Band Lasts

Since Emily is in her last year at KHA (after 11 long years), she has had many 'lasts'.

This is her last year in band. She is the only 8th grader and only clarinetist in the Advanced Band.

Performing in the Christmas Musical

At The Fremont HUB Shopping Center

This year ACSI Honor Band Performance was at Ripon Christian School in Ripon (that's near Modesto if you didn't know.. I didn't). Twelve Christian schools were represented and 174 students performed four new and unfamiliar songs they had to learn in 7 hours for an evening concert performance that same day.

Honor band

 Emily was again one of the first string clarinets seated right in front of the conductor.

She had to learn four classical pieces:
"Go Galop" Henry Fillmore
"Precious Lord, Take My Hand"
"Peer Gynt Suite #1" by Edward Grieg
"Mountain of the Sun" by Rob Grice

Below is a clip from "Mountain of the Sun"

Below is a clip from "Peer Gynt Suite #1"

Very bittersweet... an accumulation of 5 years in band at KHA.

An extra BONUS was we got to reconnect with long time friends from FCC who moved out to Ripon five years ago.

The Lan Family: Phil, Stevie, Bobbie, and Jonnie (not pictured Logan, son #2)

Boys Will Be Boys

During the first week of January I got two additions to my family for a week. My nephews, Joshua and Zachary, came to stay with us while their parents celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in Hawaii. They didn't have school (They got 3 weeks off for Christmas Break and their older brother, Daniel, went on a 12th grade trip to London.)

Shopped for Legos and video games.

I learned a lot about boys while they were here. You may remember that I had Zachy for a week last year but adding another boy, especially an older brother, changed the experience significantly. For those who have boys, please humor me and bear with my 'discoveries'.

1. Boys (at least from the ages of 11 - 14) LOVE to play computer games.

It's the first thing they do when they wake up and last thing they do before going to bed.

First thing in the morning and still in their pjs

Seriously they are obsessed with it. They each brought a laptop. The last time Zachy was here he was only allowed to bring his DS. That limited his playing time plus he interacted with the girls more so when his DS was out of battery power or the game was finished. Not with the laptop. It was endless. Since the girls had school and I had to work, I left them home alone the majority of the time. It was only into day 2 or 3 that I realized they were skyping friends through their computers. I was wondering who they were talking to when only one was in the room. Apparently my sister says this is a common occurance at their house.

1.5 Because they love to play computer games, our internet was S-L-O-W!! Boy was it slow and I couldn't figure out why for the longest time! My brother-in-law calls them 'internet hogs'.

Zachy says it was so exhilarating playing with the new toy!

They did take a break to play with the girls though. Hannah got a new bow and arrow set so they took turns shooting their stuffed animals on the upstairs ledge.

2. Boys are messy.

These are all clean clothes!

My sister packed 7 full days worth of clothing for each boy. They had 7 sets of pj's, 7 pairs of pants, etc. and they wore everything for one day only. I did a TON of laundry for them. After I folded it nicely for them, I placed it on their bed for them to put away into their luggage. My vision of 'putting it away' did not match theirs.

3. Boys are picky eaters.

Everyone was done eating except Zachy. Still working on his green beans. 'Nasty tasting' he says.

Ok.. that is not entirely true. Just my Zachy is a picky eater. His common food items can be counted in two hands. Our goal for him that week was to try something new each day, preferably a vegetable item. Boy was he resistant! A very-strong-willed-stubborn-boy, my sister says .. but he does it with a smile.
Food items he ate were:
- 11 pieces of cooked carrot from Chinese soup (11 because that's how old he is)
- green beans with bacon (he so hated this.. almost gagged when eating 2 tiny pieces)
- garlic onion flavored pistachio nuts (this was new...he loved these!)
- stir fried napa cabbage (this was also new...he actually ate a few pieces and didn't gag)

3. Boys can be very helpful.

My sister told me to put the boys to work since they are literally just playing all day long. So each child, including the girls, took turns washing the dishes. One person would wash and another would rinse.

Joshua was first and he had to wash. And that literally is what he would do. He'll wash and leave all the soapy dishes in the sink.

Joshua diligently washing.. and that's all he did.. just wash.

When Zachary washed, Matthew noticed that the dishes were still dirty when it was passed to him to get rinsed. So he switched places with Zachy.

Zachy washing.. or at least he tried to wash.

But Zachy kept splashing the floor with the water when he rinsed. That's okay. I got my floor cleaned too!

