Amenities

Day 3 of our vacation held even more blessings. We attended a "Celebration of Thanksgiving through the Arts" service which was held by 10 Filipino CMA (Christian and Missionary Alliance) churches in the morning. It was a wonderful reunion with some of the ladies I had taught creative worship to at their women's retreat 2 years ago. Different groups from each of the churches shared different numbers, some leading us in corporate worship, others sharing musical talents. One boy played some classical guitar numbers, and a group of women did a beautiful interpretive dance. There were several solo piano numbers, too, along with a few words of encouragement and (of course) a wonderful potluck afterwards. MMMMMMM, I can almost taste the lumpia and coconut flan still!

Shortly after the service, we noticed smoke hovering over the church and ashes (some white and powdery, other black stringy flakes) falling around us. We got word that the "Freeway Complex Fire" was burning less than 3 miles away, and two of the major Freeways nearby were closed. It was very eerie to see only a sliver of blue sky on the horizon because of the blanket of smoke overhead. So the celebration ended abruptly and we decided to head over to the hotel in Newport Beach where the HomeWord banquet would be held that evening.

The Fairmont hotel staff allowed us to check in early, and we were given two beautiful adjoining rooms overlooking the pool. We took pictures of the rooms and drooled over all the spa products in the bathrooms. We passed on the $7 per bottle water from Fiji and giggled over the $22 room service mac-n-cheese. We did enjoy the plate of chocolates that greeted us - a chocolate-dipped strawberry, petit-fours, and a gold-airbrushed chocolate bar.

After settling in and ironing our evening clothes, Katherine and I headed for the pool. We had a refreshing dip in the salt-water pool (it was at least 85 degrees out) and relaxed in a private pool-side cabana while sipping iced water containing orange slices that was served on the deck. We couldn't figure out how to operate the flat-screen TV in our cabana, but back in our room, we were glued to live coverage of the fires.

Sovann went to meet the HomeWord folks who were setting up for the fundraiser that night, and they did sound checks and set him up with a lapel mic. We both got gussied up while Sovann's mom took the kids down to the pool for a second swim. She stayed with them during the banquet and they feasted on leftovers from the potluck. It was such a treasure for the kids to get to spend time with their Lola and it was so nice for Sovann and I to have the evening without the kids. Shortly before heading out, we heard a knock at the door, and a man stood there with another plate of chocolates for us. "An amenity for Sovann Pen," he said. Wow, I thought. Can it get much better than this? Well, I just had no idea.

We felt like we were entering a different world as we walked into the hallway where hors d'oeuvres were being served on silver platters by hotel staff walking discreetly through the crowd. Displays were set up showing the different facets of the HomeWord ministry as well as listing the various items being auctioned off that evening. Many couples held elegant-looking drinks as they mingled with all the other party-goers. The dresses were amazing - sparkly and graceful and I started noticing everyone had dainty black sandals. I tried not to think about my own white sandals and was glad my dress went almost to the floor.

We rounded a corner and found Cindy, Jim Burns' secretary, who whisked us away to get pictures taken. Then the moment Sovann had been waiting for - to meet and talk with Jim Burns became a reality. We posed with the host of HomeWord and resisted asking the professional photographer to take a shot with our digital pocket camera. Before we knew it, a waiter was strolling the halls striking a little set of chimes, announcing that "dinner is served."

We found our assigned seats (place cards were handed out upon arrival) near the stage and were thrilled that we were sitting next to Dean Bruns (the V.P. of Homeword who invited Sovann to speak at this afair), his wife, the other "testimonial" giver of the evening and a few other guests. If I remember correctly, one of the guests at our table was responsible for running the Sierra Club camp for teens at Yosemite National Park. As we took our seats, we opened our program and found a prominent picture of our family staring back at us. It was a bit fun being honored in this way, and a little embarrassing as all the others at our table found the picture and then realized they were sitting with us.

The food was amazing - sliced lime and orange were offered with our bottled water (sparkling or regular) that was served from private-label bottles. Salads were on the table, along with several baskets of assorted breads and both plain and herbed pats of butter shaped like little flowers. Waiters served dressing from silver gravy boats. The green salads were shaped into little bowls by thin cucumber slices, topped with something shredded (like jicama or radish) and adorned on the sides with sliced grapes and candied walnuts. I alone had more silverware at my place-setting than I usually set on my table at home for my whole family.

