Hello Kitty & Canadian Geese ~ Abbie's Favorite things!

Abbie's Dream Comes True! She's Surrounded by Feathered Friends!

After I had recovered steadily from the lap surgery, it was time to go back to the routines in life....which included taking Kobee bird for his quarterly wing/nail trimming! Abbie faithfully came with me every time, so this time I decided to give her a BIG surprise!

Help! Don't Peck My Shoe!

En route to an appointment in Lake Forest, I got lost one time and ended up in a residential street. I peered to the right and was amazed to see glittering water with Canadian geese all over the place! It was a beautiful duck pond filled with hundreds of waterfowl!

Let Me Try to Pet You.....Slowly......Slowly........Touch down!

So en route to Omar's for Kobee bird's trim, I stopped at the pond and took out a 4-lb bag of Mizuri Avian Maintenance pellets (super healthy, super expensive) we had leftover from our adventure with Quacker duck. Abbie was thrilled and I believe that pictures/videos speak a thousands words (^_^) ~ Voila! And watch out for Hungry, Honking, Poopy, and People-Chasing Geese!




After our fun feeding fest, we took Kobee to Omar's, then had Abbie's favorite Teriyaki Chicken Bento at the Japanese restaurant next door!

Over the Martin Luther King holiday, we also went to Abbie's friend Ailie's 7th Birthday Cooking Party! Abbie loves to cook and I'm slowly building up my courage for her to 'help' me in our kitchen! Here, she was able to make and bake with help from 'real' chefs! She made the first Hello Kitty Pizza I've seen in my life! It's really cool!!

Abbie's Hello Kitty in the works! Chef Abbie loves making it!

Voila! Hello Kitty after going thru Refiner's Fire! (^_^) Delicious!

According to Abbie, the pizza tasted REALLY good!
Next time, let mama try a bite (^_^)!

Going to Kiddie Birthday parties has become a rite of passage for kids and parents alike! Though life is busy/hectic, we take this time to especially bless and celebrate their special day as they grow in beauty, wisdom, and in the Lord's love and care. May the Lord watch over all of our Loved One's Little Ones! (^_^)

Abbie and the Birthday Girl ~ Ailie! (^_^)

~ Sophie's Choice ~ This Halloween ~ Stand Up 2 Cysts!

Surprise Package from My New York Monster Pals ~ FrankenGeorge and JuJu d'witch!

This October was a super adventurous and spooky    month for Soph .......and it's not even because it's Halloween! It is because every year around this time, I am haunted by the scare-your-pants-off tradition known to the medical community as the "Well-Woman's Exam"  which includes the not-so-delightful boo boo exam, pap smear, and pelvic ultrasound. Honestly, this is not a practice that makes us ladies 'well', but we do them anyways.... 

Surprise "Boo" treats from a secret neighbor at my doorsteps!

This year, I switched to a new OB/Gyn. Last year my previous Ob/Gyn already hounded me about doing fibroid laproscopy, but there wasn't enough evidence. This year, my new Ob called me 4 days after my visit to let me know that my ovarian cysts are pretty big ( two of them ~5cm) and advised getting a CA125 blood test to rule out ovarian cancer and to consider laprascopy.

Caleb and Abbie got their Orange belts this month! I asked the
 kids/hubby for advice about possible laparascopy,
and both of the brave kids said, "Get the surgery mommy!"

So hence I began my journey to decide what to do with the 'treats' (or tricks?) inside my tummy. It has been only 2 weeks but I've got really good responses, advices and encouragements! Praise the Lord! Below is my letter of thanksgiving and prayer to all my beloved! God's grace and your love are sufficient for me, Thank you all (^_^)!

On Oct 17, 2011, at 5:12 PM, Sophie Tsai godluvu99@yahoo.com wrote on her email to beloved:

Hi Sweeties!

Thank you for being my wise counsel & prayer warriors the past week as I search within (literally and figuratively) to best handle the 4 'tangerines cysts' & 2 fundal fibroids in there. I've decided to 'Stand Up 2 Cysts' and cut them out! That's Soph's "Decision 2011"!

