Merry Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas from the Hsu family! Blessings to you this Advent season. We’ve had a good year, and everyone has been healthy and happy. Elijah is three and a half now, and he transitioned out of his early intervention program and has begun preschool through our local school district. He is in a reading tutoring program and is reading words and sentences beyond his age level. He loves reciting letters, numbers and colors and singing songs like “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” He asks to go through his deck of word flash cards, and at bedtime he’ll sit by the bedroom door to read Blue’s Clues books by the light of the hallway. He also likes helping make pancakes and putting away laundry.

Josiah is now 7 and in first grade. He tells us, “I love learning stuff.” He’s in an advanced reading group and a gifted math class, and he enjoys all of it. He started riding his bike and has been learning to play a little tennis. Over the summer he took swimming lessons and enjoyed a day camp through the park district. Other highlights for him were playing Sonic Heroes and Lego Batman. He also finally watched the original Star Wars movie (twice – both the theatrical release and the special edition, and he counted all the differences).

We had a few local “staycations” this year, with day trips to the zoo, the arboretum, the children’s museum, the beach and so on. Josiah was excited to visit the new Legoland Adventure Center here in the Chicago suburbs. And for our 11th anniversary, we went to see the musical Wicked before it wrapped up its Chicago run. We love musicals, and this one was a delightful deconstruction and reconstruction of the Wizard of Oz narrative.

As the rights manager for InterVarsity Press, Ellen had some domestic trips to Miami and Orlando, and this fall her international travel took her to a rights conference in South Korea, Marketsquare Asia in Hong Kong (where she met up with a former IVP intern) and the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. She was invited to join the board of her professional industry group, the International Rights Managers Association, and promptly helped the group rename itself as the Licensing and Subsidiary Rights Association. She also took two sign language classes to continue to progress in her signing skills and vocabulary.

In addition to his editorial acquisitions and development work for IVP, Al applied and was accepted into a PhD program in educational studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. (He scored in the 99^th percentile on the MAT, so he used that test score to join the Triple Nine Society, which has a higher standard of admission than Mensa.) He took his first doctoral classes this fall, and things seem to be going well so far. Al also served as a columnist for Christianity Today magazine this year, and he continued to do some occasional speaking, including the Envision 08 conference at Princeton Theological Seminary and a chapel at Wheaton College. Al also signed up as a volunteer for the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid.

What have we been reading this year? Josiah’s big thing has been puzzle books, brain teasers and riddles. He would ask friends, “What’s purple and in China? The Grape Wall of China!” and “Did you hear about the man whose whole left side of the body was cut off? Now he’s all right.” He particularly enjoyed the Picture Puzzle series of “can you spot the differences” books, and he also read through lots of Calvin & Hobbes and Garfield books.

In the realm of fiction, Al and Ellen read through Stephenie Meyer’s stand-alone sci-fi novel The Host and her Twilight series (the last book, Breaking Dawn, seems to draw some intriguing parallels between vampirism and resurrection life). Ellen read through T. Davis & Isabella Bunn’s Heirs of Acadia series and Karen Kingsbury’s Baxter family series, and she enjoyed Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos and Linda Nichols’s books In Search of Eden and If I Gained the World. Al liked Sebastian Faulks’s new James Bond novel Devil May Care, which picks up where the original Ian Fleming novels left off. And Jorge Cham’s books of the comic strip series Piled High and Deeper (also known as PHD comics) provide a hilarious portrayal of grad student life.

In non-fiction we both appreciated Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture, an inspirational and moving account of a dying man’s life of purpose and meaning. The Big Sort by Bill Bishop explores how people tend to self-organize themselves into like-minded communities. The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine is an accessible and explanatory tour of neurobiology. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee is a fascinating cultural history of Chinese food in America. Tim Keller’s The Reason for God is a sophisticated and intelligent presentation of the Christian faith for our day. (And Al was thrilled to find the out-of-print and amusing The Unrelieved Paradox: Studies in the Theology of Franz Bibfeldt, and even friended the elusive obscure genius and enigmatic figure on Facebook.)