During the meal, several important HomeWord people were introduced and a couple different videos were played - each highlighting what the ministry was about and who they helped. The silent auction continued on such items as vacation packages, golf tee times and jewelry. There were two giant screens on either side of the stage on which a list of the highest bid for each item was displayed and updated continuously.

As the main course was served, we again refrained from taking pictures! It was the most amazing chicken I had ever tasted - a huge breast portion stuffed with a creamy ricotta and sun-dried tomato combination topped by a very subtle mustard cream sauce. On the side was wild rice, broccoli and asparagus and a parmesan-baked tomato. They were generous portions, too - I couldn't finish it all! Poor Sovann was too nervous to each much of anything. He felt a lot of pressure, especially since they had paid for our airfare, hotel and meal just to have him speak to these 250+ guests.

His time came to speak as Jim introduced him, and then I saw my husband speak as eloquently as I ever have. He shared how the radio show had helped him be a better father and husband, and how much he appreciated the practical and honest information the guests share each week. Sovann also spoke of how he often assigns listening to certain HomeWord podcasts to his counseling clients and shares the website resources with pastors, friends and small-group members he meets with. I was honored to be his wife and so proud of him speaking from his heart to these total strangers.

After that, Jim gave a plea for financial help - a difficult thing to do in the face of financial crisis and devastating fires. He certainly has a passion to help kids and their families, and we personally are thankful for how HomeWord has blessed us.

Dessert came next, which was an assortment of little dainties on trays - chocolate layered mousse cake, lemon sponge squares with fresh raspberries, pumpkin mousse tarts with ginger-snap crusts, and several kinds of petit-fours. I was particularly impressed with the little "card" on each tart which had pumpkin designs to indicate the flavor - turns out it was edible chocolate! We each tried a couple and then were (thankfully) given boxes to take the extras home (well, back up to the room for us to share with mom and the kids).

As we were saying goodbye, Dean motioned for us to come back to the table. "I have something for you," he said. I glanced and Sovann and thought, "What more could you possibly do?" Well, God certainly has taught us a lot about generosity this year, but now came the exclamation point at the end of the lesson. On top of everything else they did for us, Dean handed me an envelope with a thank-you note and a $100 gift card to Trader Joes! I said to Dean, "I'm not sure you will ever know how much you have blessed our family. Thank YOU."

When we returned to the room, Mom told us that Sinnary and Paul had taken the girls to their grandma's house because the fires in Anaheim Hills (where they live) were very close and they were preparing to evacuate. We ended the night enveloped in softness - feather pillows and fluffy duvet on a roomy king-size bed. I sleepily though, "Thank you, Lord, for another amazing day and please spare the homes of our family and loved ones here."

Disneyland

So you probably read about how we had this dream vacation (by our standards, anyhow) handed to us with just a few days notice...now here's how it all went. With bags packed, Bopha drove us to the airport and we navigated all the TSA stations fairly well (except they had to dust Sovann's CPAP for explosives). We arrived at the Long Beach airport on time and Sovann's sister Sinnary picked us up and took us home. We then all got In-and-Out Burgers for dinner (oh, yummmmm just doesn't quite describe it) and Sovann's mom came over. It was so fun seeing all the cousins hang out together. For some reason, J.J. and Nalani got along really well and spent the evening playing with the pretend kitchen set, making tea and coffee for us all. Katherine and Grace were glued to the T.V. (we get very poor reception and no cable at home, so Disney channel was a treat for them). All the girl cousins camped out downstairs slumber-party style, which allowed us adults to sleep in comfy beds (thank you, Shaiyana & Jasmynd).

The next morning we woke up early (couldn't believe how bright the sun was at 6:30am!).  We got  to Disneyland about 1/2 hour after they opened and headed straight to Tomorrowland.  We actually bumped into a few Portland friends while there (Steve Hockomeier and Katherine's friend Emily from CYT).  Our strategy was to do some of the big, popular rides first, before the park got too crowded, so we headed to Space Mountain.  We left Grace with Mom and walked about 1/4 mile to the loading platform - didn't have to wait even 5 minutes!  Here's a picture of me  yelling (middle, right), my cheeks filled with air from the rapidly descending coaster.  It was my first and favorite ride of the day.  

We spent a lot of time in Tomorrowland, but I think J.J.'s favorite part was when he got to battle Darth Maul after receiving his Jedi Training!  Here he is, first in line to do the fight routine they learned during the show.

