Just a question...

I'm not freaked out about this, but I am a little curious...Hannah calls every color "blue." There is no other color that she says. I mean, she'll repeat any color word I say, but then when I ask her what color something is she'll say "blue." When do kids usually know colors? I'm thinking she is a bit behind on this...

Just for Fun

Look at my lovely little girl at 5 weeks old :)

A picture of ME!

I hardly ever end up in a picture and just found this on the computer. This picture was taken on the campus of Indiana University where my sister is a smartie pants getting her Master's Degree in Non-profit Management. (Ok, there is some kind of fancy name for the major, but that is the basic idea!) I felt SO YOUNG to have kids while walking around campus! It made me want to have a laptop and a class schedule. I miss college! I tell Jeremy that if he dies I'm using the life insurance money to go back to school so I can get my PhD in Accounting and become a professor at Tech. GO HOKIES!

The Many Faces of my Little Man

What is that smell???

Latest pictures of Hannah

My, the water in the duck pond looks a little green...

Hhhmmm....should I feed the ducks or eat the bread myself??

Do a little dance...sittin' in the car...get down today (OOOhhhh!!) ...get down today...

Playdoh!!

The newest addition

Nope. Not pregnant. Praise the Lord!! Not that we are finished having kiddos, but we don't want to travel the path of pregnancy again for a little while. This latest addition is our 2000 Pewter (what a funny word) Chevy Z71. This is the "before" shot--they have agreed to put on a matching topper in the back. We are officially Montanans. We have a truck that can comfortably seat six people, and I LOVE it. I think we have pushed off the van purchase by a couple of years :)

This picture should probably lead into a blog about how happy Jeremy is. Last night Jeremy says "Laura Beth, I haven't been this happy about my life since right before we got married." He loves his job. He loves his schedule. He loves his house. And now he has a truck he loves to take into the mountains he loves to hunt elk (like he loves to do!). This is all on top of having, who he considers to be, the best wife and kids in the world. I don't know if it gets any better for the man! I will say that it is much easier to be the wife of a man who loves his life than to be the wife of a man who dreads going into work, dreads going to bed because he has to get up and go to work, and is basically just existing in his life.

Now to work on our depleted savings account...

Need some cookware?

Listen up all you ladies with pans from Walmart that are falling apart! (I've been there, too!) Pampered Chef has a great hostess special in September--have a show and get a piece of cookware or a SET of cookware at 60% off! What is needed for a show? $150 in orders. That's right, get $150 in orders, get 60% off cookware that has a lifetime guarantee.

I'm only doing catalog shows, but if you are interested, give me a call or send me an email! I'm sending catalogs to Korea tomorrow, so no place is too far for the arm of the Pampered Chef! (He he he)

Pictures for friends who like pictures

I know it has been a while since I"ve posted pictures of the wee one and the not-so-wee one. I've been having technical difficulty with my camera. (Not fun to be a mommy without important mommy equipment like a camera!) There will be some picture of the house (which is still in process) within a week or two. Enjoy!

The desires of your heart

For those who haven't seen it, Jeremy's VT class ring is huge. (And for those from VT, they realize that even that was the next to smallest size!) It wasn't cheap and beyond that there is a LOT of sentimental value attached to it. You can understand what a big deal it was that he lost it in March. He looked and looked and looked but to no avail. The man was sad. Very sad. He was afraid of the worst--that Hannah had found it and in the cleanliness of her little 19 month old self had throw it in the trash (she is quite the clean freak). When we moved, his hope was gone.

You may not believe it. Jeremy didn't. I believed in my heart that it HAD to happen (especially with as much prayer as went into it!) Jeremy found the ring this morning. Jeremy put on a pair of jeans for the first time in five months, stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled it out. Those pants have had the pockets hanging upside down in the closet in Korea, were packed by the movers, unpacked by me, and then hung upside down again. The ring stayed in there. Oh happy day! Benjamin has an inheritance :) he he he :)

"Cast ALL your cares upon Him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

In need of help

To my fellow SAHMs in Great Falls...

