davisintaiwan: January brings many memorable events!

Big Events in the Davis' Household: Many birthdays to celebrate and so hard to miss all these special days!

Dec. 29 - Kong's birthday. He spent this special day in Alta, Wyoming, snow-mobilling.

Jan. 1 - Kai Davis turned 8 on this special day. He was baptized by his dad on Saturday, Jan. 5. Aunt Elaine and her family, Grandpa and Grandma Wilson, Cami's brothers were all in attendance.

Jan. 6 - Thomas Warr turned 9 on this special day. His mother took him to buy a special toy he's always wanted with the Christmas money we sent him.

Jan. 7 - Peter Warr turned 11. He's getting to be a big boy. He and Thomas both got the same toy (Lazer tag), and now they play the game as a family. Good choice!

Jan. 7 - Morgan Rey Davis turned one on this special day. She's walking, talking and having fun.

Feb. 3 - Ethan Davis' 12th birthday. His dad posted on facebook: "Happy 12th birthday to the coolest kid I know. Ethan, I love being your dad!"

Caleb putting stickers all over Morgan's face

Feb. 12 - Caleb's 6th birthday. He loves being a kindergartener. He loves to play with Morgan.

Shi family Genealogy: Started doing Mom's family. I'm able to go back to Shi Bin (施炳), born 1163. How grateful I am that someone has kept good records. I knew Mom's side would not be as hard to trace because we are related to the famous Chinese Admiral Shi Lang (施琅, 1621 - 1696) in Chinese history. For a point of reference for American history buffs, Shi Lang was born just after Jamestown, VA was settled. I am a descendant of his elder brother, Shi Mi (施密). The first Chinese aircraft was rumored to be named the ShiLang, but because of political reasons, it was renamed Liaoning. It was so fun to find stories such as this.

The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) purchased its first aircraft carrier, formerly the Soviet carrier Varyag, from the Ukraine in 1998. The renovated ship was widely speculated to have been named the Shi Lang,^[1] but was ultimately named Liaoning in 2012, after the province in which it was refitted.^[2]

I was also fortunate enough to get 2 pictures for my aunt when we visited here in January. One is with Mom as a little girl, and the other, when I was a little girl. This is especially nice because when Mom and Dad immigrated to the US, my dad came back to Taiwan to sell the house. He did not save our photo albums, which were many. My goal is to find as many old pictures as I can from our relatives.

Shirley (girl in first row, left), Grandmother Shi (in the middle of the picture), Aunt MeiJuan (next to Grandma Shi), Uncle Shi (next to MeiJuan), and my dad Han Qiu Song (1st on the right)

Shi Family: Grandfather Shi (in the middle), first wife, Hong Jin (on his left), and second wife (my grandma, on his right), my mom Mei Lian (little girl on 3rd row behind Grandma Shi)

Cousin Nancy Shi (施錦瑜, 1st on left), Aunt MeiJuan, Shirley. On the right, Leilei, (Jennifer Shi's mom), Jennifer and Elwin

Jan. 11/12: Attended Taipei Temple and assisted East and West Gaoxiong Stakes' Temple Day activities.

Sunday Visits to NanZi Ward (Jan. 3), YuanShan Ward (9 AM, Jan. 10) and FongShan (10:45, Jan. 10), LinYa Ward, (Jan. 17), and ShiZhong Ward (Jan. 24): We spoke or bore testimonies in each unit and did "Family Tree" training for all adults and Young Men/Young Women members. We were welcomed at each unit and felt their spirit. The Family History Center director and assistant director accompanied us on each of the visits.

Jan. 22: A visit to my cousins, Song Jin Zhi (宋靜枝), and Song Da Xiong (宋達雄) in Jiu Qu Tong (九曲堂）- These two cousins are the son and daughter of my father's 2nd eldest brother Song Xianrong (宋顯榮). He was the local physician. As children, Mom and Dad used to take us there to visit. Uncle Xianrong owned the whole square block and an orchard on the back side of the house. The house included the doctor's clinic and an area for patients to stay. We used to roam around the orchard as it had all the fruits we could imagine. My favorites were mangoes, lichis, shi-jias, lian-wu (waxed apples), to name a few. After the death of my uncle, the property was divided. His third wife sold her and her son's shares, so the property has been reduced to about 1/10 of what it was, with tall buildings all around. Cousin Da Xiong still has a fish pond in his yard and some fruit trees too This may be the only single home with a yard in the area. That's "progress" as they call it in today's Taiwan; with tall buildings all over, even though they are not nearly as tall or as crowded as they are in Hong Kong. I was delighted to have a picture of my grandmother Song. Below are some pictures of the family.