~ Our Wonderful, Bitter-Sweet Stay at Sequoia ~

I love our one and only family picture....except..... how can I edit out my butt?

_{This has been an unusually rough summer as news of hubby’s company (Bausch and Lomb) acquisition (by Valeant) loomed over our heads. We knew that the day would come….but surprisingly, It wasn’t long before the ax brought hubby home! On 8/7, hubby came home with 5 boxes of work stuff, including his favorite Chinese tea set and puffy casual office slippers.  Though we were in for a challenging August (and onwards), I knew this was a special time for our family. We’ve never experienced layoffs in our lives (another blessing to count!), so this was a golden opportunity for the kids (and parents) to learn how life could still be fun and meaningful without all the stuff and guarantees! While tossing out online resumes at lightening speed, hubby also spent lots of time playing “Texas Hold’em” with the kids, cooking delicious foods (like steak and chinese chicken noodle soup), and hanging out with us! Back in June, we had already booked a 7-day stay at a modest cabin in Hume Lake Christian Center at Sequoia National Park, so we decided that we should stick to our plans. This was a good opportunity to get away and not think about job openings and interviews (or the lack thereof, at this time).}

_{The coordination of 4 beloved friends to care for our numerous feathered, furry and scaly friends took more communication and time than the packing itself, and I’m so thankful that all of my buddies (despite one mom’s extreme fear of any creature with a small head and a beak) offered to help out without hesitation (they may be regretting now, but I’m out of reach on all electronic levels, hahahaha). I hope my two sweet chickens don’t fly over the wall, attack their chickie-sitters, or get stolen/eaten in our absence….}

 

Abbie does NOT like the little triangle house.... We all kept bumping our heads on the walls!

_{After a gruelsome, nauseating 7.5 hour trip up the mountainous terrain to our final destination, we were shocked to find that our online elegant, 2 bedroom cabin turned out to be a triangle (half-built-looking) scrawny little homestead with a super hot triangle attic/loft divided by a piece of board (carving out the website’s touted “beautiful 2 bedrooms”). It was like ordering a big, fat, juicy premium burger from the menu and being handed a tiny, dry value-deal cheeseburger…without cheese.}  

Find Abbie among the Card-playing, Dodger-watching boys!

_{We eventually accepted our fate and it turned out we didn’t need all that much space after all, since grandpa Caleb, grandson Caleb and daddy Mark spent 85% of the day planted on the sofa playing “The Game” (as it was called by hubby, ‘cuz he doesn’t know what that game  was called). Maybe it was Napoleon or Bridge or something. The excitement wore off after 2 hours for mama Soph, because I was literally living like the olden-days mom in the black and white 60’s TV show….I love Lucy?!}

The kids built super cool forts at Hume Lake!

<sub>There was no cell phone connection, no Texting/WhatsApp/Facebook/Email/Internet access, no TV (well, there was, but the boys hogged up the Dish-network watching Taipei vs. Japan Little League baseball & Dodgers games all week long), no rice cooker/toaster……..not even sofa space for Soph! I didn’t know what to do all day long! So I read and read and by day 3, I’ve exhausted myself of all my books, magazines, even reading all print-outs stuck on the cabin fridge, and was sooo ready to go home. I was bored to tears by Monday night and decided that hubby should not consider applying to be a Hume Lake full time employee, as we originally daydreamed about earlier in the day.



</sub>

ROARING RIVER WATERFALL (from 12,000 ft elevation)!

_{The good thing was that every day I walked about an hour down, then up the mountainous roads to the General Store in order to experience some type of civilization besides sitting around with my beloved card-playing, junk-food eating, TV-watching couch potatoes. That was the highlight of my day! Each day I walked up and down the 45 degree mountain sweating and realized know why people have so many kids in the olden days….. because there was simply NOTHING to do all day long!   So, people had to DO SOMEthing, right? Anyways,   I insisted we leave the house at least once a day. We had fun driving on our golf-cart for the free tour and hearing the Hume Lake tour guide share about the history of this wonderful 320 acre Christian Center. It was a miracle they were able to buy this huge place back in the 40’s! (http://www.humelake.org/about/hume-history/)}

 
_{We also went down to the south side of Hume Lake and enjoyed hours of playing in the water! The kids (grudgingly at first, esp. tween boy Caleb) spent 2 hours building their cool forts/moats while Grandpa took beautiful scenic pictures for his next book.  I was just glad to be out of the cabin! Tomorrow hubby, Caleb and I will go on the Zipline (glide down a dinky metal wire with minimal safety gear) ride! I can’t wait to go on this ride because that will be the highlight of my day.}  



Can you spot me in the picture? For my birthday wish this year, I’m gonna be adventure,
enjoy God’s surprises, and hang on to the tail end of my 30’s!

