nervous! The highlight of this year so far is that we added a new member to our family. Her name is Remi!

She's half Yorkie and half Coton du Tulear! Her fur is so soft and cotton like.. I love it!

She did NOT like the snow AT ALL. I set her down and she wanted to go back inside. I think her butt was cold!

She steals Panda's toys...

And he just lets her! What a wuss...

That or he just loves his baby sister.. aww.. napping together..

New family picture! Our dogs aren't too photogenic. Haha.

I'm Almost 21!

2009-12-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

I am just 21 days away from being 21! Is it odd that I feel so much older than 21? Mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually.. I feel about 50. Haha. Jk not 50 but still, older.

Any way, school has been going great but as usual, super exhausting. My little babies are doing so well and I'm so proud of them! (For the most part any ways.) I just found out today that I will be getting a new student after Christmas break is over and I am praying that this transition will be easy and smooth for the both of us! His previous teacher told me.. "He can't do much, he can barely add and subtract numbers less than 10." Well, that WILL change because that's what I was told about my current kiddos and guess what? Now we are working on simplifying fractions, equivalent fractions, percents, and decimals! We are wayyyyyy past adding and subtracting! I am so proud of my kids and thank God for all the patience and inspiration to teach. I truly believe that I have found my purpose in life and really thank God for opening this window for me!!!

Another reason that I am sooooo excited for this Christmas break is because my family will be coming down from Vancouver to stay with Harlen, Panda, and I! I have the guest room prepared already and it's waiting for them to arrive! Whoohoo! We miss the Chins oh so much. :) Can't wait to go shopping with my mom and sisters! Harlen has been a terrible shopping partner, as much as I love my husband. Haha. Love you babe!

Hope all of you have a blessed week and even blessed Christmas! Jesus is the reason for the season!

Love,
Kellee

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS is.... a Havanese puppy. :)

WINTER... finally!

2009-11-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

I've officially been a teacher for 12 weeks and 3 days! Wooo it's been tough; very, very, very tough. It's been extremely stressful but at the same time, such a learning experience. I've been growing each and every day that I spend with my kids. The main problems I've had so far are some minor behavior problems but.. I guess that would be weird if I didn't, right? I mean, come on, I'm dealing with 11-14 year olds!

Other than school, we've finally moved into our new place! WE LOVE IT! There's so much more room and we finally have a place to put all our papers and books and actually focus! (That will all change when Victoria comes to live with us but for now.. it's great!) All of you guys will have to come over and visit one day. :)

Thanksgiving is coming up and I cannot wait because I get to SLEEP for a week! Then 3 weeks, and it's Christmas break!!! Woohoo! My family will be coming to spend Christmas and my 21st birthday with us! All I want for Christmas is my family.... and a puppy. Haha. Well, Panda wants a baby brother/sister because he's lonely by himself all day. ;)

Welcome to the USA!

2009-10-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

The highlight of the month is that I finally received my GREEN CARD! Actually, it may have happened last month? I'm not sure but hey, still praising God for the speedy processing time!

School's been.. uh, BUSY. Still going great though. I survived the first 6 weeks!

Today was a very eventful and successful day. I went shopping with my friend and scored some great deals! None of which, by the way, I will be able to wear to work but I only work 40 hours out of a 168 hour week so it's all good! Harlen is downstairs as I am typing this working on his car yet again. It's serious this time because all of a sudden, it stopped working! GOSH DARN CAR.

I've finally embraced being Texan and bought a few flannel shirts and a pair of cowboy boots! Yeeeeehaw! Haha, I have no idea what came over me. I've also been obsessed over "Glee," this new TV series by Fox about a show choir in high school. I find myself reminiscing every week about my old choir days. :)

I have also discovered a new love for fish tempura tacos! OH MY GOODNESS, they are delicious! The next person who comes to visit me will get a free fish tempura taco! Sounds disgusting, I know, but trust me.... YUM YUM.

Okay, sorry for the random post. I simply typed what I was thinking so, naturally and obviously, I'm very scatterbrained tonight. Hope you're having a blessed weekend!!

I'm LOVIN' This Fall Weather!

2009-09-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

Whoo I've been teaching for 5 weeks now and so far so good! I've hit some minor bumps but gotten past them and thanking God every day that He gives me with my kiddos. I've been so busy and tired but I woke up feeling awesome and refreshed today, Harlen did too! :)

Other than that, I've been approved to be a permanent resident of the USA and should be receiving my official green card in the mail soon! I'm so excited. Now I don't have to pay international prices for school! I will be starting my masters program next semester, if all goes along to plan.

Harlen is doing fine with school; busy as usual. He's been very dedicated to the Formula SAE program at UTA and really enjoys it. I'm so happy that he's found something that he enjoys at school.

Hmmm, pay day is on Monday and I'm SUPER HAPPY! I was so happy that I went on a shopping spree today.. of course, I bargain hunted. =p Hope you guys have a blessed week!!

My First 2 Weeks as a TEACHER!

2009-09-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

My experience as a teacher so far has been AMAZING. For those of you who don't know, I teach Math to middle school kids with learning disabilities. In these two weeks alone, I've realized that I have much more patience that I thought I had. I've also learned that I love kids! God has truly blessed me with an awesome bunch of young minds to mold.

My first two weeks has been super tough and exhausting as well. On my first day, the kids came in to my class with a "I don't care" and "I'm never going to do anything with my life" attitude. They did not want to work or even interact with me. When I asked them what they want to do in life, their answer was "Nothing, I'm going to drop out of school soon." My guess was that the previous teacher did not care about them and did not tell them he believed in them. I set about changing that mindset in my kids and now, I can't stop them from interacting and wanting to participate in class! I am really encouraged.

Every day, I get home at around 5:30 ready to hit the bed! I'm usually up till about 11:30 planning my lessons and activities for tomorrow but you know what? It's so rewarding to have my kids tell me that my class is the most fun and that they love it! At the end of the year, I pray that each and every one of them will believe in themselves and that they know they are special and intelligent. Already, I have a student who plans on going to technical school and aspiring to be an automotive technician (in the beginning he told me that he was going to drop out because of the gang that he is a part of; which really broke my heart)! PTL!

In short, I pray for my kids EVERY NIGHT and pray that God will give me the passion to teach these kids to learn and more importantly, HOPE. Thank You God for entrusting me with these kids and giving me the chance to make an impact in their lives! Thank You God for giving me the opportunity to enter this mission field!

HOT Summer!

2009-07-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been over 100 degrees for the past 13 days in Texas! It is INSANE. Well we are doing our best to stay cool by basically staying inside as much as possible. Haha.

I've been attending Texas Teachers' pedagogy training for the past 2 weeks now from 9-4 every day and I've really learned a lot. I am so excited for the school year to begin! We've gone over all these topics relating to being an effective teacher like: classroom management, cooperative learning, effective teaching, lesson design and development, and conducting assessments. It's been very exhausting but I really learned a lot!

Whenever I get up to leave for training, this sneaky dog jumps up on my bed and steals my spot on my pillow and under my blanket! I just thought it was the cutest thing.

What's next? I have a one week conference/orientation with Fort Worth ISD and then I have to report to school the week before school starts on August 24th! WOW school's starting SOON!!! I am SO incredibly excited. For those of you who don't know, I've been researching about grad schools and trying to decide which one to go to! Well, I've finally decided. I will be attending Texas A&M pursuing my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction! It's a distance learning program and there's a campus right by my place so thank God we finally decided! Now we're just praying for the financial aid to come through.

Other than that, Harlen is working a whole lot more so I see him less. But we always eat dinner together every night and watch House or some other movie that I find around the house. I love having a permanent best friend! :)

Harlen's been working on his ancient CRX whenever he has free time and he just cleaned up the entire engine bay. It's looking pretty nice! I'm not excited when he starts to drive it though.. it has no air bags and since it's about to be considered an "antique" car, there's no requirements for it whatsoever! =/ HA, antique. I find that funny.

One day, while Harlen and I were lunching at Panda Express, I saw a stuffed Panda they had on sale! And me, being obsessed with pandas, REALLY wanted it! Harlen convinced me that it would be a waste of money so I sadly agreed. The next day as I got into my car... it was sitting in my steering wheel!! It really made my day! My hunnie is the best. :)

I received my very first Woot shirt in the mail today! It's called "I Wish..." and it's an elephant who wishes he could be in the circus. It's so cute and I love it! I didn't know what I was going to get because it was "random shirt day" and you basically pay $6 and they ship you whatever they find in their warehouse. Haha. Interesting eh?

