Yes boys and girls, it’s that time of the year!

It’s time for the end of the year post, re-capping the best WunderKraut posts of 2008, as selected by me.

And the number one post of 2008 is:

Mei Day – It was a crazy day, but we got to hold Mei for the first time. It seems like it was both just yesterday and a million years ago. I love you girl and I can’t imagine our family without you. Another good post was our homecoming post. Heck, why not go relive the entire trip. See here.

To end I just wanted to say thank you again for all your love and support in getting Mei. You guys are amazing and pray that the Lord will give you blessings upon blessings for your generosity. You will never know what it meant to us.

Bring on 2009!

My Step-Mom gave my Dad a very cool Christmas present.

She took the American flag that was on my Grandfathers casket and had it framed along with other parts of his uniform.

Click for a larger picture

Very cool.

Granddad died when I was 9. I sure wish he had lived longer so I could’ve gotten to know him.

I would give anything to have a day with him right now to ask all sorts of questions about his life, the war and a myriad of other things.

We’ve had a very odd winter around here. It got cold really early for us, like all of November, but then it got really warm close to Christmas and it’s been like that off and on for the past few weeks.

A major drawback to the unseasonably warm weather is that we’ve got a bumper crop of mosquitoes.

The only became apparent when I decided to go hunting yesterday morning.

It was warm, mid 50′s, and foggy with no breeze. As a result, I almost got eaten alive.

The only parts of my body that were exposed were my hands and my face. I had a jacket with a hood, so I had my neck and ears covered. But let me tell you, that didn’t stop the mosquitoes.

It is very hard to be still in a deer blind when you have hundreds of bloodsuckers swarming around you.

I took this picture during the worst of it:

Around 8:30, it started to get better as a breeze picked up.

Late last night I took an inventory of the damage. Just on my two hands, I counted 32 bites. For whatever reason, I don’t swell up when bitten. They just leave little red dots, as seen in this picture.

They are more visible in person

This hand has 18 visible bites.

In the end, I only saw one small doe. Oh well, at least I got out of the house and in touch with nature…

I’m not sure they are calling it a tornado yet, but everything I’ve seen sure looks like one ran through town last night.

Around 4 in the morning, I woke up to the roar of a sustained wind. I swear it lasted for a minute. I hopped up out of bed and scouted around the inside of the house to make sure everyone was ok and everything was in its place. Then I went back to bed.

In the morning, I noticed that my side yard had a bunch of branches and other debris from the storm. There were also limbs in the main road. As I made my way to work, I realized that the rest of the town looked like it hadn’t been touched by the storm at all. It seemed to be localized around our house. I called my Mom and she heard the wind as well and lost power.

Then I got a call from Jen that a tree had hit part of the house we use as our church. Our church is less than 1/2 mile from my house. When I got there, it looked like a bomb had gone off. Trees had fallen to the left and the right of the house, but only one top of a pine tree fell and damaged the carport at the back of the house.

The cool thing is that most of the trees that were blown down were trees we wanted to get rid of anyway

Our local news had some shots of damage further away from our house, so I pulled up Google Earth and plotted the path of whatever hit us last night:

We are very thankful that no damage was done to our house and that the damage at the church is minimal. Also, it doesn’t appear that anyone was hurt. That’s always good.

I had lunch today with a buddy of mine. As is customary, we headed to the local sushi joint:

A few too many tuna rolls and hibachi chicken later…I’m stuffed.

We have been friends since we were 10 years old. Just a few years have gone by.

When I was in 7th grade and he was in 8th grade, we would have arguments about who had the best peach fuzz mustache. We would talk about how cool it would be when we started to shave…

Little did I know that having a razor touch my face would awaken the Recessive Neanderthal Hair Gene (RNHG)…look, I’m an engineer, I like acronyms…Having a 5 o’clock shadow when you’re 15 gets old real quick.

As it stands now, thanks to the RNHG, I have more hair on my back, in my nose, in my ear and on my face than on my head. Yes, I’m growing a beard again…

I hope none of my kids inherit the RNHG. It may seem really cool to be shaving when you are 13, but trust me, you don’t want to open that can of worms.

So…

What do you guys want to chat about?

Hey, I already warned you guys that I’ve got nothing to write about.

So, here is another addition to my love of all things pork.

This looks even better than the last pork flavored goodness I linked a few weeks ago.

Why does this look better? Because it combines bacon AND sausage in one tasty treat!

This reminds me of a great Simpsons episode:

Homer: Are you saying you’re never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

Taken from the great episode: “Lisa the Vegetarian” [3F03]

Sound clip here.

