It's amazing how children are so honest and forthright before they mature enough to learn how to tell white lies to keep from offending or hurting someone's feelings. Every one of my grandkids has at one time or another, looked at me and said,"Hey, did you know you have a crooked tooth?" On that basis, I would rather ask one of the grandkids if I have bad breath than an adult. The adult will lie, or evade. The child will, if they are young enough, tell it like it is. I made the mistake of asking Sunnie that one day. I bent over and puffed in her face. She rolled her eyes, and made choking, gagging noises and acted like she was fainting. A simple yes would have sufficed.
Recently, I mentioned to Becky that I wondered if our little Hope would accept me better if my hair was darker. Everyone in China has black hair and I wasn't sure how she would take to a gray haired Baba. We decided that I would try some of that stuff that you comb into your hair and it restores the color gradually. When I read the directions, I began to have misgivings. The instructions said to comb the liquid into clean, dry hair and to not wash your hair again for a week. I can't stand to go more than a day without shampooing, so I decided to go ahead and try it, and still shampoo daily.
A couple of days after I started using it, I was down on my knees working on the lawnmower, when Sunnie walked up beside me. "What stinks", she asked? " I already had complained to Becky that I didn't like the smell of the stuff, and could almost swear that it seemed to attract flies. "Is it my hair", I asked Sunnie. She bent closer and sniffed, "Yuck!" she replied, "that's it". A while later Sunnie, Tyler and I were walking out to the barn to feed. "Something stinks",Tyler announced. This while were walking through a barnyard, but I bent over and said, "smell my hair, is that what it is"? Tyler sniffed and nodded his head matter of factly.
Now I lodged a more fervent complaint to Becky. "This stuff stinks, it draws flies, and it only makes my hair darker until I wash it out. It occurs to me that it works along the same lines that wet cow patties would work. Wet cow manure would accomplish the same thing, and would be much cheaper." The other day I saw the latest video of Osama Bin Laden. I couldn't help noticing that his beard looked much darker than in previous videos. I wonder if he is using something like I am, or is he using the cheap stuff?
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. A week or so after I quit the stuff we were going somewhere in the car with Sunnie in the back seat."Hey, Ronnie, are still using that stuff in your hair", she asked? "No, not in several days", I replied. "Why do you ask"? " I just thought I would tell you that it's fading", she said.
"Thanks for noticing, Sunnie".
"You're welcome".
Ronnie
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
Once again we celebrate another Thanksgiving Day. We are thankful for the love of family, to live free in the USA, Texas no less, for our health, for jobs to work and the ability to work. We are thankful for our military, many who are still in combat zones. We are thankful that our cousin Zack has ended his deployment in Iraq and is back in the states for a while. A special thanksgiving wish to Gary and his family in Japan. Above all, we are thankful for the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.
Ronnie
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Melodie Beattie
Looks like my banana pudding was a HIT!!!
Happy Thanksgiving...next year the crowd around here will be increased by one precious little girl....
Becky
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Thankful to be Here
In the early part of the twentieth century, Luther became a Christian. He was a poor man that had made a living sharecropping, barbering, and selling home brewed liqour. He had a wife, five sons, and two daughters. After his conversion, he gave up the making of the home brew. His conversion was dramatic, joyous, and wholehearted. From that point on, his greatest desire was to please the Lord Jesus. He found new joy in living, even in grueling hard work and privation. He loved his family with a newfound and selfless fervency.
In about 1937, his fourth son, about twelve years old, became sick with a painful stomach ache. Luther laid hands on the boy and prayed for him according to the scriptures and the custom of his church. When the boy didn't improve within a few hours, Luther sent word and asked for the Pastor to come and pray for the boy which he did. The boy still complained of the pain, but the Pastor encouraged Luther to stand fast in faith. Several hours later, the pain suddenly subsided, the boy felt better, and Luther and the family thanked the Lord for His healing power as they had done dozens of times before.
The next day, the boy developed a fever and began to have some pain in the stomach again. Luther knew that his faith was usually tested, and he stood on the scriptures, and comforted his son. Some of Luther's family suggested that they should take the boy to the doctor, but Luther felt that would be acting in unbelief. Luther had some from the church who admonished him that Christians should never need a doctor if their faith was sufficient.
