Green Eggs and Ham (or granola, in my case)

In the story of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss there is a man being followed, badgered, and annoyed by Sam. Sam is convinced that the man will like green eggs and ham if he only tries it. Many times I feel like Sam. Recently Brett asked for granola. It is not readily available in any store around here so I planned to buy the two hefty bags at Costco when I visited this week, only to be appalled that the price had jumped from $16 to $22! I decided I would try to make my own granola. The next day I whipped up some which I thought tasted pretty yummy. I was excited to greet Brett in the morning with a bowl for him only to be shot down with "that doesn't look the same" "why does it have nuts in it?" "I wanted the other granola" Brett, you may like it... Try it, try it and you may... If you know the ending of the book the man does try it and discovers he likes green eggs and ham, thus the ending to my story as well.
I have a vague memory of my mother saying she wished I had a child like me one day. She got her wish! Oh, how the tables have turned and now I will be the persistent Sam I am.

Clean Water Fund

Imagine tomorrow waking up and not having running water anymore and the only available water was more than a mile (or kilometer) away in a small pond. And that pond was also the water hole for animals (you can bet there would be some feces in it!) No showers, or coffee to start the day, only a hike carrying buckets to fill and then carrying them home--roundtrip about two hours. You could only carry about 10 gallons each time, how dramatically life would change. This is reality for millions of people in the world, bacteria are rampant and people are dying just because they don't have access to clean water, yet how quickly we are able to access water everyday for every purpose. When I read about this in a World Vision Summer 2007 magazine it forever changed my life. (Articles: Just Add Water, Water in a Child's Life, and Splashes.) I have been wondering what I can do. I am setting a challenge out to raise the money needed for a deep water well to be dug in a community by the end of 2009. The cost is $18,000! I know most do not have that kind of money but as a group of people we can raise that over the course of a year. With your help, we can make a difference together in the lives of many! I will be working on this all year, would you join me in thinking outside the box to help others around the world? Get creative and get others involved. Give a donation as a Christmas gift, a birthday present, or anniversary gift. Do a fundraiser, walk-a-thon or bake sale or help raise funds. Please pass this along. Change happens when a group of people work towards the same goal!

To learn more click on the "First Giving" widget on the top right of this page.

Celebrating 9 years

It's hard to believe we've been married for so long, yet it's gone by so fast. We had the wonderful opportunity to get away just the two of us (thank you Bruce and Susan for watching the boys!) and headed to Namisam island about 2 1/2 hours bus ride from here. The island is known for Winter Sonata, a romantic T.V. drama that filmed there. It is 5k of beautiful nature and with the season being fall, many, many colorful trees! My favorite season is the fall, probably because growing up in AZ I never saw the leaves change colors. The first year I experienced fall I fell in love with the beauty of it and look forward to it every year. As you can see we took a lot of photos of the the trees.

Tae kwon do

Tae kwon do is a big deal in Korea. There are studios in every apartment complex and it seems that all children participate in it at some point. We have been toying with the idea of Brett taking it for awhile and finally decided to start he and Ian in lessons. They will be going 3x a week. Most places do not start students until they are 5 but this place starts at 4yrs and it is directly outside our apartment. Today was our first class. There are about 7 other kids ranging from 4-8 years old. The teacher speaks a little English and between his broken English and the boys limited Korean they were able to understand. Of course all they really need to do it follow along with what everyone else is doing. I thought this would be a great way for them to be hearing and hopefully learning some Korean, meeting other kids from our apartment/neighborhood and getting some energy out. I stayed to watch and just today we learned the words for master(teacher), right and left, hand, foot and go. The kids did stretching, running races, jumping rope, and tae kwon do poses. Ian was disappointed at the end of the hour when it was done. They look so cute in their uniforms, don't you think?

