Memorial Day Weekend 2009

We should remember to pray for our troops and veterans all the time, but especially on Memorial Day. This is what this holiday is all about, to remember them and to honor them. They have fought for our freedom, protected our country, and sadly, many have paid the ultimate price with their lives. We should all take pride in what our country stands for, freedom! That's not to be confused with lawlessness. Sure, there are laws to follow, laws that were set up by our forefathers who mirrored God's laws. God has blessed us with our voices, our words, our forums in which to share our views. I believe God wants us to show compassion for others, and I believe he also wants us to take care of what he has blessed us with. Our land, our country, our people... all of which needs attention. We shouldn't complain about the things that are wrong with our nation, all nations have their issues. But overall, we have the best country in the world. In my opinion, anyone who doesn't love our country should just leave. We should do what we can for our troops, our nation. I'm proud to be here in the USA. God bless America and our people abundantly!!!

Friday - May 22, 2009 - It's Memorial Day weekend, and Ada's birthday. A few of us decided to go to Las Vegas for another Lemon Butter Club adventure... It was initiation time for a few new members too.

Bruce got Ada and her friends a mini suite at the new Trump Tower. It had an amazing view from their room on the 59th floor!!! Ugh, no wonder my ears popping! Yikes, I don't like heights!!!
The master bathroom, pretty amazing!
Peek-a-boo, we see you!!!
I like it in here!
Cool! There's a TV inside the mirror!!! And it's hooked up with cable too!!!
This feels pretty comfy!
Ada is pretending to mix some martinis for us.
There's a Tic-Tac-Toe coffee table in the living room. Are there any challengers out there?
There's a dining table and a 3/4 guest bathroom too.
Hey, who ate up all the food from this Sub Zero refrigerator?!?!?
We can get use to all this luxury!!!
No martinis, no food, no poker game, no casino... Hmmm I think these guys are ready to hit the buffet!
Meet you at the buffet!!!
Derrick, Hank, Berda, Ada, Angel, Bruce, Patty, and Connie. We're at Planet Hollywood's Spice Market Buffet. This is an official Lemon Butter Club meeting taking place! Happy 25th Birthday, ADA!!!
Yummy king crab legs!
Do you want some of this?!?!?!
It's too early to end the night, so we "had to" check out a new band playing at the Orleans Hotel called, "Volume Six". Tony and Leticia met us there for some good music, drinks, laughs, and a little bit of dancing too.
Here's a pic of Volume Six. They play really good music from the 70's and the 80's.
Nikki was our cocktail waitress.
Group pic time!
Cheers! Some of us hit the road, some of us hit the casino, and some of us hit the sack!!! Zzzzzzzz.

Saturday - May 23, 2009
Their one day of play is over. But before the hit the road back to LA, they ate some dim sum at Ping Pang Pong's!

Some of us stayed a couple of nights, some only stayed one, and then there are some that came to play for just the day! Yikes, that's crazy!!! But it sure was fun! I'm so glad everyone made it back and forth safely! We may have to do this again soon!

Hank was very disappointed when he found out that the City of Alhambra had cancelled their annual summer concerts this year due to budget issues. So, he was very excited to find that Las Vegas had their kick off while we were in town. Needless to say, we "had to" go see them, all of them!!!
Opening night for summer concerts. Today's free event featured four oldies bands.

The Marcels
The Standells
It's time for autographs.
Here's what Hank got for Susie.
The Contours
The last of the original members that started the band back in 1957. Can you believe he is 72 years old? He can still sing and dance! God has really blessed him!
The Grass Roots
Lead singer of The Grass Roots.

Sunday - May 24, 2009 - We've had our fun in Vegas, now it's family bonding time with our kids. We went to dinner at Chili's here in Torrance. Our servers surprised Stevie with a special birthday dessert.
Happy 19th birthday Stevie!

Monday - May 25, 2009 - Happy Memorial Day!!! We decided to go visit our buddy in the hospital.
Keep up the good work James! You'll be out of here soon!!!
Guess who came to visit?
Who is this stranger carrying me?!?!?
It's the Lee family!!!
Hank, Stevie, Irene, James, Wil, Cara, and Alina
Bye bye for now!!! Get well soon Uncle James!!!

I hope God has heard our prayers to keep our troops safe from harms way. I pray that this war will end soon, but in a way that will benefit the countries we're trying to protect. It's time to bring God back into our schools, our work places, our government, our world. During these end times, I pray that God will protect his people. I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend. God be with you! Holy hugs and kisses!!! xoxoxo

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.

Carissa, Timmy, JoJo, and Mia
Steve and Stephanie

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.
Kathy, Verne, Leticia, Berda, Tiffany
Grace, Jean, and me.
Bob, Mia, and Phoebe
Justin and me.
Bradley and I.
Grace with Phoebe.
Leticia, Kathy, Tony, and John
Big Tony, Derrick, Hank, Steve, and Lil' Tony
Natalie, Kristen, and Traci
Peek-a-Boo, I see you!!!
Our teens playing with Timmy
Rueben, Amanda, and Grace
Justin and Carissa with me.
Verne, Angel, and Leticia
Myself, Phoebe, Bob, Brad, and Kathy
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...
Shhhh.. Jordan is playing Hide and Seek. Don't you just love his hiding spot?!?!?
Jordan and Jason
Stevie is a good life guard for his little cousins.
Uncle Baldwin, go under the arch!!!
Stevie with Ada.
What's that, Scotty? Yikes, that's a big gun!
Yippee, birthday cake!
Happy Birthday Eric, Stevie, Lauren, JenJen, and Ada!!!

Happy Mother's Day!
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.

Auntie Kanani's singing while the girls hula.
Jessi
Bill and Hank
Sharon and I.
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.
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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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!!!
Joseph, Art, Diego, Melina with James. Hey James, you've been lei'd in the hospital!!!
Angel, me, James
Michelle (PT) working with James on the cones. Use your left hand, James!!!
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!
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!!!
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!