Wednesday, November 30, 2005
An Early Christmas Present
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Monday, November 28, 2005
That’s no secret
Eliana and I were holding hands as we walked through Kohl's Department Store tonight when I asked, "Can I tell you a secret"?Eliana loves secrets. So she looked up at me somewhat wide-eyed with anticipation as she nodded her head and said, "Yeah".
Now I had hardly seen her all day long. I had been at church for 10-1/2 of the last 12 hours and she was staying at Gran'mommy's during the time I happened to be at home. So I leaned down and whispered, "I love you"!
I wish you could have seen the expression on her face when she looked up at me again. Sporting a huge grin that reminded me of the cheshire cat in Alice In Wonderland, my daughter replied matter-of-factly, "Awwwww...that's no secret!". {extended}
Saturday, November 26, 2005
What Big Teeth You Have
This is just a really cute picture of two Siberian Huskies that we once owned. Our male, Lobo, is on the right. He was a big baby with a black, silver and white coat and the most beautiful blue eyes. He truly looked like a wolf. Our female, Sassy, is on the left. She was considerably smaller with a white coat and big ol' brown eyes. Carmi just happened to catch these two in a particularly playful moment. Both died from natural causes and we miss them very much.
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Friday, November 25, 2005
Up She Went
Carmi had to work today so Eliana and I headed over to Mom’s to draw names for Christmas before my sister and brother-in-law needed to leave.
Eliana just couldn’t resist the urge to climb a tree at Gran’mommy’s so up she went…with a little help, of course.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Happy Thanksgiving 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
23 Things I’m Thankful For
In less than 24 hours, some of our family and friends will gather together for what is always one of my favorite days of the year. There are many things that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving and I�d like to list a few in no particular order:
- A paternal grandmother who I heard pray for me by name on many occasions.
- A maternal grandmother whose laugh was infectious and whose home was always open.
- A father who demonstrated love to his children by loving our mother.
- A mother who has a servant’s heart and whose life exemplifies the adage, ‘it is better to give than to receive’.
- A daughter who helps me understand the meaning of unconditional love.
- A wife who took my breath away the first time I saw her and who has the same effect on me today.
- A heavenly Father who loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life.
- The Word of God which is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
- The men and women of our armed forces who put their lives on the line each day for every American citizen.
- The gift of music.
- The Chinese government which made it possible for us to experience the blessing of parenthood.
- I was fortunate enough to be born in the United States which is still the greatest country in the world.
- I don’t have to drive on I-77 and fight traffic jams every day because I live so close to work.
- I can go home at lunch every workday.
- I can say I’ve had at least one true friend in my lifetime.
- I learned to type in High School.
- I never developed a passion for golf.
- I’m not a turkey.
- My job in spite of the stress it brings.
- My cable internet connection.
- Wireless internet.
- O’Charley’s allows children to eat for free.
- Mom’s back scratches.
My Wife Is Such An Optomist
It's the day before Thanksgiving and we'll be having 20 people at the house tomorrow for our annual Thanksgiving glutton-fest. Carmi created this to-do list in preparation for our guest's arrival and, as you can see, there are more unchecked items than there are checked items. My wife is such an optomist.
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Our Town’s Annual Christmas Parade
Our town's annual Christmas parade kicked off the 2005 Holiday season this afternoon at 4:00 pm.Eliana's Preschool was represented on a float in the parade and any child who wanted could ride on the float when accompanied by a parent. I was busy with a project at work and couldn't get away. However, Carmi was able to leave work early and made it home in time to ride with the Empress.
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Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Our Thanksgiving Indian
Monday, November 21, 2005
One Of My Favorite Pictures Of Eliana
This has always been one of my favorite pictures of Eliana as an infant. Back in the summer of 2003, Carmi and Eliana traveled with my gospel quartet one particular weekend that we were singing up in Ohio. In this picture, Eliana is outside one of the churches and exploring in the yard. She has always been a very curious child.