_{Each day in the mountains felt like 40 hours instead of 24. The day stands still when you are in the middle of nowhere (ESP. without mom friends to chat with). I was beginning to have conversations with the squirrels and tiny pine tree sprouts crossing my path because I seriously had no one to converse with. Now I think that’s ok because I should savor the moments that daddy and grandpa are occupying the kids! Abbie doesn’t come to me and whine, “I’m Bored” every 75 seconds anymore! I suppose Human Nature always complains of what they do not have at the moment…. Like wanting a Vacation when stuck home in the daily rat race, and complaining that home is sweet and comfy while we are stranded on the mountain top (with super dry lips and sneezing uncontrollably from pine pollens). Yesterday Abbie and I went for a 1 hour walk…only to get caught in a thunderstorm after we bought 6 Airheads at the General store….a mile away from our cabin! My first reaction was “this is horrible!”….but now I think it is extremely memorable, because we’ve never been so wet and helpless and determined to reach the same goal (Get Home!) together!! We also raced to pick up the prettiest pine cones lining the hillsides, and look forward to decorating our front yard with them! What I thought was Boring was now exciting, and what I thought was exciting (Access to electronics) were actually Distractions! My perspective slowly began to change.} 



Simple Pleasures: Making PB and J sandwiches for everyone by the river!

 

_{Today Abbie and I wandered off to the back patio, looked down, and discovered a slope full of baby pine sprouts! As I beheld these little ones, a thought hits me, “Wow, if under these harsh, dry, and rocky conditions, a 2-inch sprout can grow, thrive, and reach 7 or 8 stories high over time……Then surely hubby, and I, and the kids, can overcome our challenges however difficult they may seem right now!!”  ((^_^))  Who knew that playing with pine cones and transferring little pine sprouts could bring about such a big inspiration! This trip was beginning to take on a special meaning.}
 

Abbie poses with little sprouts....then we replanted them back!

 

_{God wanted to show me something bigger than my own self-preoccupation. Another thing that struck me was that, these Sequoia trees, and squirrels, and Blue jays, and wild mallards, and whatever else was crawling/flying/growing out there…..Didn’t have a care in the world and didn’t mind if people were watching them, or if no one was watching them. They enjoyed BEING, period. They don’t need to please, perform, compare or compete with one another. Maybe people get away once (or many times a year) to the mountains or oceans where no one knows them exactly for the same reasons….so they can be anonymous and carefree and just BE.}



God's Comforting Words were everywhere during our stay!

_{It’s harder to be in this natural state when you have neighbors, bosses, coworkers, parents from your kids’ school, friends, relatives, or phone/door marketers all revolving around you on any given day. It’s actually quite liberating not having to do anything productive but just vege out all day long. The result of this cherished down time is a super clear mind… and an enlarged waistline (esp. with the amount of real and junk foods we consumed)…..unless you hike up and down a steep mountain road 1+ hour a day. I enjoyed taking pictures of all the wildlife and majestic scenery of mountains, Giant Sequoias and the Lake ~ And I’m thankful my Samsung Galaxy was actually really clear and the pix came out great!}

_{So after we descend this mountain, we will begin a brand new adventure. Not only will it be a new school year for the now 3rd/7th graders, but for hubby and me as well (Gasp! I will be 39 years old when we leave our tiny triangular cabin on 8/24!). We don’t know where God will lead us geographically or vocationally, but I know that if we walk with Him daily and grow spiritually, anywhere is a good place to be!! Thank you all for your love, prayers, friendship and for just BEING here!}

_{Hugs and blessings,}

_{Soph (Written on 8/20/13)}



Cute Yellow-legged frog hangs out with blue dragonfly

 

I wanted tiny bottom-feeder fishes for my birthday ~ So hubby went and scooped away!

_p.s. We came down the hill on my big “39” birthday yesterday (8/24) and I was blessed with well-wishes from all my dear family and friends! (^_^) Thank you ALL!!!!   (On 8/25/13 at 6:12am)

Our Laker Team's Very 1st Basketball Championship Victory !! ~ (^_^) Woohoo!

