The Chongs like a bargain (pt 2)

So, here's the table all completed.  The latches underneath was a pain in the rear.  I guess the table is made of some pretty hard wood.  I'm guessing oak.  I pre-drilled the holes but every time I get close to tightening it the screw top would shear off the screw.  It was one of those frustrating moments.  I returned the brand that you see in the previous post.  The hardware was actually for a window.  I saw it used on another pedestal table and thought I would give it a try.  I opted to use a latch that is typically used on trunks.  The screws that came with that latch also broke off too.  I had to use some screws that I had in my tool box.  

This is the table with the leaf.  

... and here is the table without the leaf.  Looks nice if I do say so myself.  

The Chongs like a bargain.

So, here's the other reason we took out trip out to Vegreville.  Suj was eyeing a pedestal tables on Kijiji.  We took a look at one in Sherwood Park.  They were asking for $200 for the tables and chairs.  I think we were going to offer $150 but they didn't bite.  It was gone after the weekend. 

She found another one but this one was only...$10.  Yes, that's right.  It didn't have chairs but come on it's only $10.  It was advertised with some burns on the table top.  I kept on emailing the seller to make sure that we were not going to make a wasted trip.  So, that's when we decided to take an hour trip outside of Edmonton. 

Here's what we found.

This is after stripping the varnish, scraping, and sanding.  It was a dark stain and the burns disappeared after the sanding. 

Here's the table after being primed. 

A little spray paint.

Some hardware... and voila!

Spring Break

The girls have been home. Suj and I still have work but thankfully we have flexible jobs to get away from time to time. The girls have loved being home, staying up late, and waking up late too. We have been watching lots of movies, both rentals and at the theater. We saw Blind Side the other night together. The girls rented Ella Enchanted and Alvin the Chipmunk the Squeakel. We also got to see How to Train a Dragon and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

So, we don't get to get away like some get to do. But, hopefully we still get time to spend with our girls and to see how much they are growing. Here's a picture of Pb and Cj at our local Red Brick Pizza. We were planning on riding our bikes but the girls had just switched bikes. Pb got Suj's bike and Cj got Pb's old bike. They were both still a little wobbly so we decided to drive. It was a nice time to sit and chat. Like they say, "They grow so fast."

Another family adventure

We set out for Vegreville on Wednesday. We had 2 missions. The first was to check out a pedestal table that Suj has been eyeing. It was listed on Kijiji for $10. It was priced low because it had some burn marks. I am planning on refinishing it so it was a steal compared to the $155 - $300 we saw posted for tables we liked. The second mission that Suj threw in was to see the world's largest easter egg. We accomplished both missions.

Pumpkin makers

Here's our little pumpkin carvers. So, we started this tradition last year. There's nothing like hands on crafts that bring a family together. It's nice to see them stepping away from the TV and putting away their DS's to gather around the table, talk, and pull out some pumpkin guts.

I think the girls were anticipating making the pumpkins because of our experience from last year. Every time we went to the grocery store they would see the pumpkins and ask if we were going to carve pumpkins again. I guess I have to finish what I started. Well, the tradition has now been passed onto their little cousins. Saturday, they were planning on coming over so I asked to see if they would be interested in joining us in this new tradition. They were excited, really excited. Well, our Saturday afternoon plans started growing, from prayer meeting, attending a special service at a local church, and helping one of our church members move. OK, the kids project had to be put on hold. They were obviously disappointed but they knew that we would do it eventually. Don, (bro-in-law) said that his boys woke up asking when we would carve the pumpkins. Oh, boy! I created a frenzy. Of course it would have to wait because of our church service and lunch. So, long story short we got to carve our pumpkins this afternoon.

It was a fun project, as expected. It's always neat to see our kids creativity. It's also neat to see all of their different personalities expressed on these cute little pumpkin heads.

Ok, so the question that came up is, "is this a pagan ritual that we are encouraging our children to participate in?" I guess it could be. I'm sure this is how Christmas (trees, Santa, exchanging gifts) and Easter (chocolates, Easter Bunny, and bonnets) got started. But, as a pastor, I am comfortable that this was simply a craft and a fun family activity. I pray that our children will not grow up to pass this onto their children to "celebrate" on the level of their faith and practice. I pray that our children will love Jesus and the hope that we have in faith to practice Christmas and Easter to celebrate the true meaning of these events. I also pray that our children will be able to discern the traditions of Thanksgiving and Halloween as holidays that are part of our culture.