It's been a tumultuous month for our little Panda as well. He had a rash on his butt, allergies flared up, and he got sunburned! Poor dear. But all is well now! Thanks to VASELINE (it's a miracle worker I tell ya!). I shall spare you guys the picture of the rash. =p

See that little pink dot on his nose? The ONLY spot on Panda that is not covered by hair. HAHA.

Well that's it for now! Hope you read to your hearts' content. Haha.

Love,
Kell

Summer & Seattle :)

2009-06-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

So happy to be re-united with the Chins! I love my family so much. I am so blessed to be able to call them my parents, I thank God for giving them to me!

One day, we will go on a double date. Wait, I think we did. To the Thai restaurant which mom hated. Haha.

Happy to be together again!

Needed 2 more shorter/taller people to complete the "cingular/at&t" shot.

Just strolling the streets! Trying to find the Pike Place Market! Turns out we were walking in the wrong direction........ DAD!

God brought us together! <3

We are so cool. Ha.

My dad the thinker or.. sleeping?

We found Pike Place Market! It was AWESOME! Just tons of vendors selling their crafts and food and talents! Amazing.

Family picture! (We're almost always missing one member of the family because Peni-el didn't trust anyone on the street with her camera.)

If you go to Seattle, naturally, you go see the Space Needle!

Sisters <3

I like this shot!

We stopped at this place for ice cream.... mmmm.

Had to have DimSum! It was pretty darn good; this was the only picture we got. The photographer was too distracted eating to take pictures. Haha.

The pictures speak for themselves. We had an awesome time with my family just enjoying each others' company and exploring the city. I have more pictures uploaded on Facebook so go check them out there!

Other than Seattle, I've been busy trying to apply to school districts and to grad school! I'm going to get my Master's degree in Education and Teaching. I can't wait to get started on it! Summer has been awesome so far. :)

Kellee's On Vacation!

2009-05-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

I've officially been on vacation for 10 days now! For those who don't know, my OPT/work permit expired last Monday so I've been sitting on my keister for a while now. It's a very nice, relaxing mandatory vacation if I do say so myself! Harlen's done with his school so he's been working and bringing home the bacon; it's rather nice actually.

So Harlen and I have been spending a lot of time together and we've had the opportunity to watch several different movies and shows in the past couple days. Here's a list of what we've seen so far: Yesman, Sex in the City (the movie), Coyote Ugly (I've been wanting to watch this since.. middle school?), Killing Zoe (a movie from the 80s?), Sexdrive, and the best of all, Dexter. I'm hooked. Dexter is this series on Showtime about a serial killer with a strict moral code and he only kills serial killers. Love it! It's kind of gruesome so if you don't like seeing body parts and blood, don't watch it.

This is Panda begging for our attention as Harlen, Jeremy, Richard, and I watched Dexter in Jeremy's room. I got bored for a sec.

Lately, I've been wanting to update my closet a little bit so I finally went out and picked out a couple new pieces for my wardrobe! Want to see?

Got this at Abercrombie. I thought it looked rather cute and summer-y. Paired with some white shorts? Yeahhhhhh.

HAD to buy this because well, my dog's name is Panda. AND I'm a big fan of saving wildlife. Those pandas better not get themselves extinct!! I haven't had the chance to see a real one yet!

I really like this dress. Very Spring. <3

My FAVORITE! I love this butterfly print top and the way it cinches at the bottom!

Hmm, other than my insane need to find cute clothes at a bargain, I have bigger news! I passed the certification test for me to teach Special Education EC-12!! For those whom I did not tell, that test was HELL. 5 hours of staring at a monitor with someone else watching me via security camera! I wasn't even allowed to take off my sweater! WOW. Well, I stuck it to them real good. I put gum in between the sheets of scratch paper so they won't be able to sift through my scribblings. Ha. Take that. I'm such a bad ass right.

We've also been spending quite a bit of time at Harlen's parents' house just chilling and spending time with the family. We live in Arlington so every trip to Coppell, Texas is practically a road trip. The only thing that entertains us is Panda's insane need to feel the 70mph wind on his face! He growls at every single grandma that rolls down her window to say "awww hi puppy!" and he's also learned to use his weight to balance whenever Harlen makes a crazy turn. Pretty darn smart dog. :)

And since Harlen refuses to pose for those road trip pictures that everyone takes, I take pictures of Panda!

He LOVES sticking his head out of the window. Once I tried to trick him and turned on the AC full blast because I didn't feel like having my window down, nope didn't work. He HAS to have his window down!

Smilin' and happy to be on the road!

I thought this picture was kind of cool. Him staring at a motorist wishing to be as cool as him. Haha.

Aaaaand last but not least, this is what I've been doing at Harlen's house... STUDYING & READING for that test that I barely passed! Yay! Harlen's old bedroom has been turned into Jeremy's architect/design room. There's plans and models EVERYWHERE!

Well, that's it for now! The next post will be after Harlen & I get back from SEATTLE, WASHINGTON where we will be re-uniting with the amazing Chin family!!! Whoohoo!

Love,
Kellee

Happy 1st Birthday, Panda!

2009-04-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

Panda officially turns 1 tomorrow! YAY. I'm baking him homemade doggie cookies for his birthday. I'm sure he'll enjoy them; especially since he eats just about anything anyways.

So what's new with the Hoangs... hmm..

WELL, I've been desperately craving school again so I've been researching programs/certifications/etc. I'm currently torn between a pharmacy tech program and a veterinary tech associates degree. Why did I pick something that involves science, math, and basically all the subjects I detest? Well, I want a challenge, basically, and a change. AND the vet tech program appeals to me because it would somewhat fulfill a lifelong dream of mine to become a vet! Minus the surgeries and what not. We shall see where God leads on this one! For now, I'm just glad I have something to research again. EDIT: God spoke to both Harlen & I separately and I will be pursuing teaching! (My original hearts' desire) :)

As for Harlen, he's still working part time for Discount Tire but he has been looking for an engineering internship for the summer. We looked up Honda and he found an internship that he really wants but it's in Ohio! It's kind of his hearts' desire so, depending on what happens and what door God opens, we may be moving to Ohio after he graduates (which we're both super psyched about!).

So that is what's been on our minds for this month. We both feel so incredibly blessed to have all these wonderful opportunities in our life and the stability we have in order to chase our goals. We are waiting on the Lord to show us what and where He wants us to be. Please keep us in your prayers! Other than that, we are happily married; loving and cherishing our marriage more and more every day!

Here is the birthday boy nappin after his crazy day of partying!

He got some pretty charms from his "godmother" ashley for his birthday!!

It's Springtime!

2009-03-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Spring is my FAVORITE season of the year! Everything is blooming again.. you start to see little baby ducklings.. ahhh. I know what you're thinking and no, Harlen and I will not have any new babies of our own this Spring! Ha.. human or dog. =p

GOOD NEWS! We finally got a new car! I kind of miss the Camry though but this new car is soo beautiful! I love it. :) It's an 07 Honda Fit! It needs new paint and some work on it.. but it gives me a chance to learn something new and work on my car! Here are some pictures! Anyone want to donate to the "Fix Kellee's Car" fund? Heehee

Butt view! <3

Front!

Panda's already claimed his seat! Guess Harlen will have to sit in the back! Haha..

Anyways, besides getting a new car.. I've sent in my application for PR! I sure hope I get my work permit soon or else I won't be able to work for awhile! Eek. Harlen & I were looking at the review for the US citizen test and the questions are so ridiculous! ie: who is Abraham Lincoln? (the guy with the top hat and beard.. DUH), who is George Washington? (the guy who lied about chopping down a cherry tree! Ha), who makes decisions for the country? (the GOVERNMENT?) Those are all possible answers.. it made me laugh b/c when Harlen saw the questions, he goes "WOW that is a hard test!" I looked at him, bewildered, and he goes.. "ohhhhh I thought it was a spelling test!" LMAO.

Panda was at the pet hospital all day being treated for infected ears and his clogged anal glands.. EEW. They called and told me that his anal glands had to be "expressed." Which basically meant that they were going to squeeze his *ahem* until stuff came out! GROSS. Any way, all that cost me a lovely $90! Having a dog is expensive nowadays, ain't it?!

Here's the little lazy dog chillin after his visit to the vet (aka person who violated him!).

Hmm, I also finally cooked some genuine chinese food today! Thanks to Vicky! I called her asking how to cook some veggies and she asked what kind of veggies I'm cooking. My reply was, "you know.. the green things that mom cooked?" Shows how long I've been cooking veggies! LOL never. But after a quick lesson on the phone, everything turned out just dandy! Harlen loved it anyway.

