some great recent pics...

sinclair enjoying the christmas season...




the beach...


her daddy...

and now a pic of my boys having fun at the san diego zoo...


i'm not sure what my wife was looking at when she took this picture, but man is it funny...!

i must be on a video kick

going to biola were some of the best years of my life and these dudes totally captured what it is like to be on campus, go to basketball games, eat in the caf, worship, live in the dorms, and make the best friends ever (i even got to marry my best friend from biola). this video won a youtube contest for a short video on why your college campus rocks.

check it out...

and #1 is...

best ever...no need to say anything else. i know it is a long clip, but well worth all the time.

my favorite movies part 2

i saw the first time when i was in jr. high. totally changed my life at the time, and i still think it speaks volumes about our commonalities, hurts and fears, and dreams no matter what our backgrounds.
here is #3... "the breakfast club"



i saw the usaf thunderbirds fly when i was 5 years old and that started my obsession with jets and flying. after i saw #2 on my list, i thought for sure i knew what i wanted to do for the rest of my life. God had other plans for me and i would never change what i have now for what might have been. still, this movie is totally awesome.

at #2..."top gun"

my top 5 favorite movies part 1

there are some who say it is really tough to pick your all time favorite movies. my favorite movies list has not changed in at least a decade, athough the movies may change places (except for #1 which always has been and always will be #1) from time to time. all these movies have made an impact on me; either my dreams, my view on people, or in my understanding of life. some of the clips may be a bit long, but i believe well worth the time.

i have decided to break this post into two parts; one today and one tomorrow. so, without further ado... here they are beginning with #5.




"get busy living, or get busy dying". one of the best lines ever...

#4:

just a really cool ending. if you have not seen the movie, then skip the clip.

hope

there is much to be said about hope. president-elect obama wrote a book titled "the audacity of hope" and star wars episode IV was called "a new hope". the bible has quite a lot to say on the subject; much that is hard to wrap my head around. i read the following this morning in my bible..."even when there was no reason for hope, abraham kept hoping- believing that he would become the father of many nations" Romans 4:18. that is just incredible, no reason to hope, yet hope did not diminish and God counted it as righteousness for abraham.

i love a lot of movies but the clip below is from one of my top 5 all time favorites, "the shawshank redemption". this is a great example of hope discovered, hope believed in, and hope fulfilled.

enjoy.




perhaps my next postings will be clips from my 5 all time favorite movies...

my karate kid

i can't wait till they teach him the 'crane kick'...

the cool thing is that he really loves his tae kwon do class and is passionate about it.

perhaps a video will be posted soon.

politics

nnnnnnoooooooooooo.......!

don't do it matt, don't bring up that topic. not here, not now, please.

well too bad, it's my blog, so read on with caution...

actually, i don't want to write about anything political at all. mostly because several conversations, blog postings, and responses on that very topic has resulted in unjust accusations, hurt feelings, unfair criticisms, miscommunication, misinterpreted statements, and a small but painful family war of words. the bummer was that true dialogue and debate was never really part of the discussion (i'm to blame for my part in this as well). i believe that the issues written about (i.e. health care, taxes) are critical and need to discussed. the question isn't "are these important issues or not", but rather, "what is the best solution to resolve these very complex issues". we may never agree on what is the best strategy, but we can at least come to terms that we all have the best interest of others in mind and care deeply for others in need.

i did not vote for obama. however, i do believe that he has best interest of the united states in mind. i am not convinced that his foreign policy is strong enough, or that his tax plan is actually going to stimulate and grow the economy, or that his stance on health care is the best. all that being said, he is now my president and it is my privilege and duty as a citizen of the greatest country on earth to pray for him, and support him as best i can. there are some in the media who have said that if mccain were elected president they would move to canada. that is both tragic and stupid.

ultimately, the president is not in control. neither is the congress, or the house of representatives, or the state or federal government. God is and always will be in control, no matter who sits in the oval office and what laws and policies he signs. with that in mind i know i can sleep and live and work in peace.

a poo update

just wanted to let everyone know that my wonderful wife, and now the families chief pooper scooper, successfully delivered sinclair's poop in a tube to the lab on monday. now we wait for the results to see if sinclair has parasites.

