Peter, Ava, Christina and Christopher

Well, I’m off to Tainan tomorrow to enjoy a week with the in-laws in Tainan. It will be relaxing, and my bike is waiting to take up a bit of that time too.

This is the equivalent of the Christmas – New Year break that most people in the West have.

So… Happy Chinese New Year everyone.

Well, Ava went for another ultrasound today and got some 3D scans at the same time. This was her major mid-pregnancy check. Pretty cool as you can make out the shape of the baby and it’s features. Actually the 3D scans are more useful for patients than for doctors. Parents love to see their future child, however doctors like the other ones cause you can find any problems with the baby. So without further adue, here goes.

This picture is the clearest and you can make out most of the features of the baby’s face.

The baby has its arm up at the left.

Heh, heh, fun stuff.

Well, Christmas over her certainly is a little different from what I had back home in South Africa, but then nothing really is, and seeing as this is not South Africa, it’s really not all that strange.

I had dinner with my work colleagues and we ate and drank and chatted about all sorts of stuff.

On Sunday, today, Ava and I went to church in the evening and then stayed after church for a get together they have called “vinyl cafe” where they have lots of things to eat and drink and you can just socialise with each other.

That’s it from this side, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you will have a wonderful New Year, which is coming up next week. For those on holiday, enjoy it, next week is a normal working week for me, my holiday comes with my week off for Chinese New Year from the 28th of January as far as I know.

So keep safe, and don’t forget what this wonderful time of year is all about… the birth of Jesus Christ.

Cheers

Long ago, England was ruled by a king named Canute. Like many leaders and men of power, Canute was surrounded by people who were always praising him. Every time he walked into a room, the flattery began.

“You are the greatest man that ever lived,” one would say.

“O king, there can never be another as mighty as you,” another would insist.

“Your highness, there is nothing you cannot do,” someone would smile.

“Great Canute, you are the monarch of all,” another would sing. “Nothing in this world dares to disobey you.”

The king was a man of sense, and he grew tired of hearing such foolish speeches.

One day he was walking by the seashore, and his officers and courtiers were with him, praising him as usual. Canute decided to teach them a lesson.

“So you say I am the greatest man in the world?” he asked them.

“O king,” they cried, “there never has been anyone as mighty as you, and there never be anyone so great, ever again!”

“And you say all things obey me?” Canute asked.

“Absolutely!” they said. “The world bows before you, and gives you honour.”

“I see,” the king answered. “In that case, bring me my chair, and we will go down to the water.”

“At once, your majesty!” They scrambled to carry his royal chair over the sands.

“Bring it closer to the sea,” Canute called. “Put it right here, right at the water’s edge.” He sat down and surveyed the ocean before him. “I notice the tide is coming in. Do you think it will stop if I give the command?”

His officers were puzzled, but they did not dare say no. “Give the order, O great king, and it will obey,” one of then assured him.

“Very well. Sea,” cried Canute, “I command you to come no further! Waves, stop your rolling!. Surf, stop your pounding! Do not dare touch my feet!”

He waited a moment, quietly, and a tiny wave rushed up the sand and lapped at his feet.

“How dare you!” Canute shouted. “Ocean, turn back now! I have ordered you to retreat before me, and now you must obey! Go back!”

And in answer another wave swept forward and curled around the king’s feet. The tide came in, just as it always did. The water rose higher and higher. It came up around the king’s chair, and wet not only his feet, but also his robe. His officers stood before him,
alarmed, and wondering whether he was not mad.

“Well, my friends,” Canute said, “it seems I do not have quite so much power as you would have me believe. Perhaps you have learned something today. Perhaps now you will remember there is only one King who is all-powerful, and it is he who rules the sea, and holds the ocean in the hollow of his hand. I suggest you reserve your praises for him.”

The royal officers and courtiers hung their heads and looked foolish. And some say Canute took off his crown soon afterward, and never wore it again.

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I got this in an email from a newsgroup, visit http://www.brettfish.com to subscribe.

Well, it’s been a while so here is an update of what is happening.

Firstly, the biggest news of the moment is that Ava is in Tainan for a while. She went back the weekend before last on the 26th of November. She hadn’t felt very well and needed a break from just everything. When she goes home she can pretty much just take it easy. She is feeling better now and is going to be coming back this Saturday morning. It’s been quite something with her being away for such a long time, which is something that hasn’t happened since we got married. She has stopped working altogether and will continue to go to her University to study and see how that goes.

The doctors told Ava that she really needs some rest. When she went to Tainan they did some checks and found a build-up of Calcium or something of that nature on the umbilical cord. They were concerned about the child’s well-being. Anyways, prayer does the trick as God knows far more than any doctor ever could, being the designer of us in the first place. So we’re looking forward faithfully to a healthy little baby girl around about May next year.

