Super Dungy - Adoption Advocate

Let me count the ways I miss this man as Head Coach of my Indianapolis Colts. In a crowded NFL-world of Rex Ryans and Bill Belichicks there are too few men worthy of the respect Tony Dungy rightfully deserves for winning and winning with his character intact. 

Check out his Super Bowl commercial spot that will air during the half time show advocating for orphans through adoption. 

Celebrating the Year of the Dragon with New Friends

Last October, we met Chris and Kiersten (and their 3 insanely cool kiddos) at the inaurgural Magical Families gathering at Walt Disney World. 

They made a big impression on us that weekend, and we were proud to host them as our first dinner guests - in our Orlando home - for a Chinese New Year celebration. Chase and Jackson waited by the door with bated breath in anticipation of new playmates. 

Janie has a knack for making things extra special and she prepared a delicious [not to mention authentic] dinner and had the house prepared as the perfect backdrop. I mean, seriously, look at the kids table ... I wanted to sit there!

 We rang in the Year of the Dragon right. 

Of course Chase and Jackson lost their shirts at some point during the meal. And they did their best to provide their guests with appropriate entertainment. 

After dinner, the kids watched Mulan while the "grownups" visited.

But I HAD to sneak away for a moment to grab a picture of this sweet scene.

How To Turn Your Small Group Into An Orphan Care Movement.

Churches have known for years the importance of small groups. Many churches today consider small groups the catalyst for connection, discipleship and serving. One of the exciting projects I have been personally working on (along with my partners in crime, Jesse Blaine and Kevin Squires) since I joined World Orphans is the development of an eight-week small group curriculum.

Click to read more ...

Prime Time - Growing Pains

Poor kid came home today from his two-year checkup with band-aids all over. 

Camera: Nikon D7000

Lens: Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G prime lens

* Prime Time is a new series of posts on DaddyMatt.com where I get up close and personal with my DSLR equipped with a prime lens.

** Photography noobs...a prime lens has a fixed focal length, meaning it doesn't zoom. If you want to get a great, intimate shot of your subject YOU have to make the effort to move in close and get to its level. 

[There's a great analogy in there for us dads, don't you think?]

Happy Chinese New Year!

We are proud of our boys' Taiwanese heritage and we want them to grow up being proud of it too. Weekly we try to have "Chopstick Night" and we are attempting to learn and teach them Mandarin. Apparently some of it is actually sticking (this video is proof). 

Since today is the Spring Festival, the biggest celebration of the Chinese holidays, we had to join in the party. 

This morning, we skipped our usual cartoons of Curious George and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and watched the Ni Hao, Kai Lan episode all about Chinese New Year. 

While they were engrossed in the show, I snuck upstairs and got out the traditional Chinese outfit we bought at a night market in Taipei when we adopted Chase in 2009. I knew Chase wouldn't fit into it anymore but it fit Jackson like a glove. 

Here's a photo from Chinese New Year in 2010. Chase was 14 months in this baby-ish pic.

Since Janie, works on Monday mornings, I drove the boys to Epcot to continue our Chinese New Year celebration. If you can't travel to China or Taiwan, isn't the China Pavilion at Epcot the next best thing?

Jackson wore his traditional garb the entire morning at Epcot and it was quite the conversation starter with everyone we saw. I also prepped them to greet everyone with a hearty, "Ni Hao!" and "Happy New Year!" 

The China Pavilion has a huge store called The House of Good Fortune and our first stop was to let Chase pick out a new outfit. The kid knows what he likes. A Disney castmember from Shanghai showed Chase three different selections. His eyes widened when he saw the one with the dragon. We had a winner.

We also snagged these cool cheater chopsticks, but you can grab them much cheaper on Amazon. 

With both boys rockin' their duds we went to get their photo with Mulan. 

Wait a minute ... these boys are skittish when they get their picture taken with Mickey, Donald or Goofy but show them a pretty girl and they can hang in her arms all day.

These boys have serious game.

Mulan planted a kiss on each of the boys before they said "zài jiàn."

Here they are proudly showing off their "kisses." Mom is going to be jealous.

This picture above is entitled, "Kiss and tell all about it."

新年快樂