serving the community during halloween:

Our church held its annual Harvest Festival last Friday.  I used to think of these festivals as just an alternative to Halloween for our kids, but I realize now how it can be so much more than that.  It's a great way for us to reach out to and plug into our community.  Halloween is the biggest community-based holiday of the year, where people are out and about and meeting others, so it is a great opportunity for us as Christians to not hide in our homes but be out there ministering to people.  Churches can redeem this holiday (which is said to have Western Christian origins, ironically) rather than shying away from it.  Many of my friends would disagree, and I understand and respect their convictions.  I am definitely not a fan of the creepy stuff and gore, and I don't let the kids watch much broadcast TV during this time of year, but God is still greater.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a photo from the Festival of our pastor telling stories to children as the city's current FB cover photo.  We aren't a huge church, but a large percentage of us volunteered to make a huge event happen, and every bit counts.  The family that did most of the planning came as the Avengers, even the baby.  Every week one of them runs a stay-and-play at church for infants to preschoolers in the community, and sometimes they have only eight volunteers with up to about 200 attendees.  It's like a couple of loaves of bread to feed a multitude.  It reminds me that God will do the work and bless if we focus on Him, no matter what our abilities and numbers are.

I did have to prepare Naomi beforehand in case some costumes would confuse or scare her.  Naomi put her own costume together from her closet (if it looks familiar, she got those cowgirl accessories from her great aunt when she was two).  I had a vintage blouse and velour blazer from my mom's closet, a red ribbon, and I glued some flowers to a hat for a Mary Poppins costume.  I'm starting to show, so good thing I had an elastic skirt.  We got Lucas a $7 dress-up chef shirt on sale.  He looked at a hundred photos of costumes before he finally found one he liked.  He wanted to be Diego again, but I wanted something new.  So aside from Naomi's boots, which I would have bought for her anyway, we didn't spend much this year.  It may be different next year, but we just felt like being resourceful this year.  The funny thing is that I had a perfect umbrella for the costume, but when we got to the festival, Lucas was groggy so I decided to keep my hands free.  A number of people couldn't figure out what I was until I said I had the umbrella in the car.  The funniest story is that I had a camera out sometimes, and someone (a teenager) asked me if I was dressed up as a tourist!  Oh well, it's the conundrum of being an Asian dressing up as a Caucasian.

I believe they counted a couple hundred visitors.  I was in the toddler area for a while, and it was neat to talk to a couple non-Christian visitors who said they were impressed or grateful that we had this service for the community.  They called it that--a service.  Not just a fun event that we opened up to the public, but they understood that we were doing this for them, for God.  The Korean church that uses our building joined us in providing free food for everyone (everything from pancit to meatballs to baked potatoes).  I have been so encouraged by how many other churches and organizations our church partners with while maintaining our own goals and vision.

Naomi played with her friend most of the night, Lucas was a little tired at first, and I was in the toddler area for an hour, so it was different from years past where it was more of a family bonding time for us.  We made up for that the next couple of days with our first weekend in ages with just the four of us.  Manny had some quality time with Lucas on Saturday while I did the same with Naomi.  Then we came together for a nice afternoon and family dinner.  On Sunday, we heard a message on the meaning of the resurrection and had baptisms.  There were two in the first service and two in ours.  I think we see about that many every three to four weeks.  I love hearing the various testimonies from people from all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life but end up  in the same place.  During one that was bilingual (in English/Spanish), the fire alarm went off, but there was no apparent danger and they just continued undeterred.  :)  Maybe one thing we could use prayer for is how we could plug in more effectively and consistently.  It's easier for the females than the males, perhaps, and while the church is continually growing in numbers and diversity, we don't always have as much in common with the current main demographic.  But still, it's our church family, and we love the warmth, genuineness, and different gifts of the people there.  There are hands, eyes, feet, etc. all being themselves but working together, which is really something.

the food of our youth:

Do you ever consider how much of our memories of our parents revolve around food?  Books are written and movies are made on the subject.  We hear about childhood meals from friends and coworkers, happen upon a menu item that triggers a memory, or relive it each year during the holidays.  I often think about those home-cooked memories, both good and bad.  As I've mentioned before, we were poor and sometimes had to eat discounted green ground beef and expired food sometimes.  Bobo brands were our life.  Sometimes my mother made miracles out of the little we had.  She had raised her three little sisters after her mother passed away.  She could make many Chinese restaurant specialties.  There was never a cookbook in the house; she knew what she was doing.  She was actually a great cook when other people were around, but when it was just us, she'd dump all the leftovers in water and force us to eat it as soup.  I mean, she really forced me to eat everything.  There was one time I dumped one of those gross soups down the toilet, but I was too scared to do it again.

