Our Little Home

Well, you have waited long enough!  I finally have some shots of our clean (because I had a snow day!) home.

As I mentioned before, our house is a “trinity” style unit.  There are three floors, each with one room and no halls, and tiny staircase connecting them.  These trap doors allow for the furniture to be moved up and down.

On the top floor, is our bedroom!  I love it because it is really open and spacious.  The door is at the bottom of the stairs so it makes it feel like we have a loft room.  For about a month all I could talk about was how much I loved the little white railing.

On the second floor, Sung has his “battle station”.

On the first floor, we have our living area.

Finally, in the basement we have our kitchen.

We don’t have as much space for guests as we did in Nebraska but we are probably a whole lot closer to you!  So, please, feel welcome to come by for a visit!  🙂

We’ve Landed!

So….we live in Philly now.  That’s kind of crazy.  In my long absence from this blog, Sung and I have been very busy starting a completely brand new life!  I’ll try to give a brief summary of the past two months here and, later on, I hope to begin with regular posts again.  I have missed writing so…hopefully you’ve missed reading 😉

Here’s a bit about our move…

1. We left Nebraska on August 12.  Besides locking our keys in the car before we left, it was a pretty stress-free trip for Sung and I– Oliver was significantly less patient with this move than he was with the first one, for some reason.  Other than that, we had a great trip and got to visit a few people as we made the journey back east.  (Not pictured: Jocelyn and Alex Meyer– how did we not get a picture??)

2. We arrived in Wilmington, Delaware, road wary and ready to stay in one place for more than a few nights.  Here is how Mom and Joe greeted us:

We stayed with them for a few weeks while we recuperated, apartment hunted, and visited some of my “essential” hometown places including Brew Ha Ha, Charcoal Pit, the Arden Fair, and Rehobeth Beach.

3. I started work at my new school.  I’m teaching Kindergarten again, and I really, really love it.  It has been such an incredible blessing to me that the transition into this new job has been so smooth.  I feel welcomed by the amazing staff at my school and my children are really a delight to work with.

4. We celebrated one year of marriage!

4. We moved into our new place in Norther Liberties.  It’s a “trinity style” house which means that each of the three floors are only one room (plus a basement kitchen).  I promise to post more pictures soon but here is Sung looking through the trap door used to get our furniture upstairs.

5. Sung started at Drexel and he loves it.  So, I guess we made a good choice in coming here. 🙂

We are happy here and continuing to get more and more comfortable and settled.  We have already had a few visitors– just a reminder that it is really great to be back on the East Coast, near so many friends and family members.  It is so hard to even wrap my head around all the blessings we have experienced since we began the process of leaving the Air Force.  Thank you for following us through this journey and for your continued support as we begin this next chapter.

All our love,

The Hwangs

Goodbye Nebraska!

Nebraska has been so good to us!  We have met awesome people, experienced great places, loved every second of going to our church, and really built a solid, beautiful foundation for our first year of marriage.  I am so freaking grateful!  I never would have chosen to move across the country the week after getting married but it was better for me and us than I ever could have guessed.

That said, these past few weeks have been just so strange.  Sung has been going to work but they have been easing him away from his responsibilities.  I have been oddly preparing for a move where I didn’t have to pack since we were getting movers.  I found this challenging.  I started losing track of when I last showered.  I felt like our time here was “over” but we were still here.

Moreover, this move and the changes we are making feel so right– but it is still weird, scary, and a little sad to leave the only home we’ve ever had together.

However, as we get closer and closer to the big day (!!!) we have been able to take some time to just enjoy the places, people, and time together that have made us love this home of ours!  Here are some highlights of our Nebraska farewells:

1. Going to hear Run River North.

2. Going on a tour of the local Lucky Bucket Brewing Company.  (Also pictured, the cornfields we drove through to get there.  To answer some friends’ questions about if there are really cornfields here.)

3. A blast from the past when a friend from PITT was here on a work conference.  Sorry, no picture, but I had the best time hanging out with the one and only Anna Quider!

4. Cleaning.

5. Sung’s work farewell.

 

6. And visiting with our friends.

   

Thank you, everyone, for following us this year for the wonderful, beautiful first leg of our marriage adventure.  As we move on to the next part of our journey, you can continue to follow us here and, just for the memories, I’ll continue to write as somethingtodoinNebraska.

