Sunday, May 20, 2012

Catching Up

So...it's been a little while, huh?!

I realized as I sat down to write this that there are quite a few things to get you all caught up on.

It seems like the world sort of stopped when we found out Sarah was pregnant back in late December, but the reality is life has gone on in all the ways that it does. We've been teaching, we've taken in a few baseball games and soccer matches, we've been exploring this amazing country and getting to know many of its amazing people, and we've been growing closer to all of the amazing people in our little community here.

Needless to say, we haven't stopped living! We're excited to be parents and can't wait for little Liam Jae to arrive, but we are also trying to be mindful of the present and soak in every second we are still here in Daegu, South Korea.

Back in February and March we said goodbye to a few of our good friends- Greg, Gabi, and Vanessa.

Greg and Gabi Boy finished their 2 years of teaching in February and headed back to South Africa after spending a few weeks taking in all the spots in the United States. Greg and I became good friends through our mutual love of music, and we got to become great friends alongside of the experiences we had playing out and jamming together. Greg is definitely a lifelong friend and someone I know my path will run into again someday down the road.

Greg and Gabi Boy

In March we said goodbye to our friend Vanessa, who is from Toronto and left recently after spending time here in Korea training in archery with the hopes of representing Canada in the upcoming summer Olympics. From what I've seen and heard, it is pretty likely she will! She also had a chance to play percussion with me at a show I did in Daegu, and Sarah and I got to experience our first ever subway performances with Vanessa at her prompting. Cherished memories for a lifetime!!!

Vanessa Lee, future Olympian! :)

In April, we went to Jinhae (about 90 minutes from Daegu) for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. It was absolutely gorgeous, and we got to see a side of Korea that really encapsulated the magnitude of the country's beauty.

At the Cherry Blossom Festival in Jinhae

I recently celebrated my 27th birthday on May 8th, and Sarah and my good friends here surprised me with a fantastic party at a multi-bang (which is basically a party room with video games, movies, karaoke, food, etc.) and then treated me for dinner at Bennigans (yes, Daegu has a Bennigans!).

Me with my party face on at the multi-bang in downtown Daegu

Our friends at my birthday dinner (L to R: John, Tom, Lisa, Chris, Ann, Sarah, me, Jeff, Alexa, 
Sydney, Luke, & Jen)

I've taken a few months off from music in preparation for my big acoustic CD release show on June 8th, when I will be releasing my new acoustic CD The Daegu Sessions, which was written in and inspired by this year we've been living in Korea. My friend Brandon Inman was kind enough to use his AMAZING talents to draw the album cover for this new CD, which in itself is a masterpiece!!! I am excited to share this new music with everyone.

Album cover for "The Daegu Sessions" (illustrated by Brandon Inman)

I am also nearing the final draft of my non-fiction book, Handling Static, which I've been writing since 2008. The extra time I've had due to the lenient job hours of teaching has allowed me to pour so much more into this book over the past few months, and it's almost complete. The final book should be finished and ready for print/purchase by August of this year. Below is the book cover created by my good friend, Kersti Bury...another AMAZING artist!!

Book cover for "Handling Static" (illustrated by Kersti Bury)

Sarah has begun the incredible task of applying for youth pastor jobs back in the states, in the hopes that God will lead us to a new church and youth ministry by the time we return home this fall. She has already submitted several applications, and there are more in the works. Please keep us in your prayers during the next few months as Sarah looks for a ministry position where God can use her for His perfect plan. We're excited and nervous all at the same time.

Sarah will be 26 weeks pregnant this upcoming weekend...CRAZY! It feels like we just found out about the pregnancy yesterday!! God has been good to us and has been taking care of and watching over both mom and baby boy.

Sarah at 22 weeks pregnant

It's also crazy to think that my little sister Emily, who was born premature, came into this world at this same week Sarah is approaching in her own pregnancy. No doubt, my sister is a miracle baby!

This week our friend Kersti comes to visit us and spend some time with us in and around Daegu and Seoul.

The next few weeks look to be pretty fun-filled, featuring a trip to Seoul, a weekend trip to Busan for the Sand Festival, and a July trip to Korea's Mudfest (we'll let the name speak for itself for now...more to come!).

Anyways, we hope to become more consistent with this blog again, and we'll look to make another post within the coming weeks.


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