Right Left Whatever

Happy Thanksgiving

I wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving in advance, as we are traveling to see my California sisters and brother and their families, and one of Amy's four cousins. Traveling early in order to avoid Wednesday's traffic (though our experience last year going to Amarillo Texas had its own set of problems as well - namely a weather-related sleepover in Dallas).

I'd also like to explain a bit of the slow blogging: Rebecca is going through a growth spurt right now (she is 2-10/12 years old) which is really beautiful to watch, and I'm spending less time on the computer. She is talking much now, and doing more, including helping with the simpler things to do around the house, things like feeding the cats (yes, we've adopted two kittens since General Cat died in August), helping me put recycling things in sorted sacks, and she's potty-training. So all that, and the discipline I have of not staying on the computer late at night (personal discipline of mine is waking early and having the computer on late doesn't support that), and that I can't even access most of the blogs on my blogroll from work (not that anyone should be spending excessive time reading blogs at work of course), make it so that I have real limited time to read other's blogs, and not much time left over to write. So, the bottom line is that blogging is temporarily very limited, and will likely be so through Christmas, though I am going to keep visible posts on the frontpage.

So, again, a happy Thanksgiving to everyone, safe travel and a blessed time with family and friends.

Reason #4 to keep your cat indoors

1. They kill birds,
2. They get sick more often, causing,
3. A shorter life,

and:

4: They might get lost, like in getting shipped to France by mistake.

(hat tip The Corner)

I can't believe he's gone.

Sure I knew he was getting old, and wouldn't be around forever, but I never knew how empty a house could be without him here. I keep expecting him to be trying to get out of the house while the door's open. I quickly shut the door, then catch myself. I don't have to do that anymore. I can't believe he's gone.

I look for him in the backyard when I bring Rebecca back from the playground or out on a stroller or wagon ride. He'll see us coming and get up and meet us by the back gate -- no, he won't, he's not here anymore. I can't believe he's gone.

I expect to feel his nose burrowing into the crook of my arm late at night, his "wet sloppy kisses" as Amy called them, then to curl up in my arm, right on the edge of the bed, because he knows my arm will keep him from falling off. But my arm is empty now, and I can't hear him purring anymore. I can't believe he's gone.

General Cat

General Cat passed away early this morning. This is the end of an era for me, the first time to be without a pet for just more than seventeen years. General was born on Friday May 13, 1988, and was adopted into my house, along with his sister Princess, just six weeks later soon after I moved to New Jersey.

General got along well with Rebecca, and was great with her after we came home from China. Often when Rebecca was crying, he would come into the room and just lie down where she could see him, and then she would calm down. I noticed he began to lose his hearing about that time too.

Unfortunately, last year, we found out he had a tumor growing in his tummy which was causing him to throw up constantly. After talking with our vet and discussing treatment options such as surgery and chemotherapy, we decided to waive all that because he was getting pretty old. The vet agreed with our decision, and prescribed Prednisone to make it more comfortable for him, but told us it wasn't a cure, we were just buying a bit more time for him. I prayed that he would get another birthday, and that prayer was answered, but I didn't think I'd get more than that one birthday, so these last three months have actually been some bonus time.

Up until two days ago, he actually seemed to be stronger than a year ago. Then something happened real suddenly. We had put off getting his shots, but now he was due, so last Wednesday he went in for some shots. He went downhill after that. Thursday night he just stopped. No strength, no appetite, and stopped purring when we pet him. It was real disconcerting. We called the vet yesterday, who told us to up the Prednisone and see her on Saturday. Saturday's here now, but he didn't make it. I was with him last night around midnight, and when I went to bed I wasn't confident I would see him alive again.

Seventeen years old, and he's been with me since he was a six-week old kitten. Lots of memories of this guy. He was the last of our four cats, and we lost Trixie less than three weeks ago.

Goodbye General. You were a great cat.

A Day at the Races

I wanted to put up a journal entry on the Pennsylvania 500 right after returning from Pocono Raceway, but decided to put it off due to Trixie's passing. Now that some time has passed, here's the entry written now before I forget any of the details.

On Sunday morning, we load up the car with an ice chest filled with lunch (in our case some cold chicken and hamburgers, a few beers and bottles of water). Pocono allows people to bring in a 12x12 cooler that can be put under your seat. I can't think of any other sporting event that lets you do this. Pretty cool. A tip for next time - bring a grill, and cook there. Lots of people do that, and some of the setups are BIG. There was one party in the parking lot where a guy was BBQ'ing ribs for a party of about twenty people (and his grill was about six feet long!). And the crowds! We parked about a half mile from the grandstands (and that was the near end, we had to walk about a half mile after that to get to our seats!), and all we could see was cars and RVs. It seemed the earth was covered with them. Imagine the parking at a football game (I've been to a few, used to live in Dallas and went to one or two Cowboys games each year), and bump it up almost an order of magnitude. Anyway, since the racetrack is so big, more people can sit in the grandstands than at a football game, a lot more, and most every seat is filled as far as I can tell. I'm almost leaving out all the activity outside the track. Trailer upon trailer of things to buy, autographs from the racers if you get there around 7:00 am, games, a salon even - Garnier is a NASCAR sponsor. It's like a city set up for the weekend.

Opening ceremonies for NASCAR races are awesome. It's like the Fourth of July all over again. A military band played a medley of the songs representing our armed forces, and had people who served in each one stand up. Special awards were to given to retiring racers Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin (who came in 2nd and 3rd), presented by US Senator Rick Santorum, who also said the "Gentlemen start your engines!" words. Of course, there's the National Anthem and an opening invocation (which no other sport I know of does).

On to the race. Loud! and fast! Watching a race on TV does it no justice for knowing how fast and furious these cars are. Especially awesome is how loud the cars are as they pass just after a race restart. At that point they're all together and it is pretty awesome as they go past. After a few laps, some stragglers will drift off the tail end of the pack. Trying to spot one car in a crowd is pretty nearly impossible. As they go past the numbers are pretty nearly illegible as it's all a blur. Spotters, the race-team members who watch the cars progress and radio the drivers and pit crew, work in a higher section of the grandstand with a higher view, have more experience, and yet even they have trouble if the cars' colors or sponsorship logos are too similar.

All in all, it was a lot of fun and excitement at our first NASCAR race. We won't go to very many, it is very expensive to go. My racer, Carl Edwards came in fourth, but my fantasy team composed of Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, and Carl Edwards came in 1st, 3rd, and 4th respectively so I trounced my competition. Standings wise, Kurt Busch and Mark Martin are well-placed in the top 10, and Carl Edwards is barely out of it in a close 12th place. The top 10 racers are "promoted" after the 26th race - sometime in September, to the final "Race for the Cup". Kindof complicated to explain, but after 26 races (of 36 total), the top 10 are given a lot of bonus points, so that even though there are 43 cars in each race, only one of those top 10 will be able to win the championship at the end.

Remembering Trixie

I did not enjoy this weekend. Don't get me wrong, we had a lot of fun in the Poconos, and really enjoyed the Pennsylvania 500 (and my NASCAR fantasy team took 3 of the top 4 positions - woo hoo!).

No, what I did not enjoy was what we left behind, and how it hit us so unexpectedly. Our Trixie-Cat had an embolism (a blockage of an artery) which paralyzed her hind legs, and we put her to sleep on Monday when we got home. It was an unexpected event. She had been left with the vet for observation due to a injury which was not life-threatening, though she was taking a long time to heal (why she was left with the vet instead of a catsitter). In fact, the vet told us the embolism was not related to the wound. But we got a call from the vet while traveling Friday night, telling us about the embolism, her symptoms, that she couldn't move her legs, that she was completely immobile and no feeling in her hind legs. He held out a little hope, but said if nothing changed by Monday, her outlook would be grim, and that is indeed how it turned out. When we talked to the vet Monday evening, he told us it would only get more painful and she would never be able to move around. He recommended euthanasia, and since we were finally ready for this decision after thinking about it all weekend, decided to do it that evening, after spending one last hour with her.

Trixie was Amy's cat, her contribution to our household of a Brady-bunch-style household, where I had two cats, General and Princess, and Amy had two cats named Alice and Trixie. All of them, except General, are now gone. She was about 15 years old (exact age unknown), so she had a good life with lots of good memories for us, including some backflips and acrobatics, her "wake-up call", and many other special things she did. Goodbye Trixie, we miss you so much.

Recent Happenings

Recent events here:
Rebecca has started potty-training. No pushing involved. She let us know when she started wanting to "go potty". Lots of summertime activities too. She loves to see horses, and we see them several times a week going to and from work, as there are several stables, farms, and equestrian centers near where I work. New Jersey isn't all urban, in fact, near where I work, it's practically rural. I've seen wild turkeys walking across a field while on my way to lunch. Bears are sometimes (but rarely) reported to be nearby. Our security at work puts out an occasional bulletin reminding people to watch out for them. There is a colonial history farm about halfway between Trenton and Lambertville we like to take Rebecca to. She loves to see all the animals. One thing she does that is rather funny is that she will run up to the split-rail fence to pet the sheep, but when the sheep turn around to look at her, she gets afraid and backs off. And one thing to watch out for - don't get close to the huge (huge!) work horses. Rebecca is really afraid of them - she loves to see them, but only far away. Oops, we forgot to take the camera, so we don't have pictures. Next time.