Secondly, the 40 days of purpose website is now dormant. It was a real blessing being able to do that website and hopefully a blessing for those who joined up for the daily updates from the site. You can still check it out now at http://pdl.peterandava.com

Thirdly, last month was a great month for http://computer-reviews.net It managed to make a lot more money than it did the month before. Things are building with that and I have actually now got a few writers on the line from http://elance.com to do some articles. It’s not the cheapest thing to have done, but if I can sink a little money into that, keeping the site growing, and then focus my attention on promotion, things should build to a point where I can start branching out and looking at other stuff online to do. It still doesn’t make enough money for me to live off, but it is a positive step, as it reinforces my confidence that it will work. The eventual aim is to develop streams of income so in essence the websites can be run with only a little intervention from me and eventually none at all.

School remains busy and things just go by day to day as usual. Christmas is coming up so everyone is getting lost in the talk of Santa Claus and putting gifts under trees and stuff. The one thing that hit me is that even though Christ in Christmas is almost lost here, still things like the star on the top of the tree don’t get a second look, whereas it actually has some meaning to it. Time to break out those stories of the nativity.

Also, another call for those who are interested in you own website. I have opened http://ublog2.com so you just click on the link on the main page and you can sign up for your own website. You can put pictures in your posts and there are a whole range of themes to choose from to give your site that custom look.

On another great note, which I might have mentioned before, my parents are coming to Taiwan. Of all the people who could come and visit me I honestly didn’t expect them to be the first ones. So there you are. They’ ll be coming at the beginning of February of thereabouts, just after the Chinese New Year holiday. That’s a good thing as being the only major holiday of the year, its a nightmare to go anywhere within Taiwan or anywhere in Asia for that matter.

So that’s Peter for the meantime, I hope you are all doing well, it’s good to hear from those who send emails. I try to reply as often as I can especially to individual emails. God Bless and don’t forget why this is the season to be jolly.

Hint: A certain saviour of the world was born, who eventually died to save us all

Wow, it’s amazing how much the little mite in Ava’s tummy is growing.

Here its facing us.

Here is a side view.

Only short news this time.

Ava is feeling well, and I am having a great time with my internet business which is doing better than I expected.

BTW: If you want your own website, go to http://ublog2.com and signup by clicking on the link, its as easy as that.

This is a request.

I am looking for someone or maybe more than on person to do some part time writing for my websites.

If you know anyone who may be interested, just send this email on to them and they can contact me.

—–Ad—–

I am looking for a part-time writer or writers for my websites.

You need to have an interest in computer stuff, hardware in particular, but general knowledge is cool too. You also need to be able to write, you don’t have to be an author, but being able to be clear and express yourself clearly is necessary.

I am primarily looking for someone to write on http://computer-reviews.net. The site focuses on reviews of different products, based on other reviews from around the internet. Go check out the website. That’s the kind of stuff you will be writing.

There is also http://computer-buying-guide.com which has a slightly different focus and might need writers sometime.

The writing is completely internet based. You will do writing and publishing online, so access to the internet will be needed.

No requirements on age, gender, or qualifications. Just a self-driven personality and willingness to learn something new.

Pay and hours are all negotiable and can be discussed directly with me via email.

—–end—–

Thanks

Here is a plug for a site I just set up.

http://ublog2.com

You can sign up for a free blog, just like the one I use at peterandava.com.

The functionality is similar and is based on a multiuser version of the same script.

Reply with your request and I will send you an invitation so you can register.

Feel free to just try it out if you want. Report any bugs to me.

Also, go check out computer-reviews.net and computer-buying-guide.com.

pdl.peterandava.com is the site for my church in Taipei’s 40 days of purpose campaign. Check it out for opinions and comments on each days reading.

On other news, Ava is now 8 or 9 weeks along in her pregnancy. It’s so exciting. She has been feeling a little less sick, but really tired.

Work goes on as always, and the weather has finally taken a turn, so I’m not sweating profusely before I even get to work in the morning.

Much of my free time now goes into the two computer websites and a little into the others, my bike is feeling very lonely and rejected.

Hope you are all keeping well and are in good spirits.

Yes, this is the official announcement that Ava and I are to be parents.

Its been an exciting time as we weren’t planning things exactly, but we just let things happen and there you go.

Here are the first ultrasounds that can also be seen in the photo gallery.

You can make out the baby’s head, which is at the top and the rest is below. The baby is the yellow part inside the dark blob, which I had to have explained to me.

This picture is not quite as clear as the first one.

The baby’s expected arrival date is May 29th, 2006. There are a few other details in the pic too.

Well, that’s the big news for this week, I’ll keep you all updated as to how things go.