Back in the office

reading at my favorite Starbucks

To Banff and Back

We (Suj and I) got back from Banff last night. We, or should I say Suj, had to attend a conference for people who are involved in children and family ministries. We had Suj's sister watch our kids and take them to school. I came along to drive her on the 4+ hour drive.

It was pretty nice (for me). I got to relax on my normal day of rest (Mon). And Tues, I was able to go to Starbucks and read like I would normally do when I'm home.

Just getting back to the blogging thing... (if you're happening to be reading this).

Little Girl #2 is growing up!!

Here is our rosied cheeked little girl the night after she lost one of her front teeth. She's growing up! I think I posted a blog about that some time last year. So, every little milestone is reminding me that she is growing up to be a little lady.
All these changes are making harder for this dad to accept that the girls in his life are growing up. Here's a picture after she got her ears pierced for the first time. Phoebe had gotten her ears pierced at the age of 6. Both of them had made their own decision when they felt that they wanted to get them. I believe Su Jin and I decided that they would be old enough to make that decision around that age. Phoebe knew pretty confidently that she wanted to get them. So, she sat down and got her ears pierced without a tear. Chloe took a little more time to decide if she wanted to get it. I was a little surprised b/c this little girl will look at the needles going into her arms. Even when she had to get her blood drawn into a tube, she was curious and was watching it fill the tube. Chloe reminded me that Phoebe had gotten her ears pierced during Christmas time. She just wanted to wait until Su Jin came back from Korea. So, after Su Jin came back she was still not sure if she wanted to get it. It took some convincing that it would not hurt that she decided to get them. It was kind of a special moment b/c it happened on a Kim ladies night out. Chloe's aunt (Suj's sister) joined the Chong women and went out for an evening. The special event went without a hitch just like Phoebe's, not even a flinch.

So if that's not enough, just a little over a week she pulls out the other fronth tooth. Chloe doesn't really like going to bed. She'll be in her room but we know that she is getting out of bed. We can hear her foot steps. But on that night she was in bed and playing with her other tooth. She comes into our bedroom (about an hour and a half after we had sent her to bed) and announces that she pulled out her 2nd tooth (still bloody).

I don't know what it is with me these past few days - midlife, nostalgic father, or that I am just outright nuts, but I've been wanting to have more children!! I've shared these thoughts with Suj but she just gives me the "can't you see that I am tired and you must be nuts" look. I think it would be great to have another little girl in our family. Gotta think about it some more.

Blast from the Past!!

Have you been hit by the Facebook craze yet?! I was getting reconnected with people all over the states through Xanga and Blogs. It was really neat but now there is this new site where you can get reconnected with people through the schools you attended and former jobs and the site will also scan your email contacts to see if friends have registered on Facebook.

The reconnections have been fun. One reconnection has been with a former youth pastor that served in Philly -- Leo Rhee. I lost touch with him over 15 years ago. Since then he has circled the globe (literally). After Philly, he went to MD, CA, to the homeland, S. Korea, and currently in Chicago.

So, part of the fun on Facebook is uploading pictures and "tagging" friends. When you tag a friend (those who are registered to Fbook) a message is sent to them notifying that a picture of them has been shared online.

So, this is a pic that was shared by Pastor Leo of a high school retreat.

Are you in this pic? I tried to blow up the picture so you can actually see people's faces but not sure how to do it. People you might recognize (and those reading my blog) - Becky, June, Chris, Liz, and Jeff.

Join facebook and you can probably see it after you make me your friend.

Join http://www.facebook.com/.

My Very First Concert

Can you make him out?

OK, I zoomed in as far as I could. Can you see him now?

Still not so clear, huh? How bout if I zoom in on the jumbo screen? Is that a little bit better?

I guess you can figure out by now that we went to the Josh Groban concert. It was last week. Someone from our church had gotten seats from a friend so he invited us to go. We had heard some of his songs and thought it would be fun to go. It was so much fun. Of course he was romantic and has a great voice but he was funny too. He did a little improv of Bon Jovi and Elton John.

So, as you can hear the crowd going crazy when he pops up practically right in our laps. He couldn't have been more than a meter away (hehe, I'm trying to use the metric system). We were in a state of shock for a moment until we realized that it was really him.

So, that is my first experience at a music concert. I don't include orchestra or musicals. I just don't consider them in the same category. I guess I consider myself more of the sit back and enjoy the musical peformances. This fit right down my alley.

News flash: Laser printers may be bad for your health.

