Gratitude IMHO

As the year comes to a close, I want to have a positive outlook on life so being thankful is a huge way of thinking positive. There are many things I am thankful for but here are five that I'd like to share for this year..

1. Service Dogs

Paddy (left) and Gilda (right)

These dogs are not only cute and loving but they have a seriously big job to do too. Paddy is a 3-yr old grey standard poodle and she is a 'peanut dog'. Her job is to sniff out peanuts anywhere. She keeps her owner, 11-yr-old Nathan, safe because he is highly allergic to peanuts. She goes almost everywhere with him: school. church, playdates, vacations. You might think this is highly odd but let me tell you, I wish I had Paddy with me a few weeks ago. But I am getting ahead of myself (see #4 in this post)

(left) Anatoli-from Gilda's 2nd litter this past April and (right) Darth from her 3rd litter this past October

Gilda is a part lab/golden retriever and she is a breeder dog for the non-profit assistance dog organization, Canine Companions for Independence. All her puppies become assistance dogs all over the country. She is three years old and has had three litters of puppies for a total of 31 puppies to date. Our friends, Amos and Laura, care for Gilda and volunteer for CCI. We watch their puppy-cam and see the puppies grow up right before out eyes before they are given to the agency to start their training, placement and work. We are honored and privileged to know and love these dogs and I think the girls get more excited to see them than their human families! LOL!

2. Books

This is Emily's current To-Read stack.

I cannot do without my books. And I'm happy that my firstborn agrees with me. I didn't get to read as much as last year but I am thankful that I do have the time to squeeze in and do what relaxes me the most other than sleeping!

3. Movies and Family

Watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens with my extended family

When I was growing up, we would watch movies on the weekends at my aunt's house. My cousins especially love watching horror movies which to this day I abhor! And I'll tell you why. My cousin Andy scared me to death one late night when we were watching either Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street. But I do like action movies. When we were all in college, my siblings and cousins would all go see a movie on Thanksgiving or Christmas. So while our parents were cooking dinner, we all went out to see a movie. We saw the Star Wars trilogy, Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible and even Mosquito Coast. That was over 20 years ago.

Now many of us are married with families of our own and when I heard that Star Wars Episode 7 was coming out,  I knew we had to see this all together as a family. We all bought tickets online back in October and came out two hrs before the show started to get seats for all 18 of us. This was an early 8:30am Saturday morning! It was a great movie and great fun to see it all together.

4. Kaiser Permanente

Hannah getting strapped in and transported by ambulance to Kaiser SC; settling in her new room in the PICU

Earlier this month, Hannah had a severe allergic reaction to eating a dumpling at a Chinese restaurant. Unbeknownst to anyone, it must have had some residual peanut something because she immediately had swollen lips, a stomachache and a tight throat. We already know she is allergic to peanuts but she always felt better after I gave her benedryl. It didn't work this time. After consulting with our friend Patrick (Paddy's owners dad), I took her into Kaiser's ER. They immediately zipped her right into a room and gave her an epi-pen, breathing treatment with albuteral and doses of benedryl, steroids and zantac through an IV. The swelling on her face decreased and I hoped she was on the road to recovery.

I was instructed to stay for 8 hours to make sure the allergen is out of her body and that she doesn't have another reaction. I brought a book and was ready to settle in. An hour later Hannah complained about being itchy all over her body. We noticed that her legs were getting red and hives were bubbling up. Then she vomited. So she got another epi-pen dosage, and another set of IV meds. She got over 100 ml of benedryl in her little body. So if you get two epi-pens it means she needed to stay overnight for observation. Since our Kaiser did not have a Pediatric ICU we were transported to Kaiser in SC by ambulance along with a doctor (we got the director of the PICU), a nurse and a respiratory specialist. The care she received from Kaiser was top notch. I am very thankful for all the doctors and nurses who cared for her.

5. The Power of Prayer

You'd think I would just freak out from this hospital visit for Hannah. But I didn't. I was calm throughout the whole time. How? I totally think that it was through prayer that I was so calm. Lots of people were praying for me and Hannah. Our request was even shared at the pulpit by one of our pastors at church on Sunday. I know that anything health or medical related I would worry about because it was something that was out of my control. I couldn't fix it. I knew that I had to depend on someone bigger than me or the doctors to help. Ask for prayer because it's literally the best gift anyone can give you. Prayer never hurts. It always helps.