In other news, one of our cats, Trixie, is not doing well. We don't know how it happened, but she lost a claw, and the resulting abcess became infected. The vet did a bit of surgery, but the paw just isn't healing, and now she can't even support her weight on that arm (or fore-leg) of hers. Yesterday, the vet told us to confine her in a cage with shredded newspaper litter, and changed her prescription. Hope this does it.

This coming weekend has us going up to the Poconos for a weekend getaway, a typical monthly outing for us, except that this time, our outing has us going to Long Pond and the Pocono Speedway to see our first live NASCAR race, and hopefully a backflip after the race is won! Go Carl Edwards!

Time Out

Wisdom, patience, and love are three fruits of the Spirit that I believe are essential for parents (especially), and all who speak out on matters concerning the church. I've put words on this blog recently which were impatient, unwise, and proud. Furthermore, I'm not sure my role in the body of Christ is to blog. Comments on recent church news may be handled better by commentators with more wisdom and experience who are better able to articulate their positions. I'm not even sure the blogging medium is the best avenue for discussing those issues.

I'm sorry for all harsh words. I'm taking time off until I discern a clear direction I should take this blog.

Remembering the Alamo

Today is the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo, where all the defenders of this Spanish mission were killed by Mexican General Santa Anna in Texas' Revolutionary War. Proud men fighting for liberty, just as others did a little further east sixty years earlier.

So how did I note the anniversary? I watched the NASCAR Telcel 200, the inaugural NASCAR race in Mexico City.

Rebecca's First American Christmas

One thing that surprised us a little bit is that Christmas is actually observed in China, although only in a secular version. Lots of Santas, snowflakes, and Christmas trees, but never a nativity scene. However, in our hotel elevator in Beijing, we did hear an instrumental version of Silent Night over the loudspeaker, which is more than you'll hear in some New Jersey school districts.

Of course, since we observe Christmas as Jesus' birthday first and foremost, she got full exposure to Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the angels and shepherds, and the Wise Men -- and then a Christmas tree, Santa, and presents.

Here are some pictures from her first American Christmas: (click following link to view)

The pajamahadeen!



The brand new drawing toy!
With loud annoying animal noises too! Great for the car!



Thank you, Barbara & Adam (our neighbors)

Gotcha Day!

Today is the first anniversary of Rebecca's Gotcha Day!

One year ago, there we were in China, we adopted our little girl, who was so happy she screamed (well, perhaps that scream was really more in terror).

Also, her second birthday was on Sunday, and here are a couple of pictures. (Click following link to view)

The Birthday Girl!



I get a wish for those candles being blown out? Yeah right!

Happenings

Some things going on from some of the authors in my blogroll:

Joshua Claybourn's mom's birthday was Christmas Eve. He remembers her in this post.

My dad's birthday was the 28th, and also came with a bit of sadness, and Christmas was mixed. Feelings of joy and sadness intertwined. We noted the sadness, and then rejoiced in the wonderful expressions in Rebecca's face as she experienced her first Christmas with us.

Jeffrey Collings is engaged. Congratulations!

Susan b. has lost her dog, 13-year old Coco. Susan, may God grant you peace and comfort in your loss. I'm sure you're going over a lot of memories of the last thirteen years and mourning that they've ended so suddenly. Our pets are so special to us.

Remembrances

Last week I wrote a story about our trip to Hereford to see my dad for Thanksgiving. He passed away the following Sunday. I've let the story sit in my drafts folder, unable to post it. In effect, I've just been afraid to talk about it, at least on the Internet where millions of people can see it (though the number of my readers is actually much lower than that). There's this nagging thought that if I can't do it right, I shouldn't do it. Well, that attitude's a crock. If something is worth doing, it's worth doing - period. Josh Claybourn wrote me to remind me of his experience of losing his mom (thanks, Josh), and reading it helped me to sort out some of my feelings. It takes considerable courage to lay one's life open to the Internet.

With just a little bit of cleanup, here's the story:

My sister Naomi and I were in Hereford for Thanksgiving, and were with Dad Saturday night before he passed away. I stayed with him late that night, reading and talking with him, though he couldn't talk to me. I read from the Bible, talked about Rebecca, and how growing up in a Bible-believing and Bible-reading home meant so much to us. I promised to pass on those values to Rebecca as best I could, and to tell her lots of stories of her grandfather. I went back to our hotel sad and discouraged. In hindsight, I think I knew the end of his life was near, yet I never wanted to say so out loud, fearing my words would come true. That night I slept restlessly, and something really weird happened. The alarm clock which was set for 6 am actually went off much earlier, about 1 or 2 am. I turned it off (or hit the snooze button), thinking it was set wrong or broken (it worked perfectly every other night). Then it went off again about a half hour later. This time I turned on a light, and made sure it was off. A half hour later the call came from King's Manor: "We've lost your dad". I think if I had gotten up with the alarm clock and headed straight there I would have been with him when he passed away. By hesitating, all I got was a phone call. I feel bad for that, I wish I had realized I had needed to go. People I tell this to tell me I'm reading too much into it, or that I'm overreacting, but it doesn't make the feeling go away. I feel bad that my dad was alone when he passed away. I'm sorry Dad - I'm glad I was with you the night before, but I'm sorry I didn't stay with you through the night.

Three days later, I was reading the eulogy, written by his seven children, in the church I grew up in. We wrote stories of experiences with Dad, just like we did with Mom last year. Most of us talked about how Dad led a pretty active life. He was active in Boy Scout activities back when I was a Scout. He loved hiking, camping and being outdoors.

My contribution to the eulogy went like this: Dad also loved his family, and especially our Mom. I got in big trouble when I scribbled all over a birthday card he had bought for me to give to her. He took me back to the store, and was so mad that he was driving so fast he took a corner on two wheels. I never saw him drive recklessly any other day in his life. He never liked it when he heard a boy call his dad his "old man". He didn't let any of the boys in our Boy Scout troop get away with that.

Rev. Ed Robb, Jr.

The Rev. Edmund Robb, Jr. passed away on Tuesday, December 14.

I remember him preaching at a revival for my hometown church in Hereford Texas, back in the early 70's. He was quite a fiery preacher. Of all the evangelists who preached at our revivals, he was the only one whose name I remembered.

Soon after I recommitted my life to Christ, back in 2001, I went to an IRD reception to celebrate their twentieth anniversary. The Rev. Robb was recognized for his service to the organization. I got to meet him and tell him I remembered him, and a bit about what had happened in my life since, including my abandoning faith, or "walking in darkness", and my return to Christ twenty years later. He seemed to appreciate being remembered, but didn't say so out loud. He said only that he was happy that I remembered the Lord.

Light posting

Sorry the blogging has been light lately. Christmas commitments have made it difficult to sit down and write anything substantial. I do plan to get two, maybe three, good posts in before Christmas however.

I'm back

I'm back. The Thanksgiving trip home actually became a very long and draining affair. The loss of my dad, Ronald Fuhrmann, makes it seem like life has started all over again. To all who commented in the previous post, or who replied by email - thank you. It is very comforting to be acknowledged in this time of loss.

I actually wrote a post last Saturday, but deleted it in an act of absent-mindedness. I didn't want to rewrite it, I was just too drained. I'm actually trying to start recreating it with this post. I've decided to dedicate this Advent season to writing about my family, my hometown, and growing up. It'll be pretty boring to many, but those who like to read about small-town America may find it interesting. I took lots of pictures, namely of all the churches I attended or visited, my schools, the two houses I lived in, the places where I worked (at least those that are still there), and some special things about the town and the country around it. I'll post many of those pictures too. And if I feel moved to comment on current events, I'll break that in too.

There is a strong kind of homesickness that I had never thought about till I went home - the first trip home where I would be staying in a hotel. Dad sold the house this last summer after he acknowledged needing extra help with living. All seven of us kids have moved all over the country, three in California, one in another part of Texas, one in Wisconsin, one in North Carolina, and one (me) in New Jersey. It was really strange not having the house on Ave D anymore. No kitchen to get a late night snack. No TV in the living room. No backyard with a dog. We spent most of the first week shuttling back and forth between our hotel and King's Manor, where Dad was being taken care of. I've got a lot more respect for the people who work in nursing homes. We were there a long time each day, and the work done in those homes is extremely demanding.