Well that's all I have for you folks! Till next time!

Love, Kell

WOW it's February ALREADY?!

2009-02-15T06:38:00.000-08:00

As Harlen and I celebrated "I Love You" day yesterday (I asked him.. so if today is "I Love You" day, then what is every other day? He said, every other day is "I Love You" day without a present! LOL), I realized that we've been married for over half a year now! How crazy! We've been so blessed to have so many married mentors and friends to counsel and guide us. :)

Anywho, for ILY day, Harlen replaced my Rubik's Cube that I LOST in Vancouver with a brand spanking new one! It's a super duper more awesome cube though! He got 6 of our pictures and cut them into little pieces and make my Rubik's cube into a picture cube! It was one of the most romantic and thoughtful gifts ever! I love you babe!

To distract me from being miserable because of my job, I've taken to watching old Chinese dramas from my childhood to cheer myself up. It's doing quite a wonderful job if I do say so myself! Don't laugh, but I've been watching "Huan Zhu Ge Ge!" I've also finished the Korean drama "Full House" which my sis recommended. Harlen watched that one with me too. Ha.

I really miss school and the more and more I see Harlen study and do homework, the more I want to go back! I'm determined to go back to school once my PR thing is settled. As of right now, I'm planning on getting my teachers' certification to teach at middle school/high school level. We shall see where God leads.

Please pray for Harlen as he is going through a stressful time with all his exams, homework, and tests. Even though I see him somewhat stressed, I envy him. I miss THAT kind of stress! Haha.. I bet when I'm back at school, I'll miss working full time.

Since my last post, Panda has learned a bucket full of new tricks other than peeing on his pad! He knows how to wave, high five, shake, and roll-over (half way lol)!! It's so exciting seeing him learn new tricks.. he's getting smarter and smarter every day! Well.. sorta.

Okay, well time to go to sleep! Blessings!

Love,
Kellee

Happy November!!

2008-11-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys! What's going on?!

Haven't updated in awhile, seems like I'm beginning a one post per month trend. Anyway, lots have been happening this month! Let's start of with the star of the Hoang family: PANDA. Our little guy has FINALLY FINALLY learned to wee & poo in his designated area! You have no idea how much of a burden has been lifted off our shoulders. Haha.

I finally took the plunge. After months and weeks of complaining that I want a new phone, I have finally gotten one (it won't get here till the week after next though): The G1 or the GOOGLE phone!

I sure hope I'll like it. It'll be an experience that's for sure.

Harlen has finally sold his beloved Honda Civic! His first car that he had when we first started dating. My mom detested this car because it had no A/C for her darling daughter and her darling daughter did too. It was actually kind of bittersweet to see it go. We had some memories in that car! Not anything rated R for you sick sick minds! Me cringing every time we were about to hit a pot hole or speed bump because his car was so low and it'd make a low crashing noise that would give me goose bumps. Sweating like pigs over the summer because of it being black and having no AC! Not being able to listen to music because the windows were always down and there was no antennae. Ha. BUT it was very very fast! We beat a bunch of cars who tried to race us. Muahaha.

Our whole family is going to fly to Vancouver, Canada in January to spend some time with the Chins (including Panda). I think he understands what we're saying cuz when I finally bought the tickets and danced around the house saying I bought the tickets, Panda picked up his toys and started packing them into his travel cage. Haha! Ya gotta love that dog.

So I think that's all that's been going down in the Hoang household. Apart from all this, I've been learning to cook (as usual). This week I've made: Teriyaki Chicken, Tuna Casserole, Orange Chicken & Mixed Veggies, and Curry Puffs! They all turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself! Haha. GO ME!

BIG SHOUTOUT to the people who birthed and raised me and supported us! It's their wedding anniversary tomorrow (22nd? 23rd?? I lost count.. sorry la)!!! We love you mom & dad! You guys are the BEST. Hope you two enjoy your anniversary dinner with the kiddos! =D

Love,
Kellee

Poopy Panda

2008-10-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

Sad to say.. My precious baby Panda has WORMS! I'm taking him to the vet today but I freaked out this morning when he pooped this morning.. kinda gross I know! *Sigh* the things I do for my little dog baby! Haha. Serves him right for putting anything and everything into his mouth!

Any way, this past week, I visited the newest addition to Abercrombie & Fitch at the Willow Bend Mall in Plano: GILLY HICKS! It's a lingerie store meant to be in competition with Victoria's Secret and, even though my opinion is biased, I think that Victoria's Secret can choke on Gilly's dust! The underwear itself may not be impressive BUT the layout of the store is AMAZING! It's so well thought out and I love it! It's the way I want my closet to look like! Haha. A plus is that the fit is smaller so yay for those with smaller *ahem*. =D But do expect the typical Abercrombie style: Classy but SEXY! Meaning lots of nude paintings and sketches. Haha but still, it's worth checking out!

Umm.. Other than that, Harlen just finished studying his butt off for 4 exams that he had.. I'm glad they're over! He's been waking up every morning at 4 to go to the library! INSANE. OH, he also bought me a rubik's cube (which was the best gift EVER btw) and I finally solved it!!

Hum, I think that's it! I hope Panda will stop putting random nasty things in his mouth!

Love,
Kellee

1st Month of Marriage!

2008-09-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

Wow God has been so good to us this past month. I can't believe we've already been married for a month! Crazy. We've been doing well and getting to know each other more and more every day.

Harlen has been busy with school (he's taking a gazillion classes) and work so the time we spend together is very precious. After the wedding I was also promoted and transferred from the Abercrombie & Fitch store to the Abercrombie store which is the kids version! It's such a blessing because the store is smaller.. hehe. =)

Any way, thanks to everyone to has showered their love on us and for the lovely gifts that we got for our wedding! I'm a procrastinator and am ashamed to say that I still have those thank you notes. Haha.. SORRY!

Love,
Kellee

Harlen & Kellee's Wedding (8.9.08)

2008-08-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

My groom came to get me early in the morning!

Whoohoo! Don't drop me!!

Me & my baby Panda

The girls + Harlen

Just the girlies!

Girlies again! =D

Me & my mommy! <3

Me & my dress!

The bridal party in Richard's car!

My daddy was about to walk me down the aisle!

Being given away to Harlen!

Lighting the unity candle

Our marriage license! We are legally married now!

Yay we did it!

Watching our wedding video....

The happy parents

My beautiful bridesmaid

Us & our flowergirl Carolyn & ringbearer Caleb!

The Chins

The Chins + the Lim sisters!

The Hoangs

The entire new family!

Glad that it's over.... whew

Reflecting after the ceremony..

Walking into the reception!

Yay!

The happy couple

My sisters giving a toast

Cheers!

Our cake!

Cutting the cake!

Tossing my bouquet!

Whee! Vy caught it! Who's the lucky guy eh?

Thank you everyone for coming!! <3

This wedding would not have been possible if it hadn't been for the love, support, and of course the HELP that we received from everyone: the Hanuri English Ministry, Asian Fellowship, our best friends, and of course, our families! Thank you all for making our wedding so beautiful and memorable. We love you so much!

Love,
Harlen & Kellee

WHOOO!

2008-07-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

WOW, it's coming up! =D

We're almost done getting all the final details together so praise the Lord! My sisters & aunt are arriving tomorrow and I am SO excited to go get them from the airport!! My parents are arriving on Saturday so that'll be doubly exciting! I can't believe we're almost there! We'll be getting married in 12 days?! INSANE! =D

Apart from all the wedding craziness, I got a pay raise at my job! So yay for that! Harlen is still loving his job at Discount Tire! I'm jealous.. his manager takes them out for drinks and food and such. We need to start doing that. Haha

Hmm, I think that's all the updates I have for now. I have to clean my apartment before my family gets here or they'll think I'm not ready for marriage! HA.

Love,
Kellee

PS: Can't wait to see you all at the wedding!!!

New Baby!

2008-07-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago, Harlen and I added a new member to our soon to be family! His name is Panda and he is a Maltese/Shih Tzu mix. Panda is 10 weeks old and what a BABY he is! He's constantly making us laugh with all the silly things that he does like going nuts to eat his tail, trying to scare his reflection in the mirror away by barking at it, and so many other funny things!

See why we named him Panda?

He's perfectly happy just sitting in our laps!

He was so tiny when we got him!

Loves to sleeeeep......

First Family Picture!

