Angels without wings

2011-06-06T23:52:00.001-05:00

A deeper side of the Princess...
Twirlin' and havin' fun!
Just plain pretty...
How about a little "tude" for ya?

2011-06-06T23:28:00.004-05:00

Josh Oppa came home to visit- Kaitlyn still thinks he walks on water- muddy water sometimes but he still walks on water :)
She loves to make "big nostrils" even when out to dinner...
We celebrated Daddy's birthday at Texas Roadhouse- we have managed to find one in most states we have lived- good thing since we all seem to like to eat there~!

Whew, summer is bearing down on us like a wild woman! The temperature today was a "mild" 99 degrees F if you listen to the weatherman but Lordy- we made the mistake of looking at the thermometer outside :( and it said a whoppin' 100+ degrees!
Kaitlyn has been out of school for a tad over a week and is "bored to tears"- literally to tears! She has been working in the workbooks I got her to maintain her math and reading levels along with some science and social studies but she is missing her "friends" from school.
The last day of school I asked her "did you get the phone numbers of your friends so we can call them and set up play dates during summer break?" Her reply was "naaah, I don't think I will need to call them". Mind you, we live "out of the district but in the district" so her friends live 10 or more miles away- more like the "more miles away". Our school district is over crowded so "we" got bumped into the next county- yep, you read that correctly, the next county- and most of the children live 20 or more miles away; we just happen to be lucky enough that I only have to drive her 10 miles to school. Ok, so I don't HAVE to drive her, rather didn't have to drive her- I just refuse to place a child her age on a school bus at 0620 and then have them sit in the school gym or cafeteria for an hour awaiting school to start...nope, I chose to drive her an hour later and let her get an hour more of sleep each morning!
Anyway...now we are dealing with the "it's too hot outside", "I am bored", "what can I do", can we go to the store", "I don't want to be at THIS store", and other fun phrases...yep, love my girl to pieces :)
As I am contemplating going back to work- what is that? Yes, I did say "back to work"~! Miss Kaitlyn thinks I am abandoning her and daddy says "why on earth would you want to go back to work (uhhhm, how about to see if daddy remembers how to fold laundry, fix dinner, tuck kids into bed, stay awake past 7 PM, etc? lol)". As I was saying...I am contemplating returning to work, something I have not done in 5, almost 6 years in my "trained" field so we have been looking for child care- I give up, there is no reasonable child care to be had for the hours I will be required to work! I have resorted to looking for an Au Pair- similar to an "exchange student" only they have a college degree, will come from one of several countries and will be issued a visa through the State Dept and must be specific guidelines to be an Au Pair. I am looking for a Korean Au Pair - strictly for selfish reasons! Kaitlyn will be able to regain much of her native language (native? that sounds primitive doesn't it?!), we will be able to add more of her birth culture to our home than we already have and yes- the food!~ Someone who knows how to cook KOREAN food better than I!!! Oh wait, this is supposed to be about Kaitlyn...(sighs).
Well- off to bed for me while the Princess sleeps.

I won't let you down/Seussical

2011-01-20T21:27:00.002-06:00

Tonight Kaitlyn had a "Seussical" at school. The entire _____ Grade was celebrating the life and books written by Dr. Seuss and the fact that children love to read what he wrote (ok, how many of us adults love his books?!).
Kaitlyn was a "narrator" and had a small part in which she was to speak for Horton as he stated "I won't let you down, no! I won't let you fall!" as he attempted to protect the tiny speck of dust on which the inhabitants of Whoville lived and it reminded me of God's words to us and the words so many adoptive parents tell their children-if only every adoptive family could stick by that.

Now-please understand the above is NOT said in judgment of all or necessarily any family/ families that find it necessary to dissolve the adoption union they have or had with the child they desired to parent! I have been privileged to assist several families with finding new homes (aka "re-homing") their adoptive children for whatever reason-and must admit that there ARE extenuating circumstances that cause a family to consider dissolution of an adoption. Most biological families do not "dissolve" their unions with the children but I do know some that wish they could! :)

The only problem I have with dissolution and most families who suffer through or choose to dissolve their adoption is that they initially called themselves a "forever family" and THEN upon re-homing the child (ren) again tell that child (ren) "so-and-so will now be your forever family". JUST WHEN DO THESE CHILDREN BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND FOREVER?!?!? When or how do they learn to trust God, that HE is forever?! It must be noted that the new family needs to be stated just as that- "so-and-so will be your new parents and we pray that they are the correct and long-term family for you"; we pray that they are the ones who can say "I won't let you down, NO! I won't let you fall!"
WHY!? "...because a person is a person, no matter how small..." and "Oh the Places You Will Go" when you are placed in the correct family for you and you learn what it is like to be loved for who and what you are!

2011-01-14T17:17:00.004-06:00

One of Kaitlyn's favorite places on the face of the earth is at the beach-it does not matter if the temperature is 20 degrees or 120 degrees-she will dig in the mud, hunt for shells, dig in the mud, look for "sea creatures", dig in the mud, chase birds, and have I mentioned- dig in the mud!? :)

In December 2010 we visited a beach a few hours from home and we found some very cool looking purplish-blue jelly-fish! I am from Southern California and had NEVER seen jelly fish that looked like these-we even tried to "save" a few by helping them back into the tide but their tentacles were so tangled up they ended up washing back onto the shore and dying anyway.

Her first semester of school ended with "Rock Star students" and they had a day they were supposed to all come dressed as "Rock Stars" so of course Little Miss Kaitlyn HAD to be a Korean Pop star and she dug through her closet and chose an outfit that she felt made her look very cool and like a Korean Teen Pop-Star and we decided she looked Ready to R.O.K.!!! (how punny of us? get it? R.O.K.? Republic of Korea? lol, guess you had to live there to understand!? sometimes Korean sense of Humor rubs off on ya!).
Enjoy the updates and pics and hopefully I can keep this blog stuff a tad better updated?! :)

Breaking Hearts, anger, and where to go now

2011-01-14T08:54:00.004-06:00

I have many reasons for not updating our blog-one of which is laziness and I am not proud of this "reason" but it is a fact of life. Moving, along with everything else going on, from the DC area back to Texas has taken its toll on my ability to be organized and I have just been plain lazy.
So, what would make a lazy woman decide to update a blog after so much time? Try anger, wondering where to go, what to do, and a broken heart!
While we lived in Korea our family aided several orphanages by providing medical care (I AM a nurse after all!), English lessons, tutoring for the children as needed/requested, and foster care for children and we tried to adopt a little boy we will call "Dennis" as that is the name he loved. Dennis is now 13 and was adopted at the age of 10 years old by a Korean Doctor and his wife; now mind you you must understand that in Korea, families can "return" a child -like a bad piece of equipment, an unwanted dress or pair of shoes, or any other unimportant item, for up to one year and that this DOCTOR was fully aware that Dennis had learning disabilities and that over the period of three years we maintained contact, and in 2008 when Kaitlyn and I were in Korean for 6 months Dennis stayed with us-anyway...back to the situation at hand.
During the first year Dennis was constantly under the threat of "being returned" and the "Good Doc" had promised that if they chose to return "the boy" his family would insure that our family would be allowed to adopt him (after all, we were the Americans who were "bumped" from the line due to a Korean family stepping up-never mind that they were given INCENTIVES to "take on the burden of a child not of the family blood" and essentially PAID to take him!). Fast forward now THREE YEARS and guess where THE SON OF MY HEART IS!?!?! YOU GUESSED IT- "Dennis" is sitting in an orphanage and it looks like the "GOOD DOCTOR" may have made it so that "Dennis" can NEVER again be adopted. SOOOO-
I am Broken hearted, angry, and not sure where to go, what to do now as the "Son" my husband and I had in our hearts is sitting in an orphanage in Korea...
on a happier note- please enjoy a few photos of the Princess!
The first picture is from 2009 with one of her favorite Dolls and the second is of her learning to bottle feed her youngest niece who was born April 2010.

lessons in survival

2010-02-19T09:54:00.006-06:00

Survival:

Miss Kaitlyn has learned much about survival since Thanksgiving.

