Best anniversary gift, ever

We celebrated our 3-year anniversary pretty low-key, which I didn't mind. Mr. Woo kept asking what I wanted to do, and all I could think of and want was to spend it anywhere as long as it was with him and our baby.

But then!

Mrs. Woo: Pooki, wake up.
Mr. Woo: Hmm?
Mrs. Woo: You need to wake up or else you'll be late for work.
Mr. Woo: No, it's okay.
Mrs. Woo: No it's not. You're going to be late!
Mr. Woo: It's okay.
Mrs. Woo: Get up! You're going to be late!
Mr. Woo: I already e-mailed.
Mrs. Woo: Huh? You did?
Mr. Woo: Yeah.
Mrs. Woo: Okay...

I thought it was strange but didn't think much of it. He was sweet to even pick up breakfast for us from a nearly regular weekend joint while I started laundry. I had to because he insisted that I do, using my "emergency quarters." And then he broke the news to me...

Mr. Woo: I messed up a lot, but I want to start off this year right.
Mrs. Woo: Okay.
Mr. Woo: I need you to pack.
Mrs. Woo: Why? We're not going anywhere.
Mr. Woo: Pack for three days, no -- pack for about five days.
Mrs. Woo: Where are we going?
Mr. Woo: I took some time off. I'm taking two weeks off to spend with you and Selah. I thought it'd be a good time since it's our anniversary.
Mrs. Woo: Are you serious???

YAY! Insert happy dance. (I was literally jumping up and down from excitement.) Looking back on it, it was kind of like how this little girl reacted to the news that she'd be going to Disneyland, minus the tears and backpack full of goodies.

And so Husband, Wife, and Baby packed and left to Monterey for a two-night stay at the same hotel two summers ago (cf. Phase V). My favorite part? Just enjoying the days with my sweet hubby and precious baby, no matter what we were doing/eating/seeing. The sea otters at the aquarium were a close runner-up. So much so that I dragged we happily went to see them again the next day. Selah liked talking to the penguins, (I think it's because they're black and white, and babies like contrast) while Mr. Woo liked seeing the jellyfish.

Happy 3 years of marriage, Pooki! I absolutely loved my have-Hubby-spend-two-weeks-at-home and Monterey getaway gift. Good call on starting it the day after so I would really be surprised. :)

 

A string of birthdays

The fall and winter seasons mean three things: (1) the change of smell in the air, (2) back-to-back holidays=sales=shopping, and (3) nearly everyone's birthday.

First up in the pack is who is now known as Halahbuhjee (Grandpa Na).

Then is Ama (Grandma Woo).

Next we have Uncle Nolan.

Followed by Halmuhnee (Grandma Na).

And then is Agong (Grandpa Woo).

Finally, we wrap up the line-up with Daddy.

Whew! (In between all those birthdays, we also have all three wedding anniversaries.) Then we take a deep breath in of the crisp smell that can only be described as "winter," go through the mounds of receipts to see the damage, and wait with no hurry until my birthday in the spring.

How do you usually transition into winter and the holiday season?

Woo-hoo to 3 years

Already! And this year was probably the biggest in transitions. As mentioned on the back side of our Christmas card this year...

January: Mr. Woo is closer to 30 than to 20
February:  Mrs. Woo craves watermelon, cereal, and peanut butter
March:  Babymoon to Maui, Hawaii
April:  Mrs. Woo is closer to 30 than to 20
May:  Mr. Woo is no longer a teacher by profession and begins working in the city
June:  Mrs. Woo is no longer a teacher by profession and is (finally) a stay-at-home wifey
July:  Mrs. Woo bakes up a storm while "nesting"
August:  Selah is born!
September:  Many well-wishers visit (with food!)
October:  Begin bi-weekly family outings strolling down Fourth Street
November:  Host Thanksgiving for both sides of family
December:  Selah not only smiles and squeals but grabs toys, bibs, and Mommy's hair


And as a nod to our tradition, another picture from our wedding:

Christ not only joined us together, but keeps us together year after year. :)

Psst - Click to view our proposal, engagement, one year pictures.