I will soon be changing accronym from SAHM to WAHM. (But, really, what SAHM isn't a WAHM??) I got a job with a local accounting firm working 10 hours/week at home starting the first week of September. The only problem is that I need to spend approx. two afternoons in the office to get trained. I know this is the week after Labor Day, so some of you may be away on vacations. If you'll be in town, please email me if you could help me out. My "ideal" situation is to have Jeremy drop the (fed) kids off at your house at 12:30pm and pick them up no later than 5:00pm. They both nap from 1-3pm. I'm more than willing to babysit swap the time or compensate!

THANK YOU LADIES!!

While going through my emails...

I think I have read all of my emails and I have tried to respond to all that needed responses. If I've skipped you, I appologize greatly. We are pretty much unpacked but are still on our way to "settling." There is another good week of evenings that we need to spend just finishing up the painting. Jeremy got most of the baseboards up in the basement Rec Room today, which he was thrilled to do because he finally got a Mitre saw. I've never seen him as happy has he has been in the past few weeks.

In reading my emails, I got this from our friends who are ministering at the Hospitality House in Osan. They have to get a limo license in order to drive their 12 passenger van, and the following is an actual quote from the Korean Driver's Handbook, just in case you were curious as to how Koreans drive:

"Under the heading of Pre Driving Mindset, they explain correct attitudes to have:
A sense of Responsibility (Due diligence; If you are in an accident it is your fault)
Concentration (Pay attention; traffic rules are arbitrary, pedestrians, bicycles and motorcycles have no rules)
Patience (Mutual understanding; A Korean explained to me that the reason rules are arbitrary is that we are all family here, so, I wave, smile politely and drive around you and through the red light because you understand that I am in a hurry);

Consideration and Concession:
When drivers lack these virtues, they easily get upset, which would prevent them from concentrating on driving, break trust among road users, and make driving unpleasant and uncomfortable, thereby causing accidents. Driving attitudes reveal the drivers characters. Unnecessary use of horns, shameful intrusion, sudden passing, forcing the preceding vehicle to speed up by giving threatening signs or approaching too closely, making insulting remarks to the drivers who make mistakes, etc. reveal their narrow-minded or twisted characters.

The giving and receiving

It was time. After two pregnancies and 27 months in Korea, I really needed to buy clothes from STORES in America (versus online and through the mail!). I know, my definition of "need" was a very American definition, but it didn't stop me from buying some fun new things. I even had the help of my very fashionable little sister in my endeavors.

Then my shipment arrived. I saw the piles and piles and boxes and boxes of STUFF. Clothes, candle holders, kitchen gadgets, towels that are the "wrong color," and endless other things that just don't need to be taking up space in my house. Simplify--isn't there a grassroots effort to do that in America today? I think everyone talks about doing it, but when it comes down to it, it is just hard to get rid of the Desert Rose china that Jeremy's grandmother gave me. I mean, I may throw a tea party, and wouldn't I just kick myself for not having that china??

Back the clothes...because my current occupation does not lend itself well to wearing suits (and even when I was working full time, Montanans tend to be more "business casual" in the office), I needed to clean out and get rid...and then I heard about a group from a local church going to Russia to minister to women who had been rescued from the sex trade industry and needed clothes...and a flyer for needs at the Rescue Mission...and before I knew it I had three boxes of clothes that are heading out the door. And some baby equipment going to Lifeway Pregnancy Center.

The sad thing is, within a month I won't even remember what I gave away. It's the initial letting go that is so hard, but I don't even think that I'm being sacrificial in the giving. And even though the giving isn't "sacrificial" it still feels great--even better than buying the new clothes. Now there's a concept, huh? Better to give than to receive? Honestly, even though I've been a Christian for 21 years, I never really FELT that until recently. I think my problem was that I always took my things to the Goodwill. I never felt that I was helping anyway with my giving. But when I stand in front of my closet and think of the women in Russia or the homeless in Great Falls, it is at that moment that I can part with some of the baggage that I've been holding on to for so long. And it is liberating!

