More gems from Memoir Notes, from our Christmas letter from 2003
Dear family and friends,
Here we are, almost ready to start a new year, grimacing at
the things we planned to do but didn't.
We hope that you were all able to get done what you hoped, or at least
what kept you out of prison.
We are proud that Ping-Hwei, 21, is ready for full time
work. He has finished high school, tried
a job here and there, and is working with the state and the county job
placement services to find a suitable job.
He grows in humor and helpfulness.
He has become a good cook, and also loves to go to the city library.
Caleb. 13, in the middle of 8th grade, is growing
into a tall deep-voiced young man, and has a dedication to daily personal Bible
study. The first quarter at school he
received Straight A's, and his teachers say he's a great student who always has
his hand raised with the answer. He
continues his baritone horn playing, both in the band and in the jazz
band. He loves to read, almost anything,
and he's finally at the age where all he seems to think about is girls.
Rebecca, 13, 7th grade, also had shot up in the
last year like a Kansas wheat stalk. She
is lovely and capable, and can do whatever she is asked, whether at home,
school, or church. She is in her third
year of violin, and based on Murray's talk with the Orchestra conductor, she is
a great musician. She also plays bass
keyboard in the jazz band. She
constantly finds projects to do. She has
acquired and stocked a 10-gallon fish tank, and claims that a couple of the
fish kiss her hand (okay, Kathy put her hand in the tank, before the evening
feeding, and darned if some of the fish DON'T kiss hands). Rebecca recently planted beans for a science
fair project, comparing dirt with fertilizer and worms to plain dirt. However, Caleb had to pick up and deposit the
worms for her. Her great hope is to buy
a sewing machine, so she can hem Murray's pants. If anybody has one they don't use, send it to
the above address, please!
Sarah, 11, in the 6th grade (Aaahhhh!! 3 in
middle school at the same time!!) grows
sweeter and more interesting every day.
She is affectionate, enthusiastic, and subject to rapid mood changes. She tried out for a part with a community
theater this year and would have received the part if the production had not
been postponed. We hope she will
continue her interest in this area. She
has gone on a hiatus from flute playing, singing in the school choir, and
continues to enjoy writing. When she
can't get a ride from Murray, she rides her bike 2 ½ miles each way to school,
or else takes the city bus.
Benjamin, 6, is in first grade, and his school barely knows
what to do with him. They have never had
a gifted, totally blind child before. He
has many interests, including: piano,
computers (mostly exploring programs and seeing what happens if he changes the
settings), reading computer manuals, reading his new New King James version of
the Bible, continuing his interest in recipes and cookbooks, and reading the
advance Braille copy of the math book he will use in second grade. He enjoys his friends at school and at
daycare, and church, and already claims to have a girlfriend and to know who he
is going to marry (wonder if it's the same person?).
We continue our membership with the Westlake Church of
Christ – at the end of last year, we renamed ourselves Hope Christian
Church. We sold our property and started
meeting at Westlake High School in March of this year, and construction started
on our new facility (2 miles west of the old facility) during the summer. We hope that construction might be finished
by the end of May.
Speaking of Jesus, the Book of Isaiah says,
"Yet it was our weaknesses he carried (when he carried his cross); it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins! But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all." Chapter 53, verses 4-6