She learned she can survive Christmas if only part of the family is home, no matter how much we desire to have 30 people sleeping and eating and playing in our house for Christmas it just isn't always possible (and I learned also!)

She learned what a blizzard is and that yes, one can survive an entire week without school, ballet, swimming, or other activities that require one to drive in a car or leave the house for that matter. She learned how to make snow angels, how to "dig an igloo", how many layers of clothes it takes to keep one warm when the temps are 20 degrees or less and the snow is 3+ feet deep, and that "wet snow" makes better snowballs than "dry snow" and that one CAN survive a snowball fight. lol

She learned that school is NOT the place to test the rules of "no talking during quiet time" and that she will and can survive not getting a perfect report from school- but she also learned it is not acceptable if you have not done your best. Mom and dad also learned we can survive finding out our daughter is not perfect :) We are actually thrilled that she got into trouble for talking in class as she is finally interacting with other students and is socially blossoming.

She has learned that as each day passes she despirately wants a sibling more than the day before and that desire does not go away and we are surviving this too. She has learned that survival does not mean giving up, it means finding a method to achieve ones dreams despite obstacles- so for now, we search for paths over, under, around, in the midst of our obstacles!

I pray you too learn something positive about "survival"!

21 days until...

2009-12-01T09:41:00.004-06:00

November has come and gone-all too fast. How is it that time seems to go faster than it did a few years ago? We have so much to be thankful for, and I pray that we don't let our desires for worldly goods or to be the "best" overtake our thankful attitudes.
We spent the month of November trying to prepare for winter's inevitable coming-mentally prepare that is :) We had a small Thanksgiving feast with Grandpa and Halmammie and a few other family members. Kaitlyn got to spend the day with cousins and had a blast. It was warm enough to play outside (with a child, is it ever too cold to play outside?) and only required wearing a light jacket. Kaitlyn still has not learned the American "art" of eating until one feels as if they will burst, she has not acquired the taste for pumpkin pie, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, or vegetables that aren't spelled c-o-r-n, or k-i-m-c-h-i. She still only eats chocolate chip cookies but feels 2 is more than enough and usually gives 1/2 of the second one to her daddy or tries to feed it to the dog. Some days I wonder how she manages to grow so fast but figure Korean rameyon, kimchi, seaweed, rice, and soybean paste must be more nutritious than we give it credit (we do throw in a McDonald's hamburger happy meal on occasion! lol).
Today, 1 Dec, 2009 Miss Kaitlyn realized that in 21 days her sister will be here to visit. Then, it dawned on her that it is no longer November.
"momma, what will we do for December?"
"lol, we won't do anything "for" December. We will do lots of things IN December"
"oh, I forget in and for"
Kaitlyn has been living with us for 4.5 yrs and adopted/legally our daughter for 3 years and still she has days when she has to translate Korean / English in her little head. There are days she speaks better English than I and other days she seems to not understand a lick of English.
She still eats Korean food for breakfast-nearly every day :). Today she had kimchi-miso soup with "bap" or rice. As I watched her eat I felt a TINY pange of sadness- thinking she would have loved a Korean family where she could get all the Korean food she ever wanted and as she asked why I was starring at her I told her this. She quickly looked at me and said "that would be nice but I like you the most and we need to remember God made this happen and He DOESN'T make mistakes!" I will be honest and say there are days I am glad her biological mother could not parent her and then there are days I feel sadness for her biological mother-she is missing out on such a wonderful little person!
Kaitlyn says she can't wait for snow but complains when the temperature falls below 75, she misses her swimming pool and can't believe we closed it up for the winter "if we had just put a heater in it...". She looks forward to moving back to Texas where she can see her sister frequently but then states "oh man, I will not see Grandpa and Halmammie very much, or have ice cream from "N" store, I am so glad I don't have to make the choices of moving but Mom, you realize we have to live with your and dad's decisions, right?"
Kaitlyn's teacher admits that Kaitlyn still has difficulty processing into English but also admits that this little wonder is quickly beginning to read above grade level and before the year is out will be above grade level in all areas. She is not smart because of anything I do as I don't make her do extra writing, reading, math, or anything else. She reads and asks to be read to on her own, she "writes" books on a daily basis and is learning math by helping in the kitchen, playing and reading piano music, and just living life. She loves ballet but wants it to be more challenging, she is always trying to improve on what she already knows and does and has a natural curiosity for life and the world around her.
This will be Kaitlyn's 5th Christmas with us and all she wants is to have her family in the same room for one day-ok, I lie...she wants a sister and a brother, as in adopt 2 or 3 more children; she wants another bird to keep this one company, she wants a cat, another dog, some fish in a BIG tank, and a larger bike; she wants to go visit her friends and family in Korea, she wants to go to the beach, she wants to see her "yobo" who lives in Hawaii...but other than that she doesn't want much-lol
I hope to get pics posted soon!

Just Imagine

2009-11-08T23:22:00.004-06:00

Today, 8 Nov 2009, in an Eastern 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

2009-09-07T12:43:00.003-05:00

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...

2009-01-15T20:40:00.009-06:00

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

2008-09-27T22:39:00.004-05:00

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

2008-09-27T21:54:00.005-05:00

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??!!

2008-09-09T21:33:00.003-05:00

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!

2008-06-21T22:41:00.004-05:00

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

Birthday photos

2008-06-03T09:14:00.004-05:00

The photo below was taken by Tracey MOMO and shows a few of the children adopted from the same "babies home" as Kaitlyn. They are called the "H___________ Nomads" as they will inevitably move from place to place-curtesy of the US Military!

Pak, Jin Ha aka Theresa, and her recently discovered bio-siblings Pak, Song Ha, Pak Nam I, and her "Komo" or aunt (although I think it is really a cousin) Ms. Chae (15 years old~). Taken at the Dragon Hill Lodge, Yongsan Korea
Song Hoon, a 2.5 year old gorgeous boy who lives at the Babies home- he has a father who DEARLY loves him but cannot care for him, his 3 other brothers and work, so the youngest has to live at the babies home. Please keep this little guy in your prayers- he was a "premie" and is showing some signs of a serious medical condition; also pray for the director and the nurse assigned to the "home" that they make wise decisions on his behalf!
One of my favorite pictures; Kaitlyn and SaeHee-love and life can't get much better than this!