The sermon for Dad's memorial service was based on John 10, along with Psalm 121 and Philippians 4:4. With John 10 in mind, here's a picture of the stained glass I grew up with in the First United Methodist Church of Hereford Texas (click following link to view the picture)

I am the good shepherd

First United Methodist Church, Hereford Texas

The Nativity scene on the Deaf Smith County Courthouse

Prayer Request Update

In an earlier post, I requested prayer for my dad. For all of you who have mentioned him in your prayers, thank you. I'm now afraid that the answer we wanted will be denied to us. We came out on Sunday to see him and enjoyed three days with him, but on Wednesday night he suffered a heart attack and lost conciousness and is currently in a coma and in hospice care.

God, grant me Your grace to love You all the more for all that my Dad has ever taught me, and may I live my life according to all the lessons he taught me of You. God, I'd have loved to see him live several more years, to see Rebecca grow up, so she would remember him, but God, I commit him, and all my ties to him, to You. Your judgments are true and righteous altogether. Thank you, God, for a wonderful Dad. Blessed be the name of the LORD.

Update: Dad passed away this morning (Sunday) about 3am. I'll write a post about him soon, but in the meantime, this blog will be quiet until we return home later this week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Amy, Rebecca, and I are traveling down to my hometown, Hereford, Texas, for Thanksgiving, and we're leaving this weekend so we don't have to face the stress of heavy holiday traffic with Rebecca in tow. The rest of this week will be spent getting ready, so I'm going to stop blogging now, unless some huge important thing happens. Since this blog is co-authored however, there may be posts submitted by Rick or Ann.

Happy Thanksgiving!

You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.
You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.
Psalm 65:9-13 NKJV

Skipping ahead

I'm going to skip some summer pictures, so that the latest pictures can be put up for family & friends who haven't seen the latest. After blogging resumes after Thanksgiving, I'll post some of the summer pictures when I have a bit more time to sort them out. Moving on to fall and Halloween, here are Rebecca's latest pictures. Since they're right next to the February pictures, you can see she's grown a bit in the last ten months.

(Click following link to view pictures)

Coming Home

Finally, the day to come home arrives! After navigating a maze of paperwork at the airport, most of which is SARS-related, we get on the plane for the trip home, and what a long flight it is! But though the flight is long, we still arrive in Los Angeles one hour before we left, due to the International Date Line and the time zone change. We have to go through Customs so our baggage has to be re-checked, and I make a big mistake here - I take our baggage to the next airline counter, and the ticket agent says "Why didn't you just recheck it at customs?" Duh! That was what all those people were doing. Chalk one up for inexperience. Even though the baggage barely makes it through security in time for the next flight, it still gets home when we do.

Getting Rebecca's citizenship is easy. All we had to do was hand the Customs officer her immigration packet, then they stamped an "IR-3" in her Chinese passport, and SHE'S AN AMERICAN CITIZEN! Yea! Since Amy and I both traveled to China and participated in her adoption, she automatically became a citizen when she came to America with us. We got a Cerificate of Citizenship from the Department of Homeland Security about six weeks later, with President Bush's signature on it.

Click the following link to see some pictures taken in her first month home.

When Rebecca first came home, she just sat. No crawling - it's a cultural thing, but in China, babies are not encouraged to crawl. They're just set somewhere (like in the pictures we got in our referral). We encouraged her to start learning by leaving toys about four to five feet away from her, and helping her to move her legs to get around. Of course, I had to crawl too. After about a month, she was crawling around slowly and awkwardly.

Spoons? We don't use spoons!

Bath, Bed & Beyond (my favorite picture)

Learning to walk

I CAN WALK!
This was in March - she took her first steps early that month

Guangzhou

After a week in Nanchang, we flew down to Guangzhou to take care of immigration issues, such as a medical examination, taking another vow at the US Consulate, and verifying Rebecca's identity. They are very strict with respect to that - they don't allow babies to get mixed up, and you can't adopt a baby from an orphanage without an official document saying that her parents are not known. They are very strict about child trafficking.

The weather was very nice, about 45-50 degrees (F) for the few days we were there, and the officer at the US Consulate said that it would likely be the coldest day of the year.

Travel tip: if you go to a "Western" restaurant to get a hamburger (after you want some relief from Chinese food) - do NOT ask them to put mustard on it!

And speaking of food, the White Swan had an excellent buffet provided for all the families adopting, and was it ever crowded with parents, babies, and strollers everywhere. Someone joked that the hotel should be called the White Stork. The hotel had a playroom and lots of perks for us, and we met people from all over the world there.

Here are some shots from the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou.
(Click following link to see pictures.)

Rebecca loves the White Swan hotel! (I love this picture but wish it had come out better - actually Amy snapped a good shot on her camera which we only have as a print)

Fish - and there were real goldfish in the water below - real big ones! This was next to the hotel's restaurant and buffet area. Rebecca loved to sit at a table next to the water and watch them swim around.

Year of the Monkey - two shots, Day & Night

Adoption Day, continued

After giving Rebecca her first meal (which she threw up), we had to go back to the CCAA office to accomplish some legal matters, and the rest of the day was spent being interviewed, signing papers, and taking oaths.

The rest of the week was occupied with shopping, visits to the Tang Wen pavilion (most of the pictures are not in uploadable format - we'll have to work on that), a visit to a local school, and of course, getting a passport.

Here's some pictures from Nanchang. Pictures from Guangzhou, our final destination, will be posted tomorrow.

Sign here, please

Mmmm!

Are these pandas safe? They're a lot safer than you are!

Adoption Day

We flew out of Beijing the evening of January 4, real late - the flight was delayed, a very long delay. The flight was supposed to leave around 6pm, and we got to the airport real early - we didn't want any complications. I think we got there around 3pm. The flight wound up not leaving until after 10pm. That was a long wait, so all we could do was read our English books or watch Chinese TV (there was a cute dairy commercial with a bunch of singing cows and a little girl saying something real cute in Chinese - I think we saw it more than a hundred times). When we were en route to Nanchang, I was struck by how dark the countryside was, even as we approached Nanchang. I think we arrived about 1am. Our adoption agency had a representative there to meet us (you'll see her picture in the following pictures), and the second thing she said to us after "hello" was "paperwork!" Yes, we had to turn in some paperwork right then and there so she could have it ready for the morning.

We were put in a van and drove to the hotel, about an hours drive. Got to our rooms, and told to be ready at 9am, we would travel to the CCAA to pick up our little ones. We find out the beds are hard as boards, the floor is literally (and I do mean literally) softer than the bed. The room has twin beds, a baby bath, a stroller, and a crib. Very well equipped for our mission. We go to bed, and I can't sleep, thinking about the adoption (I also got no sleep the night before we got married - very similar to how I felt this night).

We go to the JiangXi office of the CCAA (this very office was featured in a National Geographic special China's Lost Girls earlier this year), and find out the orphanage personnel are caught in traffic and can't get there for a long time. We go back to the hotel, and are told to wait in our rooms - we'll be called when the babies arrive. So finally, I get a little bit of sleep, and about 2pm, our phone rings!

Click 'Continue reading...' below to see what little Fu Dong Lan thought of us (the Chinese lady next to Amy was the woman representing our adoption agency)

Our Trip to China, continued

So, here we are in Beijing on New Year's Day, about 6pm (5am back home). We get in a taxi (oops, we get suckered in by a free-lance taxi, not one of the state-operated ones, can't say we weren't warned by our American friend - and we pay a bit more than we would have otherwise, oh well, what's 350 Yuan anyway?)

We stay at a Holiday Inn in downtown Beijing. We note there's a McDonald's nearby for future reference, then go to a Chinese restaurant in our hotel and order something completely different than anything we've seen in the US. We call it an early night since we want to get used to the local time as soon as possible. The room is actually pretty nice. Lots of bottled water everywhere, a standard bathroom with a western toilet (yea - no squatting toilet .. yet) and a shower. The only thing "weird" about the room, besides the voltage, is the fact that you have to leave your magnetic room key card inside a switch by the door or else the lights go out - obviously for saving energy. When you leave, the lights go out.

We're in Beijing from Jan 1 to Jan 4 for a few days to ourselves. We make some touring plans the next morning. Jan 2: Ming Tombs and the Great Wall (Jan 2 is Rebecca's birthday by the way, so that's what we were doing when she turned one year old); Jan 3: The Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven; Jan 4: The Hutong, and then a flight to our next destination, Nanchang, where we would be adopting a one-year-old girl named Fu Dong Lan.

Pictures:
Amy on the Great Wall

On and on and on...

The Temple of Heaven

In the Forbidden City

The Trip - Flying to China

We were originally scheduled to travel to China in December 2003, on a 10-day trip returning before Christmas (the US State Department discourages Americans from traveling to China between Christmas and New Year's Day). Due to some difficulties with financing, and wanting to spend a few extra days in Beijing, we elected to go with a smaller group in January. We found out later that a smaller group meant much smaller, two families.

