Saturday, May 7, 2011

May 2 - May 7

finally finished cleaning up and mulching the garden
put more summer bulbs in the other flower bed
Caesar came fix the roof ... will have to check again when it rains
made meals and visited two church members with cancer
fixed Jeannie's prom dress to meet the standard; it was a strapless dress, but I made cap sleeves with a similar color fabric, and top it with a sheer fabric. it looks fabulous
got a bridal shower gift for Sharlene R
got a birthday gift to Rachel G. (Jady's friend)
went to the gardening community meeting, and volunteered (bake goods) and help at the plant table ; met lots of good, happy elderly people
needless to say... I will be catching up with house cleaning next week! :D

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Jeannie, Jady and I had been taking turn sick and we were grateful for the spring break!

We were trying to get more rest so we did not do much for the first couple of days except hanging out with friends, having a picnic and digging out grass (yes, my herb/flower bed garden was infested with grass, not weeds!). Then on Thursday, we headed to Poconos for a vacation.

We went fishing, a trip to American Indian Museum, the pretzel factory, chocolate factory, a candle carving shop, and the outlet mall. Though the visits were short, yet they kept the kids entertained.

The most memorable moment was probably the fishing trip. Evan caught two fishes and Jeannie got one. It was freezing outside, but we had a lot of fun at the pond.

We did not get a chance to see how the candies were made since it was the Easter Sunday week. The shop was packed with people; so we have to wait until our next visit.

The pretzel store was a family owned business. The guy did a great job explaining to the kids how the pretzels were made. We got some fresh pretzels filled with apple and cinnamon, hotdog and cheese and pizza sauce. My favorite though was the salt and pepper hard pretzels.

The candle carving was so fun to watch... the kids actually pay attention to it.

The kids were not too interested about museum, but it was a good trip for me and Johnny who don't know much about the American Indian culture.

By the end of the day, we all except Johnny and Jady got some good bargains from the outlet mall. I got a pair of winter boots, and Evan got his gym shoes and Jeannie got her prom dress!

It was a lovely vacation afterall!!!!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Spring is here....

I love spring! It's been a long winter and I just can't wait to work in the yard. I went and check in my flower bed and there were buds here and there coming out from various location. It's about time to divide them since we've been in the house for 4 years now. The tulips and daffodils need to be planted elsewhere since they are in the middle of the lawn. I wonder why the previous owner did that! I got some really good sales of azaleas plants and I grabbed six red and six whites. They are supposed to be deer resistant though.... don't know anymore since all my daylilies were nibbled all the way down to the stem from last year. I am planning to get some summer bulbs and finished planting my 3-season garden. Hopefully, we will see flowers from spring through fall. It will be nice!!!

Anyway, the deers did not touch my herb garden at all.... which I am extremely impressed! May be I can get a few more echinacea. They produce beautiful pinkish purple flowers and are good medicinal herb. Other than that, I also want some chamomile (good for skin and drinks), thyme (herb that is almost perfect for any digestive problems). I've enjoyed my rosemary and lavender from last year. The kids love my rosemary chicken and I love my lavender plant. It not only smell good, but also produce beautiful flowers. I will be making some homemade antiseptic solution in the house because of it's anti-inflammatory properties. My St. John's wort (the happy mood plant because of it's anti-depressant qualities) plants were growing well last year also. They have beautiful little yellow flowers and were doing quite well after the winter. Yarrow, oregano, and more..... Wish it stop raining so that I can work in my garden.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

General Conference Apr 2011

I love general conference. Though I fell asleep on and off while watching the sessions on Sat and Sun, there were a few talks that made a great impression on my mind.

Here are the direct quotes from the apostles:

http://lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today/unto-all-the-world/apostles-speak-at-general-conference-april-2011?lang=eng

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said we need to realize what we truly desire and what our priorities are, because our desires ultimately determine who we become and what we receive in eternity.... Let us remember that desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.”

How true is that! I have been obsessed with my work (trading) lately and have lost my focus on the family. Time to get back on track...

Elder Richard G. Scott, addressing the blessings of eternal marriage, said, “It is so rewarding to be married. Marriage is wonderful. Marriage provides an ideal setting for overcoming any tendency to be selfish or self-centered.”

I so agree with Elder Scott.... A marriage will never work if one being selfish. It also takes a lot of practice to overcome and accept our/our spouses' shortcomings.

Elder Quentin L. Cook expressed appreciation for the women of the Church, saying, “Our women are not incredible because they have managed to avoid the difficulties of life—quite the opposite. They are incredible because of the way they face the trials of life.