maybe anita can get a spot on the tv show 'dirty jobs'. that would be cool.

there's poo in my fridge!

or alternatively titled... "why scrubs really is like real life"

if you have not seen the above mentioned video, then stop reading, scroll down, watch the video, and then resume. otherwise this post will make a whole lot less sense and your thoughts (or concerns) about me might be validated.

so...anita took sinclair to the doctor for her one year check up earlier this week. all in all it went not so well for sinclair as drawing blood and sitting for a long time was hard for her to handle. after the inital check up was done, dr. wu asked anita (i wasn't present, so i do not have to help in this) to obtain a 3, count them 3 stool samples from sinclair so they can check for parasites. the only thing they gave us was several small tubes and a plastic bag. if i was there i would have also requested a haz mat suit and a large pair of tongs.


so...'since everything comes down to poo'.. sinclair has "pinched us off a big fat clue" and we now have several plastic tubes filled with poo and some sort of liquid. i have no idea how the poo got there (a plastic spoon perhaps?) and the truth is i don't want to know.





all i know is that there is poo right next to my lemon juice and very close to the milk i love to drink late at night.

perhaps i will only eat food from the pantry until the poo is removed and the fridge has been tented, fumigagted, cleansed, and de-germed.

go 'dores!

huh, what's that you say...go 'dores? but matt, we thought you were a tennessee volunteer fan? what's up with the love to nashville crew and not the knoxville one?

well, here is the skinny. the vanderbilt commodores are now 5-0 after beating a very good auburn team that beat a very mediocre tennessee team last week. this is the first time since wwII that vanderbilt has been 5-0 and they just might crack the top 10 in the next couple of weeks if things keep going this way.

i'm still a big vol fan and i'm not jumping on (or off the bandwagon), however... the smart kids who have some real game deserve some real props. and for my step-mom who never lost the faith...enjoy the clip.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryId=2378529&brand=null&videoId=3626045&n8pe6c=2

motivation

today, just not feeling it. not sure why and not really sure as to how to keep pushing forward. the desire for results is there, but the motivation to get to those results is not. maybe i just need to pick up the stupid phone and start making calls, or get off my rear-end and do something, anything.

then again maybe i need to laugh.

check out this site...http://despair.com/viewall.html.

read a few, laugh, be motivated, and get something done...anything. it'll make you feel better. trust me.



here is one i have not seen before...

why i like the tv show scrubs...

since we don't have cable and rabbit ears don't work in socal, we watch all tv shows on dvd via netflix. now i know that quite a few of you have seen this, but for those who have not, this is awesome.

hey it's good to be back home again...

yes, this is a direct reference to john denver, thanks for noticing :).

i am sitting here at 8:20am at the table with elijah on my left eating honey nut cheerios and sinclair on my right sitting in her booster seat playing with her stack em' cups. everyone else is still asleep; all in all very cool.

even though the transition back to pacific standard time has been somewhat tough on us all and i had to go back to work, it is really good to be home. i tell everyone that even though sinclair has been with us less than 2 weeks, it seems like she has been part of our family her whole ten months. that is something only God can work out and that has made this whole adoption really awesome.

so today we are off to dance class, buying cleats and a new baseball glove for brevin, house cleaning, paying some bills, and trying to fix the garbage disposal. i might even get a chance to see some college football on espn.com.

it is good to be home...

coming home...

well, tomorrow is the day that we are leaving china for home. part of me is excited and ready, although there is a large part of me that is somewhat sad to be leaving.

i'm not totally sure why. it could be that i like having someone else making all my meals and cleaning up after them, or having someone else do all my laundry and make my bed and clean my room and bathroom. or it could be that i have had one of the most exciting, wonderful, and eye-opening experiences in my short 35 years (oops, 36 now).

i am fairly certain that i could not capture all that i have seen, felt, or experienced in the short space that this blog allows, so i thought i would add some of the pictures that on some level capture what we have been blessed to experience.

enjoy...

me getting ready to leave lax for seoul, korea...

chinese people think we are so cool, i think...i hope...maybe we are more like a side show?