We flew out of Philadelphia on December 31, 2003, about 9:00 am, flew to Los Angeles, where we made a quick connection, and arrived in Beijing on January 1, 2004, having no idea where we were when they year turned over, or even if it had since we had crossed the International Date Line. One complication in the flight turned into an insignificant worry. We were told when we arrived at the gate that the plane was overbooked, and we might not get on the flight. Immediate reaction was "they can't do this to us! this is an important trip" - and then I realized that it was just as important to everyone else on that plane too. I excuse myself to go to the bathroom down the hall, and used that time as an opportunity to do a discrete prayer vigil. "God, please get us there on time". Immediately, in my "mind's ear", I heard a response which was almost as clear as if I heard it from another person: "everything's taken care of - don't worry about your trip, don't worry about the adoption. Your trip will be successful". The strength of what I heard surprised me. I returned to the waiting area where I told Amy of my yet-to-be answered prayer, and we waited. They called all the rows. We were still waiting. They shut the doors to the jetway. Again still waiting. There are a lot of people bumped from this flight, us among them. We wait a long time, but the plane is not leaving. Suddenly they call our name, open the doors, and tell us, "hurry - get on, you've got a seat" I think there were just about four people let on after they reopened the doors.

We made our connection in Los Angeles on time, though it was a little stressful in that we had to move fast to get our next boarding pass and to another terminal in time. We made it just prior to boarding. No problems with overbooking this time. We were overcome with the size of the plane, it was huge! And almost all the people on board the plane were Chinese, and many of them spoke little or no English. We were fortunate to be seated behind an American woman, her Chinese husband, and two children, who were returning to their home in Beijing after visiting her family here in America for Christmas.

The flight was very long, it seemed like it took forever (actually we were in the air for twelve hours - and the time from arriving at the Philadelphia to arriving at the Beijing airport was 24 hours). We arrived in Beijing on January 1, 6pm, local time. One thing interesting about China: it has only one time zone, even though the country is wide enough to accomodate about four of them. Anyone living way out west in China has a very late sunrise and sunset, about the equivalent of someone living in California having their clock set to the Eastern time zone.

The Adoption Process

Why did we adopt? Basically we did it because we had trouble with the most direct way of starting a family, natural childbirth. We discussed it over the years, seven of which were outside the church, where we basically dismissed it, followed by two after we made confessions of faith, joined a Christian church, and were then exposed to adoption programs. We considered domestic adoptions (we considered the legal risks too high), European adoptions (too stringent travel rules, and not pursued for other reasons personal to us), and international. We decided on China because it was the most stable program for international adoptions from a legal point of view, and didn't want to have the rules changed on us while we were going through the waiting process.

We sent in our adoptiion application on August 12, 2002, and began a program of Home Studies, background investigations, autobiography writing, and waiting. The following March (2003) we were informed that our packet had been sent to China and we would be over there in about a year. In the meantime, my mom had fallen upon bad health, and we found out later that she would not live to see her newest granddaughter. Mom passed away less than one week after Easter.

Over the summer, there was a little crisis. The SARS crisis hit, and travel to China was halted for a short period of time. For some reason, it didn't bother me. I was expecting to be traveling in March or April 2004 anyway so I didn't think it would affect us. It affected others however, and we were meeting them, as we had joined an organization called Families of Children from China (FCC). Through FCC and our adoption agency, we found out that the Chinese authorities were not happy with the interruption of the adoption program, and they made serious changes to their procedures to speed up the process. As a result, we were told informally that we would be traveling sooner than we thought.

On the date that would have been my Mom's birthday, November 17, we got a picture from our adoption agency that had Rebecca's picture attached, the first picture we had ever seen of her. Her name then was Fu Dong Lan. I've often wondered if receiving that picture on my mom's birthday was my mom's way of saying "I'm sorry I couldn't be there, but I'm happy for you, and I asked God to send you your daughter's picture on my birthday so you know".

National Adoption Awareness Month

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. While the emphasis of this adoption awareness program is to encourage the adoption of children in foster care, Amy and I are aware of it for another reason; we are parents of a one-year-old girl from China. I'm going to dedicate the blog this week to our adoption, and will likely shut the blog down next week (except Rick and Ann are free to post if they wish) while we travel to Hereford, Texas, where I grew up, for Thanksgiving. I'm thinking of something special to do for Advent blogging when I return on November 27.

In the meantime, all blog entries for the following week are about our family: the Fuhrmanns; Amy (mom), Joel (dad), and Rebecca (the royal daughter).

To start off, here are some entries I blogged from Nanchang, China, while waiting for our plane to Guangzhou to take care of immigration details at the US Consulate:

Amy and Rebecca in a hotel room in Nanchang.

Joel and Rebecca in the Tang Wen pavilion in Nanchang.

All three of us, in royal garb, for a tourist-type shot, also in the Tang Wen pavilion: The Royal Daughter is All Glorious Within the Palace.

A John 6 moment

I've waited to post this, it sounds crazy, but I had a moment last Friday that really amazed me, and I've just been letting it settle down before posting it.

I spent my lunch hour at Washington Crossing State Park, where I often take a brown bag lunch and my Bible and do whatever reading I didn't get to do in the morning whenever Rebecca decides to wake up early and I have to forego my morning Bible reading time.

When starting my drive back to the office, I looked at the gas gauge, noticed it was on "E", and immediately thought "oh, no, I forgot to fill it up this morning!" (I was running late, and had a morning meeting I couldn't be late for). Well, I prayed a quick prayer for help and started heading for the nearest gas station, several miles away, and the trip odometer, which I reset at each fillup was higher than I'd ever seen it lately. About a half mile from a gas station I knew about, I had to stop at a stop sign, and when I started up again, the car suddenly started coasting. Oh man! A one-hour or more wait for AAA out here on Jacob's Creek road. Out of desperation I said out loud "God help me!" Just as I uttered that, the car roared back to life again! Awesome! And I made it to the gas station. Someone I told this story to suggested that maybe some gas was sloshing around in the gas tank, and maybe they are right, but I also think God was looking out for me. Call upon Me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you and you shall glorify Me. (Psalm 50) Glory to God!

Prayer Request

My dad is in need of prayer due to deteriorating health. Blogging is going to be inconsistent, probably until after Thanksgiving, as I give more time to other priorities.

Observations on Ivan's aftermath

I didn't think Ivan would affect New Jersey much, but I was wrong (though the effect was much less severe than what hit Pensacola). There was severe flooding along the Delaware River, just a couple of miles from where I work. On Monday, I drove across the Washington Crossing bridge into Pennsylvania, and looked over at the area where I often sit and read the Bible while eating a brown-bag lunch. It was under water, and on a normal day, the area is about six feet above the level of the river. I went back today, and the park benches were visible, but the ground was just gooey mud, almost completely covering all the grass that was growing there, and it was thick heavy grass. I'd guess about three new inches of topsoil have been added to the banks of the Delaware in this spot.

Looking back on my personal experience with hurricanes, the one time I think I was the most scared was when Floyd came through here several years ago, in 1999 I think. Amy was a student at the University of the Arts then, and she had gone in to Philadelphia to work on some projects (she's a potter). I had gone to Somerville to a special work-related training class. The rain started coming down around 10 am, and before noon they told us to go home. The problem was, Somerset county was flooded. I had to take many detours before getting out of there, and chose to go to my mother-in-law's house in Princeton instead of going home to East Windsor, since Princeton is closer to the train station where I would be picking Amy up later. Once arriving, I tried to call her on the cell phone, message service picked up on first ring - her phone's turned off. Turn on the phone Amy!! I call the university switchboard, they give me the number of the Merriam theater which the University runs. They don't know how to contact Amy, they're several blocks away. Over and over and over I call - turn on the d*** phone! Don't you know there's a hurricane coming through! Get home now! After several hours, news of flooding everywhere, Amy calls me about 3:00 in the afternoon from the Princeton Junction train station. God only knows how the train got through, one of the news reports showed police evacuating people from homes in Trenton in canoes, just a couple of blocks from the train station. I go pick her up, the water is way over the curb, no sidewalks are visible, the street has turned into a lake, and I wouldn't dare be out there except that I'm picking up my wife, who should've ....well, calm down, there she is, and we're going home now. I'm glad she's ok, we find a way home, and enjoy the rest of the watching movies. God was surely looking out for us then, and we weren't even Christians at the time.

UPDATE: Just thought of this - I grew up in West Texas where tornadoes were a common occurence. Tornadoes are certainly deadly, but not nearly as destructive as hurricanes, but don't tell that to my family - we've had many bad experiences, including deaths (not in this generation thankfully), due to them. I remember sleeping in the basement on many occasions, sometimes even spending my afternoons after school down there. Ironically, during the one tornado that wiped out a couple of streets in our town, the sirens didn't blow until all the damage was done. Miraculously, even though many homes were destroyed, there were no deaths.

Silence

I feel like those kids in the classroom near the end of Apollo 13, when the astronauts went through reentry and there was radio silence for several minutes. No one knew whether the module would survive, so the silence was terrifying.

