Chinese New Year 2009

Sweets for the new year.

We spent Chinese New Year at my aunt's house after work. Steve went kicking and screaming, as he usually does when he has to spend time with my family, but we had fun. I gave out the little red envelopes to the kids and we all just hung out. Unless the holiday falls on a Friday/Saturday, it's pretty low key since most people have to work the next day. When it falls on the weekend, then the celebrations last into the late night. By time we got home last night, we were totally exhausted from such a long day. The morning commute took us 2 1/2 hours due to a major accident. Overall, it was a good day. Happy New Year!!

The kids with their red envelopes

This is the year of the Ox. I found this little blurb about the Ox that I thought was pretty cool:

Ox personality traits: Still waters run deep, as anyone who has observed an Ox will tell you.
People born in the Year of the Ox are the supremely self-assured, and as a result are noted for inspiring confidence in others. Generally patient and thoughtful, they measure their words, and will speak clearly and concisely often when it matters most.
Born to lead, Ox people can be quite stubborn — but also stubbornly loyal to those they love. However, when opposed, their fierce tempers are legendary. So always follow this very wise advice : never cross an Ox!

Generally placid and easy-going on the outside, the Ox can be very dogmatic. There are no gray areas evident within their narrow scope of vision, and they often only see things as good or bad. Therefore, they are never easily persuaded by a clever argument. Possessing an excellent memory, the Ox can often recall verbatim a conversation weeks or months after it has occurred.
Their physical stamina combined with their mental alertness is a distinct advantage when it comes to completing any task at hand. In fact, Oxen can often be seen patiently working away ... long after everyone else has dropped from sheer exhaustion!

Ox people are also generally good with their hands, and together with sterling leadership abilities are often successful as doctors or surgeons, construction managers, army generals or business leaders.

Pho

There's nothing like a good bowl of pho on a cold day! My cousin and her family came over yesterday to teach us how to make pho. She has a great recipe and Steve loves it. Being out here in Winchester, there aren't any pho restaurants OR even an Asian market! So, I always go back to Sterling to go to the Asian market and there are lots of pho restaurants in Northern VA.

Now that we have the recipe, we'll have to attempt to make it a few times and maybe invite some friends over as guinea pigs. I'm excited to make my first pot.

2008 Inauguration - A historic event

Today was a historic day for America. No matter what your political views are, you can't deny the fact that this country has come a long way. I was very excited to witness this event, on T.V. and not the freezing cold. It reiterated to me what a great country this is and how grateful I am for all the freedoms that I have. I may not agree with President Obama's views, but I put aside my own views to celebrate this moment. It's time to move forward as a country.

"I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today. ‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A"

3 Day Weekend

This long weekend had us at home cleaning and just hanging out with Abbey. We took down the rest of the Christmas decorations, finally! Abbey and I made Valentine cookies. We watched movies and took naps. Church on Sunday was short because there was a pipe that burst down in the Primary wing. It snowed today and Abbey was ecstatic to have a snow ball fall fight, albeit, it was only for five minutes.


Abbey and Steve have been playing bowling on the Wii so we decided to go bowling for real. It was nice to get out of the house since it's been so cold to even step outside! Abbey had fun, but by time we left, it stopped snowing and she really wanted to play in the snow again.

Since today was Martin Luther King day, on the way to the bowling alley, I asked Abbey if she knew who he was. Her response was 'Yeah! I colored him at school." So I asked her who was he? And her response again was, 'I colored him at school.' At least I know she learned about him at school and she probably recognizes his picture since she 'colored him at school.'

Christmas with the Whitcomb's 2008

Steve had his whole family here after Christmas for the holidays and to celebrate Tim and Erin's wedding. It's been a few years since ALL the Whitcomb's have gathered. Although it was absolutely wonderful to have everyone together, it was nice to go home to our nice quiet house at the end of the night. Too many whitcombs under one roof can be pretty chaotic.

Grandma and Grandpa Papa. Steve flew up to NY and drove his grandparents down here for the holidays. They were very grateful that he was willing to do that. Steve is very close to his grandparents and would do anything for them. They were very happy to be surrounded by their grandkids and great grandkids. The kids gathered around as Steve's dad handed out presents. They served as 'helpers' in delivering presents to everyone.

Sweet Emma Rose Whitcomb. She is Chris and Lori's youngest one. They stayed with us at our house. Emma is such a sweet baby. She is very quiet and just goes about her day. Steve and I wanted to keep her, but Chris and Lori said we could have Ben instead. We decided Ben was better off with his parents. We loved having them in our home and miss them terribly!

Abbey and her new BFF at the Discovery museum in downtown Winchester. They were playing in the hospital wing most of the time.

I took Abbey and Heather to Chuck E. Cheese while her parents were in DC. These two girls were inseparable. Abbey still asks when Heather will come back to visit her.

Christmas with the Ngo's 2008

We spent Christmas morning at Abbey's house. Santa brought her Tinkerbell movie and toy, along with a Hello Kitty necklace. She had such a great time opening her presents. When we arrived, she was waiting to tell us that Santa ate the chips and water she left out for him. I asked her why she didn't leave him cookies and her response was simply, "I didn't have any." I told her Santa probably enjoyed the chips since he gets so many cookies.

My sister in law took this picture of us. We didn't know Abbey was behind us. We thought she ran pass us for the other couch. She is such a clown!

I broke down and got Steve a Wii. He was so ecstatic.

Tony, Abbey, Hanh (Abbey's parents)

After we opened gifts, we ate and took naps. Then we all went to my cousins house for more food and presents. With the exception of Steve....he stayed at Abbey's house and kept sleeping. He doesn't like to socialize very much with my family...they're a little too loud for him.

My parents

Silly Abbey again.

Abbey and I put together this gingerbread house. I did the frosting while she placed all the candies. Gingerbread kits are the way to go!

Holiday dinner party

We had a small dinner party yesterday with some friends. Life gets so busy this time of year, we wanted to just enjoy the friends that surround us. Steve and I cleaned the house and made dinner for eleven people. It was just a simple dinner of penne pasta with sausage and meatballs, salad, bread, shrimp cocktail, Shrimp Rangoon (from Costco), and lots of good dessert that was brought by our guests. Everyone had a great time and I think everyone is in agreement that we should do it more often. It's just one of life's simple treasures...great friendships.

Marci, Shanan, Anne, Hannah, Stephanie, Sonja

Stephanie and Kevin James

Sonja and Carl Rio

BJ and Emme Custer (who had to leave early to catch the BYU game).

Jake and Shanan Hambrick

Terry and Anne Butterfield

Marci, Hannah, Anne