Top of our list of IVP books this year is Andy Crouch’s Culture Making, which received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and was also named one of the best religion books of 2008. It’s a stunning, paradigm-shifting book of how Christians need to move beyond merely critiquing, condemning, copying or consuming culture and instead create and cultivate culture. Also receiving a starred review was Living Gently in a Violent World by Stanley Hauerwas and Jean Vanier, which looks at the profound lessons of the L’Arche communities’ experience of disability and friendship. James Choung’s True Story is a fresh narrative retelling of the gospel that goes beyond escape-ticket-to-heaven and provides a holistic, missional vision for both individual redemption and global transformation. Jesus Made in America by Stephen Nichols examines how Jesus has been imagined and reinterpreted throughout American history. Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey unpacks historical and cultural dynamics of New Testament passages. Finding Calcutta recounts what Mary Poplin learned from her time visiting Mother Teresa. I Once Was Lost by Don Everts and Doug Schaupp shares how their skeptical postmodern friends came to faith in Jesus. And Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove brings together prayer and social activism.

That’s it for this year! May the Lord bless you and grant you his peace.

Elijah Pray!

I was getting ready to eat a nice breakfast of pancakes with Elijah (our favorite!) when Elijah looked at me and said, "Elijah pray!"

So I said a simple prayer leaving time for Elijah to repeat each word after me. "Dear...God...Thank you...for...pancakes...Amen!" Elijah repeated each word, emphasizing the amen. I smiled, happy with Elijah's spiritual development, and picked up my fork.

"Mommy pray!"

I looked up and Elijah was signing that he wanted me to pray now. So I said a slightly longer prayer and got ready to eat.

"Elijah pray!" I looked up and Elijah had his hands folded ready for yet another prayer. We said three or more prayers together before I finally said, "All done prayers, Elijah. My pancakes are getting cold!"

This has become a common theme at mealtime. Elijah is quick to remind us to pray and eager to repeat the words (and complete prayers) as often as we allow him. This morning I was eating my pancakes (I told you its our favorite breakfast) when I heard Elijah babbling. I glanced up and he had his hands folded, clearly chatting away with God. I couldn't understand many of his words, but I have no doubt that God understood exactly what Elijah was saying to him.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Along with Christmas music and snow, December has brought me a sense of lightheartedness and joy. The past few months have been full. After traveling to Asia in September I went to Frankfurt, Germany in October. While I was in Germany my assistant (who was in the office, not in Germany) went into premature labor. They were able to stop the contractions and she eventually had a beautiful and healthy baby, but the early labor also meant an early departure from work leaving me to train the new assistant. Things are going well, but I was feeling pretty stressed and pressed for time for most of October and November.

This is my absolute favorite photo of Elijah right now. It captures a sense of his joyful nature better than usual. And it expresses a sense of how I am feeling these days.

I love Advent and Christmas. Our Christmas tree is up, I've been playing Christmas music since Thanksgiving and most of our gifts are purchased and wrapped. We attended a couple of Christmas parties this weekend, both of which were a lot of fun.

Michael Card sang at IVP's Christmas party this weekend. I was talking with Michael a bit and wondering if he even remembered who I was when he said, "I think of you every day." Huh? I must have looked bewildered because he explained that he keeps translations of his books behind his coffee-maker. Since I handle translation rights for IVP and helped facilitate the translations, he thinks of me each morning when he gets a cup of coffee. I'm a bit of an affirmation junkie, so that made me feel pretty good. I really enjoyed the concert, particularly a new song he played for us called "Freedom," which has been a recurring theme in my Advent ponderings this year.

I have also been enjoying Sara Groves' Christmas CD, O Holy Night. Al and I especially like the song "Toy Packaging." If you haven't heard this yet, you really need to find a copy and listen to it, especially if you are a parent! The whole CD is really nice, but this song is a lot of fun.