Zachy wiping up my floor without us asking.

I realized that the boys aren't used to washing and rinsing since they use a dishwasher back home. Unfortunately our dishwasher is broken because we rarely use it.

They also vacuumed my whole house and raked my leaves in the backyard.

4. Boys are early risers and are loud.

Kids gathering for devotionals.

They slept in our office/guest room which is right next to my bedroom. Seven AM on the dot the computer goes on and they are talking away to each other and to their friends. It doesn't matter if it's a weekday or weekend or if they stayed up late the night before. (Matthew kept them up one night until 12:30am, which their parents would never allow, just so they can sleep in the next night. NOPE.. didn't happen.)

My family are late risers. very late.. like Emily and I could sleep until lunchtime. Actually Emily's latest waking up was 2pm. AND when my girls wake up they would quietly entertain themselves. You don't even know they were awake. We are a quiet household.

Not these boys. They were loud! I could hear them clearly through our wall! Every night Matthew would have devotions and prayer with them and the girls before bedtime, and they would be laughing and talking very loudly the whole entire time. At least they're enjoying their devotional time with God!


5. Boys can self entertain.

Boys in the way back watching the KHA boys basketball game with Matthew and Emily.

Yep.. that good ol' Nintendo DS! Emily had two basketball games that week so on those days I dragged the boys with me to school while I taught, and through the girls and boys basketball games since I was scorekeeper for both teams. We would leave the house at 1pm and not get home until after 6pm. And they never complained. And they actually watched their cousin play basketball.. that is after their DS' battery died.

6. Boys like crab.
Well at least these two do. On their last night with us, my brother and his wife joined us for dinner at Ray's Crab Shack to eat crab! Both boys shared one whole crab.

Crab is good!

They were so looking forward to this evening. We had a great time!

Matthew had a whole crab to himself; I had shrimp and Hannah had garlic noodles.

My brother, Park and Hilda shared shrimp and crab.

And because this place is 'eat with your hands', they got to play with their food.

Hannah made a snowman out of rice, and french fries.

Afterwards.. they self-entertained again.

Zachy on his DS.

Never a dull moment with family!

So full!

But there is always room for dessert! Menchies yogurt!

It was nice having the boys over to spend time with their cousins.  And I now understand why God gave me girls!

Shy? Not Really

Introvert? Most Definitely.

I am drawn to articles that talk about introverts and am always curious to see where I am in the introvert - extrovert spectrum. Personally I feel that I am an introvert. Others that know me well may beg to differ in my opinion. I know that working in advertising where I had to frequently make presentations to clients and then foraying into the teaching realm may seem to attract an extroverted-type person. I did 'learn' to be an extrovert but deep deep inside I am a true introvert.

This article just affirms and validates who I think I am.

"10 Ways Introverts Interact Differently With The World" by Alena Hall for the Huffington Post was very eye opening. She quoted Susan Cain's study "The Power of Introverts" indicating that the trait of introversion is different from being shy. Cain says, "Shyness is about fear of social judgment. Introversion is more about how do you respond to stimulation, including social stimulation. Extraverts really crave large amounts of stimulation whereas introverts feel at their most alive and their most 'switched on' and their most capable when they are in quieter, more low-key environments."

Below are 9 out of 10 ways I, an introvert, agree on how I physically interact with the world around me differently than extroverts.

 1. They withdraw in crowds. Yes, crowds easily overstimulates me and drains me of my physical energy. And Yes even if I know everyone.


2. Small talk stresses them out, while deeper conversations make them feel alive. Yes, I treasure my one-on-one deep conversations. Small talk, more general topics like the weather, movies etc. I don't really enjoy much.
 
3. They succeed on stage--just not in the chit-chat afterwards. Yes, I can teach a class of 40 kids, present to a group of 15 adults but right afterwards engaging with strangers who heard me speak is oh so not fun. I want to slip away from the crowd after I get off the stage. At least half of people who speak for a living are introverted in nature.
 

4. They get distracted easily, but rarely feel bored. Yes, I can get very impatient, antsy in a large group looking around feeling very out of place.  But if I'm in a corner by myself with a book in my hand I am happy. "Because of their sensitivity to their surroundings, introverts struggle with feeling distracted and overwhelmed in large groups but when they are in a place of peace and quiet, they have no problem in diving into a good book or working on a favorite hobby."

