Christmas Letter

First off, my apologies for those that we missed mailing this letter to.  Our address book wasn't as updated as it needed to be.  At any rate, better late than never.  Here you go:

December 2010

Friends and Family,

A light dusting of snow on the ground, colorful lights around the neighborhood, “A Christmas Story” showing at the local playhouse and our new dog humping a dinner guest’s leg underneath the dining room table.  December is here and that means it’s time for the annual Cruz Christmas letter!   

First off, let me apologize for skipping last year’s letter.  The family was in sad shape this time last year when Fred, our dog of 16 years passed away just a few days before Christmas.  It was heartbreaking for us.  It just wasn’t in me to do a letter.  But rather than dwell on good old Fred not being with us anymore, I choose to remember his vivaciousness and spirit – that even though he was testicle-challenged, he’d still hump his favorite pillow with reckless abandon.  I imagine what he would’ve been like if he actually had a pair.  We’d be doing really well for ourselves if we could muster that same dogged determination.

Two paragraphs into the letter and I’ve already got two mentions of dog humping.  Classy.  Disclaimer for you first time recipients of our letter:  you won’t catch me writing about wonderful vacations, the boys’ sports and honor roll accomplishments.  That’s because I don’t want to make you puke.  So here goes with my wrap up of the last two years on less than two pages:  Command tour in Korea – awesome!  Leaving incredible friends in the Land of the Morning Calm – tough.  Dog died.  Very tough.  Got another dog recently.  Cool.  Teenage angst coming early for CJ.  Sigh.  Settling into the new job here in Tennessee.  Another sigh.  It was like getting a pine cone shoved up my butt backwards.  I go from the big office with the water view to the Dilbert cubicle.  The job’s gotten a lot better though for those that care about my nether regions.  Jake was student of the year and CJ won the leadership award for his grade at the Busan Foreign School.  Carol received some well-deserved volunteer awards from the Navy, Army and the Busan community.  Some proud family moments there.  Had some spectacular family trips to Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand, Australia and trekking all over Korea.  Okay.  So I did write about vacations and family accomplishments.  Hope you didn’t puke.  Maybe just a little vomit in your mouth.  Forgive me.

Definitely more bathroom time for CJ now as he works the hair and pops the zits.  He’s looking to work out now and put some muscle on that slim frame of his that already boasts the body fat percentage of a DVD.  Carol told him that he can even work out without any weights.  For example, he can clench his butt cheeks to strengthen his glutes.  CJ didn’t understand so Carol told him he could just squeeze his butt cheeks together over and over again.  CJ responded with, “Squeeze ‘em?  What, with my hands?”  So the latest teenage trends, roller coaster emotions and quest for popularity have set up permanent residence in the Cruz household.  Carol and I try to empathize.  I think back to my teenage years when I would get the embarrassing BFNR in class (boner for no reason).  I totally see Carol trying to edit that part out.

Jake is doing great.  He’s quite the independent little guy – almost too independent.  After doing a number two, he insists on wiping his own bottom even though he’s horrible at it.  He will literally use only 1 or 2 squares of toilet paper to wipe his butt.  Now I appreciate the whole earth-friendly piece of that, but dang.  At least he’ll let us do the quality assurance check afterwards.  The visual inspection of his backside usually ends with Carol and I gagging over the substantial DNA remaining on his balloon knot, lower back, fingers, toilet seat, mirror, etc.  For those that didn’t get the balloon knot reference, give it a second to sink in.  I’ve observed him wipe his balloon knot a couple of times just so I can decipher what the heck is going on down there.  He’ll take maybe half a millisecond to do one fell swoop of a wipe, as if he’s a finalist in a quick-draw contest to determine the fastest butt wiper in the west.  I think this is how that flesh eating bacteria epidemic was started.

I joke but both of the boys are awesome.  My pride and joy.  They’re both really bright with CJ getting straight A’s again and Jake doing advanced math.  He’s so advanced he already knows who he will marry - little Hannah Allen who was in his class in Korea.  Being in Korea with the Allens was such a blessing.  I’m sure our entire experience would’ve been different had they not been there.  Tyler, Jen and the kids – we love you guys. 

