WHAT? ALMOST ONE YEAR IN PHILLY SUBURBS?

Happy 2015 Dears! Ok, I've vowed to at least write one post every other week when I started blogging in 2008. Now....after 7 years, I've gone from at least one biweekly to 1 every.... 7 months!! Yikes! This year has gone half way through! What has happened? Time warp or Alien abduction?

Caleb Shovels!

Abbie's New Invention; SNOW CHAIR!

Daddy Jumps In and Becomes Snow Angel!

Life here in Bucks County has been so exciting! It was kind of traumatic in December when our water heater leaked and died. 

Visited New York Auntie and Uncle!! Caleb has funny pose

Kids Made Yummy Sushi for Grandpa Caleb

3 Generation of Gamblers....

My dad in law Pastor Caleb came from CA at that time and I think he decided not to come this year....after going to YMCA to shower with us for a whole week when we had only freezing cold water.... Then  our air conditioning system died completely so I had to eat junk food, drink hot milk tea, and hold Frosty all day long to stay warm.

I'm Not Leaving Here until I eat 2 snowballs!

 The best part about life here is the SNOOOOOOOW! It came and came and didn't leave until waaaaaay into April! We had so much fun and Frosty stayed outdoors, taking short naps on the snow and wouldn't come in except to eat and drink water.

Don't You Dare throw that Snowball at Me!!

I Repeat! DON'T THROW IT!

Applying for Christmas Elf position

Autumn Does Not Like Photo Bomber

Cool Christmas Sled Dogs Mama Soph Found Online

The 2 Creepy Kids Photobombed my ONLY PIC with the PRESIDENT!

 We went to Washington D.C. for Christmas vacation, which was super cool! Subways are so nice and convenient, and after almost 1  year here...I am STILL trying to get used to the one lane winding back roads and 3 feet pot holes here!

I'm Snoozing On the Snow tonight,  Mom!

Hubby traveled weekly (or bi) for the most part, and the kids and I are actually enjoying our new adventure here! We are blessed with wonderful neighbors, school friends/parents, and church buds!

My Mother's Day Gift 

Abbie and our Foster Lovebird

Reading Olympics Team Belac (Caleb reversed!)

Relay for Life Event with Buds

French Club Fashion Show 2nd Place Winner!
Fruit Bowl Kids!

Caleb blossomed and made tons of friends here, all of whom are so embracing and love him dearly! He joined jazz band, basketball league and track and field, and kids invite him to play basketball or have play dates (I mean, "hang out").  Abbie suddently entered the tweenlight zone....(mom's version of twilight zone, if you know what I mean)....and has the EQ of a porcupine. 

1st Selfie of Her LIFE!

Caleb holds Madagascar COCKROACH for the 1st TIME!

Hubby and I stay away when we see her glaring, sulking or getting sassy.... IT is really scary how little tweens can be really happy and high one minute then pouting and screaming with fists in the air....the very next second. My  mom said I was like that since I was 5, so this is all normal and will pass. I call it karma...and now it's biting me in the tush.  

SMACK!  Big Brother Bad Bad!!  

The most rewarding experience this past  year has got to be the arrival of my baby #3 Frosty Poo! He has been a terrible toddler since December, but suddenly he's settling into a sweet 1 year old older-toddler! He loves kissing and lick-therapying everyone he meets, and passed his all star puppy and good canine citizen (GCC) classes! All he needs is to pass his 12 step test and he can start his new career as Therapy Dog, M.D.! We will definately have him tested after our exciting trip.... to CA and Alaska this summer! Woohoo!

Frosty Therapying 3 yr old and All the Bible Study Ladies

Shedding Snow Dogs Snow Indoors while it SNOWS outside!

We cannot wait to be reunited with our dear family members and church buds in CA! It has been a long year but actually the year went by really fast too! I am cherishing every day here because we really don't know what God's plan is for each of us, or where we would live (or go to college/work) in the future! There's nothing to worry about but to enjoy the nature and wonderful people in our lives right now!

Happy Spring everyone! Here in PA, the Winter was long so all the flowers suddenly exploded in April and all the locals are popping clairitins like tic tacs! Then late May we went into high 80s and summerlike weather, skipping Spring! I do enjoy all the deers and geese and the the occasional vultures congregating along the country roads....it is definately a jungle out here!

Peace Valley Lake ~ Frosty Screams, "COME PLAY WITH ME!"

Wow, Happy November! Where did Autumn Go? (*_^)

The beautiful leaves are breath-taking...... Now who will help us a-Raking?

Today I couldn't believe that November creeped up on us! The crisp, breezy autumn days with sunshine peeking in periodically have suddenly took on a chilly, rainy, gusty and even frosty demeanor, making me bundle up in my Christmas sweater (and hat, gloves, scarf, boots, and snow jacket) two months before I thought my wimpy California self would dress!

Frost on the leaves and lawn at 8am! 31 degrees!

 

Autumn Girl enjoys being the Poster Girl for Thanksgiving Decor at the Tsai residence

It is not easy to adjust to 40's day high and 30's night lows in such a brief period of time, but I focused on enjoying the beauty of the Northeast as the Maple trees sprinkled their beautiful orange-red leaves upon our lawns, until our lawn was decorated with more foliage than I can handle! This morning the wind was blowing so hard that trees were dancing sideways and Frosty couldn't stand still to pee so he had to give up and run inside! We've never experienced 40 mph wind gusts like this in California!