Another memory was the one birthday party I had as a child (I think I was either 7 or 8)--my mother used to babysit and had some of those kids over.  She made scallion pancakes, which I happen to love.  I knew how difficult they were to make.  However, not a single white kid could eat them, and of course they were wondering where the pizza and cake was.  My mom had no idea about the typical party food or games or anything.  So she collected all the scallion pancakes, I was thoroughly embarrassed, and we never celebrated my birthday again.  

I remember helping my mother to cook as a younger child.  I helped wrapped dumplings, made a sport of pulling the string off green beans, and gathered vegetables from our humble garden.  I also remember my dad being a great cook.  He made me like liver just by the way he cooked it.  When I became a teenager and wanted to learn more, my mom told me to get out of the kitchen and get back to my books.  :)  Of course in college, we had to sustain ourselves, so I did a lot of the cooking.  I tried to recall what I observed my parents doing on the stove or at their restaurant.  My greatest skill as a young adult was being able to prep seafood--I gut and scaled fish, deveined shrimp, and shucked clams.  Nowadays, they do all that for you and more at the supermarket, and Manny and Lucas don't care much for seafood, so I've moved on to other things.  I've had some misadventures in cooking, but my husband and kids generally like my cooking, and I like cooking for them.  There's no universal taste.  I remember this event where someone brought a dish her family absolutely loved, but there was barely a dent made in it.  I thought it was good but too heavy for me to eat a lot of it.  Their German heritage was in that dish, so they had a natural and familial love for it.  I'm sure if I brought something like scallion pancakes, they'd be scratching their heads.  :) 

I'm giving more thought lately to what I'd like to instill in my children and their view of food. I want them to see it as a blessing but not an idol, something to budget and ration for themselves but also share with others, an opportunity to make wise choices but fully enjoy every so often.  I believe our children have a relatively diverse palate for their ages, but I'm not raising them to become foodies, at least not in the elitist sense of the word.  I only desire that their skill, hospitality, and nutritional awareness will surpass mine.  

Some pulled pork we made for a family who just had another baby.  It can be a hassle to make meals with kids around, then take them on a long drive to drop them off, but it's good for them to see that we're glad to have the privilege to do it.  The only problem is that when I stress about cooking, it doesn't always turn out well.

Lucas having a homemade apple-cucumber-kale popsicle.  Why not?

I couldn't get to the grocery store one weekend, and we had no bread left.  It was a good time to make our own whole wheat tortillas!  I think all of us would prefer white flour, but we have to incorporate whole wheat when we can!

Naomi likes to share our best with others.  She offered an $11 bag of dried mangoes from Costco to the neighborhood kids.  They all enjoyed it, but for a minute I was a little hesitant about giving them our precious mangoes!

getting back in touch (a week in updates):

Since we started back at AWANA, I'm seeing some old friends on a weekly basis again.  Here I am with J, having a belated birthday bundt cake with her (and her son, who took the photo).  The day of her birthday, I saw her and just said happy birthday, but I realized she deserved a little more than that.  :)  She was a homeschooler like me who then put her kids into public school like we plan to.  It helps to talk to someone in a similar situation.  It's kind of hard to believe we met almost 20 years ago.

Because I'm pretty exhausted most of the time, I do the major cleaning in spurts, usually every 2-4 weeks when a babysitter comes for doctor's appointments.  The kids love the sitters, and it's helped Lucas be more comfortable around more people.  I'm glad I'm not as sick now, so I can make something for the sitter and the kids without feeling like hurling.  This time, we made a veggie platter with mini bell peppers, English cucumbers, celery, and carrots.  My appointment and the blood test went well.  I always have them poke the back of my hand now for the blood draw, and it heals quickly.  People have been saying I'm not showing, so I was a little worried, but the growth checked out fine.  I am showing more now just in the past week and have started feeling the baby move a little.

