Today in History my second grader and I talked about differnt ways people used to get messages out. We talked about the Pony Express and the Town Crier (the book had a great illustration of a man crying out 'Here Ye, Here Ye') then compared it to newspapers, television, telephones, and internet. She seemed really interested in the differences and we had a great discussion. When Clark, aka Daddy, came home she ran out of the school room and said "Daddy, Daddy, guess what we learned today? We learned about the man who would walk through the city yelling 'Hey Yo, Hey Yo' and they called him a crier! My sweet husband looked at me with that look...oh you know the one...it says "what are you teaching our child!" LOL...you NEVER know what they are going to get!

Notice how many times I had to use the letter "H" in this post!!! I can't wait to get it fixed tomorrow!!

No, this is not some bad Sesame Street blog or something. But, typing the letter "H" is driving me NUTS! A few days ago, as I was typing an e-mail, the keypad for the letter "H" just popped off. Now, with my old lap top this was no problem, I could just pop it right back on. But try as I might, I cannot get the keypad to the letter "H" back on! I am finding myself trying to find ways to word things so that I do not have to press the letter "H". Do you have ANY idea how many times you press this letter? My dear husband is supposed to get back in from meeting with students and going to physical therapy a little early tomorrow and the computer it in to the shop down the road...until then I will continue to try my best to NOT use the letter "H"!

I am officially letting you in on a bit of the nuttiness (is that a word)that is our family. If you have known us long, you know that we NEVER do ANYTHING without an adventure or ten! So, when Clark found out that he
hurt his neck earlier this week we were SURE there would be more adventure to it. Family began calling worried about him. We kept reassuring everyone he was going to be fine. However, after the tenth call, we admit that we started to get a little sarcastic and began wondering what he would look like had he needed a neck brace. Well, I jokingly said that they would have wrapped TP around his neck. Hearing this comment my 7 year old ran to the bathroom and brought me a roll of TP and said LET'S SEE MOM!" I couldn't resist. SO, we cornered Clark...he's a gimp so there wasn't much fight in him and we TPed him! Oh yeah! It started out as a simple neck brace:


  

Then it grew to be an upper body cast:


  


THEN we decided to just make him a mummy:



  

  


That wasn't good enough...so I mummified the girls as well! I had a WHOLE family of mummies running around.



  

  

  

  




Who would have thought a little sarcastic comment could turn into one and a half hours of family fun!

Sorry I am a day late here. Yesterday was a bit crazy (see yesterdays post for more details). However, my pictures for this week are of our first day of second grade. Hope you enjoy! :-)





  

  

  

I am talking about days of school this year. My daughter and officially started back to homeschooling today. Our curriculum has 170 lessons this year. Our day went surprisingly well when all things are concidered. I can't believe I am sitting here posting about it rather than in bed getting rest so I can face tomorrow! LOL! But, I must say that with my sweet husband and both of my daughters sound asleep, the peace and quiet is a wonderful thing!

We woke up right on time this morning and it looked like all would go well. However 3 melt downs later we were running an hour late to start and STILL hadn't had breakfast! Oh, don't you love those mornings. My sweet husband said that he would finish preparing breakfast so I could get started. More later on why he was still around the house this fine morning. So we finally got our first day of school off to a start. The school day actually went REALLY well. I jumped right back into "teaching" mode and my second grader didn't miss a beat with her work either. Little Bit (my 16 month old) did not like this AT ALL! Her playmate...aka Big Sissy... was sitting up at a desk not paying her any attention. Her Mommy or second in line playmate was spending all her time talking or writing on that fun board and wouldn't share the markers! I can't tell you the number of meltdowns we had this morning from Little Bit trying to adjust to this new structure after 3 months of having almost none!

