A Special Visitor

My parents have lived in China for over 20 years now!  It's hard to believe until I break it down into all of my sub-memories of growing up, and then it seems like a life time ago that I was riding my bike to Chinese school with my red bandana on (only some of you will understand this part!).

Mom and Dad make trips back to the US periodically, some for business some for family time.  We had a special treat before my birthday when Dad extended a business trip long enough to visit with his girls!!

It was so fun to get to catch up on life in person, face to face.  The kids enjoyed seeing "Pipai" again too.

Happy Birthday Patty, my wife and best friend!

Today is Patty's Birthday! First let me be very clear, I know her password and she does not know of this escapade to post about her birthday.

Happy Birthday Paba and here goes!

Last night as we were visiting with her dad, (he stopped by on his way back to China) he reminisced that the day Patty was born was one of the best days of his life. He did say that attaching a pink bow to his daughters head on her soft spot was not very comfortable and promptly removed upon exiting the Portland, OR. hosp many years ago.

25 things about Patty you may not know...

1 - She is an extremly hard worker, we have painted houses, built decks, rebuilt carburetors (2 months after Josiah was born), rebuilt an engine

2 - Excellent at rapelling and belaying climbers

3 - Althetic: Fierce at soccer (maybe to impress me, any thoughts from her teammates?), good swimmer, can snow ski well though she has only done it once, goes off rope swings...

4 - Creative: she has made baby blankets, scrapbooks, woodburning verses as gifts

5 - Talented wood worker: furniture

6 - She can put up crown moulding

7 - Patient: worked for years as a nurse while I finished school, married to me, has a 2-year old and a deafblind child.

8 - She loves Chick-Fil-A cookies and cream milkshakes

9 - Excellent cook: we had chinese food 4-5 nights a week during the early years of our marriage. I could not cook and she mainly knew chinese dishes.

10 - She is fluent in chinese

11 - She is a loving, protective and committed mom: When Abby was born she quit her job and spent 6 months in the NICU. She has a special way with Abby.

12 - Smart: she has a bachelors degree in nursing and remembers every date for Abby's surgeries (13 total) and procedures as well as all the medicine she has ever taken.

13 - She chose me and our kids over her career as a nurse

14 - She gets embarassed when I call her my trophy wife, which she is.

15 - She is very,very beautiful - obviously.

16 - She gave me a journal - Seriously, the entire year we were engaged she wrote me a letter every day in 4 volumes.

17 - She recently competed in the swimming leg of a triathlon

18 - She encourages me to buy motorcycles and other guy toys.

19 - She is my biggest cheerleader and best friend

20 - She can and has completly exchanged the furniture in two bedrooms all alone.

21 - She loves Thai and Vietnamese food

22 - She is passionate about saving the life of babies

23 - I am still her best friend after nearly 8 years of marriage and 3 dating - we have never broken up

24 - Loves to watch movies with me

25 - She misses Hummer every day

This is only the beginning of a list of who Patty is and why I love her so much. She has made me a very rich man indeed!

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." - Proverbs 31:10

Stomach bug

Abby is sick again with the nasty stomach bug.

Last night Patrick and I went to see the movie Fireproof on our date, thanks to some dear friends who gave us free tickets! About 30 minutes into the movie we got a call from our respite worker... never a good sign.

She told us Abby was vomiting and having terrible diarrhea. We left the movie and rushed home. Poor little girl was pale and limp as a dish rag as she continued to vomit. After some time of almost constant vomiting and wretching we got some Zofran called in for her.

Eventually she stopped throwing up and sat with me in the rocker. Just as we were thinking about putting her to bed, I saw her little hand start twitching. Before we knew it her whole body was convulsing.

We gave her rescue med (Diastat) within 3 minutes of the first twitch and called her neurologist. Fortunately the seizure stopped after about 5 minutes of full seizure activity!! Her breathing was a bit abnormal for a few minutes but thankfully she calmed down and fell asleep.

The BIG thing is that we Did Not have to go to the ER!!!

Abby slept like a rock all night long with no vomiting and no more seizures. Praise the Lord!

This morning she has a fever and still looks pasty, but awake and mostly content. Now we are praying the rest of us can dodge this one!

Born Alive Truth

There has been much debate over many issues weighing heavy on the hearts of the American people during this political season.  One such issue involves the termination of unborn human lives.   

I saw these videos this morning.  There's nothing quite like a personal testimony to destroy all the political jargon and squabbling, and lay the true issues out on the table.

The "Born Alive Infant Protection Act defines the "born-alive  infant"  to  include  every  infant  member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development." 

 It "Defines "born alive" to mean the complete expulsion or extraction from the mother of an infant, at any stage of development, who after that expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless  of whether the umbilical cord has been cut and regardless of whether the expulsion  or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion."

 SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1. "Provides that a live child born as a result of an abortion shall  be fully recognized as a human person and accorded immediate  protection under the law."

Illinois General Assembly -http://www.ilga.gov

These videos speak for themselves and are worth looking at.  Although I do not want to use our family blog as a political platform, I do firmly believe in the right to life for ALL babies.  

For those who aren't familiar with Gianna Jessen and her amazing testimony, check our her site.

Born Alive Truth

My Boys

I love to watch my boys.  They both love the water!  Patrick is a wonderful swimmer and seeing him in the water is like watching a graceful dolphin.  

This summer we tried to focus on getting the kids in the water as much as possible.  At first Josiah didn't like getting his face wet, but by the end of our Florida vacation at the beach he was doing this...

This past weekend Patrick finished his 2nd Triathlon, The Frantic Frog!  He started out swimming 400 meters in open water, biked 15 miles and finished the race after a 3 mile run.  The kids and I had a great spot by the water where we could watch him swim and cross the finish line!  

He came in 10th for the swim out of 400+ people participating!!  I think he will only get faster on his bike and run.  He hopes to do more Triathlons next summer... especially collecting the fun T-shirts!  

We are very proud! 

A quick visit before the race

All the swimmers lining up on the dock

Almost finished!

Happy Birthday Abby!

Today is the day!  Five years ago this morning at 9:53 am our tiny baby entered the world.  So much has happened in these past 5 years!  It's hard to believe Abby is such a big girl after starting out so small.

Abby is now 29 lbs and about 37 inches long.  She looks like a little girl now and no longer like a toddler.  She is very aware of her crazy family around her and seems to enjoy listening to our interactions... especially Josiah!  She teaches us more every day about pure love and about trust.  We long to trust our heavenly Father the way she so willingly trusts us as her parents.

This year has been a full one!  Full of illness, changes and some progress.  It has also been full of a spirit of thankfulness in our family.  We feel the Lord's mercy and blessing on us every day.  He is Good!

Because it has been a big year for Abby, this B-day movie is a little Long!  We tried to include pieces of the major events at least.  

We love you Precious Abby!

Matthew 6:33-34

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.