Xmas countdown: Day 12

Christmas is finally here!!

And here is my fave:

Feliz Navidad

I tried...but couldn't find a version that is performed by a Vietnamese church. Because we all know that is the best freakin' version of this song there is out there.

Phè lít na ví đà everyone!!

Xmas countdown: Day 11

We sang one of my absolute favorite Christmas songs tonight at our church's Christmas Eve service.

O Holy Night performed by Celine Dion

My friend/former housemate Dave posted a collage of the different versions of this song:

I must say Celine's is my favorite. Her voice is just spot on. A little on a nasally side, but it's not overly dramatic. 

Okay, back to the song itself... I just love every word of this song. Such humility. So much truth packed into one song. 

My favorite line is "...and in His name all oppression shall cease." To be honest, I don't know if it's true. I want it to be true. I want all oppression to cease every time Jesus's name is uttered...but we still live in a very broken world.

That is a prayer, then. I pray that in Jesus's name, all oppression will be erased. That we can speak truth into injustice. And looking to Jesus as an example, we can not only be kind to one another, but truly lay down our lives.

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend!
He knows our need—to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

Xmas countdown: Day 10

I can't believe it's almost Christmas!! Just a couple of days to go.

That means I'm down to 3 songs left...and it's getting tougher and tougher to choose. So today, I'm going to pick 3 songs. Because it's my blog and I can do whatever I want.

Song 1: Christmas is All in the Heart by Steven Curtis Chapman... I first heard this song the day after Thanksgiving one year in high school. At the time, it just seemed really strange to me that there could be people who are lonely at Christmas time. Growing up in the Vietnamese church, Christmas meant putting on a Christmas program. Program. Program. Program. I don't know what this whole "all in the heart" business is all about but I was pretty sure Christmas was all about having the best choir and matching outfits.

Song 2: Strange Way to Save the World... Okay, I can't say that this is one of my favorite songs. I just heard it while driving home a couple of days ago. I think this song has pretty strong Western influence in that it basically says, "Well, I woulda done things differently. But, you know, whatevs God." What it does show, though, is that God doesn't do things the conventional way. He doesn't do what we expect Him to do...but He is really smart that way.

Song 3: Welcome to Our [effed up] World... I first heard this song a few years ago when a soloist sang it at a women's luncheon at our old church. It touched me right away. The first couple of lines grabbed me right away. It wasn't the dark times 2000 years ago that they longed for a Savior. He is welcomed in our messed up world today.

I love this season of advent. Waiting for Christmas. It'll be here soon. We're so messed up...and we are longing for the King who is arriving and who is already ever so present.

Christmas is All in the Heart

In a one bedroom apartment on the humble side of town
There stands a little Christmas tree, looks a lot like Charlie Brown's
And underneath there's one little gift for him and one little gift for her
After six months on the new job, they're still barely getting by
So in the way of decorations, there's nothing there to catch your eye
But both of them would be the first to say
We're together, we're gonna have the merriest Christmas anyway

'Cause Christmas is all in the heart, that's where the feeling starts
And like a fire inside, it touches every part
'Cause Christmas is all in the heart
And even if no white snow falls, that's all right because
The joy can still be found, wherever you are
'Cause Christmas is all, all in the heart

Two little blonde haired boys with big dreams, tried to sleep but sleep wouldn't come
We'd be tearing into presents, long before the break of dawn
With Mom and Dad and cameras making sure we'd never forget that day
Now I'm the one who's taking pictures, in the middle of the night
Of my own blonde headed dreamers that just can't wait until daylight

And in my sleepy eyes the spark still glows
Well I guess there's just some things a kid never outgrows

No, it's not in the snow that may or may not fall
And it's not in the gifts around the tree
It's in the love heaven gave, the night our Savior came
And that same love can still be found wherever you are
'Cause Christmas is all in the heart
And the joy can still be found, wherever you are
'Cause Christmas is all, all in the heart
It's all in the heart

Strange Way to Save The World

Sure he must have been surprised
At where this road had taken him
'Cause never in a million lives
Would he had dreamed of Bethlehem
And standing at the manger
He saw with his own eyes
The message from the angel come to life
And Joseph said...

Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade
Why Him, with all the rulers in the world
Why here inside this stable filled with hay
Why her, she's just an ordinary girl
Now I'm not one to second guess what angels have to say
But this is such a strange way to save the world

To think of how it could have been
If Jesus had come as He deserved
There would have been no Bethlehem
No lowly shepherds at His birth
But Joseph knew the reason
Love had to reach so far
And as he held the Savior in his arms
He must have thought...

Now I'm not one to second guess what angels have to say
But this is such a strange way to save the world
...this is such a strange way to save the world...Saving the World

Welcome to Our World

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You've been promised, we've been waiting

Welcome Holy Child
Welcome Holy Child

Hope that you don't mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long-awaited Holy Stranger
Make Yourself at home
Please make Yourself at home
Bring Your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven's silence

Welcome to our world
Welcome to our world

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born
Unto us is born
So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy

Perfect Son of God
Perfect Son of God
Welcome to our world

Xmas countdown: Day 9

Sorry, not a lot of time to blog today. But here is one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Handel's Messiah - Hallelujah Chorus

The video above shows a bit of an "irreverent" version of this song. But what it does very well is show the lyrics. Sure, Handel composed a magnificent tune. But it is the words that are in the song that takes me back to the true meaning of Christmas.

A King is born. Hallelujah!

Happy

I was tucking Camille in last night after having watched half of the Happy documentary.

Me: Camille, are you happy?
Camille: Uh huh.
Me: What makes you happy?
Camille: Uh...happy...eyes. Happy eyes are happy. I like them.
Me: What else?
Camille: Going out.
Me: *chuckle* What else makes you happy, Honey?
Camille: *pause* BaBa. BaBa makes me happy.

I came upstairs and told Chin this story...and we both cried.

Xmas countdown: Day 8

You know what day it is? It's the day when I post one of the best holiday song evah!!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays by 'NSync

I can't even begin to describe how great this song is. You'll just have to watch it and soak yourself in its amazingness.

This song came out while I was in college. So let's take a walk down memory lane through these horrifyingly awkward college pictures:

Of course, a beautiful collage I made of my memories from 1999.

A guy with colorful hair, someone tied up, perennial Christmas lights, hanging
out with really smelly boys. It's the complete college package, really.

I just never realized we were all this awkward
(except for Erica W., who's just always beautiful)

The silliness

Me & my BFF, Tomoko. This picture perfectly captures a lot
of our college years.

Seriously, if you didn't know me back in college, these pictures wouldn't really mean anything to you. But they were special memories for me. There was a time where I would look back at college memories and scoff at how awfully under-productive and silly I was. I never finished a book. I rarely ever studied (actually studied, not just sitting in the SUB and hope that friends would come by to visit). What a waste of time and money. 

But my college years really shaped who I am today. If I hadn't chosen to invest in relationships instead of academics, I think I would have missed the point. I am thankful for my experience in college. All of it.

Some of my favorite memories of being at college were around Christmas time. And, of course, they were all great memories made by stuff we did when we were supposed to be studying. During "Reading Period" (the few days before finals), we would get together and play absolutely silly games like "I've Never..." and "Four on a Couch" and "Mafia." Completely stupid, right? But those days were so life-giving! I will never be that carefree again. I am so glad I did all those things.

Anyway, enjoy the song. It's a good one. :)

Xmas countdown: Day 7

Today's song is pretty simple: I just like how upbeat it is.

Emmanuel by Michael W. Smith

Because if you've ever had a conversation with me about Michael W. Smith, you will surely know that I am not a fan of this artist. Ugh. So not a fan. But this song, it's a'ight! It is actually *gasp* Biblical, Michael W. Smith! Nicely done!

Anyway, nothing profound. I just like this song.

