Ian's Playground

【3Y1M】Go sledding with daddy!

2011-06-14T07:59:00.000-06:00

This is my favorite picture

It snowed again. Outside still a white world and yet came more snow. Ian played in the balcony waiting for daddy to come home.This time, daddy decided to go sledding with us.

Snow in our balcony

Daddy, let's go!

It's daddy's turn

【3Y1M】First Snow!

2011-06-14T07:32:00.000-06:00

The day we arrived Germany from U.S., it was snowed! Actually, there were tons of snow on the ground already. It's white everywhere. Ian was very excited about the snow because this was the first time for him to see snow.

" Mommy, can I go play?" Ian asked.
" Sure." I answered. Fortunately, I bought the snow boots, gloves, hats, scarfs and big coat in the states. So we were fully equipped!!

We were just standing in front of our apartment and played with the snow when our neighbors were going sledding. They invited us to go and we did. On the playground behind the apartment, there was a small hill. Ian's gone crazy playing with the snow. I was busy taking pictures. Thankful for the 3 boys taking of Ian and sled with him the whole time. We had tons of fun!!

view from our balcony

Ian helped me shovel the snow out of the parking space

Oh fun!

We just use the moving box to sled

having fun with boys

snow ball fight

Look how happy he was!

Christmas 2010

2011-06-14T06:37:00.002-06:00

Ian was very excited about Christmas this year because he loved to receive presents.

This Christmas I wanted to start our family Christmas tradition so I asked others about theirs. I want Ian to know the real meaning of Christmas is to remember the birth of Christ instead of the presents. So I went to bookstore to pick up a book about Nativity for Ian.

Patrick's family always open one gift on the Christmas Eve. And for kids, that gift is the pajama from Aunt Laura. Of course we are doing the same thing for Ian.

I made a nativity flannel board story for Ian. After dinner, we let Ian opened the present then use the flannel board story to tell him about Nativity. It worked great. Ian loved it. Then Ian was off to bed.

After Ian's asleep, we took all the gifts out and placed them under the Christmas tree. I wish Ian would understand more about the real meaning of Christmas next year!

Our Christmas Decoration

Present from Aunt Laura

Opening present

Yay! It's toy story PJ.

Put it on right away!

Time for story

All the presents

Christmas dinner

Pineapple glazed ham

roll

Sweet potato cheese cake(Forgot to put the whipping cream on)

Family picture 2010

2011-02-27T04:15:00.001-07:00

Thanks Susan for these wonderful family pictures.

Trip back to Texas for Thanksgiving

2011-02-27T04:10:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to go back to Texas for Thanksgiving this year. It's really funny that I was eagered to go back there. That's something I never thought would happen. It's been a year since we moved out of El Paso. I do miss my family and friends there.
Ian and grandpa became best friends very soon. He followed grandpa everywhere. He even asked for grandpa when he woke up the first night in the middle of the night. It's very funny to see he likes grandpa so much now since he was not like that before.
Grandpa took Ian to water the trees in the back yard, played with Sasha, and racked the leaves. Ian had lots of fun with grandpa and grandma.

We stayed in El Paso for few days then we all headed to Austin for Thanksgiving with the rest of the families. Ian was very excited to see his cousins. He loves his cousins. He loves playing with them.

Thanks for Laura and Catherine for preparing all the meals. My sister-in-laws are amazing cooks. They made delicious meals, especially Thanksgiving dinner.

We had lots of fun with families. 2 weeks is not enough time to do what we want to do or to visit friends we want to visit. But we are glad to have the chance to be with family again.

Ian and grandpa patting Sashy

Ian was waiting for the rest of the families to finish their movie. I took Ian and Ethan to see Mega Mind when the rest of them went to see other movie.

Ian's helping daddy getting the leaves

playing with cousins

playing with daddy,uncles and cousins

Ian and Sashy

Ian and grandpa

Creamy Chicken and Rigatoni

2011-02-14T10:55:00.001-07:00

Recently, I started to reduce cooking asian food and tried to cook more american food. One of the reason is asian food needs more ingredients and takes more time to prepare it. The other reason is not easy to get all the ingredients that i used in Germany. So I really have no choice.

So I looked for recipes everywhere. This is one of the recipes that I like from Betty Crocker's website. Pat loves it,too. We cook this once a week. I hope you will like it,too.

This is the recipe:

Creamy Chicken and Rigatoni

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) Muir Glen® organic diced tomatoes, well drained
2 cups whipping (heavy) cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
2 1/2 cups rigatoni pasta (8 ounces)
1 package (16 ounces) frozen broccoli, red pepper, onions and mushrooms, thawed and well drained
Shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, garlic, basil and oregano in oil about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until chicken is no longer pink in center.

2. Stir in tomatoes, whipping cream, salt, pepper and red pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered about 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.

3. Cook and drain rigatoni as directed on package. Stir rigatoni and vegetables into chicken mixture; cook until hot. Serve with cheese.

Ian is 3 year old!

2011-01-28T11:14:00.001-07:00

Ian's 3rd birthday was a day before we flew back to El Paso. So we really did not have time to celebrate with him. The night we arrived El Paso, grandma prepared a cake for Ian and a cake for Pat since his birthday was the same month. Ian was so excited to see all the gifts that were piled on the little table next to us that he can't even concentrate on dinner at all.

Ian's first birthday was when we were back in Taiwan. So Pat did not get the chance to celebrate with him. The 2nd birthday was the day Pat was shipped from boot camp to tech school. So he did not get the chance to celebrate with him either. Poor daddy. He'd been missed so much. The 4th birthday we will definitely have a party for him with all our friends.

【Craft】3-D Paper Star Wreath

2011-01-28T11:02:00.001-07:00

This Christmas is the 2nd time our family spend this holiday alone since we got married. So I really want to make it special.

We came back to Germany from States on the 3rd of December. The I set the christmas tree up that weekend. I also brought back some of the ornaments.

I was brousing the internet one day and came across Little Birdie Secrets and saw post of the 3-D Paper Star Wreath Tutorial. I fell in love with it right away and decided to make one myself. It was a lot of fun making it with my friend, Candace. And we absolutely love our 3-D Paper Star Wreath.

【2Y10M】Mercedes-Benz Museum

2010-12-26T02:50:00.001-07:00

Grandpa came to visit us in Germany in mid September. He planned a trip to Spain, France, Poland and Germany. On his way home, he came to vist us for 2 days. We took him to Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart which is 2 hours south of us.

All the boys love cars. So we think it will be pretty cool to go to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. We had lots of fun with grandpa. Thanks for visiting!

Ian's favorite----fire truck

【2Y8M】Muffin Tin Meal

2010-12-26T01:43:00.002-07:00

Ian has turned into a pickier eater recently. He used to eat anything I gave him. But recently, it was getting hard to find some food for lunch. So I decided to google it. Then I found this blog called " Muffin Tin Mom" and found thid " muffin tin meal" idea. By putting the small portion of food in the muffin tin to increase the kid's appetite. You can also make theme for the meal related to your homeschool topics or what you feel like to. I love the idea. But I need to get some more tool to get creative.

It was fabulous! I love this creative idea for lunch. So I decided to give it a try. And Ian loves the idea, too. Look how happy he was eating his lunch.

【2Y8M】Push-ups

2010-12-25T05:19:00.000-07:00

【2Y7M】4th of July

2010-12-25T04:48:00.001-07:00

This year, the 4th of July, we were at Germany. We were not able to go to 5th ward's 4th of July celebration and see the fireworks any more. But fortunately, there is celebration on base.

There were tons of food stands, a fairyswheel, bumper cars, and lots of buncy houses for kids. It was pretty fun. There was also fireworks at night. But.... it started at 10:00 pm. Ian's too tired to wait for the fire works. But we still love the 4th of July overseas!

Brandon's 21st Birthday

2010-12-15T13:40:00.002-07:00

It was Brandon's 21st birthday. We all celebrated with him and other friends. Brandon is just like my brother. They are the same age. They don't looke alike or act alike. But he just reminds me of my own brother.

we try to get together once in a while. So this is also a gathering for us. We had a lot of fun that day. Happy Birthday, Brandon.

Haidelberg, Germany

2010-12-15T12:52:00.032-07:00

In June, we took a trip to Haidelberg with friends. Haidelberg is about 1.5 hours away from where we live. Because we had not gotten our car yet, we decided to go by train.

I always want to visit Germany which is my favorite european country because of my favorite author. She married a German and lives in Germany. From her book, I learned a lot about Germany. So it's a wonderful opportunity to live here for few years. Of course we are going to tour around the country and the whole Europe also.

I've got on line trying to find some information about Haidelberg. There are lots of place to see. But we didn't have enough time to see everything. Still, it's a wonderful trip.

Market Square

A fountain with a statue of Hercules on a column, built between 1703 and 1706, forms the centerpiece of the Market Square. This hero of Greek myths, known for his strength, symbolizes the heroic efforts that Heidelberg’s residents made to rebuild their devastated city in the years after 1700.

The Hercules statue in the fountain today is a replica, however; the original is in safekeeping in the Kurpfälzisches Mu-seum. Twice a week an open-air market takes place in the Market Square. The rest of the time – during the warm months of the year – it holds several outdoor cafés.

Heiliggeistkirche (Church of the Holy Spirit)

Biggest regional Gothic Church

Short introduction: The Heiliggeistkirche (Holy Ghost Church) was built from 1344 to 1441, its tower completed in 1544. It was the burial place of 55 Prince Electors and hosted the famous Bibliotheca Palatina until 1623.

Detailed history:

A late Roman basilica was first mentioned in 1239. In 1398, it was replaced by a large church building which nave was constructed in the typical style of the late Gothic period. The chancel was completed by 1410, the building of the nave took until 1441. There was also a delay in the construction of the church tower which was started again in 1508. The chancel contained the tombs of the Prince Electors of the Palatinate. Most of the commemorial tablets were destroyed in 1693. Of the originally 54 epitaphs, the only one to remain was the one of Prince Elector Ruprecht II (1352 - 1410).

During the 30 Year´s War, however, the complete collection became the booty of Heidelberg´s conqueror, commander Tilly. Following orders of the Catholic Prince Elector Maximilian of Bavaria, the library was given to the Pope of Rome. Of the collection which once included more than 5000 books and 3524 manuscripts, only 885 manuscripts were returned to Heidelberg in 1816. During the following centuries, the church frequently changed its religious denomination and was used at different times by Catholics as well as Protestants. Even a partition barrier was erected in 1706 because both denominations wanted to hold service here. For 230 years, the barrier stayed in its place until it was removed in 1936. Today, the Church of the Holy Spirit is a Protestant Church.

Heidelberg Castle

Heidelberg Castle is one of the Germany's most important cultural monuments. It experienced a grand and eventful history as the royal seat of the Electors of the Palatinate from the 13th to the 18th century. Over the centuries the bustling building activity of the Palgraves resulted in an ensemble of representative palace and garden art with great artistic achievements in the style of the Renaissance.

Following the destruction of the palace in the War of Palatinate Succession (1688-1697), Electors Johann Wilhelm, Karl Philipp and Karl Theodor carried out various restoration measures, although the royal seat had been moved to Mannheim beginning in 1720. A lightning strike in 1764 and the major fire that followed once again reduced the palace to ashes. Since the 19th century Heidelberg has been famous the world over for the romantic appearance of its palace ruins.

Alte Brücke (Old Bridge)

The four preceeding bridges were wooden constructions. Again and again they were destroyed by floods, fire and ice. Prince Elector Karl Theodor was the first ruler to have construct a stone bridge which was erected here from 1786 to 1788. Well preserved is the medieval bridge gate on the town side, originally part of the town wall. Baroque tower helmets were added during the erection of the stone bridge in 1788. Also located here is a plaque referring to the defence of Heidelberg against French troops.

On October 16, 1798, a brave Austrian regiment commanded by Prince Schwarzenberg succeeded in repulsing the advancing French Army. The West Tower contains dungeons, whereas the East Tower holds a spiral staircase. A few steps east of it visitors will find the "Tränktor" (Drinking Gate). During the Middle Ages, cattle were driven through this gate to their drinking places. The two bays of the bridge carry monuments created by Franz Konrad Linck (1730 - 1793) who, since 1763, was the Prince Elector´s official court sculpturist.

Ian was monkey around

entrance of the castle garden

At last, everyone was so tired. We all laid on the lawn to rest

Candace & Michael

Marie & Brandon

The playground behind our apartment

2010-12-10T04:18:00.001-07:00

Yes, we still live in an apartment. I was hoping that we will be able to live off base and rent a house in the comminity. But it was not as convenient as living on base. Fortunately, there is a pretty good size playground just right behind our apartment.

I take Ian to playground sometimes. I tried to take hime there every day until one day I heard a mother were yelling at her kids in public. The attitude and the words from her mouth are horrible. Then I found out that family goes to playground every day. So we did not go to playground often. But I', still very grateful for the playground to be so close.

I....am going to become a coupon queen

2010-09-07T05:15:00.003-06:00

I have no idea how coupons can save you so much money until last month.

One day at commissary, Pat showed me a lady who had a coupon binder just like the one in the pictures below. We were amazed how much coupon she had and why did she carry the huge coupon binder for. I do use coupons now at the commissary because it's so expensive to buy groceries even in commissary overseas. I spent 1.5 times money than back in Keesler. Although there are coupons in the commissary but I seldom find the ones I need.

So I went home and goggled coupon and came out tons of results. Something caught my eye in the YouTube. It's a file talking about a " Coupon Queen" and how did she use coupons to cut down her grocery bill from $200/week to $50/week for a family of 5. I was totally impressed by the video. Then I went on more videos and other websites to see how to use these coupons and the tips to save big. I got these results:

1. Collect as many coupons as you could, at least have 5 coupons of same products.

2. Save double by buying sale items with coupons.

3. Don't be stuck on certain brands, when other brands are on sale for much cheaper, you get that instead. When you save all coupons, you are able to take advantage of some great sales. If you only save the coupons for the brands, you normally buy then you pay a lot more.

4. When you get really good deals for the items on sale + using coupons, you got to buy large amount to stuck up your pantry. When you buy items at a low price, and stock up the goal is to have enough so you won’t have to buy it again till it comes on sale. This way you are ALWAYS able to buy your items half off or more.

5. Just because you have a coupon does not mean you should buy an item. In fact if you buy items just because you have a coupon, you will end up spending more money on items you don’t really need, and are still overpriced. The trick is to wait for the coupon to go on sale or clearance which is an even better deal.

6. Buy one get one free sales- When a store has a buy one get one free sale; this is a great time to use your coupons. You can use 2 coupons. One for the item you are buying and one for the item you are getting for free. WHY, you need to remember that a coupon is like cash. The store IS getting paid for that product, by the Manufacturer. So the store gives you the second item for free, but they can turn in the coupon and get paid for that item they just gave you for free.