Daddy tying of the "bow" of Kaitlyn's "Hanbok"

Kaitlyn demonstrating the "typical pose" for photos- the "Peace" sign in hopes that one day North and South Korea will be united; I pray that there will be peace on the side of the South and that the younger generation does not forget what the older ones have taught them!

Below you will see two of the awesome decorations Rosita Imo made for the party- ALL Koreans who saw them asked for them, but they are "safely" home and I will use them to decorate her room or figure out a way to save them for her 16th Party!

Where does time go?!

2008-05-06T00:11:00.002-05:00

Where does time go? How do we get so "busy" that we forget the day of the week, the date, or even what we did yesterday? I don't know, but I see I must have been in a time-warped fog for a while now as I have not updated this page in ages!
20 April brought Daddy to Korea to check on jobs as well as to celebrate Kaitlyn's 5th birhday in the Country she is learning to love. We celebrated her birthday a few days late in order to allow the majority of her friends to attend; the children still residing in the Orphanage were not able to attend-much to our dismay- as they had other plans in place per the Seoul Welfare Society.
The characters and decorations were made by "Miss Rosita" a wonderful friend and totally awesome mommy to one of the little girls adopted from the same orphanage as Kaitlyn-she must have spent hours on them (as Kaitlyn says "too many to count, mama!").
Daddy brought the "wrong" hanbok for her birthday celebration so we purchased another one and per daddy "Nothing is too good for our princess, after all- she will only be 5 once!" And of course next year it will be "she will only be 6 once", etc!! Her daddy sure does love her-sometimes "too much"!
We had fun with friends and friends who are more like family than some of our own family-but that is the life of "nomadic" peoples.
Please enjoy the photos from April, 2008.

Pics that would not add...

2008-04-11T00:56:00.005-05:00

Three of Kaitlyn's friends from the "baby home"
The "famous" Mini Me...future husband?
Three of our former KATUSA friends
Do you think I ate enough Kimchi???

"Uncle Dan" playing cards with the girls
What we had hoped our "family" would be by now- but God had/has other plans. Dennis has a Korean family, Theresa is in limbo, and of course Kaitlyn is stuck with me!
Too much Easter! Sleeping beauties.
Kaitlyn in her "Exercise uniform" for school-they will do ballet, taekwondo, and other fun things on the days they are required to wear this uniform.

Well, seems I will have to do another post to add more photos- but time is out and I must pick up two soon to be 5 year olds!!
Bye!

Trying to catch up!

2008-04-11T00:19:00.003-05:00

Together again!! Kaitlyn and Caden Kaitlyn trying to Hugs Caden into saying "I will marry you!"
Uh oh! We have a slight problem- Kaitlyn is taking up RIGHT WHERE SHE LEFT OFF in Oct 06!!
Baek Oppa (say the "AE" with a short "E" sound) He no longer has a "boyish" look but an "Ajushi"!
Theresa and Kaitlyn enjoying one of their favorite "Chores"!

Today is the 11th of April here in Korea. Yes, I said Korea. Kaitlyn and I have been here since late evening on the 4th of March and we have not sat still for a moment!
I am supposed to be working on a powerpoint presentation, but will take a moment to do a quick update. Since arriving in The Land of the Morning Calm we have spent several days at Hwasong, stayed 3 weeks with "Lilbit Imo", spent 3 weeks with Caden's mom (you will hear more about "Caden" shortly), and not eaten NEARLY the amount of Korean food we would like!

Our first morning here we showed up at the HS SP ED class to let Lilbit Imo know we had arrived-all the while thinking Dan had told her we were coming and when we would arrive. Kaitlyn walked into the room a few minutes before class began and Lilbit stood there looking like "who brought a child into my room?" which quickly turned to "OMG! What are you doing here?"
We were amazed to find that Dan had kept his "promise" and Lilbit had NOT known we were coming and we were successful in suprising her.

Once we left the HS we went to visit a few friends who work for Starbucks Korea and walked into the Starbucks on post to the screams of ___________ (Kaitlyn's Korean name) and "Tammy Ajumma"!!! We had about 15 amazed people starring us down wondering what all the fuss was over and why they were now having to wait to have their coffees made :-). Several of the former and current employees of Starbucks-Korea were instramental in helping Kaitlyn transition from a Korean Children's House (Orphanage) to an American family-nothing says "I love you" better than a "James Frapaccino"! (a specialty at Yongsan Starbucks! It is a Caramel Frapaccino with LAYERS of heavy caramel! You can only get it from one of the girls who knows my husband).
In order to allow us an easy transition back to Korea, we stayed several nights at the hotel and enjoyed all the "hooopla" of the staff at Greenstreet making a fuss over our return and how big Kaitlyn has gotten. We have had several Korean friends state "wish you had adopted me, then I could be speaking Korean as well as Kaitlyn!".

We enjoyed a wonderful Traditional Korean dinner our first weekend here with several of the "Katusa Oppas", or former ROK soldiers assigned to work with my husband. It is amazing that we are able to stay in touch with KATUSA soldiers from as far back as the year 2000! (see pics)

We are still hoping and praying that Theresa's bio-father keeps his promise of showing up at the Family Court and signing the final adoption papers (she turned 9 in Jan), but it is looking less promising each day. We had the luxury of meeting Geon Ha's (He still insists we call him Dennis and find a way to adopt him and take him to America!) new family and had a wonderful weekend with he, Theresa, and Kaitlyn spending time together; Dennis' family insists I have "visitation" and I am NOT going to complain. Kaitlyn is trying to figure out why he now has a Korean family when we initially were the first people in 8 years to want to adopt him and I have explained that we were able to initiate the desire for a family and that God works in ways we don't understand-but now Geon ha has a family who will hopefully love him forever and help him "be the best he can be" (lol, play on the OLD Army logo!!). (See pics).

Kaitlyn was initially taken to Hwasong babies home in June of 2003 with a little boy who was only 10 days older and they were "virtual twins" and seemed inseparable. We thought of adopting both children together, but it was not possible; we left Korea with a sad heart and prayed we would find a way to adopt him or that God would open the doors and hearts in Korea to allow him a family. God always comes through! This little boys name is now Caden, his final adoption decree is days away, and his parents are U.S. Marines (can't complain there- we sure love our Marine!)!!. Kaitlyn and Caden are again nearly inseparable unless his older brother is feeling a little jealous...lol. We think it is funny that thier Korean names have the same first initial and that their American names have the same initial sounds. Kaitlyn of course took right up where she left off in Oct of 2006...(see pics) and the "Omma's" at the orphanage are thrilled to see them getting along so well and in knowing they will always stay "connected".

Kaitlyn is planning her marriage to Caden, "Mini Me", and "Baek Oppa"- see pics of each of the "Men" in her life...