 

 

I look back and Caleb has been playing seasonal leagues (8 weeks per season) since quitting his baseball career last March. It was super hard for us all to change gears about his decision to stop baseball altogether (after all, he's going PRO, right?), not to mention the financial commitment ($500+) for his new travel-ball team membership/uniforms/equipments, etc. 

But after a chilling 3 day tantrum/meltdown marathon we realized that his mental health was more important than anything else.

So we accepted the end of his baseball career and just focused on letting him get the exercise & teamwork/skills exposure regardless of what sport he chooses, AND not expect him to be the one realize our (ok, dad's) athletic career (day)dreams! Little did we know that this was the beginning to great opportunities and a wonderful turning point in his (and our) life!!















Note: And really, looking back, I'll DEFINATELY choose sitting indoors, on actual chairs, for just one hour, OVER being outside....lugging around folding chairs/heat lamps/blankets/ski jackets/baseball bats, helmets, gears, in the cold/rain/wind/blazing heat, for 2+ hours, watching my kid stand around on the field or sit on the bleachers waiting for his turn to touch the darn ball... ANY DAY!



We played a few leagues in the past and it was hard for Caleb to get used to the extreme physical contact of this sport, not to mention the gigantic boys constantly towering over him. He was always the youngest in his academic and athletic life due to his late birthday (Thanksgiving), but he seemed determined to enjoy and do his best at whatever he puts his mind to. At first we thought if none of the 'balls' worked for him, he can enter Track and Field in Tesoro high school, since he was nicknamed "Dash" for his super speed! I guess with our latest Basketball Playoffs, the speed paid off handomely too!

We had super skillful, wonderful and gentle Coach Dan and Assistant Coach Ara! They coached for many years and taught the boys all the basics so they would have a solid foundation. He helped train them in teamwork, attitude and skills. All the boys played extremely well with one another, helping each other out when needed on and off the court, and no one was ever left out. The whole season was full of fun, and went super smoothly....so smoothly that we were undefeated all season! We thank the coaches especially for the time and energy they dedicated to train/lead our boys, by experience and by example!

Yesterday we played 3 games at the playoffs. The last 2 games in our Championship games were with the "Heat", a formidable team that was undefeated except when they lost to us one time. Amazingly, the boys put all their skills and coolness to the test and came out triumphantly! We played them twice and we rose to the top at the end!! The Youtube videos (sorry, mama Soph is an amateur videographer....I'm sure someone on the team has super highlights with captions and bubble annotations, haha!) speak for themselves!
Enjoy the videos, dear Lakers team and Coaches!











You are all wonderful, respectful and kind boys (and our dear girl KELLY!). We are so blessed to get to know all of you in these short weeks! Look forward to seeing you all at the Summer League or when school starts in the fall....or at Pavillions?!!

With Love and Gratitude ~
Sophie, Mark, Caleb (#4) and lil sis Abbie
 

Hello Sweet Chickies! Welcome to Our Family! (^_^)

On 4/11, Abbie and I looked at a Craiglist post about baby chicks just 10 days old! So ...
we did the unthinkable and drove to Saigon with bird carrier in car! We went and saw the most adorable puff balls in the world! 

The owner decided on two different color/breed chicks saying that it would be a more interesting flock, and they were the yellow Buff Orphington and owl-patterned brown Welsummer (Hybrid of 4 kinds of breeds). They are super cute and fall over and sleep whenever they are tired, even when they are halfway through eating! SOOO adorable!



The chicks were just the size of my fist when they first came, and we had to use Caleb's study light with a disco white lightbulb (100 watt) which was really cool! They were nice and cozy (but not so hot that they cooked...) and slept a lot!

Mocha suddenly flops over fast asleep while eating...

They even slept on my lap and shoulders! I took daily naps with them while the kids watched "Arthur" for an hour at 3pm! Abbie also fell asleep playing with the chicks (or waiting for the chicks to nap...).

They kept me company while I did house chores or walked on my treadmill (Yes, I got a treadmill too)! Hubby wasn't thrilled about both the chicks AND the treadmill and nagged a lot about them taking up space and were noisy....but thankfully after 2 months, he had given up any hope of these 3 special gifts I got for myself and started to enjoy them too!

