全家福

為了慶祝爸媽結婚40周年，上周六我們4個家庭一起去照了團體照，Here they are:

嘻嘻也會換氣了

天氣一暖，哈哈自動早早把功課作完，因為兩個小朋友都想晚上去游泳。

嘻嘻本來會悶氣，游一段要站起來換氣，結果昨天和今天教了他一下，現在他可以在水裡換氣，從游泳池的一邊游到另一邊（橫的）都不需要站起來了。哈哈也有進步，已經差不多可以從直的一邊游到另一邊。只是兩個人都還是狗爬式，真的很像狗掉到水裡的樣子。

祝爸媽結婚40周年快樂 （附照片）

看我這腦筋，連這麼重要的日子都忘了；幸好看了J 和S的 blog 。 先送上祝福，等下再去找些勁爆的照片登上來。祝爸媽靠著主永遠恩愛 （已經白頭攜老了！）

勁爆的照片不多，還是來個懷舊版吧！我翻拍技術不佳，下次應該用scan的。

1970年3月23日

我一歲













由於是翻拍自奶奶的相片，旁邊的註解都是她寫的。

Bubee 保溫便當

Kids started the whole day school from the 1st grade, and I bought a thermo lunch box for Ha in case that he wanted to eat something hot for lunch. However, it's not working very well (it's not very warm in 4 hours), and I've been looking for a better one. In January, when we went to Stephen's college classmate reunion, I talked to few moms, and they recommended Bubee. They got Bubee from Taiwan, so when we went to Taiwan, I tried to look for it, but I didn't find it. Last week, when I was in Marina Supermarket, I found that it's on sale, so I bought one. Ha brought clam chowder yesterday and Ravioli today, and he said that both of them were still good and warm (not hot but not cold) on lunch time. I don't like its cap because it's not too easy for kids to open it, but I may still buy one for Hee when he's on the 1st grade.

Ha orderred school hot lunch few times, but he didn't like it because the line was too long, and by the time they got the hot lunch, the lunch time was almost over. He's a slow eater, so he never finished the hot lunch. Tomorrow, he orderred the 炒飯from me, and we'll see how Bubee works with his favorite lunch item.

Ha's first painting

哈哈的第一張水彩畫。我和他前一天一起用鉛筆構圖，昨天他功課很快作完，自己畫水彩，還自己照相，要我post 在 blog 上。

New Schedule for Ha

Ha is a very slow person; actually, he's the slowest person whom I know. He is slow because he can't concentrate on what he's doing and he's always distracted by the things, sounds, lights...around him. He's interested in any little thing around him, and in his eyes, everything, including tooth brush, pencil or eraser, is fun to play with and to "study" .  In our eyes, he's wasting a lot of time. He used to go to bed around 9pm; however, he's pushing it later and later each day because he's wasting more and more time. Finally, one day, after I told him to speed up, he got an idea, and it might be one of the best things ever happened to me after he's born. The next day, Ha and I worked together to come up with this schedule. I made schedule for him before, but it didn't work too well, but since he made this schedule by himself, he was doing good at following it, and he seemed to have some extra time each day. Last night, except for doing everything on the schedule, he also found time to paint, and he even went to bed before Hee. Hee thought that Ha didn't take a shower because when he got in, Ha wasn't in yet, and when he was out, Ha had already been out. Hee couldn't believe that Ha was so fast; actually, I'm still adjusting it as well.

Lord, please help Ha continue to follow the schedule. What a wonderful life for me!!!!


8am wake up

8:45am go to school

3:30pm watch TV

4:00pm eat snack

4:50pm homework

5:30pm chinese homework

6:50pm dinner

7:40pm play piano

8:00pm reading

8:30pm bathtime

8:47pm brush teeth

8:50,9:00 sleeptime

Taiwan Trip: 完結篇

Just to write down few miscellaneous stuff:

1. 臺灣麵包真便宜： 家樂福平常6個中式（甜的，鹹的，有料的）麵包 NT68； 晚上8點後10個 NT68. 我們每天晚上（哈，嘻，我）去選第二天的早餐，自己選自己喜歡的，very excited! 不過我是覺得臺灣麵包有點太油。

