Girls Just Wanna Have FUN...in Seoul!

This weekend, I along with several other wonderful ladies made an overnight trip to Seoul. We had such a nice time, and we took in some of the sights. We took the bus up to Yongsan Post (an army base); it's in the heart of Seoul. We stayed at the Dragon Hill Lodge, which is a 5 star military resort.

Susan, Leah, Kelly, Shara
One of our highlights was a pedicure...which set of feet belong to who??

After a pedicure and dinner, we decided to head to Namdaemun Market. We caught cab, which took a few minutes...it just doesn't come natural for me to hail a cab. Oh the sights; it's just so funny, not much looks familiar or normal for that matter to me. This market sells clothes, purses, hair accessories, gift bags and lots of other random things.
We didn't try any of the cuisine. I think you pick your meat (which just sits in the open air) and she cooks it. I could hardly identify the meat; kinda scary!

This is what I believe is referred to as the city gate.

On Saturday morning, we headed to Dongdaemun Market; this market has everything imaginable. From clothing to shoes, bedding, toys, craft items, and the 5 story building that's home to the FABRIC MARKET! I've been wanting to visit this place ever since living here and hearing about it. I went prepared to spend several hours, and I totally did (4 1/2 to be exact!) It was just unreal and overwhelming. There were so many people, and so many booths. Each floor housed different items, and there were many different booths/vendors selling the items. Every notion was available-it was crazy and great!

This is packages of piping, and zippers. The zippers cost 10 cents!!

Buttons, Buttons, Buttons

Do you see how long the aisles are? We were exhausted after roaming this place for so long!

One floor is devoted to beading...a jewelry maker's paradise! Made me think I might want to take up this hobby...just kidding!

Susan, Kelly, Annee

Ribbon Galore!

You can even custom make your own bra!

These motorcycles were everywhere. They are rigged up to carry items away from the market. I love the simplicity of just making things work, that is totally the Korean way of life.

After leaving the fabric market, we found "tie alley." The ties make me laugh; they are very colorful and full of rhinestones!

My friend Annee said, "what man could walk out the door for work and feel like a man wearing this?" I totally agree!!

I had a great time! I I must say that I was happy to see my crew again. Jannah wanted to know what her "prize" was. Jordan was...just Jordan. Jamison was happy to see his Mama! Greg, well he was happy to see me too!

ABC's of Me...A Meme

My friend Susan tagged me to do this! Thanks Susan, it was fun :)

a. attached or single? very attached and lovin it!
b. best friend? Greg, Mama, Lori, Aunt Melinda, childhood best friend-Amy, Pam, Michele; my Korea friends... too many to name (you know who you are!)
c. cake or pie? um...cheesecake!
d. day of choice? Saturday
e. essential items? Clorox wipes, Bare Escentials makeup, my bed
f. favorite color(s)? pink and red
g. gummy bears or worms? oh, neither! (I'd rather eat a bear than a worm)
h. hometown? Valdosta, Georgia...yeah baby!
i. favorite indulgence? me time...and a book and a coffee
j. january or july? July...the beach, flip flops, the 4th, home-made ice cream, BBQ's
k. kids? oh yes, 3 precious ones!
l. life isn't complete without? my God
m. marriage date? July 24, 1999
n. number of brothers or sisters? 1 sister, I love her!!
o.oranges or apples? apples
p. phobias? flying in an airplane
q. quotes? "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" unknown
r. reasons to smile? my hope in Christ, my sweet husband, my kiddos, the sunshine, the fabric market this weekend with a group of gals :)
s. season of choice? summer
t. tag 5 people: Anna D, Tori, Jenna, Ruth, Leslie
u. unknown fact about me? I didn't finish college...had a beautiful daughter instead...wouldn't trade that for anything...especially not a degree!
v. vacation of choice? Italy
w. worst habit? staying up tooo late!
x. xray or ultrasound? ultrasound (to see those babies!)
y. your favorite food? ice cream and Italian food
z. zodiac sign? have not a clue...I so don't believe in that!

