pictures

I have a fun life :)

The latest and greatest

After spending over a month prepping for Jeremy to be gone to Alabama for five weeks, the Air Force pulled a very typical Air Force maneuver and told him, less than two weeks out, that he isn't going in February. Definitely an event that made my heart leap for joy--I don't have to go through the six week "fussy" week without back-up!! It does make our summer quite a bit more complicated, and our first ever family vacation has to be cancelled, which we are very bummed about. (We are praying that they give us our money back when we tell them we have to cancel!) I had been praying that God would send Jeremy at a time best for our family, and it truly looks like that prayer is being answered. And for some reason, this particular situation speaks so intimately to my heart from my God. Sometimes you just need those answered prayers that sound like God's voice saying "Yes, I do deeply care for you and your family."

In unrelated news, I'm proud to announce that Hannah is no longer in the bottom 10% for height! She had her 18 month well-baby appointment and she is now over 50% for height. But, because she has jumped from 50% to 75% for weight, she still looks proportionately the same. :) Benjamin had his two week well-baby appointment and is a whopping 10 lbs 12.5 oz! Yes folks, the boy has jumped over two pounds from his birth weight in just two weeks. Needless to say, nursing is going well!

With each week I feel more "normal" in my new life. The transition, so far, hasn't been nearly as bad as I was prepping myself for. Maybe I actually learned something the first time I made a baby transition and I'm not having to learn things the hard way? Cutting back three ministries I was involved in has definitely proven to be one of the wisest decisions I've made while at Osan. I don't wear a Superwoman cape, and I don't want one in my closet to tempt me to put it on!

Off to get Hannah's breakfast ready!

How about a picture?

I have been trying to stay off the computer until the end of the day. I get too tempted to read and respond to emails, read blogs and post to them. When that happens, I get irritated when I get interrupted, and the interruptions have just doubled (really?). So, until I can get around to telling the labor story, here are a few pictures...Enjoy!

PS--Here's a funny little tidbit. The morning Benjamin was born I opened my Bible to have a quiet time and it opened to this verse in the Message: "I'm ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe." Psalm 108:1. God heard my cry :)

the new picture

For those who have noticed that the family picture is out of date I will let you know that I have TRIED to get it changed but blogger has been less than cooperative. I'll get to it soon--along with details of D-day (delivery day!)

I'm LOVING it!

Yes, it was my first day on the job. And I had the help of a very sexy assistant (thankfully, he wasn't in an evening gown!). And we didn't try to DO anything. And Hannah was fairly pleasant and we all had great naps and no one was sick. But, as I'm sitting down to dinner--a pizza a friend ordered--I just looked at Jeremy said said "I like being the mother of two better than the mother of one."

It's good to know this in my heart now. Because the day is coming (next Tuesday, in fact) where I will be a "single mother with an income" again. (This is what we Osan moms call ourselves because our husbands leave before the kids wake up and come home after they go to bed...) And Hannah won't always be pleasant. And Benjamin won't always be pleasant. And I won't always get a good nap. And many times I will end the day crying because it was so rough and I don't know when it will end.

BUT when I have those days I'll remember tonight and remember the truth of my heart that I love being the mother of my two little wonders.

God is good!

He's here! He's here!

Yep, Benjamin decided to join the family on Friday, January 26th without the inital assistance of Dr. Kim. (Although, Dr. Kim was very helpful when it came time to deliver!) The labor was shorter than with Hannah but the contractions were SO much more intense. It almost makes me scared for #3...

We are now at home and beginning the process of learning who our new family is. Hannah came home from the White's house very easily until about 6pm. Then she started throwing fits and crying about everything. It doesn't help that she is cutting her two year molars right now. (Have I mentioned that she isn't 18 months old yet??) So, please be in prayer that we will have wisdom in how to help her transition into our new life and for her mouth to feel better!

Off to fight off engorgement...

blessed to tears

It doesn't always take a lot to bless a person. Most of the time you don't really know you did it unless the person tells you. I have many dear, dear friends that I rarely get to email or whom rarely get to email me. But when they do my little heart skips a beat and I get thrilled, just like the days when the only time you heard from someone was through the mail (it's hard to remember those days...), and a precious letter was waiting in the mailbox!

Today's blessing--my girlfriend signed her email to me "I love you until men make sense." I know to some of you it may seem wacky that this little line makes me almost want to cry, but here are a few reasons why. The obvious--She'll love me forever. When will a man make sense? :) Second--she is so comfortable in our friendship that she knows that I know that she is in no way is slamming her husband. Third--I can hear her say it and it makes me miss her desperately and wish I could sweep her away for a three hour conversation over Starbucks lattes.

One of the blessings of Heaven is knowing that we can always have a three hour conversation with our girlfriend over coffee. I can't wait!

ps--For those of you who are checking my blog everyday to see if I've had Benjamin, just I did for weeks with Susie, Amber, and Katie's blogs, I guess you can tell that he is still very happy to be carried around on the inside :) Today's his due date, so he has a chance to be punctual...does he have his mother's personality?? he he he :)

Lost in Translation

The problem with electronic forms of communication (emails, blogs, websites in general) is that dry humor and sarcasm rarely come across as such. So, to calm the hearts and minds of my faithful reading friends, I'm posting this blog....

Truly, I'm not a huge stress ball who walks around rubbing my stomach and chanting prayers. And the q-tip thing was a humorous "why not try it" thing that only happened Saturday evening. And I truly am in so much back pain that taking some baby steps (he he he) toward induction is something I desire. (I'm tired of laying on my bed crying in pain every night...). I'm not freaked out that I'm going to give birth on the side of the road (although, from the pragmatic side of me, I did get instructions on what to do and what to have to have a safe birth), and I know that I"m not terminally pregnant. (I'm still two weeks away from when Hannah was born!) While I desire to meet my son, start getting my body back, sleep with my husband again (it's been over two weeks!), and be able to walk without wincing, I know that this a short time in my earthly existance that will result in the birth of a little boy, even it he is way young when Jeremy has to fly to the states!

So, rest well, my friends, knowing that I truly am not going crazy on my side of the computer. But don't stop praying, either :)

To go or not to go

That is the question. I had an appointment yesterday afternoon and by the time I saw the doctor at 3pm my back was in so much pain I was crying in the examination room. (Note: I don't cry often.) The doctor looked at me and basically said "If you want progestrogen gel to get things going, let's do it--there is no need to be in pain like this so close to your due date." I was all for it--I've even thought about scheduling a c-section to get this kid out because my back has hurt so badly. Obviously, I haven't pursued such drastic measures yet. But I did schedule to have the gel on Wednesday.

What should be so simple is really so complicated here in Korea. In order to get the gel, I really need to have a place to stay at Youngsan in case the gel works. Which means paying $70/night. What do I do with Hannah? My friend said Hannah could stay with her--but what if I go up there and DON'T go into labor after the gel? And then we found out it is suppose to snow this weekend. Korea + snow + weekend traffic = not a good time to go into labor. Of course I could go into labor immediately after getting the gel, but if not, then I come home for two days and go back for the weekend??

So, as of this writing, we are planning to go up to Seoul on Friday, get some gel, pray that it works, and spend the weekend there. The only thing we haven't figured out is what to do with Hannah. If it works, it's not a big deal to go up there by ourselves. We would be doing that anyway. But if not, we could be there for five or six DAYS with her at Osan. Not my (or my friend's) idea of an ideal situation.

Why does Benjamin want to create such drama before his entrance into the world? This little 8lb wonder could make all of this SO much easier if he decided to come into the world BEFORE Friday.

There's still time. Time for prayer and fasting, weeping and wailing and ashes on my head. "God make this baby come before the weekend!"

Push the labor button

I just went to the chiropractor and he gave me a chart of pressure points in the ear. One is for...you guessed it...the uterus. He told me to press this point in both ears at the same time with a q-tip once an hour for 20 seconds. I tried it in the office. I had a contraction. Now, if this were a psychological phenomenon, I would have psychologically had this child by now. It could have been a response to the adjustment I had rather than the pressure point work. We'll see :)

However, this is a game of Russian roulet. There is a chance it may not work. But there is a chance that it WILL work, and as I'm typing this blog, it is Saturday morning in Korea. Traffic to the hospital is a good three hours on Saturdays until about 9pm. I basically can't really start trying this out at full force until tonight. The cool thing? If it DOES work and I have Benjamin tomorrow, he will be born on my grandparent's 52nd wedding anniversary! :)

Always look for the silver lining.

More updates?

I feel like I'm living in a land with no time. I get up, try to function, and then try to get back to bed as soon as possible. I dont' remember the last time I had such low levels of energy. I was more fatigued in a general sense (especially mentally) during tax season than I am right now, but just the thought of being awake and functioning with Hannah awake and functioning makes me tired.