So where does Carol’s expertise with the glutes come in you might ask?  Listen, we’ve been happily married 17 years now.  I can still bounce quarters off Carol’s plump rump roast as if it was our wedding day back in 1993.  My lovely bride is doing fantastic.  She really left a lot of sad people in Korea.  I’m so proud of her selfless work with the Sung Ae Won Orphanage and Busan International Women’s Association.  We’ll always look back at our time in Korea with fondness but once again, it was time for another move.  Carol was an amazing trooper even after seeing a good bit of our “express” move items (dishes, computer stuff, picture frames) shattered into pieces.  Can’t shatter Carol’s spirit though.  I’ve said before that one of my best qualities is my ability to pick a wife.  Thanks for everything Carol.  Please don’t edit this letter too much.

Speaking of Korea, we appreciate the concern everyone showed us while we were there, but honestly, Busan was by far the safest place we’ve ever lived.  After suffering through three burglaries in Miami, we joke that we had to live near a DMZ to get some true safety.  When Kim Jung-Il in North Korea was making headlines, we’d receive the “Are you guys okay?” emails.  We didn’t bat an eyelash when the headlines came.  And it seemed like neither did the entire country of South Korea.  Heck, Brett Favre sending his junk mail caused more of a stir than some of the North Korea stuff.  You could set your watch according to when Kim Jung-Il would pull his next stunt.  It was as regular as him changing his pants.  I could visualize him in his bedroom closet pondering which pair of pants he would don that day, factoring in what crazy headline grabbing antic was on his calendar.  Hmm, should I put on my “sink a ship sweatpants?”  How about I go with my “American journalist capturing jeans?”  Looks like he went retro recently and put on his “bomb an island bellbottoms.”  I should point out that even with the drama, our time in Korea was so enjoyable that both of the boys have asked us, “When are we going back to Korea?” 

Now please allow me to share a recent epiphany with you.  This past Thanksgiving was incredible.  We went down to Alabama to be with Carol’s family.  Did some fishing, got to shoot some guns with CJ (his very first time), watched a tough Alabama-Auburn football game, ate lots of country cooking and rode in the back of a pickup truck.  It was a lot of fun.  I’m eyeballing getting a pickup truck myself.  Must be the Tennessee influence.  Anyway, many of you know that I love fishing.  So after two years of no fishing in Korea, there I am, pulled off the side of a Tennessee highway at a local pond, trying to recover my shoe that got swallowed up by a foot of heavy mud while I was trying to navigate my way through muck to get to a good fishing spot.  Fishing, shooting guns, pickup trucks... My epiphany?  I’m a dang Filipino Redneck! 

So after this Redneck skipped writing last year’s letter, it got me thinking about something.  In high school, you see your friends every day.  In college, you’ll see your friends during Christmas break and over the summer.  Then you graduate and you might hear from friends every couple of months.  Later on, the frequency might be once a year.  With some of you, the only contact we have is this annual letter.  It’s just the way it is.  We’ve got our own families, jobs and lives now. 

What’s my point?  I recently found out that my good friend, Ann Beard (Gutshall) passed away almost two years ago after a tough fight with cancer.  I hadn’t seen her in years and I regret not being a better friend and keeping in touch with her.  Just in the last year, there was Ann’s passing, Mark’s heart attack, some weddings, some divorces, children being born, graduations, promotions and other significant things happening in our lives.  I can’t promise that I won’t miss another Christmas letter but I can tell you that I’ll do my best not to skip the really important stuff.  And that stuff is you.  Here’s to a blessed 2011 for you and your family!

All the best,

Chris, Carol, CJ, Jake and Flannigan               

4467 Coltwood Drive, Lakeland TN 38002

901-592-6765 / cnccruz@hotmail.com

www.ubacruzer.blogspot.com (family blog)

Christmas!

We just got slapped in the face with the Christmas magic.  There was plenty of laughing and too much eating at the Cruz household this past Christmas as Carol and I were blessed to have my brothers and my sister bring their talents to Memphis this year for the holidays.  It was an awesome time that passed way too quickly.

