Thanksgiving

The act of giving thanks is a blessing. This year I am thankful for so many things. It's hard to know where to begin since I seem to be surrounded by blessings that I cannot contain. I'll start by saying how amazed I am at the love and mercy of our Savior. There is nothing we can ever do to earn His love, but He is forever Faithful. What a Mighty God I serve!

I'm thankful that I have a wonderful family waiting at home for me. :) I can't wait to see you and wrap my arms around each one of you. Thank you for sending me packages, emails, texts, pictures, e-cards, calling me and just finding ways to show that you love me. I love you so much.

To my dear friends reading my blog, thanks for keeping up with my crazy adventures. :) Hope you enjoy the stories and pictures of my life in Taiwan.

To each and every one, I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with love and appreciation for the small things in life.

I'm thankful for each night I can see the moon and stars.

I'm thankful for tea. :)

I'm thankful for music. (Especially the Christmas music I'm listening to now.)

I'm thankful for the protection of the Lord that goes with me wherever I go.

I'm thankful for memories of childhood that I can smile at and be proud to share.

I'm thankful for text messages that I can send back home through my email.

I'm thankful for all the conveniences in Taiwan (like 7, food stalls and tea shops)

I'm thankful for teaching English because it gives me needed experience and money. haha Annnnd I really love doing it.

I'm thankful for this opportunity to be in Taiwan.

I'm thankful for the new experiences and stretching that has come along with them.

I'm thankful for all the new friends I'm making and for the old friends who stay my friend even after they get to know me. ;)

I'm thankful for "The Christmas Waltz" by the Carpenters that's playing at this moment. It's so fanciful and lovely to listen to.

I'm thankful for the lessons that come from every-day life. Today, I was working on a crocheting project and trying to make a pretty border. I've been working on it, tried several things and nothing seemed to give me the look I was going for. Then today, I did one row of a scallop-like edge and then went back over it with a loopy chain pattern. Finally, I started to see something I liked and had been trying to create. It turns out that it just took more than one row. When you don't get the results you're looking for the first time around, trying building upon the foundation you already have instead of ripping it out and starting over. You may find that the pattern you're looking for just needs a few more layers.

I'm just thankful for life. The ups. The downs. The good news. The bad news. If we couldn't experience the negative feelings in life, we wouldn't appreciate the beautiful moments.

Stop to smell to roses this holiday season. Take time to tell people you love them. Interrupt your schedule to make someone feel special. Stop to take pictures along the way. One day, you'll be glad you did.

With much love~
Kate

Joy to the World!!! He rules the world with Truth and Grace!

Here are some pictures from the past few days or so. I've been so busy with taking classes, preparing lessons and teaching English, plus daily routines, that I haven't had time to be on the computer long enough to blog. Sorry for my neglect. :) I know that this will be worth it one day when I'm old and I can't remember any of the details of this trip on my own. :)
Outside of one of the buildings in which I attend class. "Remain soft-spoken and forgiving, even when reason is on your side." Definitely a quote to live by ~

The man who helped me with my visa extension

Me and Brittany waiting to get my passport back. They were actually very quick! I was shocked!

A cartoon that I couldn't resist taking a picture of during this festive time:

This is a sign for "My Country Talk." It's a series of events that's put on by the Office of International Affairs at the university. It invites students from different countries who are currently studying at NCHU to come and share some of the culture of your country with other students and faculty. I presented last week for the US and talked about Christmas, the reasons behind it, some of our traditions and then taught them "The 12 Days of Christmas." It was great fun.

Me and my roommates having a crocheting/knitting "party" in our room ... we were actually up pretty late that night. ^-^

I've resorted to "mixing my drinks" haha ... There is a 7 sooo close to our dorm so Brittany and I often walk there at night when the other shops are closed to get something to quench our thirst. This particular night, I wanted to try something new so I bought sprite and grapefruit tea and mixed them. It was pretty yummy ~
Leaves that I keep in my room *heart* I'm doing my part to enjoy fall. Thanks Mom for sending me some leaves. :) The real leaf in the picture was one I picked up walking about campus. It fell off of a magnolia tree, I think. There are a lot of those here.

Yesterday, I went to lunch with some friends and we had a great time.

Thanks to Andreas' long arms, we got all four of us in the picture without asking for someone to help us take it.



P.S. A note on Taiwanese shopping culture at 大賣家：Someone needs to tell the people who make the tags for the items here that "F" meaning "Free" is not a size ... I'm pretty sure they mean, "One size fits most." To add to the confusion, some of the items tagged "F" aren't even the same size. haha Thankfully, the items I purchased last night happened to fit. :)