Well, if that wasn't enough, we had to add a trip to the ER into the day! Thank goodness it wasn't for either of the girls. I guess some back tracking is due here. Saturday we were holed up in the apartment waiting for a BIG typhoon to hit (that NEVER came). Dear husband was doing his morning work out when his arm popped. Within seconds there was a sharp pain shooting down his arm. His hand was numb. We were sure it was a pinched nerve. However, the Typhoon was coming and the hospital we are familar with is an hour away. I did get him worked in with a message therapist at the local Hyatt (we have friends there). This caused some relief, but by bed time it was hurting again. All day Sunday he tried to convience himself and I that he was getting better. When he woke up this morning barely able to move his arm or neck I knew it was time to get him to the ER. We called the office in Seoul to make sure he was allowed to go to the ER. They called around and found out that he should go to a private Orthapedic Clinic. SO, while the girls and I were working on our first day of second grade, Clark was off to the Clinic.

After a thorough examination and some x-rays it was determined that he has a herniated disk in his neck. They also discovered a place where he fractured his collar bone 10 years ago in a car accident (we knew he had dislocated his shoulder, but we had no idea of the fracture). Obviously the fracture didn't heal properly and when he slipped the disk the muscles around the fracture became inflamed. All this togther is causing the pain. He is now on 5 days of strong pain meds and will be going to physical therapy for 1 or 2 hours a day for the next 10 days! If after 10 days there are no resluts, he will fly to Seoul and see a doctor at the international clinic. We are praying it doesn't come to that!

So, between all the phone calls I made to find out how Clark was, the numerous door bells rings (comes with the territory of being a missionary), the phone calls from people wanting to know how Clark was doing, the melt downs from little bit, ballet class for Melisa, and all the other little distractions of the day....it is a MIRACLE that we finished our first day of school work. Now, I won't mention that we started at 10:00 am and didn't finish until 6 pm! BUT, we made it through day one and that HAS to count for something! My prayer is that today is not an indication of how all of second grade will be! If it is you might have to come get me out of hiding in my closet!

This week I began working through the book Women of the Bible: A One-Year Devotional Study of Women in Scripture by Ann Spangler and Jean E. Syswerda. Ths first woman the book covers is Eve. I have spent all week learning about Eve...what a woman she was!

God created Eve from Adam and breated life into her. She was created specifically to be Adam's helper! She was perfect! She had everything. She lived in paradise! Yet, when she was offered more she just couldn't say no. When she was tempted to gain even more she just couldn't resist...she took and she ate! That wasn't enough, she had to tempt her husband to join her in the sin. There they were, they had gained "more" and they knew good from evil. Now, they had to face God so they hid. We all know the story. The blame game was played and God made each take responsibility for their own sins. Yet, as soon as the punishment was issued, God showed that His Grace always abounds. He clothed Adam and Eve. He also gave them a promise that Eve's offspring would crush her enemy. Even in their sorrow God gave them reason to rejoice.

Then, even through the pain, Eve gave birth to her first child and then her second. She endured the pain of her punishment and in the end God gave her even more reason to rejoice...she held in her arms a new life! God used her to bring new life! Yet once again, sin brought her sorrow...she had to live knowing that one of her children killed the other. She had to watch her only son left be punished. I can't imagine the pain Eve must have felt. Yet, once again, God brought her joy. He used her to bring forth another child. She held in her arms Seth the child that she knew God would use to defeat her enemy. God's Grace abounds!

Every time Eve came to more sorrow we see how God's Grace is ever present.

Now, I have to sit back and ask myself how often I am just like Eve. How often can I just not say no. How often do I fail to resist temptation? It is more often than I like to admit. I am daily on my knees crying out for His Mercy and Grace again! Yet, His Grace ALWAYS abounds and I always have something to rejoice over! God is SO Good!

The authors put it so well when they say "When you're at your lowest, on your knees before God's judgment, never forget that his grace is still at work. And that's truly amazing." They go on to quote to scripture references:

"From the fullness of his grace we have all recieved one blessing after another. John 1:16"

"But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:20-21"

God's grace is truly amazing!

My hair that is! After 20 months without having my hair cut, the heat drove me mad today and I went and cut it ALL off! It feels somuch lighter and cooler! Long hair and summer with no AC just don't mix well! My oldest daughter is not too happy though. I keep getting things like "but you don't look like Mommy anymore" and "but I like you with LONG hair." Who knows if I will keep it this short or let it grow all winter and then chop it off again next summer. Only time will tell.