5. They are naturally drawn to more creative, detail-oriented and solitary careers.  Yes, I enjoyed media planning when I was in advertising and teaching also due to the lesson planning. It's the executing that was not so fun but overall I'd love to be in a room all by myself and make lists and plans details and make more lists and more plans.
 
6. When surrounded by people, they locate themselves close to an exit. Oh YES.. that is why I always sit on an aisle seat either close to the front or way in the back both next to the exit doors at church.

7. They think before they speak. OK , I admit, this does not apply to me. I wish I had this trait. I wouldn't get into trouble as much.

8. They don't take on the mood of their environment like extraverts do.Yes, I don't seem to connect well with crowds. Instead I feel awkward and out of place, almost every single time.

9. They physically can't stand talking on the phone. Oh YES that is so me. They say most introverts screen their calls because the intrusive ringing of the phone forces them to abandon focus on what they were doing and most phone conversations require a certain level of small talk that introverts avoid. My cell phone plan has unlimited minutes a month and I use like less than 100 a month, if any.
 

10. They literally shut down when its time to be alone. YES that is so me. I treasure my alone time and the more busy I am the more I so desire it. Susan Cain says. "Solitude matters and for some people, it is the air that they breathe."

Bottom line, I like to read about this info and share this information because I am always looking for ways to understand people and the only way we can truly understand one another is to understand how God made them, to understand their upbringing or background and to see things in their point of view. It is so easy to judge without knowing the whole truth. As a teacher, I need to understand who my students are and how God made them and their family life to be able to fruitfully teach them what they need to know. No one is exactly the same.

The more we understand others the more we can all get along. And that's what we need more in the world. Less criticism and more love!

What are you? An Introvert or Extrovert? It'll help me understand you better!

Gratitude IMHO

I'd like to end the year 2014 on a positive uplifting note. No matter how bad things can be in our lives, and it can get pretty hard sometimes, there are always things we can be thankful for. Gratitude is the best attitude to bring us through difficulties.

This may not be a fancy picture but it simply shows what I am so thankful for this past year.

1. Our Public Library:
Yes I cannot say enough of how awesome my public library is. I saved hundreds of dollars plus bookshelf space at home by borrowing books from the library.  I borrowed 155 books just this year alone. Which leads me to..

1.5. Kindle:
The rest of the books I read were Kindle ebooks on my iPad.What a wonderful space saver- so handy when I'm traveling.

2.  Starbucks:
Did you know that when you get those free rewards on your gold card that you can get a drink, pastry OR sandwich for free?!?! I did NOT know that! And here I am ordering a "venti" hot chocolate because I wanted to spend the most money on an item. So I ordered the new turkey stuffing panini and it was not bad.. not bad at all.. for free that is!

3. Lemon Bars and Chocolate Chip cookies:
Homemade dessert pastries.. I have no will power over them. My friend, Diane, made these lemon bars "at the last minute, on a whim" for a school bake sale and I just loved them so much that I bought 7 pieces. That's 7 bucks baby! And my sister's homemade chocolate chip cookies are to die for. Just the right amount of chocolate chewy gewy goodness. Oh so heavenly!

4. My KHA Students:

Out of this graduating class, I had taught 12 of these students five years ago

I think it's the mother in me that I have a love for my former students. To remember how they were when I taught them and who they have become now. It's bittersweet to see my former third graders as graduating 8th graders this year. I am proud to see how they have grown up to be beautiful and handsome young men and women, who are continually respectful (at least in front of me). I'm proud of their accomplishments academically, athletically and spiritually. I've been enjoying teaching Yearbook class this year, teaching three of these former students.

5. Friends:
I don't know about you but I don't like to ask for help much.  Funny that I love to help others but I just don't like asking for help for some reason. But when I'm in pain.. desperate excruciating debilitating pain.. I swallowed my desire to take care of myself and called for help. You see, I had sprained my muscles in my back, right next to the L5-S1 discs. I was in excruciating pain from every minor movement I made. So much pain that I got dizzy, my vision was blurring and I was in cold sweat holding my screams inside. I called my bff Helen and begged her to take me to the ER. I was that desperate. And she quickly came with back up. My friend Tony (also Emily's band teacher and our school's music teacher) came with Helen. He prayed over me and all of a sudden, I'm not kidding you, I was able to walk to the phone to call the advice nurse. The power of prayer is awesome! Well to make a long story short .. the news of me being hurt spread throughout the school and I received many texts and emails throughout the day with encouragement and prayers. I truly felt so loved and cared for from afar. I was in such a horrible state and wanted to die from the pain. Actually I really wanted an epidural! Praise God that Helen stayed with me, took me to the doctors, and made sure I was settled at home before she went back to work. She even did my dishes for me. True friends do your chores for you!