After a trip through the gift shop to get some Minnie ears for Katherine, we headed to Fantasyland to do some girly stuff.  (Sovann and J.J. actually went back to Tomorrowland to ride Astro Blasters and Star Tours again.)  Grace wore her Snow White costume and danced with the Disney  princesses at the newly opened Fantasy Faire.  All the other little girls stood and faced the stage while they learned to curtsey, wave and dance.  But Grace stood front and center, facing the audience and danced as if she was the star of the show!  It's a good thing there were "ladies in waiting" helping guide the little girls, or I'm sure Grace would have been up on the stage with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

Next we rode the train around to see Pooh and Tigger  while Sovann took the older kids on Splash Mountain.  We took snacks and munched any time we were waiting in line, so we never really got hungry.  The lines were all very short, and it seemed like we did just about everything there was to do at Disneyland, including front-row seats for the Fantasmic show.  We left around 11pm, finishing the day with a ride on the carousel.  We were all dragging by the time we got back to Sinnary's where we crashed for the night.  Here are a few more pictures.

Putting out Fires

"That which thou dost not understand when thou readest, thou shalt understand in the day of thy visitation; for there are many secrets of religion which are not perceived till they be felt, and are not felt but in the day of a great calamity."–JEREMY TAYLOR.

Little did I know how this would be applied today as I read this out loud to J.J. during our lessons this morning.  Turns out that Grace was chopping her hair off while I was distracted with this reading, "Because I wanted to look like Mary Marvel," (the little girl cartoon character sidekick of  some superhero comic we brought home from the library a few months ago).  It brought back memories of when Katherine cut her eyelashes off when she was five years old.  Anyways, I trimmed her bangs a bit, which did little to hide the 1/2 inch chunk of hair that now sticks straight out from the top, middle of her forehead and left the rest to grow out on its own.  Not exactly putting out fires, but add that to the drama with Katherine earlier this morning (she's at home, sick with a cold today) and I felt a little wearied by the day so far.

As Katherine was taking Grace's hair-covered blanket outside to shake it clean, she heard a crackling and popping sound.  Looking into our neighbor's back yard, she saw smoke and flames.  She ran in and yelled, "There's a fire!"  I looked out our upper back bedroom window, and sure enough, there were flames 30 feet high, licking the trees in our neighbor's yard.  I called 911 while watching our neighbor attack the fire with his garden hose (which had very little effect).  

Having just come back from southern California where we watched homes go up in flames on the news, smelled the smoke and saw ash falling around us, I thought, "How could this happen here, in my backyard?"  They probably thought the same thing.  I told the kids to stay in the house and stay together while I ran outside to get my hose ready in case the trees in our yard caught fire as the blaze grew bigger and hotter.  I decided to wet down our wood fence since in CA we had seen how airborne embers were the cause of many new fires that destroyed so many homes.

My little stream of water seemed pitifully inadequate, but at least I felt like I was doing something.  Then Grace came running into the back yard.  I calmly screamed at her to go back in the house and stay with Katherine, feeling like a failure as a protective mommy.  The fire truck arrived minutes later and put out the blaze, and the only damage done was to some trees and the neighboring apartment's garbage bin where the fire started.  But I was quite shaken up, and I gave the kids quite a long lecture about the importance of obedience - especially in emergency situations.

I have now felt some of the same anxiety those in CA experienced as they felt the heat and witnessed the flames, and also the relief when the well trained and fully equipped firemen arrived to put out the fires.  Sometimes we just don't appreciate all we have - not only our relative wealth, health and abundance of friends and family, but also the privileges we have living in a country where help is just a phone call away, where neighbors help each other out, and insurance companies, churches and non-profit organizations help people in times of need.  How blessed we are!  Thank you, Lord, and forgive me for griping and forgetting to appreciate all you have blessed us with.

Blessings

So how is it that we are going to visit family in L.A., spend a day at Disneyland, spend a night in a beautiful hotel on the beach and be treated as honored guests at a banquet... all out of the blue?  When I think of all the ways God could have worked this miracle, I am in awe of his love and grace.  We could have won it in a drawing (we've entered plenty) or saved up for it ourselves (we've tried, actually, but recently lost all our savings including what we had set aside for a down payment on Katherine's braces).  But God knew the best way in which this blessing would also grow our faith.

Sovann loves the radio show called HomeWord.  Author and psychologist Jim Burns interviews various guests on parenting and family topics, giving practical advice and challenging wisdom.  A few weeks ago, Sovann emailed the people at HomeWord to share what a difference the show has made in his life and our family.  I'm sure they must get hundreds of these emails daily, but for some reason, Sovann's caught the attention of somebody which resulted in his message being shared in a meeting with the VP of the ministry, Dean Bruns.  It turns out that they had been planning a benefit banquet for some time, to raise money to keep HomeWord on the air across America.  Dean called last week and asked Sovann if it would be possible for him to fly down to Newport Beach to speak at that banquet, to give the supporters a real-life example of what effect their ministry has on families.  