His comment below has a very special place on my heart. I often struggled with the fact that my education and knowledge has been wasted. I would be bringing home money if I worked, but I could have been missing out a lot on my children also.

"These are very emotional, personal decisions, but there are two principles that we should always keep in mind. First, no woman should ever feel the need to apologize or feel that her contribution is less significant because she is devoting her primary efforts to raising and nurturing children. Nothing could be more significant in our Father in Heaven’s plan. Second, we should all be careful not to be judgmental or assume that sisters are less valiant if the decision is made to work outside the home. We rarely understand or fully appreciate people’s circumstances. Husbands and wives should prayerfully counsel together, understanding they are accountable to God for their decisions."

Elder D. Todd Christofferson addressed our need to accept and even seek correction, saying, “Correction is vital if we would conform our lives ‘unto a perfect man, [that is], unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.’ Paul said of divine correction or chastening, ‘For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.’ Though it is often difficult to endure, truly, we ought to rejoice that God considers us worth the time and trouble to correct.”

"Remember that if we resist correction, others may discontinue offering it altogether, despite their love for us. If we repeatedly fail to act on the chastening of a loving God, then He too will desist. He has said, “My Spirit will not always strive with man” (Ether 2:15). Eventually, much of our chastening should come from within—we should become self-correcting."

http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/as-many-as-i-love-i-rebuke-and-chasten?lang=eng

This is my favorite talk of all!!! I am not perfect, and I doubt I would ever be one. The need of correction provide us the opportunity to change and therefore to be a better person. Do I like to be corrected? Nope, but I think it's about time to rectify my bedtime habit (I go to bed late at night) which my husband has been counseling with me ever since we met!

Grateful to Be a LDS!!!

Throughout the years, the church has taught us to obtain higher education, honoring our parents, marriage covenant, being self-reliant, and be prepare for any emergency etc. These guiding principals would prevent us from despair when unfortunate circumstances arise. I came across an article from MSNBC news about how the church and the members cope with the earthquake in Japan. The reporter was impressed with the church network being able to gather the members and provide them with the needed assistant.

http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/18/6292170-in-japan-the-mormon-network-gathers-the-flock

"President Thomas S. Monson told Latter-day Saints gathered for the 181st Annual General Conference Saturday that the Church continues to provide humanitarian aid in times of disaster.

“Our hearts and our help have gone out to Japan,” he said, noting that 70 tons of life-saving aid has already been distributed to ravaged parts of that country where suffering is the greatest since a powerful earthquake and tsunami hit on 11 March 2011....

I am grateful to be a member of the church. We will always feel the love and peace as we adhere to the counsel of our prophet.

http://newsroom.lds.org/article/president-thomas-s-monson-our-hearts-and-our-help-have-gone-out-to-japan?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSNewsRoomTop15+%28RSS%3A+LDS+Newsroom%29

In Japan, the Mormon network gathers the flock

By Kari Huus, msnbc.com senior reporter
The only thing that rivals the Mormon church’s ability to spread the word is its ability to cope with emergencies.
Within 36 hours of the earthquake striking off the coast of Sendai on March 11, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that all 638 of its missionaries in the country -- 342 Americans, 216 Japanese and 80 from other nations – were safe.
Within a few days, the church also had accounted for all but about 1,000 of its 125,000 members in Japan.
“Whether it is Haiti or Japan,” said David Evans, a senior leader in the church who serves in the missionary department. “This is how it works everywhere.”
Chalk it up to a culture of discipline and emergency preparedness. The church has a detailed hierarchy and network that works in ordinary times to maintain cohesion among followers, and in disaster to locate them.
Worldwide, some 14 million members of the church are divided into thousands of units, most of them made up of 300 to 400 people. A bishop presides over each member unit, which keeps detailed records—address, phone, work address and other information on each member.
“When you break it down to that small a group, it’s not as if anyone has to contact thousands of people,” said Richard Hinckley, executive director of the church’s missionary operations. “With four or five calls from a bishop — using phone trees — we can locate any one of 14 million church members in the world in a matter of minutes.”
In emergencies, if communication systems are out of order -- as they were in large swathes of Japan after the quake and tsunami — an intricate church network kicks in.
Under what they call the “home teaching program” each church assigns a member four to 10 people to visit at least once each month, checking in on their physical and spiritual wellbeing. So essentially everyone checks in on others and is checked in on themself. That means when a disaster hits, church members know exactly where to look for the folks that are normally part of their rounds.
The missionaries — young men and women who work in pairs – all have cell phones, but with cell networks down in most cases, they instead followed disaster plans that directed them to predetermined locations. Most of the young evangelists were accounted for within 18 hours. The last four, who had to walk out of one of the most devastated areas of Sendai to reach their assigned site, were contacted within 36 hours of the quake, church officials said.
As the threat of radiation emerged, the church network swung into motion again, quickly shifting 72 young evangelists out of harm’s way to missions in Hokkaido in the north and Nagoya in the south of Japan.

