I think I need to be better at doing this once a week so there is not as much to read each time and so much to catch up with. This has been such a busy few weeks! We have visited several Flower Markets in the last two weeks gathering things for the pond Adam is building. It is turning out very nice and I have loved the markets. One more to go! The Daan Park Market has a Craft Market and Jade Market near by. It was all very interesting with some extremely beautiful things. Just a few more things are needed to finish the pond, some orchids and maybe a fish or two. Girls want baby turtles. We will see!
The one we went into didn't have any toilet paper of course and wasn't this clean! Lacie will need more practice. I did find a helpful tutorial online. I think the girls and I will be reading up! When in Rome do as the Romans! How to use the Asian Squatty Potty (Toilet)
www.ottsworld.com/blogs/pee-pee-island-a-girls-guide-to-the-asian-squatty-potty/
www.ottsworld.com/blogs/pee-pee-island-a-girls-guide-to-the-asian-squatty-potty/
School is busy for the girls. Emmie is settling into the many hours of dance practice and homework. Lacie has a noticeably lighter load in dance and homework, which is to be expected for her age. Both girls luck out for this long weekend. Most high school kids had homework for each day out of school and the weekend homework. Emmie had it better then most because she only has the 5 classes. Things are very different here when it comes to school work! We are still having back to school stuff. Last week was an entire night for Lacie and this week from7-9:30p.m. for Emmie. We did get to meet their teachers and all who work with the girls during their day at school. This place is huge! At first, I thought when we would walk into each of Emmie's classes, what an impression Emmie has made or what a good teacher when they would say... "Oh you must be Emmie's parents." Then I clued in that it wasn't hard to figure out who we were when we were the only Caucasians in the room. Silly me! The girls do have some really good teachers... but we are just easy to spot! :)
We went to the temple 9/5/14. It was my first time to this temple. It is so tiny and cute. I mean tiny! We got there early so we were asked to do initiatories first. I was super nervous to be doing Chinese names. Thanks to the few hours of mandarin I have had I did alright. It was gratefully written in pingying, which I now understand a bit. Adam and I got to be the witness couple, which was nice. We went with Bishop (Andy) Beck and his wife Belinda. They are becoming good friends of ours. It was ward temple night and we filled that little ordinance room. Such a sweet experience! I have missed the temple. Afterwards we went to "Mango Ice", called a 'bing'. Adam was sweet and ordered the mixed fruit one because I don't like Mangos. It was so yummy. It was a shaved ice topped with fruit ice cream, cut fresh fruit, and sweetened condensed milk. Loved it. It was also really nice to be with a bunch of couples. It has been so long since Adam and I have done something like this. Our lives have been so crazy the last year and half.
The girls didn't have to go to school and Adam was off work for the Moon Festival 9/8/14. We met with several families from the ward and played soccer and football. We took the water rockets and our huge Styrofoam airplane. It was super hot but really fun. We had lunch at the Becks and then drove together up to the YangMing Shan mountain (at the former US Ambassador's house) to meet everyone else to swim for the rest of the afternoon. It was a lot of fun. There are some great families here. The girls are making friends, we are making friends. It is making life seem normal again. So nice to have family time again.
Adam left for Japan on Tuesday but the girls still had school off so they invited a bunch of the kids over from the ward to swim and hang out. We have a huge pool and basketball, Ping-Pong, and Dance Room downstairs. The boys had to go down to the school to pass a swimming test for scouts at 5:45 so we all walked down and I ordered pizzas for them and we came back and ate and sent them home at 8p.m.. None of them wanted to leave. It was nice to have kids around again. I have missed that. Many of them said how cool our 'house' was. We told them they are always welcome to come hang out!
Kids and I ate Pizza Adam ate whole baby Shrimp, pig heart,
& tongue on a stick
I think we got the better deal!
What is the Moon Festival Or Lantern Festival? Here is a little bit I found to explain it. I like the idea of family behind it!
