This document is a "Book of Appreciation" containing 10 chapters, each highlighting an individual and what others appreciate about them. In each chapter, friends and family members provide short statements about qualities they admire, memories they cherish, and ways the person has positively impacted their lives. The document expresses gratitude and care among loved ones.

1. CHRISTMAS 2012
Our Book
of Appreciation
FROM ALL OF US TO ALL OF US
(WITH LOVE AND APPRECIATION)

2. C HAPTER 1
We Appreciate Mama/Grandma/Betty
What I appreciate about Mama/Grandma/Betty:
She’s wonderful, sweet, loving, caring, even keel, rarely
gets upset, the best mama in the world. (Lucia)
The way she’s always thinking of others, like sending
comics to me every so often (Andrew).
That she is very caring and nice and peaceful (Caroline)
Her wonderfully cheerful spirit (Andy)
How she is always there for me, a ready audience for
my stories when growing up and now, and the many ad-
ventures we have had together, including the latest of
introducing Fluffer to the grassy knolls of Van Dyke
court. (Lois)
What I appreciate most about my adorable mother is
her strength and courage. (Lani)

3. C HAPTER 2
We Appreciate Maria/Nai Nai
What I appreciate about Maria/Nai Nai:
Her generous spirit (Andy)
Her warm hospitality and care, how she wasn’t shy
about giving me good advice when I was younger (Lois)
Her very generous and warm personality (Andrew)
Nai Nai is very generous and helpful (Caroline)
Has determination to get through struggles. Is a won-
derfully generous person. Fiercely loyal to her family
and grand kids (Lucia)
Maria, I appreciate your friendliness and your caring
for your visitors. You have done so much for us (Betty)
What I appreciate most about Maria, is her kindness
and generosity. (Lani)

4. C HAPTER 3
We Appreciate Lucia/Mama
What I appreciate about Lucia/Mama:
That she is kind and awesome! (Caroline)
Her loving and caringness. (Andrew)
That she loves telling stories, and used to share the most
fantastic dreams when we were growing up, and that she
really got into her creative side when raising the kids and
wanted to write a children’s book – her great spirit that
she benefits from taking time and resting in (Lois)
Anyone willing to happily drive us back and forth to the ho-
tel has a great sense of hospitality and generous spirit –
thanks! (Andy)
Lucia, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. The way you are
concerned about your family. I think it’s great that you
are enjoying your work. (Betty)
What I appreciate most about Lucia is her wry sense of hu-
mor and her ability to take good care of all of us! (Lani)

5. What I appreciate about Austin/Ba Ba:
C HAPTER 4
We Appreciate Austin/BaBa Takes pride in all his work and accomplishments. Is han-
dling the concerns of a parent to teenagers with grace.
Makes activities, whether cleaning the house or playing,
fun. Young in spirit (Lucia)
The way he loves his children and takes care of the chil-
dren who come to see him, and our shared love of sports
(Betty)
Babba is funny and awesome! (Caroline)
His love and guidance (Andrew)
A great conversationalist, very hospitable, and a great
Xmas tree stabilizer (Andy)
His playful, gregarious and generous nature, and the way
he makes sure if I don’t get something, that I eventually
get it! I also admire his stamina and passion for his work.
(Lois)
What I appreciate most about Austin, and he may not
know this, is his wonderful explanation of Spiderman and
the Dungeons and Dragons game. I love all the great
metaphors! (Lani)

6. What I appreciate about Caroline:
C HAPTER 5
We Appreciate Caroline Her daily enthusiasm. Organizes friends well. Loving
to family. Keeps life dramatic. Is dedicated to accom-
plishing her goals. Is our Christmas baby. (Mama/
Lucia)
Her expressiveness and appreciation for things like
French berets (!) – how much fun we would have act-
ing out things like Miss Scarlet and Mrs. Peacock in
Clue. How natural and honest she can be -- the times
she would share things that were on her mind.
(Aunt Yo Yo, Lois)
Her grace, cleverness and lighthearted spirit. And com-
petitive game playing! (Andy)
That she’s the best sister anybody could ask for. (An-
drew)
Enjoy her enthusiasm for Christmas and other celebra-
tions, her dance recitals, her friendliness and willing-
ness to be helpful (Grandma/Betty)
What I appreciate most in Caroline is her awesome
sense of style and her ability to keep my sister Lucia
busy and happy! (Lani)