2. 我一直告訴kids, 看到綠燈，還是要小心走. 他們看了臺灣的車，也發現就算是綠燈，車子還是可能開過來，所以他們過馬路都很小心。

3. 出去vacation 前，要把家裡整理乾凈： 我這次去臺灣之前，先把全家掃乾凈，東西收乾凈，衣服洗完，垃圾倒完，完全比照有重要客人來訪的規格辦理。玩兩個禮拜回來，看到整齊的家，整理行李的心情就好了。

Taiwan trip: An Accident

On 2/22 (Monday), every one had taken the shower, and I was the last one. When I was almost done, I shut the water and turned around trying to hang the towel, 腳一滑，人失了重心，就以仰式跳水的姿勢翻出了高高的浴缸，跌到地上。The main things to blame were the bumps in the bathtub. There were many medium size bumps in the bathtub, and I had no idea what they were for, but they were slippery! Anyways, I heard that mom and Stephen were busy with Dad, so I decided not to bother them. (and because Dad was loud, they might not hear the sound of my falling.) I tried my best to stand up and wear my clothes, and I thought that it would be a good idea to brush my teeth before I went out, but........I didn't remember what happened, but the next thing I knew was that 我正在田裡拔菜 ？Then, I woke up. Oh, it's a dream, and I found myself laying on the floor. I guessed that I fainted for few minutes and since we went to 宜蘭 in the morning,  it's reasonable that I dreamed about the 菜園。

I tried my best to stand up again, and this time, I made to the door, and Mom said that my face was pale. Stephen said that he heard something (maybe the sound when I fainted), but he couldn't open the door. They helped me to my room, and Mom used a  很香的藥水幫我按摩，並貼上藥布。Then, I fell asleep easily.

The second morning, I woke up and got off the bed, but my head still fell funny, so I went back to bed. Stephen started getting nervous, and he started thinking what we should do if I was not ok on Friday, and how we are going to take the plane to the U.S.? He suspected that I bumped my head, so I got fainted, but I touched my whole head, and it's not hurt at all. 真的是神的保守。  He prayed for me. I was still peaceful and joyful and started throwing out the jokes to ease the situation. I told him that if I was not ok on Friday, we could get the wheelchair in the airport, and people would help us with the luggages, how nice!

I tried to get down again, and this time, I was doing much better. God's healing power was amazing! I walked fine with little pain, and we even  一起去逛傳統市場 （有點像這裡的Farmer's Market)

That afternoon, Stephen and kids went to find good wheelchairs and bed for Dad, and I stayed home and took a nap. Other than that, I did everything other people did....went to Taipei 101,中正紀念堂，臺大 and 公館, and we were back to the U.S. on Friday. While we were waiting at the gate for airplane, there were at least 15 people sitting on the wheelchairs. I guessed that they were a senior tour group. Thanks for God's rapid healing, so I was not one of them.

After I came back to the U.S., I got the X-Ray taken to confirm that my bone was ok. According to the acupunture doctor, he had two patients with broken ribs because of falling in the bathtub. 真的要感謝神的保守，使我的受傷不致成為大家的負擔，最重要的，現在大家都知道那個浴池很滑，我們先去買了一個防滑墊鋪上，他們以後再決定是不是要打掉。

Now, I still feel it, but it doesn't bother my daily function except a little discomfort when I make a big movement. It actually helps me to maintain a good posture when I carry things or make movements.

Taiwan Trip: Sight Seeing

2/24 and 2/25 afternoon, we saved for ourselves to go some sightseeings.

Taipei 101 was a "must-go" on our list. Last year, we went there, but it's too foggy, so we didn't go to the observatory. This time, the weather was better, so we decided to try our luck again.

The fastest elevator in the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKAwl93NqJs

From the observatory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h3aGP5loaM

From 101, we could see 雪山隧道 that we drove through the day before to 宜蘭

After our 101 tour, we started walking back to the MRT station to go home for dinner, and on our way, we saw many beautiful lights, so we crossed the street to watch it. After few minutes of walking around, we heard something from the microphone saying that 臺北燈會的試燈彩排即將開始，請大家就坐。I knew that 臺北燈會was going to start on 2/26, and at that time, we would be on the plane to the U.S., so we wouldn't be able to see it, but thank God for giving us the opportunity to see the 彩排, which was good, too. Again, if we came early, we would not have known it; if we came late, we would have missed it. If God did not arrange it for us, who would?