The next day, I took the kids to a pumpkin patch near the ISP school.  I have these fall outfits I'd like the kids to wear with pumpkins for a fall photo, but it was 91 degrees that day!  A couple days later, we were back in the 60's.  Now I'm hoping I can take them on a non-rainy day.

On Saturday, Manny took Lucas to his sports class while Naomi and I went to Trader J.oe's.  We had lunch at our friends' son's first birthday party.  They had Chinese noodles, pork, asparagus, fruit, and more.  Lucas ate like a champ.  Naomi was a little upset there weren't kids her age; maybe she's been a little spoiled by all the drop-off birthday parties.  She was happy once they got to game time, and we had to guess what little J was going to go for first.  Ruler=engineer, stethoscope=doctor, celery=diligent, paint=artistic, etc.  Of course, he went straight for the celery and chomped on it!  He pretty much refused anything else, but they counted it when he briefly looked down at the ruler and then the stethoscope.  Both our kids had their first birthdays at Grandma's, so we had a great time with the pinata, but I think it would have been fun to incorporate this Chinese game as well.  I hadn't thought of it.  Here we are with some of our old grad school buddies.

After the party, we went to Costco to stock up, and then the kids wanted to take a walk to the local field and run laps on the track.  Manny and I were pretty tired, but the kids enjoy it, and it's a rare occasion we can all take a long walk together as a family in nice weather.

I also mailed in my ballot.  I'll probably track it to make sure it's counted.  There's been so much negativity and lack of respect over the past few months, and I think a lot of these anti-candidate posts do little to convince the other side.  To be honest and perhaps cynical, living in California, it's probably a given where the electoral votes are going to go.  I still vote and vote my conscience, but I don't really tell a lot of people how I vote, only that I don't vote 100% one way or another because a party says so.  I don't consider myself Republican or Democrat.  It'll be nice once the elections are over and we can move on (although it seems like we just go from focusing on one election to the next sometimes!).

updates on the family:

My dad was discharged from the hospital today after a successful prostate and bladder surgery yesterday.  My mother-in-law said he looked pretty good.  He needed the surgery back when they found the cancerous tumor on his kidney, but the cancer was the more urgent issue, so he's been dealing with continuous urological issues while awaiting the green light on this surgery.  He had a CT scan in between, which thankfully did not indicate any new tumors.  My in-laws have been taking my parents to and from the hospital, and I'm really thankful for them.  My parents don't really have anyone else nearby to count on and they don't attend a church (they aren't believers).

My brother has been going missing every few weeks.  The difference from the first time he went missing, when we went out to find him, is that he at least now has our contact info.  Without being willing to sign the paperwork saying he is mentally disabled, he cannot receive Social Security and stay at a facility.  I told him to just sign it and get the food and shelter he needs, but he would rather forego the funds than agree he has a mental illness (he's been diagnosed with bipolar schizoaffective disorder).  Prayers are appreciated for my family.

good food and friends:

L and B were in town for a football game, and we had a short but sweet visit at a Mediterranean cafe and gelato shop.  They are pretty busy people with work, music ministries, business deals, etc., and they just drove up that morning, so I'm very appreciative of the time they made for us.  We were out in the morning at errands and Lucas's sports class (and I heard he made a little friend who was quiet like him!).  The kids were pretty good, even though it's sometimes boring for them to just sit there and listen to us chit chat.  Maybe the food and gelato helped.  :)  Naomi had the copa mista (chocolate/vanilla/pistachio) and Lucas the pumpkin gelato.  They also ate a lot off my plate.  Haha.  I'm glad they can eat many different types of foods, so we have that option.  

Originally it was just supposed to be a gelato stop, but since the place also sold one of my favorite types of food and was highly rated, I had to try it.  L and B ordered lunch as well before we got there.  I had ordered an appetizer kebab, but the kids ate most of it, so I re-ordered a full plate.  They took some of that as well, but there was enough left over for me this time.  I have been eating more red meat since the pregnancy.  Most other proteins still feel unappetizing at times.  Manny isn't much of a red meat eater (although he says he likes the way I cook it), but it's a good idea because a lot of it isn't good for you.  It's funny sometimes when waiters bring the food out and assume I have Manny's dish and vice versa.  I think it's partly because I'm anemic and need the iron, but with the prenatal vitamins, I seem to have it under better control.