yup, that's a standard toilet for onesies and twosies...i looked for the sit down kind or waited till we got back to the hotel.

standard kitchen in the local nanchang village

good friends...now even better

food in china

yup, that says steamed chicken feet in soy sauce. yummy.

being dad

there really are no words to describe what it is like being a dad. hopefully this picture will capture some of what it is like.

today is the day...

well, today is the day and the countdown is on. we only have 5 1/2 hours to go before we leave for the airport and 10 hours before take-off. not to mention that we only have 5 days until we get to hold, kiss, and love on our new daughter.

still lots to do, but all in all we are ready...

are you excited?

people have been asking me lately am i excited about our trip to china to pick up sinclair. my answer has been, not yet, really'. the truth is that there is so much to do before we leave that it has been hard to focus on any one thing. we are in beijing for several days before we get sinclair, so even the first few days will feel more like vacation.

but when i woke up this morning, i had that first twinge of excitement in my stomach. i will finally get to hold my daughter on monday. i will get to see her laugh, try to roll over, cry, eat, and play. i think i will let anita have the pleasure of changing diapers!

so today, if you were to ask me if i am exicited, the answer will be a resounding, "yes"!

and the winner is...

as always, faith (see previous post)

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1 (New King James Version)

reality and faith

when reality and faith collide something awesome is about to happen.

as most of you know we are in the middle of a financial crisis/struggle to get sinclair home. some deals from my work closed, however the dollars won't be in my account for a couple of months. we applied for a scholarship to help offset the some of cost of the adoption, however we were denied. we are getting an adoption tax rebate of about $10,000, however we won't see that until april of next year. and we are to leave for china next thursday. reality and faith are on a massive collision course.

we believe that God has set aside sinclair bo-zheng for our family. it has been our desire from day one (june 2005) that our whole family be there when we get her. we are not sure how God will provide or through whom, we just believe that he will. he has carried us this far and has provided for all our expenses. there is no reason to believe that it would be any different today.

when faith and reality are heading right at each other, the question is will you rely on your faith that has never disappointed, or succumb to reality and miss out on something that will blow your mind and ultimately bring honor and glory to God.

as tough as it can be, i will stick to faith. things always work out better that way.

funny radio ads

http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contests/budlight/index

Not sure if you can still vote, but these spots are awesome!

this is super funny...

i will let the video speak for itself...

the lucky one

hopefully by now most if not all of you have seen the picture of sinclair bo-zheng, our daughter from china. if not i have included one in this post. a lot of people have been so gracious and kind to us in this process with kinds words of encouragement and prayer. and a lot of people have mentioned how lucky sinclair is to soon become part of our family.

we believe that we are just as lucky (probably a better word is blessed) as she is. we are blessed to be in a position to adopt her, blessed to have been provided for along this journey, blessed to have family and friends to support us, blessed to be able to be her parents, and blessed to be able to travel to china to pick her up. this has been and will continue to be an incredible journey for our family.

blessings to you.

one of my favorite things...

just woke up from a nice sunday afternoon nap on the couch. learned that one from my dad. pretty much can't beat that.

something you don't see everyday

i took this picture at the 2005 tennessee state fair. brian's picture of the the beef jerky van made me think of this one. got to love the home folk...

2nd deal

closed number two for bz results. at least it didn't take as long as the first one. now if i can only keep this pace up, i will be a millionaire in 40 short years...

coffee is a verb

some of you know that i have been having coffee with ed schofiled just about every week fo the last 11 years. it has been awesome. every now and again either a work or personal scheduling conflict arises and we have to reschedule. this week was one of those weeks. in a text message to ed, i asked, "if we could coffee on thursday instead of friday". most people say 'can we meet for coffee', or 'can we get coffee' or something to that effect. i, on the other hand have chosen to now make coffee a verb. i will now coffee with ed each week for encouragement, prayer, and general good times. perhaps starbucks will like this new approach...

it's been way to long...

i know, i know...all of you are wondering where have i been? it is well over two weeks since my last post, so that should tell you what life has been like for me. anyway here is a few highlights from the last 14 days...