Kaitlyn is enjoying her time at the Korean "Kindergarten" Yuchi wan- or as we would call it "pre-school". I am however having to adjust and an trying really hard to NOT PINCH THE HEAD OFF OF ONE LITTLE GIRL! This little girl is "Korean-American" and goes by "SoPee" (guess her American name! lol it is very closely pronounced like the Korean version). "SoPee" has decided that she HATES Kaitlyn's pretty face and yesterday commenced to scratch and pinch in order to again be "the prettiest face in school" (oh yes! her words exactly!!!). Kaitlyn asked me why some people are so mean and I told her I just could not explain it. "Mama, I hate, hate, hate mean people!" I told her at the moment I was "hating a few mean people" also but that God would rather we prayed for them and in the mean time stay way. I also had to explain that Yuchi wan was NOT an orphanage and she must tell the Songsang Nim (Teacher) when "SOPee" or any other child was mean or attempting to hurt her- she says she will try but first today when "SoPee" says in English (she says mean things to Caden and Kaitlyn in English so the teachers don't understand!) "I don't like you and I hate your pretty face" she will respond with "that is ok 'cuz I hate mean people and won't have people like you for a friend!" I hope it has at least enough effect that "SoPee" leaves her alone! One nice thing? I know my daughter is beautiful, but for another child to be jealous only proves it! I am still teaching Kaitlyn that pretty is only pretty if we ACT pretty and are pretty from the inside out!

Well, it has taken me longer than expected- so I hope you enjoy the pics! I tried to add them below, but they "jumped" to the top. It looks like I will have to do another "post" in order to add more pics!

An yong he cas ae yo! (bye!)

Kaitlyn's silliness

2008-02-21T23:38:00.003-06:00

My, my, my- how time does fly!

Living in Louisiana you would begin to think I am used to the rain, but I am NOT. Today was cloudy until after lunch, then the rain, lightening, and LOTS of LOUD thunder. Kaitlyn wanted to sit outside in the rain to watch the lightening, but there was no place to sit and stay even remotely dry, so she had to sit inside and watch thru the windows. The dog was another story! Poor old Prince-he ran around the house trying to jump into a bed (any bed but his of course! lol) or jump into our arms/laps, etc.

We are trying to gather items to pack for a trip to Korea-only Kaitlyn and I will be going this trip-in hopes of either completing an adoption that was begun 3 years ago, or to help find Jin Ha a family in Korea...please keep this in your prayers. In the meantime, Kaitlyn is busy memorizing the days of the week and the months so she can figure out when we will be leaving; she can sing the months (a song she learned from "Pooh Bear") but cannot recite them unless she sings. She can also sing the days of the week, but don't distract her and ask which day comes after Tuesday or before Wednesday...lol. She knows PWOC is on Tuesday and Ballet on Wednesday and Church on Sunday, so she gages every other day according to her "known schedule".

We managed to strip all the beds today, only to have Kaitlyn walking around the house and explaining to Prince why he could not climb up onto the "squishies" (fake feather bed toppers) and why "the sheets need to be changed honey". Sometimes she talks to the dog as if she, Kaitlyn, is 80 years old-guess it is a "southern" thing :-)

Miss Katie climbed up into my lap a few nights ago-only to snuggle. She is very affectionate, but lately says she is too old to snuggle, so this surprised me. During her snuggles, she mentioned the "little sister God told her we were going to get"-she insists she and God talk, after all she is a former angel! She has said multiple times that "God told me I was getting a little sister". She has tried this on daddy, only to have his respond with "well, I want a boy, so no sister for you!" Smart little booger pipes up with "Well, God told me a little sister and you want a boy, so guess we are getting TWO little babies!!! You didn't know that did you!?!" Just too funny. Anyway, while snuggling she suddenly decided she could not have a sibling, either older or younger. With aligator tears streaming down her face she commented "mama, I don't want you to stop hugging me, so I told God not to give us any babies or any other children". I could not believe this nor can I figure out where it comes from; she says she does not remember being in the Orphanage, and yet this is exactly what used to happen- if a "cuter", or younger child came in- the others were shoved to the side and no longer were the "cuddle bunnies".

She may claim to not remember, but she was 2 years old and we continued to visit the orphanage for 2 more years post placement- so if nothing else she continued to see this happening and often asks about children from the Orphanage. There was one little boy, 10 days older than Katie that the orphanage "Ommas" called her "yobo" or boyfriend- they were also known as "virtual twins". We wanted to adopt Joon also, but he was deemed "unadoptable" until recently, when a friend of mine was able to begin the long, drawn out process to adopt him! We are praying this legal fight with Eastern Adoption agency ends soon and they send the paperwork to the Family Courts (the paperwork was ready nearly a year ago, but Eastern keeps dragging their feet).

Well, I guess I will end here- just a note as to the Green color-Kaitlyn says "the rain brings green grass mama" so here is to green grass! I will leave you with a few pictures of what I found when I went to get her out of the tub...Well looks as if the pictures decided to add at the beginning, so I leave you with: prayers for sweet dreams, a desire to learn more about the Awesome God that blessed me with such a sweet little girl-knowing I did not deserve it-Thank You God for loving me SO much!

Joun Pome day say yo- good nite...

Singing His Praises!

2008-02-15T23:14:00.002-06:00

Today we are singing the praises of our wonderful Lord~Kaitlyn's passport has arrived! Under "Nationality" it states"United States of America!! We have been working to see this for nearly 3 years and have been told on more than one occasion that there was a large possibility it would not happen, but as we know- God is Bigger!
Needless to say, Daddy and I cried a few tears. Kaitlyn says "mama, it makes my heart hurt to see you cry". I had to explain that they were tears of happiness and of course she wanted to know if they were "like the tears you cried when God and Jesus said you could be my mama?!" I had to admit, not quite the same-but these were pretty close! ;-)
To celebrate, we went out to eat-not many choices around here, but it was Katie's call-so we ended up at Pizza Hut. We could have gone to the rinky-dink PH here in town (about 6 miles away), but the food is nasty and Katie cannot stop talking about the lady with the rotten teeth that were worn down to nubs- felt bad when Katie asked her "what happened to your teeth, you didn't brush them before going to bed?" lol Anyway, we drove 20 miles to the next town and ate at PH/WingStop...actually was pretty tastey! Before going to Korea I hated PH, but in Korea Peejah Haut-lol- is awesome and we learned to like it. Well, we had some great pizza tonight that was not greasy, some good hot wings and salad. We ran the poor waitress ragged I think- and she is due to have a baby next month! Kaitlyn ate more food than she weighs I think~having consumed 6 wings (large ones), a large scoop of pineapple chunks, 2 thick slices of "Larry" (cukes-Larry is the name on Veggie Tales), 4 large cherry tomatoes, and 2 rather large slices of pizza with cheese stuffed crust; it is no wonder she says "I think I ate too much and will squish food out my nose!" lol
We stopped at Wal Mart and bought 8 sets of the kiddy valentine's day necklace and bracelet sets for only 50 cents each! These will be shipped to some of the little girls at Kaitlyn's orphanage-she is excited to share a few items with them. We also found a few Premie outfits on sale for a definite "bargain" price to send ot my niece Tina for her newest additions-Caedyn (boy at 4lb 9oz) and cyla (girl, 3lb 6 oz) who are doing really well for having been born about 7 weeks too early!
The rain and thunderstorms we were to have today have held off until only a few moments ago- so we had many things to be thankful for today. Kaitlyn said her "Thank Yous" during her night time prayers and here are a few of the things she mentioned: "My US cizens, my family, for playing in my room and watching "Word World", for my dog that barks too much, and for you kept me in your heart and loved me so much-God you bless me too much and love me so much and I say Thank YOU!" I think I will have to agree with her- He loves me too much, but I am going to accept it and Thank Him!!!
Hope everyone else sleeps as well as we will tonight- there is something to say about the Peace one feels knowing their children are now protected by the US Consitution and a citizen of one of the greatest if not THE greatest Nation in the World-for all the problems our Country has- it is still BLESSED!
Hugs and good nite~

a very Pink day

2008-02-13T23:53:00.004-06:00

Whew! What a day!