“At the mid-autumn night, the moon becomes especially bright.” (月到中秋分外明). Traditionally, the full moon has symbolized the happiness of the family gatherings, so the Moon Festival is also regarded as Tuan Yuan (family reunion,團圓) Festival in Taiwan. In ancient times, due to the less advanced transportation, it was very difficult to return hometown often. Therefore, the Moon Festival was selected as the day for the family members who were far away to return home and enjoy the happy times together with whole family. The festival food, the moon cakes, is also made in the round shape of the full moon to represent the joyful reunion and imply the wonderful wishes of the future.
Today, besides admiring the full moon and eating moon cakes, barbeque has become a very popular family activity on the Moon Festival. With the time passed by, the religious significance of the Festival has become less and less in the modern urban life, but the full moon keeps radiating tender lights on every smiling face in the warmth of family gatherings.
We received many moon cakes, pineapple cakes and even some Pomelos from the guards. They are like a grapefruit inside. We gave our moon cakes to the guards. There was only one kind that was white and flakey that Lacie liked. The rest, Hmmm not so good! Very kind of so many people to buy them for us! Many be in 2 years we will have learned to like them. (yep don't think so!) Lacie took one of the boxes to Mandarin Class to share. Her teach was thrilled. Most of her class is Chinese so they enjoyed them!
Adam has been in Japan most of the week 9/9 to 9/12. Adam has decided he really likes Japan. He says it is organized, clean and very easy to get around. People are nice too for the most part. (They have yummy chocolate! Adam brought us a taste.) Adam is really liking his job and feels good about it. Micron is treating us very well and taking good care of us! Adams's hard work is paying off. We have been greatly blessed just in the few months since he took this job. Things have been very hard at times on all of us, but it is starting to pay off.
I have been struggling with the fact that things are so close. I know that sounds odd but in Middleton I drive everywhere. I used to drive Emmie to do everything she did. If she went to the movies, if she hung out with friends, etc. Here she just walks all over with friends and it makes me very nervous to have my 14year old, beautiful daughter wandering the streets of Taipei. Yes it is very safe here but it still makes this country mama crazy! There have been several times I haven't been able to get a hold of her. Even at the school which is like a small city in and of it's self. So after a morning of Emmie walking to seminary alone (because the girl she usually walks with was sick) and me begging her to let me walk her to the square which is in sight of the school. I got in my car, figured out how to drive myself to a cell phone store, figured out how to pay to park with my "Easy card" and struggled through making them understand I needed a simple phone in my broken understanding of Mandarin and their broken English! Emmie now has a phone. I can at least get a hold of her and she me. There is a life line now. Makes me feel she is little safer. I have made Emmie and Lacie a taxi card, so if they get stuck somewhere and don't know how to get home. They can get in a taxi and show them the address (in Chinese) and they can take them home. They are carrying with them money for the fare and our phone numbers and keys to the house. Some of these things we would never even worry about in Middleton. CITY LIFE!
Cute Emmie after Dance practice getting her first phone. 9/11/14
Wish I looked this good after working out for 2 hours!
Lacie attended her band camp 9/13/14. She has decided to learn to play the flute. Her reasoning is that I played it and can help her and she will not have to pack it back and forth between Idaho and here to practice. The school loans everyone an instrument. We just have to buy the cleaning kits, music stand and a band folder. I must say I was very impressed with Lacie's first concert. In 2 hours and 45 mins. they learned quite a bit and even sounded quite impressive. There is a teacher for every instrument in the band. Amazing! We all still have a goal of learning 4 hymns to play on the piano and both Emmie and Lacie are doing quite well with that. Emmie is going to bring my guitar back at Christmas and start lessons in January hopefully. I am really impressed with this school. I love that the girls are at the same place. Our world revolves around the school, so I am very happy with where we chose to live! It is super convenient. We spent Friday after Adam got home from Japan down at the school having dinner and watching all the kids in the ward play different games. It was really fun to mingle with everyone. The school has a fundraiser every weekend by selling BBQ hamburgers and Costco hot dogs ... they are great!