The chicks slept in a large laundry bin until one day (week 6?) hubby declared they are sleeping outside TONIGHT! I'm not sure why but maybe their midnight chirping sounds are driving him insane and there were feathers wherever he sat (^_^).

It is a fun 7

weeks since we got Nugget and Mocha....and lo and behold they quadrupled in size! They look like the big soy sauce chickens you see hanging in Sam Woo store window! Scary! And they don't look like the cute chubby baby Easter chicks you see in Photography studio pictures anymore! At 2 months old they look gigantic.... and Mocha looks like a roadrunner with reddish head feathers and has a creepy looking gray fluffy beard that taunts me... to grab my scissor and cut them off. I'm not sure why she suddenly became a bearded,  chubby girl?!! Maybe their plummage will keep changing and one day grow into more normal-looking chickens. I hope Mocha is not a man...bird.

 

I'm looking forward to having them lay their first eggs around late September, when they are about 6 months old! So excited! Their eggs will be brown eggs. I will trade them for yummy pastries my church mommy friends make, hahahaha! So I'm feeding them organic non-GMO chick feed, the 1st ever certified feed in the U.S., from Scratch and Peck company! So their eggs will be nice and organic too! Abbie keeps them healthy and free-range muscular by chasing them many times after school....in the yard....so they hide when they see her come through the door! (^_^)

Happy June, Sweeties! Where Have I Been??????

Hi sweeties!

Happy June! Boy, I haven't blogged for 5 months! It's like I fell off the edge of the earth! Well, I blamd Blogger/Google. Apparently they 'upgraded' to a new style/version, blah blah, and I could not even get into my own blog (and neither could my friends, family, or enemies...) without a 12 step verification thru a setting button that I couldn't find for the last almost half a year. So thankfully we're back in business....I hope....can anyone see this post????

Well, let's see what happened lately..... We went to a retreat with Grapevine fellowship for Valentine's weekend at Palm Springs....very nice and lovely! Then it was sad cuz my mother in law passed away on March 1, so we were busy with funeral arrangements and relatives visiting from Taiwan for the funeral. It was a really touching funeral/burial, and Caleb played clarinet during her viewing at Rose Hills. It was her favorite song, "In the Garden"!




We took dad in law Caleb wherever we went after mom in law passed away, like Taekwondo tournaments in SD, basketball games, weekend sleep overs, and just had an exciting 4 hours basketball championship (more on that later)!

We also had Easter, which was great, and a parachuting Easter bunny (who was a 60 yr old Navy Seal guy with a great body) came down from an airplane along with 40,000 Easter Eggs at Crossline church! Amazing! We also did something crazy when hubby and Caleb went to their 'dad and son trip' to Texas. Abbie and I went to Norco/Riverside to ride horses for 2.5 hours and the next day we bought 2 baby chicks from a nice Vietnamese dad of 23 boys named Scott  in Little Saigon! More on that later too!

So this past Spring was really busy....hectic... We were happy, then sad, then happy again, and so far....busy and hectic again....because the kids get off for a whole 13 weeks for summer vacation....in just SIX point five days..... SCARY! All the moms are having panic attacks just about now! But I'm so thankful that the kids are older now and can get along for 15 minute stretches without fighting...or at least they are old enough to determine whether the blood coming out from scratching/biting/hitting each other are serious enough to tell mom....or call 911.  This summer Caleb doesn't want to do anything but veg out.... it's kind of scary he might gain like 50 pounds....but if he sleeps late all summer he may actually grow 18 inches, which helps his basketball career. He is able to survive on the one culinary skill I taught him early this year.... Cook, actually...just heat... Progresso Noodle Soup (from Costco) in a pot after opening can with can opener (he actually used scissors to manually cut around the can for weeks until I discovered it)....and dump into bowl and eat. I think that is important skill to have in case something happened to me and it takes hours for daddy to find out about it. He can also feed little sister the same food too!

We had tons of school/piano/taekwondo testing as well as piano/clarinet/band concerts and singing performances. Not a day goes by that something is not needed for school or after school activities or a BBQ/Picnic/End of year something....   If it was in the olden days, there would be tons of weddings or babies getting born.

