Time is such a thief, isn’t that the truth? I could’ve sworn I just finished my Year in Review post for 2021 and here I am, writing another one for 2022. Usually by this time, I’m always asking myself:
Did I live this year in meaningful and fulfilling ways?
Was I present enough for my family and friends?
Did I serve others well with the gift of time and resources God gave me?
What were the lessons I learned from this year?
Did I have any regrets from this year?
Alas, it is a time for introspections and reflections, and that can often be valuable if we’re willing to dig deeper. As I grow older, I am more grateful than ever for the gift of time, health, and mobility. I realize each day that I wake up what a gift it is to be alive. Not only alive, but to be breathing on my own, to have mobility, to have freedom to choose how to use my time, to have such easy access to food and water….I mean, there really is so much that we cannot take for granted!
Omicron was raging at the beginning of 2022, so we hesitated in making any travel plans. I had no idea if we’d end up in another lockdown for the year! But…we ended up traveling to 16 different countries in 2022. 16!!!! That’s a record for us, and in a year where traveling seemed unattainable. One of my favorite Bible verses, Jeremiah 29:11, certainly rang true this year.
“For I know I have the plans for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
This has been such a year of the unknown, and we have leaped into this unknown with the most faith that we’ve ever had. In return, God has shown us over and over again that He remains trustworthy and sovereign.
January 2022— We had big plans to travel to the Middle East to kick start our Worldschooling for the year, but when omicron showed up uninvited, most of the world began shutting down once again. We decided it would be safest to stay put for the time being, and spent the month at home enjoying the down time. We discovered some awesome hiking spots with friends, enjoyed an abundant amount of cozy gatherings, and Bridgette got to focus on catching up with her schoolwork.
February 2022— Lockdowns and travel restrictions around the world remained in place, so we decided to stay put yet another month! This was fine with us, since we had gotten into a steady rhythm back at home again. We got to see a number of our extended family at a Chinese New Year gathering. I celebrated my 45th birthday with a few low-key gatherings amongst my friends and family. Bridgette’s 15th birthday was celebrated throughout the whole month as always. She hosted a small gathering at home with her friends, had a separate sleepover with her bestie Anita, and we took her to LA for a few days to hit up a few of the restaurants she’s been dying to try from Tasty’s Worth It series. The best birthday present for Bridgette was from my cousins Jacqueline and Peter, who took her and one of her good friends Abby to the Justin Bieber concert! It was Bridgette’s very first concert experience and she had an absolute blast!
March 2022—Finally, booster shots were available and the world seemed to have gotten a grip on omicron for the time being, so we got real busy real quickly this month! After celebrating Alan’s birthday, Bridgette and I jetted off again to Dublin, Ireland for a week and then spent another week in Prague, Czech Republic. This trip was the very first time that we had to deal with lost luggages, which, considering how much we travel, already seems like a small miracle. It definitely caused us some hassle, but in the end, we were just very grateful to have found the luggages! Okay, so this month was definitely the most unforgettable and special month for our family, because after Dublin and Prague, we flew to Mexico to participate in a reality tv show! I cannot disclose much about it until it airs, which will be in March 2023, but all I can say is that it was undoubtedly the hardest but most rewarding thing we’ve ever done as a family. We were casted to be on this show late last year, and since then, we tried to prepare ourselves for the grueling competition by hiking and working out more but in reality, I don’t think anything could’ve properly prepared us for what we endured that week. It. was. excruciatingly. difficult. Surviving that week was nothing short of God’s grace and miracle, and we will forever be grateful to have gotten that opportunity to try something so unique as a family because it definitely pushed us to grow in many, many ways.
April 2022— We were home the first couple of weeks in April to mainly recuperate from the grueling competition and to enjoy more time with family and friends. Our dear friend Kirk visited from Ecuador and we had a fun time taking him to all our favorite Asian food restaurants. Bridge and I then flew off again, this time to Croatia, and also got to briefly visit Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was a wonderful trip filled with new experiences that taught us so much. We hunted for truffle in the forests of Motovun, learned all about olive oil production at an olive farm up on the hills of Split, took a boat into the bay at Mali Ston to understand the process of oyster farming, and learned a ton of history between the walls of Dubrovnik’s old town, amongst so many other things. It was Worldschooling at its best, intertwined with fun moments of discovering the best gelato on earth, biking along the streets of Zagreb, and island hopping amongst a few of the loveliest islands of Croatia.