Apart from the puppy that is keeping the both of us busy round the clock, Harlen and I have been super busy! I've been with Abercrombie & Fitch for a little more than a month now and am still lovin' it! I couldn't have been blessed with a better job.

Harlen started his new part time job on Monday at Discount Tire. He says it's tiring but he's enjoying it. He gets this little portable tool kit thingie and I'm jealous. On top of working about 28 hours a week, Harlen is also taking a summer class which is about 3 and a half hours a day! Yikes.

God really has His hand on our lives and has blessed us tremendously! We're both praying that the rest of the month will go by smoothly and the wedding will be an awesome day to remember. Ok, Panda is up from his nap now.. gotta go make him pee and poo! Seriously, having a puppy is such good training for a real baby!

Love,
Kellee

New Job!

2008-06-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

The LORD is just so great! I can't stop singing His praise! =D

Harlen and I began our little rollercoaster of faith the minute we decided to get engaged. Worries and doubts from almost every single person who knew us made it even worse. How were we going to survive financially and emotionally since we are so young? However, I am here to say that, the Lord is truly faithful. He has blessed us so much and is so amazing to us.

I was looking at my checklist/prayer list that I had made right when we got engaged and it said:
1) Graduate from UTA
2) Get a reliable car
3) Find a safe place to live
4) Get a good job
5) Start graduate studies

And praise the Lord, 4 out of 5 prayers have been answered! All there is now is to start my grad studies as well as pray that the wedding goes smoothly!

I just got home from my first day at work as a manager at Abercrombie & Fitch and it was a learning experience. It was tiring but it was very exciting! I really believe that this is the place that God wanted me to be. I get to learn everything: customer service, retail, management, recruitement, human resources, security, accounting, receiving, and these are the things I learned today! It was so much fun and very beneficial. This job is really more than I prayed for.. when God gives, He really does GIVE. Not only is this job so wonderful, the people are awesome and so much fun! I love it!

Well, just wanted to let everyone know that I am enjoying my new job very very much and can't wait to go back tomorrow! Thanks for everyones' prayers and love.

Love,
Kellee

Philippians 4:4-7

2008-05-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

"Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS! Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

I was doing my morning devotional this morning and I stumbled upon these few verses in Philippians. It was very encouraging and I felt as if God was speaking to me as these past few days, I have been so discouraged from not being able to find the right job. But after reading this passage, I realized that I must not be anxious and just wait patiently on the Lord and in His time, He will give me the right job that He has set out for me. Please pray for Harlen and I as we go through this time of wedding prep as well as settling our finances together. We would really appreciate your prayers!

Anyway, another thing to rejoice and praise the Lord for.. I finally graduated from college and received my B.A. in History from UTA! Thank you to all of you guys who came to watch me walk across that stage and receive my "diploma" haha it was actually a piece of cardboard. So here are a few pics from the graduation that Thomas took!

Half of the graduating liberal arts class of 2008!

Yay my lovely friends!

Aww, love you guys soooo much! Thanks for EVERYTHING.

I miss my parents already! =(

That was our attempt at a "kissy" picture! FAIL!

Love,
Kellee

111 WOW

2008-04-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

Check that out! The big day is getting closer and closer! =D

Hmm, so good news, I got my OPT card in the mail last week! YAY. I was told that it would take up to 3 months and since I applied in March, that would mean it would have had to arrive in JUNE! I freaked out for awhile, but then decided to trust God. And low and behold, it arrive less than a month after! PTL!

My parents are coming in 3 weeks for my graduation! Harlen and I are both soooo excited for them to come! I can't wait. Can you believe I'm graduating? It's so surreal. It feels like I just graduated from high school.. like I just sat through that boring ceremony and here comes another one.

Yesterday, Harlen and I went on a *ahem* romantic date. Haha, here's what we did. In the morning, we stripped the paint from my wheels and painted them shiny aluminum! That wasn't too much fun btw. I'm pretty sure there's a spider conspiracy and they're out to get me!! We then headed to Ikea to check out some potential furniture as well as eat 50cent hot dogs. (There was a spider waiting in the car for me) We then drove to Half Price Books where I got 2 new history books!! YAY! We then went back to his house where we ate duck n rice and watched Spy Kids! I then went to the bathroom to wash my hands, and down plops a spider onto my hand from the faucet!!! ARGH! But anyway, it was a fun day spending the day together. (Don't ask what made us watch Spy Kids. I have no idea.)

Love,
Kellee

God is Good and ALL THE TIME, He is GOOD!

2008-04-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

Need I say more? I think the title says it all!

Anyway, just a couple praise reports. God has been so good to both Harlen and I. He has provided for all our needs and blessed us greatly!!

1. We found an apartment that fits within our budget and meets all our needs! It's close to all the stores that both Harlen and I like and need! AND it has an attached garage (Harlen's #1) AND it has a HUGE closet (don't need to say who that's for!) hehe

2. Harlen managed to finally buy the car that he's been wanting for a long time! It's not running (which is why he got is so cheap! haha) but I'm sure in due time, he'll get it up and running! New project to keep him busy! It's an 89 Honda CRX, ya, can you believe I was 1 years old when that thing was MADE?!

3. I found a car for myself! Yippee! It's a 93 Toyota Camry V6 XLE if I'm not wrong? V6.. POWER BABY (you can't tell though.. it's slow lol) It's old.. but get this, it has 70k miles on it! Can you believe it? The first and only owner was a 97 year old woman. Haha nuts.

4. I landed a volunteer position at the organization (Legal Aid of Northwest Texas) that I've been yearning to work for! God really answers my prayers.. now I know it's not a paying position right now, but I'm hoping it'll lead to something. This is actually kind of a long story.. but God really knows our hearts and leads us to the right place at the right time. TRULY! He has let me meet some amazing people and get some awesome experience at my current internship at a law firm. Anyway, if you want to hear more about this, just ask me. I doubt everyone wants to read it! Haha

Still praying that my OPT card will come in by the time graduation rolls around (which is in 5 weeks btw!). I am so excited for my parents to come down!! Can't wait. The wedding is coming up!!! So mark your calendars everybody!

Okay, I started with this and I will end with this....

GOD IS GOOD
and
ALL THE TIME,
HE IS GOOD!

Love,
Kell

Happy Birthday Harlen!

2008-03-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Ashley and I threw a BBQ for Harlen's 20th birthday! It was a ton of fun and it was a beautiful day. I would say it was one of the most successful parties we have ever planned in our entire party planning career. Haha. Anyway, I've included some pictures of the party for your viewing pleasure. I posted more on facebook!

THE CAKE! *note who it's from haha

The guys (Jason's missing cuz he was taking the picture)! Such a blessing that there were guys there.. Us girls had no clue how to work a grill!

Some of the girlies!

Me & Harlen...'s cake

One of my favorite pictures of the day

It's reached that midterm portion of the semester and I am glad to say that neither Harlen nor I have ANY midterms to take! But hold your applause because both of us are still incredibly busy with papers and assignments. We have started looking for a place to live but so far nothing has appealed to us.

Anyway, we have a couple prayer requests and hope that you will pray along with us!
1) To be able to find a place to live that's safe and in a nice area
2) To be able to find a car for me!
3) That I (Kellee) will be able to secure employment sometime soon
4) That my OPT (work permit) will come soon!
5) For wedding plans to continue to go smoothly
6) For both our stress levels to go down

Thank you all for your love and support. WE LOVE ALL OUR AWESOME FRIENDS!

Love,
Kell

Random fact: Today is me & Harlen's 2 year + 3 months anniversary! Haha, not that it's a big deal or anything.. but then again, it IS a miraculous feat for most 20 year olds in relationships! I know what you're thinking (it just popped into my head).. you're thinking, DUH they better be together for 2 yrs and 3 months.. they're getting married! Haha

!!!

2008-02-04T19:50:00.000-08:00

Look at that! 187 days to go till our wedding! It seems like ages away.. but I'm sure it'll be here soon enough! Harlen and I are super excited to start our new life together.

Our friends and family have been such a great blessing to us. I still can't believe how everyone is pitching in and helping us make our wedding happen. So thankful to everyone.. =)

Today was my first day at work at the law firm.. and let me tell you, it was TIRING. But nonetheless, a good experience. I can't wait to go back to work! Less than 100 days till graduation.. hurry up and come please!

Love,
Kellee

An Exciting Year is Ahead!

2008-02-01T20:41:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of this year, I was so incredibly stressed (like out of my mind stressed), and even though I know deep down in my heart that the Lord will provide, I was still stressed. I was stressed and worrying about getting a job, graduation, the wedding, classes, and what not.