Yesterday Benjamin found my sciatic nerve. Not just found it--he is cuddled up on top of it as though it is his best friend. I now can't walk, can't pick up Hannah, can't hold Hannah, and can't do much of anything on my feet for any length of time. The beginning of pregnancy with Hannah was hard--I was sick most of the day for almost two months. But after that I hardly noticed I was pregnancy. This pregnancy has been so opposite. I barely knew I was pregnant until this month, and now it is hard to imagine being pregnant more than one more time!

It will end soon. And in God's timing. I try to convince myself of that daily :)

Updates from the land of Pregnancy

Only 10 more days until my due date. Not that I'm being impatient--I am feeling better now than I was a couple of weeks ago. But I've realized that if I tell myself that I'm not going into labor for another two weeks, I'll come with two weeks of "work" to do. So I allow myself to be in the "it could happen any day now" frame of mind. It is such a different experience to stay at home until I go into labor. (For those who don't remember, I stayed on base in Seoul for two weeks prior to Hannah's birth.) I get to pretend I'm "normal" until I go into labor. I'm LOVING it.

The unusual issue right now...I'll be tired and go to bed at night and then can't get to sleep for over an hour. Not that I'm uncomfortable, but I just can't get to sleep. Heaven help me if I wake up again in the middle of the night--the hour wait until I get back to sleep starts all over again.

So as the Psalmist would say, I'm waiting with expectation :)

Very interesting, honey...

Jeremy & I were driving home from my 38 week appointment (everything looks good and normal, by the way). We started talking about kids riding the school bus. It freaks me out to imagine sending little five year old sweet Hannah Grace off to school on a bus. To which Jeremy replies "Yeah, school buses are no good. They are like bars for little kids. Kids tell dirty jokes and they get into fights."

So there you have it. School buses are like mobile kid bars.

Perspective

There are days when Satan hits me with the "you aren't doing much to advance the Kingdom of God--you are just running your house, taking care of your husband and your kid(s)." It is so easy to put that four letter word "just" in there. Until I realize (and not always soon enough!) that having a home with a committed, happy, growing marriage (of a man and woman) is RARE these days--so rare that most people don't think it can happen. And to have happy, responsible, polite children is just as rare!

And how do these things happen? By the grace of God and the hard work of the "heart of the home"--the wife/mother. Not to say that the work of the husband is not important. If it wasn't for Jeremy, I couldn't be the wife/mother that I am! But God created women to be the heartbeat of the home and when we don't value that role in our homes, we become blinded to how the functioning of that role advances the Kingdom! No wonder we get discouraged...satan doesn't want us to realize the power that happens when we just "live life." Maybe this is why Paul says that older women are to teach the younger women to be busy at home. Maybe even in Paul's day women didn't want to "just" be busy at home.

Rude Awakenings

(This picture has nothing to do with my blog. But, she sure is cute!)

This post will illicit much sympathy from my fellow Osaners...

After an hour of toss and turning, I got five hours of sleep, another hour of tossing and turning and finally asleep again at 5am. At 6am the base alarm went off. It was so long that I dreamed about the sound, then I halfway thought "Oh, the alarm is going off. Another unannounced exercise" and then my thoughts shifted to "It has never been this long...I wonder what is going on...they didn't say "exercise" at the end of the alarm...I wonder what is going on!"

I laid in bed thinking about being 37 weeks pregnant and having to NEO evacuate with Hannah and two 60lb suitcases. And I keep thinking... "Bummer. I lost my keys and I can't get into the storage unit for the suitcases. Bummer. I lost my keys and can't get into the firesafe for the passports. Bummer. I don't have three days of food and water to pack with me. Do I take stuff for Benjamin, too? Do I put Hannah on my back and drag two suitcases and two carseat? I should see if Nicole can help me with Hannah in case I go into labor along the way. What if I end up in Japan and have Benjamin there? Will I have to wait until I get a passport for him before I can continue flying to the state??"

So, I got up to see if there was something on TV to tell me what was up. Nothing. Looked on Fox News and CNN. Nothing on Korea. Better safe than sorry, I took a shower and started looking for my keys. You know, just in case I have to be flown out of here. After getting clean and finding my keys I realized that if this were a "real world" situation, I would have gotten a call to be on alert to pack my bags. So I took a little 20 minute nap before Hannah woke up and the day REALLY started. Oh the adventures that life in Korea provides! HA!

"Benjamin" pictures

HELP!!

I know that Christmas has just ended. To many, the thought of preparing for next Christmas is just about unthinkable. Because it takes me so long to do anything crafty, I know I need to start early. That's why I've already started. Started what? Well, I want to make a "Jesse Tree." Many of you (especially those raised in a more "traditional" church) may already know about Jesse Trees. For those who don't, the Jesse Tree shows the lineage of Christ as the Messiah. There are devotionals for each night and a corresponding ornament for the 25 days of December leading to Christmas. I want to make the ornaments, which is where my problem lies. I've tried Googling to find patterns, but most of them look like silly little hand drawn pictures that adults download for kiddos to color during Sunday School. I want these ornaments to look nice. I know I could use Chrismons, but even those tend to be cross stich patterns rather than a downloadable and printable picture. Read: I don't do needlepoint of any kind.

So, if you have a good resource you can send my way (or have a friend of a friend of a friend who would have some good info) I would LOVE to have some nice looking Jesse Tree ornament patterns.

As a side note...why is it that, in general, the Christian community doesn't take pride in what they do? That the world can make BEAUTIFUL ornaments, but when trying to find patterns for beautiful BIBLICAL ornaments, it is down right impossible? What kind of message does that send to the world, that we don't take the time to do things WELL? Boggles my mind...

PS--Don't let my side note distract you from the real question of finding patterns for my ornaments!! HA!

My wonderful husband

Yesterday was great. People asked how our Christmas was (the typical chit-chat you have with people who don't know specific questions to ask you) and my answer was "Mine isn't over--Jeremy hasn't gone back to work yet!"

I woke up yesterday morning at 8:30 to Hannah having fun in the bathtub. Jeremy had already fed her breakfast and was giving her a bath. He basically took care of her all day apart from making her lunch and dinner. I not only slept in but I had a morning nap and an afternoon nap. (And I didn't have to wake up when Hannah got up!) By dinner at 5:30pm I had only been awake for 6.5 hours that day. It was WONDERFUL! When I went to bed that night I wasn't so exhausted that I couldn't sleep. If only everday could be so blissful!

May I be the first to say...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Ok, I think Christmas starts on Christmas Eve. By the time we were in middle school we always opened our presents on Christmas Eve night so that we could be less rushed on Christmas Day to eat a great breakfast and head to my grandparents. And since I think I live closer to the International date line than any of my friends, I've managed to get to Christmas first :) So....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Anxious about everything

"Be anxious about nothing..." Really? Nothing? Lately I feel like I'm anxious about everything. Well, maybe not everything, but certainly most things that come along with having a baby in Korea. It takes such daily discipline to not be anxious about these things! I'm glad that there is hope that I don't HAVE to be anxious! Praise God! Here are a few things that plague my brain...

1) What if it snows and the hour and ten minute drive to the hospital takes three hours?

2) What if I go into labor on the weekend and the and ten minute drive to the hospital takes three hours?

3) What if I don't realize I'm in labor and then I give birth in the car?

4) What if I think I'm in labor and get to the hospital and I'm not? Do I stay in Seoul or do I come home? What about Hannah?

5) What if Benjamin is only two weeks old when Jeremy leaves for Alabama and I have to do the two hours of newborn screaming by myself every night?

6) What if Hannah flips out about Benjamin and Jeremy is in Alabama and I have to deal with all of it by myself?

7) What if I ge to the hospital and they are stinkers about putting me on the EFM and I'm strapped into the bed the entire time?

8) What if the roommates in my recovery room listen to shoot-em-up movies at three am (poor Meisje!)?!

(BTW--this is me at 34 weeks!)

Slow schedules

Somehow it has happened. I've successfully cleared my schedule this week and have done nothing apart from being a mom, wife, and friend for three days now. Tomorrow's agenda? Make bread (in the bread machine), make a crust for a tart, and go to the Hospitality House. That's it. I can't remember the last time my schedule was so "light." I'm THRILLED!

Third trimester fatigue (plus the lingering affects of jet lag and ministry craziness) has just about wiped me out and I have gotten into a bit of self-preservation mode. Jeremy has significant time off over the next week and a half (which should help to average out the time he HASN'T been at home the past two weeks) and I might get to nap everyday!!

This is great!!

Jeremy updates

The biggest news to be told is that Jeremy found out that he got an 18 month school assignment at Wright-Patterson in Dayton, Ohio as his next assignment. He'll get his Master's in some kind of Engineering Management degree. School starts in August and we'll be there until March 2008. WE'LL BE IN THE SAME TIME ZONE AS MY FAMILY!!! I've NEVER been able to just pick up the phone with our parents or my sister and not think about what time it is where they are. I'm thrilled. And, we'll only be a three hour drive from my sister's house. Can we say ROAD TRIPS?!?! Two families from Osan have already PSC'ed there, one of which has six kids and is a lovely source of parenting knowledge (the Volchecks) and the other loves Hannah and will be willing to babysit from the get-go (the Meadors). God is good :)

On to the not-so-fun news. Jeremy is currently suppose to be leaving on February 24th for a five week training in Alabama. Need I say that this is just one month after Benjamin is suppose to be here? Read: Rhodes babies are late babies. He could be just two weeks old when Jeremy leaves. Needless to say, I'm less than happy about this arrangement. His major is trying to get things changed and have us leave in May, but it doesn't look so good from this end of things.