If anyone wants some new candle holders, just stop by :)

The First Day Back

A very sad Scott and Amy Rhodes drove away from 3805 5th Ave South at 7:30am today, leaving this SAHM at home by herself for the first time since we left Korea on June 23rd. It was sad, strange, and refreshing all at the same time. We had a great time with Scott and Amy, especially when we got to the point that our bodies just couldn't take any more work and we just hung out together. We introduced them to "24" and watched almost the entire first season together. (Jeremy & I had seen seasons 2, 3, and 5 up until that point.) We had pizza and pizza and pizza (a Rhodes family favorite), went out for coffee, and spent a lot of time just enjoying Hannah and Benjamin together. I wish that S & A would just decide to move here when Scott retires from teaching in 3.5 years. It would be alot easier on all of our hearts and probably our wallets, too, if you added up all of the plane tickets!

So, here I am, an at home mom in America. It feels strange. I know--I had my second anniversary of motherhood yesterday. But I've never really done this mom-thing in America. We all live in our cute little houses that are decorated to perfection*, but how much time do we really spend together? I hope the answer is "as much time as you spent with your friends in Korea!" because the thought of day-in-and-day-out mothering in my house by myself makes me go a little batty! :) Off to more unpacking.

*not the current description of my house, but you get my point!

D-day (Delivery, that is!)

Yes, even though we got the call about our shipment on July 20th, today is the day it is being delivered. We needed to wait until we had more work finished in our house, and the date we wanted the delivery was already booked. So, the day before my daughter's second birthday we are about to embark on the craziness of a 7,000 pound delivery. I have mixed emotions. I know I shouldn't wish my life away, but I do wish that the delivery was finshed and everything was unpacked! Ha! I'm so glad I won't be doing this again for the foreseeable future! Six houses in six years is about enough for this gal...

We have almost all of the painting done in the house. Only the hallway, stairwell, and the baseboards/trim left to do. Of course, some of the baseboard hasn't even been nailed up yet, the downstairs bathroom needs some major repairs (thank you, renters), we need to hang some doors and a room in the basement still needs carpet laid, but that can all wait :)

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Scott and Amy (Jeremy's parents) have been visiting since July 21st and I don't know what we would have done without them. I told Scott that he must feel like he is on a mission's trip with all of the construction that he has been doing! And Amy has been so faithful in watching the kids, playing, changing diapers and doing the millions of dishes (no dishwasher, folks!). So, this house has been brought to me in part by Scott and Amy Rhodes (can you hear Seaseme Street in your head?).

I'm currently in pursuit, or at least heavy contemplation, of a part-time at-home accounting job. There are a few opportunities available to me, which makes it even harder because I actually have to CHOOSE something. But I'm blown away by God's generosity in giving me the ability to continue with the field that I love and be able to do it from home. Thank you, Jesus!

Things are looking up for Jeremy's job. We found out yesterday that the second priority placement candidate chose a job and it wasn't at Malmstrom. There was a third guy that popped up, but we also found out yesterday that they aren't suppose to continually add priority placement candidates to the que after an application package has been submitted. SSSOOOOoooo....best case scenario is that Jeremy is a GS employee in as little as two weeks. Worse case is three months. Either way, things are working in a very positive direction for us. Again, Thank you, Jesus!

Of all days to post an update, I picked the day I need to actually be ready by 8am. So much more to say, but I should try to do a little at a time, huh?

It's here! It's here!

My furniture is in Montana!! I will be sitting on couches in less than two weeks!! Lots of projects to do between now and then, so off I go to paint the kitchen!!

Alive and in Indiana

It has been a while since the Rhodes family has published our happenings via our blog. Life continues to fly past us at full force as we continue in this period of transition and chaos that has become our lives. With no major hitch we left our apartment in Osan and went to the TLF on base. Because there is no lodging for families on base at Osan (it was worthy of being condemned and was torn down a few years ago) we had two separate rooms--one for me and Benjamin, one for Jeremy and Hannah. We were there for two nights and then proceeded to travel 35 hours before arriving at the TLF in Montana. We were there for three nights before arriving at our house at 38th and 5h Ave South. We were a bit surprised by all of the damages awaiting us when we got to the house. For the sake of our sanity, I don't know if we'll come up with a total dollar and hours-worked numbers. It may make us cry. But, it was good to be in the place that we'll call "home" at least for the foreseeable future!



After a week of shopping, shopping, shopping for house and grocery necessities, I left for Indiana with the kids (I still say I'm insane for doing it!) to my sister's house. Jeremy stayed behind and traveled to Seattle to pick up our car. He went on a short camping trip with our friend Mike Glathar (who is leaving for training and then deployment this Saturday), and has been working all day everyday since last Thursday.



