Happy Mother's Day 母親節快樂

If there is any fitting time to restart our family journal/website, Mother's Day is surely a good one! It has been quite a few months. We want to wish you Mom a very Happy Mother's Day! Thank you for all you do! Although Virginia was a bit camera shy (is there such a thing???) she wishes you a wonderful Mother's Day too. We hope you have enjoyed your day!

Little known useless fact #2545: The founder of Mother's Day was from West Virginia. See...there is some good that comes from these special neighbors just to the west of us. :) (no offense)

在母親節重新開始我們家庭的紀錄想必是非常適合的時間! 我們在此要祝我們的母親們母親節快樂! 謝謝你們為我們所作的一切! 雖然藹伶有點排斥鏡頭,但她亦祝您們母親節快樂。 希望你們有個快樂的一天。我們愛您!

30 + Thanksgiving 三十+感恩節

2008年11月27日滿三十了! 坦白說,心理是很惶恐的, 畢竟三字頭的年歲曾經對我而言是如此的遙遠,如今卻也進身其中。今年生日適逢感恩節, 剛好提醒我要用感恩的心來度過三十歲的生日,或也可讓我有藉口在那天只慶祝感恩節而遺忘自己不太想承認的事實。

最後我選擇用感恩的心情來歡渡, 當天我跟媽咪說:「恭喜妳啊!女兒順利成長到三十歲了!」也謝謝她含辛茹苦地拉拔我長大。突然,也好想看到藹伶三十歲的模樣喔.....找到永恆伴旅了吧? 過著幸福平安的生活吧? 作媽媽了吧? 嗯,那鏡中的我不就是57歲半的外婆了嗎? 那還是別了,我可以再等個27年半。 :p

27日的前一晚,一行人在Amei和Shawn家吃感恩節火雞大餐, 也意外地吃到了生日蛋糕。 我和Monica都在11/27出生,但一個過三十歲生日, 一個卻是過二十三歲生日. :x 我好像又被開了另一個玩笑.......嗯,要感恩,要感恩! :$

在當天吃到了生平吃過的最好吃的火雞,感謝Shawn大師的手藝,也吃到了生平吃過的最貴的生日蛋糕, 要感謝慕義的荷包。

生日當天因為是感恩節,所以很多店都在凌晨開張,推出大特價活動, 我是愛逛街的人,所以慕義便投其所好,帶我去outlet逛街採購,作為我今年的生日禮物,這挺符合我實際的個性。當晚,十一點左右我們便軀車前往, 一路上沒什麼車子,我還心裡暗自竊喜想說我們一定可以成為拿到10塊美金禮卷的前一百名到場的民眾,沒想到,就在看到Outlet的同時,也看到一條綿長的車陣, 這下子,不要說拿到禮卷了,就連擠進店可能都成問題了! :@ 不過可以親身體驗一下感恩節後的黑色星期五的購物傳統,也挺有趣的! 也很感謝慕義, 一個人在車上照顧著藹伶讓我安心去逛。

今年生日沒特別許下什麼心願,只期許自己能夠在往後的日子更加地成熟, 更愛神及愛我的家人朋友。今年年底也有一番學習及領會。 每個人的考驗及在意的事雖都不盡相同,但我們都有許多大大小小足以影響我們情緒的波瀾,在遇到這些波瀾時,若我們都想想什麼是最生命中最重要的: 神和家人,那麼很多波瀾便無法傷害到我們,我們也可以活得更自在更自信。我真的真的好感謝能夠知道神,認識福音。感恩節前一晚,用餐前,我們一行人圍成一圈,Shawn邀請我們每個人輪流講自己所感謝的事,不能重複。我感謝福音,因為福音帶給了我所擁有的一切,幫助我加以了解並珍惜 ,我也感謝現代科技,能夠讓我與分隔兩地的家人保持緊密的連繫; 慕義感謝我倆的父母所為我們設立下認真勤奮工作的好榜樣,也提到他感謝安全帽,因為安全帽幾次救了他免於嚴重的傷害,也分享作好安全措施的重要; Shawn提到他感謝坦誠,並分享坦享的價值; Ryan提到他感謝枕頭談話(pillow talk), 每晚就寢前能和Monica一起談心讓他很感謝。

