Jordi's Haircut and A Mother's Broken Promise (to herself)

So, Jordan got a much needed haircut yesterday; his hair grows so fast! Not only that, but I just can't figure out what his hairstyle should be, it doesn't always cooperate with my idea; so, we got a really short cut...it fits him! If you'll notice, he's holding a shoe. Not just any shoe, but a sandal, that HE picked out. This sandal has Spiderman plastered on it, along with lights that light up when he walks/runs...you know what I am talking about. I have very strong feelings about these kinds of shoes; BUT, Jordan had birthday money to spend, and he was just sooo excited about his find! He wanted these over toys. I had a raging war inside of me. You see, it has always been my rule (and my sister's too) that we would NOT have character shoes and especially the ones that light up!!! My kiddos can have character underwear and pajamas...that's enough. SO, what do I do? This son of mine is so proud of the shoes and is pleading to get them. How do I tell him no, it is his money and there are no good toys at the BX that he doesn't already have. Which is worse, a stupid pair of shoes or a useless toy? So, I swallow my PRIDE and prepare myself to break the promise that I have stuck to as a mother for 5 years now, and tell him that YES, he can buy the shoes! I won some points yesterday, he was more than thrilled. Better yet, I realized that my heart was touched by his excitement for his accomplishment and his independence.

Never say never...will I ever learn that as a mother...I don't know!

We're headed to...

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE in ILLINOIS!!!!!!! We are so, so excited! This was our first choice...first time that's ever happened! We have prayed and prayed that God would lead us to the best place for us right now and that we would be close to family. I believe God has answered our prayers and now we are headed to a great destination. Note: this is super close to family compared to Korea; airline tickets are cheap to come out to Illinois too, compared to flying to Korea ! Scott AFB sits right on the Missouri border; we will be about 20 minutes from St. Louis...hello lots of things to do, tons of shopping, baseball games, river walks, museums, great AMERICAN restaurants!!!!! Can you tell I am just a little bit excited? We were at Scott several years ago, for a TDY (Greg had to go there for work); we fell in love with the area, so we kinda know what we are in for. We can't stop looking at housing, although it looks as though we may live in base housing, off base...a tad confusing, huh? We'll keep you posted! The best part is that the kids and I are down to 43 days until we leave Korea...WOW! It's been great, but I am sooo ready to see our family...won't be long! That's all for now :)

It's a Pool Party!

The birthday boy was all smiles and the party was a success! Jordan's two requests were a motorcycle cake and a party at the pool; I was happy to meet both of those!

The party was kicked off with swimming and sliding (Jordan is a pro at this slide)

pizza for everyone

Opening gifts...it's so fun to watch the excitement on everyone's faces; Jordan received some cool, fun toys!

Jordan swimming, like a fish

Jamison involved in a ball stand-off with his bud, Benjamin

Jordan and his friend, Joshua

Easter Sunday 2009

It was a great day! We started with one of the kids favorite activities, pictures. We were ready early, so I took them outside, before breakfast to capture those kodak moments. After success (Mama was thrilled with that), we went to the Watts' for monkey bread. That was followed by church and then a hearty meal, where I ate way too much. We enjoyed the day with family and friends as we reflected and celebrated the resurrection of Christ.

These beautiful Easter outfits were made with love by Gama

the sunshine was a little too bright to keep eyes open

the 5 of us

the Bailey's and Watts'

Kelly and Shara

Easter Egg Hunt

That's right, Osan had an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday (took place after our t-ball game); I don't know about the hunt part, but I know there were lots of eggs!

The Army's band was there for some good ole' toe tappin' music!

Sparky the fire dog was there, have you ever seen him at an egg hunt? Jordan asks us every time if he is real...still not sure what he thinks about Sparky!

J and J after the hunt

Baby J was sure all of those eggs were...you guessed it...balls!

Notice the candy outline around Jordan's lips...nice!

T-Ball Time

Jannah is playing t-ball for the first time. She had her opening ceremony/kick off game this past weekend, it was a beautiful day and we all had fun. Our friends Steve and Kelly are the coaches, Greg says they better play our girl or he's gonna have a talk with them (just kidding)!

Mr. Steve talking with the team. Do you see his little assistant, right beside him?

Jamison kicking back for the game

Jannah smacking the ball!

Jannah playing hard in the field!

Happy 4th Jordi-Roo!

My eyes flooded with tears as I looked back through the pictures to post for Jordan. How can it be that 4 years ago, I held him in my arms, a precious infant who depended upon me totally. Depended on me to eat, to nurture and love him. I love watching him grow up, but am saddened at how fleeting time really is. Time, that's what we have right now, together! I realize right now that already so much time has gone by and I wish I could slow it down. May I strive to enjoy each moment with my J's. Back to Jordan, two words describe him: all boy! He is so fun to have around and he is our entertainment. He can make you laugh in an instant! He likes anything that goes fast and he likes to have a good time. One thing he doesn't like is to have his picture taken (how is that possible with a picture takin' Mama like me?) He likes to cuddle and he deeply admires his Daddy. His favorite food is nothing other than healthy pizza and apples. We pretty much love Jordan bunches and celebrate 4 wonderful years with him!

Phuket Thailand

Greg and I decided that Phuket had to be a place we visited before leaving Korea; we have only heard wonderful things about the area. We spent 7 relaxing, romantic, fun and sun filled days at the Laguna Beach Resort (maybe I'm exaggerating about relaxing and romantic). We did have fun, and I did no cooking and laundry for an entire week...that's a vacation to any mama! The beach was beautiful and the sun was a welcome sight, as we left very cold weather in Korea. Each day started with an incredible breakfast at the resort. After that, we took our time and got in a hurry to do very little. The most difficult part was applying sunscreen on everybody...who knew that could be such a challenge?!? We did our best, but you'll see sunburn on some of the faces! We ate lunch at the poolside grill every day, and even had smoothies in coconuts! We napped, we swam, rode the ferry around the lagoon, went on an elephant trek, played in the sand, walked on the beach, and just tried to soak up the moments with each other. At night, we would set out walking down the beach and find a place to eat; if you're thinking Thai food was abundant, you're right. We ate it every night, and had some tasty dishes; one night we rounded dinner off with fried bananas. My family likes bananas, everyone thought the bananas in Thailand were the best! The Thai people were so kind and genuine. They seem to live a very laid back life and take their time at all they do. What a pleasant people to be around. They loved our children and wanted to do for them constantly. Truly, we had a great experience. I have an assortment of pictures, it was hard to pick from the 120+ pictures, but here's a taste of our trip!