Costume party

This year a group of us got together to have a Halloween costume party. We procrastinated till the last day to think of something so Joe and I's were pretty simple. Dressed as himself Joe put a cotton ball on his eye. Anyone know what the reference is? Cotton Eye Joe, ha ha. It won out over a Cup of Joe (how is the world were we going to make that?) My costume was a sign. Shirt $20, pants $25, shoes $50, costume that needed minimal effort: Priceless.

One of the reasons our costumes were simple is because we took hours making Ian's. He was the best looking Robot, for a whole 5 minutes! I can't blame him though, who wants to be confined to a box all night!
Brett went showing off his muscles as Mr. Universe 2008.

Joe said we've officially earned a new badge of parenthood: costume making.

Tooth be told

Brett lost his first tooth this month and another tooth is loose. He was pretty excited to feel it wiggle back and forth, so excited he spent the whole day lightly pushing and pulling at it. The next day it was grossly hanging on, flopping back and forth. Brett tends to be uneasy about change so I was worried that this right of passage was going to be a time of turmoil for it seemed as though we needed to yank it out. He also does not have a high tolerance for pain or blood, so you can understand my concern. To my great surprise (and relief) he decided on his own to pull it out. The 'tooth fairy' gave him 1,000 won which in the US equals about 80 cents with the exchange rate being so low. I'm sure the going rate is higher these days but he was pretty excited about getting any money. He knows it was Joe but we had a good time with it anyways.

Letting go of the training wheels

Recently a friend gave us a new bike. It was suppose to be for Ian who has out grown his tricycle but it was bigger than Brett's bike. So the bike became Brett's new bike. His old bike had training wheels on it though he didn't really use them anymore. We thought what a great time for Brett to learn to ride without the extra wheels. But when we took him to the park to try he was too worried about falling over even though I was holding the back of the bike. He begged for training wheels to be put on. After putting the wheels on we realized they were too short and didn't even touch the ground. He desperately wanted to try out his new bike and we headed out to the parking lot where he took off like a bullet and never touched the training wheels to the ground. He was so scared of trying it without the wheels but really they just gave him the "safety" he needed to boost his confidence and take off riding. It made me wonder how many times I've needed some type of training wheels to get my confidence up just to realize I wasn't using the wheels at all.

Death all around

Maybe it's a season but recently there seems to be deaths all around me. It started in our own family with grandmother, but over the summer I knew of 4 others, and just this month 2 more. It has me thinking about the fragility of life. One day a person you know is here and then their not. Right before Joe left for Tanzania this summer I had the thoughts that he was going to die. I started thinking of what life without my spouse would be like. I was devastated. What would I do, where would I live? I think these things are good to think about ahead of time but not get too caught up in them. I kept telling myself to calm down and change the subject in my head. Thankfully nothing happened to Joe on his trip and my worries where just that, and lines added to my face that weren't needed!

Everything takes extra time

I found a set of pillows I really liked at our local mega store but they didn't have enough. Since I have yet to find someone who can speak English at this store and the lady did not understand my charades, I called a Korean friend to help me order more. No problem, maybe took an extra 5 minutes. The sales clerk called my friend back a week later to let her know that the pillows had arrived. When I arrived at the store I could not find the women who would have recognized me and have known I came for the pillows. I stood and waited 5 minutes hoping she would show up. No luck. I looked for anyone who worked in that dept. No luck. I decided to call my friend that had helped me order. She didn't answer....what do I do now? Leave the store without the pillows? No way, I had gone there just to pick them up. I decided I would call another friend, explain the situation and ask them to speak to the door greeter at the store and have him page someone to that dept. Easier said then done. After calling 4 people, trying to explain the situation to one and hearing their confusion as to what in the world I was asking them to do, I decided to head home, pillow-less. Fortunately my friend called back just as I was leaving the store. I went back into the store, handed the confused looking greeter my phone, he paged someone to come with the pillows and I left happy. This little 5 minute errand only took me 45 minutes. Ahh the frustration of communication.
Since we have been back I have been asked, insinuated and told 4 times that I should know more Korean. I agree! Life would be a lot easier. Time to start studying again.

