Just Imagine

Today, 8 Nov 2009, in an Easter USA state-we had 75 degree weather and completely clear, sunny skies! Just imagine if we could live like this every day! Or imagine we lived in Alaska-where my good friend does, and had to endure (or for some, enjoy) minus 5 degree temps at 3 PM! (sorry, I just can't imagine this one, not at my age. Mind you, I have lived in cold climates where it was minus 20 and colder at high noon, but again-don't even want to do it again!)
Just imagine we could chose the temperature and weather we wanted for that day-how many of us would chose rain, or much warmer weather, or snow, etc? Not many-and we would end up with larger sized mosquitos in greater quantities, the grass, trees, and flowers would wither, and the glorious life as we know it would cease...
So-just imagine being happy and thankful for what we are given each day-how would that change our outlook on life? How would it change the outlook others have on life if we were content to live today and accept the weather it offered realizing that today's weather effects "all our tomorrows"!?
Hmmmm, Just Imagine....

Sept 09

WOW, what a busy summer we have had.
Kaitlyn finished school the middle of June and was so sad that she will have 2 months off as "we don't have enough kids at our house"! lol
I had surgery on my shoulder (replace/repair the torn cartlilage, re-attach the biceps tendon, repair and attach the rotator cuff, shave some clavical...) in early June and managed to whimp my way into July. A friend who was at one time one of my soldiers came from Florida to visit and we enjoyed catching up and seeing DC together.
The end of July my nephew spent a week with us before he left for Navy boot camp and we spent a few days sight-seeing in DC again. We also managed a trip to SC to visit my sister and her family as well as spend a few days at Isle of Palms beach where the sand is fine and smooth as baby powder. Kaitlyn and her cousins managed to catch 40 plus starfish; they were upset that the starfish were the velvety black ones rather than the throny orange ones. The kids were amazed that when a leg broke off it crawled off by itself (haha) so we threw the parts and pieces back into the ocean. We managed to collect some cool shells but will have to visit the best beaches for shell hunting at a later date
August flew by with Kaitlyn teaching herself to jump rope, hula-hoop (with 2 hoops!), blow bubbles with her gum (oh my! she is now a "pro" at cracking her gum as we drive down the road!!), and swimming. Kaitlyn now jumps off the diving board and swims the lenght of the pool; it will be sad to see winter come and she loses her favorite sport but she will again pick up ballet and piano.
September is now here and we spent the first week in California meeting family I have not seen in 30 years and Kaitlyn loved Uncle John and Aunt Janet. We got some -how be it very little- time with Oppa and his girlfriend and of course who can pass up the beach when it is only steps from the hotel and Oppa's home? lol Kaitlyn let it be known that she can now "jump the waves better if you don't hold my hand" and she chose to swim under the waves rather than over so I spent hours fretting and chasing her as I tried to keep tabs on my youngest, suddely no-fear child!
We will spend today getting ready for school to begin tomorrow and life will again become "busy" (lol, as if it has been calm and restful over the summer?).

I survived...

Well, it seems the pictures "floated" to the top-hope you enjoy!

Two year olds..."you wanna bwush u teef too?"

How a 2 yr old reaches the sink...to "bwush mah teef!"

My sister at her first Korean restaurant and she tasted EVERYTHING and mastered the chopsticks...

My girls with Mickey Imo...the angel who aided the progress of our adoption in Korea! We love Mickey Imo!!

One of our Korean "sons" was able to visit while in the US-and during the holidays with 12 extra family members present! Poor Song! We sure miss him!

My oldest daughter and youngest son...was nice to see them!

oops...Kaitlyn's tree is laying on it's side...lol, she had a snowflake and bell theme...

Introducing her dog (his tail end, so he was not as excited as she was!) to her favorite thing about Christmas-the singing trio...

Our oldest son, on left, my niece, my next to youngest sister and her "excited" hubby...