But lately, I've recently been given so many awesome opportunities; it's amazing. I really praise God for all these blessings! For example, I spent 10 hours on a weekend going through training to be a tutor. Yup that's right, I am now a certified History, English, Political Science tutor. Haha, anyone need tutoring? =p The pay is pretty good.. for an on-campus job. Also, I just got an internship at a law firm in Arlington which I'm SUPER excited about! It's such an awesome opportunity.. I get to go watch the trials and go through paperwork which may sound boring to some of you, but it's exciting to me!

Anyway, all these opportunities have somewhat "reassured" me. I know to place my trust in the Lord, do what I can and let Him do the rest! I can't wait to start work at the law firm. =D Oh, I have an interview for a paralegal trainee position at a law firm in Highland Park for after I graduate so if it's God's will, I'll get it! Please pray for me!

Hmm, wedding planning updates.. so many people have come into our lives this past month, it's so amazing. The ladies at church & asian fellowship have been so helpful and we are so grateful to them for loving on us! My best friend, Ashley, and I have been looking through books and planning. All this planning is making me SO excited about the wedding! I can't wait!

Well thank you, everyone, for loving both Harlen and I. We really treasure each and every one of our friends and mentors. You guys are awesome, like super duper awesome! Hehe

Love,
Kelle

PS: Wedding site - harlenandkellee.ourweddingday.com - you will be able to RSVP, view details about location, and visit the registry from there as well.

The Time Has Come....

2008-01-21T18:39:00.000-08:00

It has finally happened. My trusty ol' ibook that has been with me for over 4 years has finally conked. He has closed his eyes and decided to take a long long vacation; possibly permanent. I have been praying for my lovely, beautiful ibook for about a week now and I guess God decided it was time for it to leave me! I will be in mourning for awhile now so if anyone sees me and I look blue, you'll know why. Mr. Mac has been with me through my entire college career and I guess this is his way of telling me that my college career is about to come to an end. As graduation in May draws closer and closer each day, I can't help but shiver in anticipation and excitment; yet, a little part of me worries about what God has in store for me in the future. Will I get a good job? Will I be a good wife? Will I make a good contribution to society? It got so bad at one point, I couldn't stop grinding my teeth at night due to high levels of stress.

This is the time when I have to learn to place my trust fully in God. HE will provide me with the best job suited for me, HE will teach and guide me to be a good wife, and through HIM, all things are possible!

Oh quick praise report, I got a job! I couldn't have asked for a better one too. The schedule is flexible and so I can work around my classes. I am going to be a tutor for History, English, Political Science, and Math! Praise the Lord!!

Well, thanks for reading. You all have a good week! Pray that I will be able to get a new laptop sometime in the near future.. Haha.. but nothing will ever replace my Mr. Mac!

Love, Kellee

Awesome Christmas!

2008-01-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Harlen and I are back from spending 3 weeks with my family in Coquitlam, Canada! We had such an awesome time spending time with them, eating their organic food and drinking their alkaline water. These are a few highlights of our trip. I'll upload more later!

We took a trip to Whistler and God blessed us with lots and lots of fluffy snow!

We visited my dad's school: Regent College. What a scholarly look eh?

We had lots and lots of sushi! It was so yummy and fresh!

Visited Stanley Park. The entire park was decorated with lights and people in costumes.

Went to this ice cream place that sold 218 flavors of ice cream! Among the yummy flavors like Durian, there were really weird flavors like Curry & Rice!

Okay, that's it for now. I'll show yall the actual Christmas pictures later! Oh also, I finally got some gifts and stuff picked out in the registry. The button is at the top left of the page!

Love,
Kellee

PS: Here are some instructions if the registry starts to confuse you
-Just search for either me (Kellee Chin) or Harlen Hoang [left hand side under "find a registry]
-Under "who you would like to find," kellee chin & harlen hoang should be there, click "go to their registry"
-Should be taken to main welcome page; click on "view registry" button at the top of the page
-When you click "buy gift," you will be asked to enter e-mail address & name (don't worry, I won't know!)
-You will then be redirected to the actual site/company who sells the product
-Once you've entered your e-mail address & name, you won't be asked to do it again =)

Merry X-Mas. Not.

2007-12-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

I read this column in the UTA Shorthorn newspaper. I really love the writer's argument; there is so much intelligence and wisdom in this. This shows how the world has turned this once Christian holiday into a celebration of themselves. Turning Christmas into X-Mas shows how the world does not show respect for Christians. Yet, the world expects us, Christians, to show respet for their celebrations and religion.

You’ll not find it written anywhere in the Bible that, “every tongue should confess that Jesus X is Lord.”

So why should Christians tolerate X-Mas? It’s not a harmless abbreviation of the word. It’s a symbolic removal of the thing that’s supposed to set the day apart. It becomes a way of saying “Insert your ideal here” while still pretending to celebrate Christmas.

To understand the significance, let’s forget the celebration, the parties and all the presents for a moment and consider the actual terms involved. “Christmas” is a combination of two words: “Christ’s Mass.”

This isn’t a celebration of X’s Mass. This isn’t Joe Blow’s Mass. This isn’t Jane Doe’s Mass. “Christ” comes from the Greek word “christos,” which means “anointed one.” It’s a title used in the New Testament of the Bible, often in conjunction with the name “Jesus.”

Don’t make the mistake of thinking “Christ” was Jesus’ surname or something to flippantly be tossed around — or into the trash — this holiday season. It’s a distinction of the man named Jesus, as also being the anointed savior of God’s people.

Christmas, therefore, is a holiday — or holy day — originally celebrated by followers of Christ to observe his birth. The holiday gradually blended with secular traditions and sometimes pagan winter festivals to bring us today’s colorful and highly materialistic celebration.

Plastic yard displays and visits to Santa in the mall replaced family gatherings around the Advent wreath. Now, Dec. 25 resembles little more than a marketing scheme, an encore of Thanksgiving turkey and dressing, and a day when small children everywhere can demand presents on someone else’s birthday. Let’s not forget amid all the extra business that Christmas traditionally commemorated the day of Jesus’ birth.

The added frivolity and feasting distracts from the true meaning of Christmas—which is not that cheesy, after-school-special mantra of love and giving—but rather a day when we can remember the miracle of our savior’s birth. You don’t have to celebrate a Christian Christmas.

You don’t have to adhere to the spiritual significance of the day. It’s fine if you only want the tree, the twinkling lights, the musical claymation shorts and the family meal. But if you oppose celebrating the miracle of Christ, don’t stoop so low as to maim the Christian’s holiday and insert an interpretive “X” where the savior should be. Either leave Christ in Christmas where he belongs, or call it the thing you actually celebrate by removing him: Me Day.

-Diana Golobay is a journalism junior and a columnist for The Shorthorn.
-You can find the article here.

Oopsie!

2007-11-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry sorry I'm extremely bad about blogging! People have been telling me to keep this thing updated.. but there's nothing much going on right now yall! Okay anyway, we have TWO more weeks of school left then it's off to Canada to be re-united with the Chins! I heard it's snowing there and it's 0 degrees?! Oh my.. I don't know how I'm going to deal with that. I'm no snow bunny let me tell you. Harlen and I have been terrific! God has blessed us so much! We've been pretty addicted to "Heroes" lately and we watch it non-stop now. It's a pretty good show, if I do say so myself, a little disturbing and graphic though. Haha.. other than that, we've been discussing wedding plans (not so much now) and just spending quality time with each other whenever we get to. Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I'm excited about alllll that TURKEY!!! Also, to take the time to THANK GOD for everything that He has blessed us with this year. Hmm.. what else.. oh yeah! I've been DYING for a dog lately and Harlen has promised me that he will get me one.. someday! Haha at least I have hope now eh? I'm sooo excited for Christmas, my 19th birthday, 2008.. ahhh there's so many things to be excited about!

Okay this was probably the most pointless and random post ever. But there it is: my life. Haha.. be blessed guys!

Love,
Kellee

Halloween: A Devil's Holiday or Christian Celebration?

2007-11-05T13:27:00.000-08:00

This past week, I've become increasingly bothered with the "celebration" of Halloween. It all started with the Baptist Student Ministry sneaking into my dorm room to place a brown paper bag filled with candy and a note reading "Have a happy Halloween!" on my desk. Following that, I received several text messages from friends wishing me a happy Halloween and asking me what I'm planning on doing. I simply replied with, "I don't believe in celebrating Halloween." My friends replied with shocked disbelief in my not celebrating Halloween.