Susan b., at LilacRose, who weathered Ivan in Pensacola FL, has not posted for over 24 hours. I hope it's just because of a lack of available power, but I saw the news last night, and Pensacola looked like it got hit the hardest. I'm praying and hoping she's ok. I bet a lot of other people are too.

Reactions to 9/11

9/11 hit me real hard - I used to work in New York City, and I often took the PATH train home from that location. In the winter, when it always dark when I went home, and I walked into the WTC from the WFC, I loved to look up at the lights going up into the sky. It is one of my favorite memories of working in New York.

But here's something else I remember. I had just become a Christian in June, yet there was this simmering resentment toward someone living on my block with whom I had trouble getting along, actually their whole family. About the end of September, I was walking over to our neighborhood shopping center, past their house, and I noticed the father of the household outside working on his house. I approached him and told him this, "What happened to us recently is so much important than our fighting with each other. I'm sorry for what I did to you. Let's bury the hatchet." He shook my hand, expressed something similar though I don't remember his words. I'm glad to say that we are on friendly terms to this day. When we adopted Rebecca, Laura, the mother of that household was very happy for us. So this is just a little testimony that some good came out of 9/11. I hope everyone takes time to remember what happened on that day and how it affected them. And to Laura and Manny and your children, the family at the end of my block, thank you for your friendship.

My Kind of Elitism

Yea! A real result from a quiz that I don't share with someone else!

Your CD collection is almost as big as your ego,
and you can most likely play an instrument or
three. You're a real hit at parties, but you're
SO above karaoke.
What people love: You're instant entertainment.
Unless you play the obo.
What people hate: Your tendency to sing louder than
the radio and compare everything to a freaking
song.


What Kind of Elitist Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

In my house we have a piano (bought this year since we got back from China!), a trombone (which I play for my church), a guitar (which I failed to learn to play back in college, and will be given to Rebecca if she makes a commitment to practice it when she grows up), a recorder, a harmonica or two (might be lost), and I sing in our church choir, so I'll include my voice as an instrument.

(link seen first at Cut on the Bias)

18 months old!

Today Rebecca is eighteen months old, and on July 5, she will have been with us for six months. This time has really been a blessing for us - learning what it is like to love someone who literally needs us, and to relate it to how God loves us. It's also been exciting to see her grow up - the growing process seemed so slow at first, but now we look back and can see she's not the same girl we first held in our arms back on January 5.

One thing we saw on television about a week ago was pretty moving. A show on MSNBC called Ultimate Explorer featured China's Lost Girls, and highlighted a group of people adopting girls from China. Turns out they were in the same city Amy and I were! It was very exciting to see the room where we were sitting and waiting to make our adoption vows, and then to see the same woman who administered them to us.

When I left work yesterday...

I had to get home by 6pm. Just had to. Late interruptions notwithstanding, I got in just at 6:05, kissed Amy and hugged Rebecca, and with Rebecca, went straight to the basement (where we keep our TV - discourages careless TV viewing), and saw the casket on the caisson. Several minutes later we saw the horseless rider, and I just broke down crying. Rebecca is too young to understand, but I wanted her with me all the same. I'll tell her about it again when she's old enough to understand. We watched for about forty minutes, until the flyover, and little "squirmin' fuhrmann" just had to be fed. I said out loud, "Goodbye Mr. President", then turned off the TV and went back upstairs.

Life goes on, and for the better due to the actions and faith of this great man.

Ben Domenech describes his experience in Washington, and also has a post I hope he'll link to from his main page forever: quotes from President Reagan.

More thoughts on Ronald Reagan

Sunday morning I promised to write more on Reagan's impact on my philosophy. I feel at a loss for words though. I've read lots of other bloggers' words, and find pretty amazingly that many of us conservative bloggers were actually liberals in the 80's, and changed our views later on. I also feel older, as most of the bloggers I've read were too young to vote when Reagan was President, yet I was 23, almost 24, when he became President.

So, why'd I turn around and start voting for Democrats, including the one who served as veep under President Carter? I started believing a lot of the media hype about the "religious right", that Christians were taking over the Republican party so they could control the way we live (as if liberals don't want to either - ha!). I was also failing to follow the wisdom of Psalm 37, and "becoming envious of the workers of iniquity". I was working with a bunch of young people who loved to go out and have a wild and fun time, and while I resisted the pull at first, eventually my hormones, lack of self-confidence, and desire for excitement pulled me into a hedonistic and secular lifestyle (well mostly secular - there was a lot of dabbling in different philosophies and things encouraged by that UU principle known as a search for truth and meaning - which eventually led me back to where I started from, when I realized I had turned my back on the truth in first place).

Some reflections on Reagan's philosophy and its impact on my life:

On Peace through strength:
I used to think that the nuclear arms race was mad and irrational, but now I don't think it was so much. I mean, if we have enough arms to kill everyone n times, why not build more if your opponent is going to build more and point them at you and demand you drop yours? That's the point that Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn made in speeches. The point was that if your opponent got enough weapons to make them think they could wipe you out first, it could be all over without a war even ever starting. There are people of course who think that it's all a moot point if civilization ends - I can't disregard their point entirely, but you also don't just roll over for tyranny and let it win cheap. It's no good to have peace if you're living under a tyrannical government, where the government is effectively at war with its own citizens, as it is today in the Sudan, North Korea, Zimbabwe, and Cuba.

The really clinching point for me on peace through strength though was what happened later, in the 1990s, when the people of Bosnia suffered so much at the hands of the Serbs. And why did they suffer? Because anti-war people did not allow those people to get the arms they needed to defend themselves. They thought we could create peace by disarming the people, completely disregarding the arms obtained by the other side through other sources. The Bosnians were defenseless. That's the reason I took up target shooting, and disrespect the gun control movement so much; and why I strongly believe that the Second Amendment does indeed recognize the right of individual American citizens to keep and bear arms.

On leadership:
In my period of unbelief, I used to scoff at President Reagan whenever he talked about America and its heritage, his vision of a great country. It took a long time, but I finally saw that there is a big difference between leadership and management. Back before Reagan, we had Presidents who were mere managers - tweaking things here and there to make it work: Nixon and his price controls, Ford and his "Whip Inflation Now"program, then Carter with his continuation of price controls and economic micro-management (down to the level of telling us where to set out thermostats, and talk of only letting people drive their cars every other day). And as far as Communism went, the policy was to just live with it - it's here to stay. As far as I'm concerned, the greatest thing Reagan did was to shatter that type of thinking. Price controls gave way to respect for a market economy. Paul Volcker raised interest rates to drive a stake into the heart of inflation, while people got tax cuts to allow them to keep the product of their work without wasting it on failed government programs and class warfare. And of course, Reagan offered the vision of not tolerating Communism, but ending it and relegating it to its proper place: the ash heap of history. Reagan was a true leader, stomping out the status quo in order to achieve a far greater thing: liberty.

Remembering Ronald Reagan

I am sad to hear of the passing of Ronald Reagan. His presidency is one that transformed America, though I think a lot of influence he had has been lost due to a resurgence of political correctness in the last twelve years. We would be wise to reconsider the wisdom and legacy of this man.

I'm starting to write a post on how his presidency impacted my life, but it's rapidly turning into a autobiography, and I'm not sure I want to post that. I want it to be more about him than me. Let me just say quickly for now that my very first vote as an American citizen was for him in 1980 when I just recently graduated from college, but I didn't vote for another Republican presidential candidate until 2000. I didn't recognize Reagan's wisdom until after his presidency. I had to consider the views of the other side for about twenty years. I'll have to expand on those thoughts later. My sister, Glenda, has been visiting us this weekend, and I've got to get her on a train to New York this morning.

D-Day anniversary

I neglected to post last Memorial Day, being away from home and away from a computer while in the Poconos, and posting a day late seems really lame. But now that I'm back, and the anniversary of D-Day draws near, I'll attempt to make amends here by linking this article which seems to commemorate both Memorial Day and D-Day.

For God and Country

About one year ago, a friend of mine Denton Layman passed away. He served at D-Day. While he and I disagreed on many political issues, we were always able to laugh at our differences in the end. Thank you Denton, for serving your country sixty years ago.

And another thank you, to Tony Tucker, another friend who served then, who is still alive and well.

And of course, thank you, Dad, for your service during World War II.

Happy Birthday General!

General Cat turns 16 tomorrow!

Thoughts on homosexuality

I've got little sympathy for those who say that the church needs to be inclusive of those who are living in the homosexual lifestyle, at least when it comes to celebrating that lifestyle as an acceptable, or even superior lifestyle. We certainly do need to show serious love to everyone, but just as Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, we also need to say "Go and sin no more". Is this a realistic view? Homosexual activists say it's not, that it's their identity. I don't believe them, especially when they are pushing their agenda onto children in their early teen years, as shown by homosexual student clubs sprouting up in high schools. A mind is a powerful thing, and if one can be pushed into a sexual experience in youth, whether it be homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual, the excitement aroused by that experience can drive one's sexuality very powerfully. I don't see how anyone can claim to know their true sexuality during adolescence; there are so many conflicting forces going on, just from the hormones alone.