Trev kept wondering how he managed to be the most sober and get stuck with the less sober of us...lol; my niece...

My youngest grandson (on left) and a nephew...both are miracles!

wow! Minnie Mouse for Halloween-a little out of order, but those "floating" photos are killers.

feeling the "guts" of a pumpkin...the face says it all! lol

"oh no! I'm not gonna touch it any more!"

after arriving home from school- she LOVES school and as of December 30th is reading most anything she can gets her hands on!

the cute sister with the...other sister (the left side is the cute one) ...sarang Hae!

Cousins in Korean princess dresses! Kaitlyn is 2 yrs older than Mak, but only a few inches taller and she had SO much fun meeting Mak.

J.M., and Kaitlyn

The last posting is dated 27 September 2008-since that time I have survived the last shipment of household goods out of storage, a hurricane damaging my house and dealing with unscrupulous contractors and property managers, a broken shoulder (oh yeah! survived but still not frixed), my father having major surgery, Thanksgiving, Christmas while in a sling and 12 people coming to stay in my house while the boxes were still stacked up (remember the broken shoulder...), the adoption of a baby cockatiel who was supposedly weaned (yeah, right!) from formula and eating cockatiel feed along with a dog who has decided he should be the only baby around here and Cockatiels are NOT wanted, and now...COLD-sheeze, what is it with the weather?

Miss Kaitlyn enjoyed the holidays- Thanksgiving gave her time to visit with her niece and nephews (lol, our oldest son's children-she still does not comprehend being their "Aunt" as she is younger than the oldest two!) and some 2nd cousins; Christmas gave her 2 weeks with new cousins and she thorougly enjoyed the boys (are we in TROUBLE!). The evening everyone left, she looked at me and with teary eyes stated "mom, I don't care what kind of child we get, but I really do need a brother or sister- even an older one. You gotta hurry and adopt me one!"

Theresa has been spending quite a bit of time with "Rachel" and was to spend some time over the Winter holiday (in Korea from Christmas to Mid-Feb then again a few more weeks into March) with her bio-grandmother and sister and brother; the last time I talked to her she was not thrilled but felt a family is important, even if they (siblings) don't treat you properly. I will be calling in a few days to speak with her-praying she at least has a decent visit with her grandmother.

I am going to try to attach a few photos during the period of Sept 2008 to Jan 2009-enjoy.

Keep her in your prayers

Theresa (Jin Ha), "our" little girl will soon be 10! We have been trying to adopt her since 2005 and pray that God opens the doors soon...no matter what God has in store for her, we will always love her and want what is best for her!

Kahee/Amy, Kaitlyn, and Theresa "stuffing their faces" at Outback in Korea













My girl is more smiles than anything and LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to have fun! She can make the simplest, silliest things fun.











God blessed us with the opportunity to meet her Biological siblings Melanie/SongHa, Nam I/Shawn, and her bio-cousin in May...they have SO much fun together and Kaitlyn loves SongHa and Nam I

Please keep Theresa, Melanie, and Shawn in your prayers-they all need to know they are loved and to have their basic needs met. Melanie and Shawn live with Halmonie; I met Halmonie in July and she is an awesome woman-I love her!

a few pictures to update you

Mac cooking jae yuk bokem (spicy pork), Chicken and beef Galbi (dak galbi and galbi) for my sister and her family...for someone who does not like Asian food, he sure can cook it! lol











Mahkayla and Kaitlyn with my sister, Theresa (ok...Tess)
Kaitlyn showing "no fear" ha ha-as long as the vest or "arm floaties" are in place
















Kaitlyn practicing "belly up" or swimming on her back as Aunt Tess tells her how...
















Mahkayla modeling one of Kaitlyn's Hanboks..."OH aunt Tammy, now we are REAL princesses!" wish I could have caught the look on her face when she saw them!!


