Via Geekologie who actually wrote a haiku in honor of this tremendous advance in human accomplishments

Hey Congress and President Bush and soon to be President Obama, here’s a thought…

STOP

SPENDING

It’s pretty simple.

You guys are going to bankrupt us. I have no use for you guys, the whole lot of you. Republicans and Democrats.

Mei fighting me to the death….no really…she doesn’t know how to “play hit”. I got whacked in the knees countless times!

The Force is strong with this one…

It has occurred to me that I haven’t been giving my blog the attention it needs/deserves.

It’s not from lack of desire. It’s more a function of the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day and I really like to sleep for 8 of those hours.

Jen and I have been going to a ministry school that our church is offering this year. So, Monday and Tuesday nights we have class from 6:30 till 9. Then there’s the required reading and assignments. It takes up a lot of our time, but we love it and have learned so much this year.

But I do have a few posts rattling around in my brain, including the quasi-controversial one I mentioned a month ago. I’ve just been sorting it out in my head and need to put it on paper now.

Jen and I have been catching up on our NetFlicks movies this week.

We watched Sense and Sensibility Wednesday and Pride & Prejudice last night.

I love those movies. In fact we both have a love of British films. She cried both nights, I teared up last night. Oh man, if you haven’t seen them, find the time to watch them. Yes, they are long. Yes there’s lots and lots of dialog, but it is so worth it. I really liked the way the two directors framed the scenes where there are lots of people. The camera moves effortlessly through the crowd and you really get the feeling of being there.

The scene at the end of Sense and Sensibility when Elinor realizes that Edward is NOT married as she had thought and that he loves her deeply almost made me cry. Emma Thompson did an excellent job conveying the emotion of a woman trying to keep it all prim and proper, but losing it in a wonderful fit of ugly crying!

Make sure you watch the 1995 version with Emma Thompson and my girl Kate Winslet….

The scene that made me tear up in Pride & Prejudice was when Elizabeth goes to her father to explain that she does in fact love Mr. Darcy. Her dad, played by Donald Sutherland, doesn’t understand so she explains why she loves him. In the end he says:

Mr. Bennet: I cannot believe that anyone can deserve you… but it apppears I am overruled. So, I heartily give my consent.
Elizabeth Bennet: [kissing and hugging him] Thank you.
Mr. Bennet: I could not have parted with you, my Lizzie, to anyone less worthy.

Man, I teared up and got all emotional.

Why?

It made me think of my 2 daughters and how I probably feel the same way as Mr. Bennet, that it’s hard for me to believe that anyone can deserve them. I know the Lord has the perfect man for them, but I have a feeling it’s going to be very hard for me to see them as worthy of my beautiful daughters…

Up next? Another Jane Austin movie Emma.

My buddy Michael sent this over today.

Behold!!!!!!

The Double Bacon Hamburger Fatty Melt

Bacon stuffed grilled cheese sandwiches serve as the buns for this work of art.

Be still my beating heart….err…on second thought….please keep beating.

UPDATE: More from Rob:

People like Thomas Jefferson and even Alexander Hamilton would be spinning in their graves if they knew of policy such as social security. Nationalized health care. Congressional mandates on what kind of light bulbs we can use. A big, powerful central government that tells everyone how to live their lives while engaging in never-ending spending increases and spiraling levels of taxation was not what they had planned.

Rob over at Say Anything sums up my feelings best in regards to the government/stimulus/jobs/etc…

In response to Obama saying “the first job of my administration is to put people back to work”:

… Obama’s assertion that his “duty” is to put people to work speaks to his basic misunderstanding of the appropriate role of government in a free society. The government doesn’t run the economy. The government doesn’t create jobs outside of those government employees necessary to perform the basic functions of government. The government exists to create an environment where a free market can flourish and create jobs and prosperity on its own.

That means law and order. Basic infrastructure. Things like that. Not “We’ll put people back to work.”

That’s what I believe.

WunderKraut does Wii Fit Hula-Hoop…yes, it’s as scary as you’re thinking….

It was one year ago today when we left for China to bring Mei home.

I can’t believe it’s been a year. Wow! What a year it’s been.

This time last year, we were in the air on the biggest trip of our lives. This time last year, China was having their worst weather in 100 years. This time last year, we had to leave our kids for 15 days. This time last year, we were a family of 5, now we are a family of 6.

In some ways it’s like we never went. It seems that Mei has always been here. It’s almost like a dream. I went to China? No, not me….

I just wanted to thank you guys once again for all your support. You guys are amazing. Here is a reminder of how much you helped us.

Go back and re-live the trip. I do it about once a month. See here.

Just a thought….

There is a large chunk of the world who blames Israel for anything and everything that is wrong in the Middle East.