7. Double your coupon by using store coupon and manufacturer coupon. Like Walgreens, Albertson's has their own store coupons. You can use that + a manufacturer coupon to save even more.

8. Store match or double- Some stores do this every week, but my local stores only do it a few times a year. They will match you coupon amount, which gives you the chance to get twice the amount of your coupon.

After reading all these articles and blogs, I understand more about how to save money by using coupons. So next trip to commissary, I went through every isle to collect every single coupon I saw. (Unless the one I know I will never use.) And I took at least 5 of each coupon for one product. And thanks for my mother-in-law. She always sent me coupons. So my coupons became a big pile. So I put them in the binder and bring with me whenever I go to commissary. Then I start to save more after this.

The 1st trip I saved $ 7.30
The 2nd trip I saved $ 10.00
The 3rd trip I saved $ 23.00
The 4th trip I saved $ 22.30

I'm very happy by the savings. Although I did not save as much as the coupon queen did yet, it's just a beginning. I am certain I will be like that in the future. It's easier to save big in the states than overseas. Because the only store I can use coupons is commissary. But in the states, all different stores offer different sales. That's how you get stuffs cheap even free. Let's save money.

Our new apartment

2010-06-24T02:34:00.001-06:00

We arrived at Ramstein base on the 23rd of April. We got to stay at the inn next to the commissary on Ramstein which was nice. Because we did not have a car, we walked to wherever we need to go. The room we stayed had a full size kitchen and all the things we need to cook for a meal. So we usually buy groceries and cook in the room. It's very expensive to eat out here. There aren't many choices either.

We stayed at the inn for about 3 weeks. Pat got the house offering on Monday when he reported to the housing office. But we couldn't move in until the 14th of May. We were offered a 2-bedroom stairwell housing. I was a little bit disappointed when I found out it's a 2-bedroom apartment. I was hoping for a house with a back yard. But because of Pat's rank, this is what he got.

But I looooove our apartment. It's specious and bright. If you know me, I love sunshine. I do not like the house that the sun can't shine in. And our apartment is great! There are lots of windows in every room to ensure that the sun will fully shine in. And there is also a balcony for Ian to play. The best part is-----the hardwood floor!!!! I always want to have hardwood floor. And I got it now! Yay! I love my new home.

The moving day's finally came. Pat can't get the day off. So the elders quorum's president and his wife came to help me move from the inn to our new home. Thank you, Brother and Sister Jensen.

P.S.--We haven't got our furniture yet. All the furniture you saw in the pictures are from Air Force Furniture Management Office. They loan you some essential pieces before you get your own.

Living room

Other side of living room

Balcony--tons of trees just in front of our eyes-great view

Living room and entrance of kitchen

There are lots of cabinets in the kitchen--great, love that

Hallway-entrance

The bathroom is very awkward---everything is white, also washer and dryer are in the bathroom

the washer and the dryer on the other end

Our bedroom---I love that big windows

But this is my favorite part--a wall of closet

Ian's room

There is a small wall of closet in Ian's room,too

Kaiserslautern Germany

2010-06-22T06:31:00.001-06:00

The bigger city near Ramstein Air Base is Kaiserslautern a.k.a. K-town. In the city and its surrounding district live an additional approximately 50,000 NATO military personnel members (mainly American). K-town is 20 minutes away from the base and will be the center of our life in the next few years other than base. So we went on a USO (United Service Organization) tour which is a new comer's tour of the K-town for the military members and their families so that we can know a little bit of the city.

There were 15 of us. 3 families with kids and 6 singles.It was very very cold and windy that day, probably around 45F. The tour lady gave us a brief history and a little bit downtown sightseeing. Then we were free to go shopping for 1.5 hours. But it was so cold that we did not want to stay ouside for long. Then she took us to a traditional german restaurant for lunch.

5 days in Baltimore

2010-06-02T11:19:00.028-06:00

Because of the volcano ashes, our flight from Baltimore to Germany was cancelled. And we were sent to the Sleep Inn 20 minutes away from airport and were told to call the termimal every day to see if the flight is on schedule that day. So we decided to tour Baltimore. There is a lightrail stop just outside of the hotel. And it is very convenient for go to downtown Baltimore.

The first day, we went to Inner Harbor. It is beautiful.

USS Constellation

USS Constellation constructed in 1854 is a sloop-of-war and the second United States Navy ship to carry this famous name. According to the US Naval Registry the original frigate was disassembled on 25 June 1853 in Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia, and the sloop-of-war was constructed in the same yard, possibly with a few recycled materials from the old frigate. USS Constellation is the last sail-only warship designed and built by the U.S. Navy.

USS Torsk

National Aquarium in Baltimore

We plan to go to National Aquarium the 2nd day. But the ticket is too expensive. So we decided to go to Port Discovery Children's Museum instead. And Ian had lots of fun there.

Port Discovery offers three floors of interactive exhibitions and programs for children ages 2-10. All of Port Discovery's programming initiatives align with the Maryland Model for School Readiness and the Voluntary State Curriculum and focus on the Museum's 5 Platforms of Learning. Designed for kids ages 2 to 10, Port Discovery is a place where children can kindle their creativity while expending large amounts of energy. The average visit is 2 to 3 hours, though families with stamina could stay all day. Dominated by KidsWorks, a three-level climbing structure, the Baltimore children's museum’s other exhibits all surround the giant jungle gym. Kids slide, glide and climb to Port Discovery's top floor and back on this three-story climbing structure. KidWorks, recommended for ages 5 and up, is great fun for kids but can be a little nerve-wracking for parents since little ones can exit two floors up. The musuem installed lighted pathways for four age groups plus netting barriers to keep little ones from mixing with big kids. The one-way flow of traffic means that kids who change their minds must keep plugging on to the next floor. Intrepid adults who tag along through the narrow tubes and across the rope bridges may end up having as much fun as the kids.

Ian and Pat had tons of fun. We were there for 3 hours until it was way pass lunch time. So we asked Ian:

" Can we go get lunch at Mcdonald's next door and then come back to play again?"

" No, no, not yet, mama! Not yet!" he replied. He had so much fun that we had hard time pulling him out of the place. But it worth going.

Then the next 2 days were raining and very cold. So we did not get to go anywhere. Finally, we got on the plane the following Thursday night. What a journey!

Moving

2010-05-01T17:04:00.000-06:00

The 2 weeks after we got our order was very dramatic.

I finished my dental work on the 9th of April which was a Friday. So we turned the paper work in on the following Monday which was the 12th. I was just thinking about we might have about 2-3 weeks before we move. At noon, Pat called.

" Hey, they told me that I have to outprocess and leave before Friday!!And I will get my order tomorrow." he said.

WHAT!!! How am I going to finish everything in 2-3 days. We need to contact TMO for arranging moving company to come pack and pick up all our house hold goods, contact GMAC for the writting statement in order to ship our car, drive our car to New Orlean to ship it to Germany, get the stuff and cluter out of the apartment, pack suitcases, disconnect all the utilities,cable, book hotels for Friday and Saturday night.....etc.

. I was speechless and can't think at all. And GMAC was not helping at all. Since we financed our car through GMAC, we need a writing statement for us to bring the car out of the country. We had called them 5-6 times a day for 3 days until Thursday Pat finally told them that :

" NO matter I get this approval letter from you or not, I'm going to ship my car tomorrow anyway." Then they finally speeded it up and gave us the letter. Seriously, I will not finance through them again. It's such a pain in the butt.

TMO arrange the moving company to come to pack on Thursday and pick up all the HHG on Friday. So I'd been working very hard to get rid off the cluter and unwanted items. I didn't go to bed until 2:30 am on Thursday morning.

Not long after I laid down, my ears got very itchy. I can't stop scratch them. The it started to spread everywhere on my body. So I got up and looked at the mirror. My ears were swollen and there were rashes everwhere on my whole body. I thought I got food allegy. And it's gotten worse in the next few hours. So I decided to go to ER at 6:00am. Then I called Pat to inform the TMO that I can't make it on time for the moving company to come. After 3 hours, I got home with the medication. And the next 2 mornings, I had exact the same thing.

My mother-in-law told me that it caused by stress. I think it was Urticaria caused by stress. Very scary!!

On Friday, the moving company spent 7 hours to finish everything. Thank goodness!! The most difficult part was done. Pat had to drive to New Orlean to ship the car today. So Ian had to stay with me. You can imagine how busy I was trying to keep him away from everything!

We fly out of New orlean on Sunday early morning to Charlotte,NC then to Baltimore. There is a 11 hours layovers in Baltimore. Before we boarded the flight, Pat called the TMO to make sure our flight is still on schedule to fly due to the valcano in iceland. They gave us the positive answer. Right before we landed on Baltimore, the flight to Germany was cancelled. We got to stay in Sleep Inn and waited for further instruction.

Pat had to call everyday to see if the flight is on schedule that day. He called in the morning and got the positive answer and called back again for the other answer. Anyway, we stayed in the hotel until the next Thursday. We did a little bit sightseeing in Baltimore. It is a beautiful city.

We finally arrived in Ramstein, Germany on Friday. Ian did pretty well this time. He slept most of the time and made some friends on the way. But the 2 families are not at the same base as us. But they are not too far either. So we got their phone numbers and promised to visit them in the future.

It was a very odd, crazy, dramatic 2 weeks.

Wonderful Sunday

2010-04-11T22:06:00.000-06:00

I had a wonderful sunday. Not because my Ian was good, but I had a wonderful relief society lesson about Holy Ghost. Sister Perkes gave the lesson today. She talked about her own experience of how she recognized the Holy Ghost for the first time in her life when she was in seminary. It was a very powerful and spiritual story. I felt the spirit right away. It also reminded me my experiences and strengthened them.

I had been doing scripture study first thing in the moring with Ian when he woke up. It's not easy to do with him. He can't really sit down and listen to you reading scripture. But I just want to help him to get used to it. And most important of all, help myself to study scripture before I do anything else everyday.

I read scripture in chinese out loud and then in english. So Ian can somewhat see me using chinese. I really need to speak more chinese to him. Hopefully he can pick up some chinese along the way.

Ian loves ipod touch

2010-04-09T16:37:00.000-06:00

Ian loves technology. Just like Pat and I.

He especially loves Pat's ipod touch. Because we put his movies in the ipod touch so that we can keep him busy when we go out. Now he uses ipod touch more than any of us.

He likes watching powerpoint learning files more than the flash cards. He likes to use my camera to take pictures. He likes to play with mouse, anything computer related!

Like father, like son. It's very very true!!

Updates

2010-04-09T16:06:00.000-06:00

I finally finished my dental work today. And Pat did pass his security + test also. We will submit all the needed paper work next Monday and wait for our order to leave.

It's great to know that we are finally leaving soon. I love Biloxi. But I really don't want to be here during the hurricane season. As soon as we get the order, we can start to arrange the house goods shipping, car shipping, getting airline tickets, and ten thousand other things that need us to do.

Still no order yet

2010-03-03T19:26:00.004-07:00

We are stilll waiting for the order.

Last week, Pat found out that the security + class was seriously back up. So he might not be able to take the class until March 23rd. And he finishes the last block on the 2nd. So there will bea 3-week gap there.

I was actually happy for it for 2 reasons. First, Pat will have more time to study for the security + test. Lots airmen failed this test. And I do not want that to happen to him. Second, we will have mroe time to get everything set up before we leave.

We had the Family member relocation clearance interview and found out that we won't be able to be " clear" to go due to my dental situation. And Pat actually got into the security + class on the 3rd of March. And it will take 2 weeks and then the test. So if everything goes smoothly, he should be graduated on the 17th of March.

Unfortunately, my dental work will take longer than 2 weeks to finish. Before that, we can't even get the order. Meanwhile, Pat will be on AFI until I am clear to go. So I guess we will hang out a little bit longer then.

we are PCSing to Ramstein,Germany

2010-02-24T12:07:00.002-07:00

I checked my posts and found out that I've never post the news about where are we going for the first duty station. We are going to Ramstein,Germany.

Ramstein Air Base is the headquarter of the USAF in Europe and is also a NATO installation. Ramstein AB is part of the Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC), where more than 16,400 American service members and more than 5,400 US civilian employees live and work. And KMC is the largest U.S. community overseas at 53,000 people.

We are all excited for the location we got. It's wondeful to be able to live in Europe. The the Ramstein AB is located at the south west Germany, at the Frence border and is about 1 hour away to Frankfurt, couple hours away to France, Switzerland, Austria.

Pat is finishing his last block on the 2nd of March. Then he has to take Security + class for 2 weeks and pass the test in order to go to Germany. The security + is a very hard course. 70% of the students took the test fail at the first time. If you did fail, you need to retake the course and the test. If you fail the 2nd time, you will be re-class which means you are not getting your job as you have but something else they assigned you. So pray for Pat that he will pass the test.

As for now, the security class is backed up due to the volume of student. Pat won't start the security + class until the 23rd of March. So he has 3 weeks gap in between which is a good thing, I think. So I will have more time to get everything ready to leave. But until Pat passes his test, everything can be changed. So we shall see.

【2Y1M】Finally......Ian can say more than one word at a time!

2010-02-02T00:53:00.001-07:00

Ian is a slow learner. It's not becasue he can't pick up things quickly but don't want to. He is a very stubbern and strong-will kid. When I tried to teach him some vocabularies, he wouldn't say it unless he himself wants to. And most of the time, he won't. Especially when I tried to push him, he wouldn't even open his mouth.

But he likes technology. He likes to watch TV, using computer, and ipod. So I made some powerpoints for learning. And it does work that way. Now he can say more but not a whole lot.

Since then, there is often some interesting conversations happening between us. For example, one night we were driving home from base, due to the broken stereo, I told Ian this is Chinese-speaking time. We will only speak Chinese before we got home.

He said " NO!" of course.

I careless what he said and started to talk in Chinese randomly. Then I heard him say
" Mommy, stop it!"

He said " stop it" after every chinese word I said. It's amazing!! This is his first time saying that. I don't know he understand that means. Apparently, I was wrong.

I laughed so hard that I couldn't keep on. I knew I shouldn't laaugh but I can't help it. It's a funny conversation.

File Folder Games

2010-01-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

Dinosaur--color matching

Bird house--Shapes matching

Ladybug--Alphabet matching

Number matching or memory game

Recently I have been making file folder games for Ian. They are wonderful teaching tools and quiet time tools. It does take a lot of time making them. I thnk Ian is going to like them.

Christmas Trip to Houston

2010-01-11T13:55:00.001-07:00

This year, Doug and Susan invited us to go to Houston for Christmas. So we took the offer and drove 7 hours to Houston.

This is our first long-distance trip. And Ian did not like to sit in the car seat for that long. But he was happy to see his cousins, grandpa and grandma.

Unfortunately, Ian got sick the 2nd day wwe got there. And we had rough time sleep at night. We visited Blue Bell Creamery, George Bush Library, China Town. For the best part, I got to visit my friend-Mindy who I haven't seen for 7 years.

