simply homemaker

Hello everyone,

I’ve missed writing to you! The update comes a little late this week because I just came back from the annual vacation (it wasn’t annual before, but thanks to the MBA, it has been for the past two) with my family at our (initially my) favorite beach town.

This last blog of the year marks a very sweet spot in our journey together: six full months of Simply Homemaker! 24 blogs that captured everything that is on my heart, unfiltered. I was reading a couple of them this morning and realized that some of them were full of typos and grammatical errors! But as someone who was trying to become trilingual during this process (by the grace of God I’m still keeping my streak on Duolingo, consistency isn’t my strong suit), I am comfortable making these mistakes as long as I still write once a week and you still get an unfiltered and live update from me! However, thank you so much for still reading and following along; my hope is that one day I’ll write in English as if in Vietnamese, but my journey of becoming trilingual is still quite far away! However, I’m trying.

This blog also marks 10 official days until I leave Vietnam for at least a year before coming home, if I even get to! Time sure did fly, and I have felt so many emotions in the past month. Happiness because I get to be with family and not worry about much else during the holidays. Disappointment because of unmet expectations. Boredom from having to slow down living with my parents who have both retired. Even tears of sadness and anger that I have had to bring to the Lord many times – emotions that I hate feeling but know that feeling them allows me to get over them.

How do I feel now? A little uncertain, but the Lord has taught me about relying on Him so much this past year. I am thankful for this trained muscle – as I am reminded by my church community (Frank Moll from Switzerland who co-leads my young adult Bible study) when I shared my fears and doubts with him this past fall: perfect love casts out fear. Romans 8:38-39, and of course, Psalm 23, have been the prayers of my heart this season.

I’m thankful for friends who continue to text me and a phone call with Victoria this past week! An extrovert at heart, I’m excited to go back to my life filled with being with people, even though I’ve loved this time of reset at my parents’ home.

The beach vacation we just had also has been one of the best vacations I’ve been on. My parents and my brother experienced ziplining for the first time, and I shared a bed with my grandma the entire trip. All of our meals except for 1 were amazing (I love Vietnamese food!). I’m inspired to come back to the States and cook Vietnamese food and overall just have a healthy diet again after my time in Switzerland (goodbye pastries, bread, cheese, and chocolate). We adventured together, went on rollercoasters, tried local food, and walked to the beach. We celebrated New Year together with a little party. These are precious memories I’ll hold on to forever, and I’m so thankful for them!

I celebrated Christmas by myself this year, but Jesus’ presence was enough. It is hard being the only believer in the family, but I am always reminded by the giant family I have in Christ and never feel truly lonely at any time.

I’ve also consumed lots of sourdough and microbakery content in the past month! Excited to see what this next year holds in terms of baking and growing this blog! Some people I’ve followed recently: Farmhouse on Boone, Little Pearls Bakery, and a new local sourdough place: Fermented Hanoi.

2024 flew by in the best way possible. I went from a very sad and confusing year to a year of clarity and adventure. I went from a worrying year to a year of ultimate trust in the One who has formed me in my mother’s womb, even if my mother doesn’t know Him.

And I know, from a year of hiking, that the best view always comes after the hardest climb.

May this next year be filled with the peace of God that passes understanding, the knowing more of His grace in the mundane, and His love in all circumstances. May it be slow, lovely, and simple.

THANK YOU, for being such sweet friends to the blog the past 6 months.

Love,
Tram