One of the hardest things about being here is not being with some of our very special friends when they need us. My girlfriend Michelle Nelsen under went reconstruction surgery and reduction as one of the final steps in her breast cancer battle. It tore me up when her daughter texted and asked if I would come. She thought I was still in Idaho. Michelle and I message each other several times a week. It killed me to not be there for her. Adam said he would buy a ticket but with him gone to Japan this week it would have been really hard on girls. Special Thank You to my Sister Brenda who has visited this special friend of mine several times and taken her flowers for me. She is in Huntsman Hospital where Brenda works in Utah. Michelle made living in Singapore fun and is one of my dearest friends. She is family. Girls have said some tender prayers in her behalf over the last year. Be well my friend!
Happy Birthday Wishes..... Happy Birth to Roman on the 11th. Congrats Laken and Jared.
Taiwan Moments..... The scooters here are crazy. Not only do they drive crazy but they put crazy things on them. It is the number one vehicle on the road. They use them to do everything. Here are few pictures I got this week.
Your not seeing things. Yes that is a family of 4 out for a Sunday drive! We've actually seen as many as 5 on 1 scooter, but couldn't get a picture in time. The other one is covered in Propane Tanks! YIKES!! He had 7 strapped to him. Hope he doesn't tip over or get plowed by another vehicle or something!
Can you guess where Emmie is? Taiwan (China) is very good at copying things. This is not Home Depot. It is almost, but not quite. It looks like it, right down to the orange aprons and signs. It is called BnQ. It has the same feel and look as our Home Depot.. but its not!
Missionary Moments... Emmie has been working on her personal progress. Ever since we got here she has been praying for a missionary experience. There is a girl in one of her classes that she has become friends with. She has asked Emmie a lot about the church over the last few weeks so Emmie invited her to Mutual and Church. Her name is Tiffany. She couldn't go to mutual because of soccer practice but did come to church with us on Sunday. Emmie wrote her testimony in a Book of Mormon and gave it to her. She is a very sweet girl. She seemed to enjoy herself and said the lesson in YW about morality and chastity was of great value. I love how she expressed her feelings. Being moral in this world of ours does have great value! She wants to come again with Emmie. Emmie has told her it is an open invitation.
I was buying cereal the other morning and the little lady in front of me didn't have enough to pay for her bread and was going to put it back. I wasn't sure how much she needed but handed the cashier all the extra change I had. It was only $35NT (about $1.00 US dollar). She handed it back to me and waved no, I think she thought I was trying to push ahead of the older lady. I handed it back and touched the old woman on the shoulder and pointed to her and said for her. The cashier finally took it and the old woman's eyes moistened and she touched her heart and said beautiful and smiled. Over and over she did this. I had just walked back from dropping Lacie off at school. I was dripping with sweat and stopped at the little grocery store in the basement of our Condo. She can call this sweaty hot mess beautiful any time.
I was buying cereal the other morning and the little lady in front of me didn't have enough to pay for her bread and was going to put it back. I wasn't sure how much she needed but handed the cashier all the extra change I had. It was only $35NT (about $1.00 US dollar). She handed it back to me and waved no, I think she thought I was trying to push ahead of the older lady. I handed it back and touched the old woman on the shoulder and pointed to her and said for her. The cashier finally took it and the old woman's eyes moistened and she touched her heart and said beautiful and smiled. Over and over she did this. I had just walked back from dropping Lacie off at school. I was dripping with sweat and stopped at the little grocery store in the basement of our Condo. She can call this sweaty hot mess beautiful any time.
Adam had his own very cool missionary experience last week. Here is it is in his own words.......
"I had been invited to a business lunch with one of Micron’s suppliers here in Taiwan. They are a fairly new company for us and we’re still getting to know each other. One of the managers (I only met 1 or 2 times) called me and wanted to go to lunch over near my office so we arranged a time and place to meet. There were two additional people for our lunch- two ladies I had never met before. The lunch place that was chosen was a famous beef noodle place just down the street from my office and within eyesight and a block away from the Taipei Temple. Of course during lunch, they offered Hot Tea. When I declined I took a moment to explain why- but it was only about 30sec discussion and we went on with the rest of our meal and other topics.