I asked for no onions, but it was easy enough to pick them out.  Basmati rice and vegetables were delicious.

Lucas wouldn't look at the camera, but it's still a nice photo.

My beautiful friend.  I'm still not really showing much.

after school playdate:

We went with our friends J and daughter C to S.afari Run, an indoor playplace, for an after school playdate.  We only do (very) occasional playdates with school being in session and my additional responsibilities at the moment.  We're glad the girls are good friends.  The place wasn't smaller than we thought it'd be, but that's good to have that alternative for the younger crowd.  We had the place to ourselves for a little while, before it started getting packed.  Lucas was pretty nervous, but he really liked being with J.  I'm pretty much chopped liver when she's around, but it was nice for him to have someone take him around since I can't at the moment.  We went out for a nice dessert afterward.  

Don't fall in the shark-infested waters!

Side by side down the big slide.

Lucas didn't mind the climbing at all, but it took a while to convince him to go down the slide.

He finally did it!  

picnic / bacon wrapped shrimp:

I was unable to get to the grocery store on Saturday with the shower and Manny's reunion.  We had just enough eggs and ham to cover a little breakfast for Chris, but I didn't have the ingredients for the broccoli salad I'd planned for the church picnic.  However, we did have bacon, shrimp, butter, and garlic powder, so I made some bacon-wrapped shrimp.  I still have some aversion to bacon and shrimp, but I probably shouldn't eat them anyway during the pregnancy.  I did try one, and gave one to Chris, and thought it was pretty good.  It's sooo nice that I can get de-veined shrimp nowadays.  I still peel them myself, but that's the easy part.  Back in college, my parents supplied us with shrimp, and I de-veined them all by hand.  It was still a lot of work, but the kids were able to occupy themselves more than usual, thank the Lord.

It was really nice to have some time with others from church, and there was another birthday picnic at the same park for one of our elders, so we got to visit with more people than we'd even anticipated.  I guess I didn't watch the kids closely enough while I was chatting, so I'll have to be more careful next time.  Naomi apparently was picked on by two older boys.  One of them squashed her head a little and another called her a "walrus face."  She told me she just made a really funny face to make them laugh, because she can make light of such situations and not let it really bother her.  I'm so glad she can handle herself well--better than I can--but I probably would've marched over there and given those boys a piece of my mind (maybe that's one good thing about me not seeing it).  Manny saw it.  I guess it didn't get severe enough for him to go over there, but he still pointed it out to me because my back was turned to them at the time.  I'm too sensitive to words and have a subsequent anger problem.  I confess that, because I know I need to change.  Naomi hasn't even thought about it, while I actually searched for walrus images to see if she did look like one.  

A mobile photo taken by a friend.

These don't look as appetizing in the photo, but they weren't bad.

a's baby shower:

I had my first experience organizing a baby shower for a friend last Saturday.  To make it easier, we had it at a H.obee's with a back room for events.  I'd been to a couple showers there and thought it was a great venue.  All I had to do was create the invitation online, prepare the baby shower game, keep things moving, and write the gift list at the end.  A couple friends volunteered their services, so one made chocolate-dipped spoons for favors, and the other bought thank-you cards that guests could pre-address.  The guest of honor's mom brought a couple game prizes and contributed for her meal, and her mother-in-law made these cute purple butterfly pins for the guests to wear and also contributed.  The staff at H.obee's did such a great job.  It was very helpful to have separate checks for everyone. So with all these helping hands, I never felt overwhelmed.

We had a great turnout of 30 women and children.  I guess there was some confusion if there would be another shower for her, but I went with A's decision on the invite list.  I had to bring Naomi, because Manny and Lucas had a Parent & Tots sports class at the same time.  It was A's idea to invite little girls as well, and that worked out nicely.  Naomi was very glad to see her friend C, and by the end, there she was once again with a group of little girls behind her as she led them in makeshift games.

I searched online for a shower game that wouldn't really cost anything and where guests could remain seated (especially with little kids in the mix).  I decided on the game of guessing different white powders from the kitchen and the nursery.  I wanted to do it in baby food jars so guests couldn't smell them at all, but I decided the baggies were easier to transport.  However, the zipped bags were tempting for the curious, and a couple children opened them, so jars would probably be better in another setting. 