Going Home

After eight days of travel, I am ready to go home. I'm glad I came to Asia. I've had good meetings, visited some interesting places and enjoyed conversations with industry colleagues and friends. I took a few photos and bought a few gifts. I've also endured long hours, awkward conversations and food that is not familiar. With the exception of the past few evenings, I have been "on" for seven days straight. I'm ready for a little time off. And I am soooo ready to be with my family again. I'm going home.


Symphony of Lights and the view from Victoria's Peak

Reporting from Asia

I am travelling in Asia for work this week. I spent three days in Seoul, Korea and am now in Hong Kong for another few days. I have been honored by the graciousness and generosity of various people who have hosted me and others in my group for office visits and dinners. I was able to visit the the offices of four publishers in Korea in addition to meeting with 25 publishers in a convention setting. I participated in two traditional "royal" Korean feasts where we were served course after course of the finest Korean food. And I went to an Outback Steakhouse and the martial arts comedy "Jump!" with a group of friends and publishing industry colleagues.

Last night I visited a publisher here in Hong Kong and was treated to a wonderful buffet dinner. At 8:00 pm the city of Hong Kong lights up with a laser light show. Our table was in front of a large window displaying a panorama of the city and a splendid view of the light show. The light show is synchronized to music, which the restaurant played for us. Many of the buildings in central Hong Kong have large lights on the face of their buildings that light up and change color in coordination with the music. In addition, large spotlights appear to shoot from the tops of the tallest buildings. It was quite a spectacle. I forgot my camera, but the people I was with took some photos for me. I'll have to post them another time.

I've been with other people for the past four days, mostly as a guest where I needed to display certain decorum and sometimes squelch my own personal preferences so as not to seem rude. As much as I have enjoyed everything so far, today I am happy to have some quiet time to myself. One of my dinner hosts last night gave me an entire itinerary of interesting things to see and do in Hong Kong today. If I were more adventuresome and brave I would be out exploring the sites of the city. As it is, I'm an introvert and a bit timid so I am spending the day in my hotel room reading a book and catching up on some blog reading. I hope I'll have some time to explore on Monday or Tuesday evening (I'd really like to visit Victoria's Peak, especially), but today I need the rest.

I'll spend the next two days in meetings, building relationships with publishers and showing them our newest books. I'm looking forward to visiting with these people, but I'm looking forward to going home on Wednesday even more. Traveling can be fun, but "there's no place like home."

First Day of School

Josiah and Elijah started school this week. Here are some photos.


This is Elijah waiting for the bus. He refused to stand still for photos. His bus didn't show up and I forgot to bring the camera to school with me, so these are the only "first day" photos I have of Elijah.

If Josiah looks a little nervous, it's because he was.

Josiah was really happy to find out that his friend from our neighborhood is in his class this year.
This is Josiah meeting his teacher for the first time.

Fun in the Sun (and Sand)!

Last weekend we took the kids to the Indiana Dunes. The water was closed due to the risk of rip tides, but we still had a lot of fun.

A Confession

I have a confession to make. Not everything I do is for the enrichment of my children. Sometimes I do things just because it's something I enjoy.

At a recent event I attended one young mother mentioned how her sisters' lives seem to revolve around their children and the various activities they are enrolled in. One mom mentioned that it would be good for our kids to have one night a week where they can't participate in outside activities because it is mom's night to do something. Another mom mentioned that her friend tells her children that date night with her husband is "to make sure you are happy."

As I drove home from the event I thought about the idea of explaining date night to our kids as something we do to keep them happy. Explaining alone time with my spouse in this way, I realized, would actually reinforce the idea the world revolves around our kids. While it may be true that maintaining a happy marriage will help my children remain happy, the main reason I spend time alone with my spouse is that I really like him. I enjoy having uninterrupted conversations with him that allow us to connect at deeper levels than "When was the last time we changed Elijah's diaper?" or "Have you seen Josiah's backpack?"