We started out with an appointment for Kaitlyn to have a physical as the one from Oct 07 has "myteriously fallen out of the computer system". Hmmm, and we are to trust this computer system that is DoDDs wide??!! OOOOOK~!

Well, Kaitlyn was NONE to happy to overhear one of the nurses and I discussing "immunizations" and she immediately piped up with "Mama, I AM NOT going to get shots! am I???"" Well due to some up coming plans, I let her get off without the immunizations- felt kinda bad as she tried SOOO hard to not let the alligator tears overflow her little eyes, but overflow they did and left huge wet spots on her red sweater...then we walked into the Dr.'s office and she screamed..."Mama, a BONEY is in here!" There, against the far wall was a life-size skeleton..."Mr Boney". I laughed, the doctor looked at me like I had 4 heads and wondered if he should call CPS...I had to explain that when she first came home we placed a small skeleton in her brother's bed when he came in drunk on SOJU one nite...he woke up screaming, thinking he was sleeping in the subway with a dead man...we laughed until we peed our pants but for some reason Jeongah is afraid of "Mr Boney" now.

We spent 20 minutes, yes, 20 minutes, explaining that it was not REAL bones, and that it showed where all of our bones are - so it was a GOOD "Mr. Boney"...she was NOT buying it...she said he had ugly bones and as she was an angel from Heaven, her bones HAD to look better, so she still did not like him.

Iam happy to announce that our "little" Kaitlyn is now 42 inches (she was 24 at age 2) and 38.6lbs (18 at age 2). Ok, so she has been bouncing between 36 and 38 lbs for nearly a year- but she is cute as can be and the Doctor was pleased with her weight- she is still in the 50th percentile, compared to the "does not show on the graph" when placed with us at age 2...

Many of you have noted that I use a color to show what we are celebrating that day....yes, PINK has a symbol for today! Kaitlyn had her first Ballet/Tap dance class today and thinks she is going to dance like the angels and float like a "Nabi" (Korean for butterfly)...Daddy and I were SO proud of her. I happened to be dropping off her Physical at the day care registation office when I heard they had a Ballet class open up-of course they were supposed to have called several of us, but-we got in today after missing only one class last week. Lucky for us Wal Mart carries Ballet apparel! Kaitlyn HAD to have Pink with black slippers. We already had a pair of "footless tights" that she loved, and in pink, so we added the "velveteen" leotard, a mandatory pink skirt (only mandatory as Kaitlyn says "ballerinas can't dance unless they have a skirt mom! I know this already") and the "oooooh so comfy" black ballet slippers.

We arrived at the children's gym for class and the ballet instructor asks 2 of us (parents of new students) "Do you have Tap shoes"

"Uh, no. We were told Ballet and we jumped to get them for class today, why do we need Tap Shoes for Ballet?"

"Oh, we do a 50/50 here"

"ok, but where are we to get Tap Shoes in this town of "no shopping"?

"You order them from me, I get them at a discount for ordering in bulk"

"OK, if we have to get them from you, and we are new to the class, why ask if we have Tap Shoes?"

"Well, do you".

"Did I order then already?"

"NNNNNO"

"Oh, I guess we don't have any then" (by the way..."Heeere's your sign...")

"Do you want a pair"

"Don't we need them?"

"yes"

"I guess we want a pair then" (and I am trusting my daughter with this woman, to teach her Ballet, with the door shut where I cannot watch??!! Does this blonde stuff "rub off"!!??)

"Miss Katie" had tons of fun, has been practicing her "butterfly run" all over the house and is happy as can be that she will "learn to dance like the angels"

Yes, today was a very PINK day!

Bubbles, Korean church, and Piano lessons

2008-02-11T22:36:00.000-06:00

These first pictures show how the weather has been these last few days- warm enough to wear t-shirts and capris while blowing bubbles, some days ya just gotta appreciate what Louisiana has to offer! We have not had rain for about a week now- and as tomorrow is PWOC (protestant women of the chapel), a weekday get-together for women where we have fun, do a little bit of Bible study, and the kids get to spend time doing "kid things" (per little Miss Katie!) while the Mama's play- it will probably rain-lol. Seems like it rains every Tuesday around here.
Yesterday we finally attended a very small local Korean church- supposed to be "Full Gospel" which I thought meant a little on the contemporary side, but it was far from contempary, and very much on the "small" side. Including Kaitlyn and I, the American associate pastor and his family (wife and 2 children) there were about 15 people in attendance- with the youngest being Kaitlyn. There was no special service for her, so she had to sit with the adults-she kept the two elderly Korean "Halmonies" behind us entertained-they kept reaching up to stroke her hair and pat her head. I kept her mouth full of candy so she would not talk so loud, and she had fun standing up to "read" the hymnal and look over the Ajumma's shoulder in front of us. The music was "dry" and the associate pastor must be used to teaching foreign children- but all in all we survived. Near the end of the service I noticed a few more attendees- about 15, come in and have a seat; I soon found out why! A Korean lunch is served immediately following the service. Kaitlyn was in heaven and soon forgot she was the youngest at the table as she began "chowing down" (her words, not mine! lol- but she did!!) on a totally awesome soup of Kimchi-daenjong Chigae, some fresh make kimchi (yes! no MSG), some fresh sauteed spinach, and authentic (it is made by Koreans it must be authentic!) Galbi. This little one ate more than the grown man sitting next to and in front of her! While I was washing her kimchi (rinsing in water to remove some of the "gochu" or red pepper to remove some of the spiciness) in an attempt to keep up with how fast she can stuff it in her mouth- either she dropped a piece of kimch or I did. All I know is we all heard a pitiful "OH MAMA! I dropped a piece of kimchi!" Jokingly I stated, "Kaitlyn, we must not waste kimchi" (it is very expensive here in the wonderful state of Louisiana so we have pretty much "rationed it" since moving here)- next thing we know the pastor's wife is standing over us with a container of kimchi and a HUGE plate of kimchi- "would you like some kimchi to eat, and would you like to take some home?". Kaitlyn was all too quick to chime "Mama, can we PLEEEEEASE take some home?!" How can I refuse perfectly wonderful, healthy kimchi??? (remember, NO MSG). We ended coming home with about 12 dollars worth of kimchi, enough of the wonderful soup for 2 meals, galbi, spinach, and enough fun to make us want to go back. The only 16 year old in attendance, a Korean/American whispered "come at 12 O'clock and you only have to eat!" I nearly choked on my kimchi...lol.
Kaitlyn was so happy to help dry spoons and chopsticks after lunch that she danced and had all the ajummas laughing and singing in the kitchen. We were ready to go home when we were suddenly escorted to the "free music lessons". Below you will see Kaitlyn patiently waiting for her 15 minute piano lesson. I have been trying to tell her that the Violin is NOT the only instrument in the world, and until she had this lesson she did not agree with me.(oh darn, the one with her waiting her turn seems to have disappeared!).