I found a diaper cake maker on Y.elp.  I chose purple because that's A's favorite color.  It didn't look as fancy as I expected from other photos, and the owner didn't send a preview photo as promised, but it was still really cute.  

As always, I have to talk about the food.  H.obee's is a go-to place for many of our friends for brunch, but I honestly haven't always liked the food there.  I still have some aversion to eggs, so I went with the tofu scramble, which was pretty good, except it had a little too much cumin (I think it was cumin).  Naomi had the kids' eye opener breakfast, which is a standard breakfast with eggs and bacon.  I brought some pumpkin coffee cake home, which was unusually dry.  I will probably stick with blueberry next time.

I was a little late getting back, but Manny was able to make his 15-year college reunion just fine.  He didn't think eight hours of walking would make me feel too great, so he just went with Chris.  It sounds like they had a good time and saw a lot more people than expected.  I hope someone took pictures since I missed out this time!  No photos of Lucas in his sports class, but it sounds like he had a lot of fun with Manny, too.

Guests arrive.

N and C are like real sisters.

The guests playing the powder game.

J, A, and me.  J and I co-hosted, and A was the guest of honor.  We're all pregnant.

A and one of her daughters with the diaper cake.

field trip - sleeping beauty

The ISP class had a field trip last week to see a play.  So did many other schools, apparently, because the house was completely packed the show before ours as well as ours.  Fortunately, we were told to come early, so we got to sit in the front two rows.  Just last year, I don't think Lucas would have been able to sit through it, but he did fine this time.  I gave him the gist of the story beforehand.  It didn't have the Disney names of the fairies or Maleficent, but it was still a similar story.  The actors were very good, I thought, and the play had themes that were easy to discuss with Naomi afterward.   

Outside the community center.

Inside the theatre--no photos allowed once the play began.  

Meeting the children's theatre players afterward.

final days of our trip:

On Friday we went to Elmer's, which is like nicer Denny's, for breakfast.  Many of the workers at the  restaurants and shops were older, and it was a nice break from some of today's younger employees, to be honest.  Maybe I'm just getting old.  We drove up to take the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up to the mountains.  There is about a 30-degree temperature differential from Palm Springs, so it was a nice respite from the heat.  The kids enjoyed getting out and exploring nature.  I didn't get a chance to do laundry yet, so I had to wear my white capris, which wasn't a great idea in the sand and dirt.  Ten years ago, we went up with Manny's mom and sister, and the walk in the park felt like a walk in the park.  This time around, I was panting for air, and I'm not sure it was just due to my allergies or pregnancy.  It was a leisurely stroll for Lucas, though.  He carried the walking stick more than using it as a cane like me and Naomi.  Haha.  God's earth is majestic and breathtaking, and we had some great views from the top.  The kids enjoyed climbing the large rocks and went pretty high.  

When we returned, I had a nosebleed, probably from my allergies, but thankfully it cleared before our special family dinner at one of those teppanyaki style Japanese restaurants.  It was freezing in there at first, but Manny said we'd soon feel the heat from the fire, and that we did.  A random Asian worker came up to me and gave me a huge hug.  I think it was a case of mistaken identity, but it does happen to me from time to time.  Lucas had fallen asleep, and usually never likes being woken up from a nap, but the second time Manny tried, he saw the chef cooking and was mesmerized.  Lucas has always liked watching people cook and playing cooking games himself.  I wouldn't be surprised if he grows up and ends up in the culinary field, if not dancing to cartoons.

I'm so glad the chef didn't try to catapult a shrimp into my mouth.  Manny and Grandpa caught theirs with ease, but I've seen them pop food into their mouths before.  Beto was not as successful, but maybe the chef missed on purpose for comedy.  He was certainly a very funny guy.  These chefs are multi-talented.  Naomi really enjoyed the show as well.  The food was cooked very nicely, although again Manny and I noticed the pieces of meat were much larger than we've seen at this type of restaurant.  It might be just the region, but again, you get your money's worth.  And I definitely liked the organic/locally grown choices Manny found.  This was the most foodie trip for us ever, I think!  Even Grandpa made a feast for us as we rested and stayed one last night at their home.  The vacation wasn't without its challenges, but we made some great memories!