1. finally closed my first deal with bz; hopefully my second won't take so long to close...
2. madi joined the jr. high group at church, i am not so sure i am ready for that...
3. we pretty much are getting our referral from china next month, i know that i am not ready for that. after all we have only been waiting 3 1/2 years...
4. wfg is picking up again and that is really cool...
5. started working on my summer tan...now all i need is the 6-pack abs to go with it...
6. i will be teaching at our church's pre-marital seminar on the subject of 'communication and conflict'. i think i will call it, "how to argue and win every time and get exactly what you want" (anita says all you have to do is flash your boobs). perhaps i will tell about the time anita was so mad at me she threw a pumpkin at my head. good thing i have cat-like reflexes...

well that's it for now. i should get to the next post before the next two weeks are up just in case you are waiting on pins and needles for me. if you're not, just let me continue to believe that you are, it's good for my psyche.

-out

the magic number is...15

why 15? because that is the number of years that i have been happily married to my wonderful wife, anita. the years have flown by and we have had our share of joys, struggles, triumphs, wins, and losses. looking back even with all the ups and downs, i would not have wanted to share those moments with any one else.

can't wait for the the magic number of 30, 50, 60...

best conversation EVER!

after anita (my lovely wife) read John 3:16 to elija (my five year old) and discussed what it meant to live forever the conversation went something like this:

elijah: mom, they will have wii's and nintendo ds's in heaven, right?
anita: i don't know elijah, but i don't think so.
elijah: well, you can just call me on your cell phone when you get there and let me know.
anita: i don't think i can take my cell phone with me and if i can, i don't think it will work.
elijah: well, then you can just text message then.

end of conversation. see why kids are so cool.

the doldrums

today is moving so slow. i don't know if it is the clouds and the rain (yes, it does rain in SoCal), the many phone calls that i made today, the quietness of working in the office in the garage,or just the general slowness of passing time. maybe it is that there has not been much in the way of accomplishment, just 'nose to the grindstone' kind of stuff. perhaps it is that i have had very little interaction with people since i have been holed up in the office all day. either way, it is not even dinner time and i feel like i should be getting ready to crash for the night.

or it could be what my good friend, ed schofield says is "the funk". i need to go hug my wife and play with my kids.

perhaps tomorrow will be better and brighter...

Anita's SPAMM Acceptance Speech

Wow! This is amazing. I have studied and waited for this for a very long time. My hard work has finally paid off after all these years. It is such an honor to be standing here today.



I never would have achieved this SPAMM award without my husband having introduced me to March Madness back in 1994--the first tournament after we were married. Thank you, Sweetie! I'd also like to say thanks to my statistics teacher at Biola University, Professor Paul Poelstra. How would I ever make any sense out of all those numbers without statistics?! I would also like to thank all of the NCAA basketball players who made this possible. And most importantly, I would like to thank God who created my mind; and for the Holy Spirit who led me in picking the upsets. I will treasure this award for years to come!

of all the weird combinations...

pickles and ice cream, peanut butter and ham (that's for you brad), sonny and cher, and now...

professional wrestling and JESUS...just check out the following link...http://www.wrestlingoutreach.com/

now don't get me wrong, for those of you who know me you know i love Jesus. for those who have know me a long time, know i used to love wrestling (maybe i still do a little bit). but wrestling and Jesus, sharing the Gospel after a bodyslam and a suplex? Perhaps Jesus would have put a unruly Pharisee in a figure-four leglock, maybe even dropped kicked a Sadducee who was a little too mouthy. but then how would he communicate the unending Grace and Love of our Father in Heaven?

still, kids are showing up to these events en masse and they are hearing the Good News that there is a God in Heaven that loves them to all ends. if that is what it takes, then i am all for this combination~weird as it is. just read the slogan of world impact wrestling..."let the unthinkable reach the unreachable". in reality isn't that just what God did for us? the unthinkable; sacrificing his Son to reach the unreachable; you and i separated from him by sin. now that is something i would jump off the top rope for.

pile-driving for Jesus...
mgs

superstar!

got to love the form!

guess what i had for dinner

way too good...

why i love golf...