So sing with me "You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the Facts of Life, the Facts of Life!" (Gotta love 80s TV show theme songs!)

Let it snow!

We woke up this morning to 8" of snow on the ground. Because the "road condition" was red, no one was allowed to drive their car around on base. With me in my pregnant condition (growing by the day) and Hannah unable to walk the mile to church, we stayed at home and played in the snow. After getting all bundled up and getting outside, Hannah decided she didn't much care for the snow. Well, maybe she didn't care for the fact that she couldn't really walk in her snowsuit. At any rate it was very evident that I would not have been able to take her out and play with her in the snow had Jeremy not been at home. Just too physical for me at this point, especially with all the clothing on. So, Thank you, God! that you sent the snow on a weekend so Jeremy could go play with us!

Diapers, Pacifiers, and Other Holy Things

First let me start by saying that the title to this blog is actually the title to a really good devotional book for mothers that I got right before Hannah was born. Each of the chapters is about three pages long with actual application principles at the end. It's just what the mother of a newborn needs to get connected to God during a mid-night nursing session!

Diapers--While in the states Hannah hit a growth spurt and outgrew all clothes she had and even her cloth diapers. She wore the small size for five months and then the medium size for eleven months. It took a couple of weeks to decide whether we wanted to continue and buy the large size. But in the end we decided it was worth it and purchased them on Nov. 30th. They were shipped priority mail on Dec. 2nd. We finally got them today. Gotta love APO addresses.

Pacifiers--Jeremy has been trying for months and months to get me to wean Hannah from her paci. I've been beyond nervous to do so, but I knew that I didn't want to have two kids crying for pacis in the middle of the night. So we decided that the exhaustion of jet lag would help lul her to sleep and weaning her off the paci when we got back from the states would be about the best time we could do it. We were right. This is night #11 without a paci--she hasn't taken one with a nap, either! Mind you, this is the child who has recently as Thanksgiving week cried for over thirty minutes because someone didn't know the "nap procedure" and failed to give her the paci at nap time. PRAISE GOD. (I know, as soon as Benjamin has a paci, she'll try to take it from him and we'll have this big battle on our hands, but we are prepared...)

Other Holy Things--This morning was the first morning that Hannah has slept past 6am since we've been back from the states. Why is this is so important? When she wakes up so early, I don't have my morning alone time with the Lord to get prepared for the day she will reek havoc upon. And would you know that THIS week is when she decides that she needs to SCREAM when she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it? And she SCREAMS when she is "done" with her nap, which is not really when nap time is over, but she thinks that it is. And she SCREAMS because she wants me to be constantly holding her? Oh the things I'm in for when Benjamin arrives....

However, I must say that I have two friends who have recently had wee ones, and I'm getting so excited to hold my little 8lb bundle of squishy flesh. I'll be exhausted and mentally frazzled and my body will be going through WWIII as far as hormones, but isn't it worth it?!?! (At least a couple of times!!)

The unexplanable

Hannah is still jet lagged. It isn't horrible, but she can't seem to get back to her normal schedule of sleeping from 7pm to 7:30am. Waking up at 5am is not my idea of ok. Between her lack of sleeping, my lack of sleeping, and my mound of "welcome back to Korea--you have a lot to catch up on before you celebrate Christmas" work, I'm about at the end of my emotional and physical rope.

And then moments like this morning happen. Hannah has started cuddling. Sort of. She likes to sit facing me in the rocking chair wrapped up in a blanket in the darkness of the morning when she is suppose to be sleeping. (Have I mentioned that she has also decided to stop eating?) This morning she spent an hour and a half telling me she was hungry and me trying to tell her to go back to sleep. Finally I relented (I should have done it sooner!) and gave her graham crackers.

After eating all the graham crackers she started looking up at me and smiling. Then patting my face. Then snuggling closer to me. And finally she started coming up to my face with hers, touching our noses together and then giggling. So I did what any normal mother would do--I played with her like this and giggled for over 15 minutes, savoring in all of these wonderful moments while my little girl is still a little girl, while her skin is soft and her hands are small, while she still thinks I'm the most amazing woman on the planet.

And then I put her to bed. And she is asleep. It's a shame I actually have to wake her up this morning to go to MOPS.

Testing one, two, three

I don't know why, but I've never tried to email a blog posting to my blog. Maybe I would blog more if I did it. So, now I'm trying it to see if it works :)

We are hitting the dusty trail tomorrow. Our plane leaves at 6:00am from Charlotte, which is an hour drive from Jeremy's parent's house. So, at 2:30am we'll wake up, at 3:00am we'll leave, have the scary weigh-in-of-the-baggage time, and then sit around in the airport for about an hour (if all goes well) before we get to board the plane.

From Charlotte we go to Dallas. From Dallas to Tokyo. From Tokyo to Seoul. Our plane is suppose to touch down at 9:00pm local time on Tuesday, Dec. 5th. Then through customs and HOPEFULLY the bus that goes directly onto base will still be at the airport so that we can pay $90 to ride to Osan. But, with four suitcases, a double stroller, a car seat, a pregnant mommy and a very active (but possibly very cranky) little girl after 30 hours of traveling, we thought that taking the direct bus and paying the money would be better than trying to get on the city bus and taking TWO taxis to our apartment. Mind you, we will still need to take a taxi from the bus "stop" on base to our apartment. And then lug all of the stuff to our place. Thank you, God, for an elevator!!

The weeks have flown by. We have done fun shopping. We have done a lot of "strategic" shopping, as I like to say where we buy things we know we'll need and can't get in Korea. We've watched movies and football and been wined and dined. We've seen old friends and family and actually had a date or two!

And now, it is back to the grind of daily living, the hustle and bustle of work and home and ministry. It's good, but it's hard. I'm constantly trying to figure out ways to make it easier. Maybe one day I will. If I do, I'll let you know.

And maybe I'll be as good as Susie at my blog :)

The latest of news

I finished 34 hours of CPE!! Yeay!! No more CPE until January :)

If Jeremy is on time, he is only 1.5 hours from landing in Dallas! Only 5.5 hours from meeting me at the baggage claim!! YEAY!!!

I got to go to Hobby Lobby BY MYSELF yesterday and just walk around the HUGE store of very pretty things. There is just something about looking at beautiful things that makes my heart happy (especially when there is instrumental praise and worship music playing through the sound system!). Hip-hip-horray for being in North Carolina!!!

A bad case of the dial-ups

Yes, I'm in the states and one would think I would be a bit more consistent in blogging. I have been suffering from a bad case of the dial-ups. I love my parents and inlaws dearly, but the last time I lived with a dial-up connection was right before I moved to college in 1997. I just don't have a lot of patience with the internet without DSL. I guess I'm an internet snob. I've been called worse :)

I've been back and forth and back again between my parents house and my inlaws house. I've packed, unpacked, and packed again so many times that I KNOW I'll be ready to live out of a dresser and not a suitcase by the time I finally crash into my bed on December 5th! I have been very thankful to be in the states, though. It was good timing for many reasons. There have been a lot of "issues" at my parents house that have eased with our presence in NC. Jeremy has been working like a madman since I left, so I wouldn't have seen him even if I was in Korea anyway :) I've purchased most of my shopping list (yes, it is a list just like going to the grocery store--if I forget something, I'm out of luck until either my mother-in-lawe ships it to me or I move back in June!) I've had Arby's curly fries, Chick-fil-A, a couple of Goodwill runs (great finds on kids clothes!), Dunkin' Donuts, and Papa Johns! YEAY! Not to mention AC Moore and Hobby Lobby. And Hallmark. And Target, Babies R Us, old Navy, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Walmart, Walmart, Walmart!

Jeremy will be ending a horrific week of 16 hour days in just 10 short (or not so short...) hours from right now. I'm sure he'll have to go into the office on Saturday morning to finish up some things, but then he starts the 28 hours of traveling on Sunday morning! Yeay! Three and a half weeks without my hubby is enough for me, thank you very much :) I'm not looking forward to him getting deployed in the future. If we get our assignment of choice, he won't be "eligible" for deployment until 2009. I DEFINITELY can't complain--I've made out like a bandit so far as a Civil Engineer's wife! He's suppose to deploy every two years of his career. We haven't had one yet!

