New Year 2018

Yes, we will remember that on the first minutes of 2018 Miriam was wearing a new plaid shirt

 and that I was wearing white nail polish while Tim and Brahms take their selfie :)

12:00 AM - January 1, 2018 (California Time):  There are four goblets.   

12:00 AM January 1, 2018 (Wisconsin Time)  There are five goblets with one virtual person :)

So we celebrated the changing of the year with Shannon remotely.  That's right.  We were virtually together - laughing, talking and watching Pride and Prejudice.  She prepared her food as we traditionally do on New Year's Eve - and so we were eating together.  The only limitation was that we could not pass the food from our table to hers nor from her table to ours.  But it worked out really well.  To be on Skype for almost six hours was good!

The frustrating part of the whole thing is the fact that we could not feel the person on the screen, we could see her plants and cats but we couldThe other challenge was having to watch a movie simultaneously on Netflix.  But my kids are technical enough to synchronize our electronics regardless of the distance between California and Wisconsin.

The Lewises will always find ways to be a family 

That hair though

Cheers!!!

Random Thoughts About Thanksgiving

The pressure to impress diminishes the value of the feast.  Not only will it result in stress, it also defeats the purpose of the occasion which is to set aside a time to count the blessings we've received during the year and thank the God who graciously favored us.  Today Brahms reminded me yesterday to relax - just relax.  And I listened to him.  Today was a peaceful stress-free day!  And everything turned out great.

Early dinner is better.  Scheduling dinner at around 2 pm  eliminates the need for numerous hor d'oeuvres.  This relieves the hostess from preparing so many little things.  Today (Thanksgiving Day 2016) we did exactly this - dinner at 2 o'clock.  We ate dessert at around 5 pm after Tim and the kids played "Don't Starve Together" and after I finished my painting of crab apples.  A second dinner is in order as there are a lot of left-overs and a cornucopia of fruits sits on the table for eating.

And by the way, Tim did a great job grilling the turkey - which turned out beautifully golden with darkened wings and thighs and tender and moist white meat.  We used a different brand of turkey this time from an independent grower.  I was a little bit skeptical to begin with but ended up feeling happy and pleased with the quality.  Normally I have to rub the bird with a lot of oranges and lemons just to remove the strong smell of turkey but this one met my requirements when the packaging was removed and it delivered a delicious roast turkey.  In terms of aromatics, I put sprigs of rosemary and thyme in the cavity of the bird - and this I intend to repeat next year.

Thanksgiving is not the same when a family member is not present.  Shannon being in Madison leaves an empty space in my heart.  I now understand what my mother used to say when I was growing up.  (She used to work in Manila while I lived with my grandparents)  I am thankful that Miriam and Brahms still can be with us and thankful that we can talk to Shannon and still share experiences over the phone.  She might be far but we share the joy when she told us right before Thanksgiving Day that she got a raise and that she ran a 5K Turkey Trot early today.  God is good!


People think their food is better than yours.  No matter how you present your table spread, or how expensive the china you eat them on and the silverware you used to eat them with - it does not matter, people will still think that their food is better than yours.  This is not about you nor about them but it is simply because of tradition and experience that surrounds the table. Moral of the story:  Food pictures should not be the focus of social media posts on Thanksgiving Day. Just saying.

Thanksgiving is a celebration of gratitude.  Once-a-year exercise of gratitude does not do much good in the way we live.   However, if we can practice gratitude on a daily basis then we get the daily benefits of a calm and collected attitude regardless of our situation because we know where our help comes from.  And in turn we can love better.  Thanksgiving therefore is, more appropriately, a celebration of the completion of the year of gratitude.  That, I thinks, deserves feasting!  With the current way we perceive Thanksgiving, the mandate to be grateful tomorrow is missing.  In fact Black Friday ads tell us that we are inadequate at present and therefore we are all enjoined to get up early tomorrow to compete in the game of hoarders.  :)  

Give thanks, always.

Change in the Menu

Every year since we got married, Tim has requested the same menu for his birthday dinner.  And every year, he enjoys every thing in it as he did the first time I was at his birthday dinner - as prepared by his mom on the first year of our marriage.  Our children know and have learned to love their father's birthday dinner.  I like it because I don't have to think every year.  I know exactly what to buy, when to start the process and it is very easy.  The same thing is served either it is only the family or when we invite people over for his birthday for a bigger get-together.  But this year is different.  He wants to change the dessert portion of the menu.

Few days ago as he was talking to Brahms on the phone and he mentioned that it will be Angel Food Cake instead of have German Chocolate Cake.  Brahms' response was, "Who are you?  and what did you do to my father?"  :)  Miriam is fine with the change but I am not sure what Shannon thinks about it.  Maybe the fact that she won't be here to experience the difference - she won't care.  I'm guessing she'll say, "It's his birthday.  He can choose whatever he wants."