It just so happened (well, really, I believe God had this all planned out) that Dean was flying into Portland that same week and asked if Sovann wanted to meet with him.  Sovann did, and they had a great time connecting on many different levels.  Dean said, "We'd be happy to fly your family down a day or two early so you could go to Disneyland."   Whoa, really?  Could that be possible?  That trip we started planning 2 and 1/2 years ago seemed more unlikely than it  ever had just a day ago, and now it might happen in just 2 weeks?

At this point, the trip became more of a reality for us, and we began to contact family members in L.A.  Sovann's mom lives about an hour and a half from where the banquet will be held, but it just so happened (well...you know what I think) that she would be in the neighborhood that weekend for a special multi-church gathering.  We also checked our calendars to make sure we didn't have any crucial commitments we'd have to cancel.  There were a few, some pretty important ones in fact, but our friends and church family were very accommodating and enabled us to free up the weekend.  

One commitment we would NOT have been able to get out of was the current CYT show, Anne of Green Gables.  If either of the kids had been involved as cast or crew, we would not have been able to go on this trip.  What an amazing thing to look back to September when I was agonizing over wether or not to let the kids audition.  God spoke very clearly to me that we shouldn't do the play, and I'm so glad I listened.  How great a lesson this is to the kids, too - we listened and obeyed God when he told us not to do something, and now we get to go to Disneyland as a family!

Being the practical accountant of the family, I was still thinking about the cost of food, transportation, and additional nights at the hotel, not to mention Disneyland tickets.  I just sort of prayed something like, "God, you're giving us free airfare to Disneyland's front door...now how are we going to get in?"  I figured that if we skipped all Christmas gifts completely this year, we might be able to afford Disneyland and the kids would understand.  But there was still lodging, food and transporation to pay for. 

Well, before I could even check our bank account balances, Sovann's adopted sister Sinnary (who happens to live near Disneyland and the airport we're flying into) emails to say we can stay at her place... and borrow their car.  Wow!  Having a place to stay and car to use is another answer to prayer, but staying with family we haven't seen for a long time (some of whom we've never met - both our families have had children since the last time we were together) is priceless.  The last time our family was in L.A. was for Sovann's fathers' funeral five years ago.  

I can't wait for all the cousins to get to know each other - poor J.J. will be the only boy among 6 little girls!  Something tells me he can handle it, though.

I didn't think things could get any better, and then...

I'm busy fixing breakfast for the family (a rare occasion - usually the kids get their own cereal) on Saturday morning and the phone rings.  It's Sovann's mom, asking what day we want to go to Disneyland because she's going to buy tickets with her USC employee discount as a Christmas gift to our family!  Another answered prayer.  Another blessing.  Another miracle.

Not only that, but on the morning of the banquet while we're down there, in nearby Anaheim, there will be a gathering of 10 churches for a Thanksgiving celebration.  This is so precious to me, because 3 years ago I was invited to a women's retreat to teach creative worship to the ladies of these same 10 churches.  I had an incredible time and was welcomed warmly by these women who fully embraced the dance, sign language and worship flags I introduced to them.  I have thought of them often over the past couple years and rejoiced when Sovann's mom would tell me of how they were using what I taught them and worshipping in their own way.  I can hardly wait to see and speak with them again, and to worship our amazing God together with them!

The beach is Sovann's most favorite place in the world, and we have not been to the beach (even the Oregon coast) as a family in years!  Sunday after church with Sinnary's family, we plan on visiting the beach - the California Beach before flying home! 

My tendency is to stress about everything.  Part of me is anxious about how the kids will behave on the plane, wether I'll remember to pack all we'll need, how we'll pay for food on the go, if I have the right kind of clothes for the banquet...the list goes on and on.  I just have to keep reminding myself of what God has already done for us - beyond this trip, but every day.  The fact that we are all alive and healthy and doing well with school.  That we have a warm home with plenty of clothes and food and amusements to fill our days.  That we are a family - an unbroken, loving, growing family.  These are all blessings that speak volumes of God's loving faithfulness in our lives.  How often do I sweat the small stuff and miss the blessings?  Lord, help me let go of the worries and just be thankful for my life.