december catch-up part 2:

More events before Christmas:

It was our privilege to attend N & D's 50th Anniversary party.  It was also a sort of farewell as they move to a retirement home in the south.  This was the first golden anniversary party I'd been to.  I can only hope to live long enough to celebrate ours.

Christmas Fair time at Awana.  The kids hearing the message of Christmas:

Lucas and the other Cubbies having some (meaning a lot of) cake and ice cream.

Cute rabbit that hangs out at the location of N's piano lessons.

Naomi and Lucas's gingerbread winter scenes from the ISP.  Lucas's was done with great symmetry and precision.  Naomi's was quite a scene, with snowball fights, sledding, campfires, the whole shebang.

 Children's Ministry Volunteer Appreciation Night, a great mix of fun and fancy.  Lucas really liked the winter-themed Minute-to-Win-It games.  The kids and I went.  It was sad Manny got off work early and found that we weren't home (we were at the party).

A caterer volunteered her time to grill up sandwiches to order for us.  Delicious, as was the peppermint hot chocolate with all the toppings.

Naomi was close to winning Face the Cookie (moving a cookie from your forehead to your mouth with just your facial muscles), but Z got it first.

Lucas enjoying the hot chocolate.

Ornament exchange time.  Our tree is really becoming festive and unique with all these wonderful ornaments!

Special playdate (due to a canceled class/rehearsal).  Lucas playing with the boys for a change.  Loved it!  Naomi had a lot of fun, but got hit in the head by a boy and felt dizzy for a while afterward.  Loads of fun, but not planning to do it again.

It took a few tries, but we finally got Lucas to do some art.  This was for the class patchwork quilt, and he said it was mountains and trees and a sun and a rainbow.  It almost has a Mexican art feel about it.  Lucas usually does not like to draw or color.  My mom tells me art and dance classes aren't important (typical of many Asian parents).  I disagree.  There's something to be said for doing something creative with what you know.  I always wish she had let me develop more of my artistic skills.  I loved to draw/paint/sculpt/write/compose, and--who knows--I could have become good quite at one or more of them, but she always steered me away from it.  But hopefully it's never too late.  I'm quite busy now, but I wouldn't mind taking some sort of art class in the future.

No time for a homemade advent calendar this year, but we did make a simple Jesse tree with symbols as ornaments.  We read bible passages and discussed the symbols through many days of December.  I might do this next year and hopefully I will have a little more time to dedicate to it.  But experiences are crucial in teaching our young children, and I'm thankful for all the experiences and memories our children have had.

isaac sick / happy new year:

Isaac came down with a fever last Thursday night, but Friday morning he seemed fine, so we went on our date.  By Friday evening, he was very feverish again.  I gave him acetaminophen, and we hoped for the best on our drive back Sunday.  With my phone battery dying, I asked for prayer from a friend from church.  We were blessed with a relatively smooth drive with Isaac only crying the last hour and a half or so.  Usually he'll cry the entire car ride, and the drive was about seven hours.  His temperature was up to 103.8 Sunday evening.

Monday morning I called to see our doctor, who usually does not work on Mondays and who's usually booked solid.  There was just one appointment available, so we were able to see her in the afternoon.  Isaac mustered a smile for her.  She diagnosed him with an ear infection and also bronchiolitis (an inflammation of the bronchioles, or smaller air passageways, as opposed to bronchitis).  He was wheezing, so she put him on an albuterol inhaler.  She suspected pneumonia, but I passed on the chest x-ray.  The antibiotics for the ear infection would take care of it.  I mentioned that Naomi was allergic to penicillin, but Lucas was not.  She went ahead with the penicillin for Isaac with some cautions regarding allergic reactions.  It was a long wait for the prescription, but after the first dosage, he seemed to sleep a little better at first.  But then he was pretty fussy again in the early morning.  After the second dose of antibiotics, he broke out in hives, just like Naomi had.  For those with severe sensitivity, one would see immediate swelling, difficulty breathing, and anaphylactic shock.  Thankfully N and L's allergy is not as severe, although there are still hives and some swelling.  The doctor called twice to check on him, which I really appreciated, and put in a new prescription.  So tonight it will hopefully clear out of his system, but I can tell he's uncomfortable.  The good news is that the fever has died down, and she also thinks he shouldn't really be contagious anymore by tomorrow.