July Update

Well, friends, its been awhile, mostly because I don’t like to start a story without finishing it. Two weeks ago, I made a solo trip out to Philadelphia to interview for my top choice school.  I have had my heart set on working at that school since about March. Last Thursday, they offered me a position! Sung and I have been grateful to the Lord for going ahead of us in our move this year, lining everything up for us so perfectly!  I’m blown away at this offer– I have known it was right from day one but it is such a blessing to have my dream become the actual reality!  We have less than 20 days in Nebraska and are trying to make the most of our time here.  I truly believe we were meant to be here for this year and I’m so looking forward to our next adventure!

Here we are out celebrating the day I got the job offer!

Week in Review

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!  Here’s what we’ve been up to.

1. This week I booked tickets to head back east for a job interview next week!  I’d appreciate your prayers!

2. On Thursday, I went into work with Sung for a little bit to talk to the moving person who is helping schedule our move!  It is set for the beginning of August!!

As you can see, Sung loves getting his picture taken at work.

3. FIREWORKS.  When I lived in Baltimore, I thought I knew about people setting off fireworks at their house.  I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THAT.  Here, basically professional grade fireworks are legal to buy and everyone seems to be setting them off all of the time.  Starting at 3 or 4 pm, every day since, like, Tuesday, there have been fireworks.   Pictured: one of the fireworks tents with a giant King Kong out front, where people can buy fireworks.

4.  Along with watching fireworks, we’ve had a great time having a little extra time together this weekend!  We enjoyed going into the city and also cooking some great food at home.

5. Yesterday we went to a cookout with some of Sung’s work friends.  We played corn hole and also got to show off our “Just Dance” moves.  I was very proud to be a Hwang 😉

Thanks for reading!  Talk to you all soon!

Love,

Margot

How the Lego Movie Changed Our Lives….

On February 17, I took this picture because  I thought Sung and I looked like real grown-ups.  We were on our way to see “The Lego Movie”.

And, besides our destination, we really were.  We had been married for five months and things were going well.  We both were working and maintaining a pretty happy work/life balance.  I was wearing a shirt with a collar!  Most importantly– we had a plan.  Sung had decided to separate from the military at the end of the summer and he had already applied to the perfect program for the fall.  At the University of Nebraska Medical Center, just thirty minute from where we live now and so close to our church, there is a program that would allow Sung to quickly become a radiography technician and move from his Associates Degree to a B.S.  It would allow him to stay in the medical field, get a job quickly, and have great job security.  We could stay where we were and wouldn’t have to go through too many changes besides the switch to Civilian life.  It seemed perfect.  Just look at those smiles.  But just a few weeks after we took this picture, Sung would turn down an interview for this very selective program because of what happened next…

Since our Perspectives class began in January, I got more and more excited about separation from the Air Force.  We could do ANYTHING!  I kept thinking that the obvious solution to our situation– military separation, no commitments, missions course– was that God what calling us into ministry.  A medical profession for Sung made sense to me because I saw clear ways that we could serve God in that capacity.  We diligently prayed that God would give us guidance but, to us, this radiography program made sense.

And then “The Lego Movie” changed our lives.

Sung loved the movie!  It had everything a good kids’ movie that is geared to adults should have– cheesy pop culture references, ridiculous music, a bit of off-color humor that flies over kids’ heads.  What was not to love?  But it also reminded him of something– himself.  As a kid building with legos was one of his favorite things to do.  It was, for him, his creative space.  And the reality is, he has quite a gifted, creative mind.  I have seen him constantly tapping into this creative ingenuity, since our days of emails when he specially rigged a mouse trap to catch a mouse that kept outsmarting an unaltered snap trap.

 

Seeing the movie brought up these pleasant childhood memories for Sung and it changed him.  Not two days later, Sung texted me during the work day.  He “joked” that maybe he would get a nursing degree and also get an engineering degree, “for fun”.  And once he actually said those words, it was so evident our old plan was a mistake.  Within the week, this was no longer a joke, he dropped the medical plans altogether and began applying to engineering schools.

He chose five and all five chose him.

 

We had an answer in mind that made sense but when we submitted our search to the Lord, He gave us an answer the made sense MORE!  After a lot more prayer and weeks of discussion, we made the decision to move back to the East Coast.  Sung will attend Drexel University in the Fall  and he will pursue Mechanical Engineering.

In closing, all I have to say is

Thanks for the support on this journey, everyone!

All our love,

The Hwangs

…..