In addition to all of this fun, my mom, me and Hannah drove up to Virginia on Saturday and visited with my great grandmother (yes, Hannah has a GREAT GREAT grandmother!) and with my Mamaw and Papaw Rowland. Nothing like a trip to my old "stomping grounds" from high school to bring back memories...and make me thankful that they are just that--memories and not my current reality! Ha! Today I drove with Hannah to Greenville, SC to meet with my dear friend Becca. She and I were "baby buddies" together at Osan before she moved this past July. She drove up from Atlanta, and we spent three hours trying to get our kiddos to eat some lunch and then pushing them around Kohl's so they had something to keep them entertained while we chatted. (Thank you, Becca!)

Above all, I have realized over and over and over again just how much God has blessed me. From the grace He covered me with throughout my growing up years, to my wonderful family and inlaws to my FABULOUS husband, a cutie patootie daughter and a soon-to-be-son, to my amazing friends...I've been overwhelmed to really take a look at the life God has given me. Not to speak of the wonders of His love :) *Can you tell it's almost Christmas??*

Ok, there is a reason I'm suppose to blog a little at a time....

Hey Lucy, I'm home!

Yes, we have made it in one piece (well, two pieces, since two of us come to the states!). After an extra four hours of traveling due to one late take off and one airplane equipment maintanence issue, we arrived in Charlotte at 2:30am. Hannah's jet lag has made her a pretty low key little girl during the day, and a I-feel-the-need-to-wake-up-every-two-hours kind of girl at night (any suggestions for helping a kid recover from jet lag?). Crossing 14 times zones isn't really easy on your body. I, on the other hand, am just not sleeping. I can't sleep during the day because the sun is out. I'm just that way. I sleep well at night until Hannah wakes me up. And then I'm AWAKE. So, it's 11pm and after a 2 hour "nap" I'm up and working on my big project of my trip--finishing 34 hours of Continuing Professional Education for my CPA license. Right now, I'm almost thankful for this little bit of insanity that I've added to my five weeks in America. It gives me something to do when I can sleep, and I'm hoping that the dryness of how to record cash considerations between a manufactorer and a reseller will sooth my brain back to slumber!

Being in America is so amazing that I almost cried three time in the Dallas airport just because I could read all of the signs of the stores (and their products!) and I could understand and talk to all of the people around me! Well, except for the cleaning lady in the bathroom because she only spoke Spanish...I understand how she feels! I'm driving on REAL roads! I bought groceries without having to show my id to get into the store OR to pay for the items. It felt SO STRANGE, almost like I was doing something that I wasn't suppose to be doing. I listened to the radio and understood the songs! Yeay!

Thanks to all who lifted us up in prayer. Our trip could have been a disaster, but you prevented that for us. What friends I am blessed with!

hittin' the road

In just 13 hours I will get into the car to drive the 2.5 hours to the airport (less than 45 miles...), check into my flight with my 100 lbs of luggage, two carry on bags, a car seat, an umbrella stroller and a 14 month old. (You can't buy a partridge in a pear tree in Korea--customs laws! Just kidding!) Then it's about 2 hours to Japan, an 1.5 hour layover, a 12 hour flight to Dallas, 1.5 hours to deboard, go through customs, and take off again for a 2.5 hour flight to Charlotte. Then the good part--grandparents! One to take Hannah, one to grab the luggage while I get a latte and enjoy the 1.5 drive to my parent's house.

Me too. I'm tired just thinking about it!

In unrelated news, I found out that one of the scrapbooks I'm working on weighs SEVEN pounds. I was taking it home with me to work on, show off, and keep in the states so that I don't have to PCS with it. Jeremy will have to bring it in his suitcases! I get 100lbs for me and Hannah. He gets 100 lbs for the rest of my stuff and the approx. four outifts that he'll bring with him. Amber would be appalled, though--I only packed TWO pairs of shoes! :)

a side-splitting day

Somehow at the beginning of last week I pulled a muscle in my right side. It was puzzling how it happened, and it was uncomfortable, but it wasn't a big deal. It went away by Sunday and I was thanking God that I was better before I had to manuever through airports with Hannah, a pregnant belly, and luggage by myself. Well, this morning I sneezed (violently) and I re-pulled the muscle. We aren't talking slight discomfort. We are talking I can't get into the car, sit down on the couch, pick up my daughter, laugh, cough, or sneeze without hurting. I'm heading to the chiropractor tomorrow (because I have nothing else to do!) to see if he can do some pressure point work on my back to relax the muscles in my side. Today was just a stinky day. I knew it all day long. I was tired, Hannah doesn't feel good (so she was cranky and clingy and wanted me to carry her all day), I was in pain, and I couldn't think straight to work on the mounds of everything that needs to be done before I head to Seoul for my 28 hours of traveling on Thursday.

Thank you. I needed to whine.

Wisdom at a young age

God has been slowly weaning me off of a busy life. The decrease in work and activity from my life in Boston and my life in Montana was very noticable to me. And yet, I was still at a pace that no one should live at for any extended period of time. One of my biggest regrets during that "chapter" of my life was that I did to much, tried to do more than I did, and was guilty about both! (The even bigger regret was that I didn't start backpacking sooner...). Moving to Osan, I tried to guard myself against this busyness of life. I truly did restrain myself in activities that I did and leadership roles I assumed.

Looking at my life over the past couple of months, you would have never guessed this was the case. Everything I am committed to, all of a sudden, got crazy and demanding "for the short term" all at the same time. Plus, Hannah is getting older and demanding more of my time. I have realized a few key lessons. First, I can't commit to so much that I can "handle" everything when everything is "normal." Things don't stay normal for very long. Secondly, what I can do right now I may not be able to continue doing in the short-term future. This is ok. As Hannah continues to grow up, she'll continue to need more of my time and focus. And then there will be more kiddos. Just because I know that more are coming and more energy will be channeled toward them doesn't mean I need to drop everything right now. But it does mean that I need to actively watch my life and cut back as I need to. AND NOT FEEL GUILTY AND UNFAITHFUL WHEN I DO.

It seems like almost every mom around me is busy. "How are you today?" "Oh, busy as usual." I know that even if we as moms weren't involved in anything beyond the upcome of our families and homes, we would have our time filled with something. But, this is not what the answer these moms are giving. They are maxed out. They are collapsing into bed not wanting to close their eyes because they have to open them the next day and continue on the treadmill of life again. I have lived as one of those woman. And now that I'm taking the bold step OFF of the treadmill (I've stepped down from two ministries!), I want to encourage you to do the same. No, I'm not saying that everyone should resign from their responsbilities. But, I do encourage you to list all that you do and pray through each one to make sure that you truly SHOULD be doing all of them.

How is your relationship with the Lord? With your husband? With your kids? Are you spending quality time with all of these people? I hope the answer is a resounding "Yes!" And if not, have no fear--you aren't stuck. You can quit something. It is a Godly, Holy thing to say "no" to even the most urgent things in our lives to focus on what is truly important.

Overdue update

At MOPS on Wednesday we had to brainstorm 15 things that we wish we could do but didn't have time/make time for. How funny that blogging was one of those things. It just seems that during the day I just can't find time in between projects and Hannah and everything else to sitting down and type...and by the end of the day I'm BEAT!

Oh well...here's the latest...at my last appointment the OB practitioner said that we could potentially have placenta previa. In about 95% of cases where there is a concern for this, it turns out to be nothing. But, I can't fly home unless the next ultrasound shows that everything is ok. I'm hoping to fly home with Hannah on Oct. 27th. Our follow-up ultrasound is this Wednesday. I'm not really concerned, but it does put a lot of my planning for my trip on hold.

Last weekend was another power-stamping weekend. Last month I scrapbooked for 19 hours. Last weekend it was all about cards--baby announcements, thank you notes, etc. I haven't been able to sleep, so I actually pulled an all nighter. I then got sick, and have been completely worthless all week. I tell people that I've been on "auto-parenting" because my brain and body just can't function. Hannah hasn't shown signs of ill-effects.

So, yes, I'm going to America!!! Yeay!! I haven't seen my family in over a year (and, more importantly, they haven't seen Hannah!). And, wonder upon wonders, Jeremy will be flying to the states and meeting us in November. This will be the first time back to the "mainland" since we moved here in March 2005. He hasn't seen my sister since July 2003 and he has never met our brother-in-law. I've never had a conversation with my brother-in-law for that matter. Schedules didn't get worked out so that we could spend time together when I flew in for the wedding last year. Needless to say, I'm VERY excited!! AND, none of my family has ever seen me pregnant! My parents come to our house when I was 9 weeks pregnant with Hannah, but the only way they have seen me with a belly is through pictures. I arrive in the states in week 28 and stay until I'm in week 33. I'm thrilled to get to share this with them!

On a lighter note, when I asked Hannah where baby brother is, she lifts up the bottom of my shirt and pokes my belly. Of course, she is too young to have any idea what this means, but it is cute, nonetheless!