大衛‧貝納長老08年十月的教友大會上說道:「請容我建議你我定期地獻上一個祈禱，在那祈禱當中完全只表達感謝。不要祈求任何事情；單單讓我們的靈魂感到歡欣，並且用全部的心力表達感謝。」,在這邀請之前,他分享了他個人對此的經驗,學習及見證 (閱讀此文) ,我非常地感動,也期許,不只在感恩節時要表達感謝,更要每天計算恩典,並在祈禱中向愛我們的天父表達由衷的感謝，讓生活充滿感謝,讓每天都是感恩節。

Amei, Monica, me and Yuhsuan


本來對火雞沒什麼興趣的我,吃了Shawn的火雞,真的是對火雞完全感觀

Life after the Olympics 奧運過後

The Beijing 2008 Olympics has ended for a while and maybe many have already put that far beside, but the excitement and the spirit it brought has ever since been here with us in our family. On the night of the great event's opening ceremony, we went to Shawn and Amei's home to enjoy the show together, even though that day was the ward's camp out...Since we had been waiting for this day for years, and seriously considered going, we could not pass up this once-in-a-life-time celebration with the world. During the following two weeks, we watched the TV everyday to cheer for the different athletes who worked so hard and showed us great attributes of perseverance, hard work, and enduring physically and spiritually. I personally have learned a great deal from them. I feel these athletes have helped motivate me to get past feelings of pain or tiredness when those moments come. All you have to do is think about what they have done.

Virginia's first Olympic's must have impressed her and we could see she has been inspired by this great event as well. She now seems crazy about dancing, gymnastics or that kind of thing. Ever since she saw Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin's performances, she began to bend down her upper body, gracefully stretch out her arms at the end of a dancing in the living room, or stretch her legs on the floor. She also loves to sing a song called "Beijing Welcomes You". She asks us to play the song for her to see and watch over and over every day.

We are looking forward to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver!

Virginia sings "Beijing Welcomes You" along the video.
藹伶隨著影片唱著”北京歡迎你”　的模樣

Virginia's stretching her legs on the floor .
藹伶劈腿跳舞的模樣

　　雖然2008北京奧運已落慕一陣子了,但它所帶給我們的興奮及運動精神仍在我們家餘韻猶存。記得開幕式的當天,我們去Shawn和Amei家一同觀賞,雖然當天是支會的露營日,我們只能錯過與大家一起露營的活動,也不願錯過這難得的盛會,畢竟我們已期待這天可謂有好幾年了。接下來的兩星期,我們每天都守著電視觀看各項競賽,為辛苦的選手們加油,從他們身上我們真的看到許多美德。我個人覺得自已從這學到很多,我發現自己比較有恆心並且更渴望克服個人的弱點。
　　我之所以會對奧運有這麼大的熱忱,真的是受到慕義的影響。他們家很重視奧運,每次奧運時都會很關心賽況,我婆婆在德國住時,亦曾為奧運擔任義工,總之,慕義在父母的影響下,也培養出對奧運更深一層的情感。
　　藹伶人生的第一場奧運想必也令她印象深刻，她也真地受到當中許多絕佳競賽項目的鼓舞，像是看了體操比賽後，現在也學會下腰、劈腿，特別跳完舞後還會作出雙手高舉的姿勢。在那段期間，我們也常播放一些奧運相關的歌曲，其中有一首”北京歡迎妳”，是藹伶的最愛，即使奧運結束後，每天還要聽個好幾次才肯罷休，現在她已到了不只聽，還會跟著唱及作表情的境界了！若妳有機會問她要唱什麼歌，十之八久她會回說”北京”。
　　我們已滿心期待下次的溫哥華冬奧！！

Amber's latest... 怡文近期所忙之事

Lately, besides being a full-time mom taking care of my sweet girl and doing never-ending house work, I also finished translating a portion of a site from English to Chinese for Cascade Refining, Inc., translating some articles in Mormomwiki, and have been working on translating the English site "www.christ.org" into Chinese site "www.yesu-jidu.org". Those gospel-related sites plus many other sites or blogs are the fruits of the effort of "More Good Foundation". It's a non-proft organization whose purpose is to provide places where church members can share their testimonies online and also offer positive information about the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church to anyone who may be interested. I found myself enjoying doing the translation so much, and have learned so much along the way. Although there are yet a lot I can and need to improve.

