I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face when I received the photobook of my 2009 favorites. This is the best quality light weight album I’ve ever ordered. Lay flat spread pages with no gap in the middle. The colors and print quality is awesome. What a great way to end my 2009!

This photo is one of my favorite of the year…

I wish your 2010 is blessed with all the great things God has to give.

I hate the words “soap” and “soup” because I never say them right. I always ask my kids “Did you wash our hands with soup?” That makes Annabelle laugh so hard and say “Wahahaha, mommy it’s soap, not  soup!” Or sometimes I tell my nanny to cook a pot of vegetable soap. Then she replies with her heavy Spanish accent, “There is lavendar soap, jasmine soap, but not vegetable soap!” Okay, she didn’t say that. I made it up.

The other day when we were at our favorite restaurant Souplantation, I asked Annabelle to please pass the pepper. This little girl told me “it’s pepPER, not pepPA.”  Okay, I SUCK. Hands down.

This is how Annabelle drink her chicken noodle soup…

Christian will work for soup…

And Ricky’s favorite appetizer…

I wish they have Asian Ginger soup everyday. I can eat six bowls of that.

Happy Monday!

I got all my Christmas stuff done EARLY this year, and I’M GLAD! Yes, I’m one of those girls whom you hate in college, who turns in papers early, get all the extra credits done, and studies for finals two weeks before. I’m a planning freak! If you want to be like me next year, start designing or shopping for your Christmas card in October. Then make plans to take your family photos by late October, so you can actually get it done before thanksgiving. I give myself no later than Thanksgiving Day to have photos taken. If not, that’s how I would spend my Black Friday. No shopping, period.

This year, I spent my Thanksgiving Day making a photo slideshow of our 2009 while the turkey labors itself in the oven. This DVD slideshow has our family’s photos and videos all in one. They were delivered to our friends and families two weeks ago. Not by me or my lovely elves. By the postmen. Or postwomen. Or post-teenager. Don’t hate if you are a lucky winner of this DVD.

It’s okay even if you can’t get all these done for Christmas. Christmas is about caring for others, giving with a true heart, and most importantly, knowing and sharing the love of Jesus.

Every Christmas I like to give out little goodies. Instead of baking those Betty Crocker cookies this year, I wanted to package some yogurt-covered pretzels as treats. And the need for some cello bags makes a great reason to visit my favorite store Michael’s. Annabelle loves this place no less than I do. We wish we could bring our sleeping bags and spent a night there. That day, we went in for some cello bags but came out with some Tinkerbell stickers, a Happy Birthday stamp, a scalloped square punch, and cello bags. At least I didn’t forget about getting the main thing.

These are the bag toppers that I designed and printed as 4×6 photo prints.

I had two elves to  help me. As I stuffed the pretzels and stapled the toppers, they opened the bags and emptied the pretzels into their mouths.

I totally want to make a pretzel stand and sell them in front of my garage. But no one will make a cart for me, so I just have to give these out.

Coffee and me don’t get along. It hates me, and I stay away from it. Drinking more than half  a cup makes my stomach mad. Instead, I’m a tea drinker who thinks making tea is too time consuming – until recently. I started drinking more as I think it may help me stay healthy. Due to some caffeine magic, my eyes stayed wide open at midnight the other night. I’m not complaining because my insomnia was turned into an unforgettable precious moment – I get to sleep in my husband’s arms.

Falling asleep in Ricky’s arms is a luxury. We can never hug each other to sleep.  I must first curl myself into a 90 degree sleeping position on one side, then flip to the other side, then flip back to the original side, before I can fall asleep. That’s right. Kinda like searing a steak. That night, however, Ricky mercifully petted me to sleep, and I successfully dosed off in his arms. Oh but before I started drooling, I remember hearing some thunderstorm right next to me. And then I passed out until I woke up with a morning breath kiss for him.

On another note, I finally took out the mini Christmas tree that we have, ever since we got married. I know it’s not the prettiest tree in the world. But oh well, I hope Jesus doesn’t mind…

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

I have much to say about my past week. It was filled with God’s most amazing grace. To say that I am happy and grateful is an understatement.

It all started with a phone call from my sister. “Grandpa wants to talk to you.” My grandpa was in the final stage of lung cancer. With a heavy heart, I called my dad who was at the hospital in Hong Kong with grandpa. My dad said grandpa wanted to say goodbye to me. He could not talk anymore. But I knew grandpa was on the other end of the phone as he was trying to make some noises from his throat. Like our past phone conversations, he never said much and I wouldn’t know what to say to him either. But this was the only time that I told him, I miss you, grandpa. Then I said goodbye to him with a trembling voice, as if it was the very last time.