I've posted things on my xanga (username: xinjinc) that came out of gizmodo.com. I like that website b/c it gives a lot of great info on upcoming technologies. They give some funny editorials too (usually of the geeky variety). But, I was checking it out today and they gave this warning that originally came out from the BBC. You can check it out for yourself (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6923915.stm).

So, apparently the toner in laser printers can be emitted from the laser printer into the air where it can be breathed in. It makes sense, right? The more the printer is used the more likely particles can be produced in the air. It is more harmful if the printers are being used frequently and in an area where the air is poorly circulated.

Now, take a look at my previous blog where I was showing you my new office! I'm in the basement where there is very little air circulation. I may not be printing that often but I now I am not going to stand around when I'm printing out the church bulletins (right, now I'm printing out about 45 bulletins with 4 full pages). Time for a good hepa filter.

Su Jin didn't want me to stand by the microwave when it was running. Wait till I share this news with her!

New Office

Here's a look at the new office of Hallelujah Christian Fellowship. I set up in the basement of Suj's parent's house. It's quite nice actually. The days have been pretty muggy so it is the perfect place to be on a hot summer day. The wireless signal even reaches down to the basement. So, I think I am set. Once I get settled here and into a regular routine I think I need to get out and start meeting some people. That means hanging out at the local coffee shops and seeing if I can strike up a conversation.

Can you see me doing that? I know that most of you know that I am pretty laid back (maybe too much so) but I am beginning to see that more as a fault than an asset. Now that I am church planting so much falls on my shoulders in terms of planning and implementing, sharing and reinforcing the vision and direction of a new church. It is quite the experience.

Here's the picture of the other side of my "office". I'm so thankful that my in-laws have the space for all our stuff!

That's life as a church planter!

Hide-n-seek?

I think Anson (first hider) likes the concept of seeking more than hiding. Listen carefully to how the rest of the hiders give up the hiding spots of the others. hahah kids!

It's weird being close to family. The last time was back in Philly in 2000 and that was with my parents. This is our first time with a sibling and their children. It's a lot of fun and it is really helping with our transition to Canada.

Kids, it's 10:30, time for bed!

Su Jin and I have been ones to put our girls on a very steady routine. We were not militant by any means but we did try to put them to bed pretty early. During school they would be in bed by 7:30. On weekends, by 8:30. Lately they haven't been going to bed until 10:30!

There are some factors for this:
1. The sun does not go down until 10:00!
2. Cousins come over.
3. It's summer vacation.

It does take some getting used to. We still eat at around the same time but I noticed that there is so much time after dinner to talk with family, watch some TV, put the kids to bed, and then you look outside and it is still dusk. I wanted to see exactly when the sun would set and it wasn't completely down until 10:30 or so.

I even went to timeanddate.com to see the official sunset times (see below). I think that the times are according to when the sun starts to break the horizon because I know that there is still some sunlight after 10.

Edmonton - Sunset at 10:00 PM. Duration of day: 16 hours, 43 minutes
Seattle - Sunset at 9:07 PM. Duration of day: 15 hours, 44 minutes
Philadelphia - Sunset at 8:31 PM. Duration of day: 14 hours, 50 minutes
Cherokee, NC - Sunset at 8:48 PM. Duration of day: 14 hours, 25 minutes
Los Angeles - Sunset at 8:07 PM. Duration of day: 14 hours, 17 minutes

I guess I'll have to post another response in the winter time when the sun will probably go down at 4pm.

Overall, we're adjusting pretty well. Su Jin is still adjusting to the fact that she can see her sister almost every day. She hasn't done that since she left Canada almost 12 years ago. Things are getting more settled in terms of getting accounts opened and unpacking. This week I'm really putting more effort and prayer for building up this ministry. I would really appreciate your prayers.

Enjoy this long sunny day!

Check out this website!

http://thegospelcoalition.org

D.A. Carson
Tim Keller
John Piper
Crawford Loritts

Wow! Now, that's a line up.

Day 5

We arrived in Edmonton safely! Thank you for your prayers.

Approx: 500 miles

Total travel: 2019 miles

Day 4

Salmon Arm, BC
Approx: 358 miles

Day 3

Seattle, WA
Approx: 446 miles

We're crossing over into Canada this morning and then on to Kelowna, maybe make it all the way to Edmonton.

On the road (pt 2)

Day 1 - Los Alamitos, CA to Lost Hills, CA
Approx 166 miles

Day 2 - Medford, OR
Approx 550 miles

Our stuff is being tracked:
It is now in Las Vegas on its way to Salt Lake City, UT

On the road again

We're hitting the road today. Please keep us in your prayers. Thanks.