Kaitlyn loved meeting her cousin who is 2 years younger-and just way too smart for any 3 year old!
Kaitlyn trying to show Mahkayla how to do "woodcock" bubbles in the tub... funny how Kaitlyn picked up on doing it but can't seem to get anyone else to pick up on the ability...she uses the hand soap in public restrooms to do the same! lol Thanks "MoMo Bu" for teaching her this unique art!

Well, it seems Miss Kaitlyn is enjoying attending school-I am so thankful! She and I both worried about the difference between Korean and American school, and she says she likes American school better-she asks "if Theresa comes to live with us will she like American school better too?" I don't know if she will ever realize that our dream for Theresa may never materialze...I must trust that God will provide for the little girl we call Theresa, that He will make sure her needs are met, that she always remembers how much we love her and that one day she will have a family-if not ours- that will love her even half as much as we do!

My sister and part of her family came to visit us early in September-everyone seemed to enjoy the swimming pool-which was officially "closed" today due to the weather showing more signs of winter than summer...Kaitlyn hates that it is "closed" (drained, covered, etc) but prays that it means snow is soon to follow...

Still praying that a quick return to Korea is in our future, but my father must first make it through the surgery coming up the mid to end of October...if I would get the call to go pick up Theresa, I would leave tonite...in the meantime-we are enjoying the time with my father and step-mother and at least Kaitlyn is looking forward to a winter in Virgina (if it is like Christmas 2006 we won't see any snow until after January and then it will be COLD for ages...hoping for one snow for Kaitlyn and a mild/warmer than usual winter for Mac and I!

Where the heck does time go??!!

Looking at this blog, I realize I am MONTHS behind.
So much has happened-
A) The adoption for Theresa "fell through" but we were able to help her connect to her bio-paternal grandmother and will do our best to facilitate visits while she lives in the orphanage...the grandmother financially cannot take Theresa out of the Orphanage as she is raising 2 of Theresa's bio siblings (high schoolers!) as well as 2 cousins
B) My father became ill-sudden onset of neuro disorder that is causing the loss of the use of his legs as well as more heart problems, so Katie and I had to leave Korea much earlier than planned
C) We arrived in San Antonio, Tx on 21 July, spent 4 days in Galveston, TX during a hurricane (had a blast!)
D) enroute to Lousiana my husband got a job offer in DC...not Korea where we wanted, but also got us out of Lousiana-and we managed to move ourselves in less than 2 weeks!
E) We moved to Virginia, but enroute I was offered 2 jobs in Korea-due to my father's ill health I felt it best to turn them down and pray they will again be offered next year!!
Ok...that is a speedy update, and hope to do a better one with pictures
Well... happy September!

June 1st took us to Busan (the KTX station is shown below) in preparation of a ferry ride to "Dae Ma Do" for the Koreans or "Tsushima Island" for the Japanese. We wished we had spent a few days, but our reason for going initially was not a vacation or site seeing, but a cheap way to renew our Korean Visas! Tsushima is a beautiful island with tons of history for Korea and Japan as well as Russia (the Russians invaded Japan and uses Tsushima for a stopping point). I have vowed to return and spend a few days!














Katie enjoying the flower and water garden outside the KTX-Busan station. The had older people singing traditional Korean songs and younger ones singing more modern songs-until 3 AM (was not so "cool" when we could not sleep as our hotel did NOT have A/C and we needed the windows open!).













Unfortunately this was NOT our ferry to DaeMa Do or Tsushima Island, but now that I know it is only 60 dollars more it will be the next time! lol















Kaitlyn loved the ferry for the first hour, but as the seas became rough-so did her stomach...she is not so sure we will make the trip again! lol















It is near the end of June and we are still in Korea. I am not sure if I am happy or sad we are here-today (here in Korea and tomorrow in "America") is Shy's 25th birthday; Thankfully Daddy drove the 7 hours to go see her and spend the weekend with her (he has really began showing the older kids he cares-not sure why but definitely can't complain!). Can't believe Shy is 25-where did the time go? (Altough, due to her mental condition she will always be "13" or so...).