 

My Sandtown Quilt

Last month I got a VERY exciting birthday package… a box from my old roommates.  Included was this beautiful quilt, with squares made by my friends and neighbors at our going-away-party in September and then assembled this fall by Nora.  What a priceless gift.

 

Needless to say, seeing the quilt stirred up a variety of emotions.

 

I smiled over the memories and well wishes.  (Here are just a few close ups.)

 

But I was also sad.  There was a long time where I planned on never leaving Sandtown.  In a flash, my whole life changed last year and I find myself in a place I never imagined I’d be, pursuing a new calling with Sung.  But I wanted to cry as these faces all came to mind.

Then I read the square decorated by my good friend, ten-year-old Kendra of Stricker Street.

If you can’t make out the words they say, “We’ll always miss you.  You found the right one.”  How did she know?  How did she understand, at ten, what I don’t understand now?  That we can always miss someone without doubting that what has come to pass was meant to be.  That these two feelings do not take away from one another but are allowed to coexist in our hearts.

And she’s right, I think.  Living in Sandtown was the most beautiful, wonderful, costly, enriching, infuriating, fun, sad, happy time of my life.  Until now.  And as I moved into this new life, taking on a whole new set of highs and lows, of dreams and unknowns, I carry with me the memories from my old home.  Nothing will take these away from me and the sense of what I left behind lingers.

So I’ll borrow Kendra’s words.  They are the words of every person who has ever left people that they loved to do what they knew was right.  This could mean getting married but it could also mean serving God in another country, or pursuing a degree at a far away school, or taking a dream job.  It could simply mean moving out and moving across town.

To my community in Sandtown and New Song: I will always miss you.  I found the right one.

 

Week in Review

Hi there!  I hope everyone is enjoying the highs and lows (literally!) of March!  The Hwangs have had a productive week and I’m happy to share it with you.

1. The BEST thing that we did this week was finalize all one million of Sung’s college applications… hmm…maybe it wasn’t quite that many but it felt that way.  Special thanks to Lou Anne Pasquarella who we called in at the last minute for some coaching.  Now all we have to do is wait.  Believe me, we will keep you posted!

2. My student who has been out for surgery was able to skype with our class this week– so cool!

3. I applied for my first teaching job NOT in Omaha, as I’m trying to prepare for a potential move if we make one.  But I’m not going to get my teaching license in any OTHER states until have I have a job because, let me tell you, it is not cheap!

4. This Friday, for some reason, Sung decided to pull out his LASER TAG SET for the first time since we’ve be married.  It is the coolest toy ever and I have no idea why we never played with it before.  You hook it up to your computer and it tells you when to start and end the game and also who won.  Well, I never won but that’s ok.

5. We had a pretty tough day of studying for Perspectives this Saturday.  We are so excited for our “spring break” (from that class, haha) next week!  To decompress after studying, we went bowling! Then, last night, the women from my small group had an impromptu girls night (which means Oliver and Sung and an impromptu guys night!)  It was great fun for all.

Sorry for no pictures this week.  I’ll leave you with this to get you through until next week.

Love you all!

Margot ❤

Surprise!!!!!– I WORRY

I have had a chance to look back over my life so far a lot, since we moved here.  One thing that has become overwhelming clear is that many of the problems that I had in my lifetime were actually just the same problem over and over again– my personal issue with anxiety, guilt and worry.  I have begun to notice how frequently a small unpleasantry, be it a comment from someone else or a change in plans I’m not prepared for, can spark a cyclical pattern of worry that I find very hard to get out of.  One that I almost seem to relish, that I keep my brain in all day.  One that I keep trying to “solve”, not realizing the worry itself is the problem, not the “problem”.

There are many people who struggle with anxiety disorders.  At this point, I don’t think I have something like that and I don’t intend to speak for someone that may be battling such a diagnose.  I have known many people who benefited from professional help for anxiety and depression and I would encourage anyone reading this who may need such help to seek it!  I am only writing this to speak to my own personal experiences and where I’ve found some of the roots of these thoughts to lie.

I suspect that if you are someone who has known me well, you are nodding your head when I confess I struggle with daily worry.  Everyone seems to know I do, I just didn’t acknowledge how constant worry was in my life, until recently.  Now that I think about it, I actually remember my kindergarten teacher calling me a “worry wart”.  Also, Sung and I have been going through the copy of Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest my parents gave me for my sixteenth birthday– and found I underlined and marked significant portions of an entry on worry— more than I marked on any other page.  I wrote things 14 years ago in that book that seem to mirror the exact thoughts I still have regarding worry today.  But, still, this problem floated under my radar.