Another amazing friend is our friend Stanley. He is what I call a "God-given" friend. I first met Stanley back when I was attending church in Oakland when I was in my 20's. And Matthew met Stanley through me when we were dating. Little did we know that Stanley "knew" Matthew way back when he was nine years old! You see, during Sunday School class, Stanley and his classmates each drew a picture of a missionary family that the church was supporting. They posted the picture on their missionary wall and prayed for this family during that the school year. Guess who Stanley's missionary family was? It was Matthew's family, who were missionaries in the Philippines at that time. Little did each of them know that they would eventually meet and become friends. Almost 40 years after Stanley drew this picture, his former Sunday School teacher gave it to him last month and he in turn gives it to us this week. What a small small world! God had His hand on our friendship starting at the very young age of 9, even though we didn't meet until several decades later!
 (It's like that story in the news of the little boy who wrote a letter and sent an Operation Christmas Child Box to a child in the Philippines and 15 years later he connects with the little girl (now a young woman) that received his box and now they are married! Who knew?!?!)

There is nothing left to chance in life. Everything happens for a reason. I am thankful that we have a God that loves us so much that He places these very special people in my life.

As we look forward to a brand new year, my prayer for you is that you see many blessings, that you stop and 'smell the roses' and know that He loves you.

Happy 2015!

2014 Messenger

Volume 21 Issue 1 2014

We are thankful to God for you: family, friends and faithful readers of my crazy ramblings of food, fun, friends and family. We hope that you can make time to reflect on the true meaning of this season: CHRISTmas. Through the hustle and bustle of life, we truly treasure the peaceful times. Christ gives us His gift, "I am leaving you with a gift - a peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives." John 14:27

May the upcoming new year be filled with "peaceful" moments!

Matt, Cez, Emily & Hannah

Visiting Seattle Space Needle for the first time

Bonus Stats:
How many members in Matt’s clan are under the age of 18? 13 out of 30

The longest book Cezanne read this year? 725 pages

How many nail designs did Emily create herself this year on her fingers? 33

How many squishes did Hannah make herself? 69

EMILY (14 yrs)
Emily is a diligent and hard worker in all that she does. Her strength is in academics, where she ribboned at the the ACSI Math Olympics and was also selected to participate in the Honor Guard (reserved for the top students) during 7th grade. This year in 8th grade she is taking ASL (American Sign Language) as well as US History, Physical Science, and Algebra. I can officially say with humility that my daughter is now smarter than me. I have no clue what she is learning and could not help her in any of those subjects. It’s way over my head unfortunately. That’s what happens when you teach 3rd grade for so long.  My mind stops there!

We are also proud that Emily steps out of her comfort zone to do new things, things that neither of her parents have ever done! In 7th grade she decided to try out for basketball and ended up with the Rookie Defensive MVP award. This year she ran for student body Vice President and delivered a rousing campaign speech. She was a little heartbroken when she lost, but in our hearts we knew that it did not diminish her accomplishments at all.

This year's 8th grade Honor Guard Attendants at Veteran's Day Chapel

Immediately after the ceremony of the flags, Emily jumped right into the band to perform.

Emily loves expressing her creative side. She designed a Bible verse poster that was selected to be printed and posted at school. She also enjoys coming up with new nail art designs and learning about hair braiding and other hair styling techniques. With her busy schedule (band before school, basketball/homework after school), our backyard birds have been a little neglected this year, but Emily still loves her wild birds. One of her highlights was visiting a wild bird sanctuary just outside of Vancouver, BC, where she was so happy to hand feed Sandhill Cranes.

Emily and a wild Sandhill crane

Working hard at the Fall Family Festival to raise money for her Washington DC trip

HANNAH (11 yrs)
Hannah had a very happy 4th grade year at KHA (no anxiety attacks) and now is in a 4/5 combo with the same teacher she had last year. The majority of her friends are still in her class and she enjoys spending time with everyone. She is my social butterfly. Emily can be happy with one friend... Hannah needs a bunch!