18-mos and counting

By golly, it's been a whole year and a half already! Time is put into perspective when I see some of our little tykes, who were born around the time that we married, running around the church now. That's kind of like our relationship, I suppose. We've learned to crawl and walk and now we're learning to run with all the changes thrown our way.

So how did we celebrate?

• I started off with Starbucks and completed my last day in my summer school commitment; Mr. Woo graciously chauffeuring me.

• For dinner, we went casually to La Piñata, using a gift card Mr. Woo received the last week of school (they must know how much he likes eating).

• We redefined "You can't have your cake and eat it too" by forgetting to eat our cake. This happened for our one-year too, leaving half of it still in the freezer... Phooey. (The other half was eaten on our one-month.) 

• Then, we revisted the lake(?) where we took our engagement pictures back in 2008. Ah, the memories of the bridge, the autumn leaves, the duckies...

• And we concluded the evening with some lovely talk of how Mr. Woo bearing one hour of shopping should (somehow) equal one hour of us watching anime together. o_O

♡  ♡  ♡

Confession of a wife: Being married for a year and a half now (and, Lord willing, many more years to come!) there are times when I look over at him and have no idea what the man is thinking:

But I'm learning (slower than I'd like) to embrace this new role and to just joyfully submit to his leading:

One Year Later

I've shared some more pictures and words from our big day one year ago, and can't believe how fast time travels!

While Mr. Woo and I were talking about our anniversary plans, he remembered that he had a CM meeting Saturday morning. "Can't you just cancel it?" (I had no shame at the time, and yes, that's how selfish I am.) But being the diligent CM director that he is, he proceeded with the meeting while I slept in.

When I awoke, it was to strangely familiar sounds coming from the kitchen. Unless it was a generous stranger who broke into our place to leave us some goodies and paused to whip up a meal as well, it must have been my dear husband! Soon enough, he came in announce words that I rarely hear from him, "Breakfast is ready!"

Now, I have to mention why this is such a big deal to me. Mr. Woo doesn't cook. In fact, he doesn't like it. In his words, "I hate cooking. It takes too much work." And now his Safeway trip the night before all makes sense. Usually, if he wants to go and buy something, he'll ask if I want to come with me. But this time he didn't. And when he came back, he didn't leave the bags on the kitchen table. He put things away himself. I should have known he was up to something!

So without further ado, breakfast made by Mr. Woo:

(Yup, that's what I wear to sleep when it's cold.)

Then, he drove us to the city as he had planned. (He wasn't able to find another Bed & Breakfast that looked appealing to him for an affordable price.) We walked around, bought calamari and shrimp, watched spray-painting artists, cheered for a group of breakdancers, saw the silver painted robot-man, admired the ginormous Christmas tree with just as huge presents underneath it,


went to Aquarium of the Bay with the free tickets we received,

ate Ben & Jerry's, picked up an dinner to bring back home, watched an episode of The Office (Christmas gift), then called it a day. Very chill. Very nice. :)

Thank you for planning, Pooki! We could be doing anything, and I'm sure I'd love it - all because you're my favorite kind of company. (heart) I could even wear a shark hat on my head, and you'd still stand next to me! Is that a great friend, or what? :)

Unforgettable

It's our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! :)

In celebration, I'd like to share some good 'ol memories from the "big day"...

One year ago: 

My favorite shot of the day:

If we had a fireplace, I'd hang this one above it. CAL has some great architecture for photo ops, my veil was caught by a gentle breeze, and Mr. Woo just looks GQ. Gorgeous shot, Yong.

