On August 8, 1993, a girl who has never left home, flew across the vast Pacific Ocean to a new country. She landed on the dry, hot, desert city airport of Phoenix. All the passengers had left the airport, she was sitting there with all her belongs in two big suitcases, hoping some one from the school will soon pick her up. That young girl was me. Five days later, a young man went through the same journey from a different part of China and landed at the same airport. And he was our beloved Xibin. Fate brought them together. Senior students advised me to rent a two bedroom apartment and recruit other new students to share. Although I preferred to have female roommates, I had to take whoever came along. I was told to be open minded since this was America. So I shared a room with another girl, Xibin and another guy shared the 2nd bedroom. He became my roommate ever since. The first morning after he moved in, at the break of dawn, the fire alarm in the kitchen took off while everyone else was still sound asleep. We all jumped out of our beds to find out what was going on. Xibin smiled at us sheepishly, he was still getting over his jet lag and decided to cook an egg for breakfast. Some how he managed to burn the egg and triggered the alarm. The first time that he did his laundry, he came back to borrow more quarters for the washing machine. I asked him why, he did not say. It turned out he washed his red T-shirt from Peking University along with all his white clothes. He ended up wearing pink for a very long time. I was studying Electrical Engineering in Arizona State University; Xibin was studying Geology and had a Teaching Assistant job. I had to serve food in the school cafeteria at lunch time to support myself. He would come every day and wait till I was done with my shift. Then we would try out all the different foods in the cafeteria. One day, we hiked up the A mountain, a small hill that was near school, to watch sun set. When I jumped down from a rock, I twisted my ankle and had a mini fracture. Xibin carried me all the way down to the parking lot … That was the moment that I knew he was the one. Soul-mates are people who bring out the best in you. They are not perfect but are always perfect for you. Xibin was my soul-mate. He always supported me and brought out the best in me. He supported me no matter how crazy the idea might sound or how much work he had to do. With his support, I was able to complete my master degree in two years and was offered a job at IBM Boulder. We got married in our one bedroom apartment in Boulder. After that, he went back to ASU to finish his degree. I was a terrible driver and could not park the car right when I first started working. Xibin practiced with me every night. Then he gave me detailed instructions on how to park, how to back out and how to adjust it. It did not help. I scratched our brand new Toyota Corolla on both sides on the day after he left. Finally, we could not stand staying apart any more. Xibin gave up his degree in ASU and transferred to University of Colorado Boulder. We had the time of our lives and felt like the happiest couple on earth. We soon bought our first house and hosted numerous weekend parties. We traveled all over the place and enjoyed seeing the world together. In winter, we skied down the Rocky Mountains every weekend. He taught me how to shoot pool, so I could beat my old college classmates. We also spent many nights playing badminton. After the millennium, we finally felt it was about time that we try out parenthood / babyhood. At first, we were devastated by a miscarriage and the complications after it. Then, on Oct 19, 2001, it was like a miracle, the super power that is in charge of life decided to give our lost one back, we found out, I was pregnant with twins. Xibin jumped up and down with joy. On May 2, 2002, we were blessed with two beautiful boys, Kolton and Nathan. After all the exciting momentum that carried us through pregnancy, then through the drama of the birth started to subside, we were facing the daunting tasks of raising two first-borns. That was the defining moment that I called before and after. Before the kids arrived, we were just a happy couple. We shared everything and did most things together. After the kids were born, with parents came to help, we instantly jumped to a family of 6. Our cars were not big enough to hold the whole family. How to divide the work load of “feeding-changing-sleeping” became the center of attention. Who would do the night shift? Who was more tired and deserved more of a break became a sore point. We struggled, we fought and we reached out to our friends for advice and help. Our love for each other and for our family prevailed. We learned to be patient with kids and each other. Xibin’s dedication to the family made him a responsible, loving father. He had to sacrifice his play time to do chores. He found the new hobby of being a handyman. He still hated mowing the lawn, but he taught himself to fix faucet, install garage door opener and install outlets. He grew from a big boy into a great husband and a wonderful father. Xibin had this extraordinary ability to learn new things on his own. All he needed were some instructions from a menu, a book or a video. He bought his first car before he even knew how to drive. And he bought a stick shift. He asked the seller to drive the car to the apartment parking lot. His friend Eric Miller showed him how to drive it. He would get out at 4:00 AM in the morning to practice driving. He took a delivery job from a fast food restaurant a month later. His latest hobby was wood working. He would learn from magazines, books and You Tube videos. He taught himself to operate all kinds of machines that he acquired through Craig’s list. My neighbors probably all heard the machine noises that came out of the garage at night. He found peace and happiness working with his hands. Xibin loved to take pictures of the boys. When I was looking though the family album for his picture, I was sad that very few pictures have him in it. He was always the one behind the camera. Xibin loved to spend time with the boys. He always made himself available to help with home work and assignments. He also spent lots of his time to help the boys in Cub Scouts. He could not wait for the kids to get older, so he could teach them all the stuff he loved, ski, chess, badminton and building a robot. It hurts so much to let him go. Over the past two weeks, I have heard and learned that he had touched so many people’s lives. It makes me the proudest wife in the whole wide world. Xibin, you truly are a unique person. Honey, if you can hear me, I miss you and I love you forever. May you rest in peace!