Transcending time

I'm sure you have had this experience many times. I know I have. But for some reason it always surprises me when it happens again, as if coming out of the blue. I found a cd with music from the "Breathing Room," which is where the leaders of Generation Church would go before we went out into the craziness of teenage living in order to minister to them on Wednesday nights. Hearing these songs coming out of my computer speakers puts me back in that place, in that time. I'm in a sweater and jeans. I'm skinny--not pregnant! I'm exhausted because it is busy season and I'm praying for energy and an ability to reach the hearts of people who live and have lived such a different life than me. My dear friend Amber is there with me. All of this I know but my eyes are closed as I breath in the music and breath out all of the stress and craziness of my day. You know what the amazing thing is? Music is powerful. The words, the rhythm, the memories, the emotions. But they can't compare to the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As much as music can move us and change us, inspire us, take us to other places and times, only the Holy Spirit can reach that part of our being that we barely know exists. I'm glad He uses music to take us to that place at times...

Calling all mothers of sons

As you know, we found out last week that we are having a son--Benjamin Joel. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to raise both a son and a daughter! I'm stepping into very unfamiliar territory here--I've never been a boy. (he he he) Although being the mother of a daughter was a very scary thought for me, I know much more about girls than boys, so that has given me some comfort. (The reason it was scary for me? I have to teach her how to be a Godly woman! Most of the time I don't even know what that means!!)

So, here is my question, oh mothers of sons--what do you feel your biggest role is in raising your sons? If my biggest role in raising Hannah is to model what a Godly woman looks like so that she has an example to follow, what is my role as a mother of a son? I have some ideas, but I would love to hear from those of you who have been doing it for years!

I love having friends! :)

Encouraging yet frustrating

It has been my experience on my spiritual journey that when I am doing what God wants me to do, and when He has great things in mind, evil is always right there. And with this, I count it pure joy that I'm going through various trials right now. But can I just take a minute and tell you how frustrating it is to have to deal with gossip issues? I feel like I'm in high school! Even in working with the young adults in Montana I never had this problem. And the women involved (of course it is a woman problem!) are almost 30! If someone feels that I'm ignoring them because I haven't called them in the past couple of weeks (everyone knows how much I talk on the phone anyway!) please tell ME instead of calling my friend and starting the conversation with "I really have a problem with ______." And then, if you do have a problem, please accept my invitation to really talk about the problem rather than hiding behind the fact that it is the weekend and the only time you can spend with your husband. Grrrr.

In unrelated insanity news, I have be reading and praying and, to make a long story short, I feel like I need to be keeping up my CPE (Continuing Professional Education) for my CPA license. I have no idea what that will mean apart from now I will be finding time to take classes. It has been quite the journey. I've had very hurtful experiences in the past with Godly women telling me that if I'm too busy that "work" (ie, my job) needed to take a hike. Accounting is part of my very being. It's like telling an artist not to paint. I know, hard to imagine that someone could feel so passionately about accounting. I don't really understand my love of it either. But it's like the runner on Chariots of Fire said "when I run (read: do accounting), I feel God's pleasure." Why would I stop that? Like I said, I have no idea if God will use that outside of my home anytime in the near future. I know that He has an amazing way of using talents and abilities and education that He has given people. I want to be ready to be used by Him in WHATEVER way He sees fit. That's why I woke up at 1:40am yesterday so that I could watch a live webcast from 2-4am to get free CPE credit. (Thank you, Lord for PricewaterhouseCoopers!)

Ok, so that's been my week--how are YOU doing?? :)

the catch-up game

Do you ever feel like you are playing a game where you are always just a shy of finishing something? The dishes, the laundry, the emails, the scrapbooks...the list could include just about anything that you consider necessary for life (ie, the laundry) or important to your purpose in life. In my blogging absence, I've been playing that game. This past weekend I played it for 19 hours. There is a rec room on the first floor of my apartment building. For all you scrapbooking junkies out there, you know how much effort it takes to get out of all your stuff to really, truly scrapbook. And by the time you get it all out and do a two page spread, it is time to clean it up. That's where the rec room came into play. We set up, worked, worked, worked, (and ate and talked and joked and got delirious from lack of sleep) and we accomplished things! I got Hannah's babybook finished. Not a "grand master piece" but a record and history of her first twelve months of life. It is neat to see how much my "scrapbooking technique" have improved with time. I also got over 650 pictures in photo albums with descriptions. So, every picture I have printed out is either in a scrapbook or in a photo album. I can't tell you how good it feels. Maybe you already know. Jeremy has no clue. Men don't have these things like scrapbooking that are innately part of being a dad. But there are a ton for moms. Not that I don't enjoy scrapbooking. I've come to find it enjoyable. But there is this sense of responsbility to "preserve my family memories" that comes with being a mother. And then life happens and the preservation doesn't. For now, mine are preserved. Maybe not to the extent and detail that I would have liked, but why set myself up for unrealistic expectations.

And now I'm exhausted and going to bed. Good thing it is getting dark earlier!

MOPSing

This has been an INCREDIBLY long week. I have been weary in the work, but not weary of the work. Work? What work? I don't work, right? I'm at Stay At Home Mom! (Just joking! We all know the truth of that statement!) MOPS--Mothers of Preschoolers--is in the planning stages for the 2006-2007 year. I'm in charge of Finance, Hospitality, and Publicity. This week, it has felt like I've had a full time job in addition to my "job" as a mom. It's been rough, but I feel like the bulk of the work is over. That is what I was shooting for--bust my rear for a week and not be crazy busy for the week before the first meeting.

This year's theme is "Fresh Air." Do you know how convicting that can be? To be leading other women to live lives that are saturated in the Fresh Air of Christ? It has been challenging to me, and so inspiring. I have released the belief that I can do it all. I can't. No one can. I don't want to try. But, I will work hard. (Especially if I know it is short lived!!)

So, I'm alive. I'm thriving. I'm going to wake up tomorrow and breath Fresh Air. Christ died to give it to me.

Shots of the week

Ok, so I have a $200 camera and I'm not a photographer, but I can tell a difference in my picture taking lately. I was pretty happy with these shots :)

It is amazing how much Hannah has changed in just one week. She actually sounds like she is trying to have a conversation with us rather than just repeating "mamamamamama" and "dadadadada" all of the time. And when she talks, her voice gets high pitched and she starts giggling as though she just said the FUNNIEST thing. In ways hard to describe, her personality is starting to really shine through, too. She has discovered her tongue, and will sit down, stick her tongue out and lean back as far as she can. Weird. And when she is around six month old, she pets their head like a dog. (We'll have to work on that one.) It has been a very rewarding week of mothering. Praise God for the opportunity!!

My birthday

Yes, yesterday was my birthday. I'm three cubed. :) My husband gave me the BEST present ever--himself! Yes, my top love language is quality time and my second is service, so for my birthday Jeremy took the day off from work to be home with me and to take care of the house/Hannah so that I could stamp and scrapbook all day! My parents sent me money to go out to lunch and then we got a babysitter to go out for coffee ALONE that night. (Our weekly babysitter was in the states for a month, so date night has been hard to do lately.) We talked for 2.5 hours and I had the BEST latte! Hard to believe I had to come to Korea for a good latte. And so here I am, three cubed plus a day with 20 beautiful cards made and the cover (and most important) page of Hannah's scrapbook almost finished. What a WONDERFUL birthday!

Finally

After an almost three week silence, I'm back. The past three weeks can be summed up as a battle of priorities. Quite obviously, the blog never won. August 3rd was Jeremy's birthday. Hannah & I celebrated by going back to the ocean while Jeremy was at work :) Jeremy & I celebrated the next day in his favorite way--pizza and a movie on the couch. (Well, he prefers the theatre but wouldn't you know that he got home at 6:30pm on a FRIDAY that week??). Then there was Hannah's 1st birthday, complete with a party of 35+ at the park in 95 degree heat. What friends we have!

MOPS planning has started full force. A week ago we had a nine hour planning/fellowship time. It was intense brainwork with no nap. I was so tired afterward! Of course, I'm still full time in baby development--we are half way through in week 17 already! I can't believe it! I have my second appointment on Thursday, and we should be scheduling the ultrasound within the next couple of weeks. Jeremy is completely convinced it is a boy. Likewise, most other people I talk to think it is a girl. Just the opposite with Hannah--Jeremy was convinced it was a girl and everyone else thought it was a boy. I'm so interested to see if he is right again. I never have "feelings" about those things.

Hannah is quite the accomplished walker, which has been wonderful for me. We've been able to go to the park to play, she can walk around the BX and toddle around the house. She loves books. I'm interested to see if she will continue that trend. We are still working on signing and saying words. The only "word" she can say is "Uh-oh!" and she says it quite frequently! It almost always means she has dropped something. I wonder if that trend will continue as well...After two straight weeks of 3-4 night wakings, we have had a full week and a half of sleeping 13 hours a night. I love that so much. Her 7pm bedtime is what makes mommyhood possible for me right now!