For the slideshow, you can click HERE. Our photographer was extra-nice and put it together for us as a gift. :)


Our super MCs had guests wrote haikus for us. They were gathered and are still sitting in a bag, waiting to be added to our guest book. Here are a few selections from our friends and family:

I will write a poem

For you, Cyrus and Jane Woo

Dang I'm out of space

Let me remind you that haikus are a Japanese-style of poetry in which there are 3 lines - the first and last having 5 syllables while the second has 7 - which make beautiful imagery and/or metaphors. Let us proceed...

Roses are red HAH

Violets are Bue HAH HAH

Cyrus & Jane are cool!

Yup, make it work.

This one I was impressed with because it, like the others, came from a male:

Rise, the new day comes

the Radiance fills our Hearts

Don't forget to smile

I'm telling you, these guys are so ready to romance a lady friend. Ladies, start dropping those hankies!

A kiss, tis so sweet

It fades swiftly from the lips

Like the ebbing tide.

This one was anonymous, but it looks like male handwriting (Is that safe to say?):

Under unseen stars

Your ship sails strong in love's hold,

Grace your compass-guide.

From couples:

Korean Chinese.

Together like ham and cheese.

Make marriage sandwich.

The night is still young

Sanctify the marriage bed.

Have lots of babies! :)

Jane and Cyrus Woo

Now the man has a helper

God is so faithful!

Not a haiku but I like it, nonetheless:

The Old Woman Who Lived in a shoe

There was a young couple,

played a game with their shoes

'Cuz on this special day,

they both became Woos.

Asked myriad questions,

they learned many things

Among them that marriage

is more than just rings.

And this person was so compelled that he (with the help of a she) wrote us three matching haikus:

Cyrus, don't get fat

Even if the food tastes good

Cyrus, don't get fat

Jane, do not get chubs

Don't be tempted by the grub

Jane, do not get chubs

You guys don't get plump

Go to exercise and jump

You guys don't get plump

Very heartfelt indeed. And with that inspiration, I'm off to get "chubs" by sleeping instead of exercising.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, POOKI! (heart)

Pooki and Boo Woo
Treasured times from our journey
By God's grace, with love

Looking forward to this next year being each others' mirror! 
Lord, help us - we're going to need it! :)

Any one-year haikus?

Tying the (cherry stem) knot

When we had planned to eat with my parents tonight, it was not for a particular reason that we were meeting. It only dawned on me recently that today would mark the day that exactly one year ago, Mr. Woo proposed to me at the beach.

Today, as I reflect on God's goodness in our lives, I'm thankful our very own paparazzi bigcowvegetable and gasoo. Because of their servant's hearts I am able to re-member this day with pictures!











Perhaps it seems a rather silly to celebrate something of this sort, but I'm realizing more that each day holds a list of its own miracles. For example, isn't is wonderful how God created legs for us to propel ourselves to and fro? And the air in our lungs for breath? And it fascinates me so the way that babies begin their life (little people!) with exactly the environment they need - in their mother's womb! With that, I rejoice in today's events and blessings.

How we celebrated our one-year-since-we-"officially"-committed-to-marriage:

• We were (sadly) late to corporate worship at Teachers' Service
  
• Mrs. Alina and I walked our TM toddlers through some "I'm sorry for ______. Will you forgive me?" action
• Mr. Woo preached to the CM kids on Matthew
  
• We heard the wonderful news that baby Annalise (sp TBD) Tan would soon make her appearance into the "real world"
  
• We met a visiting guest who will be starting his senior year at CAL and wants to marry early (hint hint, single ladies!)
  
• Mr. Woo, Nolie, and I drove down to San Jose for dinner with my parents
• We saw curry on sale at the market and literally bought 10 boxes of it
• We ate at Palace - the "get your money's worth" method (overstuffing with mainly meat) instead of the "sane consumer" method (eating lots of greens and a rational portion of meat)
• Mr. Woo fell asleep - in the same spot from where he had been devouring cows
• I woke him up to show him my very first cherry stem that I had tied with my tongue!
  
