One of the best things about being married to Jeff is that I get to learn ALL about a new culture and their traditions. Jeff is Chinese - his mom's parents came to the USA when his mom was 13. Today, February 14th, is not only Valentines Day, but also Chinese New Year :) Last night, we had the opportunity to celebrate the New Year with his family. Jeff's mom taught me how to say, "Happy New Year" in Chinese (pronounced "Gung hey fa choy") and promised me that her family would be impressed :) I like to think that my background in speech and language aids me in the pronunciation (haha, probably not?)
My mom thought it'd be a good idea to take pictures and blog about our first Chinese
New Year together for our kids (who will make an appearance in the far away future.) The Lee (Jeff's mom's family) family celebrates with TONS of food, each food symbolizing something different (I'm not even going to try to remember what represents what.) Although I don't have an affinity towards Chinese food (mostly because "chinese food", as I know it, offers lots of MSG - and therefore lots of migraines) I tried a couple of the dishes. Pau Pau (Jeff's grandma) knows I love vegetables and made a delicious green bean dish, with chicken (fried of course, haha.)
Aside from the big celebration, Jeff and I have enjoyed a weekend together. We visited Costco with his mom (thank you, MaMA!), lunch with his brother, late night appetizers with his family AND attended the 6pm service at our ch
urch, New Life Fellowship. We actually LOVED the evening service - it was much more intimate. Something that has been on Jeff's heart for awhile has been "keeping the sabbath." Pastor Pete spoke on how God commands us to keep the sabbath. It was really challenging for me - I am ALWAYS on the go, thinking about what I have to do next. Taking 24 hours to 'rest' sounds impossible to me. Yet, it is one of the Lord's commandments. Jeff and I are taking the next 7 weeks to honor the Sabbath from 6pm Friday (or Saturday) until 6pm on Saturday (or Sunday.) We are going to unplug ourselves from the computer, stop multitasking, and trust that God will take care of the things we tend to fill our days up with. Please pray that we hold to this commitment.My dad is coming Tuesday! I am SO excited to spend time with him and show him around NYC. He's driving in, so please pray for his safe travels!
Much Love.
That sounds like so much fun! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteSo when do we get to see pics of your fab NY apartment?
hey laura and jeff, happy new year.
ReplyDeletetell dave hello for us. will he be there on his birthday? uncle ted will probably call dave on his birthday. we certainly will pray for your dad and safe travels for him.
love to all, marlene and uncle ted