Bedtime Ritual

My 14 year old and I have a bedtime ritual.

She comes to me and says, "Goodnight Mom."
We hug.
I pray.
She kisses my cheek.
I kiss her forehead.
And then she shakes my hand.

We've had this ritual for less than 5 years.
Her first ten years were spent in a Chinese orphanage.
We like our ritual.

What is your bedtime ritual?

Sex scandal rocks Hong Kong...

and the public reacts just like Americans. Lovely.

In places like Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China, where the hunger for celebrity news is ravenous and invasive, the daily leak of new images has kept the story on the tabloids’ front pages, alongside breathless updates on the stars and ongoing legal proceedings.

I Shudder to Think About Them

Sometimes you come across things that just make you shudder and sort of gag. Strawberry Cheetos and Cucumber Pepsi did the trick for me this morning. I've seen some things that I thought were odd during my visits to China. I still don't understand green bean ice cream or sunflower seed ice cream, but a lot of the time the items made sense, even though they didn't appeal to me. Strawberry Cheetos and Cucumber Pepsi do not even come close to making sense or being appealing. EWWWWWW!

Pray

I got this off of dreaming(Big)dreams blog. She got it off a friend's blog. Having spent time in Guangzhou going through the adoption process I can "see" the consulate red tape mounting for this poor woman. I can't comprehend the grief. I don't know what I would have done if Phil had died while we were there.

"I just got an e-mail from one of my friends who is in China right now. One of the families in her group has experienced a tragedy that is so hard to comprehend. The wife Sandi and her husband Dennis have been married 18 or 19 years, and this is their first child. Hannah (who is being adopted in China) is their daughter, and they were preparing to return to the States when Dennis fell ill.
Dennis was struggling to keep his blood glucose levels in check while in China and fell in to a diabetic coma yesterday. He died in Guangzhou two nights ago.
Sandi’s mother and brother are trying to get emergency visas to get to China to help out, and now there is concern that the US government (via the Consulate in Guangzhou) would deny Hannah’s visa to return to the States with her mother, as her father’s death affects the status of her adoption (on paper only, though).
Please pray for Sandi, Hannah, and their shock & grief. Please pray that the Consulate would not deny Hannah’s visa and that they would be able to return home unhindered, and for all arrangements for Dennis’ body. I ache for them….this just seems unfathomable! PLEASE PRAY!"

Jamie adds: Please if you think about it pray for this family and all the circumstances around this tragic event. Pray for the mom and her unimaginable loss. I can’t even begin to understand her life right now.

Kung Fu

Tonight found me watching a friend take a belt test in Kung Fu. His parents could not be there and I gladly filled in. I'm nice that way -- sometimes. I'm used to sporting events that involve clapping, screaming, shouting, yelling, whistling, and throwing hands in the air. This was nothing like that. The room was beautifully painted in relaxing colors and calming music washed over us. Everything was very pleasing to the senses, except for that really sweaty guy, but he was working hard. In fact, he down right scared me a few times. I kept thinking, "he does know I'm just two feet from him," as he spun and kicked. When he brought out his bamboo pole I got really worried. Not knowing anything about Kung Fu, or any martial arts for that matter, mess-ups were hard for me to spot. It helped when the person would pause with a "deer caught in headlights" look or said "Chihuahua" under their breath or just had the panic-stricken "I'm gonna throw up" face. My friend did a wonderful job. At least, he told me that he had accomplished what he had set out to do. So, in my book that makes it wonderful. At the end of the testing came the tea ceremony. That would have been very lovely except that they lit incense. I do not like the smell of incense. I never have, but now that I have been to China three times, it brings sad memories of people bowing to huge statues after purchasing packages of incense to light and offer. I'm so thankful that my God does not require that of me. He requires all of me, but I don't have to bring incense along.