So, I did some quick research (I would have done more thorough research but I have wayyy too many exams this week to do research for, sorry!) and according to the History Channel and a few other sources, below is a "cliff notes version" on why Halloween was celebrated.

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts believed that on that night (Nov 1), the boudary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. It was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to the earth. These ghosts were believed to cause trouble, wreck havoc, and damage crops. During this time, the Celts wore costumes (animal heads & skins) in an attempt to scare the ghosts of the dead away from their families and crops. They would also gather to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic gods to protect them. When the Romans took over most of the Celt's land, two of the Roman holidays (a celebration of the passing of the dead and the day to honor Pomona, goddess of fruit and trees) were combined with Samhain. Thus, the tradition to bob for apples on Halloween (Pomona's symbol was the apple). By the 800s, Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. The pope at that time designated Samhain to be All Saints' Day or All-hallows Eve (a time to honor saints and martyrs). It is widely believed that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related but church-sanctioned holiday. In A.D. 1000, the church would make Nov 2, All Souls' Day, to honor the dead.

What bothered me most when my friends' text messaged me wishing me a happy Halloween and were shocked to hear that I don't celebrate it was that most of them were Christian! In most countries today, Halloween is some cutesy holiday where little children get to dress up as puppies and baseball players, men get to live their fantasy as super heroes for a day, and it's also an excuse for women to dress as scantily as possible. Pumpkins are carved as a family traditions and candy is given out. Sure, as a child it was fun dressing up as a scary creature or weird animal and going door to door asking for candy was always a treat but as I become more and more aware of how the world is growing more corrupt, I am wary of each "celebration." Thus, my research to discover the true meaning of Halloween.

On that day, I saw people dressed in scary, weird, devilish, degrading costumes. This is no celebration to remember the saints and martyrs. So to Christians who tell me that I am a prude, Halloween is a Christian holiday, and that dressing up like devils, ghosts, aliens, or what have you, is okay, I beg to differ!

It still amazes me how so many people celebrate Christmas, Easter, Mardi Gras, Thanksgiving, Ramadan, Lent, Diwali, etc and do not truly know the reason why they are celebrated! I guess my point is this: Don't celebrate holidays blindly and ignorantly without knowing its true meaning.

Happy Monday!

2007-10-29T06:33:00.001-07:00

As the Fall 2007 semester slowly draws to an end (at a snail's pace btw), Harlen and I are getting more and more excited b/c the day of our wedding is drawing nearer! This Sunday, we attended Daily Bread Church under Shachah Ministries International and asked Pastor Michael and Auntie Magrate if they would be our counselors before marriage. They agreed and Pastor Michael will also be marrying us! We both feel so blessed to have the Shachah family in our lives and as our mentors as they are all full of wisdom and knowledge. I can't wait to get started on the wedding planning now! After we found a pastor to marry and counsel us, all we need is a church, and everything will fall into place (I hope!).

Also, I spoke with my mom yesterday and she told me that we are all saving up to go back to Singapore in the summer of 2009!!! We are both SO SO SO excited to return home! I can't wait to be re-united with all my family and friends and for them to meet Harlen! Yay!

We have officially hit the halfway point in the semester. We have 6 more weeks of school! I am pumped and ready to graduate in May! I have already registered for classes next semester (I know, so kiasu right? Haha).

Okay, that's about it for now! Thanks for reading!

Love,
Kellee

Halfway Done!!!

2007-10-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I'm sitting here, watching America's Next Top Model, and realized that I haven't blogged in awhile. So here it goes!

We are halfway done with the Fall 2007 semester and it is super exciting! This past Saturday, I threw a surprise birthday picnic for my best friend Ashley. It was a lot of fun and Divya even brought her little baby doggie! Here are some pictures:

Sunday, we visited our old church and they served the bestest lunch EVER. Chicken rice!!! Man, I haven't had that in so long. Ever since my mommy left me. But it's okay, I will learn to cook it someday. =)

That's about it!
Check out our wedding website if you haven't already!

Love, Kellee

Busy Busy!

2007-09-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

School's been crazy but awesome so far! I absolutely LOVE the classes that I'm taking right now: Old South, US Civil Liberties, US Progressive History (1900-1920), Intro to Criminal Justice, Public Administration, & Trigonometry. Not really loving the math so much.. but it's alright! The professors are AWESOME. If anyone is planning on majoring in history, I would definitely recommend UTA.

Harlen's pretty busy with his classes too but he seems to be having fun. Right now, he's off with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and helping to build a race car? Pretty cool eh? Each year they design and construct their own car. I think it's pretty cool and just what he loves to do! Haha, hopefully I can learn to be more supportive of what he loves to do.

I've been praying about what I should do as a career lately. My US Civil Liberties professor has been inspiring me to go into law, which is what I wanted to do ever since my senior year of high school. I'm not too sure about law school though because it seems like a LOT of hard work and very expensive too. :( I was speaking with this guy who is getting certified to be a Paralegal, where they do research for the lawyers and work under a lawyer. That seems pretty interesting! Possible career path?

This past Sunday was also a great blessing. According to my dad, I learned about how God's economy operates. Basically, we blessed a friend with our textbooks from previous classes and another friend with a spare cellphone (hers broke) and our church, ANASOM GRM, blessed us with some money for school! It was such a blessing and also a great experience.

Anywho, that's basically what's been going on these past two weeks. Oh, we've also confirmed our trip dates for Canada (Dec15th - Jan6th), can't wait to visit my family this Christmas and celebrate another birthday! Yay, I'm turning 19!

Okay, well that's it for today. Love you guys & have a blessed week!

Love, Kell

---------edit-----------
we have a wedding site now! it's not completely finished but I sure it will be soon!

also, if you're into politics & business, go read my "current events" blog.
just started it today after a fiery debate and i needed to vent my thoughts!

School's Startin!

2007-08-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

I haven't blogged for awhile eh? It's been so crazy since Harlen and I got back from the road trip with my family! My girls and I have been excitedly planning for the wedding and Harlen's been busy with getting a reliable car and selling his other cars. Praise God we DID get a reliable car WITH A/C! We've been fellowshipping with many of our friends and getting to know our family friends much better. It's been such a blessing. :)

School's about to begin (next monday) and we're all pretty excited for the new school year to begin! I'm just psyched about graduating next year.. I can't wait! Harlen can't wait to get started with his engineering classes. GOOD NEWS! My mom got a job in Canada at a childcare center! We are all celebrating! It's part time and the pay is pretty good so she's super happy about the times! YAY!

Well, that's about it! Oh prayer request, please pray that both Harlen and I will be able to find good and fruitful jobs when school starts. Harlen's last day working at the President's office at North Lake College is today.. so please pray that we can both find jobs at UTA! Thank you all for your prayers and love.. we really are SO grateful for each and everyone of you!

Love, Kellee

PS: I just felt like including some goofy pictures of me and my sisters.. they will definitely KILL me if they see them! Ha!

ROAD TRIP!

2007-07-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures from the entire road trip.. just a quick summary! My family made it safely to Vancouver, Canada and Harlen & I are back in Dallas, Texas. Please keep us in your prayers. Love, Kell

Road Trip (Part I)

2007-07-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, just a quick update. So the road trip is going great! So far, we've stopped in El Paso, Temper (AZ), Phoenix (AZ), & Las Vegas (NV). Here are some pictures of the trip so far.. we're all having a great time! We've driving about 1,200 miles so far.. and all the way we're praisin the Lord and reading the Bible! Okay maybe not ALL the way.. lots of fun, jokes, and what not. =p Oh yes, and the car has been overheating alot so please pray that "old Bertha" will be able to make the trip!

So now... *drum rolls please*.. for the biggest news of the trip (so far).... HARLEN AND I GOT MARRIED IN VEGAS on 7.7.07!

*

**

***

****

*****

******

*******

********

*********

**********

Haha, just kidding!

We DID, however, get engaged!!! He proposed at 5am while watching the sunrise. My parents came back from breakfast and were upset that they missed the whole "show" so they made us re-enact the whole scene.. and it went something like this (sorry so small la)!

Celebrating!!

<3 kell

God Has Preserved Our Lives!

2007-06-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

Today started off like any normal Sunday. Harlen and I were on our way to church.. driving on the highway at about 9 in the morning. As we were driving, we noticed the car in front of us driving about 25MPH/40KPH. The car signaled right towards the exit as if he was about to switch lanes and then slowly proceeded to switch. However, right when he was almost into the next lane, he quickly swerved back into our lane and slammed on the brakes. Harlen attempted to switch to the left lane but couldn't because there was an 18 wheeler on our left. We ended up rear-ending the car in front of us.