It was great to spend time with familes. Thank for Susan and Doug for their hospitality. We had a wonderful time there.

Mindy and her kids

Ian loves his airplane sets

Trucks from Kobe and Coy

Lincoln Logs from Grandpa and Grandma

Ian loves Kobe's guitar

Doesn't he look like a rock star??

The pajama from Aunt Laura

Yay! I love Christmas!

The first time in a long time

2010-01-11T13:08:00.001-07:00

Since we got married, this was the 2nd time I've decorated the apartment for Christmas. Because we always spent Christmas somewhere else, I did not do much of the decoration.

This year, I felt I should do something to bring the Christmas Spirit into our home. So I did. I was afraid that Ian is going to tear them all. But actually he did not make much destrcution other than riped some of the light off and changed the ornaments' places.

Ian is very happy with all the christmas light and decoration. He was fascinated when I light up the tree. That's why I got him standing in front of the tree for these pictures.

Because we are going to go to Houston for Christmas, we decided to have a pre-Christmas eve so Ian can open some of his gifts.(We are not bringing everything there.)

The Foggy Biloxi

2010-01-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I've experienced the whole foggy day.

Somwtimes it gets foggy near the beach. But it never spread this far to the apartment area. But today........ it was cold and rainy and foggy for the whole day. I'm not used to this weather after living in El Paso for almost 5 years. But this reminds me of home--Taiwan. And I love it. (other than the rain)

Papa's Update

2009-12-15T19:23:00.002-07:00

Wow has it been a looong time since my last post, life has been more then busy for me. Life in the AF has been a no small task, but it has been a good one. Basic was a lets say an experiance for me. I had to use all of my patients with the very larg group of high school aged "kids". Being the third oldest at 27 was not an easy task. But, I lucked out with a very good MTI (Military Training Instructor) that was a very good teacher. The 8 weeks flew by very fast and was a great growing experiance. The best time was thge CATM when we got to shoot the M16A2. BEAST week was a very stressful week for the whole flight, I think we wanted to kill each other by the end of the week ^_^ BUT! We all survived the great BEAST week with no casualties.

Tech school has goon by fast so far, which is good because it can get really boring around here during the off hours. Caroline and Ian have been a bleesing to me since they moved here. I spend alot of time off base during the weekends with them at the apartment away from the base and everyhing thats out there.

I do have to say that so far Tech school has been.... too easy? Hopefuly the next set of blocks will be better and more focused on my job. I start this week my first set of classes toward my carrer so im getting excited about it. Well I must run for now but i will be posting more offten now that I have access tot he Internet.

Second Sunday

2009-12-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

Pat was told that family members can eat lunch at the chao hall every Sunday. So we decided to eat lunch with him and then went to church meetings on base only this week.

Ian is so happy to see his daddy. Every night when we are leaving is the most difficult time for him. He cries out "daddy! daddy!" every single time. So I have to tell him " Daddy got to go to school. We will see him tomorrow,ok?"

This week, there are more people attending church. There are also few married brethern whose wives are moving down also. Other than one, brother Thompson. His family will stay with the in-laws. Brother Thompson has the same job title as Pat's. Ans his brother served a mission in Taiwan Taipei Mission in 2000. He might served in my ward. The world is so small!!

This is the 14th day after Pat arrives Keesler AFB. That means he can phase up if he passes the room inspection tonight. Then he will be able to get off base and come to for a bit. Even though he still have curfews, it's better than in phase I. He said most likely he will be able to come home on weekends but not week days. He usually got released in between 5-6 pm and still need to do homeworks. And the curfew is 10:00 pm. So he won't have enough time to come home. Hey, we are happy whenever he can come home.

Ian's Sunday attire

Ian's standard pose for pictures

Look how happy Ian is with dis daddy!

A different Thanksgiving

2009-12-07T21:04:00.002-07:00

This is a very different Thanksgiving for us.

First, we were by ourselves without Nancy and Larry.

Second, Pat was still on Phase I that he could not get off base and had to wear his ABUs all the times.

Third, we had Thanksgiving "lunch" on base at chao hall.

That's a very interesting experience. Actually, the food there is great compared to the BMT. And it's cheaper than eating anywhere elsse. I had a plate of beef, turkey, corn and sweet potato, 3 glasses of soda and chocolate milk and a piece of pie for $3.50. Wow!!! That's amazingly cheap. We enjoyed our first chao hall experience.

For the rest of the week, Pat did not have classes because of the holiday. So we've been going to base in the mornings and then went home before lunch. Seriously, there is nothing to do on base. The only place we could go is the BX. But BX was close on Thanksgiving. So it's really boring there. But we got to spend time together. That's the most important part of all.

November 22nd---First Sunday in Biloxi

2009-12-07T13:18:00.004-07:00

Larry and Nancy left on Wednesday morning. Thank them for their help to move us down and all thay had done for us in the past 4.5 years. We don't know how were we doing without them.

I went to my first church meeting on Sunday. Biloxi Ward is very small compared to 5th ward. There are probably under 100 people attending sacrament meeting today. When I got to go to Relief Society, there are 12 sisters there including the presidency. I was very surprised how low is the number. And they don't even have anybody who can direct the music or play the piano. So I volunteered to play the piano there.

Ian went in Nursery pretty well. He stayed the whole time until I went in to pick him up earlier to go on base.

Pat called couple days ago and told me that we could go eat at chow hall with him on Thanksgiving and could get on base to see him even on phase I. So we are going to attend his chuch meeting with hom on base today. His meething is at 2:00 pm. So I left Relief Society to go to base.

It's very interesting to attend the meeting on base. Because nobody wears suits. They either wear ABUs or civillian clothes. Not used to it yet. Pat had to wear his ABUs everywhere on Phase I. There were less than 10 people for the sacrament meeting. And even less for sunday school.

Ian was not happy to go for both ward. We had 4.5 hours of church meetings combined today. It's too much. We wwill not attend both meetings next week. We are just going to go to base next week.

Tech School

2009-12-07T12:13:00.004-07:00

After 8 hours driving, we arrived Biloxi, Mississippi.

We got the help of 6 Elders in this area and moved all the stuffs in both trailer and truck into the apartment. It is a nice community and very convenient. The apartment is big. I love it.

Pat will be in Tech school for 63 days. He will be on they called "Phase Program". There are 3 phases. The Phase Program begins on the day the recruit arrives at the technical school and (in most cases) ends when an airman graduates technical training and proceeds to their first permanent duty assignment.

Phase I----
runs from arrival at the initial Air Force technical training base through the 14th calendar day after arrival .During Phase I, Airmen

•Will remain on on base at all times. Training/operations group commanders may make exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

•Will not purchase, possess, or consume alcohol.

•Will wear military uniform on and off duty. EXCEPTION: They may wear civilian attire inside their dormitory only.

•Will adhere to a call to quarters (curfew) of 2200 (10:00 PM) to 0400 (4:00 AM) Sunday through Saturday. EXCEPTION: Training/operations group commanders will determine, in writing, call to quarters for Airmen assigned to shifts other than a traditional day shift.

•Will eat three meals per day, Monday through Friday, in a base dining facility (chow hall).

•Will not operate, ride in, or utilize a private motor vehicle (PMV).

•Will have their rooms inspected a minimum of once per week, but not on the same day every week. These inspections will be documented and kept for a minimum of 30 days. Airmen must keep their rooms according to local guidelines.

•Will make their beds with issue sheets and a bedspread or blanket. Personalized bedspreads or comforters are not authorized.

•Will not hang pictures of any kind on the walls or lockers. Note: Pictures in a frame, no larger than 8 inches by 10 inches, may be displayed on the Airman's desktop, but must not be of a sexually explicit or degrading nature.

•May have an alarm clock or radio alarm clock on their nightstand or desk.

•May not possess or use a television or stereo in their dormitory room. They may, however, use existing televisions or stereos located in dayrooms or common areas.

•Will march to and from all locations.

•Will participate in a formal open ranks inspection conducted by an MTL a minimum of once per week. Note: If a location does not have enough Airmen to conduct a formal open ranks inspection (two- to four-element formation), MTLs will perform a uniform inspection.

•May use a personal electronic device (cell phone, MP3 player, ect.) inside their dormitory during nonduty hours only.

•Will pass all required open ranks and room evaluations prior to progressing to Phase II. (Units will determine pass/fail depending on locally developed standards.)

Phase II ------
runs from the 15th calendar day through the 35th calendar day.During this phase, Airmen:

•Will remain in uniform and on station during duty hours. If Airmen go off station, they will wear the appropriate blue uniform combination and remain in the local area as determined in writing by the training/operations group commander.

•May consume alcohol if of legal age on base only, but not during the duty week or 12 hours prior to duty.

•May ride in and operate a private motor vehicle (PMV) after duty hours.

•Will adhere to a call to quarters (curfew) of 2200 (10:00 P.M.) to 0400 (4:00 A.M.) on evenings prior to duty days and a curfew of 2400 (Midnight) to 0400 on evenings prior to nonduty days.

•Will have their rooms inspected a minimum of one time while in Phase II. Airmen must keep their rooms according to local guidelines, but may personalize their rooms.

•Will march to and from all locations during duty hours.

•Will participate in a formal open ranks inspection conducted by an MTL a minimum of one time while in Phase II.

•May use a personal electronic device (such as cell phones and MP3 players) after duty hours only.

•Will pass all required open ranks and room evaluations prior to progressing to Phase III. (Units will determine pass/fail depending on locally developed standards.)

Phase III----
runs from the 36th calendar day through completion of all technical training and departure for permanent duty assignment.During this phase, Airmen:

•Will remain in uniform and on station during duty hours. Training/operations group commanders will determine, in writing, off-base mileage restrictions and weekend travel procedures.

•Will not consume alcohol 12 hours prior to duty.

•Will not possess or consume alcohol in the dormitory or immediate surrounding area. Those who choose to drink alcohol will do so responsibly and not bring discredit to the Air Force, in or out of uniform.

•Have no restrictions on the use of private motor vehicles (PMVs). Training/operations group commanders will determine in writing if Phase III Airmen are allowed to drive to and from school.

•Will adhere to a call to quarters (curfew) of 2200 (10:00 P.M.) on evenings prior to duty days. Training/operations group commanders will determine, in writing, call to quarters for Airmen assigned to shifts other than a traditional day shift.

•Training/operations group commanders will determine, in writing, if and when Airmen in Phase III are required to have their rooms inspected.

•Training/operations group commanders, will determine, in writing, if and when Airmen in Phase III are required to march while in uniform.

He said we can't even get on base to see him for the first 2 weeks when he is in Phase I. at least he call use his cell phone now. Better than nothing. But Thanksgiving is next Thursday. And I don't even know if he can come home for that or we can get on base to see him or not. So we will see.

Ian's 2nd Birthday

2009-11-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

11/16 is Ian's birthday. But we were on the road. And we won't be able to celebrate for him at all. I was thinking we will celebrate later on when Pat can come home. But Susan and Doug did something.

Susan and Doug bought a cake for Ian the night before when we stayed in their house. And also prepared a gift for Ian. Thank you for being thoughtful and prepared all these for Ian. Ian loves the cake and the truck he got. He also loves seeing and playing with his cousins.

We left their house at 6:00 am Monday morning. after 8 hours driving, we got to Biloxi about 2:00pm. There were 6 missionaries came over to help us unload the stuffs. And they live across the street from our apartment complex. That's so great!!! Thanks for those elders. So we didn't have to unload everything by ourselves. After that, we went to a chinese buffet for dinner whih is 2 blocks away from our apartment. Then we called it a day.

Although I still have lots of boxes everywhere, it feel so great to finally sleep in my own bed.

The last day---11/15 Sunday

2009-11-26T22:29:00.001-07:00

Today is the last day in Lackland AFB. Pat is going to ship out after midnight. And we are going to go to Houston for the night.

Pat only has base liberty today which means we are going to stay on base the whole day. That would be a problem because there aren't many things you can do on base. But anyway, we are going to stay with him until he goes back to the dorm at 6:00pm. Pat has church service at 7:00 am and he is going to give a talk. So Nancy and I decided to go to church with him which means we need to get up at 5:30 am in order to be there on time. It takes 30 minutes to go to base from our hotel.

We were there on time. To my surprise is there are around 100 people today at the church. That's a lot. We went to the chapel on base in El Paso. There is only one soldier there for the church service. It's amazing to see all the LDS airman there. It's even amazing to see those female airman. I have high respect for them. It's interesting how your perspective changed so much in just a couple month.

Pat had a nice talk on family. We both realized how much we took each other for granted before this. And how important we are for each other. That is a good thing to know.

We hung out at the BX and park for a long time until Pat is tired and decided to go back to the dorm earlier. So we left and got on the road and hope that everything is going to be well in Biloxii, Mississippi. Our future is await us.

My little airman

Ian and Pat played at the park.

His official airman picture. I love it.

Sea world and dinner with everyone---11/14 Saturday

2009-11-25T00:49:00.000-07:00

Best day ever!

Today,Pat has town pass from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm.

We went to pick him up at 9:00am. We went to food court for breakfast. He went for Cinnabon and I got to to go Starbucks. Then we went to BX to look for a luggage for him.

Our plan for today is to go to Sea World with families and go back to hotel for some rest in the afternoon. Then have dinner when Charles' family get in.

We had fun in Sea World. I mean, Ian had a lot of fun. We went to the Shamu show and Ian was totally amazed by it. He can't even move his eyes away from the show. This Saturday is also the military appreciation day in Sea World. So we got package with tickets and all you can eat BBQ lunch. It was great!!! All you see is the airman and their families eating lunch together.

After lunch, we went back to hotel, watched some TV, just enjoyed our time together. Poor Pat had to wear his "blues" all the times. So he can't get really comfy. Charles' family came and we all went to Macaroni Grill for dinner. Then we drove him back to base at 7:45pm. It was a great day.

The Graduation---11/13 Friday

2009-11-24T21:23:00.003-07:00

Today is even exiting day because Pat has "town pass" which allows him to get off base.

Today's schedule is:

9:00 am----Graduation Parade
10:15 am---Dormitory open house
12:00 pm---Town Pass
8:00 pm----Airman back to the dorm

We arrived at the parade ground at 8:15 am in order to get a parking spot. Fortunately, we got a parking spot and a good spot for the parade. When we got there this morning, it was very foggy. So the Airman got to wear their formal wear for the parade. I love it. Pat looked so sharp in his formal wear.

The airman are released for base liberty immediately following the graduation parade. And Pat rode with us back to his dorm and we got to see his dorm.

At 12:00 pm, he is released for town pass until 8:00 pm. We went back to the hotel and hung out for a while. Then we went to Riverwalk and The Alamo with the rest of the families.

