2011情人节

今年的情人节，感谢上帝在一大清早就向我们微微笑！



过来美国之后，已经有4年没有陪爸爸过生日了。感谢主，今年终于有机会替爸爸庆祝生日。



2月14日是爸爸的生日，诗艳常笑他是大众情人！



爸爸说还没有吃过美国西餐，于是我们带他去吃西餐。。

2月17日是元宵节，据说是东方的情人节。
今年感恩有爸爸妈妈和我们一起庆元宵。
诗艳在此祝福大家：

月圆人团圆 ~ 元宵节快乐

冰天雪地红太阳

2月12日，我家仍是一片冰天雪地，红红太阳温暖也染红大地。




情人节，诗艳将热情的红太阳送给大家。愿人人心中有爱，愿爱像红太阳一般散发光芒，点亮也温暖了整个世界。



诗艳也在此祝福大家：情人节快乐，平安又喜乐！

白色年除夕

爸妈来美国，想要过白色圣诞；可惜天不从人愿，去年的圣诞并没有白雪。可是，上帝却在今年给他们一个白色年除夕。



感谢主！妈妈想来美国看雪景，上帝不止圆了她的梦，还超过她所求所想。今年的冬季，邻居说是他们在美国这么久以来，风雪最多也最大的一个冬季！这个冬季下了不计其数的雪；孩子学校从1月12日至今断断续续因风雪休课了8天，平均每个星期只上学2-3天！今天，我家庭院已经堆积了3尺以上的积雪，庭院的乔木已经被白雪掩埋了一半。可说空前伟大！



2月2日年除夕，我们这个地区下冰雪！在冰雪当中驾驶，其实非常危险；为了确保孩子安全，孩子学校又休课了。老萧的公司，竟然也为了确保员工安全休假一天；老萧因此笑颜逐开，因为他最爱过年！诗艳很感恩，年除夕的午餐，我们有妈妈烤的叉烧吃，还有马铃薯咖哩鸡面！



福州人过年，其实最重视年除夕，也最注重年夜饭。老萧感谢上帝让他休假过年，兴高采烈地给我们做年夜饭！虽然还属于清清淡淡，但是还算蛮丰富的。他还给自己做的菜肴，起了好些好意头的名字：开心笑哈哈，年年有余，步步高升，大团圆。。。



其实，诗艳出嫁之后因为天天都在娘家出入，春节都会赶回婆家过年吃年夜饭。算一算，已经14年没有陪伴爸爸妈妈吃年夜饭了。诗艳真的很感恩，今年我们不只有爸爸妈妈和我们庆团圆，还有他们所喜爱的女婿给他们做年夜饭。年夜饭虽然清淡简单如家常便饭，我们却吃得开心，幸福其实很简单！

表弟媳绝处逢生谢恩

Dear Friends,

It is by God's grace & mercy that I am able to write this, today. It's a long email but please bear with me.

I would like to share with you my recent experience that reminded me of God's love and His many blessings in my life. I now appreciate every little thing He has given me, that I had sometimes taken for granted. I hope that you will be reminded of and will experience His love and blessings as well.

Last December was supposed to be a month of joy & happiness as Albert and I, were awaiting the arrival of our second child. We took time off from work the whole month, we were going to celebrate Christmas, and enjoy the holidays before the New Year.

However, it was the toughest month of my life. I had a very serious infection that almost cost me, my life. Despite that, God's love & awesome power was revealed to me.

It all started a couple of days after I gave birth to my second child, Rylan on Dec 1. The labor & delivery went smoothly and we were blessed with a healthy baby. I was discharged on Dec 3 but by evening of that day, the area between my legs started to feel uncomfortable. At first, I thought the discomfort was normal as I had a perineal tear that required stitches. I took pain medication and assumed that it would go away. However, the pain got worse. I felt pain when I lay down, when I walked and when I sat down. The pain killer did not help as it should have.

Despite the pain, I still tried my best to breastfeed Rylan around the clock. I feared that my breasts would become engorged as it was more painful than labor from my previous experience. I wanted my son to get the best nourishment I could provide for him. I tried to improvise with different positions to avoid the pain but it was a losing battle. The pain prevented me from getting the rest that I needed. One evening, I felt very cold. My whole body shivered uncontrollably. I had never felt this bad before.

We went to see my OB doctor on Monday Dec 6. She diagnosed it as blood clot and told us it would heal by itself over time. She increased the dosage of the painkiller, as it would help to decrease the pain level. I felt a little better for the next 2 days.

However, the pain came back again. It had spread. We went to see another OB doctor on Thursday morning, Dec 9, as she was the only one available at that time. She suspected an infection and asked me to take a blood test. She prescribed antibiotics to control the infection. I managed to take one pill that afternoon before she called. She told us to readmit myself to the Washington Hospital right away as the blood test showed an elevated white blood cell count, which was an indication of infection.

My first surgery started that day around 7.00 pm. After that, I was placed in the Critical Care Unit (CCU) with tubes in my neck, throat, arm, etc. A team of surgeons and doctors were assigned to treat my infection. They did a CT scan to try to find the cause of the infection but were not successful.

Praise God that the infection had not spread to my body’s organs.