I think a change from a German dessert to a more heavenly alternative is in order!  

Welcome 2015

Another year has past and it went by so quickly. The parents worked and the kids went to school as usual.  A lot of details were entailed in those two basic classification of activities but God was exceedingly gracious in the way He guided us and took care of us through the whole year of 2014.  In spite of minor challenges and complications here and there, at work, at school, or at home, life was peaceful - as usual - because the Lord is good and He is good all the time!

Miriam said goodbye to Rolling Hills Middle School and embarked into high school at Oak Ridge this year.  Unlike her siblings, she bravely joined the marching band.  As a member o f the drum-line she played the heaviest instrument - the mallets.  It is worth mentioning here that she is probably one of the smallest students in band.  She did a great job and we are so proud of her determination, persistence and of course, musical skills!  At present she is training to play the snare drums next year.  Academically, she is also doing great in Spanish, Biology, Algebra, Life Fitness, and Language Arts.  Hooray for Miriam!!!

Brahms started his second year of college life - majoring in Anthropology heading towards a double major in International Agricultural Development.  He moved from the dorm to live in a nearby apartment with two of his college (Christian) group friends - Pavel and Daniel.  They have a landlady named Mrs. Lee.  I have heard a lot about Mrs. Lee and it is all good.  Brahms' involvement in the college group of University Covenant Church is balancing his college life.  To break the monotony of thinking only about papers to write, tests to take and grades, he plays bass and banjo during the group's weekly meetings and spends time with people outside of his classroom.  He continues to work as a student assistant at the Dining Commons - they call it the DC - and learning a lot about work, work politics, and life itself.  He tells me I should not send him loaves of bread.  Last Christmas he gave me a beautiful red silk scarf.  I like it a lot.  

Shannon started her last year in college last year and is scheduled to graduate early - in March to be specific.  Around Thanksgiving, she applied and got a job offer from Epic Systems.  According to plan, she will start working there as a computer programmer.  In the meantime, she has to complete and pass all the remaining classes that she has to take during the next quarter.  Hard to believe how things are happening so quickly.  It seems as though it as only last year when we brought her to UC-Irvine to start college.  Time flies!  I am so happy for her and yet the thought of her going even farther away is not easy.  But we know that God will always be with her - protecting her as He always did.  Last Christmas she gave me a beautiful set of coffee mugs.  They are the right size and weight for drinking tea.  She seems to understand me more as she grows older and wiser.  

Life goes on.  God's promise (to be faithful) keeps our hopes alive.  We can laugh at the days to come because He is with us!  Welcome 2015.

2013 Begins..

2013

This is the picture we took of our family during the first two minutes of 2013.  At midnight on New Year's Eve, we start the year with a cheerful a toast (sparkling apple cider) and then we clump together for the picture.  The problem this year is that the couch was too small for the five of us.  The bench at the breakfast table is usually the place where we'd pose for the picture but this time we were watching "Pride and Prejudice" prior to midnight and were so lazy to move.

Among the many Filipino traditions that we have adopted as a family is to have the following in place when the New Year comes in: a bountiful table; well-stocked pantry and refrigerator; all bills paid; clean house; and good mood for everyone.  Cleaning the house is always the most challenging part of this.  For one thing, it is impossible to clean the yard, which is a part of the house, in the cold wet winter days.  The garage, which always needs organizing, is also cold.  Oh well... I'll just have to suffer with a desire to have a perfectly clean something throughout the year. 

Tim brought us to Seafood City in Sacramento and had lunch at Chowking.  We don't live anywhere near an Asian community - so this was a treat for me and my kids.  It reminds us of the Philippines.  It is also a treat for Tim because he gets to use his Tagalog skills and surprise all the unsuspecting Filipinos.  Our evening munchies this year included the following:  Fruited Chicken/Macaroni Salad; Shrimp Cocktail; Chocolate Fondue; Pumpkin Pie; Apple Pie; Herbed Sausage Croissant; Lewis-style Lumpia; and more.  

Shannon and Brahms played LOL (League of Legends) while Miriam played Mine Craft since she's not thirteen yet to be able to play LOL.  The three of them played Portal 2 and Lego Lord of the Rings. 

The following morning we all watched the Rose Parade and then the HGTV Dream Home.  It was generally a lazy day because everything should have been done the day before. :) The only thing I had to do was to go shopping (yes, shopping New Year's day!) for things we needed for the next day to host the Actis family.  We also put away all the Christmas ornaments including the gingerbread houses that the kids made.  

Miriam's Fluffy House

Brahms' Luxury House

  

Shannon's Three-Sided House

We can laugh at the days to come because we trust in the Lord.