Last week I also began to babysit Ian once or twice a week. The reason I took this challenge not only because it can give us a little some extra income but also that Virginia can have another friend to play with and learn different things together. My wish is that I can take care of Ian the way I would like a person to treat my daughter when I need to be away from her for a longer time. I take them outside to play, see home made pictures, Chinese character Powerpoint flash cards, let them play the toys together, paint, listen to the music and watch their favorite shows. There are still much more we can do together and I am looking forward to it. A full day went really quick actually. Hope Ian will enjoy more and more being with me and Virginia.

最近除了全職地照顧藹伶和忙於永無止盡的家事外,我完成了翻譯Cascade精鍊公司網站的部份內容,也翻譯了數篇摩爾門維基百科裡的文章,目前則努力地將英文網站Jesus.Christ.org翻成中文的yesu-jidu.org。這幾個福音相關的網站都是在More Good Foundation這非營利組織的努力下的成果,該組織的宗旨主要是提供教友們線上分享見證的園地,並對任何對耶穌基督的福音和教會感興趣的人們提供正面積極的資訊,這同時亦響應了羅素‧培勒長老鼓勵教友們利用網路資源分享見證、提供教會相關資訊的呼籲。Yesu-jidu.org主要是提供有關耶穌、聖經歷史等方面的資訊,歡迎說中文的朋友們能夠前來流覽,若有看到錯別字或可以改進的地方,一定要跟我說喔!我真的很喜歡翻譯,特別是能夠從中學到很多,當然我也深知還有很多需要加強改進的地方!

除了翻譯的部份外,我也於上星期開始每星期一兩天帶Ian的工作。我之所以接下這個任務不單儘是為了貼補點家用,而是藹伶亦可多個朋友一同玩耍,學習事物。我的心願是我能夠按照我希望她人在我必須遠離較長時間時對待藹伶的同樣方式來對待Ian。當天我帶他們到樓下的遊戲場玩耍、陪他們一起看我用powerpoint所作的插圖及國字閃卡、讓他們一起玩玩具、畫畫、聽音樂、看他們最喜歡的節目,一整天的時間坦白說一下就過去了。還有許多事我們可一起作,而我也相當地期待,希望Ian能越來越喜歡和我和藹伶在一起!

IKEA Amusement Park??? IKEA遊樂園???

While I was picking a kid's chair from IKEA and took forever to decide which color to get, this father and daughter didn't get bored at all...They were having so much fun spinning together. Thank goodness that day IKEA was pretty slow, that way they didn't get too much of attention from others! I enjoyed watching them having fun and laughing so loud together. Charles says he learned this stuff from his Dad.

某天我正在IKEA倉庫裡想挑張小朋友的椅子,花了很久的時間在思考到底要買那個顏色,我們家的這對父女倒也沒等地無聊不奈煩或閒著,反而開心地玩起旋轉,還好那天IKEA不是很多人,所以沒遭到旁人側目。我歡喜見到他們在一起玩耍和大笑!

"You and Me" "我和你"

這首所表達的精神真的是一項永恆的原則!非常美的一首歌,叫人動容,希望能在生活中身體力行。
What a great message this song has! Regardless of who you root for, there is an important message we can act upon, not just listen to, loving all as children of God.

It has been a joy to see the Olympics in a place that is very close to our hearts. Although we tried to get there and applied to volunteer the very day the applications could be submitted (didn't hear back..although I am sure they have plenty of people), it is still great to watch from home and really absorb this time in history. I think most people who pause and stop, are realizing this event will have enormous significance beyond what news will ever report or a talk show will talk about. It is something special.

Oh, and enjoy the human fish, Michael Phelps.

Bejing Welcoms You 北京歡迎你

We are getting quite excited about the upcoming great event, the 2008 Bejing Olympic Games and can't wait to see it. We also have really enjoyed seeing some of the pre-Olympic activities and have loved this song and the feeling it gives.

對於即將到來的２００８北京奧林匹克的盛事，我們家真是既期待又興奮，我們也非常喜歡為此次活動所作的歌曲，在此與朋友家人分享～

MTV Version MTV版


Live Version 實況版

(They didn't seem to care much about lip synching, the feeling was what mattered though :D 他們似乎沒太在意對好嘴，反正感覺是最重要囉！)

Carrying Christ's Flag 扛著基督的旗幟

One of the unforgettable memories from this past trip to Taiwan was a fireside talk that was held in the Stake center by the Taipei Temple. I was able to go with my mom. The speakers were Elder and Sister Rasband. Elder Ronald A. Rasband is currently serving as one of seven Presidents of the Seventy in the Church. The fireside was full of members and wonderful non-member friends.

