Thursday, December 31, 2009

Friday, December 25, 2009

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.



Thursday, December 24, 2009

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Cookies


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

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Tuesday, December 1, 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.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

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.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

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?

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

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).

Saturday, November 14, 2009

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.























Wednesday, November 11, 2009

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.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

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!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween


King of the Forest







Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep






























Force be with me, it will.
























































































Friday, October 23, 2009

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.