Well 2015 has zipped by so quickly. I look forward to the new memories 2016 will bring!

2015 Messenger

Volume 22 Issue 1 2015

We hope to find you, our dear family and friends, in good health and in good spirits. Seeing the daily headlines, it's easy to feel the burden of a broken world lay heavy on our heart. We look around our lives and see broken relationships and broken bodies. We yearn for peace and hope for a better world. There is a certain hope that brings peace, and it is why we celebrate this season: that our Lord Jesus came into this world. He has promised redemption and healing for all who believe, so that we would be filled with joy and peace. Our hope and prayer is that you would experience God's goodness and love during this Christmas season.

Matt, Cezanne, Emily & Hannah

At the Dome of the Rock, Temple Mount

EMILY (15 yrs)
We have a high schooler in the house!

Emily giving her salutatorian address.

After 11 years at the same school from Preschool to 8th grade, Emily has finally left the building! But not without leaving with a BANG! She celebrated 5 years playing clarinet in the Advanced Band; received MVP Defense trophy for Girl's Basketball; was part of the Girls Volleyball team for the first time; and gave the Salutatorian address at her 8th grade graduation.

Meeting Lady Liberty

She also celebrated with her 8th grade class by going on a whirlwind one week tour of Washington DC and New York. It was a memorable experience for me to spend time with my first born and her friends seeing our great country's beginnings.

All dressed up on our Dinner Cruise on the Potomac River

Emily hasn't had time to care for her backyard birdies this year but she still loves to see wild birds whenever we are away.

Feeding the sandhill cranes in Canada...again

She also loves to make art whenever she has free time from homework, reading and sleeping. She created this entry for the PTA Reflections Contest this year in high school.

High school has been a big transition for Emily. Coming from a small private Christian school to a very large public high school, she realized that she is just one tiny fish in the big big sea. She was frustrated with the chaos, disorganization and rushed feeling of it all in the beginning but is getting the hang of it now a few weeks in. My daughter is all about order, clarity and calmness. (Hey that sounds like me!) We are thankful that she has plugged into her high school youth group at church which is led by a great couple, the Ingbretsons, of which Mrs. Ingebretson was Emily's bible teacher and one of her favorite teachers at KHA. (She is also one of my favorite friends who I am privileged to meet weekly with and work with at church.) Emily is also learning to receive help from others when needed and it is much needed in her Honors Geometry class. This particular class has been quite a challenge for her and for her parents. It's way over my head and some problems even stump Matthew. We are thankful for her tutor Kyle to help her through those head-aching proofs and theorems.

HANNAH (12 yrs)
Our "baby" has entered middle school and transitioned very smoothly with a sweet group of friends and some very nurturing and patient teachers. Her anxiety for the most part seems to be self-controlled. She still worries often about what tomorrow may bring, and she constantly asks for prayer for her tummy aches. We did name her well. She was named after Hannah in the Bible who fervently prayed to God.

A fancy squishy store

She spent most of the year creating squishies and her own DIY squishy videos but now her attention has been focused on blind bags: purchasing them, making them, and watching blind bag videos and of course making her own blind bag videos. She also loves collecting Tsum Tsum stuffed animals.

Racing like her daddy!

Celebrating her 12th birthday with the Woo's

For her birthday this year she wanted to go to Disneyland. It was her vacation so she planned out all the rides!

With Coconut Yee

Both girls do love hanging out at home especially if we are bunnysitting, which happens at least once a year when our friends go on vacation.

And of course they love spending time with their cousins, Marissa and Timothy, who are both at the same school as Hannah.

MATT
Matthew says that he is feeling old, struggling with knee pain and back pain that comes and goes (usually when he plays basketball). He enjoys being physically active so it is very frustrating for him. He was also disappointed that there wasn't much snow last winter. Hopefully it will be different this winter!

With Owen and Michael

Matthew celebrated 20 years at his work this year! But there have been some changes. Same building, same co-workers, same boss, just a different name. Their division split off from Legacy Partners and is now is called Steelwave. So different right? We are thankful that he works family friendly hours and is able to be home for dinner every night.

Matthew was a tad bit short to fit into Darth Vader's suit but the kids didn't care. He was so hot in that costume!

