Friends

Wordless Wedensday

New Friendships

Over the last month and a half, we have said goodbye to many of the folks we call "friends" here at Osan. It is bittersweet. Bitter, because who knows if we will see them and when. Sweet, because we shared some good times and made some great memories. On a happier note, we are making new friends almost daily. There are always new faces, and it's easy to pick them out, because we are a very small community. I was reading in one of my devotional books just the other day, and the topic was friendships, and the cultivation of them. The author, Emilie Barnes, speaks of friendship-making, and how important it is to teach our children those skills. I realize that we have a vast opportunity to do that as a family who moves often. As a mother, I can make that a positive experience, or I can make it difficult; it all depends on my attitude and outlook on the situation. I can also teach my children that yes, friends come and go, but Jesus is always there. He will never leave you! Proverbs 18:24 tells us there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

"If a man does not make new friends as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man should keep his friendship in constant repair." Samuel Johnson

Bemjamin's Tol

Our friends John and Laurie, who have 3 children, ages just the same as ours just celebrated their son's 1st birthday, and did it Korean style! In Korea, a child's first birthday is a huge celebration, and it's called a Tol. From what I understand, it consists of praying, wearing special outfits, and eating food and cake. The outfits they are wearing are called Hanboks, which are worn on holidays or special family gatherings. The party was at a group home, run by Korean Christians that helps those in need. Laurie and her family visit this home often, and in lieu of giving gifts to Benjamin, they asked everyone to bring rice for the home. Oddly enough, this home was in the middle of rural rice fields. For those of you who didn't know, rice is a staple food here, and it is eaten at every meal.

Benjamin-the birthday boy!

Benjamin, Jannah and Faith

The cuisine consisted of watermelon (a favorite fruit in Korea), kimchi, bulgogi, baked potatoes, fruit, corn, rice cakes, ghimbap, and chapchae. It was a great American/Korean combo!

Faith and her Mom (Laurie)

Jordan could NOT wait to hit the pinata, or "pinato" as he called it. He also wanted to take the firetruck home with him! I think we should have a "pinato" at his next birthday party :)

The man playing the saxophone was our entertainment for the event. The man on the right is the preacher of the home, he did most of the talking. We didn't understand much, except for "hallelujah", which he said in every sentence!

Sunday Finest

This is Myung-Sook Song, she keeps Jamison in the nursery during the Bible Study hour at church. She is so sweet, and she just loves Jamison. She speaks a decent amount of English, so we can communicate okay. I have said that she is my weekly encouragement, because she always has sweet and kind words to say to me every Sunday. She says to me, every Sunday, "You have 3 babies". I say yes and smile. Smiling is the universal language; we can smile even if we don't always understand each other. She then says, "you happy". I say yes and smile. She says, "you good mother". I say thank you and smile, and tell her that she is very kind and thank her for caring for Jamison.

How precious! Gamma made this outfit for Jamison, and as always, it was made with love!

Jordan (no smiles from him this morning!) & Daddy

Jannah with her baby My Twinn and matching dresses!

What a GAP!!

Jannah has been so excited about having her first loose tooth. Ever since one of her friends had a loose tooth, she couldn't wait to have one too. A few weeks ago, while at Everland, she discovered a tooth on the bottom was indeed loose! I should add that she had been saying for a few weeks prior to this that her teeth were hurting because they were getting loose. Well she wiggles this tooth on a daily basis, and it all paid off last night. While I was out at Chili's for a moms night out, that little rascal pulled her tooth out, all by herself! She was so excited to show me the GAP in her mouth this morning!

Happy Birthday Greg

Happy Birthday to the best husband and Daddy in the world! We love you!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Quilt

This is my fabric store here in Korea! It looks a little different than Hobby Lobby..........ya think?
It's a happy place and it's also inspiring, I always want to sew when I leave with my bag of fabric..........just haven't found the time yet.................one day!

It's nothing but a warehouse, and an unheated one at that (it was so cold in the winter). The fabric is stacked like Lincoln Logs, and there's stack after stack. You name the brand, they have it. Just don't ask for anything specifically, the workers have not a clue what you might be saying :)

More, and more, and more!

I'm not sure how they have it, but they have tons of Vera Bradley fabric, and it just so happens, I'm a fan of VB! So, I went on this particular day with my Vera Bradley brochure, and as you can see, these two workers just poured through the pages. I'm not sure what they were saying, but they seemed to be amazed to see some of the fabric they sell in an American brochure and to see what was made with the fabric.

This sweet lady helped cut all of the fabric I bought, which was quit a bit. My pile is folded up on the lower right side of the picture :)

So.....................Happy Quilting! Does anyone want any fabric????

Happy Father's Day

I surveyed each of the kiddos separately to fill in the blanks about them and their Daddy, Jannah answered each one very quickly and Jordan took his precious little time. Their answers are very appropriate and I didn't prompt them at all. We are so blessed to have caring, gentle, fun loving Daddy!