啦啦隊表演：http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF-I28eWPeA

Lights, lights, lights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhHCHyylmw0

On 2/25, we left the house at 2:15pm and went to 中正紀念堂魚池 because kids still remembered that we came here to feed the fish last year. This year, we didn't even go to the main building, just the fish pond and the restroom.

In 宜蘭，we saw some 杜鵑花，and Stephen remembered that his school used to have a lot of 杜鵑花 in March, April, so we went there to see the flowers and also had a short walk in 公館. We passed by 校園書房 and bought a 福音橋 to read to my parents-in-law. Stephen talked to Dad many times about the Gospel and prayed with him, but he didn't really show yes or no. Before we left for the U.S, when everyone was in the elevator, I went and asked him again if He wanted to believe in Jesus, and this time, he said yes. I hoped that he meant it. May the Holy Spirit continues to work in his heart. I also read the 福音橋to Mom, but she didn't seem to be very interested in it except for the page with a person in the boat during the storm, and Jesus' big hands were there to hold him.  Since Dad is not in a good health condition, and Mom needs to take care of him by herself, Jesus is the only One who she can turn to. May the salvation of the Lord come to them.

Taiwan Trip: 食在臺灣

2/17中午， 去拜訪回臺宣教的高牧師及師母，吃了紅燒牛肉，紅麴酒糟雞，炒年糕及極少吃到的魚麵。師母的手藝，我們以前就嘗過，現在更厲害。

2/20中午， 去臺中探望小舅舅， 大舅舅和二舅舅一家也從高雄，彰化來看我們。一起在“客家本色”用餐。餐廳用了很多心思裝潢，菜色也很美味。哈哈特別喜愛他們的春捲，在餐廳吃完外帶回小舅舅家又繼續吃。

2/22中午到宜蘭，要找間餐廳吃飯，姐夫找了一家很有特色的餐廳。一上桌的小菜炒蛤，哈哈就吃了一堆。另外還有一種大家都沒看過，沒吃過的青菜，也很好吃，差點要叫第二盤。最後上的芝麻牛蒡，從老到小都喜歡。

2/25，離開的前一晚，佳玟請我們去新光三越附近的日本餐廳吃飯(I couldn't remember its name, 老了）。我們每個人點了不同的菜式嘗鮮，小孩則選了他們喜愛的兒童餐。飯後的冰品據說是有名的。我們點了抹茶紅豆冰淇淋刨冰和芒果蜜桃冰淇淋刨冰，果真大碗又好吃。

除此以外，我們都是在家吃，包括兩餐在小姑姑家。她沒有烤箱，卻能用炒菜鍋自己發麵煎Pizza,真是太強了，哈嘻也很捧場，吃得不錯。媽媽費盡心思給她的金孫進補，買了很貴的睪丸，粉光參，並煮了好幾次四神湯，不過小孩不識貨，對這些沒看過的東西興趣比較不大。發現哈喜歡蛤，媽和小姑媽各買了一次；發現嘻喜歡臺灣水果，芭樂，蓮霧，棗子也沒停過。

要離開臺灣了，卻沒有機會吃臺灣小吃。在臺大看完杜鵑和搭捷運去和佳玟吃飯的空檔十幾分鐘，Stephen看到一個巷子有運動器材店，可以幫小孩買球鞋，因為我們也沒什麼機會去買東西。我看到巷口有賣臭豆腐，就叫他們三個去看鞋子，我需要去吃臭豆腐。兩個小朋友聞到就叫臭死了，Stephen嫌惡心不衛生，所以只有把他們三個打發走了，我才能好好享用， 氣氛才對。吃到一半，他們就來了，看到我吃的那麼有滋味，哈嘻也願意嘗試，結果都喜歡上了。Stephen也吃了一塊，說 “還可以， 普通”。 Well, at least 下次再到臺灣，我吃臭豆腐的阻力就不會那麼大了。找到小同好， 真好！

Taiwan Trip: 農家好

2/22/10 (Monday), brother-in-law borrowed a 9-seat van and take mom, sister, and 4 of us to 宜蘭。

哈哈背後，是整齊的菜圃。 Stephen used to live here, and now, his parents are in Taipei, and they rent this house to sister's relatives who were retired and loved farm life. The location of this house is very nice, 倚山傍水, so they invited their friends over very often. They did good job in terms of maintaining the farm, and they gave us a lot of different veges to Taipei

這就是傳說中的大水溝。 Stephen used to catch fish here when he was young, and he fell in it sometimes. We all heard his stories before, so we knew it very well in our mind. This was the first time that kids got so closed to it.