After work, he is usually busy helping Emily with her Geometry homework, watching Warriors or NFL, or playing one of his numerous iPad games with his 'clans'. He has a servant's heart and is thankful for the opportunities to serve at church: audio/graphics, worship band in English and Spanish services, and teaching Hannah's Sunday school class (5th-6th grade). He also partnered with two friends to start up a men's small group to pray for and encourage each other in their faith journey.

CEZANNE
This year went by so fast I can't believe I actually survived. I keep telling myself that I would do less each year but that is not the case. Even though I am not fundraising for a child's school trip this school year, I am still overseeing the parent group at KHA, teaching the Yearbook elective in the middle school, being involved in Women's Ministries at church, and co-leading a Bible study. I still love to read (I borrowed over 100 books from the library this year!) and continue to write and document my thoughts and adventures on this blog.

As I approach the half century mark next year, I do feel that the more I do, the more I need time alone. To recoup. To rest. To read. My true introvert nature at it's best! I also feel that I can't have any regrets. Life is too short for regrets and I don't want to reflect back on my life thinking, "I should have.. ". So am I taking risks and going skydiving? No way! But I am doing things out of my comfort zone like getting baptized in the Jordan River. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but I am terrified of being in the water! I still don't know how to swim and my face doesn't even get wet when I take a shower.

Being baptized in the Jordan River by Pastor Sherman with Matthew assisting.

FAMILY HIGHLIGHTS:
We had many memorable family highlights this year. Matthew and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary by going on a 16-day trip to the Holy Land with our church family. It was a once in a lifetime trip, one that I will never forget and will always refer to whenever I am reading God's word or listening to a sermon. We visited 69 locations in three countries: Israel, Switzerland and Greece. One of my favorite things about this trip was traveling with friends and deepening our relationships with them. 16 days 24/7 can be a very long time together!

On the Sea of Galilee

Riding camels in Jericho

At the Acropolis in Athens

We also celebrated some wonderful milestones in our family:

Our nephew, Daniel, graduated high school from The King's Academy and is now attending Santa Clara University.

Our godson, Kyle, graduated from Valley Christian High School and is now attending Cal Poly SLO.

 We attended two weddings of cousins..

In Vancouver BC, we celebrated the wedding of Matthews' cousin, Sherman to Elaine.

And in SF, we celebrated the wedding of my cousin, Tiffany to Roy.

We stayed in a house in Monterey for a few days with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law part of the time and also with our friends part time. I didn't realize how special and important these opportunities were to my parents. My mom and dad turned 80 and 75 respectively, and thankfully they are still in good health and enjoy traveling with us where ever we want to go. My brother, Park and his wife Hilda moved to a new house just 11 miles from us. We get together more often now since they are much closer than their old house in SF. Family time is so precious.

It was a great time for my parents. They cherish vacation time with the family.

It's always great to spend time with our friends, the Ngs, too.

And of course we have to get together with my girls group. We celebrated our first kids heading off to college. Susana & Dave's daughter, Caris May is at UC Irvine and Hanford & Marj's son, Isaiah is at Westmont. I can't wait to grow old with these wonderful people. We are already talking about building a 'village' to house us all when our kids are all grown and out of the house.

Yes we will grow old together.

At Fremont Community Church we have been privileged to get to know and be cared for by some wonderful pastors: Pastor Sherman & Marti, Pastor Daniel & Valerie, and Pastor Kevin & Pauline. For almost 2 years we have been praying for a new lead pastor and God answered in his perfect timing. We are so excited and thankful for Pastor Dave and Helen Chae coming to FCC. We look forward to this new season of worshiping and serving our Lord Jesus!

26 years together; 20 years of marriage

Life continues to go not as we planned. This year we have seen too much pain and suffering from those who are close to our hearts: death; broken marriages: separation and divorce; serious illnesses: cancer, Alzheimer's, kidney disease, depression; teenage self-abuse: cutting, anorexia; and job discontentment. Life is not fair. Life can be hard at times.

The question is: How do you make it through the difficult times? When the going gets rough?

Jesus is our certain hope. He loves me unconditionally, despite all my shortcomings and failures. Despite my disobedience. His love envelopes me and sustains me in this broken world we live in. Our wish is that you would also experience this. May you have a hope-filled Christmas.