Group photo before the tramway ride.  The kids are wearing their airplane shirts from Grandma.

Checking out the views.

At the top with Grandma and Grandpa.

Lucas leading the way down to the trails of Mt. San Jacinto.

He found a "hammer" (part of a branch) and had to fix all the rocks that were broken, which meant all of them.

Their makeshift see-saw.

Kids on the rocks.

Fire on the grill!  This was a re-do because the chef said I had to take this picture.  Haha.

Hole in one!

We got to feed the very large and aggressive koi.

In front of the restaurant.

Our closer hugging photos were awkward, because we aren't as skinny as before, and I try not to squish my tummy.

After a week of kids menus, Naomi was happy to order and eat this tofu scramble with mixed greens, egg whites, and a mango smoothie.  That's my girl!

palm springs, days 5 & 6:

On Wednesday, we learned that a number of places are closed on Wednesdays.  This included our planned breakfast place and Moorten Botanical (Cactus) Garden.  We went to Pinocchio's in the Desert instead, which served huge portions.  After breakfast, we went to see the giant M.arilyn Monroe statue.  I think it'll be there for one more year until Downtown is upgraded.  Despite the fame, her story is ultimately pretty tragic.  One thing that did open was the water slides at the pool, which had been closed for renovation till midweek.  

We had a couple hours in the pool before heading out for our date night.  Manny and I saw Expendables 2, which was a bit cheesy and over-the-top with the violence, which is pretty much how the actors' movies were back in the 80s and 90s anyway.  It's good for nostalgia and those who know a little trivia about the actors, like D.olph Lungren really did have a chemical engineering degree and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to MIT, and there was a C.huck Norris is Dead phishing scam on Facebook.  We then went to the best Thai place in town, Thai Smile.  The flavor was really good, but the meat was cut in much larger pieces than we're used to for Asian food.  That's probably why it's highly rated--you get your money's worth.  I felt bad leaving some of the meat behind, but it was too much.

On Day 6, my sister-in-law joined us for breakfast at Cheeky's.  Many restaurants had Mexican breakfasts, and this one even had a Korean breakfast.  I was tempted to get it, but went for the breakfast quesadillas instead, which were really good.  The food was fresh, locally grown, and mostly organic.  They had Naomi at bacon bar, so we got a sampler, but she only liked a couple of the varieties.

We went to the cactus garden afterward, which was something I really wanted to do with Naomi, but Lucas ended up being really into it.  He was like a little tour guide.  He's still talking about cacti now.  We went swimming again, this time for three hours.  Naomi made a friend at the pool.  It's always sad when she doesn't get to see them again.  Afterward we went to dinner at Las Casuelas Terraza, a traditional Mexican place with live entertainment.  I had a three-item combo, and everything was cooked perfectly.  I read about kids dancing on the floor and thought the kids would enjoy it, but the show didn't start till 7pm, and we left well before that.  We went out to VillageFest, a weekly street showcase.  The highlight was Naomi's pony ride.  I thought we were going to go in circles or back and forth, but instead I was chasing them around the block.  It was pretty fun for her to just roam freely, and I liked walking around at night, something I don't often do anymore.  

Wouldn't you know, they had dots on the kids' menu?

I actually did not look up, but Manny and Naomi did and saw some giant knickers.

Naomi went down the big slide maybe 30 times.  Lucas went down the smaller slide in Manny's lap.  I haven't had the waterproof camera photos developed yet.

This jacuzzi is located a the cave behind the waterfall (turned off for renovation).  Very fun!

Best tom kha gai ever, except for the big pieces of meat.

Delicious red curry and pad thai.  I bought this embroidered white one-piece dress for this vacation, sort of celebrating the fact that I can finally feel comfortable wearing white and full dresses with the kids around.  Guess I'll be saying goodbye to white again shortly!

Back with the grandparents, Naomi indulged in a Cuban sandwich.

Lucas very happy with his burger and smoothie.

Lucas enjoying his cinnamon roll at Cheeky's.

Breakfast with the fam at Cheeky's.

Lucas really into the cacti.

Dinner at Las Casuelas.

A street performer at VillageFest.  I stayed on the sidewalk where the misters were.

Naomi on a nighttime pony ride through the streets of Palm Springs!

Starlight was a great pony!