Jake is a firm believer in Mr. C. but the pre-teens, CJ and Jena have their doubts.  They were overheard discussing the finer points of Santa Claus' supposed existence well into Christmas eve.  At any rate, they sure did rip through the wrapping paper Christmas morning like they were true believers of jolly old Saint Nick.  

Jena is sporting her Christmas gifts from the Bass Pro Shop.  A big fishing fan, she's a girl after my own heart.  Even in the cold weather, she wanted to get out and do some fishing here in Tennessee.  She's not afraid of worms or the other slimy stuff that confounds other little princesses.  Her purse is still not a purse.  She refers to it as "that thing that holds many items."

Always a popular gift - CHC.  Cold hard cash.

 

I surprised Carol with a Swarovski crystal piece of four birds on a perch.  When we were living in Miami, these wild parrots would come hang out in our backyard and make all sorts of cool noises.  We have a small collection of Swarovski crystals as keepsakes from the various places the Navy has brought us.

Although Memphis didn't have to cancel any football games because of inclement weather, we did get a light dusting of snow on Christmas day.  Here we are reveling in our pseudo White Christmas, flip flops and all. 

My sister Darby drove up from Houston, Texas.  We're all smiles even though both of our football teams - the Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins blew leads and are knocked out of the playoffs.  Beanie and Lee's team, the Dallas Cowboys, didn't fare any better.  Not a good football weekend for us but a very good family weekend.  

Here's Carol checking out one of her favorite Christmas presents - the Dyson Animal vacuum.  Oh yeah, I'm romantic like that.  I'm thinking Carol's got a future as a Price is Right girl.

I was amazed and disgusted at the same time after seeing what a couple of sweeps of this vacuum picked up.  We were lying around in that?

Flannigan and Serena got along better as time passed but not to the point where we could let them hang out freely at the same time.  It was like keeping the prison yard bullies away from each other.  Bummer cause I know Flannigan had plans to hump many of our family guests.  

Anytime the Cruz's get together, we plan on adding a few LBs.  Alan grilled a turkey, Darb cooked Mom's famous pineapple ham, Beanie roasted two lechons and of course Carol made some nice desserts including her carrot cake and dump cake.  Plenty more too.  As we say in post all-you-can-eat-buffet debriefings, "we hit it... and we hit it hard."  Pictured here is Darby's ropa vieja and empenadas.  So dang good.  And fat free too.  Darb has definitely expanded her cooking prowess during her time in the Lone Star state.

Jena picking at the pork lechon like the Dad picking at the turkey from "A Christmas Story."

There's nothing like eating, laughing and just enjoying the company of loved ones.  I know family can be difficult at times, especially during the holidays, but I'm blessed to have low maintenance, fun loving family members.  We were bummed as everyone had to head back home.  Jake exemplified our collective mood as he put out the big fat sad lip on the day that his cousins had to depart.  Heck, I'll take the big fat sad lip any day if it means getting to hang with my bros and my sis - even if just for a little bit.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Holiday Video

Check out the video CJ made.  Bring back the big hair bands!  Merry Christmas everyone!

CJ's Holiday Video

Children's Church Video

Carol and I help run the the Children's Church at our church here in Busan.  We go to the English service of Sooyoungro Church - Antioch International Ministries, or AIM.  Here's the video I recently put together on the Children's Church.  We're making a bunch of significant changes to how the children's program will be run.  If you're interested in volunteering, we sure can use your help.  Don't worry about your experience level or Bible knowledge.  We'll help you out.  Enjoy the video.

Pier 8 Christmas Party

The Pier 8 Christmas Party is one of the biggest social events of the year for the twelve Dept of Defense and Dept of State units stationed at Pier 8 in Busan, Korea. This year, the party was held in the Crystal Ballroom at the Lotte Hotel in Busan. It was a great time with lots of good food, an open bar, raffle prizes to include hotel packages, restaurant gift certificates, Ipods, flat screen TV, Wii game system, etc, a live band, dancing, an ice luge (more on that later) and some good camaraderie.

Me and Carol, Marty and Tripp Blanton, Debbie Harvey and Brigadier General Harvey, Commanding General of the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command. The General was our guest speaker for the evening. General Harvey has spent a lot of time over his career working at Pier 8. We were honored to have him as our guest speaker.

