Father's Day

June 14 - 20, 2010

The girls spent the morning of Father's Day at their Chinese school graduation ceremony. There were performances from each class along with a display of their interpretation on how to conserve and be "green". Students performed tai chi, modern dance, singing, tae kwon do, played instruments, traditional dance, etc. Awards were passed out to students who have taken Chinese for ten years, which is an outstanding commitment and accomplishment - dedication and devotion from the students, parents and teachers!

Ashley miraculously completed her kindergarten Chinese class. Luckily, she was allowed to attend class as a preschooler, but she was definitely faced with challenging tests and homework. Determined, she hung on and completed the course with a good grade. Now she just needs to keep up the summer Chinese homework. Yes, every student received a summer packet, a workbook and a book to read during the summer time in order to retain what was taught in class.

On the other hand, Alisha kept up with her homework during her illness. She is an amazing kid. Chinese was always a piece of cake for her and she hardly ask for any help. Although she missed 8 out of 9 months of class, she still scored a 99% on her final. We were all very impressed with her achievement.

After the ceremony, they enjoyed eating and playing at Chuck E. Cheese's with Dad.

Events

June 7 - 13, 2010

This was a weekend full of events. Kristie's Foundation held the 4th annual OC BBQ Festival at the OC Fairgrounds. It's an event geared towards raising funds for the leasing / purchase of a property in Southern California to provide families with end of life support and facilities. The event was rather emotional as we met families who had very recently loss a child to leukemia. Their continued dedication and support for the organization was very moving. As a parent, you constantly pray that you would never have to live through such a traumatic experience.

Alisha read the service brochure for a very brave child who loss his fight to leukemia on March 30, 2010 and remarked how fortunate she is not to be born with down syndrome or have a disease that will keep her dependent on a wheelchair. She has learned that life is valuable, she is always better off than someone else in the world and that optimism will help her win the battle with cancer. In the course of the event, the girls got an opportunity to release butterflies twice, decorate cupcakes, face painting, various arts & crafts and bounce houses. Unfortunately, Ashley took a spill inside the Tweety bounce house and sprained her ankle. The x-rays confirmed that there were no fractures or broken bones and that ice and plenty of rest will heal the ankle.

On Sunday, the girls (thank you for the "I love Philadelphia" shirts!) were invited to attend an exclusive event called Courageous Kids hosted by American Cancer Society (ACS), Children's Hospital of Orange County Child Life Services (CHOC) and OC Barons League to honor cancer survivors and their family members. There was a unique train track and tiny train that we rode on. Both of them had worked on a mosaic piece to be auctioned off at ACS to raise funds for cancer research. We played bingo, carnival games (crazy chicken), bounce house, balloons and admired a fire truck built in 1902. Alisha loved taking pictures with the dalmatian on the fire truck. Once downside to the event was that we witnessed a few families who crashed the party and freeloaded off the organizations. When asked, they were just passing by and didn't even bother finding out the cause of the event. There were other families who took so many freebies, which left latecomers with nothing. I don't understand the mindset of some people!

Western Round-up

June 5, 2010

Thank you all for the wonderful birthday presents given to Alisha. She's enjoying every one of them. Her father purchased a Schwinn BMX big girl's bike (20'), so she passed off the Barbie bike to Ashley and Ashley's little bike to MJ, their half brother. The negotiation and reasoning Alisha gave to her father is unmatched in order to get her bike. Alisha's Aunt Tina and Uncle Tony gave her a paid experience to swim with the dolphins in the ocean at Isla Mujeur in Cancun when she gets better. There were many other gifts Alisha received that she is very grateful for and wanted to communicate a big 'Thank you' over the blog!

Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (PCRF) and Miracles for Kids hosted the 19th Annual Western Round-up for critically ill children. There were many activities including boat ride, face painting, bounce house, carnival rides, pony rides, western photos, various crafts, games, petting zoo, dove release, raffles, etc. There were apparently not enough hours for the event to satisfy Alisha's playful side. She picked out her own Build-a-Bear; thus, caused a bit of a problem when Ashley asked for one as well. Unwilling to disappoint Ashley, Uncle Craig took them to Build-a-Bear after the event and purchased a tropical Hello Kitty for Ashley!

Birthday at St. Regis!

June 4, 2010

Alisha has waited about a year for this day. Ever since she learned about the butterfly release and story time during the summer at the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Danapoint, she has not stopped asking to be part of the adventure. We cannot say enough great things about the hotel and it's generous staff as it catered to Alisha's every whim by starting with an upgrade to a St. Regis Suite with a queen pull-out sofa bed and two bathrooms. We were greeted with a small birthday dessert with balloons at the room after taking a dip in the pool. During dinner, the kids were presented with a fresh fruit/yogurt smoothie, which tasted divine and Alisha's chair was decorated with more balloons. Since the kids' buffet was not available as offered during reservation, the kids' dinner was comped. To top it off, Alisha was given a rich chocolate souffle topped with vanilla ice cream to celebrate her 7th birthday at the restaurant.