When we finished and were leaving the manager that invited me to lunch commented on how beautiful the temple looked- so I asked him if he would like to walk around it. I showed them the temple and the temple grounds and then we walked in to the church building right beside it. There was instantly a feeling of intense love and peace in that building. I think my new friends also felt it (and I’m sure it wasn’t just the Air-conditioning!). The sister missionaries were there and they immediately seized the moment to introduce themselves and startup a conversation with us. They offered to take us around the building and show us the artwork and answer any questions. They also explained the purpose of the church building and the difference between the church and the temple- then they asked if we could start the tour with prayer and asked me if I would offer it. It was a little awkward, but was a good way to invite the spirit and allow Him to help teach us.
We walked the hallway where the missionaries showed the paintings of Ancient prophets and Jesus Christ with his apostles. We talked about how it was established by Jesus Christ himself while he lived here and what it was like. Then we saw the other paintings and we talked about the fall of the ancient church and the restoration thru Joseph Smith. During this whole time my friends were asking incredibly deep questions and trying to understand what the Sisters were really talking about. They ended with teaching them about the Book of Mormon and reading Moroni’s Promise. They were all given a book and they all accepted the challenge to read, ponder, and pray about it. I was asked several times to share my testimony of things and it was good for me to re-affirm my testimony and my convictions.
At one point I worried that I was taking too much time away from my work and from their work, but I had a whispering of the spirit tell me in my heart that “This was the most important work I could do today.” So I just let it all play out. They asked why we have temples and we talked about how families are sealed together for eternity. One of the ladies looked excited about that.
At the end of the tour and as our time was getting short, I shared with them that one of the reasons why I am a bit strange (like not drinking alcohol, tea, coffee… or going out to pubs and clubs at night) was because I know these things are true and because I’ve been asked by a prophet of God who lives today that we should not partake of these things. Because I know this is true it gives me strength to be a bit different or weird. They said they now understand and want to know more about these things. I told them we would send the missionaries to answer any of their questions- especially about anything that they would read in the Book of Mormon.
Later that night I sent my friend a note online to thank him for the lunch and for taking some time to walk around the temple with me. He responded saying how he really felt good about that and was amazed at how the young people would take two years of their own life to go to a foreign country to help people know God. I told him it was because we love God and we know He wants all His children to know Him too.
It was a great missionary opportunity and I’m so blessed to have been able to be a part in this. Of course I don’t know what will ever happen to these people in the future- whether or not they will join the church or if they will accept the gospel, but I know that the seed has been planted. I know they felt the spirit. I know they heard on a deeper level than normal the servants of God testifying of eternal truths."
What I love about Taiwan.... I love the temple. It is such a blessing to be able to have a temple here. When we lived in Singapore you had to travel to Hong Kong or Philippines to go to the temple. Here I go to church every Sunday in the shadow of this holy building. Feeling very blessed!
This is the Taiwan Temple. Our church building is the large building next to it.
I have had a really hard time with Emmie running around with the kids here. (they are a good group of kids) She is growing up too fast. Here everything is so close they just walk all over together and some of them by themselves. NOT CRAZY ABOUT! I know I have to let her grow up but this is so hard. I feel so anxious when I don't know where or what she is going. Thank goodness she is patient with her crazy mom. We are so lucky to have such a good girl. I looked at her on Sunday and got a bit emotional. Her face is so grown up. She is so mature (most of the time). Where did my little baby girl go? Lacie is doing the same darn thing! She went out the door to school today and looked so grown-up. She is getting tall and growing again. We are going to be out of clothing before we come home at Christmas and none of it will be summer clothing there! Already starting to put things in the to small piles of things that don't fit any longer. Lacie will be taller then Emmie. She has already grown out of shoes since we came. Now Emmie and Lacie wear the same size!
That is it from us here in Taiwan. Hope you all have been well. As I say good bye may I leave this one parting thought.
May We Never Forget!
May We Never Forget!
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As in Years past I am ever mindful of this day. The tiny baby I ran to snuggle in bed as the towers came down. The fear I had of what kind of world she would live in. I am grateful to be an American in a country not of my own. As a family we do our best to leave a good impression on those we meet. We are blessed to be citizens of the Land of the Free. This I know! We will live our lives in a way that those we meet only think good things about us and the country we come from.
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