She came away having learned that her thumb is "one" or "Eel" (phonetically speaking) and that each finger has a placement that does not change. As we got into the car to come home she sang "mama, the Violin makes beautiful music and makes me happy, but I think the piano can do it to". She spent much of Sunday afternoon and today practicing her 5 finger postions on her little keyboard (ok, so it is only a Disney princess one she got a year ago for Christmas, it does the job!). I think next Sunday we may try to find the Korean church that has "maaaahnee" children- otherwise this church will probably be a one a month visit for the wonderful fellowship we were able to partake of.

blog frustrations, but at least the day was dry!

2008-02-04T20:46:00.000-06:00

Ok, so it is Monday, but does the blog page have to act up too?? My side bar won't stay put, my links are somewhere on the page...sheeze oh pete!

On a Brighter note- today was 73 degrees, fiercely windy, but warm and DRY!!! The sun was playing hide-and-seek behind a "gazillion" gray and black clouds and of course the wind just helped ol' Sun Ajumma out! lol Kaitlyn calls the moon "Moon Ajushi" and says he is cold and the sun is hot like fire, so it is called "Sun Ajumma" Is she trying to say something about men and women here? Ya never know with her.
Around 1030 AM Kaitlyn asked "can we go out for lunch". I tried to explain that we were going to make sandwiches and go eat with daddy at work. "but mama, can we go out to eat". "Kaitlyn McIntyre! I just said we were gonna eat with daddy" "I know mama, but can we eat OUT?" It finally dawned on me, she meant to eat outside! lol
We took a plastic Starbucks' mat (compliments of our Korean Starbucks beauties in 2005!), a sandwich for each of us, apple juice for Kaitlyn, some chips and of course- some cookies. "Mama, can we have a banana too?" so one lonely banana came along for the ride.
We met daddy and "ate out". Kaitlyn has this strange LOVE for the wind- so she ate with the wind blowing INTO her face, smiling and laughing the entire time. She only ate part of her sandwich, but she fought dad for the banana. The poor ol' mini choco-chip cookies had to ride back home in the lunch bag...
After lunch we went to the fish pond and she tried to feed dried berries to the fish. "mama, I don't think they have very good teeth to eat dried berries, do you think they have soft teeth?" "No Katie, they don't have teeth"
"Mama, why did you not put bread or cereal in the car for the poor fish? Now they are saying "Katie, your mama is gonna make me hungry! Tell her to bring us some cereal tomorrow" so it looks like tomorrow will be spent feeding the cereals "Miss Katie" refuses to eat to the fish (poor fish! the cereal is soooo stale!).
We went shopping for me a few blouses or shirts (oh yeah! Wamart here we come again!). Instead, we found some really cute sweaters and shirts marked down to $3.99 to mail to the orphanage in Koera...we are excited to get them in the mail tomorrow afternoon.
Then, mysteriously- it was 1530 (3 PM for some of ya!) and we just HAD to go to sonic for a "half price drink". Did you know that sonic charges 0.10 cents for each "add" to a drink? My usual $1.79 lemon-berry slush ended up, at half price, costing $1.80!!! Ok, so I added extra lemon (30 cents), 2 shots of cranberry (20 cents), some pineapple (another 20 cents), plus they charged for the strawberries that normally come in the "lemon-berry" slush! So much for "half price drinks"! Not to mention, with all the fruit, I had to eat it with a spoon...guess I will think of something else next time :-). Kaitlyn had her usual, a "vanilla dish" and a small rootbeer.
We got home and it was still warm so we played in the front yard (still flooded, but we can use the sidewalk). The wind had blown twigs out of the tree and Kaitlyn decided she was a "moose or a deer with antlers"...she held up two large , branched twigs and yelled "mama! Look! I have the best antlers in Lewzanna!" lol
Well- time to make a bed time snack, do some school work, and fold the last load of laundry...hope you have a great nite's sleep and many sweet dreams!

We had a good day!

2008-02-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

Oh what a day! The sun was shinning brightly, we had NO rain, and after spending the day yesterday wondering if we would drown or be blown away by a tornado-I would say THIS WAS AN IMPROVEMENT! :-)
Kaitlyn was happy that daddy had to go to a work luncheon as that left her and I to go out to lunch. I had planned on sandwiches, but she said we have had enough "of those things" for this week. I happened to agree a little to readily! We had heard that one little "cafe" in town was a decent place to get Korean food and so I figured we would try it.
We walked in and Kaitlyn does her obligatory bow and "an young ha sae yo" as do I. We are greeted by a Korean woman about 50 years old and one about 65 that look at me like I must have found a lost child; "oh, who is this baby?". I ignore the comment and begin reading the menu board. I see NO other Koreans in the small room, so I begin to wonder if we will get "real" Korean food or a poor imitation as we had a month ago at the "Kalbee House" (oh my goodness- THAT one is a whole other story!). I don't see her favored "Daen Jeong Chigae and state as much-and the ajumma (Korean for "woman" or "auntie") does not say otherwise. She insists we want the "special" and so Kaitlyn and I both ask "what is the special". In typical Korean fashion they answer: "it is fie dollah niney fie cent and tax".
"No, I mean what is served on the special?"
"it only from 11 to 2"
"aguessumnida" (meaning I understand) and of course they look at me just a tad bit different..."how you speakie Korean langagee?"
"Well, my daughter is Korean, I spent a few years in Korea, and I try to keep up the little bit I know". so here we go again...."what food items are served on the daily special?"
"AH! you want to know what you can eat on special?" "yes, ajumma"
Big smiles and then "fied wice, bulgogi, thwee yaki mandu". "OK, we will take that and some Kimchi". Then I realize the menu board has some American type items so I ask "do you have Korean or American Kimchi".
"Oh, Korean kimchi opso" (there is none). We have American cucumber kimchi for baby" looking at Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn of course joyously yells out "mama, mama, we can eat that! I love Kimchi, but I want cabbage kimchi too". I explain there is none today and we will eat cucumber kimchi and some "kong namul" or bean sprouts - of course they ask "you want Korean or American?" Kaitlyn says "ajumma, we only eat Korean, we no want American here!" lol (she is picking up her Konglish again!)
after having to run down the street to get some cash to pay for the upcoming lunch-we sit down to TWO plates of lunch special with "we fix it on two pate so aeggi can have own pate". Kaitlyn says "kam sa hamnida" and she DIGS in! We had some tolerable American style Cucumber Kimchi (yes, Shi, we ate enough for you too!), and the absolute BEST bean sprouts we have had since leaving Korea!! The rest of the meal was ok, better than what I have been cooking-lol. I watched as others got their meals- we had at least double their portions and we were only charged for "one portion". Kaitlyn stopped eating just before her "tummy popped" and we were able to get some "kong namul" to bring home.
We made a run to the next town over so we could go to a better walmart (lol, the ONLY shopping available for 45+ miles) and stopped at Sonic for a fast drink -one small rootbeer for Kaitlyn to go with her "vanilla dish" (she likes the two separate!) and one lemon slush with pineapple and double cranberry...not too bad I guess but I think I will find a different combo next time!
Our story tonight was "Cold Paws, Warm Heart" a story about a polar bear who is cold on the outside and inside due to not having any friends or any contact with anyone other than himself. A little girl befriends him and he soon warms up (also thanks to Hannah's scarf, a cup of hot chocolate, and hugs!). Kaitlyn says "mama, you keep me warm with hugs and I will never , NEVER stop loving you!" As I kiss her goodnight, she says "mama we had a good day, you know that?!" I had to agree. :-)

different slide show...until I can get the first one to post up top...