In Sister Rasband's talk, she shared a precious experience that happened when she and her husband presided over the New York, New York Mission (Tony Lee 06-08). This memory was brought to her mind because a Sister from Taiwan who served in their mission in New York was in attendance at the Fireside. Sister Rasband went on to share the experience with us. To celebrate Columbus Day in New York City, the missionaries serving in the New York, New York Mission were invited to be part of the city's annual parade. A senior couple missionary then collected flags from all over the world, and asked the missionaries to find the flags that represented where they were from. The Sister from Taiwan didn't find the flag she was familiar with or represented her homeland. With great disappointment she was really sad that she couldn't have a flag to carry in the parade. An Elder saw the situation ,then asked her to stand in front of the team and carry a flag of no country, but one that represented the church, The Church of Jesus Christ. He also comforted her and said, "Isn't that wonderful to be the representative of Christ and carry His flag? Isn't it wonderful to know that He knows us deeply and loves us dearly even when people can't recognize us nor know where are we from?"

I feel so blessed that I know from the bottom of my heart that what that Elder said is so true. I know we are all children of God and He and our Savior Jesus Christ love us very much. We don't need to carry their flag literally to remind us or show people this testimony, but by living in the gospel and striving to become more like Jesus, we show our love to God and also show that we have felt His love for us.

這次台灣行其中一個難忘的回憶便是和媽咪參加在台北聖殿旁舉行的一場爐邊聚會，演講著為現任教會總會七十員七位會長中的一位羅斯本長老及他的太太。當天現場擠滿了來自台灣各地的教友及許多非教友的朋友，真地很令人感動。

羅斯本姊妹分享到一個她和羅斯本長老先前服務於紐約傳道部的經驗，當天與會的其中一位姊妹當時也在那裡傳教，能夠在事隔多年後再相會令她回想到這個令她啓 發良多的經歷。在他們任內時，當地的傳教士們受邀參加花車遊行來慶祝哥倫布日，於是一位年長的夫婦傳教士便收集來自世界各地的國旗，讓傳教士們在遊行時可 以拿著代表他們所來自的地方的旗幟；而這位來自台灣的姊妹在經過一番努力後很失望地沒能找到代表她故鄉的旗子，她很難過，有位長老看到此番情形，便邀請她 舉著代表著基督及祂的教會的旗幟站在隊武的最前方，並且安慰她說：「身為基督的代表並手持祂的旗幟是不是很美好呢？能夠知道祂深深地認識並愛著我們即使當 其他人不正視我們、不知我們來自何方，這不是很美好嗎？」

我覺得非常有幸能打從心底知道這位長老所言甚是。我知道我們都是神的孩子，而祂及我們的救主耶穌基督很愛我們。我們不需真地舉著祂們的旗幟來提醒我們及讓人知道我們這番的見證，而藉著生活在福音中和努力變得更像基督，我們表達了對神的愛及顯露出我們已感受到神對我們的愛。

"我的相機丟了，該怎麼辦！”當我發現我的相機不見後，這是我心中吶喊的第一句話；隨即腦海中出現另一句吶喊：”我瘸了，該怎麼辦！”這是當四川大地震後，一位年輕女生獲救時發現她失去一條腿後，狂聲大喊的第一句話，相形之下，我的失去真的顯得微不足道。看到災後的滿目瘡痍，有如人間煉獄，心情真的很沈重，希望災民能夠樂觀地秉持信心，在大家的支持幫忙之下，早日重建家園。

以下是小梅寄發的信件，邀請大家盡點心力來救助災民並協助災後的重建。其中列出幾個可以線上捐款的連結。

This is an email sent out by my friend to encourage us to make a donation to help the victims of the big earthquake in China.

------------------------------------------------------------

The earthquake in China's Sichuan has killed over 50,000 people so far. It could go higher with many missing. I still remember how scary the Taiwan 921 earthquake in 1999 was. I am writing you to seek your help for those people suffering now. Please donate to any of the following organizations for your convenience. Encourage your friends and coworkers to do so by forwarding this email or talking to people during lunch time. I know many people have donated or are thinking to donate some. Any amount can help a lot. It is as easy as online shopping but much more meaningful. Thank you for your generous support.