7. C HAPTER 6
We Appreciate Andrew
What I appreciate about Andrew:
That he’s really funny, weird and awkward (Caroline)
His intelligence, wit, and keen Mindstein ability!
(Andy)
His sensitive and loving nature, and how as a kid he
connected me to things he loved, trains, animal planet,
pokeman cards, Calvin and Hobbs, and would hold my
hand until he fell asleep at night! And was the first to
call me Aunt Yo Yo. (Lois)
Loving, caring son. Has amazing ability to remember
historical facts. Enjoys taking care of family and sister.
Is a good big brother and leader (Lucia)
I remember him as a little boy and how important his
trains were to him. I appreciate how kind he is to his
grandmothers. (Betty)
What I appreciate most in Andrew is his creative spirit
and the fun we had carving runes into his wooden
sword. (Lani)

8. C HAPTER 7
W E A PPRECIATE L OIS
What I appreciate about Lois:
Aunt Yoyo is really funny and calm (Caroline)
Thoughtful, caring especially with mama, making sure she
is there when parents need her. Wonderful story teller,
looks at life with a sense of humor (Lucia)
Beautiful spirit, creativity and sense of humor (Andy)
The way she is always helping others (Andrew)
Your visits to Pleasant Hill - it's so much fun having you
come. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and love and con-
cern you have for friends and family. (Mama)
What I appreciate most about Lois is her tenacity and
strength in the face of challenges, like moving sand bags
during difficult times. (Lani)

9. C HAPTER 8
We Appreciate Andy
What I appreciate
about Andy:
His affectionate nature,
care with small kind-
nesses – whimsical
notes left on my car, re-
sourcefulness and commitment to his passions, and his
love of crooning like Bing or Ella or Louis! (Lois)
Uncle Andy is nice and smart (Caroline)
His funny and nice personality (Andrew)
Thoughtful, caring, loves to travel, keeps Lois happy !
Inquisitive (Lucia)
Andy, I appreciate your friendliness, your calmness,
your writing ability, and you and Lois together. (Betty)
What I appreciate most about Andy is his story-telling
on facebook and in newspaper and journal articles. I
am in line for the book when it comes out! (Lani)

10. What I appreciate about Edward:
C HAPTER 9
We Appreciate Edward I love his Irish brogue – his lilting voice and field of
study (Lucia)
Though we’ve never met, I imagine we could have very
interesting conversations! (Andy)
His persistent curiosity and sense of adventure, how he
took me kayaking on the Atlantic and excavating pieces
of old bottles from Prospect Bay – and his interest in re-
ligion and frank skepticism about Unitarian Universal-
ism. (Lois)
That I will one day meet you (Andrew Yu)
That he’s Irish like my favorite One Direction band
member (Caroline)
Edward, I especially enjoy the way you answer the
phone and are so friendly. The way you and Lani take
care of your dogs. I enjoyed out walks together with
Lani and the dogs and our little trip visiting Nova Sco-
tia. (Betty)
What I appreciate about Edward is that he wears his
crown so well. No, actually I appreciate his joy in gar-
dening and life in general! (Lani)

11. What I appreciate about Lani:
C HAPTER 10
Creative spirit and sense of humor (Andy)
We Appreciate Lani
How she sticks to what she loves, and likes to share her
treasures – from the stick dolls she would make out of
twigs, cotton and moss, to the cats and Emily collage
she fashioned for my Facebook page. How she sees life
as an adventure – will always remember when we
snuck up to the bow of a ship and watched through the
anchor portal in quiet awe as it cut through deep wa-
ters. (Lois)
Aunt Lani is very creative and fun (Andrew and Caro-
line)
Lani, I appreciate your artistic ability and how you use
it to make people happy, your quizzes, love of animals,
and how you make my visits so enjoyable. (Betty-
Mama)
Creative and knows how to teach others to be creative.
Keeps communication lines open, cares about nature,
enjoys the experiences life offers (Lucia)
What I appreciate about myself is my sense of humor
and fun. It sure doesn’t seem to go away with age,
thankfully. And maybe that came from my Grand-
mother Charlotte, so I appreciate her for that! (Lani)

12. C HAPTER 11
We Appreciate Ourselves
Take this space to think about what you appreciate
about yourself. It is actually a kind of game to help
build resilience and inner strength. You don’t have to
tell anyone what you appreciate about yourself, but if
you want an example there’s one on Lani’s page. You
may discover and realize that your strength is inherited
from your ancestors and you will probably come to ap-
preciate them as well. Hope so!