There are so many rules. He needs to wear the hat outside and take it off inside. You must be taking it off or putting it on as you walk through the door. The car counts inside. He can't wear sunglass. (We don't know why. But I think if they wear sunglasses nobody is going to recognize them. They already look all the same with the hat, the hairstyle and the uniform. Seriously, it's really hard to recognize who is who without looking at them real close.) His jacket can only unzip down to the center. The hat is tipped slightly to the right. He can't walk and talk on the phone.

It's a wonderful day for us. And tomorrow is going to be even better because he will have town pass for the whole day!!

These couple months were a real challenge for our family. Not only to Pat, but Ian and I. But when we saw him at the graduation, everything is so worthy. All the suffering, the time we separated, all the hustle were paid off when I saw him with his airman attire. I know this is the right thing to do for him and for our family.

He's changed a lot since he left for BMT. I'm very proud of my husband chose to serve his country. I know he can do it. I know he will do great. I love my Airman!

See! How we take this picture? Because we can't get too close!!

Coin Ceremony---11/12 Thursday

2009-11-23T22:14:00.002-07:00

His brother flight---we thought that's his flight

The short hug right after the Coin Ceremony

Take a walk in the park

My airman and his little one

Ian had a lot of fun looking at all the airplanes at the park

After a day's driving, we arrived San Antonio on Wednesday night. We stayed in Fairfield Inn. We had a very nice room. Thanks for Charles.

Today's Schedule is :

7:00 am---Briefing
8:00 am---Airman's Run
9:00 am---Briefing
11:00am---Coin Ceremony/Retreat
12:00 pm--Base liberty (he is free to go anywhere on base, but not off base)
8:00 pm---Airman back to their dorm

The Briefing is at 7:00 am and the airman's run is at 8:00 am. We really want to go to the airman's run. But we didn't. We are so tired that we can't get up at 5:30am this morning. So we decided to go for the 9:00 am briefing and the the Coin Ceremony at 11:00. I felt so bad that I didn'tmake it to the Airman's run. But we really need some sleep.

The briefing is to tell us what you can do and what you can't do on base. Like you can't talk on the phone while you're driving. Always follow the speed limit and use the turning signal and etc.

Then is the Coin Ceremony. The Coin Ceremony is where you will be presented with the Air Force Airman's Coin. After this event, you'll no longer be called a "trainee." You've earned the right to be called "Airman." And you are officially one of the United States Air Force.

They had given us a map of where each flight would be positioned. So we hurried to find a good spot for us to see him. But you know what, we remember his flight number wrong. We thought it's 735 instead of 736. So we got there and watched the wrong flight the whole time. No wonder we can't find him. Larry and I tried to indentify which one is him. We had defferent opinions. But turn out we were both wrong. Hahaha!!!

After the coin ceremony, we went to lunch. He said he needs real food. So wen went to a BBQ place on base. Then we went to a park for a while. Larry tooked Ian so we can enjoy some times together. It's good to see him. But so hard to not hold his hand. Yes, while he has his uniform on, you are not suppose to touch him. So we only get a hug after the coin ceremony. There is no holding hands nor kiss. Then we went to BX to kill some time while Ian took his nap in the car with grandma and grandpa.

We dropped him at the mini mall near his dorm at 7:30pm. It's an exhausted but happy day. And tomorrow is going to be better because he has town pass all day which allows him to get off base.Yay! Can't wait!!

I'm proud of you, my Airman!

09/21 Monday--the 7th day

2009-10-08T00:52:00.003-06:00

I felt so much better when I got up this morning. I knew that's because of the priesthood blessing I had received yesterday. I felt ok for the whole day, didn't feel like to cry at all.

The Relief Society presidency came to visit me at 11:00AM. I really appreciated for all they did to encourage me. Then I went to Amy's house for lunch. Amy is right. Korean food makes me feel so much better.(Don't be mistaken, I'm not Korean,I'm Chinese. I just love Korean food and drama.) The is the only meal I've actually eaten something since Pat's leaving. Amy also taught me some of the simply dishes and gave me my favorite Kimchi and other food. I love her.

Ian's been funny today. His favorite dog is Larry's dog Sashay. Whenever I told him we are going to grandpa's house, he referred to Sashay. He wants to play with Sashay so bad. But when Sashay came up to lick him today, he hold his arms together and say" Awwwwww, Grooooos!!!"
Then Sashay did that for the 2nd time, Ian acts even funnier and said" Awwwwww, Grooooos!!!Grooooos!!!"Grooooos!!!" And he jumped away. That's so funny! It cracked Nancy and me up.

Thank Dustin for the blessing

2009-09-22T22:20:00.003-06:00

On Sunday morning, I drove to church. I felt better today. At least not like yesterday. Yesterday was the worst day since Pat left. I can't stop crying the whole afternoon and evening. I have to call Nancy to talk for almost 1 hour.

We stayed for the full 3 hours. I went to Nursery with Ian. We went home for a nap after the church meetings and went to Nancy's house for dinner. Nancy has asked Dustin at the church today if he can give me a blessing and tell him my situation. She also told the Relief Society sisters. So the Relief Society presidency is coming to visit me on Monday.

My hone teacher, Dustin, came to give me a blessing. I felt immediate comfort during the blessing. And I know that I will be ok from then. It's so amazing how the priesthood works. And I am fine since then. Thank Dustin for the blessing!! And thank you everyone for your support and encouragement.

P.S. There is also something which is very cute that I want to share.

I saw Aaron Larsen and Derek Barlett (2 teenage boys)at church.

Aaron asked me: "how are you?"
I said : "not good. "
Derek said: "you look depressed!"
I said : "I am depressed. Because my husband is not home for a while."
Derek said: "you should come over to my house and hang out. "

Then I saw Amy Barlett(Derek's mom).

Amy said: "girl, you should come over to my house."
I said:" I know."

You know, usually when people said that they don’t offer the next step like the date or something. But this is Amy. So she said next :
"come tomorrow and have lunch together. I will make you some Korean food."

That is Amy. Amy told Nancy all I need is Korean food to make me feel better. I love her.

I never thought it would be this hard!

2009-09-19T21:37:00.004-06:00

On the 14th of September, Pat had to check in to the hotel that is near the base. Larry,Nancy, Ian and I drove him to the hotel and had dinner together. Ian cried when we left. After we got home, suddenly, I just realized that he is not home and won't be home for a while. I felt a liitle odd, too quite. While we were taking a bath, Ian kept calling "Daddy?Daddy?" Usually, Pat will sit in the bathroom talking to us and get us towels. But he was not there. I tried to tell Ian that Daddy is working somewhere far away and he won't be home for a while.Fortunately, he is fine with that. But I am not. After putting Ian to bed, I sat on the bed and cried.

The next morning(the 15th),we drove to base to attend his swear-in ceremony and stayed with him until he went to airport. That day, I felt so sad that I can't even go to babysit for 3 hours. I was very depressed , felt terrible lonesome and had a hard time to breathe. I tried to be strong. At least try not to cry in front of Ian. But my meltdown still came after Ian went to bed. That night, I cleaned the bathroom until 10:30pm and didn't fall asleep until 2 AM.

The 3rd day(the 16th), I tried to find things to do to keep me busy. I did went to babysit but can't even finish the 3 hours. I can't even smile. Ian was very emotional also. He screamed a lot and was cranky the whole day. So we dicided to go home early. Then I burst into tears when Ian was not listening to me. And we cried together. Pat called at about 1:30 pm to tell me his address. It's a very short call which is about 5 minutes.

The 4th day(the 17th) is a good day. I felt happy today because Pat called yesterday. I went to babysit and had a good time there. Ian acted normal today also. And I didn't cry today. I thought I was over this. But.......

The 5th day(the 18th), I was depressed so badly that I had to call Nancy to come to my apartment. I had my meltdown in the afternoon. Today, I cried twice. Very gloomy day for me.

The 6th day(thhe 19th), I was sort of happy this morning. I went to the enrichment activity. All is well. Then after Ian's nap, here is comes the crying. I was crying the whole afternoon. It was especially hard because it's Saturday. Usually, we do a lot of things together on Saturdays.And we are together the whole day. I have to call Nancy to talk again.

This has been really tough for me. And the interesting thing is----I never thought I would act like this at all. Nancy was surprised for my reaction,too. Seriously, I thought I would be just fine. I would be strong enough for it. Maybe feel lonely but definitely not like this. I'm nearly depressed. And I don't know what to do. Just pray a lot and find things to do.

When can I get over this? I hope it will be over soon.

The photo editing software--Smilebox

2009-07-25T10:43:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

4th of July

2009-07-06T21:05:00.003-06:00

Well, another wonderful 4th has come and gone.

This was a very fun and relaxing one, partly because it was on a saturday and i had Friday off (which is always good :D). We had the primary activity the day before and Ian got to play with all his friends and got to decorate his stroller with flags and stars. Even though it was a little hot that day, it was still a blast.

Saturday we had a very relaxing stake activity with hamburgers and hot dogs. Ian loved the fire works. he was a little scared but then started to laugh and enjoy the show. Over all it was a very nice time.

I guess I have been reflecting more and more about this time of year with me joining the Air Force, its amazing how perspectives change when your situatoins change. Hope all of you had a wonderful 4th of July!

Ian's so happy to see all those kids there

I love Balloon

Watermelon is my favorite!

Little White-Asian-Mexican????

Ian's trying to get rid of the decorations

Waiting in line for parade to start!

Ian & mama

Ian & Papa

【1Y3M】Hot dog is great!

2009-06-21T09:48:00.000-06:00

Ian always has good apetite. He eats everything. When he started solid food, he ate everything i gave him. He even ate just white rice along. Until we came back from Taiwan this February.

He became a picky eater. I had to find new food for him every day. Most of the time, he wouldn't eat anything I prepared for him. That really frustrated me. He can't eat what we ate. He didn't like what I gave him. Until one day, Pat gave him a bite when he was eating hot dogs. Since then, Ian had found his favorite food. He eats a whole corn dog at a time. Sometime one is not even enough. Anyway, I was just happy he found something to eat.

【Our Dinning table】Taiwanese Pork Chop, Seasoned Rice and pickles

2009-06-21T00:08:00.000-06:00

I love to cook!! Yes, I only cook chinese food. Once in a while I will make some dishes that aren't chinese food. But we eat rice every day in Taiwan. So that's what I cook here,too.

When I was pregnantt with Ian, I had a hard time getting all the food that I craved. Because I only craved for chinese food. Actually, Taiwanese food. Obviously, I can't get them in El Paso. So the only way to get them was to make them myself. I got online to find all the receipts and tried to make them. And I did pretty good. Other than those ingredients that I can't get, I made almost everything I want.

Thanks for all the bloggers, I found lots and lots of receipts. And I became a decent cook. That explains why Pat gained 25 pounds within 4.5 years since we got married.

But there is one problem is----I don't really follow receipts. I cook by feel. Some friends ask for my receipt. And it took me long time to get it to them because I don't have a receipt. I don't know how to tell people how much seasoning I put in. Even when I follow somebody's receipt, I change the ingredients according to my flavor and feeling.

So if you really want my receipt, please be patient with me.And I will get it done in english someday.

【1Y3M】Face off !

2009-06-20T23:49:00.000-06:00

Look, he can be all serious in one second.

And make a face in the next second!

Look my face off show!!!

Ian loves to make faces. He thinks it's really fun because of mummy's reaction.

Yes, I laugh out loud at him. He likes my laugh. It makes him laugh,too. So he keeps making faces to get all the smile and laugh from me. And I like it,too. Fortunately, I got the vivid pictures of the face off show!

Let's get some tan

2009-06-20T22:48:00.001-06:00

Last month, we went to a playdate with some sisters from our ward. It's a playdate/farewell. There were 3 families moving away. So Erica held this party for them and the kids.

She had a swimming pool and bubble machine and food ready for all of us. She even prepared the bath towels and the swimmers for the ones who weren't prepared,like us.

Ian's kind of scare of the swimming pool. I tried to put him in. But he cried and screamed not to go in at the first beginning. It took me 3 times to put him in. But after that, he is as happy as a fish in the water. He had a loot of fun.

2 hours passed before I got him out for some lunch. We took the beach towel and put it on the lawn. And quickly, everyone joined us for the little picnic.

While we were eating lunch,of course, Ian was wondering around instead of sitting downn. Then he saw the slide. He didn't know how to get on the slide through the right way. So he just laid his stomach on the slide and ate his watermelon there. And tried to get some tan, I guess.(Hah, like he isn't tan enough!) It was the cuttiest thing i had ever seen!! I love these pictures. Thank Erica for inviting us to the party.

Playing with ball!

Playing with other kids

Watching bubbles!

Sweet mummys!

Sweet mummys 2

My Little Prince

2009-05-11T22:14:00.003-06:00

Ian got a puma shoes while he is in Taiwan. All his dress shoes were too small. So I decided to dress him with his puma shoes. The shoes is still a little bit big for him. But it all we have for now.

He looks so big with the sunday outfit I put on him. And he looks absolutely adorable. I love this outfit. It's perfect for him. He looks so nice and grown up.

Ian is a happy kid. He smiles a lot. He likes to have fun. And he doesn't cry much even when he bumped into something that hurt a lot.

He is my little angel. He is my happy little boy. He is my little prince.

Ian 's adorable smile

Look how handsome he is!

Video--Easter Egg Hunt

2009-05-08T14:53:00.002-06:00

Activity---Easter Egg Hunt

2009-05-08T14:29:00.002-06:00

This is Ian's first Easter Activity.

I have no idea what to do for the activity. So I asked Pat what did he do when he was little. We cooked the eggs, colored the eggs, decorated the eggs, put candies or chocolate or toys in the eggs. Then hid the eggs in the front yard for Ian to find.

Seriously, Ian had no idea what were we doing. We had to try really hard to show him how to find the eggs and put them in his Easter basket. It's hard for him to let go of the eggs. He just wanted to hold the eggs instead of putting them in the basket.

Grandpa and papa helped Ian to find the eggs everywhere. Actually, They found the eggs and told Ian to pick them up and put in the basket. Grandpa had to hold the basket for Ian. Because Ian didn't have extra hand to hold it when both of his hands were full of eggs.

Ian had no idea what's in the eggs. Until we showed him the candies. He was very happy to crack the eggs open and got the mouthful of candies. This was one of his happiest day ever because how much candies he ate. Hah!Hah!
(It took me a while to decide what to put in the eggs. I didn't want to put chocolate or other sweets. So I chose t to put the jelly beans in there. At least the jelly beans are a little bit healthier than chocolate, I said to myself.)

I'm ready to go.

"Where are they,Daddy?"

I got one!!!! How many do I have in the basket?

Grandpa: Put them in there,kid!

Put it well.

One more here hiding in the tree

Tour Around Taiwan--ShuiLi

2009-05-06T15:51:00.002-06:00

After Jiji, we continue our trip to ShuiLi. There is a very famous kiln there. It's called " The Snake Kiln". It's one of the oldest, the most traditional firewood Kiln.

