Snow in Seoul

A Wii Christmas

The past few Christmases have been tough for Santa Clause. Two years ago we were making our international move and we had no home for Santa Clause to visit. Although he did try, his valiant efforts were feeble to say the least. Last year, we were making room for our new little Daniel and Santa Clause was worried he might "interfere"; so once again, his efforts resulted in "too many pairs of under ware". But this Christmas, Santa Clause made it to our home and exceeded our expectations....

A Christmas Treat

On Christmas morning our family went to the American Breakfast Buffet at the Hyatt. It was such a nice treat for me. I hope it becomes a Christmas tradition while we are here in Seoul. I feel like I don't get out of the kitchen enough and I miss being spoiled by my mom's traditional Christmas feast of turkey, ham, potatoes, green beans, and steaming hot rolls. Being spoiled by the Hyatt made this Christmas special. Our favorite items on the menu were: freshly squeezed juice, honey ham and omelets.

Picture A Christmas

Cookies

Gracie made the dough. Everyone rolled and cut them out. Miriam decorated them and sold them to raise money for Heifer International.

Our Christmas Tree 2009

Crash, Boom

On Thanksgiving morning I opened my laptop to get a recipe out of a file and my computer wouldn't start up. I was very impatient with this. Everyone was home from school and running this way and that. My place fell into rapid disorder as I made feeble and frustrated attempts to start my computer. My computer didn't care. It was dead and along with it all of my journals and thousands of photos. That night I lay awake thinking about Daniel. I have two pictures of him. I guess there is a deep dark black hole out there in "computerdom" with all of my treasures.

The Busy Bee

The other day I was "decluttering" our "project table" in the front room and I noticed this little packet of poems sitting there. Being curious, I read through the first one. I was really quite impressed and not having heard the poem before, wondered who had written it. I looked around the page for the author. I found the name, Susan Grace Oldroyd. That made me smile.

The busy bee

He's marvelous to me.

He buzzes and beeses

To flowers and treeses.

His motto is clear,

work hard all year.

Until he dies

and lies low with the flies.

All I ask is one little thing,

A very small thing.

Please do not bring,

A stinging sting.

Oh, Busy Bee,

You're marvelous to me.

Tennis Balls for Sale

Last spring James and I would go over to the tennis courts near our home and play. James figured out that if he looked around in the bushes he could find tennis balls. He found a whole bunch (probably fifty) and put them in a bag and brought them home. He said, "Mom, I'm gonna sale my tennis balls". I thought about this and replied, "Let's have a sale, but let's sale water and soda pop". He looked confused and a little disappointed.

I set about preparing for this sale, determined to make it work even if I was in a foreign country. I pushed forward, thinking of James and how important this was to him. The first task was to find a cooler. This wasn't easy. Then there was the issue of ice. I ended up with an awkward cooler on wheels and some homemade ice. James left the house with his heavy, dripping cooler dragging behind him, a most pathetic site. Korean passersby could not for the life of them figure out what he was doing and why. Unable to communicate, a few confused purchasers did approach him but seemed to do so out of baffled pity. It was really quite an embarrassment.

Two Months Later

James came home from school and began to make a sign. He asked me how to spell a few words and then he left. Later that week, a friend of mine came to the door with a coin, "can you give this to James for the tennis ball?" Taking her coin, I was a bit confused. During the following days, more people came by with coins for James.

*James sign that was placed strategically at the entryway of our building next to his tennis balls, says, "Tennis Balls for sale. 1 doll(ar). James"

It was one of those moments when you hope your child doesn't say, "I told you so."

Daniel 9 months

I had a friend ask if Daniel has some red or strawberry in his hair. I would have to say, yes! Isn't that fun? Now where did that come from?

Cheeky

Margaret, that's getting a little bit cheeky, wouldn't you say?

Heart Breaker

Daniel is on the move.

"Why do you have to be a heart breaker?" (80's song that goes through my mind a lot lately).

Piece of Cake

Somewhere in my history of motherdom, I started a tradition: you can have a birthday party when you turn five, eight, and twelve. This year Gracie turned 12, James turned 5 and Anna turned 8. Three birthday parties-yikes! Gracie's party was the easiest. She invited three of her closest friends (Eunice, Amber, and Natalie) and we went to a ceramics shop and painted plates. Then we came to our house for one of her favorite homemade dinners, Spaghetti. Afterwards, they played board games, had a fireworks show, and watched "Bedtime Stories". Compared to the "cowboy campfire" and the "preschool game time" this party was a piece of cake.

11-11

In Korea, November 11th (11-11) is called, Pepero Day. My children come home with Peperos (snack sticks that have been dipped in chocolate and look like a long skinny number one). How clever. Happy Pepero Day.

H1N1

When James was four years old we were celebrating Mother's Day and he sat at the table with a frown on his face. Then he couldn't stand it any longer and he burst out, "this is the worst Mother's Day I've ever had!"

Last week when Gracie turned twelve, I felt that same way and by the end of the day, I finally burst out, "this is the worst Gracie's birthday I've ever had!"

About 2 a.m. on November 5th, Daniel woke up with a fever. Having been nursing James and Margaret through their confirmed cases of H1N1, I felt safe in assuming that Daniel was coming down with the flu. Daniel's deep and persistent cough made me nervous so Gracie and I took him over to the emergency room H1N1 clinic at about 10 a.m. In the E.R. with our faces covered with masks, Gracie and I looked at each other and I could tell by her eyes what she was thinking: "great birthday, Mom".

By 8 p.m. that night I had mixed fourteen nasty, bitter powders into medications. I had stumbled through the Korean print and hoped that I had mixed the medications correctly and given them at the right time, to the correct patient. In all my years of nursing I don't think I've been so hard pressed to perform!

Aside from the delicious apple crisp that Jim made, Gracie's birthday was sub-par. I plan to re-celebrate this Saturday and the H1N1 is not invited!

"A bit of earth"

Happy Halloween

King of the Forest

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep

Force be with me, it will.

Poetry in my Backyard, Part II

The Road Less Traveled.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other as just as fair

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet, knowing how way leads onto way

I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence

Two roads diverged in a wood

And I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference.