Showers of Blessing

It's been such a long time since I last blogged, I hardly remember my login and password! Or maybe I can blame my horrible memory on the pregnancy.

As we prepare for the arrival of baby Miyai, we have received an overwhelming amount of love and support from family and friends. We have had multiple baby showers in LA, the bay area, and Sacramento since December, and I am so grateful to have many family and friends to rejoice with us. Here are some photos from the bay area shower:
















Monday will be my last day of teaching before I take off for maternity leave. (Yes, can you believe that baby Miyai can arrive anytime now?!) Students are finally starting to realize that I will be gone for a chunk of the semester, and I have received funny/interesting responses from them. Here are a couple:
* "You are leaving us?! Why?" (Ummm... I thought it was obvious for the last 4 months)
* "Are you pregnant?"
* "Couldn't you wait until June when we go on summer vacation?"
* "Do you have a name for the baby? Can you name him after me?"
* "Can we come to the hospital to get help on our homework? Oh, and if we do, can you give us extra credit?"
Even though I can't wait to take time off, I am definitely going to miss the students.

The other great news is that I will be able to finish my thesis this year, possibly before baby Miyai arrives, if he does not come out in the next two weeks. I have completed my data collection and parts of the analysis. I met with my advisor last night, and things are on track. I just need to sit down and write out my thesis, and present it to the committee by February 17th.

The anticipation of baby Miyai comes with much joy and excitment, but also with some fears. Okay, lots of fears. Fears of child labor pain, fears of the unexpected, fears of unpreparedness, fears of becoming a parent...etc. The list goes on. It's strange, the more I prepare, the more unprepared I feel. All these fears constantly bring me humbly back to depend on God, and I am constantly reminded of God's faithfulness and provision. After all, He is the giver of the coming Gift of Grace.

Count your blessings... Yes, we've been showered with so many blessings, I don't even know where to begin.