By the next day, Luther's agony at seeing his son still suffering, and the persuasion of his brother-in-law and others in the family caused him to seek a ride twenty miles into town to the doctor. When the doctor checked out the boy, he had very bad news. The child had suffered from appendicitis, and the appendix had ruptured. When the appendix burst, that was what brought about the temporary relief of pain. Now, infection had set in, and was well advanced.
Luther was stunned. The old doctor was very frank, if Luther had brought the boy in on the first day, if would have been a simple matter to remove the appendix with a good prognosis. Now, the situation was grave. In the next few days, the boy steadily worsened. Luther spent hours praying in an old buggy shed behind the hospital, but the child's condition deteriorated. The doctor told Luther that he had done all that he could do. When he tried to stitch up the opening, the flesh was gangrenous and rotten. It was so bad that bowel movements came out of the gaping hole in the boy's lower side.
Luther had to prepare himself and his family for the boy's death. Once again Luther retreated to the buggy barn and spent an agonizing night in prayer. We don't know exactly how he prayed, but he knew that without a miracle, his son would probably be dead before the next day was over. He may have prayed for forgiveness for not acting in time to save his boy's life. He probably wrestled with thoughts that his faith must have been defective, or that his son was being punished for the failures of his father.
That morning, a little after sunrise Luther walked over to the hospital, drained and exhausted. The doctor met him in the hall, and said that he didn't understand it, but they had a little good news. The boy had experienced a normal bowel movement, something was changing for the better. In the days ahead the progress increased, healthy skin began to appear and the gangrene lessened. The fever subsided and the child gained some strength.
There was a young nurse who took extra time to carry the boy around the hospital to visit others or to get fresh air. He was still too weak to walk for many days. In time, the boy was able to be sent home. His younger brother and sister had to teach him to walk again, but he kept improving and getting stronger. I have been told that the doctor that treated the boy acknowledged that a miracle of some sort had occured, although he still resented that the boy wasn't brought in early enough to not need a miracle.
I am really thankful for the miraculous healing of the young boy. I can forgive Luther for waiting so long. I am sure that his heart was in the right place and that he did what he thought was best for his boy at the time. I know that he truly loved his son. I am sure of this because Luther was my grandfather, and his fourth son was my dad. I don't suppose that I would be here if God had not answered Luther's prayer and healed his son.
The young boy grew up to be one of the strongest men for his size that I have ever known. He had more energy and love of life than anyone I ever knew. Sometimes when I was tending to Dad in the nursing home before he died I would see the scar, as big as my fist in his lower right side. It always reminded me of how precarious the path is to our very existance.
I never did get to meet the old doctor who treated my dad, he had died before I was old enough to hear the story. I did have the pleasure of knowing the nurse that carried my dad around the hospital. She worked in the local hospital until retirement, and we saw her often around town, until her death about ten or fifteen years ago. She told me about carrying dad through the hospital, and I could tell that she had special fondess for him.
As Thanksgiving approaches I am taking inventory of the many things that I am thankful for. I suppose the first thing to be thankful for is just to be here, especially when I realize that it probably took a few miracles to make it possible. I'm also thankful for doctors and nurses, pastors and church members, even though none of them have perfect judgement at all times, and above all I am thankful for a loving Creator and Redeemer that loves us unconditionally, and can bring a miracle when we have to have one.
Ronnie
In about 1937, his fourth son, about twelve years old, became sick with a painful stomach ache. Luther laid hands on the boy and prayed for him according to the scriptures and the custom of his church. When the boy didn't improve within a few hours, Luther sent word and asked for the Pastor to come and pray for the boy which he did. The boy still complained of the pain, but the Pastor encouraged Luther to stand fast in faith. Several hours later, the pain suddenly subsided, the boy felt better, and Luther and the family thanked the Lord for His healing power as they had done dozens of times before.
The next day, the boy developed a fever and began to have some pain in the stomach again. Luther knew that his faith was usually tested, and he stood on the scriptures, and comforted his son. Some of Luther's family suggested that they should take the boy to the doctor, but Luther felt that would be acting in unbelief. Luther had some from the church who admonished him that Christians should never need a doctor if their faith was sufficient.
By the next day, Luther's agony at seeing his son still suffering, and the persuasion of his brother-in-law and others in the family caused him to seek a ride twenty miles into town to the doctor. When the doctor checked out the boy, he had very bad news. The child had suffered from appendicitis, and the appendix had ruptured. When the appendix burst, that was what brought about the temporary relief of pain. Now, infection had set in, and was well advanced.
