Japan

My heart goes out to the Japanese people and their country. May the Lord remove their pain, and give them comfort, peace, hope and strength in the rescuing and rebuilding effort.

I've been following the news in Japan since day one, and it's hard to imagine Japan, one of strongest nations in the world would suffer such a massive, devastating disaster. Yet, the most worrisome of all is the explosion and leaking of radiation from the nuclear plant. I truly admire the 50 dedicated, selfless heroes who stand behind their work knowing the fact that they are sacrificing their lives in preserving others. Their work ethnic is impressive and honoring comparing to the hospital personnels who fled and abandoned their patients during evacuation. I am not here to judge... I proposed the question to myself and my family and none of us see ourselves staying behind in such a critical condition. I am weak in many ways, but I learned from the heroes that if I stand firm on my conviction and keep my covenant from the very beginning, then my belief will not be sway in times of crisis.

We can no longer ignore the issue of global warming. In D& C 131:6, "it is impossible to be saved in ignorance." We cannot fight with mother nature, but we can start educating our family to be responsible, and conscious about the environment. Our children, and their next generations rely on us. We must teach them to conserve energy, resources, recycle and reuse when possible. Countries across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East are now reconsidering alternative green energy.

I am touched by the united effort of many countries who offer to assist the Japanese and it's government in this process.

Together we Thrive!!!!

SAT

Jeannie had her 1st ever college entrance test last Sat. Since when my oldest turned 17? How can I comprehend the thought of her leaving and staying away from home? Mom just reminded me that I left home for 19 years... things would have been very different if we had not stayed in the US after we graduate. My parents would have seen her grandchildren growing up. Johnny and I would have a close relationship with both of our parents, and be responsible as children and take care of them when they are sick or become old. I seriously thought of moving closer to where Jeannie is if she happens to attend school far away.... hum...

Good luck sweetheart... you are entering an exciting stage of your life!

Time to Say Goodbye...

It's hard to believe that mom and dad were gone. Where did the time go??? Has it really been three months? Mom cleaned and organized my house before her leaving and she literally did it until the minute she left my house.... where did she find time clean up my dishes from the dishwasher before we headed out? And as for dad... cutting the dead branches off the tree, building me a greenhouse, fixing my garden fence, replacing the toilet seats etc, etc.... I missed my parents, I missed picking them up from Walxxx after church... I missed the light and sound of the tv from their room... I missed them bad!

Be peace, good health and safety be with them!

Lesson from the Temple

Johnny and I went to the DC temple with the Smalls on Mar 5. It was a wonderful trip and a nice session at the temple. The temple is surely a great place to visit. I was thinking about this particular person when I was in the temple. A thought came to my mind as I thought of her look, dress and profession, etc. Does the Lord care about what we do for our living, and the trophies we earned? .... All He cares is how we govern our lives, if we've been sincere to ourselves and others, and live the way He wants us to live. I wish to work in the HK temple and I know it will come true someday!

I'm Depressed!!!

It's been almost three months since my parents came. We had a great time!!! Mom has been counting down her days. I can't believe they will be gone in nine days. I knew they missed HK and are ready to go back. I wish the time would stop.... I wish they live here, but it would be too selfish to make them stay with us. They have friends in HK and everything is so fun and convenient. I am terribly depressed!

Johnny has been working from home since 2/14/2011. So far so good...

1/24-28

Its been an interesting week. Johnny and the kids were stuck at home for a few days because of the snow. We spent quite some time shoveling, and playing in the snow. I am especially impressed with Evan. He's been a sweetheart and volunteered to help shoveling our next door neighbor's driveway. Our neighbor had offered him money before, but he insisted of doing it for free. I am so proud of him!

On Tues, Johnny decided to take on a different job. He will be working from home 100% in the future. The good thing is I would get plenty of help around the house, and I probably can get a part-time job if there is any available. I am excited on one hand, but also a little worry about the transition. It's a little hard to imagine staying at home 24/7 with any spouse. I don't even recall spending that much time with him when we were at school. Let's hope we'll be used to it soon!

Then on Friday, I dropped off Vanessa at Cami's house to sew some fleece socks and mittens. She missed it last time because of the lost key, so I am glad that she made it this time. Thinking about service... I would still rather be the server than being served.

It was snowing and raining for a little bit around 2:00pm, so I decided to pick up the kids from school. We then drove home and took my parents to their favorite fast food restaurant, Churxx Chicken. When we were done, we headed to the mall trying to walk off the extra pounds from the fried chicken. Well... to be honest, I think the off season bargaining was the real reason for our trip to the mall. :D This is the best time to shop after all!

Mom got some really deals on fuzzy socks, dad got the pair of Timberxxxx boots he has always wanted at a fairly decent price, mom got Jeannie and Evan a few tee shirts, and I got a few sets of lotion and body mist as end of year gifts for the kids' teachers. We did not come home until 8:15pm.

Sat morning... Johnny dropped off Evan at a nearby school to get his merit badge first aid training for his scout. He played volleyball with a few church members, then we went to Chinatown to get some Malaysian food and grocery shopping. When we came home, we worked on getting some snow off our roof. Then we went and helped the Nasmxx clearing up their driveway (I only invited Evan to help since I thought Jeannie was working on her SAT, and she surprised me when I saw her came out with the shovel! I am just so blessed to have good kids!) After dinner, Johnny, Evan, mom and dad played mahjong...

Friends and Family

Jan 22, 2011

The Cheungs, Chengs, and Martins spent the weekend with us at our house for the Chinese New Year dinner. Mom and dad were the main cook, and host pretty much. :) They were just amazing!! For dinner, we had a vegetarian dish, some chicken, char siu, pig feet, shrimp and cashew nuts, soup, and ginger milk custard for dessert. Then the next day, we had taro pudding, and congee for lunch. I don't think I am brave enough to make all these dishes by myself, and I am just grateful for their presence, and spent the fun evening with a group of "crazy" people. :)

As always, we had a great time hanging out and catching up with the other families. It was only a few weeks ago since the last time we saw each other. We celebrated the New Year with them in New Jersey snowboarding, a visit to the Chinatown in Manhattan, and spent the night at the Chengs on New Year's Eve. I am just so grateful for their friendship. They are awesome, and funny people.

I am also grateful for my friends from the ward. Kim D, Laura D, Sandy G, Tammy S, Angela G, and Cami K. These are the sisters that I enjoyed hanging out with and they are always performing service to people, and I just love to learn from them!