Pat, Ian & Grandma

Pat & Me

Pat

Tour Around Taiwan--JiJi

2009-05-03T23:35:00.002-06:00

After the funeral, Mom decided to take a 2-day trip with the whole family which are Ian, Pat, John(my brother) and me. Plus one of my cousins-Gloria.

Pat had never tour the southern Taiwan. The last 2 trips he had were up in Taipei. Though my family moved down south a while ago, he never got the chance to go anywhere.

We though this will be a good way to help Mom to relax a little bit. Also this might be able to help her to ease some of her grief when we are all around her.

We decided to go to JiJi-ShuiLi-Sun Moon Lake-Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village.I never been to one of these places before. So we were all excited about this trip.

We went to JiJi first. JiJi is a very beautiful town. It famous by the " Green Tunnel" and the train station. The Green Tunnel is a 4.5-kilometer route with camphor trees on both sides. It's wonderful to see the greens all around. The train station was built in 1922. It's one of the oldest train station that had left in Taiwan. The train station now is a hot spot for taking pictures,especially the wedding photos. Of course, we did take some pictures as well.

The Green Tunnel

Gloria, John, Ian, me and Pat

John, Ian, Mom, Me & Pat.

(1Y2M) Ian Loves the Ride

2009-05-03T22:56:00.002-06:00

Ian loves the coin-operated ride.

He's very interested in those steering wheels. He loves driving.

He was kind of scared at the first time. He didn't know how to play. But quickly, he was good at it. Whenever we went to the Dr.'s, I let him get on the ride for comfort.

Family Photo

2009-05-03T21:35:00.004-06:00

We had some new family members in the past 2 years. So Grandpa Nance decided it's time to take some family photos.

We gathered together with all the family members for Christmas. We were at Charles' house in Austin this time.

Catherine had asked one of her friends to be the photographer on Christmas Eve to take our pictures.

The theme colors for this year are :

* Red, white or black shirts/blouses

* Khaki or black pants (no jeans)

* Business casual (nice but not sunday best)

So these are the pictures!

Nance Family

Grandpa & Grandma Nance

Brothers & Sister

Adam, Catherine, Ethan,Charles & Lauren

Doug,Kobe, Coy & Susan

Pat, Ian & Caroline

Ian, Adam, Lauren, Coy, Ethan & Kobe

完全不同的生活

2009-04-16T22:17:00.005-06:00

在許多因素的考慮下，小藍先生決定加入空軍，成為職業軍人。

因為小藍先生要全職工作，所以無法修太多學分，因此，要畢業好像遙遙無期。

加上現在的經濟不景氣，實在很怕被裁員。因此，他跟我談到要加入軍隊的想法。

在軍中，他可以接受職業訓練，並且，也能抵修學分。

雖然他的薪水跟現在在聯邦快遞的工作差不多，但是，軍中還會有房屋津貼和食物津貼，所以加起來是現在的兩倍。

再加上全額的醫療保險，還有每2-3年會換駐防的地點，說不定我們可以駐防到日本，韓國，及歐洲等等。

在詳細的了解和考慮之後，我覺得這對他和我們家庭來說，是目前最正確的決定。

因此，就這樣決定了。

小藍先生會在8月28日離開，去基本訓練營兩個月，之後需要接受職業訓練4個月。

在基本訓練後，我們就會知道我們第一個駐防的地點了。

對了，美國軍隊的家屬是跟著軍人們一起去駐防的地點的，所以我們也要跟著他跑來跑去囉！

這就是我們家即將要發生的重大變化囉！

PS---很多人問我這個問題，小藍先生戴眼鏡，怎麼能加入空軍呢？
他是遠視，加上他不是飛行員。他的工作是networking電腦系統連線的方面，所以跟他戴眼鏡沒關係啦！

PS--留言告訴我你們的想法喔！

New adventures will soon arrive

2009-04-10T21:45:00.004-06:00

I always wondered who Ian would react to sudden and dramatic changes in his life and surroundings. I'm not sure if he will be like me and sorta "go-with-the-flow" or if he will be like his mama and have a hard time to adjust. Hopefully he will be some where in the middle, accepting but cautious. I'm always worried that he will not be accepting of new changes and enviroments. But I hope and pray that he will continue to be the ball of energy and joy that he is. I have been pondering on how he will like it being a son of an Air Forceman, will he be what they call an "army brat" or will he be labeled as a "normal" kid? As a father, I always want the best for my family, I just hope that Ian sees it that way when he can understand the situation, and not hate my decision to join Air Force. But as a parent and husband, Caroline feel that this is a really good move for us and for now, Ian. I'm worred thatIan will not understand and will freak out, in his own funny way, to this channge.

Regardless, I will still love him because thats what parents do, they love their children unconditionaly. Thats one of the best parts of being a parent, the love you feel from them. The joy of love ^_^ Basic will be hard due to the fact I cant see him, along with tech school. But with the sacrifice will come great blessings and joy.

從此兩個人不會再孤單，因為彼此成為彼此的伴

2009-03-23T15:36:00.009-06:00

我是個韓劇迷....是的...而且是超級韓劇迷。

在美國最可憐的事就是看不到韓劇。
但是，在朋友的介紹之下，我上了一個網站可以下載韓劇來看。
自此之後，我的日子便快活得不得了。

其實，我並不是很憧憬韓劇中的人物，或是故事。
但是，我總是可以從每齣韓劇中學習到許多。

今天想跟你們分享我最近看玩且頗有心得的一齣韓劇---《黃金新娘》。

《黃金新娘》-----越南新娘珍珠從小與母親相依為命，為了來韓國尋找親生父親，嫁給了韓國男子姜俊宇。由於文化背景的差異，珍珠剛開始在韓國社會不被認可，與俊宇之間也是矛盾重重，但天生開朗的珍珠逐漸克服偏見和困難，尋找到了真正的愛情和事業，同時也找到自己失散多年的親生父親。

這部劇通過以國際婚姻形式嫁到韓國的越南新娘珍珠曲折的愛情故事，給人們展現了夫妻，家人間互相諒解的情感，是一部帶給人們笑中帶淚的感動故事。

用1500萬韓圓把自己賣掉的單純的契約新娘珍珠，為了尋找遺棄自己的父親而開始了幸福的追尋。她與丈夫俊宇的打打鬧鬧，兩人相互衝撞，相互瞭解，一步一步地尋找到了隱藏的幸福。

其實，這真的是一齣很家庭的戲劇。在劇中的兩個家庭，就像是對照組一樣。一個是沒錢卻有愛和和諧的家庭，一個卻是很有錢但是不幸福的家庭。

但是，其實最吸引我的是珍珠和俊宇之間的發展。
珍珠把俊宇從一個一點都不喜歡她的男人，一點一點的改變到 "珍珠的存在就是我呼吸的理由" 的深愛她的男人。

雖然這是戲劇，但是，我也一直在深思這個問題。
看了2遍之後，我終於找到了答案。而且是我深深要檢討自己的一件事。

答案就是-------
在珍珠的眼中，俊宇是最好的。

她常說" 俊宇是她看過最帥的男人，她沒看過比俊宇更聰明的人。"
她也對俊宇有著完全的信心，毫不懷疑。
她相信俊宇可以從恐慌症中走出來，她相信俊宇可以成為室長，
相信俊宇可以做到任何他想做的事。
她也常常對俊宇說鼓勵的話，從不說負面的話。

我想想自己，是不是可以像珍珠一樣的對我的小藍先生呢？
如果我可以像珍珠一樣這樣做，是不是更可以激勵和幫助他呢？

嗯，我想....我應該要學習像珍珠一樣。
對老公有信心，常說鼓勵的話，相信他是這世界上最優秀的人。
我想，我們都應該這麼做，不是嗎？

最後跟大家分享我在劇中最喜歡的一段話，是《黃金新娘》中完結篇裡的一段話：

從此以後兩個人不會再淋雨,
因為彼此成為彼此的屋簷，

從此以後兩個人不會再寒冷，
因為彼此成為彼此的溫暖，

從此以後兩個人不會再孤單，
因為彼此成為彼此的伴，

雖然兩個人有兩個身體，
兩個人的人生只會是一個。

現在到你們的家中，
開始展開兩人一起生活的日子，
願你們的生活從此幸福長久。

P.S. 下面是原文

Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter to the other.

Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness,
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two bodies,
But there is one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place,
To enter into the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

~ Apache Wedding Prayer Blessing

樹欲靜而風不止，子欲養而親不待！

2009-03-17T22:15:00.004-06:00

這篇文章....花了我很久的時間....

不知道要如何下筆....每寫幾個字便眼淚盈眶....無法再寫下去...

尤其讀到我堂弟的文章(因為離別...所以相聚....)時，我每讀一次哭一次。

1/15下午，我接到我媽的來電。

我心中有種不祥的感覺，因為那是台灣清晨5點多，

果然.....爸爸過世了！

接完電話，我倒在床上哭了半個多小時！

雖然心中已經知道這事將會發生，但是，還是措手不及。

怎麼會這麼快？我才回到美國1個多月！

父親的過世，我沒有陪他走完最後一程，還有我無法回家參加喪禮的事實，真的讓我無法承受。

所幸，幾天後，姑姑幫我們出了機票錢，讓我們能回到台灣陪爸爸走最後一程。

謝謝姑姑。

回到台灣的第二天就是喪禮。

一大早要到殯儀館去，所有的家人都聚集在這裡，向父親告別。

再見到他一面時，盈眶的淚水終於止不住的滴了下來....

真的....他受了很多的痛苦....最後......他終於從痛苦中解脫了.....

好久不見的親人，都在此時到場了，

雖然不是我們想要見面的場合，但是還是感謝大家都能相聚在一起。

姑姑，姑丈，二伯，小叔，擇倫，擇恩，泓凱，信興，真的謝謝你們能來。

尤其是堂弟和表弟們，我都快十年沒見到他們了。

爸爸在世時，老是要我多和堂弟和表弟們聯絡，希望我能成為聯繫網的中心，繼續聯絡感情。

因此，趁著這個機會，我也就要了他們每個人的EMAIL和電話，希望能和他們繼續保持聯絡。

入殮後，將父親送入火葬場，此時，大家的淚水也紛紛落下,,,,,..

之後，大家都平靜許多，開始聊聊大家的近況，也能夠說說笑笑，因為相聚總是可以帶來歡樂。

再來就是到教堂舉行追思會。

我負責家人演講的部分，談談我心目中的父親....

其實，我很不想做這個演講......因為，我知道我一定會哽咽到說不下去的......

但是....也只有我能做了....

我的父親是一個外表嚴肅，內心善良的人，

他是個重感情，但卻不知如何表達的人，

他是個很愛家也對家人很有責任感的人。

今天....他終於可以放下他的責任了.......

雖然...難過父親的離別....但是....因為教會的教導....我知道.....我們會有再相聚的一天......

希望父親在靈的世界都能放開心，接受福音，那麼我們就會友相聚的一天的。

爸爸，我愛你。

Getting shots

2009-01-13T21:57:00.004-07:00

The first time when Ian got a shot, his reaction was very interesting.

Pat had to work that day so that he couldn't go with us. I had to take Ian to go to Doctor by myself.

Every time when we were at Dr's office, we heard kids' screaming and crying hard. I was really worried about Ian's reaction. Especially he got to have 4 shots at a time.

As a result, Ian didn't start crying until the nurse already finished and put a bandage on him. His voice was very small. I always say his crying is like a little kitten's voice. So after I tried to pad him, he stopped in no time.

I wondered: if his reaction is kind of slow? But I'm not complaining. This is better than having a screaming kid.

After came home from Taiwan, it's time to go to doctor's office again.

Other than checking on Ian's growth, he is also getting some shots again. This time, Ian started to cry when he got the first shot. It's louder now but still undercontrol.

Ian is now 34.5 inches long and 25 pounds and 6 ounces.

He grew 2.5 inches and 3 pounds in this 3 months in Taiwan.

小偷！

2008-12-29T14:16:00.003-07:00

看看奕凱心滿意足的笑容！讓我們來說說這笑容背後的故事吧！

那是個星期天早晨。我和媽媽，奕凱正準備去教會，媽媽決定帶一些我從美國帶回來的糖果去教會給兒童會的小朋友們，她拿了一把放在她的袋子裡(就是奕凱旁邊的紅袋子)。奕凱很喜歡坐車，在車子裡總是講話講個不停(不知道像誰喔?) ，我和媽媽一路聊天，一邊駛向教會去。

突然，我發現怎麼凱凱今天這麼安靜，坐上車沒多久後就沒他的聲音了。轉頭一看----哈哈哈！他嘴裡多了個東西----一根棒棒糖！

原來凱凱趁我們都不注意他的時候，翻了阿媽的包包，悄悄的拿了一根棒棒糖出來，含在嘴裡。看看他心滿意足的微笑，殊不知糖果紙根本沒拿下來，這樣也含的有這麼回事的。看看他的笑臉，是不是很奸詐阿，像極了得逞後的笑容，像是在告訴我：

" 媽咪！看看我有棒棒糖喔！"

又跟Oscar表哥見面囉！

2008-12-29T13:56:00.003-07:00

中秋節前夕，所有的家人都回來，準備晚上要一起在外婆家烤肉。

表妹詩韻也帶著寶貝兒子Oscar回來婆家，因此，約好要一起帶著Oscar和凱凱去耐斯松屋的兒童遊戲區玩，順便讓他們聯絡聯絡感情。

當天人很多，不過，他們還是玩得很高興。害羞的Oscar表哥還是一樣害羞，當凱凱要跟他玩時，他總是躲在媽媽身後。後來，我試著去把他引過來，我說：

" 羲羲，姨姨幫你拍照好不好？ "
想不到羲羲毫不遲疑的說： " 好阿！"

原來他喜歡拍照喔！終於讓他跟我們熟悉一點了，所以才能拍到下面他們一起玩的照片。

凱凱和羲羲(Oscar)

凱凱在阿媽家的院子看著大家烤肉

溜滑梯好好玩！

2008-12-29T13:37:00.003-07:00

媽媽家的社區樓下有一個兒童遊戲區，裡面有一座溜滑梯和一隻可以騎的小海豹。

有天，我們覺得在家裡很悶，所以帶著凱凱到樓下去玩玩。

凱凱先騎騎小海豹，他有點害怕，因為小海豹會搖來搖去，因為他太小了，所以要我幫他搖，他的手又抓不太到，所以一下子他就厭煩了。反而是他一看到溜滑梯，就超級興奮，迫不急待的爬上去。

是的，爬上去。凱凱還不會溜下來，所以他決定要爬上去。可憐的媽咪，一直在後面扶著他的小屁屁，幫他爬上去。直到我們倆都汗流滿面，我們才帶著滿意的微笑離去，準備回家洗洗澡，午睡去囉！

