Looking back at 2019...

One of my favorite posts of the year... I thoroughly enjoyed this year's Looking Back post.  This year, I wrote a whopping 183 posts.  That's an average of 15.25 posts per month, 3.5 posts per week, or 0.5 posts a day.

2019... was a special year.  To 50% of the population, it marks the end of the decade, the decade that shall be known as the Naughts or the Tens.  It's actually NOT a prime number.  It was the year we embraced the end of the Skywalker Saga. A year where I can't find a list of top 10's for the year, but a bunch of videos.  A year where our USWNT took the nation by storm while Tiger roared back and dawned another Green Jacket. A year where I can't bear to see another child's blood shed.  A year of civil unrest and protests (Foreshadowing my Looking back at the 2010's post).  A year of natural disasters (Foreshadowing my Looking back at the 2010's post). And it was the year that we saw an impeachment. 

That was for the world... but as for me... here is my top 10 for 2019.  Starting selfishly with the Honorable Mentions - surely there will be, with 183 posts!!!

1. 溫婉嫻靜 - my Nui Nui Ju... as penned by her Chinese School teacher.  No compliments have come close to shadowing these four characters that I can't even fully comprehend. 
2. Nui nui woes - my heart aches as I type this knowing that it'll get worse before it gets better. 
3. Awana - 4 months into the program... I can barely recite one bible verse.  Both kids have it rolling off their tongues. 
4. Summer Nomads - week after week, we took the kids to a new camp.  They found new friends. Their normal...as simply chaos.  And in the midst of all that chaos... we had that one day at Lucky's where we had a beautiful scavenger hunt.

And without further ado... in reverse order....

1. Let's Proclaim 2.0 - yet, another 10 weeks of leading kids to question their faith and ultimately give a speech about why they believe in Christ. And I'm still at awe of how I was able to lead that one boy and teach him public speaking... in Mandarin.
2. Reconnecting 2019 - a promise I made to {{someone}} where I reconnected with the Fab-5, Nancy and my Coach.  I originally set out to reconnect with my ex'es... but in the end.... some hatchets are probably better left buried. 
3. LEAD Summit - Luminate.  Elevate.  Activate. Duplicate.  "Conversion comes after discipleship."  To be a pioneer of this effort... with zero experience... with even less expectations... in the end... it was my standout SJCAC moment of the year.  
4. Bed Bugs - "Good night.  Sleep tight."  OMG... Just when we thought we cleaned and tossed everything... Just when the exterminators nuked the house... Just when we thought we can buy everything we can buy...   
5. Project 21 - Of the 21 things... I may have accomplished 2-3 of them? And when I apologized to NN for not helping her accomplish her goal (running a 10 minute mile) and me failing on my 21 projects... she gladly offered up, "That's ok Bah-B, we can do it before the end of the SCHOOL year!"  BOOM... just extended Project 21 for 5 more months.
6. Family Fads - we come about 5 years late to these these fads, but boy did it transform our family.  
1. Beyblades - SW was so addicted, focused and dedicated, he designed multiple blades out of Lego, to a point where his blades were able to transform with just a few touches, so he can make instant upgrades.  He'll wake up and start tinkering.  Come home from school and modify it.  He'll spend hours designing, testing and enhancing his blades.  The opportunity finally presented itself culminating in our recent succumbing / spoiling of the starter kit... followed by a half dozen new blades for Christmas.  Rarely does a day go by where you don't hear "Let it RIP!!!!!!!!!!!" 
2. Pokemon Cards - SW got his first set of cards 2 years ago, not cuz he knew what they were, but because everyone else in school had it. 2 years later... we dive head first into the game.  And then the game exploded when we got the Costco expansion decks.  And started reading the graphic novel and watching the show on Netflix.  To this day, we still don't know how to play the game the real way... *shrug*
3. Pokemon Go - What started as a treat during a half-day resulted in days and nights where I Uber my family around looking for raids, gyms and poke-balls.  Mo liu?? Yes... very much so.  And these mo-liu moments will last forever in our family's memories.
7. The Shaw-HANK Redemption and Kintsugi - ever crawl through 5 football fields of sh!t smelling foulness? Ever repair the unrepairable? (Looking up to the heavens...and still wondering...)
8. PCS 2019 - haven't written a post about this yet.  The two biggest things out of this experience... is 1) I need to repair my relationship with mom and 2).....
9. Transformation Continues - A year where she led worship with me at Prayer Meeting... a year where she sacrificed her body (literally) for her daughter at camp... a year where she stepped into the hidden spotlight of translating a sermon... this was yet another year where I find myself in love, more than ever, with my wife.  
10. "Where dreams come true" - By itself... it already stood on the Mt. Rushmore of 2019.  But it came as a pair... how can the mouse ears not rule the year? A year where we not only go on a Disney Cruise, we also visit the "Most Magical Place on Earth."  In all honesty... I'm not a fan of either of these trips.  But when the love of your life has her dreams fulfilled.... and the kids echo saying "best vacation ever", you can only smile... nod... and not look back...