A Fresh Cup of Brewed Coffee

While I was in the States, I had a fresh cup of coffee every morning. And this was not a fresh cup of instant coffee, but a fresh cup of brewed coffee, like what you can get at Starbucks.  My sister had a single serving Kurig machine over at my mom's house.  It was really nice to have freshly brewed coffee with my breakfast each morning.

Since I've been back, I decided to try having freshly brewed coffee.  I'm the only one who drinks coffee, so I'd brew a small pot and have it for three days.  The thermos keeps the coffee relatively fresh. I've been doing this for about five days now and have really enjoyed my morning cup of coffee. Brewed coffee tastes so much better than instant!

This is similar to what I use, except that my filter needs no paper lining, so it's better for the environment.



Even now as I write this blog, I'm enjoying my freshly brewed cup of coffee.


Seek Him First!

New Life

This morning Abby and I went to visit a dear sister who just had a C-section last Friday. This is her third baby!

We just hung out with her and ate her 'hospital' food as she still had no appetite.

After getting home, I started to feel as if I was coming down with a cold.  I do think my body is crying out for more sleep.  I must go to bed early tonight!


Seek Him First!

Isaiah Is Back

Isaiah left on Friday afternoon for his tournament in Hualien.

He missed the wedding.

He missed going with me to New Beitou Baptist Church.

He missed playing the drums for House of Praise.

He didn't win his matches, but again, it was a great experience.

In fact, he met a player who is the son of a friend of my great aunt's daughter's son. (How do you like that convoluted description?)

When we got back to church, he was home.  And we just all sat around the dining room table to chat and catch up.

No pictures from his weekend trip... but here is a picture from when my mom and I went to visit Alan's mom and Aunt Ethel!




Seek Him First!

What A Day!

It's nice to get home tonight.

Last night we were out late as we went to select our annual family portraits.

Tonight we had a wedding in the afternoon and then banquet in the evening.

After the banquet, we went to get our passport photos done... at a photo booth... located in the basement of a large hospital in Neihu!

Isaiah is in Hualien. He didn't do well and lost both is singles and doubles matches.


Seek Him First!

Finally A Date

With Alan that is...

He was gone to Kaohsuing for a week long basketball tournament and then he went to the States for 5 weeks.

Three weeks after he came back, I was gone to the States for two weeks.

So, today, we finally had our usual Friday afternoon DATE.

We tried out a new Italian Restaurant, caught up on calendar events, and just hung out together.


Seek Him First!

Back to My Routine

My family ate the entire Mexican lasagna in less than 2 days.  My daughter then told me that except for the sloppy joes that I made before I left and that our church family twice invited them to dinner, they survived on cereal and sandwiches.  So, the home cooked food was must appreciated.

I got my scooter fixed, went to the bank, did the laundry and actually took a nap.  I felt physically tired and I don't think it's jet lag. I think my body is now trying to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Abby and I worked on Science in the morning and we even went for a 20 minute run.

In the evening, Isaiah had his ortho appointment and I met up with him there.  We then went to one of these photo booths so that Isaiah can get his passport pictures done.  And since he will be away all weekend, I had to take him over to see the proofs from our annual family portrait session. The pictures were fantastic. It took about an hour as it was very difficult to select the ones we wanted. Alan and Abby will go and look tomorrow evening.

Yes, the day went by way too quickly.

There is more that I would like to write... but I can barely keep my eyes opened.

Seek Him First!

Back in Taipei!

I arrived early Tuesday morning and was pleasantly surprised as my husband and kids were at the airport to pick me up.

That made the trip back home so much easier and faster.

I stayed up until 2:30 to unpack my stuff.

When my head hit the pillow, I was fast asleep!

But by 5:30, I was up.

The whole day was spent putting things away, cleaning up the house, etc.

I had no time or energy to shop for food.

I did that today and started cooking again. And yes, I did lug back one bread machine and already baked two loaves of raisin bread.

I would like to sleep early tonight... but there is still lots to do.  I will write more tomorrow!



Seek Him First!

I'm Back -- For Today

This week has 'flown' by... as I flew to the States a week ago on March 7th, a day before my sister's birthday.

And since I have been staying over at my mom's place, I have had no internet access.  But I can quickly summarize what I've been doing every day.

In the morning, I'd have breakfast with my mom and Daddy George. Then at 8:30, we'd be off to the exercise room.  I'd supervise Dad and Mom would do her own workout routine.