Luther was stunned. The old doctor was very frank, if Luther had brought the boy in on the first day, if would have been a simple matter to remove the appendix with a good prognosis. Now, the situation was grave. In the next few days, the boy steadily worsened. Luther spent hours praying in an old buggy shed behind the hospital, but the child's condition deteriorated. The doctor told Luther that he had done all that he could do. When he tried to stitch up the opening, the flesh was gangrenous and rotten. It was so bad that bowel movements came out of the gaping hole in the boy's lower side.
Luther had to prepare himself and his family for the boy's death. Once again Luther retreated to the buggy barn and spent an agonizing night in prayer. We don't know exactly how he prayed, but he knew that without a miracle, his son would probably be dead before the next day was over. He may have prayed for forgiveness for not acting in time to save his boy's life. He probably wrestled with thoughts that his faith must have been defective, or that his son was being punished for the failures of his father.
That morning, a little after sunrise Luther walked over to the hospital, drained and exhausted. The doctor met him in the hall, and said that he didn't understand it, but they had a little good news. The boy had experienced a normal bowel movement, something was changing for the better. In the days ahead the progress increased, healthy skin began to appear and the gangrene lessened. The fever subsided and the child gained some strength.
There was a young nurse who took extra time to carry the boy around the hospital to visit others or to get fresh air. He was still too weak to walk for many days. In time, the boy was able to be sent home. His younger brother and sister had to teach him to walk again, but he kept improving and getting stronger. I have been told that the doctor that treated the boy acknowledged that a miracle of some sort had occured, although he still resented that the boy wasn't brought in early enough to not need a miracle.
I am really thankful for the miraculous healing of the young boy. I can forgive Luther for waiting so long. I am sure that his heart was in the right place and that he did what he thought was best for his boy at the time. I know that he truly loved his son. I am sure of this because Luther was my grandfather, and his fourth son was my dad. I don't suppose that I would be here if God had not answered Luther's prayer and healed his son.
The young boy grew up to be one of the strongest men for his size that I have ever known. He had more energy and love of life than anyone I ever knew. Sometimes when I was tending to Dad in the nursing home before he died I would see the scar, as big as my fist in his lower right side. It always reminded me of how precarious the path is to our very existance.
I never did get to meet the old doctor who treated my dad, he had died before I was old enough to hear the story. I did have the pleasure of knowing the nurse that carried my dad around the hospital. She worked in the local hospital until retirement, and we saw her often around town, until her death about ten or fifteen years ago. She told me about carrying dad through the hospital, and I could tell that she had special fondess for him.
As Thanksgiving approaches I am taking inventory of the many things that I am thankful for. I suppose the first thing to be thankful for is just to be here, especially when I realize that it probably took a few miracles to make it possible. I'm also thankful for doctors and nurses, pastors and church members, even though none of them have perfect judgement at all times, and above all I am thankful for a loving Creator and Redeemer that loves us unconditionally, and can bring a miracle when we have to have one.
Ronnie
Friday, November 16, 2007
Hopes, Dreams, and Prayers
A family in China adopting a special needs toddler experienced a tragedy this last week. After the adoption had been completed and the family was in Guangzhou for the child’s visa, the father unexpectedly died. The mom is desperate to finish the adoption process and bring their new daughter home to America. At last report, after the intervention of congressmen and senators, they have obtained a visa for the child, and are headed for home. Our hearts go out to the mom, and all of the family. We have been praying for them, that this sorrowful loss would not mean the end of the new beginning hoped for by the adoptive dad for his new daughter.
From a dad’s perspective, I can testify that a father’s hopes and dreams for his children do not end when he dies. On the contrary, I believe that they continue on into the future, through space and time, and into eternity, like the light from a star that may have burned out long ago. When Becky and I were approved for adoption, the very first order of business for me was to take out more life insurance. There was an inner urging within me that I had another child on the way, and that I might not live to see her into adulthood.
When I am sitting on a church pew beside my grandkids, or feeding the catfish with them down at the pool, or enjoying a vacation outing with my daughters and their families, or when I have found a person in need that I can bless in some way, I know that I am living out the hopes and dreams that my Dad had for me. I feel his influence in everything that I do.
We pray for comfort and healing for this mom and loved ones. We pray for the daughter, that she will grow up knowing that a special dad invested all of his being to make her his daughter, and that he had hopes and dreams of a wonderful life for her. We pray that those hopes and dreams will be fulfilled for her in a joyful, abundant life.