Xmas countdown: Day 6

Originally recorded by Harry Belafonte, this song was made awesomer by Boney M. in 1978.

Mary's Boy Child by Boney M.

I first learned of this song when our church choir sang it. Yes, the Boney M. version. In Vietnamese. It is quite possibly the awesomest! It sounds something like this...except with more feeling:

Mary's Boy Child by a choir in Da Lat (rehearsal)

I love the line that says, "And man will live forever more because of Christmas day." It ties all the significance of salvation to Christmas day, a day often thought of as a holiday for gifts and family gatherings. I love that.

It also helps that the tune is pretty dang awesome in and of itself!

Xmas countdown: Day 5

I keep expecting for the ache to fade...but it doesn't.

A few days ago, a senseless act of violence took away the lives many, most of whom were young children. I haven't been watching the news. I haven't even tried to read up on the details of the story. I don't know how reading up on it and crying over it would do anything at this point. I'm already crying over it. What can I do? I can only hug my children and pray that I raise them right.

Which brings me to the 5th song of the countdown:

Little Drummer Boy by Jars of Clay

This was one of my favorite Christmas songs growing up in Vietnam. When I was little, Christmas songs meant that they are songs about the birth of Christ. No exception. Even Jingle Bells was translated into Vietnamese with Christian lyrics. It wasn't until I came to the States that I learned about the bastardized, faux Christmas songs. Kind of like Last Christmas or Christmas in the Northwest where there is no mention of the Christ Child at all. (Just to be clear, though, I still like the aforementioned songs because they are likable in their own rights.)

Even though all Christmas songs were about Jesus's birth, I didn't necessarily sing them with the reverence that they deserved. They were just fun songs that we memorized and sang. Just like at Christmas time in Vietnam (and in Vietnamese churches around the world still today), we would have Bible memorization contests where we would memorize passages of scripture and recite them back to see who could do it more flawlessly (and it should be no surprise that I won first place every year). You think that's perverse? Don't judge. It's no more perverse than the tradition of the Christmas tree. 

We bring the sacred into the profane. We worship with what we have.

I love this song for many reasons:

• there is a drum
• there are implications that animals are being musical
• it's from the perspective of a young child
• it's about knowing that you cannot do much; and
• it's about just doing what you can and doing the best to honor God.

You can analyze it up and down and in and out to arrive at the conclusion that there was in fact no drummer boy in the Bible. No sh!t, Sherlock. Do you think the freakin' ox and lamb kept time? GTFOutta here. It's a song. Move on.

In the madness of our world today, it is okay to put aside ceremony and perfection...and just to worship exactly where we are with exactly what we have. 

It's not just okay, it's imperative. 

It's worth it. 

Play your best for Him.

Xmas countdown: Day 4

For Unto Us a Child is Born

A very traditional song but I love it. It's just a direct quote of Isaiah 9:6. The part of this song that I'm reflecting on the most this year is the "Prince of Peace" part. Amidst such chaos, Jesus is still the Prince of Peace. I must rest in this truth.

Xmas countdown: Day 3

How Many Kings by Downhere

I first heard this song during the Christmas season of 2007. The first time I heard it, I was driving by myself and I bursted into tears. I love songs that are about God. I know that sounds oddly obvious, but let me explain. There are a lot of songs that are about how we ought to worship, how we need to love more, etc. There are also songs that imagine what God would say to us. There are songs about what we want to say to God. I like the ones that just simply talk about the character of God. What this song says to me is that a Great King was born as a simple Child. So simple. And then He went and laid down His life for me - a nobody. Who would do that?!

The Feast of Epiphany is a celebration to commemorate the day that the wise men met Jesus. It is commonly observed on January 6th (which also happens to be my mom's birthday, so it's easy for me to remember). I like to celebrate this holiday because it signifies the moment a person becoming cognizant of how insignificant s/he is in this big picture. There is such a juxtaposition between the wise men and the simple Child...the sinners facing their Savior.

What is it that's so important in my life that I can't set aside time for God? 