"媽咪！那是甚麼阿？ "

"媽咪！好可怕喔！"

" 這個好好玩！"

和阿媽去兜風

2008-12-29T13:24:00.003-07:00

奕凱和阿媽，媽咪一起去兜風。

媽媽帶著我們去半天岩逛逛，那是我們去年回來時也帶著小藍先生去過的地方，所以我們也帶著奕凱去逛逛，順便去買買水果。凱凱喜歡坐著車車去兜風，一旦坐上車，他就開心的用他高分貝的聲音哼哼哈哈起來，告訴我們他有多開心要出門去囉！這麼愛出門，等我們回美國怎麼辦呢？美國可沒有地方讓我們天天去逛街阿！

凱凱第一次看見柿子

我咬！我咬！好大的柿子喔！

我們最愛的公園

2008-12-24T16:00:00.003-07:00

從小和表弟妹們每年必去的地方是-----嘉義公園。

每年寒暑假，我們最期待的事便是回去外婆家玩。暑假，所有的表弟妹們和我們都會回去約一個月的，寒假呢，則是2星期左右。不管我們年紀有多大，外公總是會帶著我們一起去公園玩。而我們也喜歡和家人在一起的每一刻。

這次，帶著奕凱回去，當然要帶著他到這個充滿回憶的地方。所以，帶著他，我們到了公園。但是，這麼多年沒去這個地方，跟我記憶中的地方完全不一樣，我差點認不出來了。記憶中綠意盎然，人氣旺盛的地方，如今綠意依舊，卻變得十分蕭條，不知道是不是因為年紀的關係，感覺這個公園已經不是我們喜歡的那個公園了。雖然如此，我還是帶著奕凱在公園裡走走，拍拍照，順便瀏覽這個記憶中的地方。

膽小鬼奕凱

2008-12-19T15:13:00.003-07:00

我知道奕凱容易被嚇到，但是我沒想到他被嚇到的程度實在是太誇張了，根本是個膽小鬼嘛！

話說我和高一同學們去聚餐(感謝培德來接送我們)，大多數的人都是單身前來，只有大目把她們家的小公主也帶來了。但是我們兩個剛好分坐在桌子的兩端。在餐廳裡，剛開始一切平安無事，因為大家都在吃飯，後來，開始聊天了，大目帶著她們家的小公主過來我們這邊，要跟凱凱玩囉！兩個人摸摸手手，臉臉，互相交換玩具玩，好可愛喔！後來，小公主開始興奮起來，就----開始說話了，就哎了幾聲，結果-------奕凱竟然開始哭。

真是夠了，他竟然被小公主的叫聲嚇到！真是太誇張了！結果每次小公主過來一玩一叫，凱凱就開始哭！唉唉唉！真是個膽小鬼阿！

小公主，對不起喔！凱凱不是不喜歡你啦！他只是太久沒聽到小女生的叫聲而已。原諒他囉！

天賜和芭樂

培德和他的親親女友

大目和她的親親老公和小公主

打預防針

2008-12-19T14:46:00.003-07:00

凱凱第一次打預防針是在他2個月的時候，他的反應很有趣。
那次，小藍先生因為要上班而無法陪我們去，所以媽咪就自己帶凱凱去醫生伯伯那裡囉。
每次去時，都聽到別家小孩的淒凌的哭聲時，我就很害怕奕凱的反應會是如何，尤其一次要打4支針呢！

結果------
護士小姐打完4支針後，在幫他貼ok蹦時，奕凱才開始哭，但是就是他的小貓哭聲，小小聲的，而且我哄2下就停了。還好！還好！
我想，他的反應是不是慢了點阿！都打完了才哭。不過，我不是抱怨喔！這種比那總哭得聲嘶力竭的要好的多了！謝謝凱凱。

從台灣回到美國後，又要去醫生伯伯那裏報到啦！
除了要看看他的身高體重外，還是要打預防針啦！不過，這次反應就比較快了，戳完第一針就開始哭了，哭得有點大聲，不過還好也哄哄就沒事了。

奕凱現在的身高是：34.5 英吋，相當於87.5公分
體重是：25磅6盎司，相當於11.4公斤。

所以這3個月來總共長高了7公分，增重1.5公斤啦！

抓週

2008-11-23T19:36:00.005-07:00

奕凱滿週歲囉！時間過的好快喔！我真不敢相信凱凱已經一歲了。

奕凱和媽咪很高興能在台灣和我們親愛的家人渡過這個重要的節日，雖然對爸比有點抱歉。

我們幫奕凱訂了一個Doraemon的蛋糕，因為那是小藍先生最愛的日本卡通人物。我們和先家人一起吃晚餐，之後便舉行抓週。我們參考多方的意見，便決定了放置以下的物品給凱凱抓週：

球(運動員)，錢(有錢人)，化妝品(化妝師)，鍋鏟(廚師)，剪刀(時裝設計師)，印章(官員)，針線(裁縫)，計算機(生意人)，尺(建築師)，滑鼠(資訊設計)，筆(作家或記者)，樂器(音樂家)，書(學者，會讀書)，手機(通訊)，鞋(愛旅行的人)。

我讓奕凱抓了5樣，依序如下：
滑鼠，計算機，剪刀，印章，手機。

哈哈，我早該知道奕凱是他爸爸的兒子，果然就像小藍先生一樣，凱凱第一樣拿的就是滑鼠！
跟第二樣他抓的東西加起來解讀的話，奕凱將來會開一家資訊公司啦！哈哈哈！我們到時再看看是不是如此吧！

和家人一起吃飯，有阿姨，舅舅，和表弟表妹們

奕凱的Doraemon蛋糕(只是不是藍色的，有點怪)

奕凱和阿公阿媽，媽咪和舅舅

看看奕凱的表情！他在吹蠟燭喔！

凱凱抓週的物品

凱凱和媽咪切蛋糕

凱凱吃第一口蛋糕

凱凱和舅舅

凱凱開心的抓著他的滑鼠

Ian's first birthday

2008-11-18T20:55:00.001-07:00

Ian is one-year-old. I can't believe that!

Ian spent his first birthday with all my families in Taiwan. We had a wonderful time together. We bought a Doraemon(a Japanese animation character) cake for Ian which is Pat's favorite character. We had dinner at our house and then hold the important traditional ceremony--Zhua Zhou.

Zhua Zhou is a very traditional ceremony we hold when your baby is one year old. It is a custom of telling a child's future by placing various emblems before him and letting him choose one on his one year birthday. These are the things I placed before Ian:

1. ball(represents an athlete)
2. money (means will be rich)
3. cosmetics (represents a stylist)
4. spatula (represents a cook)
5. scissor (represents a fashion designer)
6. seal (represents a politician)
7. needle and thread (represents a taylor)
8. calculator (represents a businessman)
9. architectual ruler (represents an architect)
10. mouse (represents an IT person)
11. pen (represents a journalist or writer)
12. musical instrument (represents a musician)
13. book (represents a scholar)
14. cellphone (represents communication technician)
15. shoes (represents a traveller)

Other than tradition, I let Ian choose 5 of them. They are:
1st--- MOUSE
2nd--calculator
3rd--scissor
4th--seal
5th-cellphone

I should know what will be his first choice. MOUSE! Of course. Just like his daddy!!

I guess Ian is going to be a businessman in IT field.HAHA. Let's see if his future job will relate to these 5 emblems he choose. There are some of the pictures.

The first family pictures!

2008-11-12T09:07:00.013-07:00

We finally had our first family pictures 8 months after Ian was born.

The reason for not having our family picture is we can't find anyone who is a good photographer to do that for us. It takes a lot of time and effort to take a nice and satisfying picture.

When I was getting ready to go back to Taiwan, I really want to bring our family picture for my parents. Once I was chatting with Jerry--my co-worker, he told me he can do that for me for free and he is a good photographer. And he is. These are some of our favorites.

Ian's new toys

2008-11-12T07:58:00.004-07:00

Ian got a new toys the first day when he got back to Taiwan. One is a a little car that his cousin-Oscar-let him borrow. The other is a walker that Ian's grandma borrowed from other friend.

Talking about the little car from Oscar, he didn't even know Ian borrowed fromow him. We have to take it to the our car secrely without him knowing.

When mom came to pick us up from the airport, we were exhausted and tired. And it's also Ian's feeding time. So we decided to go to my aunt's house. We were excited to see Ian's cousin--Oscar.

Oscar is very shy. He can't even talk to Ian. Poor Ian so wanted to play with his cousin!

Oscar has lots of toys. 90% are cars. While we were talking, Ian saw a toy car on the side. He tried to crawl over there and started to play with it. So my aunt said:

" Bring that car home for Ian. Oscar is not playing with that any more.But don't take the car in front of him. He won't allow anybody to touch his car. So get it to you car now."

When Oscar came, my cousin told me something. She told Oscar:

"Hey, your american cousin is here to play with you."

Oscar said in a worried way:

" mom, will he touch my cars?"

Oh..... my gosh. Cars are really his most important thing. So we got his toy car home. YA!

As for the walker, we got that for Ian so we don't have to hold him all the times when we were home. When we first got hoome, Ian had terrible jetleg. So he cried a lot, and wanted me to hold him the whole day. you know, Ian is a big boy. So i can't hold him for too long. And I also didn't want him to have this bad habbit---like people to hold him all the times. And the walker is my life saver.

At the beginning, Ian didn't know how to use the walker. But now, he is very good at it. He will spin and turn and walk at the same time. He can also "drive" it very fast. he is so fast that runs over our feet every day!

凱凱剛回到台灣，就有了2個新玩具。一個是表哥Oscar借給他的車車，一個是阿媽借來給凱凱的學步車。話說表哥借給他的車車，還是趁Oscar表哥沒看見時偷偷放到車子裏的呢！表哥一點都不知情。

回國的第一天，媽媽到機場來接我們，因為凱凱要喝ㄋㄟㄋㄟ的時間到了，所以我們索性就到新竹大姨家休息一下，也讓大姨和表妹及奕凱的表哥Oscar看看他。

想不到，表哥非常的害羞，連臉都沒抬起來看看凱凱，害得凱凱超想跟表哥玩的，卻沒有機會。

凱凱的Oscar表哥沒來到之前，大姨在跟我們講到他有多愛車車，家裏一大堆他的車車，那時，眼尖的凱凱看到旁邊有一輛Oscar表哥的大車車，便迫不及待的想爬上去玩(那時只有久個多月)，於是大姨丈便說要我們把那輛大車車帶回去給凱凱玩，反正Oscar表哥已經不玩了，可是，不能在表哥面前把他的車車拿走，不然他會抓狂的。

後來表妹小韻告訴我，她跟Oscar說：" 你的外國表弟來囉！要來跟你玩喔！"

Oscar的回答超妙的！他說：

" 媽！那表弟會拿我的車車嗎？"一臉擔憂的呢！真是笑壞一堆人囉！

所以我們只好偷偷的在Oscar表哥來到之前，趕快把車車放到阿媽的車裏。就這樣不知不覺的把Oscar表哥的車車帶走啦！YA!

還有他的學步車也是借來的。因為家裏空間小，剛回來時，奕凱因為時差的問題，很愛哭，也愛黏我。但是他很重，所以我沒辦法一直抱著他，再說，我們本來就不常抱凱凱，所以不希望他養成習慣，因此，讓他在學步車上自己玩。

剛剛開始用學步車時，凱凱不太會，所以，速度不快，也常常被卡住，但是過了幾星期後，他完全掌握到訣竅了。哇！現在速度飛快，轉過來旋過去的，咻一下的就到了你眼前，我們就打趣的說那台學步車是他的賓士，開來開去的，我們還要小心被輾過腳呢！

分享我如何紀錄奕凱一天作息的紀錄表喔！推薦給媽媽們！

2008-11-09T21:21:00.003-07:00

回台灣前，奕凱其實已經被我訓練的很有"規矩"，他固定4小時吃一次食物泥或是ㄋㄟㄋㄟ，不吃零食，進食都坐在他的座位上吃，睡覺時也不需人哄，時間到了，把他放進他房間的小床，跟他說：
" 凱凱，睡覺時間到了喔！好好睡喔！掰掰 " 他就會自己睡了，也不需要人哄。

但是，回台後，所有的規矩皆被阿媽拋到腦後。

首先，不坐車座椅。剛回台的前2天，因為不方便的關係，有時去比較近的地方，我就抱著奕凱坐在前座，沒有將他放在車座椅上，結果，才2-3次，後來每次要讓他坐車座椅時，奕凱就狂哭，還狂掙扎不要坐，調了好幾天才又讓他願意去坐車座椅呢！這是一壞。

二壞是--因為媽媽家沒有高腳椅，所以奕凱吃飯時就坐在他的學步車上，也因此讓他跑來跑去的，沒有固定在一個地方吃飯。

三壞---吃零食。剛回台灣時，媽媽說奕凱怎麼這麼瘦，說我不會養啦！所以媽媽就狂喂奕凱，布丁啦，豆花啦，蛋糕啦，餅乾啦，豆漿啦，米漿啦，樣樣來，也因此，奕凱在5天內胖了1公斤多！嚇死人了喲！

四壞---進食時間不固定。反正媽媽就是想喂奕凱的時候就喂，所以有時候1,2個小時吃一次，有時3-4個小時吃一次，時間都亂了。

說到這個，我強烈建議媽媽們要作紀錄。將baby一天的作息紀錄下來。我從奕凱一出生到我回台灣的前一天都有紀錄。跟大家分享我的紀錄表。

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat.	Sun
日期
起床時間
進食時間牛奶容量食物種類
午睡時間 (開始和結束的時間)
便便次數
新的食物和反應
食物泥的次數和種類
上床時間睡著時間
備註

1. 起床時間：
要知道起床時間才知道他晚上睡覺睡了多久，還有他多久要睡午覺。奕凱非常規律，不是起床時間規律，而是他起床到午睡之間的時間很規律。他在7個月前都是起來2-2.5小時就要去午睡了。早上起床的時間到是不固定，但是沒關係，就讓他睡飽後在來進行一天的活動。

2. 進食時間,牛奶容量,食物種類：
這樣可以知道寶寶的進食時間，還有喝多少，你才不會想喂就喂，或是baby哭鬧就喂，這樣會累死媽媽。你也會知道baby進食的次數和量是否正常，知道他今天吃了哪些食物，才不會重複的吃同一樣食物泥而沒有變化。

3. 午睡時間：
要紀錄開始和結束的時間，可以知道baby的午睡次數和長短是否正常，也就知道在他午睡的時候，你可以做做哪些家事或是你想做的事，而不受到干擾。或是進行到一半，就被baby的哭聲cut掉，無法完成家事。