Frosty loves his new Thanksgiving Collar scrunchie he bought at the Laborador Rescue fundraising

Life with 4 seasons has its beauty and its beast. For one thing, I am taking 30 minutes a day looking for "Frosty-gold" because all the leaves are the same color as his gold nuggets! No wonder having a dog keeps our minds active....it is harder to search, recover,  and dispose daily poopies without straining one's eyes (and arms, holding the heavy metal poop rake/scooper) and now I have a deep respect for all the dog lovers/owners/slaves out there!

Kobee High-Fives visitors who woo and ahh over him

 

Jubee likes the Scenery Here

 

 

 

Beautiful Autumn Leaves Beginning to Fall

I had fun exploring the neighborhood stores, such as the super shopping experiences at Wegman's (Trader Joes + Mother's Market Size/Coziness times 2!) and Pet Supplies Plus. Frosty went to a Costume Contest at PSP last Saturday and it was super fun to see him freaked out by 2 little rescue piggies in the store (up for adoption), and Chuck-e (the big pizza mouse enterprenuring next door) who brought 3 delicious pizzas for the contestants' parents.

Chuck-E tries to knee-clasp Frosty, who doesn't really want a picture with a Mouse

The kids adjusted incredibly well to their new schools and made lots of friends! We are so blessed by all of you who prayed for them before and after our cross-country move!





Our Super Dog thinks there's too many bad news (e.g. ISIS & eBola)..... so he eats it up!

Super Dog at Costume Contest

It's cool that the kids have Chinese classmates who also go to the same church as them!  The kids here are very sweet and embracing to their new friends from the west coast! God does provide for each of our needs, we just need to trust Him one day at a time.

Frosty advertises for Power Paws, a doggie sock company on Dog Fancy!!

Hubby hasn't been traveling as much lately, so I'm savoring his yummy cooking, funny discussions and complaints about Clash of Clans with the kids around the dinner table. We will continue to enjoy this beautiful Autumn until.... snow flurries abound and we are homebound with Frosty, 3 freezing birdies, and the kids!

3 birdies huddle around the space heater during cold nights!

We are so happy to be here, even if some days we are freezing our buns off!! Before we know it, Thanksgiving will be here!  Come visit us soon! 

35 inch homegrown Opo veggie from a neighbor sends Frosty into a frenzy! No Veggies, Mommy!

      Every morning, our family circus consists of puppy teeth acupuncture & screaming Abbie

                                  Hubby teaches Frosty a new trick!!

Have A Happy Harvest!

The Kids Will be Alright (^_^) Abbie's New Year's Wish!

Even before hubby packed his bags in preparation for his migration to Philly (for his new job at Johnson and Johnson), he worried that the kids and I would not be able to adjust to his absence. God is so good, and though hubby and I haven't been apart since our 5 year long distance relationship in my college days (1993-1998), life had been quite smooth since December 1st (hubby's 1st day of work)!

We missed him a lot, but also kept our daily routine of school, after school relaxing/Taekwondo, and they patiently did their homework/chores while I prepared dinner and attempted to help them with their homework (when I had no clue what the questions were, esp. Math, I took pics and Whatsapped them to hubby to solve the problem!).


The kids were quite resilient, and started to pitch in on daily chores! This morning Caleb surprised me by making home-laid home-made sunny-side-down eggs! Abbie was the behind-the-scenes chef, teaching big bro how to make the yummy eggs. They ended up making 6 eggs (4 of them were from Mocha and Nugget) and eating them all! We are now awaiting hubby's offer on a house in Philly suburbs, and in the meantime looking to list our home at the end of this month. We're excited to see what God's plans are for our family this brand new year!!

In the meantime, Abbie is also following through on her New Year's Resolution to be a Responsible Puppy Mommy! She went to the library to check out tons of books on Puppy Care, headed to Petsmart with me to purchase puppy biscuits, toys, collars, and other supplies!

We are happy to report that except for Da Pup, we have EVERYTHING we need to start caring for our family's new addition! WE are hoping to get a puppy from "After Eden Samoyeds", a wonderful couple who loves the Lord and had a litter of pups born on 12/30/13! We hope to get a house by then so we can settle the pup down! We are definitely praying hard!

Abbie was very good at convincing us that we needed a new addition. She actually wanted a baby sister, but after explaining to her that daddy closed shop (He just did! And mommy too!), she went on to lobby for a baby pup. So I told her that she can come up with a proposal and we can have a family meeting during New Year's week when daddy comes home.

Ultimately her poster and 8 page report (plus daddy also wanting a pup in the last few months) resulted in a family unanimous vote on getting a Samoyed pup. At first I was considering a rare AKC breed (since 1997) called "Canaan Dog", but eventually the family thought Samoyed would be a more suitable dog....considering Philly is still in the midst of the current polar vortex and freezing/snowing/icing up pretty good.

So we are embarking on a new adventure! Please keep praying for us! Happy New Year!

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! (^_^)