Water Came at Three

At 2:49 am, I woke to the sound of water filling up the bathroom toilet tanks... the beautiful sound of water.  I got up and washed the dishes as they were piling up in the sink and they were stinking up the house. Since they were so dirty, it took quite a while to wash everything. I also flushed all the toilets and then started a load of clothes as we had all the wet stuff from mopping up the water that had seeped into Abby's bedroom. An hour later, at 3:49 am, I went back to bed!

The day was spent cooking and baking and cleaning. I had picked up donated goods and had to separate everything -- summer stuff goes to the Philippines, winter stuff goes to the local charity! I drove to drop off the donated stuff.

I had time for a run and it was very muggy out.

The day sure went by fast!

Seek Him First!

Another Day Off

Today I woke to a very calm morning. No wind. No rain! I thought, "Are we just in the eye of the typhoon?" Well, it turned out that the typhoon had already left Taiwan, but last night, Taipei City Government already announced that we'd get this whole day OFF. How delightful. But soon we discovered that we had no water! Yikes. The news said that water might not be restored until 6am tomorrow morning!  Our neighbors said that maybe by 10pm tonight.

Alan went out in the morning to play tennis and yes, there were people out playing, even though debris and mud were everywhere. He then went over to our neighbors to take a shower. One of our neighbors has his own water tank, so he had stored up water in it.

I was hoping to go out for a run, but I wanted to make sure we had water before I took off. I just couldn't imagine going to bed all sticky and stinky.

The kids enjoyed the day tremendously.  They did some homework, got on their phones to message people and watched funny TV shows on the computer. We had plenty of food in the fridge, so that was not a problem.

It was so great to be together as a family!

Seek Him First!

Typhoon Mid Autumn Festival "Holiday"

This was one of our very few Family Days since Isaiah joined the Nanhu Tennis Team. So, even though it was a typhoon day, we decided to go out for 'breakfast' at 12noon and drove over to JinShan.  It was fairly windy but not too bad.  We got back by 4:30 and the wind and the rain had started to get pretty strong. Abby and I went for a walk outside and it was BAD. By the time we were heading back home, there were branches everywhere.  Inside our house, water had seeped in Abby's 'walls' and we had to put many towels on the floor of her room. The back balcony was also gathering water. Friends were stuck at the Taipei Train Station, but Alan didn't want me to be driving outside. I think it would have been too dangerous for me to drive as I can just imagine me hitting one of the bigger tree branches. We started gathering water as the tap water will be too dirty to drink. We prepared flashlights in case the power goes out. And we will wait until 8p.m. to see what the city government will decide about work and school for tomorrow. It would be nice if classes were cancelled and the kids and Alan can stay home for another day!

I know I will have plenty to do as I have things to take to the laundromat since I need a large capacity dryer. A floor pillow in Abby's room is wet! I give thanks as we have food and water and we're together as a family!

Seek Him First!

From Morning to Evening

This morning even with the slight sprinkle, we all went out to the tennis courts. It was fun. Isaiah and Abby played with some of the people Alan usually plays with and I hung out with those sitting on the sideline. They always have the most delicious food, so they gave me some. Moon cakes, bean curd, hot tea, etc.

We came back and I took off to visit Penny, who is staying at a Maternity Center right near our house.

I then met up with Alan and the kids plus friends who just adopted a little boy. We had teppanyaki!

After returning home from lunch, I started baking. We all took a power nap and headed out the door by 2:15.

It was testimony time and people had a lot to share. Love Feast afterwards... Abby had headed off to the Big Bang Concert with our dear friend, Elaine! I kept lining them to see if they would have time to send a picture... Of course, they didn't even look at their cell phone!

The concert was finished by 8:30 and Abby called at 9:18 to say that she was three stops away on the MRT.

It started raining this evening as a strong typhoon is set to pass over Taiwan tomorrow. Well, that's going to change our plans as we might not be able to go out for a drive on the east coast???

Whatever we end up doing, I know it'll be a great day...

Seek Him First!

Long Run on a Fast Day

Tonight many families were outside, BBQing. House of Praise also had their Mid-Autumn Festival BBQ. We decided to stay home and had our own Family Time. We sang, shared and prayed. It was good to be together.

During the day, Abby had to go to cram school and then her youth group went for a bike ride in the afternoon.

Isaiah did not have to get up early for practice, but then in the afternoon, he also had to go to his cram school.

Alan played tennis in the morning and then he stayed home and relaxed in the afternoon.

I cleaned the house, baked, did a load of laundry and then went for a long run in the afternoon. It was overcast all day, so the run felt great. I would have enjoyed it if it was a bit cooler! There were lots of people out at the park. My run was slow... 20kilometers in 2 hours 05 minutes.  My legs did not want to move. I think it could be because one of my toenails was hurting.

This is a great holiday!

Seek Him First!

Planning Ahead

Alan and I had time for another DATE!

We actually talked about vacation 2016! Yes, it's true.

For Chinese New Year, Alan is going back from 1/22 to 2/19. The kids and I will be staying here.

Because we have three free tickets, we HAVE to book as early as possible.  So, what should we do for summer of 2016? Will Abby want to go back?  Alan is thinking of being back for TWO months from July 7th to September 7th. He is NOT going to chance it and come back AFTER the start of school. But what about Abby?  If she goes on July 7th, when will she be heading back? August 20th? Then how about a few weeks when I'll go on my own, what dates are good for that trip?  End of May to the second week of June?  And since that's off-season, should I buy my ticket? No decision was made, but it was a very fruitful discussion.

Then we talked about what to do on Monday? Isaiah already said that he doesn't want to do anything that involves being outdoors and exercising.  Both of the kids expressed the desire to sleep in. They also want to have breakfast together. No decision was made as the kids are waiting on their friends! Yes, that's the stage we're at...

For our family time tonight, we went out to a fancy Chinese restaurant, which put way too much MSG in their food. We won't be going back to that restaurant!

Seek Him First!