Thanks for All to Those Who Died for Our Freedoms

Memorial Day weekend is always a great time to enjoy with family and friends, but neither should we forget to remember those that served and even died for freedoms of people all over the world.

I recall Julie and I visiting Washington, DC in 2004 and standing at the Korean War Memorial. What a powerful place that is. Had no idea at the time what that war would mean to both of us personally. Had our service men and women not helped our South Korean brethren they very well may be a communist state and our son would have never been our son.

Thanks to our brave military, they ARE free and we have our little Quinny.

Quinn Adoption @ Yahoo! Video

Quinn Fund Helps Child

After we got home with Quinn from South Korea, we felt led to set up a fund through Dillon International that would provide financial assistance to future families desiring to adopt a child. Not only did we personally contribute, but soon soon funds began pouring in from friends and family as well which resulted in the collection thousands of dollars in just 12 months.

We got a call from Dillon a few weeks ago that a child in Korea with special needs really needed a home. Apparently, this child had come close to being adopted before with it falling through. She had been on the waiting list since August but now a family was ready to make her their own.

The catch was they needed ALL of the money in Quinn's fund to be able to do so and Dillon wanted to know if we were ok with that since usually only part of the fund is given. This was a special case and this child really needed a home soon they told us.

We didn't even have to pray about that one and now thanks to all of you that have helped over the last 12 months a baby girl will have a forever family!

God is good.

Girls Are Bikers Now

Following in the footsteps of their Papa the girls finally jumped from their tricycles to their "big girl" bikes today! Chloe took the lead when she suddenly went nuts riding all over the place with Julie. Sidney soon followed. Of course, they had to show off to daddy when I got home, after all I bought these things for them in December!

Do they make a "growth slow down" hormone yet? This is just going way too fast!

Girls Bike Video

Best Commercial

I just love this guy!

The Flu is the Flu People

Not sure why the hysteria over this new "Swine Flu". More people die from the normal flu each year than this one. Check out this from FoxNews.com. Mainstream media is so worthless...hence the reason we have Obama as President.

Swine Flu vs. Seasonal Influenza
“The illness is consistent with seasonal influenza and has generally the same symptoms of seasonal influenza,” Fukuda said. “Our information to date shows that the infection can range from very mild, requiring no hospitalization and recovering after a few days, to fatal, which is also in keeping with seasonal influenza."

Fukuda said there is no evidence that the virus is spreading from pigs or that it is unsafe to eat pork.

Authorities sought to keep the crisis in context: Flu deaths are common around the world. In the U.S. alone, the CDC says about 36,000 people a year die of flu-related causes.
Children, especially those younger than age 5, are particularly vulnerable to flu and its complications, and every year children die from seasonal flu.

According to the CDC, more than 20,000 children younger than age 5 are hospitalized every year because of seasonal flu. In the 2007-08 flu season, the CDC received reports that 86 children nationwide died from flu complications.

As of April 11, CDC had received reports of 53 seasonal flu-related deaths in children during the current seasonal flu season.

Still, the CDC calls the new strain a combination of pig, bird and human viruses for which people may have limited natural immunity.

Hence the need for a vaccine. Using samples of the flu taken from people who fell ill in Mexico and the U.S., scientists are engineering a strain that could trigger the immune system without causing illness. The hope is to get that ingredient — called a "reference strain" in vaccine jargon — to manufacturers around the second week of May, so they can begin their own laborious production work, said CDC's Dr. Ruben Donis, who is leading that effort.

The first doses of a swine-flu vaccine could be available about 15 weeks after the World Health Organization decides what kind of vaccine it wants companies to produce, Sanofi-Aventis SA's chief executive said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

You Might Live in Texas....

Great stuff from an email:


If someone in a Lowe's store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you may live in Texas ;

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Texas ;

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you may live in Texas ;

If 'Vacation' means going anywhere south of Dallas for the weekend, you may live in Texas ;

If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Texas ;

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you may live in Texas ;

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you may live in Texas ;

If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you may live in Texas ;

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody's passing you, you may live in Texas ;

If you find 60 degrees 'a little chilly,' you may live in Texas ;

If you actually understand these jokes, and share them with all your Texas friends, you definitely live in Texas .