2008-01-31T22:24:00.000-06:00

Kaitlyn's Sighs

2008-01-28T22:41:00.000-06:00

Well, today was a balmy 58 degrees and partly sunny-hence the YELLOW color; so we celebrated by going to the fish pond and trying to feed the fish -which wojuld not come eat popcorn. Kaitlyn and I decided they were telling us in their own way that they were "not going to eat anything to make us get fat and then end up in a frying pan to end up in your tummy!" lol To make up for the fish not eating popcorn, we HAD to spend some time at the park-swinging, climbing on the jungle gym and Kailtyn decided to try her hand at sliding without using her hands or feet to "slow her down"-I wish I had taken the camera! She was oh so successful! I turned to see her sliding down the slide (of which she has been afraid until 3 weeks ago) with her hands in the air and yelling "mama, will you be just WAAAY to shocked???!" I nearly fell off the step I was sitting on!
A friend with a heart of GOLD sent me the following, and it sounds sooo much like my Kaitlyn-so I hope you enjoy it:

Puppy Size...
This is one of the neatest stories you will ever hear. You will know precisely what this little girl is talking about at the end (you'll want to share this one with your loved ones and special friends)!
"Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this," the mother told the volunteer. "What is it she keeps asking for?" the volunteer asked.
"Puppy size!'"replied the mother.
"Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for."
"I know...we have seen most of them,"the mom said in frustration...
Just then Danielle came walking into the office "Well, did you find one?" asked her mom.
"'No, not this time,'"Danielle said with sadness in her voice. "Can we come back on the weekend?"
The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed. "You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply," the volunteer said.
Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. "Don't worry, I'll find one this weekend," she said.
Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular. "It's this weekend or we're not looking any more," Dad finally said in frustration. 'We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either," Mom added.

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs. Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted. Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one, the dogs were brought out and she held each one. One by one she said, "Sorry, you're not the one."
It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.
"Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!" she screamed with joy. 'It's the puppy size!" "
But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks,' Mom said. "No not size... the sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed," she said. "Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!"
The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.
"Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms," she said.
Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, "Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!"
Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day. They are the sighs of God! Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear. "Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. " May each of you feel and hear the sighs of God...

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2008-01-27T14:37:00.000-06:00

Well, today is Sunday-one of Kaitlyn's favorite days. She loves to go to church and to Sunday school. I wish I had a picture of her from this morning. She had on one of her favorite dresses- it is probably the last time she will wear it; it has a black velvet bodice with white pearls on the neckline, the skirt is black and red taffeta with a black satin bow, it has short puffy sleeves that match the skirt. She wore black "stockings" with black patten leather shoes- she looked so tiny for some reason, and yet so big!
The weather is warmer today- nearing 50, the sun is coming out-and we have NO rain!
Kaitlyn loved the sermon-it was from Matthew 14:22-33; where Jesus told the disciples to go head in a boat while He went to pray, then he walked out on the water to meet them in the storm. Kaitlyn is always thinking of fishing and "what did the fish think", "What would Jesus say if..."
Funny, I had never imagined how the disciples may have felt, but it says they were scared of the "ghost" approaching on the water. I guess I would have been afraid of a figure walking on a stormy sea also! lol But Peter, in order to make sure it was Jesus said "Lord, if it is you, tell me to come out to you". I have often wondered why; then it dawned on me- anyone (ok, a "ghost") would have kept coming, but Jesus would have been able to create a miracle, and Peter could also walk on the stormy sea and Peter KNEW this! Well, Jesus did tell Peter "Come" and Peter did just that. I wonder, would I have had the faith to do that? Would I have said" Lord, if it is you, hurry and get in the boat" or better yet, "Lord, if it is you, STOP the storm!" Once Peter was on the water, he seemed to forget WHY he was there- he lost sight of his goal-Jesus outstretched hand, and began to fall. BUT! Jesus / God is right on time...Jesus reached out and took Peter's hand, and he did not drown. How often do I yell at God and say "where are you??!!" "Why are you not answering ME?!" I often forget that it was ME who stepped OUT OF THE BOAT, and it is ME who forgets the GOAL...and God/Jesus is always waiting for me to reach out and take His hand...
If you have not guessed it, I spend many days "Shouting AT the Lord" nearly as many as "Shouting TO the Lord" and yet, HE always has His hand stretched out ready to answer in HIS timing...and NO, I am not always happy with His timing, but after all, I DID STEP OUT OF THE BOAT, SO IT IS I WHO MUST KEEP SIGHT OF THE GOAL...no matter what the day has in store...So my goal this week is to remember: GOD IS ALWAYS RIGHT ON TIME.

In Prince's heart...

2008-01-25T13:42:00.000-06:00

Well, it is early-for writing anyway :-)
I am using green as Kaitlyn has expressed her desires for warmer weather and sunshine. I would have used yellow, but it really does not show up that well and I am not in a super sunny mood! :-)
Kaitlyn is still running a fever and showing me patches of "bites". She is having transient patches of whelts, most of them do not itch-but the idea is making me crazy as I have no idea what could be causing any of this-not comforting to a mama who is also a nurse. I don't feel like being a nurse today, I just want to be her mama and cuddle her and read to her today, she seems to think this is a wonderful idea.
As Kaitlyn sits and watches one of her new-found, and also most favorite programs-"Word World", she cuddles her mini-schnauzer and asks "mama, does Prince (yes, she named him and his full name is "Prince Charming" Registered and all! lol) have a heart?"
"Yes, he has a heart, all living things have a heart"
"Well, what is IN his heart?"
"hmmm, I think just muscles and blood"
"Mama, why not God, and love, and happy things?"
"Well, I am not sure if God lives in animals' hearts, I think God does love animals or He would not have made them." "You are probably right, there is probably lots of love in his little heart, and he has happy things too, 'cuz he knows you love him".
"Mama, when I die will you tell Prince I love him?"
"Yes, I will tell Prince you love him, but you won't die yet"
"mama, you KNOW I have to die one day and go get my wings".
Ok, panic mode kicks in about now-she has this way of bringing up death...she is calm as she speaks about it, but it brings a certain panic to my heart.
"Kaitlyn, when are you going to die"
"Oh, not yet, but when it is time, I will go to heaven. Don't forget-OK?"
"OK, I won't forget"
"You won't forget to tell Prince I always love him?"
"No, I won't forget, plus I think he will always know and I think he will feel you as an angel when you get your wings".
"OH,MAMA!" "DO you think God will let Prince see me with my wings? That would be way cool, huh mama?!?" As she flits off to read a book about 5 little monkeys who tease a crocadile...

Fun places today

2008-01-23T23:10:00.000-06:00

Well, first off I must change the colors of the posts around- Kaitlyn says God sees and thinks in "rainbow colors and so should we"-so I will try to not do everything in purple.