The most recent Israeli action against Gaza as in response to Hamas continually firing rockets into Israel.

The press and the Left glosses over this basic fact and say that well, yes, Hamas shoots rockets, but that is because Israel has checkpoints, restricts movement, restricts food, medicine and jobs. See, Palestinians have no choice but to attack Israel.

Overlooked is the fact that the reason Israel has checkpoints, restricts movement, restricts food, medicine and jobs is because the Palestinians have this nasty habit of blowing up innocent Israeli civilians. When that happens, Israel closes the borders down.

So, here is my thought.

Let’s assume that Israel opens up the borders to the West Bank and Gaza. Let’s assume that Israel no longer restricts movement, jobs, food, medicine, equipment, etc. Let’s assume that Israel dismantles all settlements in the territories. Let’s assume that Israel pulls back to the 1967 borders. Let’s assume Israel recognizes the Palestinian State.

We good on our assumptions?

Great.

Now, raise your hand if you think that IF Israel did all the above that the Palestinians, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran would stop firing rockets, killing civilians and calling for the destruction of Israel.

Really?

You understood the question right?

Wow.

If you raised your hand you are delusional and I question your capacity to function in the real world.

If Israel did all the above things, the normal groups would still attack Israel and call for it’s destruction. It’s why these groups exist. Their holy book tells them to do this.

The only way to stop the violence in the Middle East is to abolish the nation of Israel, deport all the Jews and divide the land up between the various parties.***

Anything short of that is just a temporary lull.

Therefore the world has a choice to make. Do they agree with the idea of Israel’s continued existence or not?

There is no third option.

Me? Israel has my full support.

*** The funny thing would be to watch as the various groups/countries fought over the land recently vacated by the Israelis. Having a 10th century mindset tends to keep you from getting along with your neighbors.

Today is the 1 year anniversary of when Mei became part of our family. I can’t believe it’s been a year already. Re-watching the videos brought back many memories and some tears.

Mei, I’m so glad you’re my daughter. The Lord has blessed me beyond measure.

Original Post:

This is just a brief followup to my post about getting Mei. To recap, we flew to Nanchang today and were told we would get our babies today, not tomorrow. I am too tired to write how I feel and what all this means to me, but rest assured I am on the verge of tears. I can’t believe she is finally here.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. Continue to pray for us and our bonding time with our new daughter.

Here are some videos from today. I did not get the moment Jen was handed the baby as I was taking a picture.

Part I

Part II – about half way through. The first half is of another family (Moore’s). Then you see us.

Part III

Thank you Jesus. Man God is too good to me to have blessed me with four wonderful kids and a perfect wife. He has blessed me. I don’t deserve any of it, but He loves me enough to bless me.

I am a blessed man, a blessed man.

Going over to friends to celebrate Chinese New Year:

Even my spam thinks I’m fat:

Time to lose some weight.

I was reading about the Large Hadron Collider and the impending end of the world over at FOXnews.com when I got to this part of the story…

Says FOXNews.com:

FoxNews.com can think of a few other things that didn’t seem possible once — the theory of continental drift, the fact that rocks fall from the sky, the notion that the Earth revolves around the sun, the idea that scientists could be horribly wrong.

I love it. It made me laugh out loud. I think all news stories should be written like blog posts. FOXNews.com is well on its way!

I know, I’ve let you down.

This month has been a tough one for ye ol’ blog. Namely I do not have anything to write about or that I care to write about.

Time to dust off my favorite LoL Cat:

Yeah, I’m also lazy.

Have you tried Google Maps Street View yet? It’s pretty cool. For those who don’t know, Google sends camera vans all over taking street level photos that they incorporate into maps. So, when you click on it, it takes you to the street level and you see what you would see if standing on the ground.

Case in point. Here is Casa de WunderKraut

For those worried about privacy, if you are on the web, nothing about you is private. Just type your name in Google and you will quickly find addresses, phone numbers and a bunch of other “private” information. Heck just searching for info on WunderKraut.com will give you whatever info you need. It took me less than a minute to find out my address, phone number and Yahoo email address. So, no, I don’t worry too much about privacy.

Here is the house I grew up in

Thank goodness it’s Friday!!!!!!

Time for my all time favorite end of work/school song: Panama by Van Halen:

Wow…1984 seems like such a long, long time ago.

Funny story… I had a VW bug in high school that I had a nice stereo system and speakers installed. It was a hoppin’ little car. I remember leaving school on a Friday, windows rolled down and Panama blasting through the speakers! To my dismay, one of my classmates remembered it as well and come the next week, my car was broken into while parked in the school parking lot and my stereo was stolen…

Come to think of it, that wasn’t a funny story at all.