4. 便便次數：
一天有幾次便便，是正常的還是拉肚子，可以幫助你了解應該要給他什麼食物，還有對新的食物的反應，喜歡，討厭，或是過敏。

5. 新的食物和反應：
在開始吃食物泥之後，每樣新的食材，要讓baby連續吃3-5天，才能看到baby對這食材是否會過敏。還有是喜歡或是討厭。還有吃了什麼食材會拉肚子，什麼食材會便秘都要紀錄，所以當baby有這些反應時，你才知道要用相反的食材給他吃就能解決問題了。

6. 食物泥的次數和種類：
開始吃食物泥之後，我從一開始的天一餐到一天兩餐，奕凱吃的食物泥內容，我都會紀錄下來。因為大部分的時候都是一餐的食物泥中有2-3種不同種類的食材和在一起，所以要避免重複，免的他吃膩。

7. 上床時間和睡著時間：
我盡量讓奕凱在固定的時間上床睡覺，可是不是每天都可以做到了，有時一星期好幾天都在外面，晚回家，所以要紀錄，上床時間和睡著時間，看看他花了多久才睡著，還有到隔天早上睡了多久。因為後來看看紀錄表後發現，奕凱要是越晚睡，就越早起床，然後隔天的情緒就會不太好。所以這很重要。

8. 備註：
我會在備註欄寫很多東西。像是他午睡的情形，要午睡時是否哭鬧，睡醒時是否開心，因為奕凱如果睡醒時沒有哭哭，就代表他睡的很好很飽，那我接下來的2小時也就會很容易了，反之，日子就難過了。還有上床睡覺時也一樣，偶爾他上床前會狂哭著不要上床，要哄個半個小時到一個小時才睡，有時半夜驚醒狂哭。也紀錄他當天的情緒，還有紀錄睡前儀式的情況。因為有時太累沒做，或是只做半套，他的反應如何？生病了，有什麼症狀，連續幾天。發燒了，紀錄每次量的體溫，還有吃藥的時間。便秘或是拉肚子的情形，持續幾天，吃了藥或是食物之後有沒有改善。喜歡和討厭的食物...等等，反正就紀錄一些對你來說可以了解寶寶的事情，幫助你更清楚的了解你的寶貝的成長狀況。

我是一個喜歡什麼事都很規律的人，但是想小孩又不是在當兵一樣都要一板一眼的照時間表來，這個紀錄表是來幫助我當奕凱有異常現象出現時，我會去翻翻看，看看是不是有同樣的情況發生過，還有我用什麼方式解決的。也讓我了解他的生長情形。我推薦媽媽們也可以這麼做喲，真的很有幫助！

至於奕凱的壞規矩，只好等到回美後，再行調整囉！

雨刷---怕怕喲！

2008-11-08T13:53:00.003-07:00

奕凱是個很膽小的人，他很容易被嚇到。

我們常常被嚇到他的東西覺得啼笑皆非，因為不知道為何他會被嚇到。最近一件嚇到他的是----車車的雨刷！

有一次我們全家和大姨家，四姨出去吃飯，坐進表妹的車，我抱著凱凱做前座，車子啟動後，奕凱卻開始不安的扭動，最後竟然哭了起來，並且一直想向後爬去。我幾度哄他不停之後，開始找尋讓他可能失常的原因，最後看到他偷看了下移動中的雨刷之後，又想逃跑的樣子才確定----移動的雨刷就是罪魁禍首！他真的很害怕很驚恐喔，在他眼中，不知道那是什麼樣可怕的大怪物呢！不過，這件是卻讓我們啼笑皆非，總算看到奕凱膽小的一面。

My part time job 短期工作-教兒童美語

2008-10-07T10:36:00.003-06:00

I decided to find a part time job here because I am going to stay for a while. Actually, I don't know how long am I going to stay. It all depends on my father's condition.

I didn't want to make a lot of money, just want to make some money so that I don't have to ask mom for money while Ian and I stay there. So I modified my old resume and posted on line. Then I got a phone call from a english institute for a position as a children's english teacher. I went for the interview and got the job right away. They pay me pretty well and the hour is great. I only work 4 nights a week and 2 hours each night. It was great! I can have time to be with my family and Ian and also have time to make some money.

Before this trip, I was very concerned. I don't know if this is a right decision. I know both Pat and mom will suffer for the financial cause because of me. But I really want to bring Ian home to see my dad. I prayed and prayed and found no way for it. I don't know how can things work out. But I still felt this is the right thing to do at this time.

But one week after I got back, Pat got some extra income and I found the job later on. These helped me to know I made the right decision to come home. I know when I have faith, everything will work out.

因為這次要回來一段不短的時間，所以決定去找個短期工作，不是要去賺很多錢，只是要減少媽媽的負擔，至少賺賺我和奕凱的生活費和零用錢，所以不用一直向媽媽伸手要錢。

於是，我上了104，把我的檔案叫出來，再修改一下，便把我的履歷打開供各家公司可瀏覽，沒想到，隔2天就接到一個幼稚園的電話，要找美語老師，請我去面談。

當然，這份工作談成功了，pay也不錯，時間也不多，只有一到四的晚上，每晚2小時。所以我有足夠的時間陪著奕凱和家人，也有時間去賺賺錢。

其實，我一直很不確定我這一次回來是不是正確的決定，因為，不管是台灣這邊的家人或是美國那邊的家人，都給他們很大的經濟負擔。

我很想回來，也知道要回來，可是就是不知道事情要怎麼work out，真的很擔心。但是，在回來前的1星期後，小藍先生也多了一些收入，而我後來也找到工作了，所以經濟方面的問題就解決了。我知道我的選擇是正確的，我知道當我去做對的事情時，天父會準備一條道路，給我祝福。

Ian's my dad's favorite person in the whole world奕凱是阿公的最愛

2008-10-01T21:58:00.004-06:00

My dad is a very serious person.

Since I'm young, all my friends were scare of my dad because he looked mean. Dad didn't smile or laugh much.

Don't mention after he found out he got cancer. The day we came home, Daddy had a smile that hasn't shown on his face for years. Everyday he smiles when he sees Ian, when he plays with Ian. Ian brings such joy into his life now.

I'm glad that I brought Ian home. So my parents have a chance to be with their favorite grandson-the other grandson.

我老爸一直是個嚴肅的人，因為他的臉很兇，所以，我小的時候其實很怕他！後來才漸漸了解，他是個面惡心善的人。更正確的來說，他是隻紙老虎，老是咆哮的很大聲，可是心卻軟的可以，也從來不會打人。

自從爸爸生病後，他臉上的笑容就更少了。自從我和奕凱回來後，爸爸才又重現他久違的笑容，尤其是看到奕凱時還有看著奕凱玩，和奕凱說話時更是笑容不斷，所以現在奕凱是阿公的最愛囉！希望奕凱也能幫助阿公心情瑜悅，病情也能有所改善。

Still here

2008-09-29T20:21:00.004-06:00

Well, I'm still here and still missing Bubu and 宜晃. But for the most part I am keeping busy while they are gone. I get to talk to Ian almost everyday and get to hear him say "baba" over and over ^_^. I'ts amazing how much he has grown since he has left. I wont be supprised if he is walling when he gets back, he looooves his walker. I wonder if he will remember me when he hets home, j/k!! Wonder if he will be talking??? I will try to post more often, things have been crazier then normal. Love you bubu!!!!

Ian's Jetleg Problem!!可憐的凱凱找不到床睡---時差真累人

2008-09-28T21:06:00.005-06:00

Before the trip, there are 2 things that I worried the most. First is how's Ian going to act on the flight during the 13 hours flight. Second is jet leg problem. How is he going to adjust the time difference.

Ian did pretty well on the plane. But he had a had time adjusting the time difference. Ian is used to sleep in his crib at home. But there is no crib in my mom's house.So Ian slept with me at my bed. He did not like that at all ! Ian had a hard time to go to bed because he can't find his "bed". So the fist night, he went to bed at 7:30pm, got up at 3:30 AM and cried. Second and third night, he went to bed at 8:30 and got up at 4:30am. He tossed and turned every night and whinged a lot. This is terrible.This is not him.

Finally, I asked my mom if she is able to borrow a crib. I think Ian will sleep better in a crib. Just as I expected, since we got the crib, Ian slept as well as before. But it was a long week before everything become normal. After 2 weeks, Ian goes to bed at 9:00 and gets up at 6:30-7:00 now. So he is back to his routine now. Finally.

其實，在準備回台時，我最擔心的問題除了長途飛行之外，另外就是時差和睡覺問題了。之前在調夏令時間時，才1個小時的時差，他就要一星期才適應，這次可是有著14個小時的時差呢！真擔心奕凱的反應啊！

之前，忘了跟媽媽說請他幫奕凱借一張嬰兒床，因為奕凱睡嬰兒床習慣了，他喜歡在他的床上摩摩蹭蹭的，咬咬小被被，翻來翻去的才會睡著。在家時，他從來沒有在他的小床外睡著過(婆婆家除外，因為婆婆押著他一起睡)，所以我也不知道他到底能不能不用嬰兒床睡覺。

果然，我擔心的事當天就發生了！

當晚要睡覺時，我押著奕凱在地上媽媽舖好的墊上睡，結果他哭鬧不休，後來還是我抱著唱歌哄了半個多小時才睡，而我也不支倒地了！後來奕凱還陸陸續續的半夜哭醒2-3次，最後，竟然在凌晨3:30起床！接下來2-3天也是同樣的情形，只不過起床的時間從3:30變成4:30AM。我跟媽媽都累死了，而且奕凱變的很愛哭，很黏人。

我看情形不對，問媽媽可不可以藉一輛嬰兒床來，因為奕凱會"認床"，不是認他的床，而是要有"床"可以睡。自從媽媽借回那輛嬰兒床之後，一切都天下太平了！奕凱不再愛哭哭，也不再那麼黏我，雖然時差還沒完全調過來，依然是很早起床，但是每天有晚一點點，而且晚上也不再哭醒了，太好了！All is well一切好！

Terrible trip but wonderful people 飛到地球的另一端

2008-09-27T16:05:00.007-06:00

On the way to Taiwan from L.A., we had 6hrs lay over there. From 7:30pm to 1:40am, we have to wonder inside of L.A. airport with all our suitcases. Because we are not able to check in until 2 hrs before your flight leaves. So I carried Ian and my huge carry-on bag and 2 suitcases and walked 30 minutes to go to the international terminal. It's a long way for us. Then I can't find the airline's counter. Because they haven't open their counter yet!!!

I couldn't do anything that time. So I decided to go to food court to get something to eat. It took me the other 15 minutes to find a table for us. While I was struggling how to carry Ian and my food to the table, an old couple who sit on the same table came over and help me carried all my food back to the table for me.

Then I met 2 girls from Taiwan who are going to take the same flight with me, They are my big helper. They took care of Ian when I went to restroom, took care of my suitcases while we needed, and carried our suitcases everywhere until we checked in. And they are with us the whole time in this trip. I'm very grateful for all their help.

Ian was very good on the trip--almost. He didn't sleep well at all. He only fall asleep for about 4 hours during the whole trip(about 13 hrs). But not 4 hrs in a row. He fell asleep in 4 different times. And 1 hr at the time. And I only slept anout 3 hrs total in this trip.

I was worried about Ian can't sleep well on the plane. And it's really a nightmare. Poor Ian. He was so tired!!! But he can't fall asleep on the plane. I tried to calm him down through the trip. He was pretty good about that. He didn't cry much. He played and ate well. Just didn't want to go to sleep.

We were so exhausted when we finally landed. Hopefully that's all the hastle in the trip.

奕凱的第一次長途旅行竟然是搭飛機回台灣！！

在回台灣前，我上網去查了很多資料，因為我很擔心奕凱會如何度過這24小時的旅行時間。我們的行程是從El Paso搭機到L.A.要2個小時，在L.A.6個小時等轉機，再搭14個小時的飛機回台灣。因為這次小藍先生並沒有陪我們回去，而且這是我第一次帶奕凱回家，奕凱根本沒有長途旅行過，也沒撘過飛機，更不要說要搭十幾個小時的飛機了，所以我很擔心我要怎麼幫奕凱度過這段時間，要帶什麼東西....等等的問題。幸好，拜方便的網路所賜，找到許多人的分享。我也盡我所能的準備要帶的東西。

我要帶回台灣的東西不多，大多都是奕凱的東西，只有一大箱和一小箱，但是裡面一半的東西回來就會用完，所以基本上，只有不到一箱的行李，因為我媽一直叫我不要帶太多東西，可以在台灣買的就回來再買，我只有穿一套帶一套衣服，和身上穿的一雙鞋子而已。雖然不多，但是重點是----我在L.A.有6個小時的候機時間，但是，要再上機前的2個小十才能CHECK IN，所以等於我要帶著奕凱，推著我一大一小的行李箱，在機場等候。Oh, My gosh! 我完全不知道該怎麼辦！

艱苦的旅程在L.A.才真正開始了，首先，我背著奕凱，推著我一大一小的行李箱，走了30分鐘到國際航廈去，接著在裡面走來走去，找了3遍，才知道馬來西亞航空的櫃檯要到起飛前3個小時才開(難怪我都找不到)，所以決定去吃晚餐，到了二樓，等了大概20分鐘才有位置坐下，去點餐時，還好跟我同桌的老先生幫我端餐回來，不然也不知道要怎麼拿呢！

但是，最幸運的是---我們碰到2個台灣女生，她們是我們這一路上最大的幫手！

在L.A.候機時，在我們旁桌的2個女生是台灣來遊學的，因為奕凱要換尿布，所以我請他們幫我看著行李，她們超高興的，因為想跟奕凱玩。就這樣，這2個可愛的女生就幫我們一路到底。她們幫我們推行李，幫我照顧奕凱，跟他玩，一直到上機為止(因為我們坐在不同區)，真的非常感謝她們。

也很感謝馬航的空少空姐，她們也都一路幫我照顧奕凱。我很喜歡馬航的服務態度，非常好。值得一提的是在美國的機場，他們會讓帶小孩的家庭和行動不變的人優先上機，所以我們可以不用跟一大堆人一起排隊，慢慢擠上去，非常有人性。總之，感謝一路上所有人的幫忙，我們才能夠安全抵達。雖然奕凱和媽咪都沒怎麼睡，總共只睡了4小時，還分成4次睡，所以到達台灣時，媽媽說我們怎麼看起來那麼憔悴。不過，一切的辛苦在看到我親愛的家人後也都值得了！

Leaving on a Jetplane

2008-08-24T14:43:00.006-06:00

Because of my father's illness, my mother asked if I would be able to bring Ian home to stay for a while. I counselled with Pat about this. Although it will be hard for him, he agreed that we could go home to Taiwan. I feel very bad to leave hime at home alone, but knowing this is what I need to do at this moment for my parents.

Ian hasn't had the chance to meet my parents yet. And he is their only grandchild. My parents can't wait to see him. Mother even called me couples days ago telling me that she dreamed that we are already home.