May 2022—This was an incredibly special month. Bridge and I arrived home to celebrate Mother’s Day with our extended family, followed by ALAN’S BAPTISM!!! That’s right, Alan got baptized, praise the Lord! We invited both of our parents to witness this monumental event, along with some of our close friends and Alan’s life group who have been instrumental in his faith journey. I knew it would be a touching moment to witness his public affirmation towards Christ, but I was not expecting how moved we all were. The tears just flowed so freely and unapologetically as I listened to our pastor read Alan’s testimony out loud. Alan’s faith journey was a miraculous one that really revealed God’s glory, and everyone that was a part of it during the last 8 years could attest to that. I am just beyond grateful and honored to have been able to witness this miracle every step of the way. After Alan’s baptism, Bridge and I took off to New York City with my mom, where we attended my cousin’s graduation at Columbia University. We spent a few days there with some of our extended family, and then surprised my mom by taking her to Iceland for the next week! The highlight of Iceland was experiencing the Blue Lagoon, and doing a road trip from Reykjavik all the way to Glacier Lagoon, stopping at so many beautiful waterfalls and picturesque places along the way. My mom loves nature, so she loved every moment of it and took a zillion pictures, lol.
June 2022—Bridge and I were home for just a few days before being completely surprised by my sis who showed up at our doorsteps one evening with Brady. They had arrived early for the summer to surprise us, even though Bridge and I were due to leave for Europe in a few days to meet with Brianne. That certainly made it a bit bittersweet for me to leave for Europe, but we looked forward to spending the summer with them upon our return. Unfortunately, all of us got hit with COVID that very same week. Bridge and I tested positive the moment we landed in London, and as hard as we tried to quarantine ourselves away from Brianne, we eventually passed it onto her as well. Alan, Mimi, and Brady all suffered different levels of symptoms but at least they were all able to quarantine at our house together. In the end, most of our London trip was spent quarantining, but we eventually recovered by the time we were at our next destination–Norway, and I had so much fun with the girls there in both Oslo and Bergen! We returned home just in time for Bridgette to join our church’s youth ministry mission trip to Fairbanks, Alaska where the teens spent a week serving the homeless community there. Alan and I loved having Mimi and Brady in our home and were thankful to get to celebrate Brady turning 6 with a small party at our house. While Bridgette was in Alaska, I also got to do a side trip with my sis, our parents, and Brady to Carmel and Monterey, where we stayed at the beautiful property of Clint Eastwood’s resort there!
July 2022—We spent all of this month back at home, catching up on our rest and enjoying time with family and friends. Brady especially loved hanging out with Bridgette and her friends! I cherished the time I got with my sis, and we even took our parents to a quick trip up to Lake Tahoe for a few days where I finally learned how to wakeboard! It was a relaxing and fulfilling month at home, which I deeply appreciated.
August 2022—After Mimi and Brady left for Hong Kong, we continued enjoying our time at home with lots of fun gatherings with friends and family, including a wonderful dinner at the House of Prime Rib, a fancy girls’ brunch at the new RH Palm Court with my cousins, and a cozy birthday celebration for my mother in law, Bridge and I began bingeing on the Stranger Things series every night with all the lights out and candles lit in our family room, which eventually culminated into a super fun outing at the Stranger Things experience in San Francisco. Mid-month, Alan and Bridgette embarked on their first father-daughter trip to Costa Rica, where they joined a science expedition with the organization Earthwatch to conduct studies on the cetaceans in the ocean. It was a physically exhausting trip for them, but they were also really happy to be participating in such meaningful work. The best part for them was getting to be in such close proximity to dolphins and whales in the wild! During the 10 days that they were gone, I used that time to catch up with many of my friends, including some of my high school buddies and wedding industry buddies!
