Warm Christmas greetings to all our family and friends!

Some of you received a printed copy of this year's Christmas letter inside our card.

From our home in Pismo Beach to yours, we bring you our 14th annual family newsletter. As always, wishing this reaches you all in great health and spirits. And, as with our last two online newsletters, it's time to ascertain this year's defining word. A by-product of last year’s transformation, that word this year for us would have to be...(drum roll pls., gotta have drama when you‘re...) ...Inspired.

The word inspire comes from the Latin word inspirare (in- + spirare) which means to breathe. This year is filled with awe inspiring moments that take our breath away (dramatic sigh).

Synonymous to awakening, inspiration comes easy when you are surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of nature that truly awakens the soul. This year marks our 2nd year in Pismo Beach. It is a delightful place beckoning the spirits to the joys of reflection and meditation. Hence, the birth of inspiration.

Inspiration gave us the energy to bring a dream kitchen into fruition. We painted the cabinets white and changed the countertop to granite. Inspired energy also allowed us to joyfully redecorate our living, dining, and Isabella’s room. It is an ongoing process that is eagerly anticipated with pleasure.


Phil - turned 21 this year and in his 4th year in Computer Engineering at Cal Poly. He is in the President’s Honor Roll and is expected to graduate in June. A couple companies started “scouting” him already. He is very interested in robotics, particulary remote sensing. Besides boogie boarding, he also enjoys playing intramural basketball at Cal Poly.


Immanuel - turns 20 on Christmas day. He is back working at Choi’s Martial Arts and stays at our home in Union City. His inspired energy is all over the place including attending College of Marin. Why you ask? His girlfriend Krystal attends at nearby Dominican College. He has a new dog named Pirate, a Jack Russell terrier (from his beloved childhood book series, “Adventures of Wishbone“). Pirate suffered a hit and run accident then got dog-napped. Immanuel was so thankful finding him after a week-long search. He now drives a Subaru Impreza sports car we bought him for his birthday last year. He is working on his old Toyota Supra for Ian.


Ian - is now 16 years old and will soon be driving (hopefully the Supra to start with). He is “hanging in there” (in Arroyo Grande High, that is, as a junior) despite appeals that he would be more inspired if he is in Union City (so he says and begs). We promised we will seriously put it into consideration for Senior year especially he is doing very well despite the so called “boring here” appeals. He is taking two AP classes (Bio. and Art Hist.) and will be taking college level English class next semester.


Isabella - just turned 9 years old and is in a combined 4th/5th grade class at Shell Beach Elementary. Besides being a wonderful scholar, she is also a full-fledged inspired dancer at Coastal Dance. She has performed in several venues this year including, but not limited to, S.F. Pier 39, the Central Coast’s Mid-State Fair, and at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts where she performed a special number with her dad. (her own tap choreography to dad’s guitar accompaniment of Rhythm of the Rain).


Travel
Our family celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary aboard the Carnival Elation. It was an inspired cruise to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada Mexico together with great friends. (totaling 27 of us).
It was definitely an inspired cruise as Russ performed on stage during the final show, Carnival of Legends. He was the very first one to perform as the king of soul, James Brown, complete with professional dancers as his backup entourage. Our very good friends and Russ‘ karaoke buddies, Janet and her husband, Lando, were selected repectively as Gloria Estefan and Ricky Martin. Karaoke auditions determine selection for this final showcase. It certainly was an inspired cruise to remember.


Russ

Russ’ contract with BEA Systems ended just before the cruise. While he has not secured a new contract as yet, he makes use of his time very wisely. Focusing on what matter most, he loves spending quality time with the kids. He also find joy in teaching guitar classes at Coastal Dance on Mondays. He drives back and forth between Pismo Beach and Union City and enjoys maintaining 2 special “smaller with bigger soul” homes.


Meet Indy
We have a new family member...Ian’s taco puppy, Indy. He is a funny Chihuahua terrier. Yes, that is a smile you see in his photo. He, too, is inspired.


As for me, Imelda, I thought I’d leave you with one of my “heavenly moments” serving as a personal source of inspiration.


In closing, may you find your own inspiration and realize that we are all too blessed to be stressed if we choose to be.


P.S. My mom is in the Philippines as I write this. We are not sure when she will be back. No need to worry about her as much these days. We are thankful she has found a special someone, Dennis, who takes very good care of her.


Well, until next year....