simply homemaker

I just turned 25!

What a lovely day and what a lovely year.

It’s 8:42PM on August 17, which means I have been 25 for 8 hours and 42 minutes. You see, I was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and it’s already 8:42AM on August 18 where I was born, so my birthday is already 1/3 the way through.

It’s been that way for 8 years today. 8 years living away from home, celebrating this day with people who I call family. Two years ago was the one time my parents and brother were in the United States for my birthday. They gave me the sweetest birthday party with a lot of flowers, a home cooked dinner, and lots of love. In the many years that have gone by, I’ve truly never lacked.

The first year being away from home, my roommate Veronica, who is still one of my closest friends, baked me a birthday cake in the basement of our dormitory and we shared the cake with whoever would stop by (shout out to Cameron Vance from the basement boys).

The second year being away from home, I was serving freshman students on my birthday, which was also the day of the Chancellor’s Assembly. The Chancellor played 15 minutes of fireworks on the evening of my birthday. It was the beginning of a college career filled with pouring into students and getting so much joy and growth out of it.

The third year being away from home, I was a junior in college starting my first year as a resident assistant. My friend Tiffany took me out to breakfast in downtown Fort Worth and gave me a beautiful pair of earrings. My residents stopped by and said happy birthday all throughout the day.

The fourth year being away from home, I was really solidifying my group of friends and was so happy to have an amazing group of girlfriends my senior year of college. Emily, Emily, Veronica, Victoria, and I went to Cheesecake Factory for my 21st birthday (I never really ate out during college until that year so Cheesecake Factory was my favorite restaurant in town back then). It was a fun night in downtown Fort Worth with the girls! I forgot my ID on my 21st birthday, of course, and none of us got a drink because I couldn’t get one. Thinking back on it, that’s exactly how I wanted it to be. It was so, so simple and sweet, my heart could burst with gratitude for my girls.

The fifth year being away from home, I was living in a new city, a new state, working a brand new job as a college graduate. A month before my birthday, my friend Emily King called me and said she’d like to come visit on my birthday. Another friend of ours who has her birthday the day before mine wanted to come along. EK had a friend who just moved to DC (where I was living) so she tagged along, and her birthday is day after mine. So three birthdays, one trip. We watched the sunset at the Lincoln Memorial and came back the next morning to watch the sunrise. It was just a blast.

The sixth year being away from home, my parents came visit! I told you how amazing it was. After my birthday, we went to New York City, had the best Korean food, toured the Statue of Liberty, and went to a Broadway show together. And then after New York, we flew to Boston to move my brother into college! It was such a special summer and I cannot be more thankful to have spent that with my family.

The seventh year being away from home, I lost my job, broke up with a boyfriend, went on a coastal road trip, and flew home to stay with my parents all summer. We took a 2-week vacation to Australia (a pure gift from God to spend time with my parents), and my parents gifted me 3 days in Melbourne by myself, which I used one day to hike Mount Bishop. I had 5 weeks to spend with my grandmother, and we flew back to my hometown to see my extended family. I spent the day in the country where my dad grew up, and saw allll of his family, including my aunts, uncles, great uncles, great aunts, and all of my cousins. I even got to see my best friend from 6th grade and stayed with her for three days. I could not, and still can’t put the whole experience into words. The Lord knew I sorely needed it. I came back to the U.S. and started my MBA the next day, celebrating my birthday in class with brand new friends. I came home to two girlfriends I made just that year, who lived ACROSS the courtyard from me (praise the Lord) and who have prepared me a sweet birthday cake with candles. One of them is in Texas with me this year! I was a happy, grateful girl that day and summer.

The eighth year being home, I had one of the hardest years in a brand new way. Not having a stable job, babysitting and giving tours all year to pay for my rent, and having a really old car that had several problems, was really hard. At one point, my savings ran out and I realized I could not pay rent and tuition and a mandatory trip to Berlin, Germany and a trip I signed myself up for to go study abroad in Switzerland for 3 months. So for over 2 months, I lived in 5 different houses and made amazing new friends. I read books and books of Mercy Watson, a pig who eats toast with loads of butter on it, and even wrote a song about this pig, to very spunky and sweet Wieniewski kids who I took to the park and made cookies with. I came back to that house for Easter. I did my business class final study on the Ruffins’ white board that homeschools 6 children, and they loved that I did that. They have become my family. I stayed in my friend Brooke’s basement and watched Madame Secretary with her and her roommate every night (a rare sighting of me watching anything) and we made oatmeal and just had sweet conversations. I had a whole house to myself at Ms. Diane’s house, who was so sweet and kind to me, and continued to invest in me even after I left their home. I can write on and on about this time and how the Lord lavished blessings on me through people in my life, and I can only write about it because He proved faithful and sovereign to me when I thought it was going to be so hard and so difficult and impossible. I simply cannot believe how blessed I was.

And here I am, living with Ken and Julie this summer, cozied up in the bedroom upstairs after spending an hour in the pool playing volleyball with my friend Blair who was visiting Fort Worth for my birthday. We had quite the most fun day at the Stockyards, learning line dancing, eating way too much BBQ, watching the rodeo, eating icecream, and just going to all the western stores. I TRULY thought I was going to have to give my car up this past week, when Ken fixed my broken car trunk door this morning, and jumped my car, and suddenly, I had a car again. That alone was a birthday gift.

Tomorrow is a new day of a new year. I know it will be hard, and it will be a lot of growth, but I also know the Lord holds me fast.

I do pray that Jesus would hold me fast. That I remember to give thanks to Him in all circumstances. That I am able to count all things joy. That I know He is Lord over everything and everybody, and that He alone is worthy of my life.

“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.” Malachi 4:2

Thank you, very much, for being a friend of mine, and being a friend of mine at all times. It’s been a joy to share my life through this little platform with you, and I am so grateful for another year knowing you. I ask Jesus for ways to know, serve, and love you better.

Love,

Tram