Tsai Family of the Parklands

On a beautiful autumn day, otherwise known as Halloween, we took an excursion to patronize the Philadelphia Temple for Megan to participate in the temple before she departs for the mission field.  The peace and spirit of the temple permeated through us while we were there.  Afterwards, we enjoyed the famous Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches in our cars before going home.

On October 30, my mom treated everyone to Firebird's for dinner in honor of Megan's mission call.  We enjoyed the delicious food, of course, in the comfort and safety of our home.  We took occasion to take family photos and a photo of a future harpist (after she has grown a foot or two or three).

The official mission call for Megan came on the week of April 15.  On the evening where we surprised my Mom with a birthday call, Megan surprised all of us with her mission call, announcing that she was officially called to the Taiwan Taichung Mission.  Everyone, especially Megan, was super excited for her mission.  On August 30, she was set apart as a full-time missionary by President Nathan Sheets at the Potomac Chapel. On September 6, she entered the virtual MTC (Missionary  Training Center), engaging in all of her missionary training at home. The Branch organized a special farewell fireside for he and for Elder Richard Huang (called to the California Arcadia Chinese speaking Mission) on October 24.  During fireside, slideshows about each missionary in their youth and videos from two families were shown.  Several teachers and leaders spoke to and for the two missionaries.  In addition, their mothers and the Branch President spoke.  Finally...

Our family was able to participate in the first ever virtual Montgomery Branch's Moon Festival party.  The festivities included a video of previous Branch Moon Festival parties, a scripture Bingo game, 3 family video messages, an animation of Chang E, and a Chinese flower paper cutting demonstration.  The Tsai family presented one of the family video messages.  Despite the COVID crisis, it was to engage with family and friends on this Moon Festival.

On Labor Day, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and walk around Seneca Creek State Park.  I was joined by Li-Fang's nephew, Lester, Melinda & Javi & Sofia, and Jonathan.  We arrived around10 AM and parked in the free parking lot at the front of the front entrance.  So we had to walk into the park.  We explored the Pines picnic area and walked around the lake and around a little bit. We came back home by noon to a generous lunch prepared by Li-Fang.  It was fun to relax and enjoy a little bit of nature.

On a very nice morning in June, we decided to get some physical exercise and hike up Sugarloaf Mountain.  We commenced our trek early in the morning, thinking that less people would be there.  Wow, were we mistaken.  Little did we know that everyone in Montgomery County thought the same way we did.  OK, not everyone thought that way, but by 9am, there were over 100 cars.  There was literally wall-to-wall hikers walking to and fro.  Despite the traffic, it was a very nice day to go outdoors.

 After 2 years, the long-awaited and long-promised Watkins Mill I270 Interchange was completed this year.  The 2-way, double lane, double exit, double entrance highway bridge connected the East and West sides of Watkins Mill Road, which have existed for ages.  On June 10, 2020, this new highway interchange, Exit 12, was officially opened. For us, this new interchange has impacted our lives in a major way and has for the most part improved our standard of living.  It now takes only a few minutes to cross the bridge to go to Kaiser or Costco.  In less than one minute, we can be on the I270 going north or south.  Fortunately for right now, the increase in traffic has been very minimal, in part due to the pandemic.  So, if you have not seen this new interchange, come on over and check it out.

A beautiful little girl of dear friends of ours was born on May 20, 2020.  They accepted our offer for them to stay in our home while my wife helped the mother and the baby acclimate to the real world.  Her name from her baby blessing to be given later on August 16 would be Isabella Wang.  What a beautiful name!  It was an honor to have them stay in our home for this short time.  Congratulations to the Wang family, and may the Lord prosper their family!

Little prepared were we for the COVID-19 pandemic when it hit this year.  It literally turned our lives up-side-down and inside-out.  Almost every public social event was canceled, including the Montgomery Branch's Chinese New Year celebration and the Parkland's neighborhood Chinese New Year celebration, which we were helping to organize.  But even more taxing an influence was the every day impact it would have on us for a while to come.  Starting March 15, all physical church meetings were canceled for a while.  Beginning March 16, at NIST we were ordered to start teleworking every day. In Maryland, the Stay at Home order was issued on March 30, prohibiting all gatherings of more than 10 people. On March 18, we spontaneously decided to drive to Utah during a snowstorm in order to take Li-Fang's parents to Utah (after staying with us for 6 months) and to take Megan home from BYU.  Of course, we took a longer circuitous route through Oklahoma and New Mexic...