Daddy and I Survey 2008

Jannah said:
My Daddy and I play blocks.
My Daddy and I eat ice cream.
My Daddy and I go to Everland.
My Daddy and I read princess books.
My Daddy and I watch Strawberry Shortcake.
My Daddy and I like to go outside.

Jordan said:
My Daddy and I play monster trucks.
My Daddy and I eat snacks.
My Daddy and I go to the store.
My Daddy and I read a story about Jesus.
My Daddy and I watch a movie about Jesus.
My Daddy and I like to play games.

One more thing, Happy Father's Day to my Daddy!

Wordless Wednesday

Jamison's Newborn Collage

One of my worries upon moving here was having pictures taken of Jamison and would there be anyone to do them, and would they understand what I wanted (most of you know I am addicted to pictures, and I LOVE having them taken professionally of the kids). Shortly after having Jamison, I met Amanda, who had just moved here, and who also takes pictures! Her specialty is black and whites of newborns, and as you can see, she did an outstanding job. This collage captures some of my favs; I just love the way it turned out and it looks beautiful on my wall! Thank you Amanda!

Fish Sitters

Aren't these happy faces? It's because they are excited to be fish sitting for our friends Steven and Preston, who have returned to the States for a while. They had to feed the fish before they could even eat breakfast this morning; I wonder how long this will last, you know, the attention that's directed towards a new pet..............who knows! The fish came to our house without names, but not to worry, we named them already. The red one is Jannah's, who she named Clara; the blue one is Jordan's and he named it Noodie (he made that up all by himself). Let's hope we can manage these two fish for 7 weeks, and that they will be alive when the owners come back!

Messy Jamison

Okay, I promise I won't keep posting videos of Jamison and his messy eating habits! But really, this is a good one :) He's usually a neat eater, but not so today. He's started playing with his tongue, and decided to do so while eating, and boy, did it make for a mess! There's also a peek of Jannah, Jordan, and our friend JosieAnn :)

Jordan, oh Jordan

Jordan cracks me up, he is such a nut, and he works it to his advantage! Jannah is and always has been (for all 5 years of her life) very serious, Jordan on the other hand has not one serious bone in his body! So tonight, he said something to me that was disrespectful, and he knew right away that it was. I asked him what he said, and he says to me in a very sweet voice and with a very precious look on his face, "Mama, don't worry about it, it's okay." Well, it really wasn't okay, and I did have to correct him, but he handled it so well! It's moments like this that make the day fun and unforgettable!

Ballet Twins

Jannah & Faith

These two are ready for ballet, pigtails (or picktails as Jannah calls them) and all! They kinda favor to me, and it's cute because they are good buds. This is about the only girlfriend Jannah has that hasn't moved. At school today, Jannah and Faith didn't get to do show and tell, becasue they got in trouble...............haven't figured out what they got in trouble for, but anyways! Maybe they will be in the same kindergarten class :)

Jamison-8 months

Military Appreciation Day

This weekend, the USO honored the military by hosting a FREE lunch! So, we headed out to get a burger and hot dog. It was a beautiful day and the kids had fun, not to mention lunch was really good, served with chips and cokes! J and J were happy to have their own can of grape soda, and own bag of chips........it's a great day when everyone is happy!

Jordan and Jannah playing and eating a blow pop :)

Daddy and Jannah enjoying hot dogs :)

These kids danced a Korean Fan Dance for entertainment. Every time the base hosts an event, there are always Korean dancers; they are very interesting and fun to watch, I think their costumes are so colorful and pretty (Jannah does too)!

Jamison and Mommy (kinda sad that I realize this is the first pic of he and I in quit some time)

Jannah and Alyssa

Motorcycle Man

This is Jordan's favorite thing to wear.........the bicycle helmet! He wears it a good portion of the day. The first night he had it, he wanted to sleep in it; we told him he could, but he changed his mind, because he said it hurt his head. So, the next morning, the very fist thing he does after crawling out of bed is, you guessed it, put the helmet on! He had it on while eating breakfast, and I couldn't help but laugh every time I looked at him. We went for a walk later that morning, and of course, he had to wear it. While playing at the park, he had it on and I met a family that had just arrived here. I finally told them after talking for a while that Jordan really liked his new helmet, and the grandmother said to me, "I was just thinking you were a very cautious mom." I laughed and and told her that I do try to protect my kids, but not to this extreme! So, last night we were downtown walking around and we saw some motorcycles and the men had their helmets strapped to them. Well, we had to go look at them; Jordan got to wear one for a minute, and he liked that! Once we got home, Jordan puts his helmet on and gets on his motorcycle and says, "I'm a motorcycle man!" He is all boy and he is crazy about motorcycles.........and helmets!!