I've been going through intense battles of priorities and schedules. I feel like I'm in the classic "I can't possibly get everything done" frame of mind that almost every single SAHM on the planet experiences (dare I say EVERY mother on the planet??). I know that God has SO MUCH MORE for my life than that! It is almost humbling to me that I have something so small tripping me up so badly! But, it is just the arena in which God wants to teach me to COMPLETELY rely on Him. I suppose I should be thankful that He is teaching me this through schedules rather than through a terminal illness or something severe!

Ok, if this is much longer, it will be a novela and not a blog. I'm alive! I'm getting bigger! I'm getting older! HA!

Dust off your George Foreman...

Ok, so I'm one of those people who have a George Foreman grill. My parents loved theirs, so I bought a small one at the Thrift Store on base for $5. I've used it to make hamburgers and hot dogs (because for most of our time here we were not permitted to use our grill on our patio). However, we eat those things on RARE occations (no pun intended) so the poor GF grill hardly ever got used. This is a travisty when considering the lack of kitchen space I lived with in the last apartment--how could I justify keeping it if I never used it? This is why it ended up in the Thrift Store to begin with...

Recently, Jeremy redeemed the GF. When his parents were here, he had me toast his sandwich in it. The combo of toasted homemade bread, hot meat and melted cheese has transformed my lunchtime experience. It is hard to make a sandwich now without using good ol' George's help! Today's tasty creation: Ham, pepperoni, mozzerella, lettuce, tomato, mustard. Yummy!

Not your ordinary Wheat Thin

Most of the Christian world has heard of the Five Love Languages. If you haven't, shoot me an email and I'll explain (laurabethrhodes@gmail.com). My love language is acts of service and quality time. (With my family I'm more physical touch in giving love, but I'm not so touchy-feely with anyone outside of my family.) I'm actively working on words of encouragement--that's a big one for Jeremy. So what does that leave out of my realm? Gift giving. I'm just terrible at gift giving. It's just not something I think about. It's like that part of my brain (or heart or whatever) didn't develop properly or something. And everytime I get a gift, I think about how awesome it is to get said gift and I realize how much I want to develop this part of my person.

I'm surrounded by gift-givers. One of my dearest, dearest friends from college (the prayers of which are one of the big reason why Jeremy & I got together...) just sent me a package. Sandals for Hannah, because I can't buy them here (literally, they don't sell her wee size 4s ANYWHERE in Korea). A birthday present for me, Jeremy, and Hannah (yes, all three of us change over our ages in August). A card for our anniversary (homemade, no doubt, although I haven't opened any of these things yet because she wants me to wait until the appropriate days). And then two boxes of Sundried Tomato & Basil Wheat Thins. Why are these such a cool thing? One: when we were in college, we were both study FANATICS! We would study together with a pot of coffee and either box of wheat thins or a bag of popcorn. (Man, the memories. I still miss college. I digree...) Two: I can't buy these new kind of Wheat Thins in Korea. So, the combo of these two things, in addition to the fact that she bought TWO boxes, made me so excited that I started eating them as soon as I opened her package!

I blogged that another dear friend sent a package last month. My friend from Kosova sent me an AWESOME necklace that I wore today. My running partner is a gift-giver. The dear MOPS friend is a gift-giver (and keeps saying how she loves the present she got Hannah for her birthday...). And here I am. Surrounded by wonderful friends with whom I don't speak the same language. They inspire me. They convict me. And unless the Holy Spirit changes me, there is no way in this world I'll be able to think like them! Oh the road of personal growth!

(ps--thanks Mar!)

Napping

I've never been a big fan of naps. When Jeremy & I first got married (read: all of our marriage), he had to basically force me to nap. For the first couple of years I would get irritated with my recreational napping husband who would gladly waste a perfectly good day napping on the couch. I suppose it's part of my go, go, go nature to not want to slow down and "miss out" by having to take a nap. Even though my attitude about napping has gotten better, I'm still not a recreational napper. I don't take naps just for the fun of it. I take naps because if I don't, my capacity for Holiness flies out the window and it is all I can do to be polite let alone nice.

That being said, if I DO take a nap, I want to be able to sleep until I wake myself up. This makes Sundays the absolute BEST time for naps--I don't have to wake myself up before Hannah gets up because when she wakes up, Jeremy takes care of her. (Minimum nap time is always 45 minutes, with 1.5 hours being optimal.) This pregnancy has really put me in bed once a day--a situation I'm ready to be finished with--even with a good night's sleep. For various reasons, I got less than six hours of sleep for the past two nights, so I was actually thrilled with the potential to not only catch up on sleep but to not have to worry about Hannah. Let's introduce the Air Force into this equation. Just thirty minutes into what had the potential for a 2.5 hour nap, Jeremy gets recalled for the exercise. So, I get a kiss on the cheek to wake me up and tell me that he is leaving for the next four plus hours (aka I'll be home after Hannah goes to bed) and that Hannah is awake in her crib. So, here I am. By myself with a cranky child and the potential for a health-restoring nap through out the window. Go Air Force.

What a week!

Since my last posting I have been to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) that separates North and South Korea, said goodbye to my in-laws after a 15 day visit, work at the Hospitality House ministry we go to, had someone over for dinner on Sunday, worked on some tax returns, took care of a teething child, played catch-up from my in-law's visit, and had an ice cream party with Jeremy's coworkers. I don't know how some of you gals do it--all of your life events and still get things posted on your blogs. Maybe I will, someday, get to that point? I would like to! I would like to stay caught up on all my blog reading, too. I think my daily naps have really interfered with my productivity...I suppose that is to be expected for someone making a person :) What's funny is that I think of things throughout the day that I would love to blog about--the O'Reilly factor's segment on the decline of marriage and children because our society is secularized and admittedly too selfish to work hard at their marriages and deny themselves vacations in order to have children. Or the war in Lebanon and the end-times implication of Russia and China's involvement with Iran and North Korea. Or the book on Heaven that I'm reading that has opened my imagination to all the really cool things that Heaven could really been like. Or how Hannah started panting like a dog yesterday even though we don't have a dog...but for now I'll chat briefly about Jeremy's coworkers...

Our friends from Montana know that we love to have people over to our house. We were really unable to do that for a variety of reasons until last month when we moved into our new apartment. We celebrated our move by having the Lieutenants and Captains from Jeremy's sqadron over for chicken enchiladas. There were 13 people that came over. This month we celebrated National Ice Cream Day by having an ice cream sundae party last night. It was so much fun (and a lot less work!). Schedule conflicts cut into our number, but there were still nine of us enjoying the delicious cold dessert. Two of his coworkers stayed until 11pm! (On a work night!) We were so involved with church in Montana that we didn't have a lot of time to cultivate relationships with people Jeremy or I worked with. It is a huge regret of mine. But, we learn from our past (or at least, we should) and it is now a monthly thing to have the CGOs over. Next month: wings and homemade Mac 'n Cheese.

The Sequel

That's what we are calling the next addition to the Rhodes household--the Sequel. Kind of catchy name, isn't it? Yep, Jeremy & I are joining the ranks of the two children families! Our due date is January 27th, which is one day shy of exactly 18 months from Hannah's due date. As many of you know, Hannah was 11 days late, so I'm preparing myself for a February delivery date. Kind of crazy, huh? Two kids! My dad always said that one out of every twelve babies are Korean babies. Now I'll have two of them :) My dear friend Katie and I got to experience our first round of pregnancies together--our daughters are two weeks apart to the day. God thought it would be pretty funny if our second children were close in age, too. Congratulations Katie & Mike!!

Romantic Getaway

Yes, you read it right--Romantic WITH the man! Jeremy's parents volunteered to watch Hannah Sunday & Monday so that we can run away to the Dragon Hill. We are beyond excited. We will be leaving Sunday morning after breakfast, doing a little shopping, having lunch, and then checking into our room for 24 hours of fun, naps, reading, more fun, eating in the hotel, sleeping, more fun, breakfast, another nap, and finally heading to the chiropractor. Who could ask for more?!?! Happy Early Anniversary to us!! (Our actual anniversary is Aug. 19th, but Jeremy's parents will be long gone by then!!) I can already tell you it will be SPECTACULAR. Can you tell that I'm excited!?!

Psychotic Communist Dictators

I'm sure you have all heard by now (unless you live under a rock) that the North Koreans have been launching nuclear missile rockets out into the Sea of Japan. As far as anyone can tell, there haven't been any signs of WMD, and the launching appears to be testing of the rockets rather than an attempt to destroy anything or anyone. However, I live in South Korea, so this news seems pretty important to me. We (military dependents) are told as soon as we step foot onto the peninsula that we could, at any time, be evacuated from the country if there was risk of war or a threat to our safety. There are reasons why that only 390 military members are allowed to bring their families here. Within thirty days of arriving in country, we are required to fill out tons of paperwork and collect all important documentation so that we can, at a moment's notice, leave the country with a 66lb limit of luggage that must include three days of water and food, blankets, clothes, and all important papers. In light of the political climate right now, I have been a little on my toes about having to be evacuated. I just updated files on my computer with important financial info and backed it up to our external hard drive so that I can pack the hard drive and take it with me in case of said evacuation. There hasn't been talk of sending us out of the country. In fact, it is probably safer to be in S. Korea than to be in the Western US because the missiles are going westward, not southward. At any rate, I thought you might find it interesting to know what I've been spending the last hour of my life doing--preparing for an emergency evacuation from my house due to a communist dictator. It's so crazy. Is this really my life??

