Little Pumpkin

I was determined that Josiah needed to experience a pumpkin for his first Halloween. So you can imagine my excitement when I found a gorgeous one in the wet- market (a far cry from the quintessential pumpkin patch). In my novice Cantonese I thought the vendor said $25, but then realized the pumpkin was $250hkd. You pay for novelty. I couldn't justify that purchase. Today I went to the markets with my Philipina friend Flora. She couldn't understand why I would take a picture of my son with a vegetable, but showed me where you can get these cute Japanese pumpkins. Josiah was very curious and slightly suspicious. . . enjoy!

Kaadori Farm

We can't go to traditional farms or pumpkins patches here this time of year, but last weekend we did take a family hike to a local organic farm and botanical gardens. It is so beautiful and has lots of hiking trails, waterfalls, and butterflies! Josiah loves hiking in his backpack and nodded off about half way through the hike.

Wordless Wednesday

My definition of a bad day

Most days of my life are great. I have a beautiful wife and son, a job I enjoy, and lots of love and support from family and friends all around. This past Tuesday was not a great day. Bummer #1. I had organized a XC meet for 8 teams from all over Hong Kong with over 150 runners. The races were going smoothly until the high school race was 3/5 the way done and 90% of the runners took the wrong turn finishing the race way before they should have. The race was pretty much a total failure and it was my fault since the course wasn't marked clearly enough. Bummer #2. After the race I was going around picking up cones when I almost stepped on a king cobra. It whirled around, hissed and flared its hood at me. Had I taken one step further I would have had a nice ride to the ER. Bummer #3. Then for some unknown reason, perhaps stress, that evening I contracted hives. It was probably equivalent to rolling in a bush of poison oak with just your skivies on. No sleep, no rest, no relief. The next day I went to the doc and got some powerful antihistamines that knocked me out cold and seemed to knock out the allergic reaction as well. After some reflection I realized it could have been worse. Both races could have gone off course. I could have been bit by the cobra, and I could have a life long condition of eczema or something similar. Despite the ups and downs in life there is always an opportunity to be thankful no matter the circumstances.

Happy 60th Dad!

Today is my Dad's 60th Birthday and I'm wishing I could be in CA to celebrate with him. I so admire my Dad and the faithful father, husband, pastor and community leader that he is. I love it when people tell me I'm like my Dad because I just love everything about him.
Jason and I commissioned local artist to create a Chinese paper cutting for my Dad. We came up with a design that reflects the legacy that his life is. Can you see the 4 kids, wedding bands, hands of service and world? The Chinese characters on the cross say Faith and Love. We were happy with how it turned out, especially when the artist told us this was the first cutting he's ever done not from a pattern. Happy Birthday Dad- we love you!

Yummy in my Tummy

Grave Sweeping Day

The smoke rising from the hillside first caught my eye, absorbed in posting the blog below I hadn't noticed that the hillside outside our window was swarmed with people paying tribute to their ancestors. On this semi- annual Chinese holiday family members gather at graves to sweep, burn incense and worship their ancestors. I took these photos out of our window on the 14th floor. I appreciate how the Chinese honor their dead, but it grieves my heart to see their worship. How I long for them to encounter the one true, living God. Tomorrow we should have another good show as the monkeys come to eat the offerings of oranges left behind. Sad.

3 . .5 . . 1

months old! My good friends Jamila and Emily had babies 2 and 4 months after me. It is so fun to get our little men together and see their differences developmentally. In another year they will all be running around together, but now the difference seems huge. I love the second photo because Josiah looks annoyed and Jack and Malcom look startled.

Team Mascot

Every Saturday morning this fall Jason has had a bonus cross country practice for his team. As an incentive to run at 8 am on their day off he has them over to our place for breakfast afterwards. It is a fun time and Josiah always gets to join in. This gives me the morning off to go run with my girlfriends. The students love Josiah and are really good with him. They even love to play with his toys as pictured here!

Josiah's Twin Sister?

Nope, that's mom around his age. Can you see the resemblance? (you can tell where he gets his baldness from!)

my book list

I don't have many hobbies (I think I have lost my passion for knitting) but one thing I love doing is reading. The genre that I am current passionate about are international stories of overcoming suffering. It sounds dismal at first, but I love to read books from other cultures with a very personal perspective. All of these books are set in developing countries with characters whose lives are, on an external level, very different than mine. Some are Christian, some are not, but all (almost all) have a redemptive message. I believe I am a better person for having read them, and maybe you will be too.
- Water: the story of a child widow in India. Gives a peephole into the caste system and has some historic characters. Interestingly, this book was based on a movie
- A Long Way Gone: the true story of a child solider in Sierra Leon. Maybe the most tragic and violent of all the books, but it has a positive ending. Everyone should read this book.
-Three Cups of Tea: the story of an extreme mountain climber who builds schools for children in Pakistan. This book gives interesting insight into the Taliban and inspiration as to what one person can do.
-Chasing the Dragon: set in Hong Kong and written by Jackie Pulinger who we have met. She tells powerful/ miraculous stories from her ministry in the "walled city."
- Wild Swans: this one is long but really helped me understand China's modern history. It tells the true story of three generations of women.
-The Kite Runner: even if you've seen the movie you should read the book. The author has also written a second book A Thousand Splendid Suns about women in Afganistan
- Heavenly Man: sheds light on the under ground church in China and modern day persecution. True and miraculous.
- When Invisible Children Sing: tells of Bolivian orphans who live in the streets and sewers. The story is told by a med student visiting on an internship, it is very well written