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Eliana Didn’t Have An Attitude
Our Preschool Choir sang a couple of Thanksgiving songs this morning in the 11:00 am service. No, Eliana didn't have an attitude. This particular tune involved motions and I'm pretty sure the children were signing "love".
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Saturday, November 19, 2005
The Wiggles In Greenville, SC
I took the afternoon off because Eliana and I needed to pick Carmi up early and head to Greenville, SC for the Wiggles concert.
The traffic was h-a-t-e-f-u-l but we still managed to arrive about 45 minutes before the program started. Just enough time to make pit stops and grab some eats. I almost wasn’t around for the fun because a hamburger cost $5.50 which came within a smidgeon of giving me a heart attack.
I don’t know how many patrons the Bi-Lo Center will hold but it’s a bunch and a big majority of the seats were taken. I was particularly pleased to see so many fathers there. This was one of those events where I didn’t expect much of an adult male presence but they proved me wrong. Way to go, Dads!
The only disappointment of the night was that one of the four major characters - a gentleman named Greg who is the lead singer - was not there. He apparently had some problems with a hernia and was headed back home to Australia for surgery. They had a fill-in named Sam who did a surprisingly good job. He sounded very much like Greg when he sang.
Care for some pictures? Sure you do! Click here to see ‘em…
{extended}Friday, November 18, 2005
Having To Parent Just Sucks Sometimes
When Eliana came home today, she was very reluctant to show me her daily "report card" from preschool. After some coaxing, she pulled the report from her book bag and sheepishly pointed to the "yellow" traffic light under today's date. This was the second yellow light this week!I asked her daycare provider what had happened for Eliana to earn the yellow light. Seems that the teachers instructed students to sit cross-legged in a circle after a particular activity. Little miss priss chose instead to lay on the floor and answered with "I don't WANT to". When told the second time, she said "I don't HAVE to". Third time was the charm. After being told to sit up one last time, Eliana rolled her eyes and with an attitude replied, "I SAID, I don't HAVE to!". I certainly believe that she rolled her eyes because she has pulled that stunt at home before.
Yellow lights at preschool means that she forfeits her computer time at home for the evening. Like clockwork, she asked to play on the computer. I told her no...and then I had to deal with this pitiful face.
Having to "parent" just sucks sometimes. {extended}
Thursday, November 17, 2005
China Dads
There is a new Yahoo! discussion group called China Dads. It is intended to be a place just for Dads to fellowship and share ideas and experiences about parenting a child adopted from China. There's plenty of talk about belching along with other bodily functions and occasionally a discussion of substance. So ladies, send your husbands on over.I was very pleased to find it. In just the first couple of days I've already met another Worship Leader for a Baptist church up in Ohio. I was even more pleased to find that the moderator has put a picture of me and Eliana on the home page for today. Thanks Terry!
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Tuesday, November 15, 2005
19 Reasons That I Love My Wife
Today is our 19th wedding anniversary. It truly seems like only yesterday we walked down the aisle at church and committed our lives to each other. The first couple of years were extremely tough but we weathered the storm. That’s not to say that we don’t have our rough spots now, but I love my wife more and am more committed to her TODAY than when we said “I do” on November 15, 1986.
In honor of this special day, may I present to you 19 reasons that I love my wife. These reasons are in no particular order and are not the ONLY reasons…just the ones that first came to mind.
- She loves me…and this should be reason enough.
- She is warm and soft.
- Her hands fit perfectly in mine.
- Her neck is oh so kissable and she lets me kiss it even at the most inopportune moments…but only at home.
- She is a great cook.
- She sings, especially with our daughter, even though she feels that she can’t.
- She loves reading to our daughter.
- She loves my family.
- She is tough on the outside but tender-hearted on the inside and cries easily.
- I have a difficult time falling asleep in bed if she’s not home.
- I can’t imagine life without her.
- She is beautiful.
- She loves to read the Bible.
- She is a Christian.
- She is very smart.
- She always wants to look her best.
- The Bible tells me to.
- I get lost in her eyes.
- She brags about me to friends and family.