Ronnie
From a dad’s perspective, I can testify that a father’s hopes and dreams for his children do not end when he dies. On the contrary, I believe that they continue on into the future, through space and time, and into eternity, like the light from a star that may have burned out long ago. When Becky and I were approved for adoption, the very first order of business for me was to take out more life insurance. There was an inner urging within me that I had another child on the way, and that I might not live to see her into adulthood.
When I am sitting on a church pew beside my grandkids, or feeding the catfish with them down at the pool, or enjoying a vacation outing with my daughters and their families, or when I have found a person in need that I can bless in some way, I know that I am living out the hopes and dreams that my Dad had for me. I feel his influence in everything that I do.
We pray for comfort and healing for this mom and loved ones. We pray for the daughter, that she will grow up knowing that a special dad invested all of his being to make her his daughter, and that he had hopes and dreams of a wonderful life for her. We pray that those hopes and dreams will be fulfilled for her in a joyful, abundant life.
Ronnie
Saturday, November 03, 2007
To China In January....
ADOPTION UPDATE:
We missed the cut off on the matches from the China Center Of Adoption Affairs by one day. Although it will not be actually official until the matches arrive on Monday or until the CCAA updates their website with the cut off date we are sure that we did not get matched this month. We were really hoping for a November match so that we could use some of our 2007 vacation time in making the trip and having more time at home with the little girl after getting back before having to go back to work.
Now to the positive side of this little bump in the road. We know that we will be included in the next batch because they will be starting with December 9, 2005 and that is our "Log In Date"
YEAH!!! No longer will we have to wonder if we are included in the next group of families that will be waiting on "THE CALL" from their agency. Probably sometime within the first 10 days in December we will be called by our agency and they will tell us the age of the little girl that the CCAA matched us with, what her Chinese name is, a little about her history, and then while we are on the phone with them they will send us an email with her picture attached. When we open up that email it will be our first glimpse of the little girl, that is destined to become our daughter. Wow!! Two years and seven months after being approved to adopt by Chinese Children Adoption International in Colorado we will see her precious face. It has been a very long wait and one thing that has remained constant and sure during this time is that we are so committed to loving, and raising another daughter. What a blessing!! Praise God, He is so faithful to us and to our family.
Our trip to China will be sometime in January, most likely in mid-month. It is awesome to finally have some sort of timeline. Thank you for all your prayers for us and for our little girl. We do hope that you will continue to pray for her and for us over the next couple of months. Our prayer for her is that she will be warm, fed, and lovingly held by someone who loves Jesus while she waits for us to bring her home.
As always continue to check our adoption site CHINA HOPE for more updates and soon PICTURES.
Becky
We missed the cut off on the matches from the China Center Of Adoption Affairs by one day. Although it will not be actually official until the matches arrive on Monday or until the CCAA updates their website with the cut off date we are sure that we did not get matched this month. We were really hoping for a November match so that we could use some of our 2007 vacation time in making the trip and having more time at home with the little girl after getting back before having to go back to work.
Now to the positive side of this little bump in the road. We know that we will be included in the next batch because they will be starting with December 9, 2005 and that is our "Log In Date"
YEAH!!! No longer will we have to wonder if we are included in the next group of families that will be waiting on "THE CALL" from their agency. Probably sometime within the first 10 days in December we will be called by our agency and they will tell us the age of the little girl that the CCAA matched us with, what her Chinese name is, a little about her history, and then while we are on the phone with them they will send us an email with her picture attached. When we open up that email it will be our first glimpse of the little girl, that is destined to become our daughter. Wow!! Two years and seven months after being approved to adopt by Chinese Children Adoption International in Colorado we will see her precious face. It has been a very long wait and one thing that has remained constant and sure during this time is that we are so committed to loving, and raising another daughter. What a blessing!! Praise God, He is so faithful to us and to our family.
Our trip to China will be sometime in January, most likely in mid-month. It is awesome to finally have some sort of timeline. Thank you for all your prayers for us and for our little girl. We do hope that you will continue to pray for her and for us over the next couple of months. Our prayer for her is that she will be warm, fed, and lovingly held by someone who loves Jesus while she waits for us to bring her home.
As always continue to check our adoption site CHINA HOPE for more updates and soon PICTURES.
Becky
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