Wednesday, May 20, 2009

DUCK, COVER, AND HOLD!!!

Saturday - May 9, 2009 - Surprise!!! Happy birthday, Tony Wong! May the second half a century be as wonderful as the first half!!! It was great seeing so many familiar faces at such a short notice. Thank you Tiffany and Brian for letting us raid your home.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 665
2009-05-20 Earthquake 644 Carissa, Timmy, JoJo, and Mia
2009-05-20 Earthquake 645 Steve and Stephanie
2009-05-20 Earthquake 663
2009-05-20 Earthquake 646 These little black things turned out to be sweet bread with the black dye from squid, filled with garlic cheese. It was quite yummy, but they're still scary looking to me.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 647 Kathy, Verne, Leticia, Berda, Tiffany
2009-05-20 Earthquake 668 Grace, Jean, and me.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 664 Bob, Mia, and Phoebe
2009-05-20 Earthquake 649 Justin and me.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 655 Bradley and I.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 657 Grace with Phoebe.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 659 Leticia, Kathy, Tony, and John
2009-05-20 Earthquake 682 Big Tony, Derrick, Hank, Steve, and Lil' Tony
2009-05-20 Earthquake 677 Natalie, Kristen, and Traci
2009-05-20 Earthquake 680 Peek-a-Boo, I see you!!!
2009-05-20 Earthquake 661 Our teens playing with Timmy
2009-05-20 Earthquake 676 Rueben, Amanda, and Grace
2009-05-20 Earthquake 670 Justin and Carissa with me.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 698 Verne, Angel, and Leticia
2009-05-20 Earthquake 699 Myself, Phoebe, Bob, Brad, and Kathy
2009-05-20 Earthquake 689 So that's where all the teenagers went!!!

Congratulations to all the upcoming August babies (Soo & Bob, Stephanie & Steve, and Grace & Rueben). You know how excited I am to hear about all the great news! Keep us posted!!!

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Saturday - May 9, 2009 - Happy Birthday to all the May birthdays! And Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies and mommies-to-be. Chan gatherings are pretty crazy, but so fun! So many memories, and so many more to come...
2009-05-20 Earthquake 712 Shhhh.. Jordan is playing Hide and Seek. Don't you just love his hiding spot?!?!?
2009-05-20 Earthquake 722 Jordan and Jason
2009-05-20 Earthquake 725 Stevie is a good life guard for his little cousins.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 734 Uncle Baldwin, go under the arch!!!
2009-05-20 Earthquake 738 Stevie with Ada.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 739 What's that, Scotty? Yikes, that's a big gun!
2009-05-20 Earthquake 742 Yippee, birthday cake!
2009-05-20 Earthquake 749 Happy Birthday Eric, Stevie, Lauren, JenJen, and Ada!!!

2009-05-20 Earthquake 751 Happy Mother's Day!
2009-05-20 Earthquake 752 Jack is back!


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Saturday - May 16, 2009 - Happy Armed Forces Day! The city of Torrance sponsored their annual Armed Forces Day Parade today. The weather was perfect, not to hot, and not too cold. This was the first year we did not participate in the parade in years. We had decided to visit Faith United Methodist Church of Torrance for their annual Matsuri of Faith. We had made it just in time to see our friend, Jessi, dancing with her hula class. Of course there were the many booths to check out (food, games, crafts, etc.). My favorite booths are the fresh produce and plants/flowers.

2009-05-20 Earthquake 584 Auntie Kanani's singing while the girls hula.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 585 Jessi
2009-05-20 Earthquake 586 Bill and Hank
2009-05-20 Earthquake 583 Sharon and I.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 582 Sammi, Stevie, and Jessi

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Hey, did someone call for a Lemon Butter Club Meeting? This time, it's dinner at the Long Beach Town Center.
2009-05-20 Earthquake 587 Derrick, those crab legs look mighty yummy! Are you practicing for our Vegas trip?