Anyway...here are before and after pictures! Now, I know these are the best pictures...it is 32 degrees celcius (around 90 F) in our apartment, so I don't expect to take a good picture right now. What do you think??? Click on the pictures to make them bigger.



  

  



  

  

We got in late last night from our camping trip and I just didn't have any energy left to get on here and post about it. Wow, it was an awesome trip, but we are still worn out! We packed up and loaded the van yesterday afternoon. We were ready to head out when we noticed the front right van tire was almost flat. SO, off to the Hyundai Service Center to get the tire plugged. It is our family...you know it couldn't go as planned. After a good 30 minute wait, we were finally off. THEN, we realized that we had forgotten our big pot for curry. SO, we had to find a grocery store and buy a pot. After that last stop, we were finally on the way for real.

We got to Surise Peak at about 5:30 (we were supposed to be there at 4:30). We met up with some other missionaries we work with and headed to the closest beach to find where the tourist were setting up for the night. We had girls tent and a guys tent...the girls set up their tent faster I might add! LOL! As soon as we got camp all settled, we started on dinner. Well, Clark started on dinner and the rest of us took turns helping him chop and keeping an eye on the kiddos and Chin Goo (our dog). Clark fixed his famous Curry Rice. Now, I have to take a minute and brag on my husband...he has the best curry on the island! If you ever come to our house for dinner there is a good chance that HE will cook and prepare his curry rather than me fixing something. It is absolutely delicious! Monday night was no exception...when he was finished everyone around us was looking our way because it smelled so good! We all gathered round and enjoyed sweet fellowship and good food. After dinner came clean up and an early bed time.

Once again, the camping trip wasn't without sand in our bed (not to mention the dirt the dog brought into the tent...YUCK! It also had 3 middle of the night bathroom runs with my old daugther. The baby once again wore herself out to the point that she just couldn't go any more and passed out in the ten shortly after we turned out the lanterns. It was indenependence day in Korea, so we got TONS of fireworks that were beautiful throughout the night as well.

The alarm clock went off way too early in my opinion. We were up at 4:15 am and went over to wake the boys tent up at 4:45. By 5:15 we were on our way back to Sunrise Peak. We started the hike up at 5:24 and made it to the top right at 5:45! My oldest girl made the steep hike with Clark and I (as well as Tali...another missionary here and 2 other MK's who tagged along) in 20 minutes. I was SOO proud of my big girl! She didn't once complain or whine! It was so early and a hard climb and she hung in there and did a GREAT job!! Now, I need to explain that it is recomended to give youselves 30 minutes normally and 45 min to an hour with young children! We pushed through and did an awesome job hiking up! I had the baby (all 20 pounds of her) in the sling which made me work all the harder...but what a good workout it was!

When we rounded the corner after the last set of steps, we came face to face with at least 150 who had gotten an earlier start than we had (maybe even 250)!! There were people everywhere you turned and everyone had a camera aimed in a different direction. It was like walking through a mine field...one wrong step and FLASH you were in a picture! Well, we found a bare piece of ground and settled in to wait for the sun to rise. We got some water, ate some fruit and home made oatmeal bars (thanks Tali). We were having a good time visiting when all of a sudden at exactlt 5:59 we heard a collective gasp that sounded like it took every bit of fresh are from the top of that mountain. "AHHHHH"! We turned to see what had happened and you could just see the very tip of the sun peeking out from behind a cloud. It was the funniest thing I have ever heard, I SO wish I would have had my video camera going so we could have documented the gasp!

As the sun continued to come up the colors became more and more beautiful! As I stood there I could feel the Creator of it all in the midst of it and I couldn't help but praise Him! Oh, it was amazing! It was so humbling to sit and think that the creator of the whole Universe also created me and loved me enough to die for my sins. As the sun continued to rise all the difficulties of the morning melted away! It was worth waking up at 4:15, of making the hard climb, of being in the heat! I was so glad that we made the decision to come out and climb!