Harlen then signaled the car to pull over to the shoulder of the highway so we could proceed with the normal exchanging of driver's licenses and insurance information. We inspected the damage done to our car and the other driver's car (which wasn't much).

The driver spoke incoherently as he tried to explain his side of the story. Harlen reasoned with him and asked for ID (which the driver was not carrying). In the end, Harlen asked for his phone number which he only wrote down 9 digits (U.S. phone numbers have 10 digits). Harlen was doubtful and questioned him further. In the end, he gave Harlen his parent's phone number which Harlen immediately called. After Harlen spoke with his father and explained the situation, he handed his phone to the other driver who went on to speak with his father. He got back into his car to talk on the phone. As Harlen and I were thinking that he might attempt to just drive off, we stood by the side of the car.

After about 10 minutes of watching the driver talk on the phone to his father, another car swerved off the highway and hit the guy's car who was sitting on the shoulder of the highway. The car slammed into the guy's car and moved it so far that it hit Harlen's leg.

As you can see, the car flew across and smoke was coming out of it. It was a lady whom I spoke with to make sure was alright. She was speaking incoherently as well and couldn't even remember what had happened.

In the end, the police, sheriff, firefighters, tow-trucks all slowly made their way towards us. The police questioned each of us to get our statements as witnesses, etc.

It turns out, both drivers were driving drunk. A man who worked at a gas station had encountered the driver of the car that we hit a few miles back and knew that they were drunk. He tried to sober them up and keep them at the gas station for awhile. However they ignored his concerns and drove off. The man who worked at the gas station was the one who called the police.

At the end of the morning, we managed to get two drunk drivers off the road, arrested, and in jail. I really thank God that none of us were hurt. We could have been killed by the car who slammed into the other driver's car if we had been standing on the other side of the car. After thinking about it, the devil tried to take us out all morning. We could have been killed by the 18 wheeler if we had swerved and avoided the car in front of us as well.

Even as I type this, my heart is still pounding. It still hasn't hit me completely that Harlen and I could have DIED today. Praise God for preserving our lives and sending His angels to protect us every step of the way.

Just a reminder to pray for your loved ones and yourselves as you walk out the door. Anything can happen.. the devil is always out there wanting us dead because God has an important plan for each of our lives and he wants to do everything he can to prevent it from happening. PRAY!

<3 kellee

PS: If any of you are wondering why Victoria is standing there.. she and my dad came to the rescue when I called him. :)

Happy Father's Day!

2007-06-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was Father's day.. Harlen came over the in the morning to meet us for church and we presented our gift to our dad..

Dad examining the gift from the girls..

We made a t-shirt with our pictures on it!

Haha and we made him wear it to church!

********************************************

It's kind of different for me living back home with my family again b/c I was living on my own for a year and a half.. but I've been spending time with them before they leave for Canada.. for who knows how long?! It's been good bonding time. We leave for Canada on the 5th of July.. so we're all really excited about our road trip up the west coast!

<3 kellee

Gone With the Old, In With the NEW!

2007-06-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday was a big day for the whole Chin family including Harlen! We got baptized! I can't explain it but it feels so good to know that I was obedient to God's commandment to be baptized. I don't really feel much of a physical change but.. I know that my old self is dead and now I am a new person! See pictures below!

Aaaaand the blessings just keep coming!

2007-05-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Today was Mother's day and not only did we celebrate our mom but there was also much to give thanks for! We took our mom to her favorite Chinese restaurant and gave both our parents a treat, together with Harlen and Gillian. Peni-el bought mom her favorite, avacado bubble tea! Then we all came home.. helped carry boxes to move.. and then we all settled down to watch Freedom Writers (GREAT movie by the way). I cooked pasta with meatsauce and Peni-el made mashed potatoes for dinner. What a great day! Anyway, the GREAT news!

So this past week was kind of a downer for me.. We were discussing about how Harlen and I would be driving up with my family to Canada in order to help them move. Harlen and I were both planning on taking some Summer I and Summer II classes so in order for us to make it to Canada and back, we'd have to do the move within 5 days, which is kind of a rush. Since both my classes are online classes, I wouldn't have a problem. However, Harlen would. He told my dad that most likely, he would not take Summer II classes and just postpone the class till the Fall 2007 semester. That would mean not going to UTA with me in the Fall (which really made me sad). He also did not receive any scholarships from UTA because his application was received a little too late so we thought the best option would be to stay at his school for another semester and then to re-apply for the Transfer Scholarship (offers transfer students about $3,800 per year). Without this money, paying for school and housing wouldn't be unaffordable.. but a little tight.

However after two days, Harlen received a letter from UTA saying that he qualified for financial aid and it was about $10,000 in aid! Both he and I were SUPER surprised and I even thought he was joking when he first told me! Now not only will he be able to come to UTA in the Fall but his tuition and housing will be paid almost in FULL!

I just think this is so amazing because during our New Year's church service, each of us wrote a "letter" to God on what we're believing Him to do in our lives in the new year.. and Harlen wrote down for his tuition to be paid for.. and at first it didn't seem like it was going to happen.. but our Father in heaven made it happen! I can clearly see God's hand in our lives and truly, He IS an awesome God.

So now.. we can all take a nice road trip to Canada (hopefully!) and enjoy the rest of our summer together with all our friends and family! Some pictures that I put together from my Honors Society induction.. and some random pictures too. More to come from Mother's Day.. my dad's graduation and banquet dinner too!

So BLESSED, I can't contain it!

2007-04-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

These past couple days have been so crazy and stressful for me. Trying to decide how to make enough money to pay for school, where to live during my education, waiting to hear about the news of my family's Canadian visa, my father's scholarship, etc. I even broke down a couple times under the stress and pressure.. but now, it's all good! God has sent us all confirmation.. and we are all so blessed!! I don't know if I can do our testimony justice.. but here goes!

Last weekend, my mother left us to go on a women's retreat. We received a letter from Regent Seminary (school in Canada that my dad wants to do his Master's at) regarding the scholarship that he had applied for. We were counting on this scholarship because the cost of living in Canada is extremely high and without this scholarship, my dad will most likely not be able to go and fulfill his dream of studying for his Masters. We opened the letter.. and BAM, it said that he did not receive the scholarship. At that point, I broke down and bawled like a baby.. just thinking in my heart that there's no one in the world that deserved that scholarship more than my dad.

After that episode, we decided to wait for the news of the CFNI scholarship that my dad applied for. We decided that if he got that, they would stay for another year.. and then he can either apply for a scholarship at Regent again, or apply for his R-1 visa. The next week was a week of meditation on the Lord for all of us. My dad meditated on Psalm 34 and a particular verse stood out to him: "O Lord, blessed is the man who trusts in you." Psalm 34:8. He meditated on this all week and finally decided to place his trust in the Lord, surrender it all to Him, and not on his own ability. After my dad's boss submitted a glowing recommendation letter to the scholarship board that almost 100% guaranteed my father's scholarship, my dad withdrew his scholarship application and told his boss that he would be trusting in the Lord for the finances and heading to Canada.

My dad has a really good friend at CFNI who has been praying alongside my dad for the Lord's guidance. So naturally, my dad had to tell his news to him, Pastor Baik. When my dad told him.. Pastor Baik said, "I have good news for you also, Joseph." My dad thought that Pastor simply had good news to share with my dad.. but No! It was good news FOR my dad.. Pastor Baik said that the Lord had spoken to him months ago about this and he was simply waiting for my dad to receive it. Pastor Baik told my dad that he is going to pay for my dad's tuition for the first semester (my dad can re-apply for Regent scholarship the next semester!)!! Praise the Lord!