Whats Funny To Me

So, I was thinking tonight, and realized there were a few funny occurrences over the last couple of days.
-While driving to another base on Sunday, we passed lots of rice fields. Greg told the kids to look at the rice patties. Jordan says, "Daddy, those aren't rice patios!" We both just laughed; one day when he's 20 or maybe 30, he'll realize we do know some things.
-Not sure how Jannah managed this one; she came to me whining, and said, "I stepped on my toe." I think she was a little tired, which must have contributed to the ability to step on her own toe!
-Jamison is crawling. I realize now that I'm a little busier, just trying to keep up with him, and keep him out of the wrong places. He crawls all over, and will crawl to where-ever I am. But, when I put him in his room to play, he will only crawl to the doorway. He sits there as if there's something there stopping him. He just sits, and whimpers until I come his way, then he gets beside himself with excitement that I'm gonna pick him up :) I always do...I couldn't let him down!

VBS Pictures

These are just some pictures I took at church. We have one more Sunday for VBS, which is wrapped up with a trip to Everland. Jannah and Jordan are learning a verse each week, and Jannah sings her VBS songs every day.

This is Jordan with Mr. Sam and Ms. Anna; they are faithful teachers of the 2 & 3 year olds every Sunday. Jordan likes them a lot, he's always excited to go see them.

Check out these two clowns. It was clown day at VBS. This was my clown costume when I was a little girl. My Mama still had it, so she mailed it to Jannah to wear....she looks just like me!

Wordless Wednesday

Made with Love....at Midnight!

Once again, I was working hard at midnight as I made this apron. (I wish it weren't necessary to stay up so late and sew, but it seems like that's about the only time to do it. After a week or so of staying up until 1 or 2 am, it really catches up to me.) The apron was super easy, and I think I'll be making some more. I'm gonna make a matching one for Jannah :) By the way, she was the photographer for this wonderful photo shoot!

If you're thinking I planned on my shirt matching the apron for the picture, you're 100% correct!

He's Crawling!!

It's official...............Jamison is a crawler! He has so much to see and do. He already likes getting into J and J's toys. He also knows how to get into what they're doing, which doesn't excite them! I love watching him as he discovers new things and how proud he is when he crawls to an object and is able to pick it up. Oh, the joys of crawling! My baby is getting too big, too fast!

Uh, Oh!

In case your wondering what happened, I can explain! You see, I was trying to do the right thing, and boil these paci's before giving them to Jamison. I put them on the stove.....and walked away.......to my computer. A good amount of time elapsed, and I smelled something burning. I thought to myself, something doesn't smell right. Then I thought, the dishwasher doesn't usually give off a burnt smell while running. Then it hit me, oh no; the pacifiers! So, I jumped up and ran to the stove, to find this, accompanied with smoke. I think I caught them just in time, (or maybe not, by the looks of them)! I run to the balcony door, and put the pot outside. The last thing I want to do is set the smoke alarms off (everyone in my house is sleeping, this would not be a good time to test them out). So, Jamison won't be having these paci's and I will not be walking away from them on the stove again. The directions say to boil for two minutes for a reason!

Made with Love

I wonder why I'm most creative at midnight, and then pay for it the next day or two? Even though I did stay up until 2:00 a.m sewing this; I'm just so thrilled with the finished product: a nap mat for Jannah, when she goes to Kindergarten (which is only 2 weeks away!) She picked out the cupcake fabric and I picked out the coordinating fabrics. She told me after I was all done that the green and brown check was her least favorite; but, she's still crazy about the mat. Who wouldn't like sleeping on cupcakes and having sweet dreams?!?!

What we've been doing............

Greg has the joy and honor of being in yet another exercise! (Really there's nothing joyous about it, I was being a little sarcastic). An exercise is when they practice/pretend what will happen IF North Korea ever strikes. Greg gets to wear all of this gear, and the kids find it intriguing. They usually want to try it on; Jordan always wants to know where the gun is. Back to NK striking SK, don't worry people, it's very unlikely that would happen!

I was in the kitchen, doing something I'm sure; I wanted to get a handful of blueberries, but found that they were no longer where I had left them. My first thought was that maybe one of the kids did something with them; wonder why I thought that? As I turn into their room, there's Jordan, with the colander of blueberries, just chowing down. Too funny, he's the blueberry thief!

