It Is Well with my Soul

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Horatio Spafford

What's so great about being 28?

  It's great to be 28, but I think that the last 7 months of my 27th year was pretty wonderful.

A PhD in the KIM FAMILY!

In the beginning of June, the Kim Family plus Drew took a trip to watch the first (haha) Kim ever to receive a PhD from the prestigious MIT.  Yes, it was rainy and cold, long and crowded, but it was fun to hoot and holler when my big sister, who I always considered "overrated," got her degree in Medical Engineering..and something something.  We were all beaming proud!

NIAGARA FALLS

Then we piled into the car and drove the 6 or so hours to Niagara Falls.  We stayed at the Marriot (Canada side)which had an awesome view of the falls.  We basically had to pack in all of Niagara Falls in a 20 hour span, which we utiltized to the fullest.  It was my first time in Canadian territory so I was disappointed that the borderman wouldn't stamp my passport for proof.  I'm also shocked and appalled at how expensive Canada is!  Interesting to fact: a 7 year old boy fell over the Falls and survived!   I also thought that Niagara Falls was one of the 7 wonders of the world...but it's not!  Despair not...later on we would visit one.

Our BUSINESS TURNS 1 YEAR OLD!

Our office staff surprised us with a 1 year anniversary celebration of our dental practice ownership.  Pictured from left to right: Kathy (hygienist), Shirley (me) Linda (assistant), Dr. Vander Heide (retiring DDS), Judy (retired DDS's wife and office manager), Seri (assistant), Dr. Yap (hubby), Mary (hygienist), and Barbara (receptionist extraordinaire).  We have really been blessed with an awesome team of dental professionals.  Although sometimes I dread waking up at 5am and going to work, I never dread working with these people!

HONDURAS TRIP #2

Our 2nd trip to Honduras was just as awesome as last year, if not awesom-ER.  I posted this video on youtube about how God blessed our trip and how we saw Him glorified.

We went to 3 mountain villages and while the medical team saw patients, the youth team performed skits, evangelized, and prayed with villagers, Drew performed extractions...lots of extractions. When Drew got tired, I picked up the forceps and gave it a try in pulling some teeth out of this brave young girl.  Actually, I loosened the tooth out for Drew and then let him do the easy part. =)  Ok ok...so I tried to take out this girls tooth, but got a little scared when I heard so much gritty crunchy noise, so I gave it back to Drew to do the job.  Back at the hospital, Drew helped the hospital staff by providing much needed dental services  (pictured here with Orlando, the night watch guy and Carlos, a nurse).

On a side note: one of the special highlights of the trip was that I got to watch 2 babies being delivered.  One baby was 10lbs!!  Delivered naturally!  without a yell or scream or sound coming from the mom.  wow.

SEDONA & GRAND CANYON

We took Dad and Mom Yap to Sedona for a few days.  We had great weather and enjoyed the scenery.  Drew and I lounged poolside just enough to feel relaxed and happy to come back to work.  We spent one day touring the Grand Canyon.  I really want to take a mule down the canyon some day.  That would be awesome (but painfully long...)

.

GRANDMA KIM TURNS 100!

We rushed back from Sedona so we could celebrate at the Kim family birthday bash!  Somehow, calculated by Lunar calendar, my grandma (dad's mom) was scheduled to turn 100 on Sept 27 (my birthday...and my cousin's birthday....and my brother in law's birthday.  Then my mom's birthday was Sept 29th and daddy's was Sept 30th.  A special year indeed.  My halmunee turned 100!   She attributed her long life to living a life of moderation.

3RD ANNIVERSARY

Drew and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary at the Pantages.  I really thought Wicked was better the 2nd time.  It's probably my all-time favorite musical. 

It's always good to reflect back on the year, and remember the goodness of God's blessings.  I am thankful.

Last Year...

Hahaha...I started to post this massive post last year during Thanksgiving...but like so many things I do...I didn't finish it and never posted it.  So it's nearly April now and I'm here at work on a Saturday with some time to kill...

 I am thankful for many things this past year.  It started off slowly, but it really picked up speed and now we're really chugging.  I didn't post along the way, so this is my massive attempt to catch up on the year's events and at the same time thank God for his continued blessing upon blessing.

I am thankful for... (in chronological order).

1) opportunities to travel:  Big Island, Hawaii
In April, Drew and I got to go back to Hawaii, but this time to the Big Island.  We stayed in Kona but we were all over that BIG island.  Highlights include: snorkeling, taking a helicopter to see red stuff flow out of a volcano, atv-ing, stargazing,

2) my teaching credential

In May, I finished my teaching credential for elementary school at Cal State Fullerton.  I had great professors and made some new friends.  I had another great student teaching experience, teaching 1st grade at Miller Elementary School in La Palma.  I taught a multi-cultural unit which had me running around to get clothing, foods, crafts, and activities from all over.  Long hours of prepping and teaching put a toll on our home life as I spent every ounce of mental, physical, and emotional energy into teaching those kids.  Although I'm not teaching now, I am grateful for the training and background.  I'm also really thankful for the opportunity to meet people in the Centralia School District since I'm working in the area now.