Daejeon Beach!

Many of you may remember the crazy things that happened to me last July when I went to Daejeon Beach. If not, the brief summary is: Two flat tires, me 38 weeks pregnant, Becca 32 weeks pregnant, riding in a van on a Korean interstate while being towed by a tow truck.

This beach trip was, thankfully, not as eventful. After being the mom of the crew and packing for two hours, Jeremy, his mom, his dad, Hannah, and I loaded up our car and headed to Daejeon. Our friends Nicole, Becca, and Micah were in the car in front of us. We had a GREAT time! The weather was wonderful, the kids were great, and no one got sunburned! Hannah has decided that she likes the ocean now, as long as she isn't standing by herself. I think the waves coming in are a bit intimidating to someone less than 2.5 feet tall!

Yes, my inlaws, Amy & Scott Rhodes, are here. It has been a very FAST five days of hanging out with our live-in babysitters :) Jeremy had to work the first two days of their visit (surprise, surprise) but he has been able to take the 3rd & 4th off. He has four days off next week, too, which the most vacation he has taken since Hannah was born.

Wendy West

I know an incredible lady. Her name is Wendy West. Let me tell you about her. She moved to Korea in 2003 with five kids--the two youngest were 3 month old twins! If you are a regular reader of my blog, you probably know that everyone at Osan Air Base works INSANE hours, which means she was by herself all day long with five kids day after day after day (nope, folks, they don't get weekends off here...). Because the kids didn't see their dad very often, she started homeschooling to give them a more flexible schedule. Outside of her home, she coordinated all of the salads and desserts for the Hospitality House (a role that I took over from her) and she personally made six dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies every week (sometimes at 2am!).

Flash forward to the present. Wendy and her crew live in Denver, but she still keeps tabs on her Osan friends. She knew that this is the last weekend that our dear friends Becca and Britt Mooney will be at the House (they have been the directors since February 2005). So what does Wendy do? She makes cookies and mails them to Korea, praying that they get here in time. And they do! I picked them up from the Post Office just six hours before the beginning of our last meeting with the Mooneys.

Christ has commanded that we live a life of sacrifice, self-denial, and for Christ's desires rather than our own desires. Christ commanded that we take time from what we want to do to encourage people around the globe. There are many ways that we can spend our lives. Wendy obeys the command of Christ to selflessly live rather than seeking to fulfill her own pursuits. And she is a blessing to my heart.

Thank you, Wendy!!

I thought it was gone

I got to do some tax returns this past spring. I really enjoyed them, but getting them all done was kind of tricky while taking care of Hannah and the house. Today one of the ladies I did a return for stopped by. She is having problems with the IRS because the person who did her return for 2003 didn't know what they are doing. (Note: If you have more than just a W2, don't go to the VITA program on base. They just can't handle it.) So, I'll be doing three amended returns and writing a letter to the IRS. I'm THRILLED! It makes me want to read tax changes and take some Continuing Professional Education in taxes just so I know what is going on in the world of taxation. I wish this would just die off so I wouldn't have to deal with these frustrated desires anymore. Not that I'm discontent with being at home with Hannah. But sometimes my brain just gets so excited to do what my brain really enjoys doing rather than what my heart enjoys doing. Who knows what God has in store for the future! I must stay ever ready for whatever opportunities come my way! :)

I did it!

In less than six weeks time, I have started and finished a scrapbook on hiking!! I'm SO EXCITED!! Now, I haven't touched the rest of my projects. The list is still rather long. But, one big "I wish I could...." can now be scratched off! YEAH!! It is my hope (and this shouldn't be a surprise to my mom-in-law who is reading this blog) that while my in laws are here that they will be able to entertain Hannah so that I can work on her scrapbook. (I ran out of pages for it and I'm waiting for them to arrive in my in-law's suitcases on Thursday, Korea time.) We plan to do some Korean activities every other day and then have a "down day" every other day. I know that they are really coming to play with Hannah, so I might as well take advantage of it! We can't believe that they will be here to visit this week! Yeah! I'll have pictures of grandparents to post this week!

The Next Big Milestone

Yes, just in time for Father's Day, Hannah took her first "steps" last Friday evening. She can walk two or three steps by herself now! It's so cool!! She will stand against the couch, walk two steps and then lunge her body into our arms. Or, we will walk with her holding our fingers and then let go and she'll continue for two or three steps. It is quite a "step" of boldness for her. She thinks it is the MOST FUN thing to do. She just giggles and smiles and gets VERY excited. I can't wait until she can walk! Going to the playground just isn't fun with a kid who can't walk. And we haven't ventured to the swimming pool because of that, either. I just don't enjoy leaning over and walking her around everywhere. (Does that make me a selfish mom?)

Scrapbook geeks rejoice with me! I inked up her feet and made footprints to put into her scrapbook to show the size of her feet when she took her first steps. It was a MESS, but it will be so fun to have in the book!

Mommy Munchies

I know you have been there. If you are an at-home mom (or even if you have had an extended period at home), you have had one of those days where you just can't stop eating. Or, at least, you can't stop your desire to eat. It doesn't matter what--just something. And because you are "at home" there is an endless supply of things to eat!

Today was one of those days for me. Of course, circumstances ALWAYS play a part in the mommy munchies. Hannah has been grumpy with another cold (I think she is allergic to the new apartment) and hasn't been sleeping well. Today she decided not to nap well, either. I, on the other hand, was napping quite beautifully every time she woke me up. All day I would stare at the clock and wait until the next momentous occasion in our day--feed Hannah breakfast and wait for her morning nap; Hannah wakes up and we wait until lunch time; after lunch we wait until it's time for our inspection for our other apartment; After she "naps," then comes the really hard part of the day--the gap between the afternoon nap and dinner. There is nothing to do but sit around an munch. (Let me caveat that statement with this comment: there is PLENTY to do, but Hannah hasn't figured out how to play when she knows that I'm in the room. Because in our last house we were rarely in same room together and now we are in a big open room, this has caused a bit of an issue and prevents me from getting much done, as of yet.)

I digress. After Hannah woke up from her nap I attempted to take a new friend to McDonald's off base for a 35 cent ice cream cone (ok, so it's a 300 Won ice cream cone, but that's the equivalent). She couldn't go with me, but we chatted for about 20 minutes. (I AM making attempts to talk on the phone!) After hanging up the phone I KNEW I needed to leave my apartment so I did what most moms at Osan do--took a walk to the Post Office. While there I got the BEST thing in the WORLD--I surprise package!!! I can tell you that there is nothing that can compare to getting a package in the mail. Yes, it was fun in the states, but packages are now filled with things that we CAN'T buy here. Not only was it a surprise package, but my dear friend went crazy with the stuff she got the Rhodes Family. It seemed like I just kept pulling out more and more fun things! At one put I said out loud "Wow, you went crazy!" At that moment I pulled out a magazine that had a note on it that said, and I quote "I know, I went CRAZY, but I had so much fun!" It was GREAT!! At the same time, there was another mommy at the Post Office who was escaping her world of toddlerhood, too. So, we went to the BX (which is attached to the Post Office), bought a coke and talked for 45 minutes. It was neat because she just moved here and lives right under my apartment.

And so, all of this happened because of the Mommy Munchies. If I knew such fun things would happen every time I got (and tried to fight) the munchies, I would pray for them everyday!

Life Changing Dates

I told someone recently that I never fully lived out the saying "you make time for the things that are important" until after I became a mom. Not that I'm any more busy now than before Hannah came along (in some ways I'm LESS busy), but I feel that with my "age" I've come to better understand what is important and to LIVE that way.

I don't know if I've written about "date night" yet. Even if I have, it is worth mentioning again. In the midst of my husband's CHAOTIC work schedule, he takes off from work early on Thursdays (between 5:30 and 6:00) and spends the entire evening with me. God bless Amber Divers for volunteering to babysit each week for us! We knew when we first got married that we needed to have a weekly date night. We didn't make it a priority during our tour in Montana. We always let "ministry" and other related church things crowd out our time together. Shame on us. We are almost three months into our weekly date night, and it has been the best thing that we have ever done. Tonight was a $5 trip to Baskin Robbins with some fries from Charlie's Steakery thrown in for good measure. Talking, walking around the base, eating ice cream, being out of the house and TOGETHER. It was great.

And then there are my weekly Ro-tic dates on Sunday nights. For those who don't know about these special dates, they are "romantic" dates without the "man". They are rotic dates. On Sunday evenings I runaway to a coffeeshop and spend a couple of hours with the other love of my life--Jesus. Just me, him, one of the best lattes in the world (yes, in Korea!), my Bible, and my journal. (Well, I bring my calendar, too, to lookover my upcoming week.) I just don't know how I lived without these two dates each week. I'm a different woman. I'm a better wife, mother, and daughter of God. Praise God for His provision! He knows exactly what I need!