• Mr. Woo and I had a cherry stem knotting contest
• We had a rematch
• Then Nolie joined us for another round
• Mrs. Mom laughed
• As we said our good-bye, Mr. Daddy told me, "Your stomach is sticking out. Go use the restroom to empty it out." (It was funnier in Korean... Direct translations never convey the same meaning.)
• We came back with our clothes and hair reeking and our tummies very satisfied.
• Jonny staying/sleeping over (tentative)

What are you celebrating today?

Still eating it...

Curry that is. Every day.

Leftovers from Poker Night. (That's another 4 days he's eaten it!)

But knowing how much Mr. Woo really likes curry, is that a surprise?

The man suggested Curry Woo as a future son's name.
(Poker friends, he's also suggested having curry for every PN).

With love, and every spoonful of the 18-servings of curry that I made in that huge pot, Happy 7 months, dear Husband! :)

Paper gifts

I had forgotten that Mr. Woo said that he ordered something for me. I half thought he was joking, but sure enough the package which contained my surprise arrived today.

Still "recovering" from being (pleasantly) surprised with the mini-break that Mr. Woo had planned, I was again thoroughly impressed by his thoughtfulness. This time, it was tangible gifts in a set of 3.

#1 - I Will Rejoice - a book celebrating Psalm 18 and teaching children to be thankful (for when we have children)
#2 - Teachers are a Gift from God - a book of verses and stories for teachers (because it's been a rough summer)
#3 - Handmade note cards - he made a beautiful choice! (for me to use whenever - I really like stationary)

Note: Interesting choices since the traditional one-year anniversary is paper gifts.


Mr. Woo absolutely makes up for not buying me flowers with all his sweet gestures, some often overlooked (bad wifey!). The past 6 months have taught me so much about myself, revealing how sinful I really am. Shame on me for desiring p(r)etty flowers over the healthy leadership of my hubby. Though for both, the occasional tangible and daily spiritual gifts, I am thankful. Married life is so good.

What are you thankful for? :)

Six months elapsed

Today is our 6 month anniversary! WOO-hoo!

To celebrate, we went to our students' basketball games. Rewind. It's really a 3-day celebration - teacher style...

Last night, Mr. Woo surprised me to dinner at Osha's in the city!










I'm a big fan of Thai food, and on top of that, our window seat was near perfect. (It happened to be the same table that the guys dined at as Part II of his bachelor party.) I sat with my feet up and crossed the whole time - and it was appropriate. The food was superb. We ordered a good amount; they must have thought we were food critics. Then we went back to the list of questions that we were discussing while we were dating. It was a sweet time to revisit them - although we spent most of the time on just one...

Today, we grabbed dinner with Joe H. (aka Third Wheel) before heading out to the games. They were so funny. At this Summer Slam you'll see/hear so much traveling, bouncing (with the ball), "dribble toward the basket!!!", and sounds of children having a ball (puahah, so punny). One of my girls was dominating the game. Being the supportive teacher that I am, I cheered and thew out some "THAT'S MY STUDENT!" and "EXTRA CREDIT!" from the sideline. After their 4 quarters of organized chaos, H and Mr. Woo had a 2 on 2 game with the kids. Within a few minutes they were playing again 7 full-of-energy kiddos (where do they get all the energy, even at the end of the day???) and were sweating it up. Fast food + kids screaming + sweat... ah yes, the romance is in the air.

Tomorrow we're switching it up a bit and going to the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton. There we will not only be surrounded by children but adults(!) as well. As much as I love working with children, I need my daily doses of adult interaction to keep sane and level. What I'm looking foward to tomorrow: the ferris wheel, the food, the quarter toss game, and spending time with my dear hubby. :)

HAPPY 6 AWESOME MONTHS, POOKI! (HEART)

P.S. Can somebody tell Mr. Woo to win me a stuffed animal at the fair? It's not as special if I have to ask for it. (Have you ever watched a chick flick where the gal had to ask for one? No, he just does it, and it makes her happy.)