Christmas Morning

It is a quiet Christmas morning. Wishing you a Merry Christmas day.

Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate
and open the door of love.
Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be your children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts.

-- Robert Louis Stevenson


With Love and Christmas Blessings,

The Dowdell Family

"I Thank Thee" on Thanksgiving Eve

O Thou whose bounty fills my cup,
With every blessing meet!
I give Thee thanks for every drop --
The bitter and the sweet.

I praise Thee for the desert road,
And for the riverside;
For all Thy goodness hath bestowed,
And all Thy grace denied.

I thank Thee for both smile and frown,
And for the gain and loss;
I praise Thee for the future crown
And for the present cross.

I thank Thee for both wings of love
which stirred my worldly nest;
And for the stormy clouds which drove
Me, trembling, to Thy breast.

I bless Thee for the glad increase,
And for the waning joy;
And for this strange, this settled peace
Which nothing can destroy.

--Jane Crewdson (1860)

Thailand, Vietnam, & Cambodia

Elephant ride in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

In Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Yes, I AM the Queen Grace.

Cyclo ride in Hanoi, Vietnam.

With water buffalos in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Testing of your faith comes into play when you cross the streets in Hanoi.

Eugene and Mina's Wedding

Eugene and Mina got married on October 26, 2008 in Walnut Creek, California. It was a beautiful and blessed event. We want to thank all who came and celebrated it with us. We missed those who could not come to the wedding.

The Parks

South America

Ethan Boy, the Michelin Man

We thank God that Ethan is growing healthy and strong. May he grow in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men.

Park Baby

Hello famiLee!

Sorry I haven't posted anything earlier about this.

We have another new member to our clan, Benjamin Joseph Park.

Born Thur., 9/4. 7 lbs 8 oz and 21 inches long. Although the time it took to push him out was ALOT shorter (all of 5 minutes), labor was much longer...seemed like I was having contractions all day.

Anyways, we're all home now and getting adjusted to life as a family of four. Thank you all for your prayers for us. Please continue to pray for this next generation; may they continue this legacy of faith.

Liu Baby

Hello everyone,

So baby Hannah has officially arrived. She came early Tuesday morning. Ailsa was up at 1am trying to figure out if the pain she was feeling was a contraction or something else (ask her about it – she’s hilarious). When she finally figured an hour of pain must be something related to her pregnancy, she woke me at 2am and I promptly started to time them. How did I know how to do that you ask? Well, the last month, I’ve been cramming, reading about labor and delivery b/c I can’t remember much about Caitlyn’s birth. After about 40 minutes, it was very clear that the contractions were coming closer and closer and pretty regularly. So we called the doctor and headed to the hospital.

I had directions to the hospital – although I’d never been there. But my father-in-law got up when we told them we were going to go and said he’d drive. He must have been nervous b/c he started out driving really fast. Ailsa had to tell him to slow down – b/c there was no rush but also maybe b/c she was scared.

When we got there the doctor said Ailsa was 7 cm dialated and said, “You toughed it out at home huh?” Her response was a blank face. “I didn’t even know I was having contractions.”

The pain came pretty often and violently so they offered Ailsa an epidural – which we accepted b/c you never know how long these things will take. But as the epidural was being given, wouldn’t you know it, Ailsa’s water breaks. The doctor comes in and checks and says, “Sorry, it’s time to push.” So w/o the benefit of pain relief, Ailsa gave 4 monumental blood-vessel-popping pushes and a beautiful slippery 7 pounds, 4 ounce wonder was born.

Hannah has been very calm and sleeps a lot. Quite a contrast to Caitlyn’s “let me out and give me what I want” infancy. Ailsa is resting and hospital staff have been nice.

Caitlyn has done great. Everything happened while she was sleeping so we didn’t have to worry about fighting with her while we went to the hospital. She had previously insisted that she would come with us to the hospital. Grandparents and auntie took great care of her and when she came to visit, she was thrilled to see her baby sister.

Thank you for your prayers and support. Please keep praying for Ailsa and baby Hannah.

Paul

snow suit & swim suit

Hello, it's me, Ethan. I am a good boy.

Ethan sleeping like an angel

Ethan sleeping like an angel during our vist, you know what that means, he will not be sleeping at night, so we tried to bother him to wake him up, but ah he was soooo tired and sleepy from staying up much of the night.

Ethan Yuan Dowdell

Thank heavens for a little baby boy Ethan!! He couldn't wait to meet us, so he came earlier than expected on July 16, weighing 6 lb 4 oz. We thank God for this gift of life, a bundle of joy, and pray for His blessings on his life.

Kevin will post more pictures on internet when he has a chance.

Miracle at Claridge

It has been a little over three weeks since grandparents moved into Claridge. It is a no small miracle -- Halmoni is eating well and her health has improved beyond our expectation. She is responding to physical therapy, walking outside to patio everyday and singing hymns while enjoying the fresh air, smiling and visiting with other neighbors by the elevator area, and SURPRISE, she even went to play Bingo with Halabugi this afternoon.

I took this picture right before I left them. Their room was shown to a visitor today as a model room.

On the first day she arrived, she was ushered into the dining room on a wheel chair, and she was too weak to feed by herself.

Another afternoon, she walked to patio, to North dining room, and was now ready to go back to their room.

Claridge Health Care Center -- Grandparents' New Home

Praise the Lord! Our parents moved in Claridge Health Care Center in Lake Bluff, IL on Thursday this week. We are very confident that God has orchestrated all the events and led us to this place that He had already prepared for them. We took Halabugi out to lunch at a Korean restaurant in next town on Saturday, and we were encouraged that he was in good spirit and told us to comfort each other, especially our brother. He said that he believes himself to be a person filled with abundant joy, and he is praying this Scripture verse, "according to your faith will it be done to you. Matthew 9:29b."


Our parents' new home, Room 318, where we gathered after Saturday lunch out. The picture in the background in Chinese writing that we brought from home says something like, a person of character is never lonely and has many friends.


Big outing to the patio area, the first time in many months for Halmoni. Well, she didn't go out so willingly and quietly, but she did enjoy being out in the fresh air.


In front of a Korean restaurant, where Halabugi bought us lunch with his revised outlook of life.

Brian's Graduation: End of an era

Priase the Lord!! He has been so good to our family. Four kids out of college! We thank God as we celebrate Brian's graduation.

Brian, we are very proud of you. So sorry that Kevin couldn't make it.

Library building behind boys, with the famous "Touch down Jesus."

In front of Morrisey Manor, the dorm boys lived their Freshman & Sophomore years.

Picture from the past

This picture was taken after our father's ordination service. Chung Soo, our cousin, posted this picture at his father's website (http://injaelee.org). I was the baby of the family then.

Sakura- Cherry Blossoms in Japan

So spring is the in Japan means tons of blooming cherry blossom trees or sakuras... so since our famiLEE has gone global thought i'd add some more pictures from this side of the world =)








another video, just for fun =)



thanks again for all your prayers and support famiLEE!!!!