Then sadness struck me for the next few hours. I have never missed grandpa so much. During his most painful and difficult time, he remembered me. Out of his 11 grandchildren, he remembered me. Not that I am his favorite grandchild, but because I know he loves every one of us. Although I am probably the one who have spent the most time with him because my family lived with him and grandma since I was born, until I moved here to the States when I was 17.

I was sitting at church fellowship. Singing this song on Psalm 8…

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
What is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

Oh, my favorite bible verse. But it didn’t give me comfort that day. If God is so great, why doesn’t grandpa get to be with God after he dies? Why doesn’t he get to spend eternity in heaven? Why don’t I get to see him again? May be it is me, who haven’t shared the gospel with him. Yes, it is my fault. Because after singing, a brother shared about his own salvation. An impossible salvation in our eyes, but made possible with God. As my sobbing started to go out of control, a sister prayed with me and reminded me of God’s words, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be saved.“ (Acts 16:31) All these were telling me that grandpa still had a chance to live eternally. His salvation was not impossible. But I needed to DO SOMETHING.

So I did it. I called grandpa again and told him, “Jesus can save you, all you have to do is believe in Him.” I repeated this about three times, worrying that he couldn’t hear me loud and clear. Then what I heard was discouraging, “Nobody can save me.” Grandpa could finally talk, but not what I wanted to hear. I don’t blame him. If I were him, I wouldn’t get it either from what I said. The Holy Spirit just have to work extra hard.

A day later, my dad visited grandpa and let me talk to him again. I was delighted to have another chance  to tell him something more promising. This time if he believed in Jesus, he could go to heaven and be with God. There would be no more suffering, only peace. And we would meet again. I did not hear him respond this time. My dad said grandpa understood and pushed the phone away. What? I knew my dad was only trying to make me feel better. My heart sank again. Now the Holy Spirit has to work OT.

My favorite phone call from my dad EVER, was this one — grandpa kept saying my name and my dad and uncle wanted to arrange for a pastor to talk with grandpa. My entire family worships buddha and other Chinese gods. They’re now letting my grandpa meet with a pastor. Praise the Lord and the Holy Spirit! Within hours, grandpa proclaimed Jesus as Lord – clearly in his own words. He admitted his sins and requested to be baptized ASAP! Never underestimate God’s power.

My amazing week did not end here. Within hours after I heard the good news about grandpa’s baptism, I got a call from my mom telling me a difficult situation that she was facing. She was so helpless. I could not believe what she said next in her shivering voice– but yes I could, because by now what else is impossible? — “This morning I did not pray to Kwun Yum for the first time, but I prayed to God.” It was more than thunder and lightening over my head. After years of not eating beef and worshiping Kwun Yum, my mom finally knows Jesus is the only God and decided to follow Him. Because when no one else could help, God was there for her.

In one week, God saved the souls of two of my loved ones. I am still speechless, and cannot stop praising Him in awe. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be saved.“ (Acts 16:31) This is a something that I have never thought would come true on me. But it did. I cannot remember a happier moment, other than the birth of my first child.  What better Christmas gift could I have asked for this year?

…when I heard Annabelle say “bastard”. I was running around the house trying to get ready for church yesterday morning. But I dropped whatever I was doing immediately and checked out what she was referring to. I didn’t have a clue, but still told her that’s not very nice, in a confronting tone.

“No, BUSTER! Buster is my doggie’s name.” She explained.

“……” I didn’t know what to say. What a name!

So here’s Annabelle and Buster on a jumping rope leash…

Out of all three of our children, you were the easiest to raise. My parents recalled my childhood as they saw me disciplined mine. As I was cleaning the crayon marks that Annabelle left on the walls, my parents and I talked about how I tore out wallpapers in our home when I was a toddler. Well…I did not remember the fun part, but what happened afterwards was forever ingrained on my heart. My hands got spanked by a big long ruler. It was the fear, not the hurt, that I remember. And I never did it again. Never.

I was happy to have my mom and dad visit us during the thanksgiving holidays. We went to the Orange County Great Park. We got on the free balloon flight. In between, we had a mini photo session while waiting for the ride. I could not believe my parents were willing to pose for me. And I actually made them laugh!