1) China red cross　http://www.redcross.org.cn/

2) American red cross　http://www.redcross.org/news/in/profiles/Intl_profile_ChinaEarthquake.html

3) Taiwan red cross　http://www.redcross.org.tw/RedCross/index.htm

4) MercyCorps http://www.mercycorps.org/chinaearthquake/

-------------------------------------------------------------

另外,教會也針對四川強震事件設立線上捐款，網址為：

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has and many other wonderful organizations set up a link for donating online in response to the Sichuan Earthquake in China.

http://www.lds.org/ldsfoundation

The First Presidency

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Thomas S. Monson (seated), 1st Counselor President Henry B. Eyring (left), 2nd Counselor Dieter F. Uchtdorf (right)

The new Church web site focused completely on the life, mission, & teachings of Jesus Christ:
www.jesuschrist.lds.org


To learn about beliefs and facts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
http://www.newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/background-information

Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner 年夜飯

平時向來都是慕義比較注重節日, 像是感恩節一定要全人團聚一起吃火雞大餐加烤地瓜、馬鈴薯泥、玉米等, 我每每嘗試說服愛吃中國菜的他改吃烤雞或烤鴨大餐都被堅定地回絕。 這點完全是受到我婆婆的影響, 什麼節日就該配合著吃什麼東西、作什麼活動, 甚至連穿衣服都得講究來彰顯重示該節日的心意。我漸漸地也受到這股"精神"的感染, 我也決心要發揚咱們中國人的節日。婚後第一個中國年由於生在美國沒什麼年節氣氛再加上我不在意過不過節的個性, 所以我和慕義沒特別慶祝, 第二個春節我和藹伶在台灣, 今年我可是早早就歸劃要在除夕日好好地在家一家三口溫馨的圍爐, 不僅不辭辛勞地包了一堆水餃, 還大老遠地跑到大中商場去買火鍋料; 本來以為慕義會主動地買他愛吃的酥心糖來應景, 要結帳時赫然發現他沒有拿,向來不愛吃糖的我想說大過年的怎麼可以沒糖呢, 於是連忙敦促他去抓一包糖, 他也吃了一驚我竟然要他去買糖, 打從那一刻起, 我倆都明白了彼此現在可是在過節日的態度上站在同一條陣線了! :D

Virginia wants to eat so badly!
藹伶垂涎三尺, 目不轉睛地看著菜餚的模樣

She couldn't wait any longer so she finally grabbed the dumpling!
終於耐不住嘴饞, 向水餃伸出小魔掌

永懷先知戈登.格萊會長

～我們心愛的戈登興格萊會長在一月二十七日星期天傍晚辭世了。～
　　當天聚會後，我們和王嚴, 孫穎, Victoria, Ian, Cora, Alonzo在家裡聚餐交誼, 差不多九點半時, 嚴和穎先行離去, 我於是逮個空檔回電話給滕哲。電話接通後, 滕哲劈頭就問：「妳知道先知過世了嗎？」，我一聽便愣住了，她則摧我把電視打開，我連忙開了電視，我們一行人才看到先知晚間過世的消息。起初，我們每個人都很激動難過，心中有好多好多的不捨，但一想到他已為人、為神服務了這樣長的時間，奉獻出這樣大的精力，九十七歲的他是該休息了，是該與他分離多年的愛妻重聚了，於是我們為他感到高興，特別是他能夠在家人的陪伴下安祥地離開人間。也感謝我們能夠擁有救恩計劃的知識，幫助我們了解生命的意義，使我們能夠積極地面 對生離死別。

　　隔天慕義和我在閒聊時，我們討論到不知興格萊會長穿越圍幕去到靈的世界中的樂園與妻子及其他義人團聚的景況是如何，慕義還半開玩笑地說：「或許先知到了那邊才赫然發現原來生前擔任先知的重責時其實是在渡假！」　:D 就一方面來說也未嘗不是如此，畢竟在那兒仍有許多未完的事工待作。
　　
今天，是開放瞻仰先知遣容的第一天，下午我們盛裝帶著藹伶一同前往大會議中心見先知最後一面。我們和其他數不清的人到場向先知致敬，每個人心中都有著不同的對先知的回憶，每個人的身上都有著先知某一教導的影響；　我感謝先知對待其配偶的方式是慕義效法的榜樣，感謝他要我們勤讀經文，感謝他教導我們要成為兼容並蓄，樂善好施的基督徒，感謝在他的指示下許多聖殿一一興建，感謝他勉勵我們要站得更高，要感恩、要聰明、要潔淨、要誠實、要謙卑、要時常祈禱，感謝他期許我們做無可救藥的樂觀主義者。