The same is true of other activities that take me away from home. I enjoy taking sign language classes, leading worship and having coffee with friends. I could explain to our kids that I am a better mom when I am able to pursue activities I enjoy, but I think it may be better to simply tell them, "I am doing this because it is something I enjoy."

I can't do everything that I enjoy all the time. Sometimes I decide not to do something because I would rather spend time with my family or because my kids need me to be with them. I enjoy being with my kids and I want them to feel loved and to know that they are important to me. And I am intentional about making sure that I am frequently home with my kids. At the same time, I want them to know that I am more than just their mom. God has given me gifts to serve both my family and the world around me. Having children may require modifying my activities, but it doesn't mean that I have to hit the pause button on my life indefinitely.

Having a child with special needs can sometimes exacerbate this issue. Children with special needs often require more of our time and energy. We may become so wrapped up in helping and advocating for our children, that we allow their diagnosis to become a primary part of our identity. If mothers of typical children are tempted to believe that their kids can't survive even one evening a week without them, imagine how mothers of children with special needs often feel, especially when our children require special medical care.

But when we lose our own identities to our children we are not the only ones who lose something. Our churches and communities lose out too. They may lose out because we are not using our gifts to serve, but they may also lose the opportunity of using their gifts to serve us. And, if we are so worried about our children that we do not allow them to spend time in someone else's care, they may lose out on the opportunity to learn about our kids and how to love and serve people with special needs.

I just signed up for a second class in sign language this fall. I'll be out of the house on Wednesday evenings from late October through early December and the kids will be spending a little more time with Al or, in some cases, with a babysitter. But that's okay. I enjoy learning sign language. The kids will survive without me for one night a week.

The Tooth Fairy's on Vacation

Josiah recently lost his two front teeth. The first came out while he was eating a piece of toast. We washed it off and put it into his special tooth treasure chest and tucked it under his pillow for the tooth fairy to retrieve. I had a sign language class that evening and by the time I came home the kids were in bed and I had completely forgotten about Josiah's tooth.

I was in Josiah's room when he woke up the next day. He squinted at me and asked, "Is it morning?"

"Yep, it's morning. You can get up if you want to."

Josiah brought his hand out from under his pillow. He was holding the treasure box with the tooth still inside, "Why is my tooth still here?"

Thinking quickly I said, "Oh! I mean, it's still night. Go back to sleep!" Once his eyes were closed I rushed into my bedroom and rooted around my dresser for a quarter. I found one and sprinted back to his room where I tucked it under his pillow while retrieving the tooth. Phew!

"Um, mom? That was you, not the tooth fairy."

"I know. The tooth fairy is on vacation and asked me to take care of things, but I forgot. I'm sorry."

Josiah looked at me askance, but didn't make further comment.

That weekend his other front tooth came out while he was playing with friends at church. He ran over to me and showed me that his tooth had come out. I washed it off and put it in my purse for safe keeping. Josiah then went to the sanctuary where he walked up and down the middle aisle, smiling as largley as possible to show off his missing teeth until I realized what he was doing and had him sit down (church was about to start).

After church he continued to show off his missing teeth. A couple of people asked if he was going to put his tooth under his pillow for the tooth fairy. Josiah responded flatly, "It's just my mom, not the tooth fairy."

Oh well. I guess he to find out eventually.

At Home with Down Sydrome

Al just sent me a link to a nice article about Down Syndrome in The New Atlantis. This is a very nice article exploring recent books about living with Down Syndrome. I highly recommend the article.

At Home with Down Syndrome by Caitrin Nicol

I love the beginning of the article explaining the possible origins of a painting by Andrea Mantegna, who may have used a child with Down Syndrome as a model for the Christ child. I came across this painting in a book while I was still pregnant and dealing with Elijah's diagnosis of Down Syndrome. It was immensely encouraging to me.

I've read most of the books reviewed in the article. I think my favorite book of those reviewed is Gifts edited by Kathryn Lynard Soper. This is a terrific book for families who have just learned that their child has Down Syndrome.