By 9:15, we'd be back home. I'd give them a snack or water or something and then we'd be off again.

I'd usually take them to one store or one place.

Monday was a full morning spent at the Veteran's Hospital.

Tuesday morning was spent at Goodwill.

Wednesday morning was spent at Costco.

Thursday morning was spent at Ralph's.

Friday morning was spent at 99 Cents Store and Big Lots.

We'd be back home by 11:30, when I'd fix them lunch.  In the afternoon, a lady would come to help give Dad a shower. Mom would get her antibiotics IV drip then she would take a shower.  I would clean around the house -- do a load of laundry, organize an area, etc. On Thursday, I bought a bread maker at Salvation Army and started to test the machine.  I had 7 days to return it if it didn't work. So, I started to make a loaf or two of freshly baked bread with a variety of ingredients.  The first loaf didn't come out so great, but it still tasted great. Each loaf after that has tasted absolutely amazing! I'm going to lug the machine back to Taiwan. (Oh I forgot to mention that the machine was only 13.50US$.)

On Saturday, we took off for a one day road trip to San Diego.  We stopped to see mom's old friend who just moved down to the Del Mar area a year ago.  God worked it out as we happened to arrive at their once a month Bible study potluck lunch which was hosted at my mom's friend's house!  Perfect! The lady is from Taiwan and there were at least 25 people there. Each of them brought a traditional Chinese dish!  I had a feast.

We had tried to book a hotel room before coming down, but everything in the Rancho Bernardo area was fully booked.  And when we went to Courtyard to check if there were any cancellations, the guy said NO. He was even kind enough to call around for us. And all the hotels were fully booked.

We will have to stay at Mom Bea's house.

I have one more week... So, after this blog, I won't blog again for another 8 days, which is when I'll be back in Taipei.  That will sure be nice!


Seek Him First!

Family Time

If you read my post from yesterday, you might be wondering why I'm the only one who knows how to use the washer and dryer around here.

One reason is because I do 99% of the housework around here.  The kids help with the trash or the recycling from time to time. But really, being a student in Taiwan is a full time job.  Isaiah leaves the house at 6:40am and I don't pick him up until 7:15 in the evening.

Plus, we used to have machines that had ONLY Chinese.  Alan had no idea what those words meant. Tonight, I went over how to use the machines and where to put the detergent. And I asked them NOT to dry the clothes. Hang dry as much as possible.  That saves a lot of electricity.  We will see...

I did go to Costco and the frig is loaded.

I am also in the process of cooking spaghetti sauce to put in the frig as the kids don't want to be eating chicken nuggets and fish sticks for two weeks. Of course, Alan will take them out on the weekends.

And we had a precious family time tonight. I know that they will be fine. BUT I sure will miss them.


Seek Him First!

Going to the States

It's been done.

I bought the ticket early this morning at 1am.

I'll be going on March 7th and will be back on March 22nd, late in the evening.

I've been setting up the schedule for Alan and calling and emailing people to cancel things.  I also went to buy detergent, tissue, dish washing liquid... etc.  As I don't want Alan to be going shopping!!! Why?  If there is a need for tissue, he'll just take whatever is there. So, it can be 7US$ for 10 rolls whereas there is another brand on sale for only 3US$ for 12 rolls.  Tomorrow, I'm going to Costco to stock up the frig with enough food for two weeks so that they can eat at home except for the weekends.

I also packed and went to the post office to mail off a birthday gift. I also paid all the bills. I put in money for the kids MRT cards and gave them their allowance for the next two weeks.

Tonight I will teach them how to use the washer and dryer!

Psalm 59:9-10


Seek Him First!

The Care of the Heavenly Father

God is always in control. And His ways are always best.



Seek Him First!

Updating What's Happening

First of all... my mom is out of the hospital. She went to the emergency room because the helper found her to be unresponsive and in a daze. She called Annie and they got mom to the ER.  After a battery of tests, they found that it was a blood infection due to poor hygiene.

She now has a pic in her vein and each day a nurse will come to give her her antibiotics for the next two weeks.

I am trying to convince my mom to come. She said she doesn't want to come for so long. So I had another idea. How about if she just come for two months?

So, I spent another day looking at flight options.  I emailed my siblings and I await their thoughts and then I'll call my mom again. Today I was on the phone with her for over an hour.

Please pray!

I don't know what will happen in the future.  I know God is in control. He is trustworthy.  I know it will be hard to have my mom here. It will be a 24/7 "job".

Seek Him First!