This is what Greg has been doing; Jordan calls it the tractor puzzle (nothing like calling it exactly what it is!) My parents gave this to him a year and a half ago, because he really likes tractors. For the last several months, he's been asking daily of he could "do this puzzle." What we couldn't get him to understand was that it has over 1000 pieces, and that he can't just sit down and do it; try getting that through his little hard head! After much begging and pleading, Greg decided to make Jordan's dream come true. He's been working hard, and Jordan is delighted. He "helps " Greg every day; I must say that I love the way kids "help" and I think Greg does too! Once this is completed, it will be framed, and it will hang in Jordan's room, and we will be proud of Daddy and Jordan's hard work!

I've been sewing; I'll try to post pictures soon. I'm on a roll again! And just today, Jamison started crawling; he figured out how to move his legs, and did it a couple of times.........things will be crazy before too much longer!

VBS at Osan Air Base Chapel

Jannah had fun at VBS! The theme was Holy Land Adventure: Jerusalem Marketplace.

She came home with neat crafts every day; when I asked her what she learned, this is what she said:

"Jesus is my King"

"God loved us so much that Jesus died for our sins"

"the 12 tribes" (she was in the Asher tribe)

The little boy is Jake, Jannah and Faith. I realize this comment has nothing ot do with VBS; but, Jake's Mom told me today that he's earning stickers on his reward chart. She let him pick out his reward, and he chose a date with Jannah. Hmm, let's think about this! Jannah can't date until she's at least 16 years old; is he gonna wait that long for his reward?

more singing (for the parents)

Jannah is bewtween Jake and Faith; it's a little dark, but it's still vey precious. I love watching her sing; she has a sweet spirit. There's just something tender, innocent and precious when children sing songs about our Saviour!

This one's for you Auntie M!

Several months ago, I created a slideshow of our family holding Jamison for the first time when we went back to the States. I was disappointed when I was putting it together that I didn't have a picture of my dearest Aunt Melinda holding him; I really thought I remembered taking a picture of them. Just tonight, I ran across a CD that my Mama had burned for me, and on it were all of the photos taken on her camera while we were there. Boy, was I thrilled to find this picture!!! See, Aunt Melinda, I knew I wouldn't have forgotten a photo op such as this :)

Love you and Jamison does too!

Off to "School"

I realize this is a little late (we've been living in these beautiful towers for 3 months now, and I've yet to post pictures; that's because I just now took them). I wanted to show a little bit of the base off. This is Hallasan Towers, which is home to 110 families, including the Bailey family! We live on the third floor and we just love it here!

Everything is close enough to walk, and we do a lot of walking! We are headed to school on this particular day. Jordan is in the lead, and has left Jannah behind with the sole responsibility of carrying both his and her toys for show and tell at school!

Jannah and Ms. Mi;
she still pronounces Jannah's name like Jane-ah

Weston and Jordan playing; I couldn't get Jordan to take a picture with Ms. Mi............not sure why!

Silly Hair Day at VBS

This was a combination creation by Greg and myself! We were gonna go for the Pipi Longstocking look, but decided it might be dangerous for Jannah and others. So, Greg came up with this idea. Jannah loved it, as well as did many others this morning :)

Sweet Dreams my Son

I had just settled the kids down, and was about to read a book of their choice when the doorbell rang. I got up to go to the door and of course Jannah (the social butterfly) came with me. We were at the door chatting for about 5 minutes or so. When we went back into the bedroom, this is what I found. Jordan had started his book, but gave into the sweet dreams.

Bathtime......Baby!