Xmas countdown: Day 2

The next song on the countdown is Last Christmas by Wham! I know it's totally cheesy in addition to being a song about heartbreak. But whatevs. I like it.

Last Christmas by Wham!

Another version of this song that I really dig is the cover performed by Jimmy Eat World.

Last Christmas cover by Jimmy Eat World

Honestly, I used to hate this song. Have you actually listened to the lyrics? So painful and bitter! Completely the opposite of what Christmas is meant to be. But the real reason I like this song is that Chin actually likes these cheesy songs. And even though it's not available on YouTube, my favorite version of the song is performed by my husband when he's dancing around with abandon in the living room while our children watch on with a "Wow that's very interesting, BaBa" gaze.

Thirteen years ago around this time, Chin and I both started developing romantic feelings for each other. We were friends before this and were co-leading a Bible study together in Seward Hall with InterVarsity at UPS. That Christmas break, I found that I missed Chin a lot. I called him up and asked him to drive me to Woodburn to return a scarf I'd purchased from Eddie Bauer. So he drove all the way from Longview to pick me up and drive me to Woodburn. I didn't think about it back then, but dang, that was a long drive! We continued to spend a ton of time together because it was just fun to be together.

Thirteen years later, that is still true!

We are taking a little 13-hour break from the children and doing a little getaway in downtown Seattle later today, courtesy of some very generous friends. I'm really looking forward to this. What began as a very special friendship continues to be special and I am glad that we prioritize to cultivate that relationship over most things.

Spring 2000

Xmas countdown: Day 1

There are only 12 more days 'til Christmas. I am going to review my 12 favorite songs of the season (in no particular order) ... and also recount some of my best memories of this time of the year.

So, day 1.

Christmas in the Northwest

Oh, you know you love it. You do! You do! This song has always been the season opener for Chin & me. The first time we hear it on the radio on a given year, that is the first day of the Christmas season. If we happen to be apart when this song is played, we'd always try to get a hold of one another so we could share the moment. It's true.

I just realized the other day that I have spent more Christmasses in the Northwest than anywhere else in the world. Up until recently, I considered Da Nang, Vietnam my home. But really, my home is the Pacific Northwest. It is beautiful. It has most of the people I love. And many wonderful Christmas memories have been made here.

One year, I think it was in 2003, my sister GT bought matching yellow pajamas for all the gals and matching blue plaid pajamas for all the guys. A simple act that really brought the family together, I felt. I still have the yellow pajamas. I wore them while I was pregnant/in labor with all three kids. Whenever I wear them, I remember that wonderful Christmas when we were all together...too much food to eat...taking over an hour to open up all the gifts...kids staying up until 2am...family going out the next day together for breakfast (and discovering that Anh Hien's car was stolen).

Christmas at the Le residence...2003?

Maybe I'm getting all the different Christmases all mixed up. But it doesn't matter. All I know is that we did have some wonderful Christmasses together as a family. I miss those days.

Baking cookies with Camille

Carefully observing BaBa

"Shake shake shake! More sprinkles!"

Mommy obviously proud of Camille's 1st ciookie

Here it is up close

She requested: "Sad face. Crying. Teeeears."

Mom of 3

NO! It's not what you think.

I was watching Yabi for an afternoon today and, boy, having 3 kids is kind of crazy. Especially when one has a broken foot, one is getting over a day of mysterious high fever, and an infant who's recovering from a URI.

We decorated cookies together

Sprinkles

"Yabi James! Use THIS instead!!"

Yabi: Can I kiss [Marcus]? *smooch* I like kissing babies.
Camille: I like cookies.

We watched a lot of Thomas & Friends (with socks on our hands)

Yabi: Auntie Bao, there is a spill on the couch.
Me: Who spilled this?
Yabi: I didn't do it.
Me: Did you spill juice on the couch, Camille?
Camille: Uhhhhhhhhhh... No, I didn't do it.
Yabi: Yeah you did, Camille. You spilled it. Cuz I didn't do it.
Camille: It's MESSY! Can you clean it up? Wipe it!!