Back in Korea

It has been a busy couple of weeks for us since the boys and I returned. Two days after we arrived back we moved to a new apartment. Moving seems to be the best cure for jet lag because I spent all my time cleaning, sorting and organizing our new place that I just pushed past the exhaustion. I wanted to get it done.

Our new place is great! It is probably 800sq feet and has a 3rd bedroom as compared to our previous 2 bedroom 500 sq ft. When we first arrived back to our old apt I was shocked by how small it felt. I shouldn't have been so surprise since we lived in grandmothers 4,000sq feet house all summer. I am really grateful to have moved to a bigger place. We had asked the university to make the key deposit for us (around $20,000 US dollars) and we offered to pay our rent of $500 and utilities (at our other apt we didn't pay anything). We were pleased and surprised to find out that we are only going to need to pay our utilities. I have been thanking God for answering my prayers! We are in a different neighborhood but still close to places we know. We are now behind the university, about 10 minutes walking for Joe to his office. One of my friends live in our building and has been very helpful.

Now that we have settled in we started our new school routine. I'm tired already! I remember my friends from college and how in their first year of teaching they all seemed incredibly tired. I now understand how they felt. And I only have two children to focus on! I am hoping that setting a new routine and standard will pay off in the end and get easier once the boys get the hang of it. Until then, I am going to bed early.

We sure enjoyed our extended vacation in the US and spending time with so many people. But it's also good to be back in Korea.

What's next?

I am a planner by nature and since we moved to Korea I've been asking the Lord, "What's next?" I wonder where we will go after, back to KC or another city or country? What kind of job Joe will do and what we will be involved in. This summer God reminded me to be content where I am, he'll let me know what's next when we need to know. But I've want to know and because of looking ahead I don't always enjoy the present NOW. So this sememster I want to focus on the present. Enjoying the NOW moments with my family and friends and trying to bathe myself in patience to wait for what the Lord has next. In answer to the question everyone asks "How long are you staying there?" I say, God will let us know. I'm enjoying the NOW.

Where has the time gone?

It's been awhile since I wrote and now here it is mid August and we leave to go back to Korea in just 10 days. It has been so awsome to be here! On our previous trips back we always had a ton of things to do all shoved in 3 weeks so this trip has been different and relaxing.

It has been a summer full of hanging out with all different family members from both sides. My mom visited and we took a trip to WI to see my grandfather, my brother moved back to the KC area, we went to Branson, MO to see Joe's dad, we spent time with Joe's cousins who live here and we got to catch up with our friends. I feel so blessed and fortunate to have been here for the summer. The boys also had a blast at soccer camp, swimming lessons and going to friends houses. We experienced our first round of putt-putt, where we all scored a hole in one, had our first fishing lessons with the boys, who unfortunetly did not catch anything and we've eaten all our favorite foods:)

Whew, where has the time gone!?

There's something to be said for convenience

In Korea we walk everywhere and if needed take a bus or taxi. I like living where everything is convenient, the grocery store, Joe's job, church, friends, and all within 10 minutes of walking. I'm trying to bring my 'convenient' lifestyle here. We are staying at Joe's grandmother's house which is in a good location to walk to the grocery store (though a bit yuppie and higher priced, but no gas = better deal), I joined the YMCA 10 blocks away, which I could walk to but instead drive the 5 minutes. Ian is attending preschool part time and that is only 10 minutes driving. We're trying to stay in our "hood". In 12 days of driving I used less than one tank of gas! Being behind the wheel again is fine, being stuck in traffic, and paying $4 for a gallon of gas, yea..I don't mind living without those.

Adjustments

Here we are in the US for the whole summer. Since we got here we had Grandmother's funeral and have been adjusting to the time change. Unfortunately it is taking us awhile to do so. All 4 of us have been taking LONG naps everyday, so I feel like I'm living half in the day and half at night. I'm just grateful we are staying longer than our usual whirlwind visits. But adjusting to time is not the only thing we are doing. Living in a second culture brings all kinds of adjustments, but coming back into our own culture also has adjustments and honestly I'm not sure how to write them out. Maybe after we've been here a little while longer and my mind is awake ALL day I'll jot some down. For now I am loving all the green landscape, the trees, and the ability to fully communicate without body language. It's good to be back.