Six Years of Romance, Passionate Love, Bliss, Joy and Perfection

Six years ago, I talked an incredibly sexy, smart woman into saying "yes, I do" and marrying me. I cannot believe I have been so fortunate all of these years!

Ok, so maybe the headline of this entry is a tad stretched, but the truth is, the last 6 years have been truly incredible. God is giving us a great story and road to travel on. I can only pray that one day there will be a "0" behind the 6, even though I would be almost 99 years old it that happens!

Here are some great wedding day memories. More photos on facebook!

One Year with Quinn

Twelve months ago, we became a family of five. Read the story. God is good!

http://luvfromasia.blogspot.com/2009/03/one-year-with-quinn.html

Nothing Like the Bluebonnet Trail

Took the kiddos out for our annual bluebonnet photoshoot Saturday near Ennis where my grandparents had a neat farm. Love it out there and it is always the perfect backdrop for some kid pictures.

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.html?fl=3090032&alb=0

The Masters - Is Truly a Masterpiece

Most men I know play golf. Outside of my brother-in-law, most of those same men are about as bad as me. Now, don't get me wrong, I only play maybe 3-4 times a year and live with a golf course right in our neighborhood.


It's a strange love affair we have with this game. We can't figure it out, yet most of us cannot get enough of it. Make "pars" on each round and you are a millionaire more than likely. Shoot just 2 shots a hole higher and you are like me, bound to spend millions trying to get better.



This week I experienced the true height of this incredible game as I was flown out to Augusta, Georgia, by one of our insurance providers for some practice rounds for the 2009 Masters. Only the best of the best get to play in this annual tournament worth millions, and it is a truly "members only" club. Rumors are that it took years for Bill Gates to get invited to become a member and President Bill Clinton was never invited though he repeatedly stated he wanted to play there.


This place is unreal. The grass outside of the course grass is so manicured it looks fake. Nothing like you see on TV. The course itself makes any other look like a putt-putt course. How anyone can par this course is unbelievable to me. As we sat there on "Amen Corner", between holes 11, 12 and 13 watching players tee it off just feet away from us, I was truly in awe. Not only were these the golfers we admire and watch as we nap on Sunday's, this place in every facet represented excellence to the extreme along with an old fashioned sense of integrity.

You could buy a small chair, set it up anywhere, put your belongings in the chair and leave for hours only to come back and find nothing was disturbed even if your chair was in the best spot on that hole. Lunch cost you less than $5. Beers were $2.50 and cokes were $1. Everyone was respectful, polite and incredibly helpful. The players themselves were fun, light hearted and super nice. Gift shop items were set at Target prices. And, trash was no where to be found. Even those that smoked put their butts in a trash. I was floored.

The Master's is truly a Masterpiece.

Sleep is for the Birds - I Just Wish I was One

It's always something when it comes to getting more than 6 hours sleep at one time. Here it is 4:30am and what are most American's doing right now? Yea, updating their blog....

Whether it's the girls, our boy, thunderstorms, my "can't stop thinking" brain, snoring, the dogs, or being sick, there is bound to be something get in my way.

Tonight is another of those nights.

At least I have the Internet so I can read up on all the crazy happenings in our world and the people that either killed themselves, or others during the last 6 hours.

Whew, without that, I would really never get any sleep.

Team Korea Shows Pride

In 2006, professional baseball started a new world wide tournament called World Baseball Classic. Team Japan beat out everyone to win the Championship.

In 2008 Team Korea won the Gold Medal in the Summer Games.

The Asian baseball world is proving it is among the best.

Two years ago I would have caredless, but now that I have a Korean son, having visited Seoul, and doing all I can to make sure the Korean culture is a part of our family life, I spent hours over the last 3 weeks watching Team Korea as they weaved their way into the World Baseball Classic Final against Japan Monday night at Dodger Stadium in LA.

They lost 5-3, in a 10 inning battle that proved to be one of the most exciting baseball games I have ever watched. For 4 hours nearly 40,000 Korean fans stood, chanted, whistled, clapped, cheered and loved on their boys from Seoul.