Watching Rose Parade

Everyone is cozy with blankets and hot cocoa.

New Year's Day 2012 is on a Sunday.  As a result  the Rose Parade was held on the following day - Monday.  We were all looking for Shannon's dorm mate who was banner-bearer.  Unfortunately, he was right behind the float with the surfing dogs.  The commentators spent a long time talking about the float and how it (being the longest float) would make a turn around the corner. We were all disappointed not to have seen him there. 

We also watched the HGTV Dream Home 2012.  We always dream of winning a dream home.  Who knows, maybe this year we will be the lucky ones to win it.  :)

Note that Shannon's face is its full swollen-size. 

New Year 2012

A Toast for 2012!!! 

Shannon just had all four of her wisdom teeth removed the day before but she's such a trooper - she stayed up with all of us to wait for the year to change. I imagine that she was all groggy from Vicodin but she tried to smile for this traditional New Year's Family picture. 

We stayed up all night - eating munchies that represent our multi-cultural family.  This year we tried to alter our traditional foods a little bit to make them less caloric.  Instead of making lumpia I made Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Shrimp.  Tim still made his Herbed Sausage Croissant but he skipped the Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts.  Some things remained such as the Filipino-Style Macaroni Chicken Salad, Sparkling Apple Cider, and some various cookies on the side.   The guys played Skyrim while Miriam played the Lego-Pirates of the Caribbean.  I believe Shannon played online League of Legends with her Shire-mates Steven, Zack, and Tiffany. 

The day was not like any other New Year's Eve we ever had because other than the fact that Shannon was not feeling well from her dental surgery, we were just not in the mood for taking down the fake Christmas tree.  Normally, before midnight we would all be done putting away all the Christmas ornaments.  I'm guessing that this is one of the (negative) effects of electronic games and media.  They were free to have fun since they were all on vacation. 

The next day we attended worship service at CCC in the morning and attended FCC in the evening.  What better way to start the year!   

God has always been good to us.

2011 was a great year. 

We praise God for all His blessings and kindness.

Happy New Year to All! 

Pie-Oratorical

One of the wonderful blessings brought to us during the Christmas season was the time spent with Daniel and Becky! The bride-and-groom-to-be at our house! Getting to know them as a couple was as exciting as learning about some of the details of their wedding which is right around the corner.

When she talked about the number of pie plates she has now and the practicality of increasing it, knowing that she will soon be a (pie-making) Mrs. Gossard, I couldn't help but be reminded of a tradition that runs in the Gossard family (Tim's mother’s side). There is a belief that is almost religious in the Gossard family that "All pie is good pie. Some pie better than other pie, but all pie is good pie." I do not adhere to this belief because my judgment tells me that it is a superstition. But even so, being a kind wife and mother, I consciously go far and wide to provide the necessary pies for my family—for the sake of this tradition. I was told that Tim’s grandfather, Waldo, was the father of this [religion]. I've witnessed him along with Paul, and Johnnye eloquently carry out poetic exchange during times when pie is being served. In the early days of our married life, I kept quiet to try to make accurate interpretations of what I was hearing. I supposed this is what other new members of the family would also do. Later on it was revealed to me that I was not the only one feeling out of place because Mark was the same way after he and Jennifer got married. For as long as I can remember since Tim and I got married, I’ve heard this saying said every time the family got together - as if to remind the family about the exalted status of the pie. It has become a significant part of the pie-eating ritual. The weird part of it all is that when the men in the family get closer to being wise and married they automatically begin to participate in the oration of pie verses. I can remember the joy and pride on Tim's face when he initiated his first pieoratorical (pie-oratorical). David my brother-in-law, then an apprentice pitching in some verses here and there, was soon to be part of the club after he and Saskia got married. If I had thought about it sooner, it would have been a good idea to have recorded all their sayings.

The women in the family are supposed to be entertained by the pieoratorical; they are obligated to feel slighted when the men do not try all the pies on the table; and rejoice when the pie plates are emptied.  Pie-eaters are expected to show grace and kindness to the pie-makers by going back for seconds or thirds  .

Next month Daniel and Becky will get married. Daniel, who served as ring bearer in our wedding, will take on a new role in life – husband to Becky. There is an unexplained joy in the Gossard clan. Soon there will be a new couple to give pie plates and pie recipes to. Their marriage announces the possibility of new grandchildren, nephews/nieces and cousins. The wedding will mark his official induction into the pie-oratorical club. But wait, that's not all. Daniel and Becky after they will have been declared man and wife will upgrade the tradition with something that no Gossard has ever done before. Pie will be elevated to the pinnacle when Daniel and Becky serve pie at their wedding for dessert, instead of cake.  There we will see a multitude of people in designer dresses and tuxedos, declaring, "All pie is good pie!"

 These are exciting days indeed!