Wake up sleepy!

Ok, time to get back on the blog - Lent is over, church activities at Easter have ended. Our daughter, Rebecca, has been baptized.

Time has been rather tight through all those activities, and I've neglected the blog, on purpose during Lent, but rather slow in getting back into it afterwards. Susan b. has a post up commenting on those who say that a quality blog should update every day. I agree with her that it's one's own business how often they update their own blog, but I'll also admit that there's a fine line between rare posting and outright quitting.

I'm not quitting, so I'm going to reestablish myself here and put out a goal of updating the site four times a week, giving myself a day of rest each week, plus a couple of days off where I'm either too busy to blog or can't come up with anything useful to say.

Birthday

I didn't blog it then because of my blog-fast, and again not the following Sunday, because of technical problems, but March 24 was my birthday.

Reflections on Iraq, and on truth

Last night Amy and I took Rebecca to a dinner with some people from the Unitarian Universalist church we (without Rebecca) used to attend.

Part of the discussion was started by someone who doesn't like those people who claim to know the truth and push it down other peoples' throats.

My response: What we believe does not change what is true; the truth is true whether we believe it or not. And if one is dedicated to a search for truth, it seems only logical to me that one should consider the possibility of finding it.

And finally, one reflection on my spiritual journey, why I became a Christian rather than something else: When I rejected atheism, I had many choices to consider, but Christianity offered one thing many other religions, (those presenting a pantheistic or deist viewpoint - which is what most UUs who are not outright atheists believe), don't offer: A chance to not only believe in God, but in a God who believes in me, who even considers and thinks about me.

Rebecca Walking Photo

Here's that picture of Rebecca walking we were trying to get. Finally had to rely on the help of Amy's friend, Ren, to snap the picture.

This is my 1000-word essay on why I'm pro-life.

First Steps

Congratulations to our daughter Rebecca, who took her first steps today!

Did we have a camera? No, she did it at church, right in front of our Sunday School class! If June hadn't said "Look!" I would have missed it. Later today, we got our camera ready. Would Rebecca repeat the event? Yes, she did, but never in a spot where Amy could get a picture (Rebecca seems to like to walk right up into Amy's face as she's trying to get the picture off, so all we would get is a picture of Rebecca's chest or stomach). arggh. Well, we know it happened today, and we'll get a picture soon.

Evangelical Christian Mysticism

Something I've wondered about....

I'm an evangelical Christian with an interest in mysticism.

Google cast:

"Christian-mysticism" -- 20,400 replies.
"evangelical-Christianity" -- 21,800 replies.
"evangelical-Christian mysticism" -- 0 replies.
"evangelical-mystical-Christianity" -- 0 replies.
"Christian-evangelical-mysticism" -- 0 replies.
"Christian-mystical-evangelicalism" -- 0 replies.
"mystical-Christian-evangelicalism" -- 0 replies.
"mystical-evangelical-Christianity" -- 0 replies.

Trying to square the circle...?

Reflections from a new dad

I've always believed in God's love for me, but I never imagined what it looked like until Rebecca came home to live with us. Seeing her sleeping in the next room, she seems so small and helpless, yet I'm here if she wakes up and cries, wanting anything.

I love seeing her smile when I get home from work in the evening, it's just like saying "Daddy, I love you - play with me, NOW!" God must love it when we smile at Him too, via our joy and praise.

Sometimes I have to do things she doesn't like, such as wiping her nose. My love for her has to ignore her protests. Of course, wisdom dictates that I don't wipe her nose when doing more important things like feeding her, or enjoying a game of "up!" when she's giggling silly. Don't interrupt those fun moments.

Prayers are a lot simpler and child-like now, quick ones: "God, I love you / thank You for loving me / thank you for mommy and daddy, grandma and grandpa / be with me as I sleep tonight / thank You for all the wonderful things You did for me today."

I'm glad I dedicated time in the last two years to memorizing entire Psalms - they are a large part of my Bible "reading" now.

Back to work!

Take some time off, and my blog disappears, arrgh! Time to set things right.

Rebecca's doing fine, we see cute smiles everyday. She has learned to use our legs or the couch to pull herself into a standing position, then moves around from point A to point B by walking around her support object with her hands holding her up.

She finally enjoys her bath time! She also thinks it's really cool when I open up the vertical blinds in the living room. When she first came home, she screamed at our cats, now she thinks they're interesting, especially when they eat, or fight with each other. General Cat likes her but keeps his distance, as Rebecca cannot simply touch, she has to wave her hands vigourously, and General is a very smart cat. Trixie Cat is smart too, but way too nervous. She is only now willing to be on the same floor as Rebecca.

BLogging along

I am quite new to this "blogging" and it hasn't been easy finding time to sit down and put my thoughts on the screen. However, the more I read what my cousin Joel has written, the more I realize how much I missed not living near him and having deep, philosophical conversations. This makes me wonder if there are other folks out there (closer to home) with whom I could be conversing about ideas, instead of the weather, the state of the union, or other people. At first I thought blogging was like slogging through the snow. You pushed your way through a few thoughts, slapped them down, and trugged on. Instead it is more like catching snowflakes on your mitten. You see how unique, wonderful and exciting they are, but they are soon gone while another comes. And yet - there it is - the archive! Now, if I ever have "down time" I am going to start searching the archives for the things you other folks have written, and perhaps I too will have some truly new views on life. Thanks. Ann

The Royal Daughter is all glorious within the palace

Joel and Rebecca

Amy and Rebecca

New Parents!

We've done it (except for coming home - small detail there!)

Rebecca Dong Lan became our daughter on Monday afternoon (about 2 am Monday for those in Eastern Time). While our close friends were in Sunday school and church we were in an airplane flying between Beijing and Nanchang. There was a delay on Monday morning but soon after 12 noon (11pm Sunday night for EST) we saw Rebecca for the first time.

We're in Nanchang until Sunday doing various things until visas are available, then it's down to Guangzhou for visas and immigration stuff, then coming home on the 14th (according to plan so far).

Only complications so far are that our flight from Beijing to Nanchang was delayed two hours, and there were language difficulties in the airport resulting in me paying an unnecessary tax (which I got back so no big deal).

One thing to share: In the Philadelphia airport, the flight was severely overbooked and we were afraid we might not get a seat. I told the ticket agent our predicament, and they said they would do their best. While walking to a bathroom, I prayed that everything would work out. I felt an answer in my head, almost as clear as if it had been said out loud "All prayers for your safety and success on this trip have already been answered - enjoy the trip!" Got back to the gate, the doors were closed, and I was beginning to doubt, already wondering if we were destined for a later flight. All of a sudden they call our name, and we're on the plane, doors opened for us!

More reflections on the trip and pictures will be posted after we return, though here is a picture of our daughter given to us before we traveled. Looks just like her now except her hair is a little bit longer now.

Clean Slate

Joel and Amy are off to China to get a delightful new daughter. Like the new year offers a clean slate to write your history of 2004, a new child has a clean mind and heart. What we say, how we show our love impresses on them how the world should treat them. Knowing my cousin and his wife the way I do, their little Rebecca will be a loving, generous and happy person in no time at all. She will learn to respect others, to ask questions, to seek truth and not settle for what she sees and hears on t.v. This will be no "Barney Baby," but a unique and precious person.

I am looking forward to a new year full of joy, of writing songs, and performing for people who don't even know the name of Jesus. When we trust a higher power to lead us, the road may not always be easy, but it is always interesting.

Psalm 5:11 Let all those rejoice who put their trust in You
Let them ever shout for joy (shout, shout for joy!)
Because you defend them. Let those who love your Name
Be joyfuyl in you. (shout, shout for joy!)
For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous, surround him with favor as a shield.

May God's favor surround Joel and Amy and Rebecca as they travel -
and may He surround you as a shield. Ann

Clean Slate

A new year is like a clean slate. You look ahead, and it is so shiny and ready for all sorts of exciting things to happen. I was enthused about getting a new planning calendar - only to discover that I am booked as usual with all the things I've committed to on a monthly basis. Each month has dates already filled with "have to" - and soon I don't have much room for the "want to."

I'm going to take more time for reading my devotional and doing in depth Bible study. Like Joel, I'm going to read through the Word again this year. Each time I do, I discover different things, since I'm looking through a new perspective as the world changes, as my life changes.

With the advent of the new tracking devices to replace the bar code (so everything we purchase can be traced) I am getting more convinced that Revelations is not just a book of the Bible, but an event as close as next day's news. Instead of making me nervous, I think I'll rejoice.

Psalm 5:11 - Let all those rejoice who put their trust in You,
Let them shout for joy,
Shout, shout for joy.
Because you defend them. Let those who love your Name
Be joyful in you.
Shout, shout for joy!
For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous,
Surround him with favor as a shield.