September 2022—The beginning of the month was unexpectedly busy as I helped a former client plan a small birthday party for their baby’s first birthday. I enlisted Bridgette to be my assistant and not only did she do a remarkable job, but she also discovered that she loves event planning! We sent my parents to Hong Kong and then packed our own bags and flew to Bangkok, Thailand! This was our first trip back to Asia since December 2020, so we were super excited, especially since Alan got to join as well. We spent a week in Bangkok indulging in street food (Alan’s favorite!), strolling through night markets, and getting our comprehensive body check at Bumrungrad International Hospital. Then, we flew to Seoul for a week, followed by another few days in Busan, before we headed home at the end of the month. Although Bridgette and I had been to Seoul about 7 years ago, we had so much more fun this time around because Bridge is now at the age where she loves clothing, skincare, and beauty products and that’s so much of what Seoul is about! Also, we had missed traveling in Asia so much….we definitely had extra appreciation for everything there.
October 2022—Jetlag was brutal for me as usual, returning home from Asia, but Alan and Bridgette jumped right back into their lives rather quickly. Alan had a few work trips to Houston and Florida. Bridge went to the homecoming dance at our local high school with her friends, and then to the annual Fall Camp at Mount Hermon with our church. By mid-month, right when I finally adjusted back to the time zone at home, it was time to leave again. Bridge and I flew to Greece, checking off a long time bucket list destination for me. We spent several days living an absolute dream in Santorini, watching the most magnificent sunrises and sunsets, basking underneath the golden sun, and allowing our minds and bodies to completely rest from the excessive traveling we had been doing. We then took a ferry to the island of Naxos, where I overcame my fear of driving stick shift, and we spent another super relaxing week there exploring all over the island in our cute fiat convertible. We ended our Greek adventures with a few days in Athens, learning all about the Acropolis and Greek history, tasting authentic Greek food, and practicing how to avoid scammers. We arrived home right before Bridgette’s favorite holiday- Halloween, where she dressed up as Taylor Swift from her Reputation album and spent a fun night trick or treating with her friends.
November 2022–You’d think that it would be time to put our passports down by this month, but nope…this was the month of our most anticipated trip of the year! Japan announced the reopening of their borders in September and we were quick to react. In the shortest time span ever, I booked and planned the most thorough 3 week itinerary for us in Japan, where we spent the first week with my parents and uncle in Osaka and Kyoto, followed by a road trip around the countryside in central Japan, and ending at our favorite place in the world–Tokyo! It turned out to be one of the best, most memorable trips for us, even though it did not come without its own challenges. Japan remains our favorite place on earth, and Bridgette is even begging for us to move there, lol.
December 2022—We returned home from Japan and had just a week’s time to participate in one Serve Your City event with our church, where we assembled blessing bags for the unhoused in our community. Bridgette was also looking forward to her first WinterFest with her church youth group at Great America, but that unfortunately got canceled at the last minute due to inclement weather. I organized a surprise dinner for our friends Sheena and Peter to celebrate Peter’s big 5-0, and managed to also catch up with a few other family and friends before Bridgette and I hopped onto a plane again to head to Munich, Germany. I was so NOT ready for the freezing temperatures after a beautiful autumn in Japan. Bridgette was excited to visit the German Christmas markets, as that was something on her bucket list for awhile now. After a week in Munich, we were scheduled to fly to Zurich, Switzerland to meet with Alan to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, but sadly faced a series of canceled flights and another episode of lost luggages due to inclement weather. We did eventually make it to Zurich, one day late and without our luggage, but we were thankful to get to meet up not just with Alan but also the Chuangs! We spent a lovely 2 weeks skiing in Zermatt and exploring Zurich. Alan and I gifted Brianne and Bridgette their very first skydiving experience in Interlaken and they had an absolute blast! We returned home just in time to see our cousins that were visiting from Hong Kong, and to ring in the new year with our friends.
Doing our annual year in review posts always has my mind blown at how much we’ve done throughout the year. While our travels are undoubtedly always the most exciting parts because of the new experiences, what we cherish the most are the times spent with family and friends, both at home and abroad. We continue to be grateful for the people God placed in our lives, whether it’s our crazy extended family, our friends from all different stages of lives, or the people we quickly crossed paths with during our travels. We cherish each and every one of these relationships!
I went into the year a bit nervous for many reasons….the escalation of omicron, the uncertain journey of our Worldschooling, and the news always brought a million reasons to worry. But, God reminded me that each day is a gift, and that we should focus on the present, because the present moment is all we have, and so I tried hard to do that every single day. I’m so glad I did, because I got to enjoy so many remarkable moments throughout the year. This will continue to be my goal as I start the new year ahead of me, and I will remember to lean on God and to trust in His plans in all circumstances!