Visiting home

Recently Joe and I were trying to figure out what to do with ourselves this summer. He has 10 weeks off (I'm telling ya, teaching on a university is pretty good). So we were researching places to visit but had made no commitments when we got the call that his grandmother had passed away. She has been up and down for over a year so it was not a surprise but when is a family ever fully prepared to say good bye to a loved one. She passed peacefully and so we grateful for that and are headed home this week for the funeral. Since it is the end of the semester Joe was able to move up his finals and leave early. It is a good thing we had not made any set plans, for once we realized that we were headed home unexpectedly we decided we would stay for the summer. We look forward to being with family and seeing friends.

Second opinion

A few weeks ago our family ventured out for our first dentist visit in Korea. I have been reluctant to go, well just because I feared bad news, and the need for assistance from a Korean friend. Though we've lived here for 2 years it is still hard to communicate, especially in these types of endeavors where I really want to make sure communication is CLEAR. My friend took us to her dentist and my fears were not in vain. After cleaning my teeth (they call it scaling) the bad news was delivered...6 cavities and one of the fillings I had should be replaced. Yikes, I had thought maybe one cavity but I also felt a little leery about the diagnosis because I had heard rumors through the grapevine that foreigners get ripped off. They also said Joe had 5 cavities and would do them all for $900. I had my teeth cleaned last year when I was home and found it a bit hard to believe that in one year I had 6 cavities. Not to long ago my friend Sarah needed some dental work and had a similar experience but got a second opinion. So I asked my friend to try the dentist that Sarah had gone too. I felt awkward asking for her help again since she had taken us to someone she trusted but I knew if I asked a different friend to help she might be offended, either way I could offend her. But I knew I had to get a second opinion. It took awhile to coordinate our schedules but we finally went and the diagnosis? I did have 6 areas that needed attention but he suggested rasin (sp?) a white ceramic filling that I have had before so I guess it wasn't really a cavity. Joe didn't need anything done and the total price was $150! My Korean friend was shocked and said from now on that she too would get a second opinion.

The end of an era

It is with bittersweet feeling I say goodbye to the toddler age, for it has been a part of our lives for so many years. We have officially entered into the ALL boy era, ushering it in with Ian's 4th birthday and all the toys that come along with boyhood, specifically remote control car's...we now have 4. Our first set arrived with Joe's mom who is here to visit. The boys' excitement and energy (including Dad's) was contagious to me as we tested them out. Ian spent the whole time chasing the car he was 'driving' till it crashed and couldn't go any farther only to pick it up and chase it again. This is the boys and I's first time driving remote control cars and it's a good thing they are just toys! At Ian's birthday party he received 2 more cars and we headed off to the park to test their abilities. Soon a flock of children were gathered around all wanting a turn. Two of the cars are off roadin and proved to be true as the boys plowed them through the sand, grass and dirt.
The All boys era looks to be one full of excitement, exploration and a whole new ball game for me!

Brett's accomplishment

This weekend our church participated in a local marathon event. You can choose to do a 5K, 10K or half mile race. There we a few people doing the half mile but most of our group were running or walking the 5K. Last year I ran the race but I have not been doing much running lately so Joe and I decided we would just walk it together. The boys did not go last year so Brett especially wanted to participate. We told them 5K was a lot of walking but they wanted to go instead of sit in the shade with a friend. Because Brett and Ian were walking the other children also wanted to join. When we started Brett kept saying, let's run, let's run! So Joe and our friend Josh took off jogging with the kids. After a few minutes one of the little girls got tired so I walked with her while the boys went ahead. Eventually she and I turned back about 15 minutes into it, Josh, Emma, Joe and Ian got half way and Brett went on with another friend Bruce to finish the whole 5K! Those who finish receive a metal. Brett's proudly sporting the metal around his neck everyday. It's a good thing I had a metal from last year so Ian has one to wear too. I am proud of both of them for participating.

