It Can't Be August!

Picture Summary --

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought 8,000 words would be enough to help capture what we've been doing.

Meeting old friends at the Taoyuan International Airport

Upacking all the goodies I brought for everyone

Going to Yosemite with my sister, Annie, and her family

Rowing on a small raft, trying to get everyone on board (Alan swimming towards the boat, Tyler hanging on to the side, I was taking the picture!)

Eating out with EVERYONE -- Eddie and his family arrived in Torrance the day we got back from Yosemite

Getting together with Nancy, Serge and their five kids, Jamie, Daniel and their three kids -- Oh, how the moments flew by way too quickly

Horseback riding for Abby -- She wants to go for a much longer ride next time

Walking around at the Lemon Festival in Chula Vista and Isaiah decided to join the Marie Callendar's Lemon Meringue Pie Eating Contest. He actually won third place, which means he gets a gift certificate for Marie Callendar's.

Those are some of the highlights. There are more, much more...

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What A Day!!!!!

I can't believe a whole month has flown by... It's already May... and it's already the middle of May.

Back in March, Abby, my sweet daughter, found out that Justin Beiber was coming to Taiwan. And she HAD to go to the concert. The first day that tickets went on sale, I begged a friend to help me get two tickets! Today was finally the day of the concert. Her "big" brother was her "date". Both Alan and I just dropped them off at the Taipei Arena, waved goodbye to them (after giving them a cell phone to call us so that we can pick them up at the end of the concert) and took the MRT home. Walking in our house, it was a bit surreal. No kids... Kids at concert... with other (maybe 10,000 other) tweens and teenagers, screaming their heads off at a Justin Beiber Concert. Needless to say, they had a great time.

But, let me back track... that's not all that happened on this day. In the morning, I was called to help translate for a speaker from Uganda. The kids and Alan went to the Neihu Sports Center. Alan went for a workout and the kids were hoping to play some ping pong. But all the tables were fully booked. So, they played pool and got very bored. I rushed home after the church service and ate a quick lunch before we all rushed off to take the MRT to join the March for Family Event.

By the time we arrived at the City Hall, the sky had cleared and the rain had stopped. There was an estimated 15,000 participants. This March was also going on at 6 other key cities around the island. We saw so many of our wonderful friends who attend other churches in Taipei. It was after the March and the Program that we headed off to the Taipei Arena. We went in search of a place to eat as we didn't bring enough money, only a credit card... But God is great as we found a wonderful restaurant right across the Arena and sat down to a feast. Unfortunately, Abby was in no mood to eat. At 6:10, she said, "It's time to go." The concert didn't start until 7:45. BUT according to the concert web site, people were allowed to enter by 6p.m.

When we walked across the street, we could see lots of people. There was a line just to buy the sourvenirs. And they were NOT cheap. A t-shirt for 900NT$. I only spent 800NT$ for a ticket. I was not going to plop down 900NT$ for a Justin Beiber t-shirt. The kids did not complain. They were happy to be going to the concert.

It's already way past midnight. The kids are fast asleep. I heard only the "clift notes" version as it was already too late. But what a day! What a blessed day!

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(Enjoy the pictures!)

Happy 24th Wedding Anniversary (April 11th)Happy Mother's Day (May 8th),Happy Every Day

Each day is a celebration. We don't need to have a special reason to celebrate. When it rains, we can celebrate. When we need to run around and get some errands done, we can celebrate. When we sit at home, we can celebrate. Celebrating is an attitude of heart. Celebrating is an attitude of mind. Celebrating is an attitude of spirit. Yes, to celebrate is an attitude. No need for a reason. No need for an occasion. No need for a calendar to dictate our celebrations. So, put down whatever you're doing and CELEBRATE! How? Do something you enjoy even for 5 minutes -- write someone an email, look at old photos, read a Bible verse, say a prayer for someone, get up and dance around the room, organize a drawer in your kitchen or sit and do nothing.

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CELEBRATE!

In Class Yard Sale Pictures

Yes, I wrote, "Enjoy the pictures." But you only saw one picture... well, here are the PICTURES.

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In Class Yard Sale

I do enjoy teaching... And I love being in Taiwan. But one thing that I miss about being in Taiwan is not having some great thrift stores or yard sales to "shop" at... I'd like to tell my students about all the great finds that I get at Salvation Army or Goodwill, but it woudl be great to actually get them to the States so that they can "shop" for themselves. Well, for the past few years, I decided to bring the "yard sale" idea into my syllabus. I don't do this every year, but this year I did... and what a blast! Sharon, one of my dear Communication Management students, took pictures. I wish you could have seen the things that were on sale. Enjoy the pictures... and did I spend money??? What do you think?

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They're Here!!!!!

Our Annual Family Portraits -- and just before our 24th anniversary! This year's theme was CELEBRATIONS since Isaiah will be graduating from 6th grade and it's Taiwan's 100th! The dress code to go with the theme was lots of colors (!!!!) and since we seldom use blue as a background, we decided on this beautiful blue. Our wall space is now quite limited as we've done this every year...

If you'd like one, please do let us know.

Happy April Fool's Day!

Happy Children's Day!

Happy Youth Day!

Happy Every Day!

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Yabadaba-do-something!

As promised, here I am on my 50cc with my sweet kids and their backpacks... Where are we going? We're on our way to school. See Abby... she can barely sit there. Her knees are being banged up to the front of my scooter and Isaiah is hanging off the end there. Well, the good thing is that the ride to Isaiah's school is only about 5 minutes. Once he gets off, I can scoot back and give Abby a little more room. Now, I'm not even wearing my big London Fog. So, when it is really cold and raining, we look really crowded on that scooter. And yes, I had to keep my legs down as I am about to ride up the parking lot ramp and we're like the Flintstones... hence my scooter's name! I never thought I'd be riding a scooter in Taiwan. But it is so convenient and a great way to get around, especially when I need to run errands. Riding a scooter is the way to go!

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