2011 letter

Dear friends,

2011 has been a year with fulfillment for my family and me. Praise the Lord!

In January Hongmao no longer needed to go to the store to work, as our friend Hu Hui took over the business. He has been home since then. He has been looking for work and had a couple of interviews, but hasn’t got a job yet. We will have to keep praying.

In February, our next-door neighbour Li Lifang moved, as she bought a townhouse near St Laurent. During March break, we started looking at houses. We found a semi-detached house that we loved very much, but it was across the Ottawa River, on Quebec side. We had to give it up. Then we had an agent Roni Rizk from Keller Williams. He showed us only four houses and we decided to buy the three-stored townhouse in Britania Heights. It is only 6 kilometers from my work place, Westboro Montessori School. June 27 was the closing date and we moved to the new home the next day. We really like the convenient location. It’s walking distance to Ottawa River and to our church.

Summer was an exciting time. In July Dora and Mary went to summer school and finished the Grade 12 English. Then they did some volunteer work at the summer camp of Westboro Montessori School. In August we made a trip to Minnesota, US by Grey Hound long distance bus. On the way we stopped to visit Alice and her family in Mississauga and Wu Xiaoyun, Terry and their kids in Canton, Michigan. Finally we came to St Paul, and my American Dad, Glen Hanggi was waiting for us. He was driving his son Doug’s van. My American mom had a heart surgery in spring and was recovering well. Grandpa Hanggi took Dora, Mary, Hongmao and me to see a musical, HMS Pinafore in St Paul. It was fantastic. We also went to their church and met the students they tutor and visited a couple Lee and Betty, very nice people and very beautiful home on the lake. We visited our old friends, Mike and Nancy Johnson. Nancy prepared us a delicious dinner and we sat in their large porch eating, drinking and enjoying the view of the garden. Grandpa and Grandma also took us to Taylor’s Falls to see the unique rock formation, potholes. They took us to the North Branch outlet stores and bought us clothes and shoes before we came back. It was a wonderful trip!

I am still teaching at Westboro Montessori School. I had 23 children last year. I had two assistants Krista and Alicia. Krista was teaching French to small groups. She had a strong personality and didn’t get along with the principal. She quit in April. Then Lily came from the other school site to my class as an assistant, teaching French. After the summer camp, Alicia was fired. So since September I have had a new assistant Andrea, but she floats between classes. I have 19 children in my class.

In January, our two daughters Dora and Mary took Grade 8 piano exam. Dora got 84 and Mary got 82. Both of them received certificates with First Class Honours from the Royal Conservatory of Music. In August they took the music theory exam. Dora got 99 and Mary got 97. They received certificates for Advanced Rudiments First Class Honours with Distinction. They have been taking music theory lessons with Mr Greg Hartley. They have been learning Harmony since September. Their piano teacher Mrs Fatovic had a small stroke in January and is not able to give them lessons. Besides, for three months since September every Tuesday after school, 4 to 7 pm Dora and Mary went to Ottawa Art School to learning drawing and painting.

Dora and Mary are in Grade 12 at Glebe Collegiate Institute. Mary is still in the school choir, but Dora has no time to practice, as she has co-op in the afternoon. She works in the accounting department in Cartier Place, a suite hotel downtown. Both of them applied for universities in mid December. Dora received admission offers from Carleton University and University of Ottawa, but waiting for offers from University of Toronto and University of Waterloo. Mary received admission offer from University of Ottawa, but waiting for offers from Queen’s University, University of Waterloo and Ryerson University. We bought them each a laptop, getting things ready for university.

Wednesday night our whole family go to the choir practice at our church and we sing at Sunday service. Hongmao and I still teach Mandarin in Capital Chinese School on Saturday. We do grocery shopping for our family after school. In May both of us passed another road test and got our G license. Now we only need to renew it every five years.

Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,

Maqing & Hongmao, Dora & Mary