　　 雖然藹伶還小，在今天正好她滿十八個月的同時，帶著她去向先知告別，希望她能感受到我們對興格萊會長的崇敬及感謝，將來她也能感謝先知在她出生的頭一年半，也是她父母婚姻家庭生活初期所給予的美好影響。

Christmas & New Year 耶誕&新年

12/6/07~12/9/07

1. Matthew5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

2. Psalms119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste!yeah, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

3. Philippians1:2-5 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with you, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

4. D&C101:39 When men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men;

Those scriptures were shared along with gifts left on our door before Christmas by our friends but which one we still don't know. We felt tremendous love and care that someone would do such a special and sweet thing for us. We also were reminded again that the season was to remember Christ and His star. Dear friends, thanks to your family for sharing your joy and cheer with our family!

1. 馬太福音5:14-16 你們是世上的光。城造在山上是不能隱藏的。人點燈, 不放在斗底下, 是放在燈臺上, 照亮一家的人。 你們的光也當這樣照在人前, 叫他們看見你們的好行為, 便將榮耀歸給你們在天上的父。

2. 詩篇119:103 你的言語在我上膛何等甘美, 在我口中比蜜更甜!

3. 腓立比書1:2-5 願恩惠、平安從 神我們的父並主耶穌基督歸與你們!我每逢想念你們, 就感謝我的 神; 每逢為你們眾人祈求的時候, 常是歡歡喜喜地祈求 。因為從頭一天直到如今, 你們是同心合意地興旺福音。

4. 當世人被召喚到我永久的福音, 並立下永久的聖約, 他們就被算為世上的鹽和世上的味;

我們認識但確不知道是那位的朋友在聖誕節前夕與我們分享了這幾段經文及幾件留在我們門口的禮物。我們感到無比的愛與關心, 感謝這個家庭能夠為我們作這樣特別又甜美的事。我們也再次地被提醒這個季節是為了紀念耶穌基督和作為祂出生的紀號的星星。 親愛的朋友, 謝謝你們家庭與我們家庭分享你們的喜悦及歡欣!

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There is a brother who is always there at Washington DC Temple every single night, the whole month during Festival Lights through out these so many years. He always sits on the same spot and smiles at and greats the visitors and wish everybody Merry Christmas regardless the weather. I remember that when I was still a missionary serving in the Washington DC Visitors' Center, he always cheered me up just by his happy spirit every time I saw him. I'm so happy and blessed to see him again, and to know that he still remembers me. He is truly a great example of serving others to me!
多年來, 在華盛頓DC聖殿耶誕假期燈展的期間, 總有位弟兄每晚風雨無阻地坐在同樣的地方熱晴地微笑與人打招呼並祝所有的訪客聖誕快樂。記得我還是個服務於那的傳教士時, 每次見到他, 他那快樂的精神總是振奮鼓舞我的心情。這次有幸再次見著他真是令人開心, 也很高興他還記得我。對我而言, 他真是個熱心服務的好榜樣!

The Lego Nauvoo temple

用樂高積木堆成的納府聖殿

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12/25/07

The whole family gathered together to have a hearty breakfast on the early morning of Christmas Day. After the breakfast, we opened many wonderful gifts and enjoyed our time as a family.
在聖誕節當天一大早, 一家人聚在一起享用豐盛的早餐, 早餐之後, 我們打開許多美好的禮物並享受著家人相處的時光。

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1/1/08

At uncle Bob's home, we had a wonderful dinner and the ladies got to entertained by the men who performed a story and a song. We also played games and talked and laughed.
在我婆婆的哥哥家, 我們享用了美好的晚餐, 男士們唱歌表演來娛樂女士們。我們也玩遊戲, 聊天和歡笑。

Mom & Uncle Bob Theresa,Michele,Mom & Kathleen

老爸六六大順! Celebrate Dad's 66th birthday!

今天是老爸過六十六歲大壽的日子, 有趣的是, 和爸爸相差一天生日的我竟然可以在美國與在台灣的爸爸一同慶生! 從小到大, 爸爸都非常地疼我, 他對家庭的付出更是無微不致!