If my dad had never placed his trust in the Lord, the blessing from Pastor Baik would never have been able to flow.. *1st Miracle*

Months ago, my dad and family had applied for a Canadian student visa and a work permit for my mother. They were counting on this work permit so that my mom could support the family in terms of food and housing. They had to specifically go to a Canadian approved doctor for their health check and when my dad did the chest X-ray, there was a scar on his lungs. The nurse told him that he should get it checked before sending it because the Canadians are very particular about health issues. My dad, by faith, said to send it anyway. What the Lord decides, is the Lord's will. So just before the CFNI scholarship board meeting this week, the news came from the Canadian embassy... my dad's student visa was approved and my mom's work permit was approved!! *2nd Miracle*

Now we are just waiting for a 3rd miracle involves me.. this summer, I will only be working part time in June because of some classes than I'm taking and my internship at a museum. I didn't think that I would be earning enough to afford rent at the current place that I am staying. So I told the lady that I was renting the room from, that I would be moving at the end of this semester (May 31st). I said that by faith because if my dad did decide to leave for Canada, once he graduates from CFNI, he has to leave and has no permission to stay at his current apartment. Therefore.. I would be HOMELESS!! =( The CFNI policy is that if you graduate and are not taking classes over the summer or next semester, you cannot live on campus. At this moment, he has submitted a request for housing extension till end of June 07. Still waiting for a reply, but we trust in GOD that all things will work out well, no matter if it turns out the way we expected or not. So, ya, we must PRAISE THE LORD – whether in good times or in bad (so call)! I have the faith and peace to believe our heavenly Father takes good care of us *3rd Miracle coming soon*

The Lord is so SO good and all this has renewed my faith in Him. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.." That is so true. We are still trusting in the Lord that more scholarships and funding are on their way and a place to live in Canada. Pray and agree with us!

And of course, I am thrilled that my dad will be able to accomplish his dream of studying for his Masters and that my family will be with me for another 3 months!! Harlen is also thrilled that my family will be here for a few months.. yay!

So I hope your faith has been renewed or encouraged because of our story. God bless!

Love, Kell

****************Some Pics*********************
THE BLESSED FAMILY!!

***Edit***
Another blessing has come in which involves my "homeless" state! My best friend Ashley and her family has generously opened their home to me and have offered to let me live with them for the rest of the summer when my family leaves! Ashely will also be my roommate at UTA in the fall.. so it is such a great blessing! I will no longer be homelesssss! Thanks God for giving me such great friends and blessing all of us! *love u ashey poo!* Blessed is the man [woman] who trusts in the Lord.. so true so true! *4th Miracle

2007-03-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

Some pictures for you guys.. :)

Christmas party at church.. man good times!

Happy Chinese New Year!

We had steamboat for CNY together with the church family! yum yum

Valentine's day.. we decided to spend it together as a family.. might be one of the last times we'll get to spend it together!

Harlen's birthday.. we had a small celebration for him at our house.

He got a new tie, shirt, and pants from my parents.. the tie is cool and green!

While I was working during Spring Break, my family came out to my work place and set up a picnic!

We had a BBQ by Thomas's place at CFNI. Twas a lot of fun!

Mom and Dad's new close friends at CFNI, pastor Baik and his wife.

Thomas and Lynn.. the soon to be married couple.. aww soooo cute!

Well, there'll be more to come soon enough. School has been rather hectic for me with midterms, papers, and such being due. I'm sure my dad is going through the same exact thing. Vic and El are doing great at their school.. boy crazy as usual. Hehe.. Mom is having a blast fellowshipping with her new friends at CFNI and also old friends.

I got accepted into the University of Texas at Arlington and was offered a scholarship so now, tuition will be ALOT cheaper. Praise the Lord! I'm hoping to find a nice, safe apartment closer to UTA. I took the THEA (Texas Higher Education Assesment) and did pretty well on it.. PTL! :)

Love you guys!
~Kellee

Confused... but content.

2007-02-27T22:17:00.000-08:00

This past week has been rather confusing for me. I've been trying to figure out where I want to live, how I'm going to pay my bills, should I get a new job, etc. It's so crazy living in the world.. gotta worry about this and that. Something that really encouraged me was when I heard that song "Jesus Take the Wheel." Really encouraged me in that Jesus IS in control of my life and no matter what I do, He really does have a plan for me. I should just sit back and let Him take the wheel into His hands cuz through Him all things are possible. I'm just going to enjoy every day and live every day to the fullest and He will bless me! Amen! =)

THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY WEEK... a new addition to my family! His name is Baby Wasabe Squeaks! He's an adorable long haired teddy bear hamster.. and he is just the most precious little thing. I LOVE HIM to BITS!!

And now.. pics!

Taken on New Year's.. with my sisters, god sis, ruthie, harlen, mun yok, and isaac!

Night of my birthday.. the gals!

One of my favorites.. me and my sisters!

My dad and his four babes. HOT! Haha

Me and my sweets.. i love him!

Okay that's it for now.. be back later! love yall

Bored bored bored..

2007-02-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here trying to focus on studying for my Criminal Law class but I can't seem to focus. It's not that I don't like the class.. it's pretty interesting actually. There's just way too many facts to remember but I guess that's how it's going to be as a political science major.

Chinese New Year was pretty fun. We had a lifetime supply of steamboat (boiling pot of soup and lots of food that you dump in it). It was great! Not many red packets (I expect them to be shipped from Singapore!). Haha.. just kidding.

I shall have pictures up of CNY, Valentine's day, and what not soon! I need a very smart website developer person to help me with this blog. The day that wonderful person comes along, I will have pictures up!

Lots of love,
Kellee

2007-02-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

Valentine's day was fun! Harlen met me at DBU and he gave me a yellow rose, ferero rocher chocolates, and a hand-made durian toy! Haha.. it was really cute. We went over to my parent's house and had a Valentine's dinner.. my mom outdid herself as usual.. super yummy! We all sat down and watched One Night With The King.. which, btw, was a really good movie! **GO RENT IT!**

Today I finally got my long needed carwash.. except my car isn't that clean.. boo. =(

Esa called and told me that the Parks Mall at Arlington finally opened a boba tea shop!!!!! SWEEEEET!!! Haha that's my exciting news of the day. Adios guys! HAve a blessed week!

<3 kellee

2007-02-06T14:49:00.000-08:00

This week is going by so painfully slowly. It's only Tuesday and it feels like Friday already. My evening classes are WAY too long.. it's probably not a good idea to take 3 classes till 10:30pm and work in the morning.

I'm excited because on Thursday, I'll get to stay over at my parent's house and hang out with my mom on Friday! Yay!! =)

Leading worship on Sunday.. eek? I think I have most of the songs figured out so it should be fine. Just hope I can sing loud enough!

Incandescently Happy!

2007-02-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

I haven't written in a blog for so long, it's kind of weird for me now. But I think it's a good discipline so I shall try to write regularly.

This week has been pretty mellow for me. Same old same old, go to class and work, go home and study, Wednesday night dinner, hanging out with Harlen. Oh yes, but I FINALLY submitted my full application for UTA so hopefully *cross fingers* I will qualify for the transfer scholarship (about 2 grand) and then I will be considered in-state. I hope I hope!! [[PLEASE PRAY!]]

I am loving all my classes so far. My professor for Criminal Law finally showed up after not appearing for two weeks. Haha! I think I'm going to love that class. Of course, the classes are tough but I'm pretty sure I can handle it (with some occassional crying!).

I went over to my family's house for dinner on Wednesday.. it was a ball, as always. We had dinner, watched American Idol, and.. learned how to play MAHJONG!! I can't believe I finally learned how to play! That has been on my to-do list for several years now. YAY!

I think I've blabbered too much now.. see you guys later! <3

SO BLESSED!

2007-01-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

So I was reading my bible this morning and the verse that struck me was Proverbs 11:22 (Like a gold ring in a pig's snout, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion).

It's kind of a huge waste when you stick a precious gold ring on a pig's nose.. a nasty animal that burrows its nose in the muck all day! Solomon says that it's the kind of waste when a beautiful woman shows no discretion. When I read this verse, I was reminded of the hot, gorgeous girls in Hollywood. The majority of them are oh so beautiful but.. it's wasted on their "yucky" behavior.

Society demands a lot from girls: have the perfect body, perfect hair, perfect face, don't be too feminine but not too masculine, find the perfect guy, etc. It is definintely tough to do all that and be wise/discreet in the way you live. But if we aren't discreet and live like the world being pretty and all, it's a wasted life.. agreed?

God, like the world, also sets high standards for women. However, He sets standards that will make a woman beautiful from the inside out. He wants women to have noble character and to worry more about having the right attitute towards God instead of having the perfect clothes, hair, and body.

I think women that obey God's standards will have the beauty that will last a lifetime. Women that worry about their face, body, and hair.. well let's face it, that beauty won't last very long.

So yeap, that's just my thought of the day. This verse has been stuck in my head for the past couple days (it took me awhile to finish this post). I've been pondering and thinking about what this verse really means. Physical beauty, while it is important, is not as important as what is on the inside. Most guys will admit that they'd much rather have a girl with a beautiful personality than a gorgeous girl with no beauty on the inside at all.