Oh, speaking of babies being born.... My sweet nephew Christopher Solomon DID get born (or borned) on 4/16/13 in Taiwan (so that's 4/15 here? Tax day!)! He is a handsome fella who is a hefty 7 lb 8 oz at birth! Can't wait to meet him next month! And my dear buddy Cathy had her baby boy Jeremy.... he is a sweetheart too! Tons of hair! So this is a very productive year indeed! I live vicariously through them, hold their babies, then return them when noise or poop emerges from them (^_^)! I am glad I finally came back to blogging.... I've been using shortcuts....FACEBOOK posts....for the past half year!

p.s. My leaping frogs leaped away in March when I cleaned their tank....so sad.... maybe that's why I got chicks...to fill the void in my heart.... And hammie/cheddar has 1 year to go....their bday was last week! I'll enjoy them while I can....cuz they only last 1 more year! Lots of parties coming up as school year/fellowships/Awana ends......I'll take it one day at a time and enjoy!
Hugs!

Have You Ever Walked a Frog? (^_*)



"I wanna go out.... and PLAY!!"

Lately the weather warmed up....and Keroppi and Baby Tad are getting restless in their small tank..... looking intently and pointing their little moist noses on the wall of the aquarium.

Wow, it looks so fun out there! So many kids biking!

So I decided that they should get a touch....taste?....of nature! And took them out for walks! They should feel right at home out there!

 

 

Boy they are even more hard to find than hamsters.....when they are on the loose!

 

As you can see, Keroppi (or is it Baby Tad? They are looking almost the same by now!) almost lost me (or I lost her?) on her new escapade! But she had so much fun and enjoyed being....FREEEEE! Glad I was able to retrieve her after that little adventure!   After the little 'walk' (or hop), she was quite content to go back into her tank and hide underwater in her beautiful scarlet chinese bridge!

"You Can't Catch Me I'm the Gingerbread Frog! HAHAHA!"

This was a beautiful, hot week (high 70's) in the middle of January! Enjoy it while you can, everyone! (^_^)

Mommy: "You better come back soon! Or you're gonna DRY OUT, silly!!"

 

Happy New Year ~ Freezing & Fun! (Part 1)

This year, we kicked off the Brand New 2013 year freezing in Sequoia with church buddies! After our summer visit there....we were...Officially ADDICTED!

The last post, as you can see, was the SAME place 6 mos ago in the summer! It's as beautiful as ever, but very different in just 5 months! Can you believe it? I'm no longer worthy to be called a Blogger with just 2 posts in 6 mos! This past Autumn was a blur....I think because we are busy waiting on our taddies-turned-froggies, hamster princesses, and our latest (as of 24 hrs ago) addition ~ Piyo Piyo (found by Abbie and her little friends on our street)! We are officially Soph's Zoo + Rescue Ctr!




We had tons of fun over Christmas holiday singing Handel's  "Messiah"! Hubby, Father in law and I haven't sang together for 11 yrs (since kids were born), and we practiced hard! The 32 pages were really hard songs! Our buddies from church sang with us too! It was super meaningful!






Then we went to Sequoia on NY day! It was really cold, and snow from pine trees fell on our heads when we trotted the velvety white slopes! The kids had precious moments with buddies as they sled, snow tubed, ice skated, and posed on the mechanical bulls!





I was  surprised that both kids are snow bunnies and totally LOVE sledding and playing in the snow! Meanwhile, I'm chunky, bulky, and shivering in my oversized snow attire! All I wanna do is drink hot milk tea and eat!!

 

Like fish in the water.....so are Soph's little monkeys in the snow!

 

 

The hot pots were so delicious....we all brought yummy ingredients and had many meals of bubbling beefy, veggie, seafood & udon stew! What a blessing to start off the year in the wonderful Creation of God! The majestic nature....trees, snow, animals....inspired us to trust in the Lord as He led us into the new year!

It was so serene as we beheld the iced-over lake, the beautiful slopes, the incredibly tall trees, and the black, starry night! The kids snow-tubed and ice-skated for the 1st time in their lives! We bonded without any TV, iphones, newspapers, internet or computer! Somehow a peace swept over us as we enjoyed the simplicity of nature and friendship!

I came to a realization that.... during these 5 days....though I was 'UNPLUGGED' from the world, the world kept revolving and everyone was fine! Everyone lived life well without my meddling!So it was more important that I spent special time alone with the Lord daily, and asked Him what He wanted for me to do daily....rather than running around making non-urgent calls/ emails, meandering in stores, and surfing away precious time. I really enjoyed the beautiful nature and people in my life....and pray that I will continue to live this year with purpose and meaning, and seek Him in all the choices that I make this year! Happy 2013, Beloved!