My sweet little, 10 month old Jamison in the tub, which he just thoroughly enjoys! He loves to splish-splash! He thinks this cup is for drinking tub water; it breaks his heart when I take it away to rinse soap off of him and his hair. Speaking of hair, he's got a wild hairdo going on :)

The High Diving Board

This is a picture of the high diving board that both Jannah and Jordan have jumped off of!!! I didn't capture this major milestone in life for either one of them............but I did get a picture of the diving board! We went to the water park again this past Saturday with some friends. Jannah and Jordan were jumping off of the small diving board, but that wasn't enough. Before long, Jordan decided he needed to go off of the big one. Of course, Greg is in the water (encouraging him), and I'm holding Jamison; my heart is pounding as my little 3 year old is waiting in line. I am thinking that he will change his mind once he gets up there, and sees the drop into the water. I decide to hand Jamison off to my friend, Alexia, and climb up the steps to the diving board with Jordan; thinking all along that he will never jump. Little did I know, he was not backing down! That little rascal jumped off, and I do mean "jumped" off; he came out of the water, and said, "I wanna do that again!" We have two kiddos with very brave and bold blood running through them...........where do they get this from?

My 14 carat Citrine

Isn't this gorgeous?!?! I had this ring made...........yep, right here in Korea; who knew they offered such fine services in the department of jewelry? You can get anything made over here, at least that's what all the husbands tell their wives when they bear the good news of moving to Korea! I'm so pleased with this ring, I want everyone to have one. It was designed to look like a piece from the Charles Krypell Collection; he makes gorgeous jewelry, and he's very popular back in my hometown (in a lot of other places too, I'm sure). I bought this stone almost a year ago at a bazaar we had on base. There were many vendors from around this part of the world. One just so happened to be a man from Thailand, selling loose stones. I knew right away I needed one, and that I would one day have a ring made. I really like any kind of jewelry; I get this wonderful quality from my Granny Condrey. My fascination with jewels started young. I always loved to look, touch, and try on her jewelry; she had so much, which awed me as a child. Jannah is just like me, she's always commenting, touching, trying on my jewelry. I guess the love for jewels has been passed to her as well. This stone was in safe keeping until just a few weeks ago when I took it "downtown" which means off base. I showed the lady at Sin Bosa Jewelry store the Charles Krypell brochure and picked out a ring I wanted her to model my ring after, she said, "no problem, we make." I had to clarify several times that wanted it just like the picture. I was a little unsure of how it would turn out, but when I picked it up last night, I was more than thrilled with the finished product :) One more treasure from Korea!

President Bush WAS here!

Okay, so I read on CNN that Bush was here on Tuesday; well, close to here. He was at Yongsan (the base in Seoul, where I had Jamison, about an hour from here). How did I not get a memo on this, before it happened?! I feel like I missed out. The president of my country, was in this country, so close to me, how could I have missed this?? Actually, people were "selected" to go from this base, but it was all top secret; even my sweet husband didn't tell me this, until after it was over! I wanted to be upset with him, but he was only doing his job by not telling me. Oh well, maybe next time, I can be more on top of things. At any rate, President Bush was here; he was then going to Thailand, and to China. I wonder if he's going to Phuket in Thailand (the beautiful beach...............probably not!) Make sure to watch the Olympics, and remember that we're close.................closer than most of you all are to China! By the way, we are planning a trip to China in October; can't wait to visit another country!

Camp Humphreys Water Park

Another FUN day was had by the Bailey clan! I'm thinking, why have we not been to this water park sooner! It's advertised as the only water park (on -base, for the military) on the Korean peninsula; I must say that it's fantastic! We went with two other families, and we spent the whole day in the water; my only regret is the little bit of sunburn we all got; kinda makes me feel like an unfit mother. Moving on to happier moments, there were many slides, fountains, and swimming areas.

The Bailey Clan

Jordan coming down one of the slides. He & Jannah are both very brave; maybe a little too brave for their Mama's liking!

The water in this pool was a bit cold, can you tell? Jordan looks like he's freezing, not to mention he had blue lips.

Gabby & Jannah having some fun :)

Jordan braving another slide; this one was very long, I couldn't believe he did it by himself. Then again, he knew Daddy's arms were waiting for him!

silly kiddos

A note about the diving board: I didn't get the best part on video. My little Jannah jumped off of the HIGH DIVING BOARD! I was totally shocked she did it; after jumping off of it myself, I can't imagine what she felt as she was waiting to hit the water! I'm still in shock; she did tell me that one time was enough! She has one more brave little heart!