3) accomplishing half of my new year's resolution, halfway through the year, on half-dome: Yosemite.

In June, I climbed Half-Dome with a few of my friends from church.  In January, I made two resolutions:  #1 learn to cook with spices and herbs and #2 climb Half Dome.  I still have yet to cook with spices and herbs but I'm quite satisfied to have conquered Half-Dome.  We started at 6am? and didn't get back down until after 8pm.  It was a long day but it was definitely worth the challenge.  And, on the way up the cables to the top, I ran into my friends Jongmin, Brian and Brian from my Cal days! 

4) more opportunities to do missions: Guiamaca, Honduras
In August, Drew and I went on our first extended medical missions trip to Honduras.  We went on a 1 week trip with a doctor couple from our church (Drs. Tan) and Kevin, a premed student.  Drew pulled lots of teeth and I got to share the gospel while we waited for the anesthetic to kick in. =)

5) our new dental practice!  Dr. Andrew W. Yap, DDS, A Professional Corporation

In August, we bought a dental practice from a retiring dentist, Dr. James D. Vander Heide, who had been in practice for over 40 years.  We took over the patients and staff and everything else.  I've learned so much about dentistry, business, accounting, marketing, etc. and I have still SOOO much more to learn.  This is our Christmas card with our staff that we sent to all our patients.  I've been working as the office manager putting my secretarial skills to use and my teaching credential to disuse.

More of the same

Hmmm....looking back at my few posts since last summer, life is pretty much more of the same

1)  He's ba-ack!  Although the professional sniper did a good job of killing the gopher in the front lawn...the gopher re-appeared in the backyard.  And he seems to be back with a vengeance because the Fumitoxin doesn't seem to be working.  Dirts of mounds or mounds of dirt everywhere!  He's ruining my croquet field!

2)  We've upgraded.  After much deliberation, the Yaps have acquired a screen larger than...life!  The Yap living room now features HDTV....now if only we can get HGTV!  Cable?  Dish? 

3)  Unemployment.  I've had a love-hate relationship with my continued state of unemployment.  Some days I love being a house-wife other days I'm desperate for Drew to come home.  Yes, I have been quite the Desperate Housewife.  But now, break is over, and I'm back to being a student.  Last semester, I had a great time student teaching for 6th grade.  This semester, I know I'll have a blast student teaching for lower grade class.  I fear that my unemployment will only continue even after I've finished the credential program since there seems to be very few elementary teaching jobs and too many wannabe teachers like me.  People need to start having more kids and stop moving east! 

So What's New.......or Next?

Nothing really.  Drew and I dated for a year, were engaged for a year, and now we've been married for more than a year.   I feel like we've gotten the hang of it.  Ready for the next phase?  Sometimes it's hard to not to think, "Ok, what's next!?!"  Sometimes I want to zoom through this "transitional time" and zoom right into the "home-owning, baby-bearing" years of our life.  I know that we will never again experience the luxuries of mortgage-free, child-free life so we need to carpe diem!

Back

I'm back.

From China, I got back in August...but I just failed to post about it...Drew's got all the pertinent info on his xanga.

From Nor Cal, Drew and I got back like 45 minutes ago.  I skipped class on Friday and we drove up the 5 early Friday morning, hit up Gilroy shopping (where Drew gained 3 pairs of shoes and I got a sample of garlic pretzel), then we got Drew to Oakland in time for the wedding rehearsal.  That's where I ditched him to go meet up with my college friend.  We had a good time reminiscing in Berkeley.

Saturday morning, I ditched Drew again while he practiced for the wedding ceremony worship.  He was leading...and did a great job of singing "Wo ling ge chang....." in Mandarin [How Great Thou Art].  I ate Korean food with my other Korean college friend.  After that, I went back to Drew and remained by his side for the remainder of the weekend. 

We counted 18 weddings that we've been to together since we met in 2003.  So far, there's only 1 wedding on our 2007 calendar.

Sunday morning, we spent time with Drew's cousin and his wife who just bought a house in a newly built suburb near Sacramento.  It's just dirt filled in with new houses and new Retail Centers, and new malls, new schools, and then more dirt surrounding it.  

I did a lot of "house" talk this weekend--a little with my college friends, a lot with his cousins, then more while Drew and I drove down.  It makes me feel old-er.  But I still feel like we're playing house.

So, I'm back...back to start another slow and long week of school, lazy afternoons, and quiet evenings.  When we drove into our garage, I let out a long, sorrowful sigh.