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Sunday - May 17, 2009 at 8:40 pm
=====> (4.7 Earthquake + 2 after shocks)
Monday - May 18, 2009 at 3:48 pm
=====> (4.1 Earthquake/After Shock)
DUCK, COVER, AND HOLD!!!
DUCK under a strong table, COVER your neck and head, and HOLD on to the table leg so it won't shake away from you.
Well, this was what I remembered them teaching in school, a few years ago. Of course, when the earthquakes hit this week, I didn't do any of this. I just sat in my recliner talking on the phone with Kathy (screaming earthquake in her ear... sorry Kathy). I watched a few pictures fall, wondered if the big TV was going to fall, and watched the water in the fish tank splash back and forth. I thank God it these earthquakes were not that strong here in the South Bay, because I froze!!! It must have been that chemo brain thing again.

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2009-05-20 Earthquake 589
Tuesday - May 19, 2009 - Ada, Elina, Hank, and I went to see the musical, Ain't Misbehavin', at the Ahmanson Theater in downtown L.A. It was a really good show, considering I did not know what to expect. It's too bad I didn't recognize any of the songs; I think I would have enjoyed it more if I did. Overall, it was a great evening. Thank you God for your many blessings in our lives!!!

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Monday - May 18, 2009 - Kathy and I went to visit James at the hospital. He was doing great in my book. While we were there, Lisa, his speech pathologist came in to give him the swallowing test. He was being cautious, so he took several mini-swallows for just one teaspoon of thickened apple juice. Overall, he passed the test and was ready for some real soft foods. Farewell to that feeding tube! Yay! Then Todd, his nurse came in to test his memory and recollection on color. Todd points at my black shirt... James reply was "faded black". Todd points at Kathy's dark brown hair with highlights... James reply was "magenta on something black". Todd whipped out his metallic burnt orange phone... James reply was "Mediterranean rustic orange". Todd then takes out a brochure and tests James on the colors on it. He did fine, no challenge at all with primary colors. Gosh, I just can't over how James can dig so deep just to describe those first few colors!!! That's our James... And this is me, with my "faded black" tee! hee hee hee

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Thursday - May 21, 2009 - Angel and I went down to visit James. He was transferred to the Acute Rehabilitation Unit last night. His work friends came by for a few minutes during their lunch break. Later, Jolene and Wayne came by, just in time for us to dig into the last few bites of Angel's mochi custard. Andrew (James' brother), and Christine (sister-n-law) came by with some loose fitting clothes and tennis shoes for his 6 hours daily of PT exercises. I'm glad James didn't lose his sense of humor. He was pretty funny, even when he was tired. Get lots of rest James, there's a lot more PT ahead. We want them to work you hard, so you can get out of there fast. We love you, God bless you!!!
2009-05-20 Earthquake 754 Joseph, Art, Diego, Melina with James. Hey James, you've been lei'd in the hospital!!!
2009-05-20 Earthquake 755 Angel, me, James
2009-05-20 Earthquake 756 Michelle (PT) working with James on the cones. Use your left hand, James!!!
2009-05-20 earthquake 757 The clothes pin were pretty difficult to remove with his left hand, but he did it!!! Just keep practicing James! You'll pick up speed in no time!
2009-05-20 earthquake 758 James was pretty exhausted after all that PT. It was a good thing he has his own cheering committee!!! Thank God for compassionate therapists too!!!
2009-05-20 Earthquake 759 We enjoyed eating our mochi custard here in this lounge with you James. Maybe the next time, we can give you a bite!

James was pretty curious. He had me push him toward the refrigerator, just so he could see what was in it. It was a special refrigerator for patient food only. We saw some yogurt, milk, juices, and we found some Popsicles in the freezer. After that, he had me push him throughout the hallways of the floor. He wanted to show me his old room #138, which he had for the past two days. He has now moved into room #107, with his roommate, Norman. We hope he gets well fast so he can eat real food again. He said he's learned his lesson about going to get regular check ups. He said he never wants to go through this experience again. Thank God he can turn this into something good. I'm so glad that James knows our Lord. May he rely on Christ to get him back to a normal life. We'll keep praying for you James!

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