Joe Chen's Photo Blog

As we have been receiving photo postcards, newsletters and emails from various friends recapitulating the past year, we find ourselves playing the waiting game to see who will break down to write the Chen newsletter for this year.  So it looks like Tina has won and I am now sitting here on the computer going through our 2009 pictures.

Livy, the Head Pusher

Part of me wonder why in the age of Twitter, Facebook and weblogs we still feel the need to update our friends more about our lives, but then I realize it’s kind of nice to reflect on the year and see what the Lord has done in our lives.  It’s then I see what seemed like routine and daily living are actually spotted with many smiles and laughter… and the realization that our children (and us) are growing up far too quickly and the days we have with them are quite numbered.

With that, a recap of what went on in the Chen family this year…  in short look at our webpage and join Facebook.  Just kidding.  Here it is.

Tina = Hard Work

Maddy doing another worksheet

One of the memories I have is Tina pushing Maddy and Livy pretty hard when it comes to studying.  Almost every night, our two girls can be found at the dining room table (now she even built one of the rooms to be their “homework room”) doing pages of work sheets, whether they come from school or appended by Tina’s collection she periodically buys at Barnes & Noble.  This usually follows with Maddy doing 5-6 songs on the piano, going through scales, notes, music theory and practicing songs while Livy continues to work on her penmanship of her name.  There are some days we eat at Ah-Mah’s followed by the afore mentioned routine to realize it’s dark out and almost time for bed.  Mommy’s concentration camp I call it.  I’m sure the girls will appreciate this later in life, but for now, it’s a tough life for them.

Speaking of tough lives, one of my goals I had for 2009 was to learn Chinese.  I started out pretty well by meeting with Ah-Goon (Tina’s Dad) each workday morning and spending about 20-30 mins reading and writing Chinese.  He even taught me Chinese history, proverbs and poetry… well, maybe that was the breaking point.  But, it was a great time to get to know Ah-Goon and realize his passion for literature, history and his general philosophy on life.  I have to say, he’s a deeper man than most people think.

Ah-Mah = Good Food and Clean Underwear

Ah-Mah's Charm

This year marked a noticeable change in diet.  Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights are spent at Ah-Mah’s place for some good home cooking Taiwanese food.  This follows with Ah-Goon cleaning up the dishes and many times preparing us a dessert of fruits and freshly squeezed juice.  It was much like having a personal restaurant with the exception that periodically the restaurant’s cook would sneak into our house, do our laundry, fold our clothes and sometimes clean the dishes.

Our Family Portrait

Character Development

Maddy and Livy continue to show distinct personalities as they grow up.  Maddy has a mother-like nature where she would care for Livy like she was her own child. She’s sensitive and   loves music, artwork and studying in general.  Livy’s more of a classic clown who hasn’t quite come out of her shell.  She has a particular sense of humor which she thinks is funny, but she’s still shy when it comes to most things.  For the most part she’s like Daddy in a little Tina body.  Sometimes she has this very focused look that makes her look very serious… I think that’s the Tina genes trying to get out.  They get along great with each other 98% of the time.

Over the Hill

Joe turns 40.  People laugh.

Cute Viking

As a “celebration”, Tina planned out a family trip to Disney.  One of the most enjoyable parts of the trip was staying at a nearby townhome which Tina found on VRBO.  It provided a perfect home away from home during the week, yet close access to the Disney attractions.  We reflected the time when we got married 10 years ago and came to Disneyworld for our honeymoon.  We knew we’d be back, but it was funny to realize how much has changed in the past 10 years, yet how much is still the same.

Maddy Graduates – Livy Grows

Maddy graduated from Kindergarden this May and moved on to 1st Grade shortly afterwards (she’s in a year round school).  Her teachers are wonderful.  Both Ms Buckner and Ms Jespersen have characteristics I admire so much in any teacher – the passion for teaching and the wisdom to know how to teach kids.  When we were “shopping” for schools (yeah, that’s a whole story in itself, you’ll have to get with Tina for the details), one person said to us, “usually you can tell how a school is by observing a few minutes of the class”.  It’s quite true… step inside Ms Buckner’s or Ms Jespersen’s class, and you’ll see mutual respect and total control of the class.  Livy herself turned 3 (almost 4 is what she likes to say as of recent) this year and has showed tremendous desire to be a “big” girl.  Try to help her when she wants to do something herself and you’ll get an earful.  Full sentences have been flowing out of her, but the one thing she does not say well is “Sorry”.  She seems to have problems with that word.