Kaitlyn is complaining of "being sick mamma, maybe we should go see the doctor?!" but she is not having any problems eating popscicles, ice cream or Hershey's kisses-or even a few mini-reeses cups! She does have the snottiest nose I have seen in ages and is running a low-grade fever so we are medicating with Dimetapp and Children's Tylenol...

We are currently house and pet-sitting for a school teacher-the poor little dog is lost without her "real" mamma, but is finally beginning to come around-she only growls when she sees or hears us! lol She is finally eating without being bribed and runs to the door to go out when she sees or hears a plasitc bag rustling (poopy bags per Kaitlyn).

The weather has been very co-operative for being Monsoon Season-it rained last night and that is the first rain in a week! The temps are running 70's to 80's and we have only used the AC one night in the bedroom (not that I would not prefer it if I was not worried about the bills! lol). Yesterday was cloudy and today is as well, but for 3 days before that it was sunny and very warm.

Kaitlyn is finally speaking Korean-and lots of it! We had a parent-teacher conference at her school and the teacher says "she volunteers now to go to the front of the class and speak Korean and does a good job of it". She is also realizing the limits of my Korean vocabulary and occasionally spits of something that does not sound anywhere near a real word and then says "hmmm, can YOU speak Korean? No? Why not! Do you mean I will have to teach YOU?!" She is a smarty pants occasionally, but for the most part is just too good-and she is beginning to love her "native" language and people. She is aclimating to the customs of the Koreans and now knows what is expected of her by the Korean population. Although I am pleased beyond measure thaty she is speaking Korean it is posing a slight problem...she understands when people now say "mahnee ipoyo" or something similar-meaning "she is beautiful" and she now asks "mamma, do you think I am beautiful? Do they think I am the most beautiful?" We are daily having the conversation of "you cannot be beautiful on the outside if you are not FIRST beautiful n the inside!

LOL, I am appalled at the price of "ice cream" in Korea- it is up to 700 won for one on a stick...about 65 cents of late...but from 2001 to 2007 it was only 500 won (about 40 to 50 cents depending on the won rate) so this increase this year is about a 25% increase! Katie of course thinks it is cheap (and she is oh, so correct) so will do just about anything to earn the money to go get an ice cream; you also have to realize that Korean ice creams are not as sugary (ok, some are) as American ones so she is getting fruit (most are fruit based!) with a little sugar or milk for 65 cents per day...I know it adds up, but we usually spend the "loose change" laying around and don't miss it too much.
The morning of the 19th brought a sad day to Korea and to the local Army base and the H____________ orphanage! Tracey Momo and Jon Momobu flew to Hawaii for thier next duty station. Tracey and Jon were active in the local community and Tracey was VERY active in the Korean community near the orphanage-teaching English to underprivledged kids for free (while others only do it for 30 to 50 dollars an hour!), taking "goodies to the orphanage children (fruits, clothing, even going and cooking dinners for the 50 kids there!). Tracey and Jon have 2 boys- Ian who is 7 (bio son) and Caden who was Kaitlyn's "mat mate" at the orphanage. One of the things that helped us get thru the "good-byes" was in knowing that this family is a wonderful family and that we will keep in touch with Katies's "soul mate"-Jon will be a totally awesome example of a father and husband for Caden, so if it is the way God intends- Katie will have a wonderful husband down the road! The other "happy" thought? Caden became a US Citizen upon landing in Hawaii and clearing immigration!!! This family went thru hell and back to complete their adoption of Caden and then the US Gov't side waited until only 6 days before take-off to grant the immigration Visa...but Thanks to tons of prayer-God is bigger and He got things done-the final result? A happy, healthy family and one very happy, new US Citizen!!
Katie is asking for ice cream, so perhaps a short walk is in order...hey! we get exercise and ice cream...can't complain TOO much! lol