Afterwards, we went to story time for the kids where the dressed character would read a story about him, her or itself (Snow White was the first night and the Cat in the Hat was the second night). S'mores time followed immediately and all the kids couldn't wait to roast their marshmallows. We swung by the jazz musicians, enjoyed the ambience and chatted with the musicians. The following morning, the kids had hot cocoa w/ more marshmallows and I had my tea with lemon. We inhaled the fresh air from the balcony and had breakfast at there. At Noon, we ventured out to the private beach and I sat with towels around me while the kids dug up sand. Since Uncle Craig advertised Alisha's condition to several of the staff during story time the night before, we got our check-out time extended to 9pm from Noon. When we came back from the pool in the afternoon, one of the bellman delivered a basket full of LA Angels' items to Alisha. Apparently, one of the Concierge (season ticket holder and a fan) at the hotel heard that Alisha is an Angels fan and had her kids pack up what they had and brought them to the hotel to deliver it to Alisha. As for the butterflies, it was new and different for the kids and they actually had a few butterflies that stayed on their fingers forever, so I was able to take many pictures. The adults were offered champagne and the kids had sparkling apple cider to toast to the monarch butterflies being released as part of the hotel's Saturday evening ritual during the summer.

Alisha was very sad when we had to leave and announced that she wished she could stay at the hotel for a month...who wouldn't! By the way, we had butler service, so the kids were provided with a bathrobe, my shoes were shined and a pair of pants pressed for free. Both of the girls cannot wait to return and experience the Kid's Club while the adults can enjoy the spa and hotel amenities!!! Alisha was so in love with this hotel that she did a school project the following week to share her special and wonderful experience at the St. Regis (Mom is loved for pulling this off).

Temple

May 29 - 30, 2010

This weekend was quite busy for the girls. We had attended the Grand Opening of the Hon Los Temple in Duarte, CA. The French mansion where the temple resides was once a popular wedding site and a set on several movies. The entrance was just magnificent and the architecture was breathtaking. We celebrated our temple's move with speeches, performances and food. One of the most enjoyable event was catching up with friends. The girls enjoyed running around the gorgeous garden while soaking up some sun.

On Sunday, we attended a close friend's son's 4th birthday party. This has been an annual event and both of the girls always look forward to the party. This year's theme was Thomas the Train. JP, the birthday boy cannot part with his beloved Thomas the Train. As a result, the pinata was in the shape of Thomas. The pinata was filled with delicious candies and coins. The sad thing was, JP wanted the torn Thomas pinata to be put back together - he was devastated at the destruction. Ashley focused on picking up as many coins as possible. Alisha was the winner for pin the tail on the donkey. We have no idea how she came so close to the dotted donkey's tail with her sticker. The girls played at the play structure (see Alisha 2 years ago on the same high bar) and ran tirelessly around with balloons trailing behind them. This year; however, cantaloupes were not provided for Ashley who eats down to the rind (see photo from 2 years ago). Needless to say, we did not have any trouble putting them to sleep! Mom finally took some pictures after many weeks in hiatus.

AST/ALT

May 24 - 28, 2010

Alisha had another round of chemotherapy on Tuesday. She was elated that this hospital visit did not include procedural sedation. Overall, her oncologist was pleased with her progress; however, as a parent, her liver enzymes are at the highest ever. Certain indicators from her blood results are a cause for concern. We are crossing our fingers hoping that long-term side effects will not get a hold of her active lifestyle. Alisha was extremely happy that she grew .8 centimeters within the last month. She had not grown since the onset of her illness.

She has always been one of the tallest kids in her classroom, but with the chemotherapy and drugs, her growth has been stunted. Thankfully, we hope the end of the intense treatment in late March will mark the end of no growth. Her grandparents remarked that with her energy level, no one is going to believe that she is undergoing treatment. Alisha played at the park after school and rode her bike for quite a while. She also wishes to go fishing in the near future using her new fishing pole. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't cooperated, but we plan on going soon.

Rest of the week...to be continued.

Family Fun Night

May 17 - 23, 2010

Friday marked Family Fun Night at Alisha's school. After art class, we quickly ate and rushed to the school for various activities. The parents participated in silent auction to support the school, while the children entertained themselves with raffles, play structure, snack stations and movie.

On Saturday, Uncle Craig pulled kid duty and watched three kids as Mom was nominated as Woman of the Month by Real Women United. It was a very inspirational and emotional event as women came together to share their stories, triumphs, resources and encouragements. Afterwards, we went to watch Shrek Forever. Ashley was a little apprehensive at various darker scenes and begged to leave the movie theater. She still prefers the fairytale princess movies.

On Sunday, after Chinese school, we visited a long-time family friend and the girls had a play date with another 5-year old. Our family friend, Esther's brother was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia as an adult and was treated in Singapore. He received bone marrow transfusion from his brother and is doing well so far. We discussed about the emotional rollercoaster coping with an ill family member and gave each other hope that the worst is over. While the parents chatted, the girls put on a show with singing and dancing. Alisha resorted to boyish games as she buried her head in handheld video games.

