2025/26 Shaffer/Jay Family newsletter

 Happy Chinese New Year!

Cordelia graduated high school and I figured that's the last excuse I had to be able to visit Taiwan where she was born and likely the last chance I get to travel with just my four kids ever again has they all are growing up and starting to fly on thier own.

Cordelia, Dr Gary Cheng (Doctor who Delivered Cordelia), Windy, L, Sky, Sunshine (Gwendolyn)

 

Windy is "cured" 5 years after Bone Marrow Transplant

Windy 51- My health is vastly improved and I'm now at what I would consider a new normal in May. I got to ring a bell at the bone marrow clinic to say I'm cured of leukemia because I've hit the 5-year Mark post bone marrow transplant. Business is doing exceptionally well most of the time. The only problem I have now is having more work to do than I can get done and that's a problem I'd rather have than not having enough to do.  My Aunt Dixie passed way unexpectedly in November and that has been a real shock to all of us. She will be dearly missed and was a fundamental part of L's life as they spent their semester away with her.  My uncle Burton Jackson passed away in his 90's over the summer.  We are looking forward to visiting family for memorials this summer.  

I am still busy with several bands and orchestras playing multiple different instruments. Stepped back from Girl Scouts and focusing more on quality family time.   

L 21- This last year has been a wild ride. I finished my last half of sophomore year and after being involuntarily unemployed over summer break I moved out of my first college apartment and into a house I'm renting with some friends. This summer I finally got the opportunity to go to Taiwan which was incredible. Moms friend took us to the coast and I got to try raw prawn and I leaned that squid eyes are the same texture as passion fruit seeds (not a fan (⁠｡⁠•́⁠︿⁠•̀⁠｡⁠)). This summer I also got to go on a road trip with two of my friends to Colorado and we visited a lot of national parks and monuments. After that my first semester of junior year started and It was very busy. I picked up an internship for Mapping Religions in Flagstaff. This has been an amazing opportunity as it works with two of my three minors. My major is still history with minors in the comparative study of religions, museum studies, and asian studies. I was also an officer for two clubs this last semester the Korean Language and Culture Club as well as the Chinese Culture Club. My last semester of junior year has started and I picked up a TA job as well as the shushi job and internship. I am still the Secretary for the Chinese Culture Club but had to drop being an officer for KLCC (⁠っ⁠˘̩⁠╭⁠╮⁠˘̩⁠)⁠っ but I still dance (this semester I'm doing three performances). I'm really excited to see where this next year takes us and I can't believe that I'm already 21.

Cordelia 18-This year was quite eventful for me. I graduated high school in may and started college at SUU (Southern Utah University) this fall. I am majoring in dance education and hoping to become a high school dance teacher. I also was lucky enough to travel to Taiwan this summer and see where I was born. I went on a cruise this December with my boyfriend and his family . After years of saving I finally went to Europe with my dad, Greese was amazing. My absolute favorite thing to do is travel and I hope to keep traveling as much as I can!

Sky (Adelaide)-16 I'm sixteen, I feel like 3 years just flew by. It feels like just yesterday I was so excited to be turning thirteen. I'm excited I have my drivers licence so I don't have to ask my mom to drive me everywhere. I did so much over the summer I got to go out of the country for the first time and we went to Taiwan. It was really cool. I finished my second marching band season and like last year it was amazing. I also was able to help out with my school musical "Big Fish", which was a lot of fun getting to hang out with my friends while doing something I love. School is going great. I'm officially in tenth grade and only two years from graduation which I can hardly wait for. I'm really starting to love biology and I hope I can be an entomologist which is a subset of zoology that is specifically the study of bugs and insects. Which creeps out lots of others but for me is so cool.

Sunshine (Gwendolyn) 13-Now I'm in 7th grade which is fun and hard. We went to Taiwan this and I had so much fun. We saw so many cool things in Taiwan and we met a lot of cool people there as well. I play the cello and performed in the school play "Lion King, Jr." I am looking forward to summer and getting to atend cheer camp.