Welcome Baby Drake

Congratulations to my dear sister, Lori and her husband, Derek; Drake Archer joined their family on October 30, 2008. He was a whopping 10.3 pounds, and 20 inches tall! I'm so sad I couldn't be there, but I must say they were super fast at sending me some pictures. I'm counting the days until I can hold this precious miracle and see my little sister too!

"Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord" Psalm 127:3

A Story about Balls

Jamison, as you know, has a major fascination with balls. We have so many balls around here; anywhere your eyes land in our house, there's a ball. He has a ball basket, where some of them rest when they're not being played with. I usually pick up a ball at least 100 times a day, or maybe not quite that many times!

Jamison went to the ER the other night (thanks to a minor case of croup). When the doctor came in, he sat right in front of me (I was holding Jamison). He was making notes on the chart, with the top of his bald head in our faces. Jamison crinkles his nose, points at his head and says, "ball?" He really did ask instead of say it with assurance. The doc laughed, which was great, because I really needed to laugh too! Jamison thought it was a ball, but he wasn't 100% sure.

the ball basket (with only some of the balls)

I know you think you know what these are, but Jamsion is sure they are all balls!

He's gonna be a pitcher!

Made with Love

I recently made this dress for Jannah; she and her friend Gabby have matching ones, they wore them to school on Friday. I might add that I'm just crazy about this fabric, it came from my favorite place...Happy Quilt. I think this dress is pretty happy...you think?

Jordan's Haricut

Jordan was in major need of a haircut, so we headed to the BX (where our everything is: shopping, restaurants, salons, Starbucks, post office). He sits like such a big boy, and can handle it all, until hair gets in his mouth, which is inevitable! Although I didn't capture a great picture, this is my favorite haircut yet. Have I mentioned that he's the cutest little hoot around?!?

Fall Fun

The Family Fun magazine is filled with all sorts of, well...family fun! One of the ideas that I recently saw was to make pumpkins out of Circus Peanuts (one of my Daddy's favorites). It was a cool, rainy day on Thursday, so I pulled out the candy and we got busy. I was so excited with how cute the pumpkins turned out, and how creative J and J were. Jordan liked smashing the peanuts, Jannah then rolled them into their pumpkin shape. We did have to eat a few along the way :)

Lunchdate with Jannah

I joined Jannah for lunch this past Friday (we can join her for lunch anytime...that's so exciting to me)! I picked up Taco Bell, and was waiting on her when she came into the lunchroom. I really enjoyed our time; it was nice to have a little time with just her and to see her interact with her classmates. I'm not just saying this because she's my child, but she really is a sweetheart. I see her having compassion on others and she's really aware of others feelings and does her best to put others at ease, and make them feel comfortable. I love her little spirit and I love time alone with her!

Why?

This was my encounter on the way home from church; we go to church off base, about a 5 minute drive. As I headed home on Sunday, the car in front of me stops, and begins to honk the horn. I can see that he's honking at a man just sitting in the middle of the road! This isn't normal people!! He's sitting there, legs crossed, talking about something, very loudly. Why is he there? Why don't his people tell him to get out of the street? What in the world is he talking about? Others (Koreans) just walk by him and pay him little attention. The man in front of me (an American) and I are just wondering if he's ever gonna move! As it turns out, he didn't. We barley had enough room to hug the side of the road (most roads are little as it is), and go around him. I stopped to take a picture, he wasn't phased by it a bit! Only in Korea, which people call "the land of the not quite right".

Banana Blueberry Pancakes

This is a new recipe that I've tried, and they are a pleaser at my house! They are healthy, and it's another way to get rid of ripe bananas. Enjoy!

Banana Blueberry Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cup skim milk
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries (if using frozen, don't thaw)

1. In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine milk, egg, bananas, and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Add blueberries last.

2. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls; cook on both sides, until golden brown. Serve with syrup (they are good without also!)

A New Rule

I've not had a little one yet that was intrigued by the toilet. But never fear, Jamison is trying to change that. Whenever he's out of sight, I run to the back, and check in the bathroom first. Sure enough, he's always there. In the past, he's just sitting by the toilet, smiling at me. But, in the last week, he's pulled himself up, looking in the toilet. What might he be looking at? Well... at an object he's thrown in there! He has thrown in a ball (no surprise there) and today a washcloth he pulled down from the edge of the tub. That's really gross; I threw that one in the trash! I have a rule in the house now, never leave the door to the bathroom open. I have stressed this to J and J, because I really don't like fishing things out of the toilet!

Friends, Fun, Pumpkins....all at Everland

We ventured out to Everland on our Columbus Day holiday, thinking it would be less crowded since it was Monday. Little did we know that every Korean school would be there on a field trip! We still had fun and it was just a beautiful day. The leaves are starting to change here, and it's just the most beautiful time in Korea (in my most humble opinion)!

My Prince Charming and I

This is what greeted us upon our arrival to Everland. A group of girls in awe of Jamison. I was told by their teacher that they were from a country town, and they never see Americans. They were snapping pictures and talking to Jamison. By the look on his face, he was pretty confused!

This could have been a cute picture, but the sunshine just didn't cooperate!

my big boy

my scary girl

my boys...all in grey and denim...unplanned

surprise, surprise...Jordan riding a motorcycle

peas and carrots, these two are!

Greg is a kid, trapped in an adult's body! Jamison and he have the same kind of fun!

Jamison having a little fun :)

The things we do.....

These are pictures from the past week!

hanging out with our friends, Steven and Preston

Jamsion doing what he does best...eating

Jordan with a cute smile

Jannah all dressed for spirit day at school, which is every Friday!

Jamison eating his Cheerios; I'm not sure what we do without them. He eats a LOT of these on a daily basis! He eats more than J and J combined at mealtimes; I can't believe he's not a giant!

Jordan riding his motorcycle...I tell you he was born to ride!

Celebrating Jamison

We had a little party for Jamison tonight. It was simple, but I think he enjoyed himself! He really liked his cake; he ate it and seemed to realize that he had been missing out on this food we call cake. He opened his presents, actually J and J opened them for him. He got lots of new toys from Grandma and Gamma & Gampa, and us too! After we took them all out of the boxes, he just played with them, as if he realized he was in need of new toys now that he's one. Most of them had to do with...you guessed it, balls! You'll see in the pictures.

mmmm, good, and all gone! I almost forgot to take a picture (I only captured the last few bites...where is my brain?)

Osan Air Show 2008

It was a beautiful Saturday as we ventured out to the Air Show. There were lots of people and lots of airplanes. For some reason, I was not in "photographer" mode, so I didn't take a whole lot of pictures. Despite the lack of pictures, we did enjoy our time. We ate hamburgers for lunch and then topped it off with a funnel cake for the parents and ice cream for the kiddos. We also had some lumpia (our favorite Philippino dish). All that to say, we were pretty full when we left! The food is always one of the best parts of festivals/fairs/airshows...right?

Us in one of the ROK's airplanes
Jannah striking a beautiful pose on the plane!

lots of planes, lots of people

The usual at an air show...holding of the ears...I think it's so darn cute!

a Blackhawk....I think these are so cool!

Jamison and Daddy...in uniform....the new AF uniform!

This is Jordan with his "blew up airplane". He saw people with these when we first arrived. Of course he wanted one. So, when we did finally find them, we had to get one for him and one for Jannah, even if they were $6.50 each!