Best friends with her sister

She also changes her interests as often as the weather changes. Everything I wrote about in last year's Messenger, she is no longer interested in. Currently she is into squishes and making "youtube" videos talking about her squishies and also how to make them. (A squishy is a decorative foam sculpture like a stress ball but cute-looking. The squishier and cuter the better.) She is very creative and loves to create her own special squishes to ‘sell,’ complete with custom made tags and cellophane packaging. Her videos are always addressed to her viewers, asking them to click like, subscribe, follow, etc... but none of the videos are actually uploaded to youtube.

Checking out a Squishy store in SF

While Hannah is our talker and loves telling us about her day in detail, she is not a performer (despite her fake youtube channel). We were proud of her taking part in the ACSI Speech Meet, something that was very difficult for her to do. We are very thankful that her separation anxiety has improved greatly, but she's been experiencing performance anxiety this year related to all different kinds of school activities, and not necessarily being in front of people. We would appreciate your prayers as we seek out therapy to help her.

MATT
My husband has had a very busy year at work. He has been going to different locations so I never know where he's coming home from each day.. He is all over the Bay Area and I am just thankful that he comes home for dinner every night. Despite the crazy workload, he is happy to work with a good group of people and to have a stable and satisfying job.

Snowboarding with Owen at Northstar

When work isn't too crazy, Matthew enjoys playing basketball, although he hurt his knee and had to take a break (like wife like husband). He's been faithfully leading a men's bible study, playing guitar and working the audio and graphics at church (not all at the same time), and also helping teach Hannah's 5th/6th grade Sunday school. During the winter his favorite activity is snowboarding, and his favorite indoor activity is Clash of Clans and whatever other iPad games he plays. Let's just say the iPad is attached to his hands when he comes home.

High school reunion pre-gathering with the guys

Celebrating his youngest cousin, Jonathan's high school graduation from King's Academy

CEZANNE
I am amazed on how fast this year went by. The busyness never ended and I have felt at many times pulled apart in numerous directions to the point it was affecting my health. But God is gracious and merciful. He has allowed me to continue to do what I enjoy. Like last year, I oversee the parent group at our school, which runs many of the all-school fundraising projects. I also teach Yearbook class, and substitute teach when needed.

Besides the all-school fundraisers, I'm also involved with 8th grade fundraising for Emily's Washington DC trip in May. In September/October I was juggling 5 projects at the same time! It got a little bit crazy! (Multi-tasking was an understatement)

Mother's Day portrait at church

The summer was filled with creating meaningful memories, whether it was reconnecting with old high school friends, entertaining a friend's son visiting America for the first time, or celebrating a best friend's 50th. I have realized that time with friends and family are irreplaceable and much more satisfying then buying new things for myself or the house.

Cezanne's unofficial 30th high school reunion with old old friends.. yes we go w-a-y back!

Cezanne's girls accountability group: celebrating Susana's 5-0 at the happiest place on earth

And squeezing in a once in a lifetime opportunity to be in the audience of the show, "The Doctors"

Ziplining.. YES I did it for the very first time and it was not that bad!

I am still involved in Women's Ministries at church with the exception of taking a break in leading a Bible study. I had to drop something in order to stay sane. But I have to say that the busier I got the more I needed to de-stress. So I read. This year I read over 220 books (mostly YA fiction). That is the most I have ever read in one year.

Celebrating Cezanne's nephew, Joshua's 8th grade graduation from King's Academy

HIGHLIGHTS:
We had the privilege of spending time with a friend's son from Hong Kong that had never been to the United States before. We showed Marcus what makes America (specifically California) so wonderful: riding the roller coasters at the Boardwalk; exploring Monterey Bay Aquarium; whale watching in Monterey Bay; zipling through the redwoods at Mt. Hermon; and eating at an organic farm in Carmel.

Marcus buried by the girls and Shawna at the beach.

We were honored to be invited to three weddings this year... all of which had a photo booth
 for their guests!

Mel & David Fong 5-24-14

Josephine & Henry Ow 7-5-14

Kate & James Rennie 11-7-14

In August we took a quick trip down south to visit some of our friend's kids who were starting college. We also enjoyed a visit to Universal Studios.

In June we went to Vancouver, BC to visit Matthew's new second cousins, twin boys, Tate and Bryce who are his cousin Stacy and her husband Terry's boys. Love our growing extended family!

The boys sure look like Ma boys.. takes after their mother's side!

We'd love to keep in touch with you and hear how you are doing. Please comment below or contact Matthew on Facebook.

 Merry Christmas to you and your family!