I actually still have some Christmas posts to write, but since we're here, I'll wish you all (all three of you) a Happy New Year.  Of course, it won't always be happy.  We'll have ups and downs, triumphs and failures, nice surprises and disappointments.  It's all part of life, and maybe you'll find that some of those things are two sides of the same coin.  What I wish for all of us is a year full of joy, love, peace, growth, and fruit in Jesus Christ.  Naomi planned a little party for us like she did last year, and we celebrated midnight at 9 pm.  Why didn't we think of this before?  So off to bed we go, although we'll be awakened by fireworks or a baby crying at midnight.  It's all part of the thrill.  The best to you in 2014.  I do have some goals, but I won't call them New Year's resolutions.  I'll be working and reworking them through the whole year.  Get busy living!

nursing home caroling:

I always say I don't want to live my life through my kids, but I have wanted to go caroling at a nursing home for a long time, and here we are finally able to do it!  Naomi just started private piano and singing lessons, but only twice a month for now.  She is doing fairly well.  She's not a prodigy or anything, but I think it's good exercise for the mind and a useful skill to have, as do many people from my culture.  :)  This was her first performance, which was very simple.  She was the first up and played Jingle Bells (one-handed) and sang various Chrismtas songs, including Christmastime is Here from It's Christmas, Charlie Brown.  The other students have been in lessons longer and played and sang more elaborate productions, but I was very proud of her.  There was no place for me to sit, so it was cumbersome holding Isaac and the camera, and Lucas just waited patiently through the hour.  We had rehearsal before that, so actually it had already been two and a half hours for the boys to wait.  But that's the way it is with three--someone will always need to sacrifice time for another.  And it's good for the kids to get in the habit of giving of themselves.  The folks who attended appreciated our efforts, although one elderly woman remarked that I shouldn't have brought a baby there (but what could I do?).  There was a Jewish person in the audience who requested the hora, so the students obliged.

Naomi leading everyone in a round of Jingle Bells.

A nurse giving me a little break by showing the boys the fish tank.

The girls singing, "Christmastime is Here."

Come dance the hora!

cookie exchange:

I haven't done a Christmas cookie exchange in years.  The first time I participated in one was the year Naomi was born.  I don't even know why I did it.  I actually was dozing off while baking, after months without sleep (at that time she still hadn't slept even four hours straight yet).  Manny drove me there, about half an hour away, and he waited outside in the rain with a screaming Naomi while I went in to taste and exchange cookies as quickly as possible.  In hindsight, I shouldn't have tried to make life go on as usual and force myself to say yes to everything.  I just didn't know my priorities and often let others determine them.

This time it was different.  For one, it was at a local church in the afternoon, so no major driving (Isaac is still not sleeping through the night).  Our friend Chris was over that day, which I'm sure made it easier for Manny and the kids.  We had gone to Chick-Fil-A right before I went.  Third, I'm participating in things now with more discretion and, I believe, the right motivation (out of love and not guilt or compulsion).  I really had a nice time and enjoyed all the company and cookies.  I even won one of the prizes--another nice candle with a bible verse (Zephaniah 3:17).  My card was drawn randomly, so no skills involved.  I seem to win something or other at these events.  It's a wonder I don't play the lottery.  I guess I don't have that desire.

We had a nice variety of cookies.  I looked around at what baking ingredients I had on hand and decided on a cookie from there.  I don't really like to decide and then buy ingredients, because it just adds to our inventory and may end up taking up space, like that molasses I haven't used in over a year.  Anyway, I had all the ingredients for Chocolate Crackle Cookies.  Good stuff.  I might make it with peppermint extract next time.  I just wasn't sure if people would go for that, but it sounds like that would have been a nice twist.  I don't bake too often--it's a lot of precision and clean-up, so I have to set aside time for it.  These cookies were a three-day process, because I had so much going on that week.  Usually I need that time for other things, and my hands are pretty full with the kids.  I didn't have a stand mixer like the recipe calls for, but I thought they turned out fine with the hand mixer.  

Four dozen cookies, three dozen bagged and ready to go.  Need a lot of sugar for a good crackle.

Twelve varieties of cookies.

Pretty stamped cookies done with printed rice paper.

Getting to know some ladies over tea and cookies.

Similar to the game we did for a baby shower.