This morning started off much like most-Kaitlyn coming in to kiss me "awake" and verify it is "day time" and then asks "what color will our robes be in heaven?" I told her I was not sure, but they would definitely be beautiful ones. She then proceeds to explain about the "rainbow colors of God"- after all ,His promise is a Rainbow mom!! lol
The topic then turns to "how soft or rough will the robes be?" as she rubs my super-soft-double-weight-white-with-blue-snowflakes-on-it "Mink" blanket from Korea (by the way, I have never, and I mean NEVER felt anything so soft and cuddly!). I of course state, "oh my, they should be like this blanket" and she says "are you sure? Are you sure they won't be rough like the jeans you make me wear sometimes?" I asked her why God would make us wear Rough Robes- she says "oh, He would not want us to, but sometimes we would not do much except cuddle in the robes if they are too soft!" lol The logic of a 4 year old that is constantly reminding me that God told her she would return to heaven one day to get her wings back...

We are on like, day 39 of rain-ok, not 39 it just seems like it- but we have had rain nearly every day the last 2 weeks and add to that the cold tempuratue, and it is not much fun for anyone, let alone a child who wants to go see and feed the fish, look for frogs, or swing on the playground behind our house. I decided today was a good day to visit the Post Library and behold- Kaitlyn thought it was" a great idea" too! She still has not found the "joy" of sitting in a chair or on the floor and "reading" a good book, but she did "flit around" like "tinkerbell" for a while -then we realized something! There, in the corner, were computers. Why on earth are there computers in the childrens' room? We check it out and they are set up for educational games! Talk about a happy girl!! She sat down, put on the headphones and commenced to yell "mama, I want to do this by my self, I don't need you to show me how, I can do it if I try". I had to explain that she was yelling with the headphones on and asked how she could "do it herself" if she has never been on a computer? She then let me show her how the mouse buttons clicked and that clicking the arrow at the bottom of the page changed the screen to another section of the game...she would have stayed there for days!

After the library we went to "another fun place" for her-we went to the central registration office for the Youth Center-this way if need be she can go to the daycare center and if any programs (dance, music, etc) open up for children under the age of 6, she can attend. She had a blast stacking large foam blocks, dancing and hopping around a round rug containing the ABC's and naming all the letters and then realized she can do it backwards too...the things that excite her~!

On to the Commissary. Oh yea! I dread this part, but Kaitlyn thinks it is an adventure- if there is no "car" cart, then she sits in the back and stacks cans and boxes and counts and tries to read what everyting says as well as telling me what I should have bought and what needs to be put back on the shelf. Peas are not to be placed in the cart and "Oatmeal can kill you!" When I explained it won't kill her, she says "it makes me gag and gagging must kill you!" So, no oatmeal (thank goodness! it makes me gag too) goes into the shopping cart. We then proceed to purchase what is on her list- Cherries, grapes, blueberries-that-you-wash, milk, blueberry yogurt, some "mul gogi" (fish) that I MUST fry Korean style (oh dear Lord help me, nothing I make tastes Korean enough to either of us!). She then asks "Mama, why don't American stores have Korean grapes and why don't American strawberries taste as good as Korean Strawberries?"... Of course I had to explain that it is not the season for Korean grapes, and at the price for the grapes it is not the season for American or Chilean grapes either! And no-one can explain why the best strawberries in the World are grown and sold in Korea!

After shopping we load up the car and head for home-Kaitlyn is happy that we went to her fun places today-and insists we hurry home as daddy promised to "tape" "WORD WORLD" for her on the DVR.

We get home, she plopps her little patootie in daddy's recliner, grabs her snack bowl of apple slices, "blueberries that you wash (real ones), and a few red grapes and prepares to watch WORD WORLD- only we find out it did not tape. I then have to listen to 100 questions about why it did not tape, did we do it on purpose so she would not watch TV and take a nap (hmm, what an idea!), yadda, yadda, yadda.

Ok. let's do something else fun- let's peel cucumbers! I actually let her peel a cuke with the peeler-she felt so grown up (she did not do many peels) and when she asked to taste it I shaved off a slice.
"Mama! this is skin"
"no it is a shaved cucumber, taste it- it is not skin"
"MAMA! why are you making it look like skin, I want to eat a cucumber that looks like a real one"...so we then must cut it into match sticks...

Such is a typical day! I am begining to feel she needs to attend Pre-school at least a few half days a week! lol

Before she sits and cuddles with daddy to "rest her eyes, and not go to sleep yet", she tells daddy and I "do you know you are my heart, my starts and all my love?"
How better to end a "perfect" day?? How better to make me want to adopt another one!
Good night...

2008-01-19T19:01:00.000-06:00

slide show

2008-01-19T18:28:00.000-06:00

Hmm, to get started

2008-01-12T23:28:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am Tammy and the beauty in the box is "Kaitlyn" and God blessed ME with the opportunity to be her mama! She was adopted from a very "small" orphanage in South Korea-small meaning not fancy, only 45 to 50 children depending on the day, and the children do without many of the modern things our children feel are necessities- but these children have tons of love to share and they have an assistant "baby home" director with a heart of pure Gold. Kaitlyn and I have disucssed many times why she was in an orphanage (we do know her story) and why so many children wait for their "forever families".
When Kaitlyn was not yet 3, she said all babies have wings in heaven, but they have to wait to go back to heaven to get them again, hence, she is not afraid of dying. After volunteering in several orphananges in Korea and then concentrating on this one in particular, I have come to realize my Kaitlyn is wiser than her years or mine-all of the children ARE angels without their wings and if we listen carefully, we will hear the flutter of the wings from Angels on High as they daily protect these little ones. I have personally seen why in Hebrews 13:2 it states: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for you may have entertained angels, unaware.

Well, guess it is time to learn to "blog". I have been reading the blogs of others for ages and always seem to say "sheeze, wish I could do that"- but if I never try, we will never know.

A few years ago my hubby decided we did not need a photo printer as one can save all the photos they could ever want or need on a computer-so I tried this; Now- I have tons of photos I can't access on a "dead" computer and no way to share the photos! I am hoping a blog with photos will be a means to "save" some photos and info for the kids as they get older.

I am also wanting to learn to do more writing about my feelings on being a "re-newed mother" at the current age of 44 when my 3 oldest children are 32, 24, and 23 and my youngest-who is adopted from Korea- is 4 yrs 9 months. Seems funny- but I have this renewed desire to parent again-not only to show I have learned from past trials and errors (my poor children!), but that I have matured mentally and spiritually as well as physically. I know I have more love for at least one more child, but I really desire 2 more- a little girl the same age or very close in age to Jeongah, and a boy either slightly older or younger (I DO NOT want a child under the age of 2, not sure why, but that of course could change!). My poor husband is not so sure about 2 more, but he says perhaps to one more. Of course, this could mean 3 more children as we are in the process (very interrupted!) of adopting a little girl, soon to be 9 on 22 Jan, from Korea; we provided foster care to her for nearly 2 years and she picked "Daddy" and thus our family seemed to be a good fit for her. She is a delightfully bright child, learns English quickly and swears she is really an American in a Korean body. I have to laugh, I think I am a Korean in a chubby American body, so perhaps we are meant for each other?

Well, it is late and hubby is snoring and I need to figure out a few more things before I get to bed. I am hoping to be able to post some music and photos soon- so please visit again soon.

Tamm