The Move

Well, we are in our new house. It is amazing to think that we were in our last house approx. 13 months and we'll be in this house approx. 12 months. Weird. I feel like I live in America now!!! It is SO COOL!!! I have space for everything we brought with us--plus the three pieces of furniture we bought--without feeling cramped. Did I mention the dishwasher?? YIPPY!!!

The Korean workers were really nice and, in general, did a good job. Unforuntately, they broke a piece off of Hannah's crib and took a big chunk off of my hope chest. Hannah is "sleeping" in her pack 'n play for the time being. She is having a bit of trouble with the move. This morning she woke up at 2am and just looked around like "ok, some of this stuff looks familiar, but where am I???" Since she isn't in her crib, she isn't napping well, which doesn't advance my cause much at all. But, since when is it about me? One of my wise friends told me that you truly learn servanthood when you have a baby.

So, we are about 80% unpacked and so very, very thankful for this opportunity to live in an American apartment AND to move before my inlaws come to visit. Yeay! Visitors!! I can't wait for them to come!!

Yucky PCSing

For my non-military friends, to PCS is the military term for moving (permanent change of station). In Korea, 85% of the base is here without their families and are only here for one year. So, once a year, 85% of the base, at minimum, leaves. The other 15% of the base is here with their families (called an "accompanied tour")and they are only here for two years (unless you are the Powells--but I'm glad you got to stay for longer, Terri!) So, when you factor in the change over in accompanied members, about 92% of the base leaves each year. At our last duty station, the majority of the community was non-military. Of our English speaking friends in Korea, there are only two families who LIVE in Korea on a long term basis. The rest are missionaries here with the Christian school, and they have two year contracts, so their turn over is as bad as the military.

All of this background is to tell you about the current state of my life--upheaval. In the period of one month, one of my two mentors left me, one of my friends I do weekly lunch with left, and one of my dearest friends is leaving. Of the rest of my close friends, over half are in the states for two months of visiting family. It is crazy. Two of Jeremy's bosses and all 14 of his coworkers are leaving in the next two months. We are moving into a different apartment. All of this together makes me feel like this next year will be almost a completely different tour than the last year was. It is so strange. Normally, we moves somewhere, get settled, and ride out our three (or four) years in a state of relative normalacy. If there is a "normal" here, I don't think it lasts for more than a month! He he he :)

In related news, we ARE moving tomorrow!!! YEAH!! I'm so paranoid about the Koreans packing my stuff and moving it out of my window (on the third floor) that I feel like I've taken half of my stuff over there myself. Just this morning I was getting the willies just thinking about some strange man packing all of my clothes (especially my underwear...) and I may move some of that over today, too! By the time they get here tomorrow, they won't have anything left but my furniture! Please pray that my cough (or piano, or computer desk, or _______, or ______, or____) doesn't fall off and smash to smithereens onto the ground below. Eck!

Opinions

Recently someone told me that "you are entitled to your opinion, I am entitled to my opinion." That was their way of saying "I think you are wrong, but believe it if you want to. If I let you believe what you want to believe then you can't try to change the way I believe." What a load of crap! Where do we get the idea that we are "entitled to our opinions"?? As far as I can tell, the Bible is the authority on Truth. If your "opinions" are supported by scripture, then they are not opinions but rather you are thinking Truth. If your "opinions" are not supported by scripture than you are wrong.

Somehow in the midst of the relativism of our society, people really do believe that they can think however they want to. This bothers me. Does it bother you? Just curious.

Interesting thoughts

I have really enjoyed the thoughts everyone has had on my last blog. I have definitely been thinking about it a lot. This entire topic has challenged a lot of my thinking. Maybe it's done the same for you! Here are some of my "final thoughts" (Do I sound like Bill O'Reilly??)

I used to think that if I were taking birth control and God wanted me to have another baby that I would just get pregnant. I thought that was the rule of His Sovereignty. Now I feel like He has given us choices in the matter of children. Although there are many "contraceptive failures" that result in pregnancies, I can no longer believe that every child that God would like to be born is actually born on this earth. The Bible says that children are a blessing from the Lord. How I say that God will FORCE blessings on everyone who didn't want them? It is a sobering thought to me. I like the idea that God would just automatically trump me when I wasn't doing what He thought was best. He gives me the choice. I can choose what is sinful. I can choose what is good. I can choose what is best.

Who am I to say what I can and can't handle? In almost every other area of my life, God forces me to go beyond what I can handle so that I will grow and depend on him more. He uses those situations for me to go beyond myself and really take hold of the power of His Personhood.

Along this vain is the classic debate of "faith versus wisdom." Are we exercising faith by allowing God to truly provide for all of our needs, like He promises to do in Philipians, or are we be wise to seek to take care of our family, like He mentions in Proverbs? Am I being wise by not having too many kids because I don't think I can "handle" them or am I not living out of an attitude of faith?

These questions then bring up what Paul deems in Romans as the "measure of faith given to us." God has given each of us a different measure of faith. Some of us have more faith about finances. Some have more faith about how God will raise our kids in such a wicked world. Others have more faith about how God wants to build the number of kids in our family. We each must live according to the measure of faith that God has given us. Because, ultimately, the thing that matters is whether we are living out of faith (and thus, pleasing God the only way we can) and being obedient. That is what we have to answer to when we reach heaven. I don't believe that God will judge us on whether or not we used birth control UNLESS He has prompted you to NOT use birth control and you disobeyed. Or, if He directed you to use birth control and you were rebellious.

The long and short of what the author was trying to convey: we, as a people, as the Body of Christ in general, feel that we have some type of "say" in how many kids we have. We have no say. We have no rights. It's not up to us. We were bought with a price and our bodies--and our lives and our families--are not up to us to decide what to do with our how to grow. We, as a collective people, feel that we can plan our children around our own timetables of what is good and convenient. We think we can decide the number of kids we have based on the amount of space we want to have in our houses and the kinds of vacations that we want to take each year (because we think that it is our right to have a vacation each year. Where is that in scripture?). We have lost sight of why we are to have children. Malachi 2:15 says that one of the very purposes of marriage is to "raise Godly offspring." Children are disciples. They will mimic our lives of faith more than any other person possibly could because they are with us day in and day out. Through our children we advance the Kingdom of God in a way that we cannot do by any other means. The author thus challenges us, as a Body, to think about how we think. And if this blog is any indication, I think she has done just that!

Controversial question

I'm reading the book "Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It is a great book. Good foundational stuff with lots of scripture. Anyway, there is one "lie" she confronts (out of the forty she talks about) that says "It's up to us to determine the size of our family." She states that God is the giver of life. Satan hates life and seeks to destroy life in any way possible. This includes, she states, stana's attempt to discourage childbearing. She accurately quotes Malachi 2:15 that the purpose of the marital union is to raise Godly offspring. But--and here is the "controversial" part-- she saiys that "unwittingly, millions of Christian women and couples have helped to further satan's attempts to limit human reproduction and thereby destroy life" by limiting the sizes of their families. She states that, basically, we should not play God and dictate to Him how many children we will have. Rather, we should surrender our bodies to God (because He bought them) and allow him to bless us with as many children as He deems appropriate.

Here's my thoughts...I know some women who have never used birth control and who have two children. I know some women who have never used birth control and have ten children. So, to say that if one doesn't use birth control that they will have a bushel of children is not necessarily true. And, if God desires to bring children into the world, who are we to say "no, God, I would rather you didn't." Yes, there are times that children are born despite preventative measures, but I don't think this is the rule of how God operates. Because God says that children are a blessing from Him, He isn't always going to "force" those blessings on us.

All this is to say that I'm still unsure about all of this. It seems kind of radical for me to think that birth control is actually taking control away from God. In many cases, it seems like wisdom, especially for those who are newly married. But, if a couple is too unstable to have kids, who is to say that they are stable enough to be married??

Thoughts?

Gotta love the Air Force

This past weekend was really crazy for us. We were told on Friday that the Air Force could move us early--they would be here on Saturday! So, after Jeremy got the key to the new apartment we started packing up our kitchen stuff (which I would rather break than allow someone else to break) and our food stuff (which they won't move). We spent almost four hours working on this--and tearing up our house in the process--before we got a call telling us "I'm sorry, the person who arranged your move for tomorrow was unauthorized to do so. You aren't moving until July 31st!" So, we spent a good portion of this weekend trying to take advantage of having the key to the other apartment and moving some things out of the house so that we have more space when Jeremy's parents get here. And the cleaning! There was so much cleaning in my house to be done as a result of all of this. It was very frustrating. By the General's orders, we aren't allow to move ourselves in, so we have a key to two apartments and can't live in the one that we want to be in! I would love for God to provide a miracle and get us into the apartment before Jeremy's parents get here. Prayers? I would appreciate them!!