Happy Birthday to the BEST younger sister ever!!! Anabel, it's been such a blessing to have you in my life. I am so thankful and privileged to have you as my one and only younger sister. It was YOU who came into my life when I was an 18-month old baby. It was because of YOU that, at 18 months, I was promoted from the status of "baby of the family" to "older sister". You are such a wonderful companion, sister, and friend. We've talked and laughed so much together. As you enter this 13th year of your life, I pray that you will continue to honor God, seek Him, and bring His joy to those around you. And, of course, I hope that we will celebrate many more birthdays together! Happy Birthday, Anabel!
When my siblings and I were younger, our family would go to OC Fair every summer. We have great memories from the Centennial Farm and the Read & Ride program. The last time I went to OC Fair was before the COVID-19 pandemic. This August 2023, my sisters and I and some friends went to the OC Fair together (the rest of the family wanted to come but weren't able to make it this time). The Lord was SO good to us. We got good parking, the weather was cool, the sky was cloudy, and we had an amazing and memorable time. Selfie at the OC Fair with my sisters! Heroes Hall In the morning, we visited Heroes Hall and the museum at the site. When we entered the museum, we were greeted by a very sweet young lady who introduced us to the exhibit. The first floor of the museum featured Stanley Troutman, a war correspondent during WWII. He is known for being the first to capture photos after the atomic bombs and for many other photos he took during the war. War correspondents like T...
We were blessed to visit Crater Lake on 6/28 Wednesday! This lake is the deepest volcanic lake in the world and the deepest lake in the United States. And, it's so cool and beautiful! (photo taken by Dad) Even in the middle of the summer, with daytime temperatures warm enough to wear T-shirts, there is snow!
My favorite thing that we did this week during Sukkot in Israel was playing in Gan Ha'Atzmaut, Independence Park. We got to play with kids of all ages from families from all over the world. Sometimes some of the younger kids couldn't understand English, so some of us would translate into Hebrew, German, or Chinese, for them. We had a fun and exciting time together. Even though we only played together for one week, it feels as if we knew everyone for an year already! Below, we are playing a game called "Squirrel and Tree". The little ones absolutely LOVE this game, and it is pretty fun even for us who are older. Since we are all from all over the world, we all know different games to play. It was fun discussing, teaching, learning, and playing new games. Sometimes, we modified some games so that the younger ones could understand. For example, "North, Central, South America" became "Red, Yellow, Green". The little ones...
Weekend family trip to San Diego! At the beach... Seashells... Scenery... "The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters." -Psalm 24:1-2 There was a hole in the ground that was connected to the ocean. There was a stream in it, and water flowed in and out with the waves. It was pretty wide - maybe 3 or 4 feet at its width. Catherine decided to go for a challenge and jumped across! Tide pools... There were lots of plants, snails, and little crabs in the tide pools. I wrote my name in the sand, just for fun. Everything in God's creation is so unique! I love the way the rocks at the beach are shaped - in some places they are smooth, and in other places they are jagged. A little crab hiding underneath the rock: Uniquely shaped rocks: Seagull flying o...
Pray for the peace of Wuhan, China! As the coronavirus outbreak spreads, please continue to pray for the people of Wuhan, China (where the outbreak is concentrated) and for all those suffering from the outbreak. I would like to share a Chinese hymn written especially for the people of Wuhan. Click here for the link to the audio recording of this song (http://www.zanmeishi.com/song/41507.html). Below are the Chinese lyrics along with the English translation by my sister Catherine. "Wuhan, Wuhan, You Are Not Alone!" Written and composed by Xiao Ming English translation by Catherine Chen 武汉!武汉!你不孤单! 武汉!武汉!擦干泪眼! 武汉!武汉!你要壮胆! 你的名字牵动着华人的心弦! 成千上万的天使向你走来, 血脉相连的同胞与你肩并肩。 上帝已兴起亚伦站立天地间, 瘟疫必止息不见! 灾难中要闭门思过, 逾越节的羔羊为你被献。 我们有责任为你昼夜求平安! 武汉平安! 中国平安! Wuhan, Wuhan, you aren't alone! Wuhan, Wuhan, wipe your tears! Wuhan, Wuhan, be courageous! Your name touches the hearts of your people. Tens of thousands of angels descend upon you, Shoulder to shoulder ...
My favorite part about Science Centers are the interactive displays. The Pacific Science Center had lots of interactive, hands-on displays! We all had a great time at the Science Center. The Well-body Academy of Health and Wellness is an exhibit for kids that teaches you how to take care of your body and stay in good health. There are four areas in the Well-body exhibit: Food and Nutrition, Sleep, Exercise, and Hygiene. At the Food and Nutrition area, we learned to eat healthy foods and the correct amount of Calories. In the Sleep Exhibit, I learned that we need to sleep enough. Exercise is very important for health. Hygiene Let's go upstairs to the WELLBODY LOFT! Exercise well, Eat well, Sleep well, Wash well, and LIVE well! The Age Your Face Display showed you the bad effects of smoking, UV exposure, and obesity on aging. Below is Theodore at the Age Your Face Display: On the left is how Theodore would normally look a...
On Thursday 6/29/2023, we visited Lava Beds National Monument again! We got to explore Hopkin's chocolate cave, Golden Dome cave, and Hercules' leg cave. Enjoy these photos! Outside the caves, there was a sweet butterfly that kept flying around us. Then, it landed on Catherine's helmet and didn't want to leave. I was able to get some beautiful close-up pictures. Here we are outside Golden Dome cave! Dad outside a cave (I think it's a different one from the one above. It's our car in the background, too!) I think this entrance is called the "headache" entrance or something like that. That is because the entrance is so narrow that people sometimes accidentally bump their head on the ledge! Thankfully we are all on the smaller side and we were careful and didn't bump our heads. Caves have three different zones - the entrance zone (lots of sunlight), the twilight zone (a little bit natural light) and the dark zone (no natural light - if you turn the ...
Whenever someone asks me, "What is your favorite place that you visited in Israel?", I always answer, "The Shuk". "Shuk" means "street market" in Hebrew. I love going to the Shuk. The Shuk is always full of life and bustling with people. It is a very exciting place to visit in Jerusalem. There are the most people in the Shuk on Friday morning. This is because the Shuk closes early on Friday because of Shabbat and everyone needs to buy extra food ahead of time. Here is a picture of one of the emptier streets in the Shuk: Almost every type of food is sold in the Shuk: meat, vegetables, fruit, bread, grains, rice, spices, dessert, candy, and packaged food. The most colorful and attractive shops of the Shuk sell candy. We don't buy candy, but it looks very tempting. The smaller candy sells at 3 or 4 for 10 shekels. 1 dollar equals 3.67 shekels, so 10 shekels equals 2.73 dollars. Cookies are also sold at the Shuk. They are mo...
On our trip to Israel, we flew on an Israeli airline called EL AL. Our first meal had pasta, chicken, pita bread (delicious!), grapes, potato chips, a slice of chocolate cake, and a drink. After fifteen hours on the airplane, we landed in Israel. As soon as the airplane touched the ground, almost everyone in the plane shouted and clapped. Was it because our airplane stayed safe (and in the air) throughout the whole flight? We went through the customs, got our three tiny luggage (each less than 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide) from the baggage claim, and exited the airport. The ride to the apartment where we would be staying was quite long. However, I happened to be sitting next to my brother, who is both a very good comedian and a very good storyteller. For the whole ride I sat listening to his entertaining story of animals (deer, cows, horses, skunks, and rabbits). At last, we arrived at our apartment building. We...
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