Reason: (1) Hemorrhagenic cysts have the potential to burst/rupture anytime, which will stain my carpets, make a mess, and force bystanders to rush me to the ER.

(2) The cysts may enlarge even more and we don't know whether the goodies inside are benign ...or.... not so benign . So if I leave them in there, come next October I will be emailing you ALL the SAME question AGAIN! Too scary and not a good Halloween trick! So let's go ahead and do it, and spare my beloved from extra google work & stress.

(3) I have nothing else better to do on Thanksgiving week this year, so I plan to sit/lie around all day and watch TV . Hopefully I can get the surgery early that week (~I've written up a 'battle plan' to bring to my OB about when/what/where/what method to remove my 6 "treats" inside ~).

Added Bonus: Keeping me home will save hubby $$$! No "Black Friday" shopping for me this year!

Also I've utilized my little "Sophie's Fleece" . I asked the Lord last Monday (when I didn't want the laparoscopy performed), that "Lord, if having the surgery is the better way to go, then let 75% of my counsel be to go ahead and do it". Astonishingly, of all the medical & friend community that gave definate yay/nay responses (either professionally or from experience), 95% said, "DO IT! We're behind you 100%!"

Although this is not the biggest decision in my life, as I've made that years ago ( To Receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and give my life for Him & His purposes ), it is indeed one that required a little more time, energy, and introspection than usual.

I am thankful this Thanksgiving season that I have All of you to go on life's roller coaster with (um...whether you wanted to or not ). Please take GOOD care of yourselves too and get check-ups regularly! You are special to me and may the Lord continue to bless and use you powerfully in the lives of your loved ones!

Hugs!

Soph

Sometimes we may not have all the answers,“But That's Okay ~ Because God DOES!” (Soph ~ 10/17/11)

Yummy Birthday Lunch for Sister Debbie!

When the Lights went out in Ladera....

Yesterday was the 2nd day of school, and all was well. It was a typical day, and after picking up the kids from school, we headed to Taekwondo class just down our street. In the middle of 'Hiya' flykicks, suddenly the A/C and lights went out. We found out that the whole Pavillions plaza had lost power. Then we found out the whole Ladera, then south OC, down to Mexico and even parts of AZ had lost power/phone connection!

Even antisocial hubby came out to chat, since the house was pitch black!

We spent pretty much the afternoon doing homework and housework, because after the sun goes down, we'll be sitting in darkness! We had cold leftover chinese food with cold rice, then went outside to hang out with neighbors. All the neighbors had gone outside to chat 'cuz it was hot and getting dark, so it was like a big party!

I met neighbors I never knew, as many people moved in and out this past year. We marched down our street and shared our ice cream sandwiches, as they were melting and not likely to last for too long, just like manna!

My buddy Suzanne couldn't get Antibiotics 'cuz CVS was closed!

Hubby took 1.5 hours to get from Oso parkway to our home, and so were the dads on the block. So us moms chatted, some of them breaking out the wine and cookies. The kids played basketball and chatted, and at the end of the night, surrounded the only electronic device still kicking ~ thanks to dear Blake and his iPad.

The kids had the opportunity to learn about what life was like in grandparents' generation, and the simplicity of it having no electricity, TV, computers, cell phones, or other things that consume our days today. We learned the simple joys of chatting with our neighbors, and just 'being'.....as we were on the same boat that day. We have so much and yet we often miss out on the most important ~ time and bonding with loved ones and neighbors! So yesterday, we tasted the goodness of friendship and the kids will remember this day for a long time!



p.s. Thankfully, power was restored after about 8 hours (11+ pm to be exact), and my mooncakes (and food in the fridge) survived!

After 15 years ~ We're back at UCSD ~ Where Hubby and I fell in, then out, then back in Love!

It was very exciting to have our church retreat at UCSD! I remember stepping into the same Muir parking lot as a clueless freshmen 19 years ago around this time! It's wonderful for the whole church (well, 250 of them!) sleeping in the same place and eating at the same cafeteria that hubby and I ate back in 1992!