Low Profile

May 10 - 16, 2010

After weeks of busy events, we all took a breather and stayed at home over the weekend. Alisha busily worked on her culture project for school, worked on the Grand Carousel lego set with Ashley and played Wii. On Sunday, we visited a very close family friend from Utah in Anaheim. Annette has been our American Mom when we first emigrated from Taiwan to Utah. She's very loving and warm and we still remember those holiday gatherings and wonderful memories we've shared.

As for school, Alisha was forced to return full-time by the Director of her school district. Talk about absurd! We were informed Monday afternoon as Alisha's in-home schooling teacher's last day of learning at home. Alisha's oncologists were not thrilled that a non-medical professional tried to play doctor and push Alisha back to school full-time. Luckily, the wonderful staff at her school were very supportive and flexible with Alisha's attendance. We were given plenty of time to slowly ease Alisha back to school full-time.

Back to School

May 3 - 9, 2010

This was a busy week for Alisha. She received clearance from her oncologist to attend school on a modified schedule. After the CHOC Child Life Specialist came to talk with her classmates on Monday, Alisha return to school for the first time since her illness for a few hours on Wednesday. Her teacher had arranged for all her classmates to wear a cap on Alisha's first day to welcome her and show their support as she battles for her life. It was very touching to see how caring her teacher, students, parents and staff were. The transition back to school was smooth and we attribute it all to the advance preparation from everyone involved. By the time she was to be picked up from school, she did not want to leave.

Alisha has been quite restless and begged to return to art class with Ashley to pass time, so she also attended art class on Friday and worked on a detailed drawing of a campsite. Since art/coloring/drawing is one of her passions, she was beyond thrilled to be back in class while working with one of her favorite art teachers, Miss Jenny. Ashley, on the other hand, napped for a few minutes in class and was a nuisance to Alisha - it was a rare incident since Alisha is usually the one who cannot focus in class.

On Saturday, Alisha might have been overwhelmed with what transpired during the week that she started complaining of a massive headache and a dull stomach ache. While celebrating Mother's Day for her Great-Grandmas, Grandma and Mom, she skipped dinner, doubled over in pain and fell asleep at the restaurant. We were all thankful that she slept well and woke up pain free.

On Sunday, Alisha returned to her Chinese class with Tzu Chi Foundation for the first time since the last school year. Coincidentally, Tzu Chi was celebrating Buddha's birthday on Mother's day, so we all witnessed a buddhist ceremony in the school courtyard and came back to the classroom where the moms were all presented with water, a rose and a card from her child.

Alisha's returns to schools and classes were positive and smooth. We are very grateful to all who had Alisha's best interest at heart!

Fishing

April 26 - May 2, 2010

CHOC held the 27th annual fishing event at Irvine Lake this Saturday. Volunteers from Irvine Lake and various fishing clubs joined forces in taking the patients out on a fishing adventure. Alisha woke up at 7am because she did not want to be late, wait and/or miss the boat for fishing. We arrived a few minutes after 8:30am when the event commenced and saw a line at the dock already. We sped through the registration process hoping that we weren't going to end up waiting too long. As we stood in line, a boat carrying about a dozen or so people had already left the dock. When we were gearing up, a fancy boat pulled up on the other side of the dock. We thought one of the two groups in front of us were going to board, but the boater waved for the four of us to board...we got lucky.

After a slow boat ride (speed limit was 5 mph), we stopped near the buoys by the dam and the boat owner, Eric commenced to teach the girls a trick or two about fishing (tying knots, baits and weight on the fishing rods). Fish loves to hide in the trees underwater to ensure a better chance of getting away if it is caught. There were a few times that the fishing hooks were caught in the twigs. After a few fish escaped their demise, Alisha finally caught her first fish - a bass. At Irvine Lake, bass is catch and release fish rather than catch and take home such as catfish and trout. We took several photos while Eric encouraged the girls to feel the teeth (felt like sandpaper) and the crushers of the large-mouth bass. Eric was brave and kissed the fish for good luck and ended up helping the girls catch another two.

On the ride back, Alisha and Ashley got an opportunity to drive the boat to the dock. The Irvine Lake included a play structure and a huge area for kids to run around, so the girls worked up an appetite for barbecue by climbing up and down the play structure. Fishing on the boat whet Alisha's appetite for more, so Uncle Craig attempted to secure a spot on the shoreline to teach the girls more about fishing. We had no idea fishing was such a popular past-time and the shoreline was completely occupied. We walked toward another dock hoping we can hear some miraculous consent of being able to fish off the dock and coincidentally ran into Eric. He kindly offered to take us out onto the boat again after he grabbed a bite.

CHOC presented Irvine Lake and various fishing clubs gigantic thank you cards from the patients for this wonderful event and gave the patients and siblings each a certificate for the event. Photos were taken and we were about to head back for more fishing when Eric privately presented Alisha with a brand new Shimano fishing rod. Alisha was so thrilled to receive her new gift and couldn't wait to use it. Our second trip out on the water was not as eventful as the first until Eric reeled in a 5 lb. 10 oz. mommy bass. We were all elated to see such a big catch, which was about half the length of the girls. Although we were all exhausted from the sun, it was a great adventure and the girls cannot wait for their next fishing trip!