Hanging Out at the Pool

What Makes a Home?

Carolina Beach

One of the things we’re especially grateful about since coming to NC is hanging out with old friends from the past (we were here 12 years ago) who made it feel like we never left… we still hang out with some of them as part of our fellowship (YFF) and some more that we just met within the past year or so and now feel like we’ve been friends for ages.  We headed over to the Carolina Beach with the Chao and Bedward family for an early summer break.  It was just warm enough to play in the beach yet just cool enough to get us cheaper rental prices.  :)  During the summer we swam a lot at our pool and by the end of summer, we found ourselves at a Lake House with the Cao and Chao family trying to catch bass but actually catching catfish and little sunfish.  Joe found out he doesn’t really like fishing because it’s mean to the fish.  So he will continue to eat hamburgers and chicken because clearly it’s more humane for the animals to be wrapped and frozen in a package.

Showing off the Catch

God Speaks

The year started with a study on the book of James in YFF and ended with a sermon series on the same book by Pastor Po-Wing.  James speaks about putting faith into action, and I believe by no coincidence God put in our hearts a call to check out  New Day Ministry which started at our Church a little over a year ago by a handful of folks at Church who had the heart to do something for the local community, in hopes that by “doing”, the Church could get out of the rutt of just “studying”.   The local community focus was on a group of refugee families from Myanmar (also known has Bhurma), specifically from an area called “Karen“.   The ministry was to have groups of folks at Church partner up with Karen families, spend time with them, help them in whatever area they need and build a relationship which allows us to show the Love of Christ through action.

Karen Family (and Bruce) at Downtown Raleigh

We knew we had the heart, but we also knew as a family it would be challenging in terms of time commitment.  Also we didn’t know how the part about serving as a family would catch on with the girls.   We began in June by meeting with a Karen family  (husband, wife and 3 girls) at their apartment.  Smiles were exchanged and some brief Hi’s.  It was a bit awkward as our families looked at each other and kind of wondered what’s going to happen now.  I remember the father (dressed with nothing but a towel on his hip) just stared at us and hardly said a word.   I looked at my watch and wondered when the time would pass so we could go home.  Well, 6 months later, we can hardly wait for the next time when we see the family again.  When we walk in now, there’s a hearty exchange of “Ghway la a ghey’s!” (good morning!) and the father usually comes first to the door to greet us with a big smile and a hefty handshake.  It’s a feeling hard to describe in words to connect with this family, as well as the other neighbor Karen refugee families who come to by word of mouth to take part of the ESL lessons and homework help each Saturday morning.  It’s through this ministry that God has shown us how much joy it is to see Him work through us.

Odds and Ends

In July we were struck by sudden news that my brother Dave was in an accident.  A semi truck had hit his van while it was parked on the side of the road.  Out of his entire family, his son Ryan was the most critically injured.  Amazingly the rest of his family were fine (you should see the pictures of the accident) and even more amazing was the stories on Ryan’s recovery and the support Dave’s family received from friends, family and surrounding neighbors.  People who didn’t even know him prayed for Ryan.  It was an incredible saga, but to hear about something like this to happen to someone so close was a shocker and a reminder to treat each day as a precious commodity.  Please continue to pray for a full recovery for Ryan.

Tina Ewww

After a brief hiatus, Tina returns to jogging by doing a 1/2 marathon in downtown Raleigh.  Sure she doesn’t control the weather, but it was probably one of the worst days to go for a run… freezing and raining the entire morning.   I’m proud of her setting a goal and accomplishing it, something I’ve come to realize is what she’s pretty good at doing (unlike some of her other Cornell friend who bail out of marathon runs… ahem).

Joe's Mom's Family

Joe's Dad and Janice

We got to visit Joe’s family in Rochester  just before Christmas (it’s nicer to travel before the holiday rush).  The girls got to see Grandma and Grandpa’s “fun house” (as the girls will remember it) and the rare occasion to see their relatives from Germany (Grandma’s sister and family).  We also got a taste of wonderful home cooking by Nai Nai (who taught Tina how to make green onion pancake from scratch, which she ended up perfecting when she got back to NC) when we visited Joe’s Dad (Yeh Yeh).

Finally, we leave off with some wonderful news.  Tina’s sister Betty will be a mom soon… she’s due next month!   Congrats Chad and Betty!  May the joy of diapering be left to you when we come up to visit!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Yours,

Joe, Tina, Maddy, Livy (and of course Brownie) Chen