Many things changed in UCSD. For one thing, the not-so-tasty "Top of the Quad" had changed its name (twice), now it's "The Pines" (or Stewart Commons). It's VERY delicious, like restaurant grade...not dorm food when we had to eat simply for survival.

There were many new buildings added to UCSD too, and pieces of art (that looks kind of funny), but helped bring in revenue for the school as they are the "Stuart Collection" (and you can become a member to support them)! We scavenger hunted with a few familes on Saturday afternoon to the 17 different points of interests, and it was fun to reflect on the good ol' days (scary days, academically...in hubby's words). (Secret: We dated 3.5 yrs, broke up for 2 weeks on my graduation week in June 1996, then got back together again!)

The kids enjoyed living in the apartment that likened my apt (I stayed at the dorm at Muir, and apt at Warren college). Abbie expressed interest in going to UCSD, 'while Caleb says he'll go to UCI (where did he get that idea?). The food is excellent, and if the kids come here, they won't come home to eat my cooking!



We had an inspiring time, and the message recharged and challenged me. God was telling me to not fear but just obey, and share what He has done in my life, esp. during my insomnia & postpartum depression days. I surrendered and told him I am willing, if He wants to use me. 2 hours later at the 'The Pines', Eugenia (the coordinator for Elderly Fellowship at our church) pops out of nowhere and asks if I can share about my encounter with the Lord during my postpartum days.

If you ask me, I'd say God works REALLY fast and in mysterious ways! For 1.5 years I've resisted sharing (public speaking, yikes!) to a crowd of people, because it's too disorienting (and no one talks back and forth with you). But I know that I love Jesus more than my 'face', so I'm preparing now and getting ready for next Thursday's sharing. Pray for me guys!

Soph and UCSD pals (Wendy, Julie, Mark) ate at our house a few days before the retreat! Ju's hubby George
 was my Cerritos high school friend! What a small world! We had a precious get together!

This retreat is one of the most powerful retreats I've gone to in a long time. I'm thankful for this opportunity to know my Heavenly Father and brothers and sisters in a new yet familiar setting! May the Lord continue to guide you all!

Lessons from my Super Duper Sunflower! (^_^)

This summer I didn't pay much attention to my sunflowers because we had an enormous vacation planned...3500 drive from here ending at Vancouver/Victoria Canada and back! Unbeknownst to us, our sunflowers grew gigantic without any human help! They grew true to their name, "Giant Mammoth"!

I remember the one in the yard came from a tiny seed smaller than the size of my pinky fingernail....and when we left for our trip, she was just 2 feet tall. When we returned, she was up to my shoulders! Now she's 1.5 story tall!

Soon (3 days later), her head got so big that she was leaning forward with her head bowed! This struck me as God's way of reminding me that, "When you start to have a big head, you must learn to be humble!"

And it never ceases to amaze me that....Sunflower seeds...DO come from Sunflowers! I just never knew where they were, exactly! Abbie and I noticed that when you 'de-face' the sunflower head by removing little yellow follicles, inside you get a huge geometrically symmetrical sunflower seeds placed in perfect rows! It showed me how thoughtful God was in giving us delicious foods after we get to enjoy the flowers from which they come from! So we tried them! Abbie LOVED eating them, and she closed her big eyes as she enjoyed the crisy yummy Organic sunflower seeds!

This summer roller-coastered between heat wave and cool windy days, much like the stock market fluctuations we've recently experienced. But between all these uncertainties, I've begun to look for the ups amidst off the the downs. Without the scorching heat, we would not have the gigantic, breathtaking Sunflowers, nor scrumptious sunflower seeds to nibble on today. Nor would the beautiful yellow finches and fat (scary) juicy flourescent-green catepillars come and visit (devour) our delicious, super sweet red tomatoes)!

Our yucky visitor

Sweet Healthy Snacks

Super sweet tiny tomatoes

Grape tomatoes

Yummy strawberries