爸爸是家裡的食物補給站, 總是騎著他帥氣的偉士牌摩托車東奔西跑為我們買好吃的! 由於大家的口味不同, 他常常跑不同的店為我們買不同的小吃, 來滿足我們每個人不同的口腹之慾! 從豐盛的美而美和中式早餐, 到鹽酥雞, 滷味, 蔥油餅, 雞蛋糕, 燒仙草, 小市場的羊肉炒麵, 保平路的牛肉炒麵, 竹筍排骨湯, 便當, 蚵仔麵線, 餃子, 鍋貼, 包子, 饅頭, 福荿麵包等等數不盡的好料, 都是我們家中的常客, 這也多虧老爸的愛心及不辭辛勞!

老爸是個顧家的好男人, 雖然他不擅常甜言蜜語, 但他總是用行動來表現他對家人的愛, 他一直都是家人的後盾, 總是幫我們處理善後, 承當我們的麻煩事!

老爸有他獨具特色的幽默, 聽他說起小時的趣事, 總是逗得我開懷大笑!

老爸有他獨道的審美觀, ;) 若是老媽的衣服不見了, 那問老爸準沒錯, 肯定是他不喜歡所以藏了起來! :x 但他可能會突然失憶, 不知自己把衣服藏到那裡去; 小時候, 若老爸不帶我出門, 那肯定是那陣子的我不太好看 :o 小時候不懂, 直到長大後老爸向我告白, 我才愰然大誤, 原來這麼疼我的老爸竟然這麼重視我的外表! :@ 但我覺得他好可愛喔! 超直率的!!! :$

老爸承襲了中國人的一個傳統觀念, 那就是重男輕女, 但他只是嘴巴講講, 卻沒有身體力行, 或許就那麼一點吧, 頂多在我小的時候把我打扮得很像男生, 穿著帥氣的背心和牛仔褲, 但當我上小學時, 意識到自己怎麼像個小男生時, 於是跟爸爸說我想要一套洋裝, 二話不說的爸爸隨即便帶我到百貨公司去買洋裝, 我永遠都記得我的第一套洋裝, 一件粉紅色連身的運動裙, :x 雖然不是那種夢幻佈滿蕾絲的洋娃娃裝, 但已足以證明爸爸對我的疼愛及尊重了! 生了藹伶後, 爸爸重男輕女的嘴又開始叨叨念了, 常常對我說 " 第二胎要像我一樣" 我說"像你哪樣" 他說"像我一樣第二胎生個男的" :x

老爸很疼孫女藹伶的, 今年二月帶藹伶回去時, 他們祖孫倆常常窩在一起玩, 老爸每每看到藹伶就笑得合不攏嘴! :D

爸爸的身體一直很硬朗, 這幾年卻進了手術房數次, 但還好都是小問題, 不過這次的手術可折騰他了, 但是感謝神的祝福, 他的病情因為早期發現而得以治癒! 在鼻管和尿袋被拔除後, 他和我說他開心得大聲高歌, 我問他"那唱什麼歌啊? " 他大笑地說"隨便唱都比唱國歌好聽" :D 這讓我想到, 小時候常聽到爸爸在洗澡時高歌的情景!

過去的幾個月對我們來說是很溫馨的, 爸媽和我常在他們的早晨, 我的傍晚一起作祈禱, 研讀經文, 爸爸說他在住院的這些日子, 他也獨自唸經文, 這真的很令我感動! :) 衷心地希望爸爸能逐漸地感受神對他的愛並獲得個人對神的見證! "老爸! 加油囉!"

這次老爸的病情能早期發現, 真的是個祝福! 由於現在很多人罹患大腸癌, 於是政府民間有許多幫人民檢驗的服務, 媽咪的同事拿了兩個檢驗的器皿給爸媽, 媽媽作好後交給她同事, 她同事執意要拿回爸爸的檢驗器皿, 媽於是回家問爸爸, 爸爸說他沒做索性丟了, 還好垃圾車還沒來, 所以垃圾還沒倒, 即時將檢驗盒撿了回來, 爸爸於是作了, 沒過多久, 便接到電話通知有問題, 必須做進一步的身體檢查, 醫生檢查後, 發現是大腸癌初期需要安排手術切除, 手術一切順利, 老爸的復原狀況良好! 我上網查了一些相關資料, 發現大腸癌之所以死亡率高是因為人們容易忽略它初期的症狀, 以為只是一般腸胃不適, 等到體重驟降, 或便便變細, 已經進入中晚期了, 治療便不容易了! 但好消息是, 若能早期發現, 治癒率是很高的! 我打從心裡知道這是無比的祝福! 真的很為老爸慶幸! 也使我們更加警惕家庭的生活及飲食習慣!