We sat and watched the sun come all the way up. We took lots of pictures and had a wonderful morning on the mountain top! At 7:00 we finally started heading back down. We were back at the campsite by 8:00 where we are breakfast, cleaned up, and broke down camp. We loaded up the vans and were ready to go by 10:30 am. We could tell that both of the girls were worn out and in much need of a nap. So, we decided to drive around the coastal roads and let them nap in the comfort of the airconditioned van. The girls napped and we drove around looking at the beauty of Jeju, snapping lots of pictures and enjoying sweet fellowship. We even enjoyed a nice picnic style lunch in the comfort of the van AC!

We finally pulled into our next destination, Hamdoek Beach, at about 2 pm. We hit the water and had 2 hours of playing and splashing. Between the red head, the baby, and the mini dauschuend we made quite the sceene! Everyone who passed us had to stop and talk to us about one of them! It was SO refreshing to get in the cool water for a good swim.

4:00 came fast and it was time to start beach ministry. We had a great afternoon of serving the Lord and sharing His Good News! We spent two hours sharing with the beach workers and beach goers and our day was finally ending at 6 pm. We hit the shower room and grabbed some dinner and finally got back to our apartment at 8:30 pm. It was a LONG day...our longest one in a long time. We walked in the door and within an hour both girls were sacked out. Clark and I unloaded the van and got things settled in the apartment before following them.

It was a fun overnight trip with friends and family. I am so glad that God has provided us the opportunity to do fun things like this! SO, without further ramblings...here are some pictures of our last 24 hours! You can click on each image to make it larger.




  

  

  

  




  

  

  

  




  

  

  

  




  

  

I can't believe a week has already past and I am here to post my special moment from last week. Yesterday, I had the honor and priveledge of participating in a baptism service! It is always a beautiful thing to see people come to the place that they want to show this outward symbol of all that God has done on the inside of them! It is even more beautiful when it is 9 people and they are all part of the people group that God has given you a heart and burden for!

One special soul that was baptized today was a man named Mr. Kim. He is well over 70 years old and my husband had the honor of helping to lead him to Christ. I have prayed for Mr. Kim and waited anxiously to hear the reports my husband would bring of him from the villages. To see him show the world that he knows he is dead in his sins but they are washed and he is reborn and made new in Christ was the most wonderful experience I had this week!

It was a beautiful day! We started out by attending church at a local Korean church and then we ate lunch with the small congregation. After lunch, we all loaded up in the vans and cars and drove out to a small strip of beach where we saw families off all sizes from the village swimming and splashing. The tide was coming in quick and the sun was shining bright so we settled and in got the service going. 2 middle aged men, 1 elderly woman, 1 elderly man and 4 young boys were baptized.

My oldest daughter, who was baptized this past May understood the excitment of it and stood at the shore and greeted each believer who came out of the water with a "Chook Oh Ham Nee Dah" (Congrats in Korean, a big smile, and a handshake or hug! It was SO sweet to watch her be excited for the new believers as well. God has given her an amazing heart!

I guess I have rambled enough, here are my Mondays Moments, 2 pictures of the elderly man, Mr. Kim who was baptized:

It all started a few weeks ago when my oldest decided to start making up her own jokes. It was really cute at first. Then, the got worse and worse and I knew I needed to teach her some jokes. SO, I did a search on dogpile.com for knock knock jokes...her favorite. We spent way too much time the other morning reading jokes off this website. It was great, she was learning REAL jokes AND getting reading practice! However, now she is a joke telling fool! She won't stop. She is even trying to tell her jokes to unsuspecting, non-english speaking Koreans...bless their heart! Oh, you should see the looks on their faces as she starts! They don't understand her at all, and then can't figure out why she is laughing SO hard she can't finish! Here are a few of her favorites (not MY favorites...hers) that I have heard 100 times inthe past 2 days!

What does King Kong say when he dials the wrong number?
King Kong Ring Wrong

What is an elephants favorite game?
Squah

Why do elephants pain their toenails red?
So they can hide in a strawberry patch.

Why do elephants like to hide in strawberry patches?
So they can jump out and stomp on people.

Why do elephants like to stomp on people?
That's how they play squash.

Why did the banana go to the doctor?
He wasn't peeling very well.

Why did the cookie go to the doctor?
He was feeling crumby.