One thing worries me a lot is I don't know how is Ian going to act during the trip. He never had a long trip yet. And it will take 2 hrs to go to L.A. and the other 13 hrs to go to Taiwan from L.A.. I tried to prepare everything that he will need in my backpack. Hoping those will comfort him during the trip. But..... We should see.

Sad Note

2008-08-23T20:53:00.004-06:00

The past few weeks has been relatively rough for me considering that Carolien and Ian will be going back home for a few months to help with her parents and to let them meet little stinker here. The most time we have been apart since we have bene married was little over two weeks, this will be upwards of 4 months that she will be gone this time. I know she will be fine over there, same for Ian, i guess Fatherly worries tend to kick in whether you want them to or not. But nothing i can do about that. Not sure if Ian even suspects that he will soon be in a new contry with new people. One thing is for sure, he will be happier to be around people that will be relatively the same size as him ^_^(I'm soo dead for that comment) I'm looking forward to hear how the trip went with him.

奕凱不理爸爸媽媽

2008-08-06T22:43:00.003-06:00

7/28凌晨，因為小藍先生一整晚都翻來覆去的，我終於爬起來問他：
" 你還好嗎？"

" 不好，我下腹痛，痛到睡不著！" 小藍先生回道。
於是我們打電話給我婆婆，看看她知不知道該怎麼辦。
那時，是凌晨3點半。

婆婆三更半夜被我們挖起來，所以，根本沒聽清楚我們在說什麼，整個根本是雞同鴨講，所以沒幫助。我們決定繼續睡覺，明天一大早就去看醫生。

隔天，當我問小藍先生什麼時後要去醫院，他說：
" 現在不痛了，所以沒關係啦！"

但是，在接下來的2小時裏，他又開始覺得疼痛，並且每當要起身時都很痛苦。因此，我下的最後通牒，給他2個選擇，看看是現在馬上去看醫生，或是下午我去上班時去看。他決定馬上就去。剛好我也要去上班了，所以便請婆婆來我們家幫我們照顧奕凱。

下午，在上班時突然接到小藍先生的來電。
" Caroline,你現在趕快回來，我在醫院。"

晴天一個大霹靂！在醫院做什麼？

" 我盲腸炎要開刀，手術排在4:30，妳趕快過來！"

我嚇了一跳，馬上跑去跟經理說我要早退。

我甚至沒時間回家換衣服，匆匆忙忙的就到醫院去了。雖然不是什麼大手術，也是要在醫院過夜的。所以奕凱便讓婆婆照顧了一天一夜。其中，我回了一趟家去換衣服和帶一些需要的東西，但是，其實是為了回去送奕凱上床睡覺。他從來沒有晚上跟我們分開過，所以不知道他會有什麼反應，爲了讓他能好好睡，所以回去一趟。

婆婆跟我說，凱凱好像感受到有是發生。因為傍晚時，他爬到門邊，一邊手捶著門一邊叫媽媽。唉唉，聽了好心疼，可憐的寶貝。

隔天，小藍先生出院回家，第一件事就是去婆婆家接奕凱。結果，不管我們怎麼叫他，他正眼都不看我們一眼。我知道他在生氣，因為他昨天晚上沒有看到我們。真的，他足足有差不多一小時不看我們，也不跟我們笑，也不跟我們玩耶！真傷心！小朋友真是敏感的很，尤其是他週遭的事，不能馬虎的！

2008-07-30T19:51:00.002-06:00

This is one of my Favorite pictures of Ian. He look soo cute here AND, he is wearing my favorite NASCAR number, the 11 car of FedEx. I hope you enjoy this picture as much as I do.

Ian was mad at Papa.

2008-07-30T19:26:00.004-06:00

Monday was a strange day for Papa and Ian. Monday I had to go to the hospital to remove my apendix. Ian i think sensed that something was wrong when Papa didnt come home and especially when mama didnt come home in the night time. He spent the night with grandma and for the most part slept well. Though everything went well with grandma on tuesday, when we got home from the hospital, Ian would not even look at me, and when he did, it was that mean, mad look on his face. Though, thankfully, now he is back to his normal little self. He only went on a one day guilt trip with mama and papa (thankfully ^_^).

基因--真是個神奇的東西

2008-07-27T22:19:00.003-06:00

基因---真的很神奇。不但在奕凱的長相上，也在他的習慣上一一出現我和小藍先生的基因。

從奕凱一出生，我們就常常在比較到底是東方人的基因強，還是西方人的基因強。
在外表上，好像是我的東方人的基因佔了優勢，但是一一細數的話，真的很難說。我覺得奕凱像小藍先生多一點。

在外表上，奕凱雖然看起來像東方人，可是其實祇有顏色像而已。他的額頭，嘴唇，下巴，都比較像小藍先生，只有鼻子像我。至於眼睛，不知道像誰，因為他的眼睛很大，我媽說他的眼睛好像"牛眼" ，到底像誰啊？我們兩個的眼睛都不大啊！

奕凱的手和手指和指甲的形狀像我，可是他有一雙像小藍先生的大腳丫和長長的腳趾，婆婆說奕凱的腳趾好像手指頭，因為他們可以捲屈起來，好像我們在彎曲手指一樣。

說到習慣囉！長相是可以繼承的，可是習慣呢？我想也是的。
奕凱睡覺時喜歡把兩手往上抬，放在頭旁邊，那是我的習慣。我只要是仰躺著睡，我的手就是往上抬，放在頭的兩邊。看看下面的照片。

奕凱3星期大

奕凱3個月大

奕凱額頭皮膚可以往上移動，像小藍先生。奕凱個性溫和，也像小藍先生。但是最重要的一點是-----奕凱喜歡咬被被！奕凱從出生以來就喜歡被被，當他還是1,2個月大時，只要用被被包著他，他就開始昏昏欲睡。再來到大一點時，睡覺時就開始咬被被了，而且沒有他的被被就睡不著！這個怪孩子到底從哪裏遺傳來這個習慣呢！哈哈哈，原來小藍先生也是這樣的。真是有趣且神奇的遺傳基因。

Bedtime Routine 睡前儀式

2008-07-27T21:13:00.003-06:00

奕凱在2個月大時就被我訓練可以睡過夜了，因為我要回去上班的緣故。但是在他3個多月的時候，突然的，每天晚上放他進他的小床去睡時，他嚎啕大哭，怎麼哄都哄不停，常常要抱他起來，搖他個30-45分鐘才終於不支倒地。這種情況持續了1個月左右。

後來，我和一個朋友在聊天，她有個大奕凱1個多月的小女生，她也有同樣的問題，有人給她一個建議，這解決了她的寶寶睡前哭鬧的問題，所以她也跟我分享這個好主意---就是睡前儀式。

睡前儀式是什麼呢？就是每天在寶寶睡覺前，固定做一些事，像是唸故事書，唱唱歌，洗澡啦...等等的事，讓寶寶習慣這些儀式之後就是要睡覺了。我覺得這個建議很好，所以就採用了，我們的睡前儀式是：

1. 唸故事書 (奕凱已經有一個書櫃的書了，不一定要唸多久，看情況，有時候奕凱不累的時候，我們就唸久一點，他累的話就唸幾頁就好。)

2. 唱歌 ( 通常是教會的兒童會歌曲，我會唱個幾首，但是，選一首當成晚安歌，每天晚上用那一首歌做結束。所以當他聽到那首歌時，也知道要睡覺了。)

3. 祈禱

自從我們開始用睡前儀式之後，奕凱就沒有哭鬧的情形了，真的很神奇為何睡前儀式行的通，嘿！反正行的通就行囉！到現在奕凱8個多月的，依然每晚做睡前儀式喔！

Taiwanese Lomein Noodles

2008-07-20T13:57:00.005-06:00

I love the Taiwanese Lomein. My favorite lomein is my grandma's.

Grandma always make lomein for the feast on Chinese New Year's Eve. I love noodles.I can eat noodles for a week.

My mom didn't like to eat noodles. So she doesn't know how to make lomein. And I didn't line to cook when my grandma lived with us. Since grandma passed away, nobody can make the right taste of lomein boodles.

Someday, I suddenly craved for lomein noodles. So I decided to try to make it. I got online to llok for recipe. It's hard to buy the chinese noodles. I use spaghetti instead. Although I didn't make the exactly the same taste as grandma's, it still taste pretty good. Even Pat likes it.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. spaghetti

2. 1 onion

3. 2 Carrot

4. 1/8 head of cabage

5. some bean sprout

6. some pork

7. soy sauce

8. water

Unhappy moments

2008-07-18T19:32:00.003-06:00

Since Caroline has gone back to work, I have been picking Ian up from my moms house after I get work. He's usually only there an hour atthe most, but that hour is usually a pretty calm hour. But when ever i go and pick him up, its like the whole world has ended and he is now his evil twin brother. He seems to sense that he can be bad when i'm around. Im sort of a softy when it comes to him, for the most part. Its frustrating at times, but he will get past this stage soon (I hope hehe). I still love the little stinker, after all he is my little boy ^_^.

超不對盤的爺爺

2008-07-18T11:12:00.003-06:00

凱凱是個很乖的小孩，也不太怕生，幾乎所有人都可以抱他--幾乎--但是爺爺就是那個例外。

凱凱跟老藍先生真的是超不對盤的，不要說抱了，只要老藍先生看著他，不到3秒，他就開始扁嘴，接著就放聲大哭。屢試不爽！
老藍先生很努力的逗奕凱玩，可是他一點也不領情，哭的好像被揍的很慘一樣。

我婆婆開玩笑的說：
" 因為他的臉太凶惡了，即使是平常，也看起來像在生氣一樣。"

哈哈哈，真是形容的太妙了！真的是這樣的，老藍先生原本就是很嚴肅的人，不要說奕凱了，連我們都怕他。
而且，因為老藍先生不太常跟奕凱相處，所以當然會造成凱凱無法親近他。

看看這段影片，老藍先生和奕凱的相處。

Ian and his Uncle John

2008-07-15T22:37:00.003-06:00

When I was pregnant, my mom told me:

" It is said that if the first born was a boy, he will look more like his mother's brother. If the first born was a girl, she will look more like her father's sister."

This is funny because it works on me. I am the first born and look more like my father's sister. So my mom was worried if my baby looks like my brother-John.

" What's wrong with John? He is a handsome young man." I said.

When Ian was born, he looked like me--actually he looked exactly like John. When I saw him for the first time, I saw Jonn in him. As he grows older, he looks more like his daddy now. But there is one face that never change-- his #1 face--still looks like John. Because John has the same face even now. I love to see his # 1 face. It always makes me smile. He looks so cute with that face,too.

我懷孕時，媽媽跟我說：

" 人家說第一個孩子如果是女生，會長的像姑姑，如果是男生，會長的像舅舅！"

那時媽媽還擔心凱凱長的像我弟弟--冠捷，我說：

" 那有什麼不好，冠捷長的濃眉大眼的，很男生阿！"

結果，果然印證媽媽說的是事實！

凱凱越大越多人說他長得像爸爸，但是，他剛出生時，長得完全像我，正確的說，是像我弟弟---冠捷。我第一眼看到奕凱時，就覺得他很像冠捷，但是隨著他越長越大，也就漸漸的變了，雖然現在長得不太像舅舅，但是，奕凱有一種表情，一直沒變，而那也是他最像舅舅的表情----呆呆臉，一臉呆呆的樣子，最像冠捷了，如果我有冠捷的呆呆臉照片的話，我一定會PO上來，現在先看看奕凱的照片吧！上面那張是最經典的呆呆臉照片，每次看都會引我發出會心的一笑！

It's Summer Time! Go swimming!

2008-07-15T22:26:00.004-06:00

Summer is earlier this year. It is really hot at the end of May. My goodness! It still has several months until the summer is over. What are we going to do? We decided to take Ian to go swimming!

This is Ian's first swimming experience. We don't know how is he going to react. But according to his bath experience, we think he is going to like it.

As we thought, Ian loves to swim. Just like the fish in the water. He is so excited to be in the water. SPLASH~SPLASH~SPLASH~

今年夏天很早就來臨了，5月底就好熱了，真不知道我們是怎麼度過每年的夏天，還好這裡是乾熱，所以不會覺得全身黏搭搭的，但是每次被太陽照到，皮膚都好像要燒起來一樣，唉，還有好幾個月要過呢！

所以我們決定帶著奕凱去游泳。這是奕凱第一次去游泳，所以不知道他的反應會是如何，不過，依照他那麼喜歡洗澡的經驗來看，他應該也會喜歡游泳吧！

果然沒錯，他阿，如魚得水呢！興奮的不得了，用力的拍水，玩到整個臉都是水，還不太想離開了呢！跟大家分享照片！

Like father like son有其父必有其子

2008-07-15T22:18:00.003-06:00

Recently, Ian discovered a new toy--his daddy's keyboard.

Whenever Pat hold Ian to sit in front of his computer, his hands can't help but getting on the keyboard and started typing. He didn't like anything else but the keyboard. Look at the picture. He is very serious! It looked like he is very concentrating on that. He really is his daddy's boy! I won't be surprise if he like to play computer just like his daddy does.

最近，奕凱有了新的玩具---爸比的鍵盤。

每當小藍先生抱著奕凱坐在電腦桌前，凱凱的小手就會很興奮的抓住鍵盤，開始打鍵盤，他不喜歡玩其他的的東西喔，只有鍵盤，看起來還挺像一回事的。果然是有其父必有其子，以後應該會跟爸比一樣愛玩電腦吧！

Message from Papa.

2008-07-13T21:31:00.005-06:00

Im not really a "blogger" type person so I'll do my best to post. On Thursday, Ian went down for his morning nap. As always, mom (Caroline) will tell him "Time for your nap. Baba will be home when you get up." to which he will smile and promptly fall alseep. But on this day I had a few unfortunate things happen at work that kept me way longer thne I normaly stay. When Ian woke up from his nap, mom went in and asked, "Did you sleep well?" When she said that, all he said in reply was "Baba??? Bababa?? Looking around and looking very sad when I was no where to be found. I thought i was really funny that all he could say was Baba, at least he knows who is his best friend is ;)

Da Da在哪裡？

2008-07-10T15:19:00.003-06:00

今天，抱奕凱去午睡前，我跟他說：

" 凱凱乖乖去午睡喔！等你午睡起來，爸比就回來了，你再跟爸比玩喔！"

結果-----奕凱午睡起來後，我進去他房間，我問他：

" 你睡的好嗎？凱凱？"

他的回答是
" DaDaDa(那是爸比的意思)???" (他在問他的爸比在哪裏，媽咪不是說等我睡醒爸比就會在家嗎？)

哇！哇！他真的有在聽我說話耶！雖然我一直知道嬰兒廳的懂大人說的話，也一直堅信跟嬰兒用大人的方式說話，但是這是第一次奕凱給我這麼直接的回應呢！告訴我媽咪的教育方法是對的喔！