神幫助我們剛好遇到插秧機，兩個小朋友坐上去好高興。Stephen has many relatives in 宜蘭, and we didn't plan where to go before we left. We went to 農，漁會, Stephen's old house, picked up 4姑 to join us, went for lunch, visited Stephen's big brother, visited 2舅媽, and before we headed back Taipei, sister thought that 大舅媽中風 recently, and we should go and visit her, so we went without calling them. After a short stay, just before we left, we saw a 插秧機開來, and Stephen's cousin was driving it. 他的孩子跳上去， 哈嘻也有興趣，所以也上去，一起插秧。It took less than 30 minutes to finish the whole field, 實在省時省力。If we came a little early, we might miss it; if we came a little late, they might have finished it already, so we thanked God for the perfect timing.

A short video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpDsp_VP9i8

Taiwan Trip - Kids' Toys

On the first week, we almost stayed home every day, but kids still had fun. They played with the blocks that 姑姑 brought which was their cousins' toy when they were young long long time ago. 按摩椅 was a good toy for them, too. They learned to control it even though they couldn't really understand what the chinese on the bottoms meant. For some reason, their door has nearly 10 locks, and locking the doors became a fun activity for Ha. When guests came, they needed to wait outside for a while because it took time to open all the locks that Ha locked. On the last day before we came back to the U.S., wheelchairs and medical bed were delivered (my father-in-law needs to use them now), and Ha and Hee spent hours on the wheelchairs moving back and forth. (Actually, I like to play with it, too.)

Taiwan Trip - Something New

This trip, we found some interesting things about Taiwan which we didn't see last time. First, 垃圾隨袋付費。  Last year, we didn't do that, but this year, my parents-in-law's apartment enforced it. Actually, it's fair, and it did help protecting the environment. Because each bag costs some money, we tried our best to fill it up to the fullest, and we did our best to 垃圾分類。

Also, since Taiwan is a small island with many cars, motorcycles and bikes, we saw many two level car parking spaces and bike parking spaces, but I was not sure how they really worked.

Taiwan Trip (2/13-2/26/10)

On 2/12 (Friday), we went to the airport on 10pm and started our trip to Taiwan. At the airport, Stephen found that he left his computer at home, and that meant that he couldn't do his work in Taiwan, but it gave us a computer-free trip, too.

We bought the air tickets on 1/15 ($790 per adult, $640 per kid,  all tax and fee included), but at that time, we couldn't reserve the seats that we preferred. There will be one person in between Ha and me, so we might need to exchange the seats with that person.
After getting on the plane, we waited and waited for that person to show up, but until taking off, that person didn't come, so Ha and I enjoyed the 3 seats, and we could even lay down a little for the nap. Ha slept for 7 hours, and I slept for about 5 hours. Hee and Stephen were doing well, too.

Finding the seats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3_ANRMps8o
On the plane: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGxtgJs1huc
Arrived Taipei: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geNoMBn2hLs

My brother-in-law came to pick us up, and Ha and Hee recognized him right away.

Ha said that he didn't feel well, so he went to bed right after he got to my parents-in-law's house. That night, 小嬸嬸及3個孩子，兩個媳婦來看我們，but Ha didn't get up. He got up at 10pm and couldn't sleep till 2am. He might have a cold and a jet lag. The next morning, when Ha woke up, his whole face was covered by 蚊子包, the mosqitoes must be happy to see this 舶來品。

For the next few days, we didn't go anywhere except for 家樂福，特力屋 which are cross the street, and we went to 小姑姑家 twice and went to the 大操場 to do some exercises. 小姑姑，姑丈，家偉，家瑩，姐姐，姐夫和浩浩，凱凱，也常過來。It's their New Year vacation, and it's raining most of the time. One day, 裕軒came from 宜蘭, and we brought these 5 cousins to bowling cross the street.

To be continued.....