Time to collect our loot!

december catch-up:

Finishing up before the Christmas posts.  December has been a good month.  I mean life still happened--things didn't go as planned, we got sick, there was bad news with my dad, Manny's work situation didn't improve, etc., but everything that we did do, I felt right about it.  I mean that I didn't waste my time on just what I felt like doing or what other people told me to do, but I think I really have started doing more what I should be doing and just living in obedience and in the Spirit rather than wondering what a Christian is supposed to do (read Crazy Love by Francis Chan if you haven't--it explains how God is growing me).  Living at the center of His will, whatever that may be.  I was never meant to be Martha Stewart or Albert Einstein--I'm meant to be who I am and who I will become.  And all of us are made to love and serve.

The last of the turkey--the frozen carcass is now bone soup turned into homemade Chinese rice porridge.

Isaac insisted on eating it the old-fashioned Chinese way.

Dropping off some soup and bread with a new mom and visiting Baby Z.

Isaac picking out books (and dropping them to the floor).

Fluffing up the Christmas trees during the Christmas Decoration Night at church.  Fun!

Lucas helping (and being helped to) make a noodle Christmas tree. 

A little tree for the kids.

One church entryway was transformed into a Happy Birthday, Jesus room with presents and birthday cards.  I see Naomi put a party hat on Baby Jesus here.

Having lunch with friends.

Isaac loves Christmas lights!

museum field trips / computer coding for kids:

The kids' ISP had a field trip to the SJ Museum of Art.  We saw exhibits of sustainable food and modern miracles/inventions.  Even though they were pretty neat an very educational, we might have actually been better off going at our own pace than with the tour guide.  The group was divided in two, by gender for fun (except my boys went with the girls), and we overheard the other guide doing a lot more interactive activities.  Our guide generally let the chaperones give the talk or just read what was on the wall and stalled us while other patrons were looking at the exhibits.  We went before the museum opened, but the tour was delayed, so we ended up being there with everyone else.  It was still a good trip, but I had to leave a little early to drive out to sign some refinancing paperwork.  It was hectic, and I treated the kids to a quick Japanese lunch.  It is ambitious going out with the three kids by myself, but you just learn to juggle on little sleep.  There was an empty seat for Manny at lunch because he had to head back to work--we really missed him.

We purchased a membership this year to the Tech Museum.  I've never done that before because I have to park in a downtown lot and walk with kids in the street to it.  And yet now that I have a baby, I'm just somehow managing.  But this was a good year to do it, as there have been some great touring exhibits including Computer Education Week.  The kids participated in the Hour of Code and learned how computer programming works.  Naomi learned more and was able to complete all the coding puzzles/assignments by herself.  Lucas struggled a little, but was still able to do some of it, and the exposure was beneficial, I thought.  The activities were quite similar to the Karel the Robot that Stanford's computer science intro course uses.  It's a good way to teach.

I did invite other friends, but no one else could make it.  We'll be returning to the museum in January anyway with the ISP.  It was so crowded with field trips that week, but if we were able to hang on and Isaac could fall asleep, we were able to have a lot of the exhibits to ourselves.  After the second day we did the hour of coding, Lucas spent over two hours on the earthquake simulator.  That was tough for Naomi, but I commend her on her patience.  All my kids have had to wait for one or more of the others at some point, and I think it's a good exercise in patience and flexibility (I'm talking for myself as well!).  Check out the fun below.

When I was our kids' age, environmentalism seemed to be something for certain activists, but now we see sustainability, efficiency, and caring for our world as a way of life (and that's not a bad thing).

I always appreciate how our ISP group listens attentively.  The other guide was telling us some horror stories of other groups they've had.

Heroes of modern technology include the paper clip, the zipper, the band-aid, a lot we take for granted.  Photos were not allowed inside.

Recycled art.

Isaac getting to eat with us.  He enjoyed his udon noodles.

Controlling a Furby and seeing the mechanisms from the inside.

Isaac excited by this light-up bench.

A life-sized Plants vs. Zombies simulation, with Naomi as the programmer and Lucas as the robot.

This dinosaur responds to various types of commands, including your voice, IR, motion, joystick, and electrical pulses.

Lucas was here at the earthquake simulator for a very long time building structures and watching them fall.

Isaac finding Naomi outside of the tunnel.

Still at that earthquake simulator.  There were three volunteer shift changes while he was there.

She's got the whole world (sun in this case) in her hands.

Astronomy--the stuff I like.

When I was little, kids idolized certain singers or actors, and I was into Jacques Cousteau and Isaac Asimov.

The kids on the jetpack simulator together.

Oops, wrong photo, but one of them you can clearly see Naomi's face in the helmet.