“We’re very confident that we have moved everybody far, far away,” from the radiation leaking from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, said Steve Allen, a public affairs officer with the church. Not only did they do so for safety reasons, he said, but for practical reasons — to get them out of the way of relief efforts.
Now the church has shifted into the next phase: relief operations.
Under a separate organizational system, the Mormons have dispatched a team to Tokyo to determine how they can actually deliver aid — not only to followers but the devastated region at large.
They quickly inspected 50 LDS church buildings in the disaster-stricken coastal areas — all but the one in Sendai, because the earthquake damage made it impossible to reach — to determine whether they could be used for relief efforts.
On the relief side of the operation, the church is not just focused on its own flock.
The church has made substantial contributions to the Japanese Red Cross and is coordinating with other aid organizations to assess the need for food, housing and fuel in the disaster zone.

“We strive to help people whenever there is a disaster,” said Allen. “Our desire to help is not based on religious affiliation or any other affiliation.”
The elders say that none of the missionaries has asked to leave Japan, and if anything the evangelists—most between 19 and 21 – are itching to return to the areas where they have been working to help. But the relief effort doesn’t really require evangelists, whose job it to share the Gospel.
“We would love to have missionaries be involved in any way they can be helpful,” said Allen. “But they are not equipped to be particularly helpful. They are better deployed elsewhere until they can come back in and not be a burden on the relief effort."

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Love From Hong Kong

There was a live broadcasting concert from Hong Kong last night in the event of fundraiser for the Japanese victims. I am touched by the love of Hong Kong people who showed much love to the victims not only in Japan, but also Taiwan, China, and New Zealand. May the victims feel our love and support. May we extend our helping hands when our neighbors are in need, enjoy and celebrate world peace!

Charity never faileth. Way to go.... Hong Kong!!!

South China Morning Post
Songs of hope as Japan aid tops HK$100m

Ada Lee and Martin Wong Apr 02, 2011

Donations to earthquake victims in Japan continue to pour in, taking the total raised in Hong Kong to more than HK$100 million. (equivalent to US$ 12,858,427)

That does not include the money raised last night at the star-studded show in Victoria Park - Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders.

The three-hour event featured 173 local and overseas artists, including some from Japan, such as veteran singer-actor Masatoyo Nakamura. Some of them performed while others manned the 150 lines of the donation hotline to take telephone pledges from viewers watching the show live on the city's free-to-air and pay TV stations and people listening on radio. Within half an hour, HK$6.8 million was raised, but with the hotline running until 11.30pm, organisers were hoping to pass the HK$20 million target, with all proceeds going to the Salvation Army. A minute's silence was observed for victims of the quake before the show started shortly after 7pm in front of an audience of 8,000.

Movie superstar Jackie Chan was among the Hong Kong celebrities. He said: "At the core is the belief that we care for one another, especially in difficult times. Love knows no borders."

As well as providing financial help, the event was also to offer hope and support to the Japanese people and send a message of courage in the face of hardship.

There was a front-row seat for Japan Consul-General Yuji Kumamaru and his wife, who couldn't contain their tears at the outpouring of sympathy for their country's plight.

Up until last night, World Vision Hong Kong has raised HK$32 million, the Salvation Army HK$15 million, the Red Cross HK$70 million and Unicef HK$1.5 million.

Kumamaru earlier thanked everyone for their donations, saying all the money would be used to help the victims of the quake. "We are grateful and we appreciate all incoming donations and the organisations that are actively engaging in donation efforts," he said.

While financial assistance was welcome, Kumamaru said: "We are not encouraging people to provide goods, not at this particular stage."

He said the country was still suffering from serious logistical problems due to its severely damaged transport network. "How to deliver the goods to the people in need is a big operational difficulty," he said. He added that there would be problems of co-ordination for local governments if a huge amount of goods arrived from overseas.

The Kwan Family

Saturday, May 7, 2011

May 2 - May 7

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Spring Break

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Spring is here....

Thursday, April 7, 2011

General Conference Apr 2011

Grateful to Be a LDS!!!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Love From Hong Kong

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