May God's favor surround you this coming year. Ann

New Years Wishes

The new year is here - with all the political fever running wild. I hope everyone has exercized their right to register to vote. We have a liquor election coming up in Royse City. Although I am against liquor stores on every corner, I am more opposed to folks who complain, but don't get out and vote their convictions. The same goes for the national election. Our men are overseas right now protecting our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Freedom comes with a price. Make a down payment at the ballot box. Annie

Introductions

Hi - I'm Ann Cornelius, from Texas. Actually, I was raised in Southern California in the 60's by Christian parents. Although I read the Word and knew the Word, I didn't know Jesus. We were in a socially conscious church, and I met the 60's head on. Really had fun, lived like the prodigal son, until I had an encounter with the One who let me know that the things in His book are real. My political leanings are, (I listen to Rush Limbaugh and don't trust the media), pretty conservative. Texas and I get along very well. Once I came to understand what sin really is, and that I had missed the mark, I've spent the last 16 years trying to move to the center of the target. I'll be checking the blog for Joel while they go to collect their newest family member. Bye Ya'll

New York, visas, and Radio City

Late blogging tonight, Amy and I just got back from New York City, where we picked up our visas for our upcoming trip to China. Also picked up a beautiful name-banner painted by hand, where the artist spells a person's name using multi-colors and makes the letters in the form of pretty animals. In our case, our daughter's name will be Rebecca.

We also went to see the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, but did not stay for the Christmas Tree lighting - way too crowded and we were too far away when we got out of the show. The show is wonderful, and the living Nativity scene is quite beatiful and appropriate for the season, no matter what anyone from the Fort-Worth Star Telegram thinks (last year they were critical of the Radio City Christmas Show because of the Living Nativity scene - their columnist apparently wants to get Christ OUT of Christmas).

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Blogging has been a little lighter this last week, as the baby-beats-blogging time has literally arrived for us. This last week has seen lots of papers signed, investments sold, checks written, visas applied for, and even some refinancing done on our home equity. Woo-hoo! We're going to China! And while we're going over there for the purpose of adopting, we're also going to take an extra week and have some vacation time on our own. Looks more and more like we're going in January, tentative date January 3, but it may be later (that's just what we put on the visa as an approximate date).

Since we're going to miss the last three weeks of the NFL playoffs, here's my prediction: Cowboys win the SuperBowl. It's practically a given now, they're my favorite team, and I won't get to watch.

By the way, I'm considering what to do with this blog, as I'm going to get a lot busier next year. I'm reluctant to give it up, but I am thinking of getting a partner. There have been many stories I missed this last week which I would've liked to have talked about.

Cats Stories

Jeffrey Collins tells about a kitten caught up in a tree, and wonders what to do - now the kitten needs a home.

Here's how to get a cat out of a tree - call it to dinner (it helps if the cat knows the routine in advance though).

Amy and I have a couple of cats, used to have four (kindof like the Brady Bunch with cats, she had two, I had two, and we didn't want to give any of them up when we got married.)

General Cat, who is now 15 years old, had a tree experience when he was a kitten, about seven months old. A big old bully cat lived in the neighborhood, and one day he chased General Kitten, so that poor little General rushed up a tree about fifteen feet high and out onto a tree branch. The catch now is that it was a cold drizzly day in December and the tree branches were slippery. General lost his footing and wound up hanging from a tree branch like a sloth. I was so sure he was going to fall. He would have landed on his feet of course, but I was still thinking he could break a leg or worse, so I was really put out, looking for a ladder or anything I could get, but nothing was around (I lived in an apartment back then). I don't know how he did it, but he hung on and even got back on top of that branch. It was hard to get him down, but he did make down just about dinnertime. General did get his revenge later in life; he grew up to be a pretty good sized cat himself.

General's sister, Princess, who died in 2001, was an expert tree-climber. She was so small and light, even as an adult cat, that she could walk out and maneuver on the smallest tree limbs. On the tree behind our house, she used to walk way out on the branches till they bent close to the ground, and jump just the few remaining feet to the ground. No inching down backwards on tree trunks for her. She was also an excellent leaper, and once caught a bird about four feet off the ground as it was taking off out of a bush.

Stormy Thursday

I've decided to break the blog-fast, having all my Thursday evening agenda canceled by Isabel.

A pleasant wedding anniversary yesterday, not too festive, as I had to work (and a little bit late at that!), as my job involves working with Microsoft security fixes, and a whole slew of them were released last week. I've actually done my part, but there are support issues, including some rogue users who have steadfastly refused to upgrade from Office 97, in spite of Microsoft officially denying support for that product. Oh well, at least it's Y2K compliant - man that seems so long ago now. I spent that night, 1-1-01, in the office just about a mile up West Street from the World Trade Center. Now I work in an office about two miles from the Trenton airport, so if you're familiar with New Jersey and New York City, you may know who I work for, but I'm not allowed to say.

Nighttime at Liberty State Park

Last night, on a whim, I decided to take a drive up to Liberty State Park to see the lights shining from the World Trade Center site. Beautiful. Walked up to the edge of the edge of the Ellis Island Ferry pier where I could look down on the Hudson River and sat down on a bench to just look at those two lights shining up into the sky. A lot of people were there, but it was really quiet, not a lot of talking, just contemplation.

Bumper Stickers

Some cool bumper stickers

My favorite, which doesn't appear in the list: "God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts"
I also like: "Stop Global Whining"
One I absolutely detest, also not in the list: "The Religious Right is Neither" (but longtime readers know that already), to which I reply, "And what is your opinion of the Religious Left?"

Iran

Well, tomorrow is the big day for Iran-related blogging, and I don't know what to say. I've planned to write something, but as the day approaches I still suffer from writer's block on this issue.

Hossein Derakhshan writes in his weblog that if we want to help Iran, then we've got to know about it. I'm going to do that. Here's another link from Hossein Derakhshan's site to help. (Thanks to Rev. Mike's House of Homiletic Hash for the link)

Well, I just thought of something I can write about, a historical reflection:

I was a senior at Texas Tech University back when the Iran hostage crisis erupted. I was a active Christian and churchgoer at the time, even participating in Campus Crusade for Christ there. There was a lot of anger and resentment over the hostage crisis, among other things, and a lot of it was directed at President Carter as well as the Iranian theocracy.

I was returning from a job interview one night, and struck up a conversation with a man who was flying to Lubbock, and then catching a bus to meet his wife in some other town there in West Texas. As fate would have it, he was Iranian, just married to an American woman, and would soon be returning the family to Iran. I felt some pain inside for the decision his wife had made, but I stifled it, telling myself to listen to this man and not judge him or his wife -- they had their own reasons for their decisions and it was not for me to criticize or judge.

When we arrived in Lubbock, one of the Campus Crusade for Christ leaders, Ramiro, was to pick me up at the airport. We were very close to the time that my Iranian friend would have to be at the bus station, so close in fact, that if he had to hunt down a taxi, he might not make it. Since Ramiro was right there to pick me up at the gate, we offered to give him a lift. Again, as fate would have it, we arrived at the bus station just in time to see his bus pulling out of the bus station. Our Iranian friend was now without a ride to his destination, and sortof stranded. He could have obtained a hotel room, but I invited him (I think this was a challenge from God, actually, I was a bit afraid, both for me and for him) to stay at my dorm, and we would get him where he needed to go in the morning. He accepted the offer.

Now throughout this time, we shared our faiths with each other; I, a Christian, he, a Muslim (are they Shiite Muslims in Iran? I think they are, could be wrong though - gotta learn stuff like this). He had a picture of the Ayatollah Khomeini in his wallet. In all this talk however, I think I spoke from my heart, telling him why I believed in Jesus. I didn't shove a tract in his face or anything, but I may have spoken to God's grace being evident through Christ's death alone.

The one thing that bothered me the most about the whole thing was that this happened during the height of the hostage crisis, and the atmosphere in my dorm was really tense. A common picture posted on students' dorm rooms showed Marines hoisting a flag and inserting it in a certain part of a prominent Iranian's posterior. Not very friendly. I told my Iranian that he should not tell anyone where he was from or he could be in big trouble. I think he understood the danger, and we got him to his next ride the next day with no trouble.

I hope my witness that day was full of grace and truth, and I hope that my words found good soil in that young man's heart.

Earlier this year, I started a program of fasting and praying both for spiritual revival in my church, but also the nation and the world. During the war against Saddam, I fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays (and it almost exactly corresponded to the Lenten season). Now I just do it on Wednesdays, and I will dedicate tomorrow's prayer and fasting to Iran and the goal of freedom in Iran.

Bad surprise

First thing I hear when I come home today, from my neighbor "Look in your back yard". Big surprise, and a bad one at that -- a very large portion of a tree came crashing down into my neighbor's yard. So large it's too heavy to pick up. Got to get a chain saw or hire someone to remove this - also some property damage to pay for. Ouch. Well, I'm thankful for what didn't happen. It happened this morning after everyone in the block had gone to work, yet early enough that his kids probably weren't up and about, so there weren't any people in the way. The branch looks like it landed in just the perfect angle so that it barely touched my neighbor's house, so the only damage is to a fence and some inexpensive yard furniture. Given what could have happened, I think I got off easy.