Though all of the players in this tournament are paid professionals in their home country, none make the 100s of millions most of the Team USA players do. I was cheering for Team USA too, but it was special to see "the love for the game" and "the love for my country" be the motivating factor in the eyes of both of these asian teams.

Koreans are a special, special people. There is much we could learn from them, even the way the play one of the games most of us love.

A Letter to President Obama

I am so frustrated by what this new President is doing I have decided to write him a letter. Here is a copy of it. I know he will never see nor read this, but at least I can feel better knowing I said my piece. This guy is destroying our country a little bit every single day!

http://conservativelight.blogspot.com/2009/03/letter-to-president-obama.html

Paul Always Told the Rest of the Story

I remember many, many times being in the car with dad as Paul Harvey would be telling yet another set of interesting stories. Only as I got older did I realize how great they were.

Sadly, Paul Harvey died this week and he will be missed. Some have asked me who he was which I find interesting. I am already getting so old that there are things in my life that have been there for years that others have no idea what they are.

Paul Harvey was a great AM radio commentator that shared short stories each day that had interesting twists and turns. Most would come to some "wow" ending and he would end it by saying, "And, that's the rest of the story".

Too bad he is gone. His story though will live on.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Being a licensed insurance agents means every 2-3 years I have to spend about 30 hours in "continuing education". I elected to do mine online and decided I would hit two birds with one stone and do so at my alma mater, Howard Payne University, in Brownwood, Texas. I try to get down there once a year or so at Homecoming or another time, so I thought this would make for the perfect "escape". Plus, I had two tests to take at the end of my online courses and it has been awhile since I have done that. Maybe HPU could bring back some old studying habits...

Brownwood is located just a few miles from the dead center of Texas. Or, as I like to say it, "in the middle of nowhere." Other than that, HPU and Underwoods BBQ there really isn't much special about the city. Being a big city boy myself (Houston/Dallas), Brownwood gives me a taste of the "other way" people live. Needless to say, I did it from 1991-1993, but I have no desire to do so again.

While I was there, I did get to visit a few places I cherish like Achmed and Bosa, the Regency Suspension Bridge, Purina Tower, the Spillway and Lake Brownwood, the old Club J building, my first ChickFiLa at the Heartland "Hall" and the dead center of Texas near the town of Brady, of all things.Life there is slow and the places dies down to nothing after 8pm and I do mean nothing - no car noises, no planes...nada.

A day or so later I was back in the Metroplex enjoying the city thinking about the old days and looking forward to tomorrow.

Yes, I did pass my exams and my hours are done....at least until 2011.

Family Enjoys Korean Meal

In celebration of Julie's birthday and Korean New Years, we met up with some co-adoptive friends, Tim and Margie and their kids, Ryan and Mary for a traditional Korean BBQ meal in Dallas. It was an incredible time of cooking and fun. What an experience and the meat was incredible.

We are doing all we can to create an arranged marriage between little Mary and our Quinny! She is just so cute and a little fireball at that!

BTW - Quinn LOVED the Korean food. He ate like there was no tomorrow...

Happy Korean New Years 2009!

Korean New Year (Seollal) starts today and runs the next three days! This is our first time celebrating this annual tradition with our son Quinn! We are excited and plan to honor this time, along with Julie's birthday this week by enjoying some Korean BBQ in Dallas!

This is the Year of the Ox!

Read what people in Seoul are doing this year to celebrate.

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/01/24/200901240030.asp

For more read here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_New_Year

Big Girls Beds Rule the Day

Start with a little bit of pink paint, add a dash of leopard spots, some new sheets, 2 twin beds, and a twist in the arrangement of the furniture and you have a new phase.

Transition from toddler beds to big girls beds complete.

Our girls are no longer babies. Sniff, sniff.

This weekend marked the end of a phase and the start of a new one as we spent the weekend transforming their room into the "pinkvilla" it now is. They will always be daddy's babies, but in reality, my babies are now little girls sleeping their own "grown up" beds tonight.

Where is the pause button?