I was heavily sedated during the initial days. According to Albert, Friday Dec 10 was the most critical time for me as both the anesthesiologist and the surgeon told him to be prepared for a very long hospital stay but could not say exactly how long and how much treatment was necessary to treat my infection. The infection did spread into my blood stream and it was now toxic. My heart function weakened as a result, which further complicated my treatment.

After multiple surgeries to remove the infected cells, the infection had stopped spreading. I had a very deep and big wound. The fastest way to help such a massive wound heal was to apply a wound vacuum but this was not an easy task as the wound was very near my anus. To assess whether the wound vacuum could be applied, the surgeon removed my wound dressing without any pain medication. The pain was excruciating and I screamed at Albert. It was then, that the surgeon told me that since I was able to live & had gone through so much already, I had to bear the pain. I did not realize how serious my condition was until he told me this.

One evening, Albert brought me a bible. The topic section in the bible, pointed me to read Psalm 77. It was about suffering. This chapter clearly describes how I felt at that time and what I went through. God’s love and promise never fails. He performs miracles. It gave me comfort.

I was then transferred to the ward and underwent wound dressing changes multiple times a day. Even with pain medication, the dressing change was still painful that I had to go through it by biting a piece of towel. There were times that I was down and felt hopeless but one nurse asked me if I'm a believer and if I am, I should pray to God. God spoke to me through this nurse and Albert, that I could depend on Him and to stay strong in my faith.

One of the doctors (there were about 15 doctors who attended to me) who attends Bridges Community Church offered to pray for me at my bed side, one night. I never expected a doctor to pray for me, like she did.

I was able to do video conference with my parents & kids at home as kids below 12 years old, were not allowed to visit the hospital. Whenever my daughter, Amanda asked me when I could go home, I felt sad but it also encouraged me to be strong as I encountered many problems during the wound treatment.

The first time I was able to get off the bed, it took me half an hour just to walk 30 feet and I was sweating after that.

As weeks went by, my open wound looked better and finally, on Dec 28 the plastic surgeon came back from his vacation in Asia & saw me the next day. The surgery to close the wound, was done on Jan 30 and we prayed that he could stay alert during the surgery. The surgery went very well and I was discharged on Jan 5. The first few weeks after the surgery was challenging as I was not allowed to sit and lie on my back. I will need to see the surgeon regularly & according to him it will take me a few months to heal completely. I believe that God will heal me completely in His time.

During my 28 days stay at the hospital & after being discharged, I see how God's love was expressed through you. I would like to thank:

1. Our God, Jesus Christ who is our mighty Healer & Provider whose love and promise never fails.

2. My parents, who came from Indonesia and unselfishly, tirelessly cook; take care of us including my 4 year old girl and newborn baby as well as for always putting us first and praying for us.

3. My mom who sang beautiful hymns for me at my hospital bed side and cares for me at home.

4. Friends and families who prayed, fasted, cooked, visited my family and me at the hospital as well as at home. Thank you for the flower, soups, food, card, CD, foot massage and your daily prayers/support/encouragements/emails/phone calls.

5. Lisa Liu who generously provided her breast milk to Rylan from the time I was hospitalized and continues to do so. It's the best gift Rylan has ever had.

6. Chee & Soon Yee who brought Amanda to church & various events, thus, helping us to take care of her and allowing Albert and my parents to get some rest.

7. CCIC North Valley in Milpitas, Tri City Chinese Baptist Church in Fremont, Church in St Louis, Missouri, GKA Trinitas in Indonesia, Albert’s cousin’s church in East Coast, for your prayers.

8. Last but not least, my loving husband, Albert, who was with me, everyday, throughout this experience. He was a father and also a mother to Rylan while I was at the hospital. He tirelessly visited me a couple of times a day at the hospital while being sleep deprived, feeding Rylan at night and also for caring for me at home.

May God rewards each one of you and may He continues to use you as His channel of blessings.

To God be all the glory,
Ruella

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

上帝并没有应许天色常蓝，但上帝应许必常与我们同在。
在世界我们有苦难，
但从主内弟兄姐妹之间的互爱互助，我们看见神也看见神的爱。
诗艳在此再次感谢满有爱心的网友，
虽然大家不认识诗艳的表弟表弟媳，却默默地为他们祷告。
感谢大家，愿荣耀归神，平安归祂喜悦的人。

一年好一年

1月26日，大公子祖恩兴高采烈地抱着四张奖状回家：



感谢主，这孩子好像开窍了呢！令他感到最高兴的，是他终于又拿到Honor Roll - Honor Achievement Award。由于我们一向吃得健康，孩子身强体壮鲜少缺课；一如往常，他拿了一个Perfect Attendance 回家。Excellence in Language Art 和 Excellence in Physical Education 则是老师给他的意外惊喜。我总觉得，美国学校的奖状太泛滥；但对他来说，这却是莫大的鼓励。

然而，最让我感安慰的是，他最近竟然忙着著书《Bond of Defenders》，已经写到第75页了呢！我随意翻阅，原来故事中的人物，是他自己和同学。我想，这是另类的日记吧！除了写，他其实还在校车上念给同学听，还策划着将它编印成书。



感谢主！我们终于看见他自动自发，并且专心一意地做一件事，我想他该有写作的天赋。不论他现在写得怎样，我希望他持续用心地写，更积极地学习与尝试。我相信，他会一年好一年。



在这送旧迎新的时刻，诗艳祝福大家：一年好一年！