I was a 'Bright' once, then I wised up

Reverend Mike has a post linking to two other bloggers, One Hand Clapping, and Kingdom Come.

Here's some testimony: I was a 'bright' once. Indeed for about twenty years, I thought I was too smart to be a Christian. I was a secular humanist most of that time, sometimes not too fervently (tip for seekers out there - Humanism is boring!), and tried Ayn Rand's Objectivism for a couple of years (the last two - and I credit her for blasting post-modernism out of my brain)

There were two questions that influenced my thinking, that got me turned around. One political, one religious.

1) First off, as an open-minded seeker of truth, I read the Black Book of Communism, which led me to ask, "If humanists are so smart, then why are they so apologetic for socialism?" If you look at the magazine put out by the American Humanist Association, The Humanist, you'll see that that magazine is as bold as The Nation in its support for socialist policies and ideals. Didn't these people ever consider the track record for socialism in the twentieth century? Can they truly claim to be smart? The seeds of my doubt were sown. I began to doubt the wisdom of what I heard in humanist circles, but before going any further, I had to get rid of a post-modern mindset. For that, I turned to Ayn Rand's Objectivism. Ayn Rand was a fierce critic of post-modernism, and believed in the existence of Objective Truth. I had to change my mindset because in my former Unitarian Universalist-belief, I believed that one could never know the truth. Seeking for it was ok, but finding it was a sure sign of heretical closed-mindedness.

2) If God created the universe, and if Jesus is The Son of God, or God Himself, given the divinity of the entire Trinity, why would the Resurrection be an incredible thing? Really, why would it be such a big deal for Jesus to be able to do this if He was who He claimed to be? I did a bit more research on manuscripts which led me to believe, based on real evidence, that all the books of the New Testament were written by people who either saw the Resurrection or were in the company of someone who did. I could never say with complete intellectual honesty, "The Resurrection never happened". I believed, and my belief has evidence backing it up.

Some news

It's deja vu all over again. Got a phone call two days ago. My dad was in an accident. He's injured, but going to be ok. Scary, especially so soon after our mom's passing away. Dad's not going to be living alone after next week. One of my sisters is going to be with him soon, and another, with her family, is going to be with him soon, moving the family to Hereford to be with him. Our prayers are with you Dad. Get well soon.

In other news, I've had to put the trombone down since Easter due to wrist pain - carpal tunnel syndrome. I played on Easter Sunday, but the wrist hurt, and soon after going down to Texas for family matters I saw a doctor for the pain, and I've been wearing a brace and all that. It still hurts some, but I'm hoping that it will be better in time for me to play trombone again this summer.

Also, it's time for me to pick up The Pilgrim's Progress again. For those who want to read my previous posts on this book, they are all available under the Categories link for Book Reviews on the left.

A Special Anniversary

This weekend is a special anniversary for me. It was two years ago, on Saturday June 23, that I decided to follow Jesus Christ, and renew the faith I grew up with.

The experience of that day was very much like Jesus described in the parable of The Prodigal Son. I didn't feel very good about myself that morning, nor in the days leading up to the decision, but I knew immediately after that prayer that day that I was forgiven and renewed.

Haven't posted anything in a

Haven't posted anything in a few days; I was in Oklahoma last weekend to attend a memorial service for family. My mom grew up in a small town in western Oklahoma, and that's where I was. Small town America is really special; my pro-abortion state (New Jersey) is a lot different than Oklahoma, where I saw a picture of Jesus holding a new-born baby painted on the side of a downtown building in Elk City.

A Wonderful Day Amy and

A Wonderful Day

Amy and I went to a Marriage Encounters reunion today, and got to see many special people. Clay, Georianna, Brent, Carol, who presented at our weekend. Pam and Sam, who along with us are confronting health issues with their parents (mine are over for now, theirs are ongoing, they are in our prayers, and yours too, I ask), and several people who are associated with this fine program and continue to contribute with ongoing support at events like those held today. Thank you, and God bless you all. We were down in Delaware today, and I saw something very special on the wall of a church library I've never set foot in before today: 1 Cross + 3 Nails = 4given

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Sports!
Congratulations to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for a fabulous performance in winning the NHL Western Conference Finals! Spectacular goaltending from Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who constantly amazes but always gives credit to his teammates. Great talent and great attitude, wonderful to watch.

Congratulations too, to the Devils, who won today for a 3-1 lead, which I only got to watch on my VCR when I got back from Delaware about 8pm tonight, and thanks to all the people who didn't tell me the final outcome before I got to watch it!

I'm back! It's been too

I'm back!

It's been too long since I last posted. I'm going to get in some quick thoughts here over lunch, and then again later tonight.

Just got excused from jury duty. I can't comment on anything in the courtroom, but I think it's safe to say that I thought it was interesting that the TV set in the Jury Assembly Room was tuned to Fox News, and this is in Trenton NJ! I got to hear about ten minutes of President Bush's speech on Tuesday morning before I heard the clerk read a list of names (including mine) and was then shipped off to another building to undergo a rigorous jury-selection process, from which I was excused about two hours later, and was then sent home, and have not been called for again. Interesting, and I would've loved to have served (maybe too eager).

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I just bought a new book, Praying God's Word, by Beth Moore. It looks promising, using God's Word as a template for prayer looks like a real powerful way to pray. In fact, I took an Internet quiz, "Which Book of the Bible are You?" and my answer was Psalms, and I think it's because for the most part, I already pray the Bible. In fact, almost all the Bible memorization I do is in the book of Psalms. I often use the examples of praise found therein verbatim in my prayer.

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Sports!
Congratulations to the Anaheim Might Ducks (who beat my favorite team from the West), New Jersey Devils (my favorite team - yea!!!), and the Ottawa Senators, and whoever wins tonight's game (I will not stay up to see who wins), and I am not looking forward to seeing a West Coast team in the Stanley Cup Finals, as West Coast weeknight games are practically impossible for us over on the East Coast to watch live. If I'm lucky, the TV guys will make the games start at 6 PDT, so I can watch the Devils and Ducks duke it out at a tolerable time. Unless it's the Wild, which I am completely ambivalent about, except I think they have the league's best logo.

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Joshua Claybourn talks about Halliburton, Vice President Cheney, and Iraq, and wonders what the big deal is. I agree, and would like to offer an extension of his remarks. Anything a corporation (or any company bigger than a street vendor) makes money, they become a target of those who think it is immoral to make a profit. The Unitarian Universalist Association's magazine, UU World, has just put out an issue completely dedicated to corporation-bashing, and has a completely horrid picture (could've been lifted from an anti-globalization protest for all I know, or the artist got their idea from one, most likely) on the front. What anti-corporates don't understand however, is that corporations are people too, or at least groups of people, and I don't think the Constitution says anything about people losing their rights when they decide to work together. Or if so, I'd like to know why the UUA-World folks seem to single out some organizations, corporations, for such derision, and not others, such as labor unions, or unelected & unaccountable NonGovernmentalOrganizations (NGOs).

For those who complain about companies who make money, just one question: Why don't you invest in the company and stop complaining?

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By the way, regarding my blogging of The Pilgrim's Progress: I'm going to put that project on hold for now. I think I'll restart it after Memorial Day (will be traveling to Oklahoma to be with family)

UPDATED: Rewrote the wording in the section about praying God's Word to remove redundant wording - writing quickly with little or no proofreading has its drawbacks.
ALSO: Regarding the Stanley Cup playoffs, revisiting my prior predictions: Dallas vs. Detroit in West Final - hah? The Mighty Ducks proved me wrong there! I did get the Eastern Final result right. I think the Mighty Ducks are for real, and will win the West, but they won't win the Cup, not this year. The Stanley Cup will return to New Jersey next month.

Loss and Reevaluation I'm back

Loss and Reevaluation

I'm back from Texas. For several years, I've been wondering how long I would be enjoying the lives of my parents. Last week we lost my mom to cancer. There was a lot of grief and sadness, but it was tempered by knowing that her wishes for the end of her life were fulfilled. I feel a lot better now, but I'm not going to touch the blog till next week. I'm thinking about where I want to go with it right now, and my heart just isn't in it right now. I'm also behind at work, have jury duty coming up (which may interfere with blogging), and I'm just plain tired right now. I've lost all momentum for finishing the Pilgrim's Progress, and I don't know how I would handle the last chapter's passings (though after my feelings settle down I think I'll give it another go - sorry for putting it off so long).

On the other side of life, some falcon chicks are about to hatch, so look over on the left where I have a Birdcam 2003 link. I know it's pretty boring just watching Mariah and Kaver incubate their eggs, but once they hatch it gets a lot more interesting. That should be any day now. After hatching, they will be flying in six weeks.