Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

It's been a while again. Life is so crazy! It was easier to post quick comments to Facebook than work on the blog this past year. But I wanted to get our Christmas message out to everyone. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

The kids are great. Both enjoyed the summer with daily swim lessons, and we hope Emily will join the kiddie swim team next Summer. David is close behind. He's gained a lot of strength by keeping up with his peers and attending Sea Park Elementary, which has great services for special needs kids.

Emily Pei Pei

Emily loves school. Her first grade teacher, Mrs. Mills, is fabulous, and Emily is eager to learn everything she can about a subject. At Thanksgiving, she lived as a pilgrim for 10 days, basing her self-made costume on the true story of Sarah Morton, a 17th century pilgrim girl from Plymouth Colony. The plastic Publix bag hanging from her apron contains Rosemary she picked from our garden. Emily passed it out to everyone she met, because Sarah Morton picked herbs and shared them, as well.

One day Emily cracked me up by handing me a stick and asking in a quiet, respectful tone, "Mother, would you like to beat me? I didn't pick up my things." Sarah Morton's mother spanked her with a stick if Sarah didn't do her chores. LOL--as if!! Emily wore her outfit to school before Thanksgiving, and Mrs. Mills walked her through two different classrooms to show the kids. This little girl is so much fun.

Even being at a great school, Emily has been keenly aware of feeling different from the other kids. She's finally embracing her Chinese heritage, but at the same time dislikes the constant stares from strangers that she receives wherever she goes. It's easy enough for Kevin and I to ignore the stares we generate as a biracial family, but for a little girl, it can be overwhelming. Yet this same little girl gives the loudest screaming "AYAH!!" in Tae Kwon Do!

David Jian Qun

Oh this little guy! He's our high-maintenance kid. But what a personality! Charming, fearless, stubborn, determined, he's got it all. And he deserves every bit of it. He loves school, and has become all boy. Nothing in the house is too small for him to climb. One of his favorite stances is atop a dining room chair, one bare foot on each arm, with his arms high in the air overhead, and him yelling, "Look at me, Mom!" Aye yay yay!

David's his name, pirates and superheroes are his game! He asked Santa for an Incredible Hulk costume for Christmas, but Batman is his all-time favorite.

Healthwise, David still has many health challenges ahead of him, all stemming from birth. Chronic sinusitis and ear issues plagued him all year, but thanks to an excellent set of doctors, it's being managed. Surgeries #6 and 7 were last year, #s 8 and 9 are coming soon. He'll have his 4th set of ear tubes inserted and his adenoids shaved in a few weeks, in preparation for a major palate surgery to restore speech. Most people outside of immediate family and friends, a few teachers and classmates, can't understand him. And boy, does it frustrate him! His plastic surgeon says the palate surgery should give him understandable speech by Fall. Keep your fingers crossed! :)

Dave and Jackie's Wedding

A BIG event for the family this year was the long-awaited wedding of my brother David, and his lovely wife, Jackie Leigh Blair, aka "Jackie Leigh-Lee". They married on October 16th, 2010 in a small garden wedding. Afterwards we enjoyed a lovely, lavendar-scented reception at their house, hosted by Jackie's mom.

Other Milestones

David, Emily and Ashley, ca. Chinese New Year

This has been a year of excitement--the wedding, the happy wait for Cindy & Rob Rhoton's baby girl. Better health for David, and David learning to swim! Emily's lost first tooth. Kevin's great new job after 1.5 years of unemployment. The launch of his Bamboodah business.

It's also been a year of loss. After a long and happy life, my beloved Aunt Mary left us to join her husband, "Moose", who passed away years earlier. My best friend Amy's mother, Vivian Fischer also left us after a long life. Friends and family struggled over the loss of an infant daughter and twin infant sons. Our cat Toffee (age 13) and our dog Mia (age 10) travelled to the Rainbow Bridge.

Happy Holidays

That's it for this year. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Good health and happy times to every one of you, because you deserve it. We're so grateful to our family and friends. Thank you for all your support and friendship.

Much love,

Caroline, Kevin, Emily, David, and Nigel Tufnel (aka Rascal)

Note: The obviously great photos are by Liz Mojica.