Last week was a week full of activity as my parents were also visiting at my sister's house. It was the first time that any of my family has met Benjamin, and it was wonderful to get to be together for the week. Hannah went on her first swing, had her first experience in a baby pool and had an early birthday party with my family. Lots of exciting stuff!! My parents left on Sunday, and I'm just been hanging out with the kiddos this week, enjoying a little calm and quiet before I join Jeremy in the late nights of home remodel and repair. Yesterday Jennifer took me to Indiana University and showed me the campus where she is getting her master's degree--it is beautiful! Her husband, Jeremy, is away on business this week, so we have enjoyed having some girl time together.

Excitement for the week--after coming back from my walk with the kids yesterday, there was a SNAKE waiting for us on the doorstep of my sister's house! Mind you, my sister lives in a suburban neighborhood with houses so close together that you can see what your neighbor is grilling next door from the view of your own porch (to my chagrin, MT isn't much different...). So, I was a bit surprised to see the slithering creature sitting beside the doormat. We took another little walk to wait for him to go away, and then I prayed the entire time I walked up to and through the front door!


Hannah builds her vocabulary daily and started "singing" and saying her first and middle name together "Hannah Grace! Hannah Grace!" Benjamin has started pushing up and will probably attempt crawling in about a month, if he is like his sister.

Tonight--Chick-fil-A! The GREATEST chicken sandwich in the WORLD!!

Changing addresses

The phone company. Internet. Electricity. Gas. Magazines. Christian ministries. VT alumni association. Virginia Society of CPAs. Housing insurance company. Mortgage companies. All of these people have an address for us that is no longer in use. And all of them require an email, a phone call, or a login to a website to get changed. We have spent almost three hours doing this so far and we still aren't done. And for at least a month after we move the Post Office will put those nice yellow stickers on all of the mail that has the old address on it as if to say "Do you not care about these people? You haven't told them your new address yet!"

Speaking of logins, one of Jeremy's "projects" when I go to Indiana is to make a master list of all of the websites we have logins and write down the user ID and password. Problem is that there are a ton of websites that we have logins for that we don't remember we even have a login for them! Why do websites make you create an ID and password just to find out how much they are going to charge you for shipping??

This week has been the week of food and friends--coffee dates, lunch dates, dinner dates, and tonight I have a sleep over at a friend's house! A girl is NEVER too old for a sleepover, although it does get a bit more complicated when I have to tote my son and his pack 'n play!

Hannah is running around the house saying "Da-da, I have a pen!" so I'd better stop the rambling :) We are out of our apartment tomorrow!

This week in review

I feel amputated without constant 24/7 access to the internet. I'm a junkie. I need therapy. Is there an "Internet Users Anonymous" out there? IUA?

Obviously, last Monday was a hard day for me. It's hard to pretend life is normal when it just isn't, you know? After emotionally dumping on God in a very Davidic style, God was faithful (as He always is) and pressed my reset button while I was sleeping. I woke up feeling some better on Tuesday, which I'm so thankful for. I don't like feeling like an emotional wasteland.

Wednesday I was able to ride with my friend Nicole up to Seoul so that she could move into the Stork's Nest. Hopefully she'll be able to have her baby before I leave so that I can meet little Faith Anne Fleming. How fun to be the passenger to Seoul and not person needing to go! Between all of the chiropractor appointments and having two babies, I felt like I was always in need of traveling companions :) I had SUCH a good time chatting with her over the 4.5 hours we spent together!

On Thursday afternoon our weekly babysitter and my friend Amber came to the house at 12:30pm and we were able to spend six hours together before Jeremy & I had our final date in Korea. I need to start recruting babysitters who like to volunteer :) He he he :) In more ways than one Amber has been such a blessing to our family!

Friday was Jeremy's going away lunch. I had been to three going aways at this particular restaurant, including the guy Jeremy replaced in April 2005. It was weird to see Jeremy stand up and receive the fun going away gifts and give the "It's been a hard tour" goodbye speech. But, I was able to load up on excellent Thai food and since there is only one Thai restaurant in Montana, it will probably be a while before I have Thai again. (This is one of the reasons Jeremy & I are hoping to start "gourmet" night were we have an at-home date cooking food we usually can't afford in the grocery budget and our kids wouldn't eat anyway!)