(I'm pretty sure Camille spilled it.)

And then baby powder also got
dumped everywhere

Then Yabi fell asleep...

...and later I discovered that he had peed
on the couch

The end.

A poopeecopius journey: The Bao Ng story...by Bao Ng

We've heard that potty training requires the all important 3 P's: preparation, praise, and patience.

Let me tell you a secret: there are no imperative requirements. Just like most things with parenthood, sometimes there is just "go."

A couple of Saturdays ago (11/17), we went to a birthday party for one of Camille's little friends and we met a 14-month-old girl who was potty trained except for nighttime. Chin was so impressed that he wanted to see if we could do this for Camille.

Back up a couple of years... We started potty training Camille at the tender age of 7 weeks old. You did not misread. We started her before she turned 2 months old. We did Elimination Communication (EC) with her for many, many months. She did quite well with both pooping and peeing when held over the toilet or sitting on the potty. Yay! We saved on a ton of diapers.

Then we got lazy...because EC is a heckovalot of work!

Even though we weren't so diligent with EC, we would often put her on the toilet or potty chair after meals to give her a chance to poop. She also did quite well with this.

More recently (oh, say the last 5-6 months), she started not liking the toilet. Girlfriend had more fun things to do. It was tough to get her to sit on the toilet...but it was even more frustrating to change her diaper. Camille has never liked diaper changing times. She would so rarely lay still. So frustrating!!

So, the day after we attended this birthday party, Chin prompted the conversation about potty training. I.e.: all or nothing, just straight to underwear during the daytime.

To give you a little background to this story: I am going through a fulltime doctoral program in nursing, I'm the only parent to wake up multiple times at night to tend to baby Marcus, and I'm just tired all the time. Needless to say, I felt overwhelmed by the possibility of the added task of potty training Camille. But I also felt that I had failed Chin in so many other ways that I couldn't say no. (This is not a prompt for a pity party. I really did feel this way and I think my feelings were valid.)

Apprehensively, I went forth with this effort. That Sunday afternoon while Chin was out grocery shopping, I put Camille in a pair of undies. Was this the point of no return? I dunno. I was going to see what was going to happen next.

What happened next was a puddle of pee in the dining room. Followed by another puddle in the chair. And a puddle in the [carpeted] living room. And then she peed while Chin was holding her that evening.

The next day, I was ready: lots of M&M's as rewards, a pile of clean underwear and pants, a full container of diluted juice to get her going frequently (more opportunities for practice!), bleach wipes, a potty training toilet adapter ring thingy, and some flushable wet wipes. That's preparation for ya. I was totally ready to dole out the praises, too. The patience part...well, we'll see.

That day (the first full day of potty training), she pretty much decided that she would pee everywhere except for in the toilet even though I was taking her to go every 20-30 minutes.

I was so frustrated and wanted to quit. I called up my friend Krista and told her that I was convinced Camille will go to prom in a diaper. I was so mad at Chin for "commissioning" me with this task while he gets to take a minimal role in cleaning up the mess.

But I remembered what Krista said about potty training her son Will, "The first week of potty training, you will feel like it was never going to work. Just keep at it." So I did.

The next day, she managed to deposit all her excrements in the toilet. Yes, all day! This included several outings and a road trip down to Longview for Thanksgiving. This dry streak lasted for over 50 hours, including nighttime. I was so proud of her. I cried. So, so proud!

Since then, she has had just a handful of "accidents;" all caused by us not being mindful of putting her on the toilet regularly. Her diaper has been dry over 50% of the time during the night, too.

And for some reason, Camille is soooo much more pleasant to be around after this switch to big girl underpants! I just feel like the luckiest mother alive. :)

That's it. Our girl is no longer wearing onesies. She might as well shop for a prom dress while she's at it.

Festive crafternoon

Camille and I decorated the house. You like?

With limited space, we opted for a garland instead of a tree

Camille loves to instruct me on how to cut out snowflakes

Happy birthday, Jesus!