Better to give than receive

So last night was Halloween (pictures to follow). We were invited by some neighbors to have some dinner then take the kids trick-or-treating. Everything went without any major drama or exceptional note, but the best part of the evening came after we were done making the rounds through the neighborhood.

As we returned home, Dana took Elias up to get ready for bed (which he was NOT thrilled about - so much going on!) and Elsie and I sorted through her loot. She got to pick one item and have it before bed. Just as she started to get 1 mouthful in to a box of Nerds the doorbell rang. Trick-or-treaters!

Much to my surprise, instead of running away or screaming in terror, she ran to the door to hand out candy! She was SO into it!

Elsie grabbed the bowl and started doling out candy to everybody that came by, and when the traffic would die down a bit, she would actually start calling out generically to anyone within earshot....

"Helllooooooo! Helllloooooo! Does anybody want some candy! We have candy! Happy Halloween, we have candy!"

On the times that I actually convinced her to close the door, she would stand at the window and watch for movement outside. When she suspected that someone was within earshot, she would swing open the door and start yelling.

It was so good to see a heart of giving come out and I can only pray that it continues.

That's the Job for Me!

Like most kids, one of Elsie's favorite things is to play make-believe. On this particular evening she, once again, caught me totally off guard to where I had to stop to collect myself before continuing.

After we played a round of, "let's visit daddy at work," She set up a new scene.

Elsie: ok daddy, now I'M at work and you're coming to visit.
Me: ok
I pretend to get in my car, drive to her work, knock on the door AND ring the doorbell (maybe redundant, but apparently a critical detail not to be modified or ad-libbed)
Elsie: hi! Come in
Elsie gives me a warm greeting with a hug and a kiss
Me: so nice to see you Elsie! Where is it you work again?
Elsie: Mars Hill (where I work)
Me: oh, I see.... and what is it you do there?
Long pause
Elsie: I give hugs.
End scene

Melted Heart...

Here is a moment that was simply priceless.

To set the scene, Elsie wanted to call me at work when she got up one morning. Since I wasn't at my desk, she left me this message.... I added some pictures and subtitles.


Elsie's Message from Fred Choi on Vimeo.

More Elsie-isms

Really quick - here are two of my favorite Elsie-isms.... mostly because they're just so cute.

1. Hurty - (v) something that is going to inflict pain on Elsie. If you take off my bandaid it's going to hurty!
2. Mines - (pro) used to indicate possession. That is yours and this is mines. (this actually makes a lot of sense).

Come Again?

Seeing as how there was an entire TV show dedicated to the funny and interesting things that kids say, you'd think that each parent could record dozens, if not hundreds of funny phrases being thrown around by their kids, but usually the moment passes and the moment that brought great laughter is completely forgotten.

Which brings me to this post. On one particular night, the same as so many others, Dana is heading upstairs with Elias around bedtime, and it's also time for Elsie to head up to get ready for bed too. I say to Elsie, "hey honey, it's about time to start heading upstairs to get ready for bed... Elias is heading to bed, and you should too."

What do you think a 'typical' response would be? "No," "yes," "I don't want to go to bed," etc....

What do I get as a response?

"Daddy, I'm not a fan of upstairs."

Her tactic worked as it took me at least 15 or so minutes to regain my composure and stop laughing.

Well played little one, well played.

It's Already Been a Year

One year. A year filled with wonderful moments... the pictures to follow are actually from three different events. The first one was at Halmuni's place - pretty low key as we were all recovering from the stomach bug (which we would then give to Halmuni). Then we had a party at our place... which can probably be traced to at least 2 more cases of the stomach bug. Then we had an impromptu photo session with the kids to take pictures in their han-boks before they got old enough to get their driver's licenses.

Big boy

Posing for the camera (not really)

Opening presents!

Getting a little help from sister

Sugary goodness

Cupcakes by mom

Focus

You're supposed to eat these?

Squishy fun

Getting dressed by Halmuni

Sitting still for a moment

Elias and Dana

Posing with Halmuni

Remember these days

Loving siblings (so far)

aaaaand, we're done.

A smile for the road

Elias - we love you. You are a great blessing from God and we are thankful for every day we have with you.

.... But Wait! There's More!

Once again, this post will contain no pictures.

No pictures of the Norovirus filled drive. No pictures of the multiple roadside stops to "yell at the grass."

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

As we embarked on the first leg of our 12 hour adventure back home from Canada, we should have known something was slightly amiss when Elsie started complaining of a stomach ache at breakfast. We just shrugged it off as a result of waiting too long to get her breakfast. We thought we had escaped relatively unscathed with only one family member (Elias) getting sick despite all of us being potentially exposed to the virus.... little did we know.

About 2 hours later as we sat in the little town of Radium Hotsprings, BC, Elsie's tummy-ache blossomed into a full-blown stomach-flu, which stretched it's infected tendrils to Dana, and ultimately to me as well.

What should have been another 4.5 hours to a condo on Schweitzer mountain, ID took closer to 6 as we had to make multiple roadside stops along the way.

Once we made it to Schweitzer, we were able to check into our place and quarantine ourselves away from any additional human contact, and by the next day were well enough to make a mad dash home (7 hours).

Amazingly enough, throughout all of this there were countless blessings.

• We were able to fully enjoy our time in Canada. Had we gotten sick there, we would have been holed up and unable to take advantage of the beautiful surrounding that we were there to enjoy.
• As I was the last one to fall prey to the virus, I was actually able to safely drive to ID and get checked in before completely collapsing.
• The place we stayed at in ID was beautiful, but more importantly - deserted. We had the whole place to ourselves. Nice and peaceful.
• Being sick on the road isn't fun, but at the same time, with an illness like this, it was actually a blessing to not be in our place where the risk of re-infection could be high.
• The condo had a washer and dryer in the unit to actively disinfect clothing, blankies, and stuffed thingys.

The best part of the whole experience came as Dana and I talked about finding joy in and through this or if it was even possible. On the outside, it seems like a situation where we just need to endure and that joy would be found in the the deliverance from it, but we found that not necessarily to be the case. There was great joy to be found in the midst of it.

Even through the repeated trips to the bathroom, no sleep, pulled stomach muscles from retching, dizzyness, and headaches, we were able to find joy in Jesus Christ. Not only did he endure far greater pain and suffering, even to the point of death, but he did it for us in love. For you, and for me. To be loved that much is certainly cause for celebration.