Today was the final Book Club meeting and it was EXCELLENT conversation about "Israel, My Beloved." I would love to start a Book Club in Great Falls--any takers?? Meet once a month at Starbucks for two hours of conversation praising (and sometimes trashing) various literary works??

Tonight is our final time going to the Hospitality House. Although we haven't been able to go since Benjamin was born, we poured ourselves into that ministry for almost two years. And, again, it will be weird to be the person that is being "sent out" from Osan. Hmmm...

Tomorrow is Father's Day and is our final day at Mission Baptist. I know I'll cry and that's a good thing--I have loved and been loved there. Praise God!

Benjamin cut two teeth last weekend, which was a good reminder that while everything is changing around me, my "job" of mothering continues. This constant in my life has actually been something God has used to keep me together at various times, and I'm thankful for that!

Until I have a computer again, farewell my friends!

Coping Mechanisms

When I move from a place, it is my traditional coping mechanism to pretend like life is normal up until the time I actually get into/onto the mode of transportation that will wisk me away to my latest adventure. It has served me well. This method of maintaining sanity went out the window last Thursday when the movers came and got the last 1000 lbs of our stuff. The biggest loss--our computer. I feel like I'm amputated without anytime-realtime access to the internet. I'm a junkie.

It is Monday night, June 11th as I'm typing out this blog. Father's Day is our last Sunday at our church home. Next Thursday we check into the on-base hotel. A week from Saturday we fly out of Korea, probably for the last time ever. It's not that I will be "homesick" for Korea. I probably won't have a desire to come back. (Although, I'm already craving some of the food because I don't know when I'll have bibimbop again!) Life is just changing in a way that makes my stomach turn flips and roll up into my throat. And it's more than the friends and the "normal" moving things. We are getting out of the military. We are entering the world of health insurance and co-pays, high grocery prices and layoffs. It's the REAL world, or at least the parts of the real (American) world that we have been successful in avoiding up until this point.

And while there is part of me that is excited to be able to throw away all of the boxes when we unpack, there is another part of me that gets nervous. When things get bad, there is no "riding it out" until we move. We aren't planning to move.

And what will life be like with Jeremy at home to parent with me?

Most of the time I don't think about these things. At least not consciously. But I know that my subconscious is whirling with this stuff because all of my being just feels...well...numb. And so I pull out all of those verses that we all know during these times...Rejoice in the Lord always...look to Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith...Sing to the Lord, sing Praises to our God...be anxious about nothing...pray always...trust in the Lord with all thine heart....and while my brain feels better, there is still a mourning that needs to take place that I'm postponing. Postponing until after my time with my family (yeay!!) and my in laws (yeay!!) and the first few weeks of "normal" in August until the point in time when it all just really hits me.

And when I get to heaven, I may not even remember these thoughts and feelings.

On a different note, the latest read in the book club: "Israel, my Beloved." OH SO GOOD!! Wendy, you should check it out now, before Chuck gets home!!

It's not about art

I'll be honest. I'm having a bit of a hard time. I like to see the pain of separation as a good sign--anyone who can move away from the people that they've loved on and been loved by for over two years without heartache probably didn't give their heart away.

I started to really scrapbook while at Osan. And while I have enjoyed having an outlet for some form of creativity, the capture and preservation of memories is the real reason why I scrapbook. (That and I have a terrible memory and if I don't force myself to take the pictures, I'll never remember anyone!) Mix this desire with my hatred for being "behind" and I'll confess that instead of getting ready for my last shipment, which leaves in 36 hours, I'm going through my latest batch of pictures and figuring out which supplies I need so that I can finish through April before I move.

Instead of looking at colors and thinking of beautiful ways to fill the page, I'm looking at the faces--the faces of my kids who have changed so much already in just 6 weeks. The faces of the people I lived and loved with at Mission Baptist for the past two years. The face of my beloved as he holds our wee ones.

This is why I scrapbook. Because I live. Because I leave. Because I love. Because they are mine--my friends, my family, my memories for all time and the hereafter. This is why.