Everytime I hear this song, I’m brought to tears.  I remember hearing this song a lot when we lived in Irvine and I would cry on my way home from work listening to it.  Lately though, Vincent has been listening to it on his Pandora so I was reminded of it.  It’s always neat when a song means something beautiful to both Vincent and me..especially when we discover it on our own..and find out way later that we both really connect with it.  Love it.

Before the Morning – Josh Wilson

Do you wonder why you have to

Feel the things that hurt you
If there’s a God who loves you where is He now

Maybe there are things you can’t see
And all those things are happening
To bring a better ending

Someday somehow you’ll see you’ll see

Would you dare would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming
So hold on you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It’s just the dark before the morning

My friend you know how this all ends
You know where you’re going
You just don’t know how you’ll get there
So say a prayer

And hold on cause there’s good for those who love God
But life is not a snapshot
It might take a little time but you’ll see the bigger picture

Would you dare would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming
So hold on you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It’s just the dark before the morning

Once you feel the weight of glory
All your pain will fade to memory
Once you feel the weight of glory
All your pain will fade to memory, memory, memory

Would you dare would you dare to believe
That you still got a reason to sing
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming

Would you dare would you dare to believe
That you still got a reason to sing
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming

Come on you’ve gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It’s just the hurt before the healing
Oh the pain that you’ve been feeling
It’s just the dark before the morning
Before the morning

Hmmm did you read that title correctly? Yes…read it again, the Mo’s are actually moving back to the Bay Area!

First off..for some of you, this might be the first time you’re hearing the news…if so..sorry I couldn’t tell you in person..it’s all happening so fast!

Right now, I’m feeling a mix of emotions.  I’m super excited about moving back up to the Bay.  I always knew it was something we were hoping to do sometime in the future, but I just wasn’t sure how or when that would ever become a reality.  At the same time though, I’m experiencing great sadness (I’ve been crying a lot =P) knowing that we’ll be leaving the community we’ve grown to love so much over the past 9-10 years of our lives.  We both agree that this has been one of the best years we’ve ever had living here in Irvine which makes it even harder for us to say goodbye now.

The Details:

WHY move? – Vincent just accepted an offer for an amazing job opportunity.  We’ve been praying over the entire process and we truly feel as if this was God’s way of opening the door for us to move back.  Our family lives up in the Bay Area and it’ll be so nice to see them on more days than just major holidays and celebrations.

WHEN? – As of now, we’ll be leaving Irvine on September 11th…I KNOW….19 days…wow!

WHERE? – We’ll be living with my parents in Millbrae for a little while until we find a place of our own.

So we’re asking you SoCal’ers for one thing before we leave….HANG OUT WITH US…and when we’ve situated up north…COME VISIT US!

Here are just a few of the things I’m going to miss about living in SoCal:

• Newsong has become such a special place to me.  I love the people I’ve met here and shared life with.  Newsong is a big reason why I’ve been able to call Irvine home for all these years.  Also, being involved in Student Ministries has helped me to love our church even more, and it’ll be hard to not see or talk to my girls in person on a weekly basis anymore! It’s been a true joy serving with an AMAZING staff and it’ll be hard being away from them! (PLUG: join SM Staff..you won’t regret it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF–1NRd6eo)
• Small Group – Can I just say that our small group ROCKS? This has been my best experience with small group ever (no offense to other small groups I’ve been in)…and I’m sad that we were only able to be a part of it for one short year.  I truly believe these will be relationships that carry on regardless of distance though, so that gives me hope

• Friends – Friends I’ve made throughout my entire time down here – friends we’ve gone on trips with, whose homes we hang out at, who come to our place to catch up on TV, friends who have supported us through some of the most painful times in our life and friends who we don’t really see all too often but still have so much fun when we do.  Now, I’m even more thankful for FaceBook so I can see what ya’ll are up to

• Food – There are so many restaurants that we visit on a regular basis and I keep hearing that there’s nothing like them up in the Bay Area.  We go to some places so often that the owners and servers recognize us (and give us special treatment).  I’m going to especially miss Kaya (I’m tempted to just ask the owners to teach me how to make some of their recipes…I’ll pay them!!) and Mama D’s.