There are a few reasons I think I finally became aware of this habit.

1. It got worse when I met Sung.  All my life I have been dreaming of meeting “the one” and when I realized he was the one, the only one forever, that put a heck of a lot of responsibility and pressure on this relationship, to live up to all of my expectations of what marriage should be like.  And it was not so much worry that he was not right in some way– it was worry that something I did would be wrong and ruin this thing I have wanted for so long.

2. Then we moved and I’ve had a chance to be myself in a new context.  It’s funny how my life got so much easier– some major stressors like my schedule, finances, and job decreased in difficulty– but my anxiety level increased.  I began to see that I was worrying but not about things that I really needed to worry about.  It became funny– except I still couldn’t stop and I didn’t know why.

3. The Holy Spirit convicted me of real sin in this sermon given by Pastor Walt at our church last month.  I have always known that if I was worrying I was not trusting God.  But I had never really evaluated that more deeply in my own life.  I had cultivated a lifestyle of constant unrest.  I kept thinking, “Well once this problem is over I’ll be at peace”.  But then something new came up and I’d be anxious again. Now, I have come to realize that, in Christ’s power, I am able to live a lifestyle of peace regardless of my circumstances and that is what I am now seeking to attain.

My favorite part of the sermon is that our pastor points out Jesus’ words: “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30)  It doesn’t say “O you with lots of problems.”  In the past, I have always attributed my stress level to the problems in my life.  As those have changed shape and, for the time being, decreased in some areas, my stress level has stayed the same.  It is not a problem issue– it is a faith issue.

I am so excited to be able to see this, more clearly than ever before, as Sung and I just begin our marriage journey.  I truly believe, as I seek God’s peace throughout each day no matter what challenges arise, that I will be a better life partner to my husband, and a more enjoyable one to be around.  It has, so far, proved a challenging task, but I am committed to changing my outlook for good.  I will no longer allow worry to fill so much of my mind, unchecked.  Rather then merely wishing I didn’t feel so stressed, I am committing each issue to the Lord with the simple prayer suggested in this sermon, “Jesus, I trust you.”

This Time Last Year

It’s a fun game to play for me.  I’ve been marking my months of marriage to Sung Yoon with memories from this time last year.

A year from our wedding day I was adopting Oliver and emailing Sung for the first time.  A year from Halloween, I was taking in my first Air Force party (not with Sung) and wondering what I had gotten myself into.  A year from Thanksgiving I was making him his first present from me.  A year from New Years, we were watching fireworks together in Germany.

This time last year marked the end of a rather difficult month.  I had several pretty big, startling changes occur in my little world.  My Pastor and his family had just announced their move to Saint Louis, another close friend and church leader also announced their move, and we had an abrupt leadership change at my school.  Within a month, Sung’s departure date from Germany changed twice and a training that would have allowed him to be with me on my birthday got canceled.

We didn’t know that he’d be able to visit me for two weeks that April.  We didn’t know a lot.

As I sat in church, hearing the announcement that another leader was moving on, I grit my teeth.  “I see what you’re doing,” I said to God.  “I see that you causing some folks to move on.  But I will not be next.  I am not going any where.”

I think I told God no because I already knew.  I told him I would not be next but I knew that I would.

Not long after that, Darcy and Jake came to visit me.  Oliver peed on Bekah’s new arm chair and I broke down into tears.  I started telling them everything that was wrong.  And, finally, the real thing– “I’m not ready to be ready to leave,” I cried.

Darcy told me to stop– how could I worry about leaving when no one had asked me to go anywhere.  But I knew.

The day after my birthday last year, Sung and I started talking about marriage– it hadn’t been mentioned seriously for some time, but it had been on my mind all these months.  I asked if he had some sort of timeline in mind for it all.

“I thought you’d like to get married before you turned thirty,” he said.  I laughed.  I hadn’t really had that as some sort of deadline.  Then he said, “Well, at least that was what I was going to tell you…as an excuse…so you wouldn’t wonder why I wanted to get married so soon.”

I wasn’t ready to be ready to leave Sandtown and Baltimore and my life there.  But I was ready.  In many ways, I’m still not ready to have left.  But I’m so grateful that, as stubborn as I was, I was willing to walk the path God placed before me.  That step, into his will, is always the best step to take.