i got to go golfing with my father-in-law this morning (6am!) and it was great! the course was in terrible shape, the greens were wet with dew, and it was cold. still, being outside, playing golf, and having fun was well worth it all.

over the 9 holes that we played~ i got one birdie, two pars, and i hit two drives about 250 yards each! the rest of my game was absolutely horrible, but the good far outweighed the bad and will definitely draw me back again.

just a side note, my incredible wife was kind enough to let me have this indulgence even though it makes her life somewhat more stressful. she is the best!

a valuable lesson

this one may be one that we all know, but it bears repeating. that is that relationships trump issues.

we all go through moments where we will fight to be proven right-when we know that we are; we will demand to be heard- even though we know someone is not listening; and we will seek justice, but not resolution. sometimes when we push hard for something we believe we deserve, we end up pushing someone away.

so whether that is with your wife, kids, mother (or mother-in-law!), your neighbor, co-worker, or your pet fish, sometimes it is better to work on the relationship and allow the issue(s) to be resolved through that new bond.

mgs

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

you know sometimes life just is a pain in the rear end, because things never seem to turn out the way we want them to.

you overcook your roast and now it is too dry; you get ready to put your kids to bed and you realize you have to put clean sheets on them first; your son's baseball team loses it's 8th game in a row and several kids cry (i thought there was no crying in baseball!); you get home and the dishes still need to be cleaned up and the house is a mess...and all of this happens in the span of a few hours. however if we are not careful we might miss a really cool moment.

below is a great song by steven curtis chapman about not missing those moments. check it out~ lyrics included.

She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,

Without a care in the world.

And I'm sittin' here wearin' the weight of the world on my shoulders.

It's been a long day and there's still work to do,

She's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you!

There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited and I need to practice my dancin'"

"Oh please, daddy, please!"

So I will dance with Cinderella, while she is here in my arms.
'Cause I know something the prince never knew.
Oh I will dance with Cinderella I don't wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight.
And she'll be gone.

She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed.
She wants to know if I'd approve of a dress.
She says "Dad, the prom is just one week away,
And I need to practice my dancin'""Oh please, daddy, please!"

So I will dance with Cinderella, while she is here in my arms.
'Cause I know something the prince never knew.
Oh I will dance with Cinderella I don't wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight.
And she'll be gone.

Well, she came home today
With a ring on her hand Just glowin' and tellin' us all they had planned.
She says "Dad, the wedding's due six months away
And I need to practice my dancin'""Oh please, daddy please!"

So I will dance with Cinderella, while she is here in my arms.
'Cause I know something the prince never knew.
Oh I will dance with Cinderella I don't wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight.
And she'll be gone.

how my wife embarassed me and made me proud at the same time

she beat me, my brother, and my dad in our annual march madness tournament pool. a picutre of her with the trophy soon to follow.

has it been too long...?

well, it has been several days since i have taken the opportunity to blog. since i am new to this world i am not sure if too much time has passed, or if i am still within the acceptable time frame to put down some more thoughts. there were no rules or guidelines when i signed up for this (not that i would have followed them anyway), but as we all know 'life' can sometimes get in the way of our passions, desires, hopes and dreams. it is the coming back to them time and again that makes all the difference in the end.

well, i must get back to it and not let 'life' keep me from really living.

the airport

well, i am sitting in a chair at the houston international airport waiting for my next flight. the airport is one of my favorite places as i get to watch planes take off and land (i know, i know, i'm weird for liking planes so much). but i also get to meet some really interesting and people and hear about their lives. i just met someone who took a trip to china, weird since we are going this year.

interesting who God brings into your path for you to learn from and be encouraged by. we just need to keep our eyes and hearts open to who is around.

my first...

well, since it appears that everyone else is doing this blog thing, i thought i would give it a shot as well. i have no idea if or how long i will keep this up, but for now it seems like a good idea. i'm not sure if people will be interested in reading my thoughts, but i know that at some point in the future, it could be good to look back and see where i wanted to go and where i actually went.

with that in mind, here is my thought for today:
"i don't want my tombstone to read, 'he did tolerable stuff for tolerable people because they paid him' "
daivd maister

more to come (i hope)...