老爸, 我很愛你, 慕義和藹伶也很愛你! 在你生日的今天, 我們一起祝您生日快樂! 因為有你的存在,使我們的生命更加豐富及圓滿! 要常保愉快心情並且凡事仰賴神!

心愛的老爸,老媽和女兒-藹伶

Happy Birthday to my wife, Yiwen

This is a little entry I want to make as I haven't done one before. I am not really "into" this type of thing, but I wish to take a moment and share a thought or two or ten.

Today was a wonderful day, a day to celebrate not only Yiwen's birthday, but her as a person and her as my eternal companion. It was fun too with some great memories. We went out to eat to a place called Sawadee, a Thai restaurant most have been to in Salt Lake except us, until today. It was great, what made it even funner though was the little birthday cake surprise most restaurants in North America do for customers if it is their birthday. I did the typical, "I got to go check something" or "I'll be right back, gotta go to the bathroom" thing and talked with the manager and asked if they do anything like give a piece of cake with a candle and sing for someones birthday. I expected they would and he said, "Yes, we have fried bananas with a candle". I thought, "um, okay, that sounds like the best we are gonna get". So when it came down it, a few waiters came out with some ice cream and friend bananas, which were I should say, awesome. They started singing their rendition of Happy Birthday with a little accent and then sang, "Happy Birthday to..what's your name?.." This may be one of those "you need to be there to know" type of things, but it was just one of those great memories in life you will remember and remind yourselves of too many times. It was great!

The greatest part of this day was celebrating life. Celebrating time and the blessings of being together and enjoying the fact that what you have together is the strongest and most powerful part of any society. A family, a husband and wife will always be the most powerful thing in this world. I realized once again that there will be no invention so great, no DC :) sports team so wonderful, and just nothing greater than the things a husband and wife do within our lives and within their home. When it comes down to it, I will steal a quote from baseball legend Lou Gehrig, when he said, "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth". There is a part of that speech though that most don't know for whatever reason. He said, "When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know." These were his words said more than 65 years ago in context to being associated with baseball for years and being able to play with some of the greatest players. I use those same words in context to my wife.

While such praises are sometimes kept private, I wish to just share a last thought. It's a blessing to have the most pure, unselfish, and nonjudgmental person I know in my life. While many including myself have the tendency to simply make assumptions about someone or something, I can say, I have never heard a word or thought of such from her mouth about anybody or anyones situation. There are many things I as her husband could say about Yiwen, but I just wanted to use and I mean use and take advantage of this little blogger machine to say something concerning my wife and best friend on this day. What lucky kid(s) we will have to have such great mom!

-Charles

Happy Birthday to my dear friend 小梅

今天是我認識最久的好友小梅的生日
差不多有21個年頭了吧!
國小六年中有四年同班
第一次在學校以外的地點遇到便是在教堂
我們一起學習學校及教會裡教的事
一起辦生日party, 一起接受洗禮
一起K書拚聯考, 一起窩在被子裡訴說著青春年少的事
有趣的是, 還在小學年紀輕輕的我們, 脾氣都很壞
印象中至少有兩次互掌彼此巴掌 :@

小梅是我第一個認識的非常非常聰明的人
她總是品學兼優, 名列前茅
從國中時的資優班, 到高中的北一女
再從交大跳級到伊利諾大學的博士生
我欣賞她追求學問的認真
雖然我仍是搞不清楚她研究的項目
蛋白質摺疊?寫程式?遠遠超出我的想象之外

小梅也是我第一個同齡朋友中讓我感受到對方對神的見證
至今仍記得國中時的我聽到她對神的見證所帶給我的感觸

我喜歡小梅的提問
她的提問總是帶給我無限的思考

我喜歡小梅的貼心, 我喜歡小梅的文筆
我喜歡她分享的好書, 我喜歡她與我談天說地

小梅, 怡文誠心地祝福妳永遠幸福快樂
也在今天, 祝福妳生日快樂

感謝我們在老一歲的同時,
能夠感謝我們所擁有的生活
能夠沒有一絲想回到過去的念頭