• My Job – The people that I work with have become my friends and I can truly say that I love being a teacher and what I do.  I’ve always felt so supported by my collegues and I’m scared that I won’t have anything similar when I find a new job at a new school.  I’m super sad to be leaving my past students.  I’m scared that I’ll never hear from some of them again, especially the ones that made an effort to come back even after graduating from the school.
• And much, much more!

What I’m Looking Forward To:

• Being closer to our parents and immediate family!
• Watching our nieces and nephew grow in person and not just through pictures!
• Culture – I love the NorCal culture and laid back way of living
• Reconnecting with friends that we’ve kept in touch with during our time in SoCal
• Finding new restaurants to try and places that we go to where eventually they recognize us
• The weather – I love wearing coats and there’s something refreshing about fog
• Sports games where we actually get to root for the home team: Go Giants, Warriors & Niners!
• And more things that we’ll figure out as we go!

I think I’ve rambled on long enough…thanks for walking with us on our SoCal journey…we invite you to continue walking with us and allowing us to share life with you as we start our NorCal journey soon.  Thanks for reading!

So…it’s been a WHILE, huh? Vincent’s convinced me to blog more..so being the obedient wife that I am..here goes!

Every year, my students have to participate in a 5th grade fitness test.  What does this test entail, you ask? Well..students have to do:

1.  Curl Ups (a rendition of a sit-up)
2.  Push Ups
3.  Sit and Reach
4.  Trunk Lifts

and..

5.  The beloved mile run (to be completed in 15 minutes or less in order to pass)

This year, we’ve got a few speedy students..possible future track stars!  Our fastest runner is a girl who ran the mile in 6 minutes and 45 seconds!

So, I have this one student (let’s call him Ebenezer).  Ebenezer isn’t one who speaks up much.  In fact, many times, he seems confused about most of what goes on in a day…but he’s a sweet kid nevertheless.  To run a mile, you have to run 4 laps around the field at school.  After running their 4th lap, students are supposed to come up to me to find out their mile time.  Ebenezer stops to get his time after he “completes” his mile.  I, on the other hand, don’t believe that he finished his mile since he’s one of my slower runners..so I send him off to run one more lap.  Since he’s not a student who speaks up…he complies and proceeds to run an additional lap.  As he’s rounding near the end of the lap, he’s pooped, slowing down, and he only has around 15 seconds left to pass the test.  Out of no where, a group of my 5th grade boys, who’ve already finished their test, leap out of their seats and run up to join Ebenezer for the final stretch.  Shouts are coming from everywhere, counting down the remaining seconds, while cheering him on to finish in time.  The boys and Ebenezer cross the finish line together just in time for him to pass the test.  I love how the boys surrounded him, ran with him and encouraged him to finish strong.  Ebenezer was all smiles after the run..until he brought hand to his mouth, in a ready-to-vomit position.  He then books it to the bathroom.

Turns out I made him run an extra lap..

Oops.

Hello Fellow Bloggers (or blog readers like me),

So Xanga and I kind of had a falling out =P…maybe I’ll be more dedicated to this new blog!  I don’t really know what I’ll be writing about…I’ll probably be sharing random silly things that happen at school with my students.  Hopefully you guys will be entertained with my not-so-daily ramblings.

Well, it’s hard to believe that this school year is almost over.  It feels like it’s been a LONG year, both with work and personally, so I’m kind of ready for summer break.  There are just 11 more teaching days left!  I have yet to decide what I’m going to do with my summer (temp job, tutoring, etc.), but I welcome the break nevertheless.

A funny teaching story:  So I have a student who is probably one of my most challenging students this year.  After school last week, he walks by me (he’s standing with his friends) and starts throwing his hands up in the air all “gangsta” like and says, “Yo! What’s up Mrs. Mo!” Afterwards, I gave him a hard time and the rest of the conversation went like this:

Me: Please do not talk to me like that.  Would you speak to me like that in front of the principal?

Student: No…

Me: Would you speak to me like that in front of your mom?

Student: No…

Me: When you speak to adults, or anyone for that matter, you need to speak to them with respect and I would appreciate it if you would greet me more politely.

Student: What?! But I thought we were homies!!

Me: I ain’t nobody’s homie.