Update

Here is a quick update on our lives. This March Joe started his university job teaching freshman English and is enjoying the schedule and change of pace. He has 5 classes and appointments with students for extra conversation practice which add up to about 30-35 hours a week. The boys and I enjoy having Dad around more. He is also helping me with homeschooling. We are now settled into a school routine and Brett is taking to it well. He is in his second year of piano lessons and loves to play. He seems to find solace in music. Ian is also doing well with the little bit of school we do with him. His attention span is quite a bit shorter but he's only 3. Actually he turns 4 tomorrow!
I continue to teach a Bible study with my friends 13 year old daughter and participate in a mom's group. For awhile I tried to be a part of a homeschooling group in a neighboring city but there weren't many events or much participation.
Joe is still heading up the technology and sound at church and I still help in the nursery. Life is good!

Experiencing a Korean tradition

Tonight I had the opportunity to attend a Korean child's 1st birthday party. In the old days of Korean history when disease was rampant a child living to their first birthday was a cause for celebration. Though we live in times of modern medicine and children are not at risk of death they have kept with the tradition of an elaborate celebration for a child on the 1st birthday. They invite EVERYONE they know and some parents go in debt for this event. A Western tradition that I'd compare it to is a wedding reception. It is a sit down dinner, usually at a buffet with unlimited alcohol, a champagne toast, cutting of the cake and gifts given (usually in the forms of money or gold jewelry). They also play a game where people choose what kind of career the child will have as an adult. The choices were a doctor, scholar/education, entertainer, computers, and another I did not recognize (a word I am not familiar with yet, they were written in Korean). Each person receives a slip of paper with a number on it. You put your number in front of the career you think the child will choose. They then put objects signifying each career are in front of the child: a stethoscope for doctor, a pen for scholar, a mouse for computers, a mic for entertainer and the child picks one. I put my # down for the mouse. The mother was gently pushing the baby's hand towards the stethoscope but he pushed his way past and picked up the mouse. Afterwards those who put their # on the winning item have their names put in a raffle to see who wins a prize. And the winner is the waykook (foreigner) Elena! Since this is my first experience at a one year olds birthday party I was not aware that those who won the prize also had to do a dance for the child and give the parents a well wishing speech! So I shook my hips a little, told them I'm sure he was going to be a great success and sat down red in the face. Aaah the joys of being a foreigner. What did I win for this time of embarrassment? A set of dishes.

charades at the supermarket

Since I live in foreign country there are many times I have had to ask for help to find something at the supermarket. Well it's not really "asking" it's more like charades. It's a good thing I enjoyed playing the game Guesstures before coming here. Unfortunately the other participant has probably not had charades practice and is trying to understand my request. But yesterday was different. It was my turn to be the guesser of an elderly Korean womens dilemma in front of the cheese cooler. She was looking at the labels of mild, medium, and sharp while holding a mozzarella. How do you act out cheese? First Joe and I told her the mozzarella was for peecha (pizza) and the others for sandwiches. Then I contorted my face to what it would look like while eating sharp cheese. Eventually she picked what we picked up, mild and medium and gave us a thumbs up. Now I know how the participants have felt at my charade games in the supermarket.

starting out

I've been reading other people's blogs for awhile now and really enjoy being able to know what is going on in their lives. I feel more connected to them though I may not speak to them often. I guess that is the down side to the Internet age. There are so many times I want to communicate but don't take the time to sit down and write an email, and then I wonder if anyone really wants to know my random thoughts or experiences. So I'm trying this blog idea out. I think I will actually write more often using this means of communication. It will give me a chance to ask questions and maybe get some responses? At least I hope you will feel closer to me (and communicate back :)