Dear family and friends, 2019 has been a year of change for our family. Best wishes for the new year. This year I was asked to serve as Vice President of Public Affairs in the Washington DC Temple Choir to arrange choir venues.  Megan's graduation provided a great springboard to our family reunion in Maryland.  We were able to accompany Megan to Utah to help her prepare for college.  Then within two months of returning home, we now have the unique privilege to taking care of Li-Fang's parents in our home.  Then recently Li-Fang and I were assigned to serve on the Washington DC Temple Open House and Rededication Committee to help with Asian Opinion Leader Outreach.  2019 has been a year of many new opportunities to learn and grow for me. In 2019, I returned to Taiwan twice to help my father recover from his stroke in late 2018.  I also had the opportunity to help my daughter with her second baby.  I graduated again from Montgomery Col...

親愛的親戚朋友們, 格文今年被邀請擔任華盛頓DC聖殿唱詩班的大眾傳播副主席一職. 平時白天在聯邦政府上班晚上兼職在大學教書. 加上教會召換擔任高級諮議, 教兒童主日學, 又教高中生的福音進修班. 最近又與麗芳被邀請為DC聖殿重修後對外開放的招集人. 致涵今年高中畢業, 因此聚集了全家在一起. 2018年底到2019因為父親的關係回台兩趟, 最後終於如願以償地將他們帶回美國. 接著去猶他州為女兒坐月子. 感謝親家的體念也來幫我照顧女兒. 今年五月再次畢業於蒙郡社區大學藝術系, 期待2020開始馬里蘭大學繼續學習藝術. 接著, 格文和我終於確定我們可以參加2020教會每年贊助舉辦的戶外大型的克摩拉山劇場表演. 這將會是最後一年. 教會不再贊助此類大型活動. 沒看過的人可別錯過這最後的機會喔! https://www.hillcumorah.org/?page_id=278 奇異恩典! 我們年初時奇蹟般地發現家中將增添新生兒--在神期許的時間. 還好我們先前家庭旅遊計劃都在恩妤出生前就已結束. 所以我們可以盡情的享受家庭歡樂時光. 我們去了台灣,加州迪斯尼, 馬里蘭, Grace 林恩妤在十月二十九日下午五點十分出生. 體重是 六磅十四盎司, 十九點五英吋. 我們好喜歡抱她並真心感謝神回答我們的祈禱. 今年是我反覆自省的一年. 我試著嘗試新事物. 繼續在 Pratt & Whitney 工作, 不過有了一些新的工程和學習新的科技. 雖然沒有機會出國旅遊, 倒是去了許多國內景點(第一次去加州的迪斯尼). 我很高興今年能花比較多的時間與家人相聚. 這是我在楊百翰大學碩士研究的第二年. 我學到很多東西. 雖然很掙扎, 但從這裡一點, 那裏一點的也學習得過來. 我瘦了四十磅, 完成了第一部分的馬拉松以及其他各種不同而有趣的賽跑. 並試著繼續遵行這樣的健康生活形式. 最主要還是要把事情做完可以在明年之前畢業, 然後朝新的生活方向走. 看著蘇菲雅從小嬰兒成長到一歲的小孩是我們最大的喜悅. 她現在可以睡整夜, 用華語和西班牙語說"我愛你" (還會說 "媽媽", "爸爸", "寶貝", "娜娜=b...

The trip began with a two-hour flight to Miami, a metro rail ride to downtown Miami, and a ride on the trolley to the port of Miami. The trolley brought us right to the ship across the street. We checked in and found Room 7310, a small room with a full size bed and 2 bunk beds. With the help of the steward, we were able to set up the bunk beds. With a quick tour around the boat, we discovered lots of small eateries and shops around the ship. All of the food was paid for, except for alcohol and seafood. We ate informally at any time at the eateries, but every meeting we went to the dining room for a formal dinner. We found out that the 1000 plus employees on the ship were mostly on contracts and came from many different countries. Besides eating, they offered various classes, such as the Flattening Stomach class. On the ship, there was a gym, a casino, and many shops. We also were able to enjoy a couple of outdoor movies. Many times on the trip, we had the opportunity to e...

We flew out with Megan to Utah in July.  On the day we arrived, Jessica took us to see Aladdin.  The very next day, we drove down to St. George to see the show at the Tuacahn outdoor amphitheater.  We stayed at an Airbnb with Jessica's friends.  One morning, Josh and I and Mom went for a little hike in the Snow Canyon State Park.  On the way back to Provo, we took a tour of the St. George Temple.  We said goodbye to Megan, but she was able to stay with Jessica for a few weeks.

We took Megan and her two friends and their families to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant this year.  We drove up on a Saturday, visited the Whitmer Farm and the Grandin Bookstore and the Smith family home and the Sacred Grove, and saw the Pageant after dusk.  The next day, we came home, stopping by the Aaronic Priesthood Restoration site.