Some of the key members from MSCO Korea and 837th Transportation Battalion that helped put the party together. There was a lot of hard work and planning to make this such a successful event. That's our XO in the middle, Lieutenant Commander Chris "Bunky" Marlar. He is a C-2 Greyhound pilot.

Along with the Pier 8 folks, we had many community leaders attend our event, to include the US Consul, members of the Korean American Busan Association, Korean American Partnership Association, People To People International, Daedong Scholarship Association, Busan Foreign School, Busan Veteran's Hospital, Busan International Women's Association and the Sung Ae Won Orphanage. We also raised over 600,000 won that evening for the two orphanages that we sponsor through the sale of raffle tickets.

Folks from the American Presence Post and Busan Foreign School.

Here's the XO with the duet that came down from Seoul. We were honored to have them sing a couple of Christmas classics for us. They were awesome.

We were also very fortunate to have Paul and Shiela sing at our party. I was ecstatic that it worked out. They sing nightly at O'Kims in the Westin Chosun Hotel in Haeundae Beach. They're also close friends and two of the nicest people you'll ever meet. And man, can they sing! It really was a special night. Paul and Shiela had a lot to do with that.

The dance floor got a serious workout that night.

The "Triad." Here are the Commanding Officers of Military Sealift Command Korea, Republic of Korea Port Operations Group (ROKPOG) and the 837th Transportation Battalion. We work together closely on joint and combined exercises such as Ulchi Freedom Guardian, Key Resolve and Turbocads and collaborate on logistics, CJLOTS, anti-terrorism/force protection issues, community relations and team building events. We also know each other on a personal level. COL Lee recently had his change of command ceremony. He is now with the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul. He will be sorely missed.

This is what you call a shot luge or ice luge. Any good Navy party has one. Although I'm surrounded by Army types in Korea, this Naval Aviator found the perfect spot for an ice sculpture of an aircraft carrier.

Here's how this thing works. You take your favorite libation - Coke, Sprite, umm, other stuff... and have a friend pour it down the shot track on one end of the aircraft carrier while you await said libation on the other end. This is Chief Henderson and I testing the thing out.

LS1 Ade and Mr. Yun from MSCO Korea displaying their ice luge skills.

Yes, the Army folks got into the act too. Everyone loves aircraft carriers!

We had a very different kind of dance contest that night - blindfolded musical chairs. Sounds silly but I dare you to watch it without laughing your booty off. It was hilarious! Love the blindfolds.

We had some tough competitors...

But the winner that night was...

...Maria from the Busan Foreign School. Way to go!

Shaking what our mommas gave us!

In short, it was a great night. Many thanks to all those that made this event possible. Until next time -- C2

A Very Nice Christmas Present

Another holiday season is coming to a close. Seems like all the Christmases blend together as they years pass by. I can hardly remember what the boys got for Christmas just last year. Every now and then though, you're privileged to receive or give a very memorable gift. Like when CJ was three years old, he asked Santa for a red fire engine with a remote control. That's when the whole Santa thing really came alive for him. That boy was asking and asking for that fire engine. When he opened up that present on Christmas morning, it was magical. The rush of great Christmas memories came flooding back to me. I felt like a little kid again. It was that way with Jake this year.

Tyler Allen is the American Presence Post Officer / US Consul here in Busan. His wife, Jen and Carol have gotten to be very good friends. Their middle daughter, Hannah and Jake are in the same class at school and are best buddies. Anyway, last year for Christmas, they gave Jake this nice Pororo book:

Pororo is a popular penguin here in Korea. The Pororo cartoon show is a little different in that they sometimes tackle non-traditional topics like diarrhea and bed-wetting. My kind of show.

The special thing about this present was that Tyler translated the entire book from Korean to English:

How cool is that? Between Tyler and Jen, I know that was a lot of typing, cutting and taping. What an incredibly thoughtful gift.

We're really gonna miss them. The Allen's get to stay in Busan a year longer than we do. It's gonna be terrible for Jake to say good-bye to his best buddy.

Happy New Year's everyone! Until next time -- C2