Why does Cinderella's Soccer Team always loose?
Because their coach is a pumpkin.

Why did Cinderella's coach put her on the bench?
Beacuse she ran away from the ball.

Knock, Knock.
Whose there?
Justin
Justin who?
Just in time for dinner!

Knock, knock
Whose there?
Abby
Abby who?
Abby birthday to you!

Knock knock
whose there?
dishes
Dishes who?
Dishes the police, open up!

Knock, knock
whose there?
Cash
Cash who?
I never knew you were a nut!

Oh and they go on and On and ON...they NEVER stop! I have truly created a monster! She is the cutest seven year old monster around, but she is a monster all the same!!

I am a few days late getting this posted, but I just HAD to post about it. After beach ministry last Tuesday, we decided to stay on the beach with the tourist for the night. SO, we loaded up the tent and cooler and roughed it for one night! Clark and I went camping all the time the first year we were married! Then, our first girl was born and we decided that camping with a baby was not to be desired. Seven years later, we decided to give it a shot after all!

We got the tent set up and then hit the ocean before the showers closed for the night. As we swam, we watched the sun set over the ocean! Oh, talk about beauty! How could anyone see that and not know that it was perfectly designed by our Father in Heaven is beyond me! The girls and I stopped playing and splashing and just watched as the sun went down. Even the baby seemed mezmerized by it!

We hit the showers and it took all I had to not laugh at my oldest girl and her first experience with public showers! Oh, it was GREAT! I don't think she knew what to do with a room full of Korean women showering! LOL! I think that was the fastest my little slow moving 7 year old has ever washed her hair!

Once we were all clean, it was back to the tent for some dinner. Korean style of course. We had curry rice on the beach! Sounds like a camping dinner to you right? LOL! But, it was yummy!

The girls are first class little campers! They did great, although we had the expected middle of the night bathroom runs (oh yes, more than one). They tracked sand all through the tent and all over the sheets, but hey...that's camping right? As we settled we realized that it was a bit too stuffy and sent Clark back out to take off the rain flap. With the rain flap off we could lay in the tent and gaze up at the night sky! The baby was asleep shortly after we were all settled and didn't wake up until well after sunrise! My oldest was determined to stay awake to see a shooting star. She didn't see one, but we had a great time of talking and giggling as we looked up at the amazing sky! We talked about how Great our God is. We giggled at the man in another tent that was snoring. Laughed until we cried as she made up stories of Mr. Bean (yes the, British comedian that she has found a love for). We jumped up and looked out the windows as the University Students down the beach set off fire works. I think she finally fell asleep around midnight. Clark and I stayed awake even longer talking about how blessed we are. God is SO good!

The sun woke us up at 6:00 but the girls slept in until almost 8:00! There is nothing like sitting out and watching the waves lap up on a perfectly quiet beach...especially in an overcrowded country like Korea. It is the first time in 4 years that it felt like we were somewhat secluded!

It was so wonderful, that next Tuesday (given it doesn't rain) we are planning on heading out again! I was trying to post some pictures of the trip but blogger isn't uploading them today...I will try to do some tomorrow!

I have been reading through different blogs and have seen different people post different things on certain days of the week. It got me to thinking about what I could post weekly. Any of you who know me well, know that I LOVE to take pictures and I usually end up taking pictures on the weekends and end up putting them on the computer on Mondays. I love to take any moment I can on Monday to look at the pictures and think of all the fun we had during the weekend. SO, I am going to start posting a picture or two of moments that are special that I captured over the previous week! These are my Mondays Moments! I will do my best to post a new picture or two every Monday on the blog! I hope that you enjoy them! Anyone who wants to join in please feel free to and leave me a message so I know to go check yours out.

This weekend was full of missionary work! We had a team meeting a good portion of the day Saturday and then team Worship on Sunday. However, my youngest (16 months) had a melt down before leaving the apartment on Sunday morning. We have been making an hour drive to the other side of our island there and back 6 days a week. I guess the thought of being stuck in her car seat for 2 more hours killed her. She hasn't been napping well with all the going, so we made a judgment call and the baby and I stayed home and had a relaxing Sunday of personal bible study, play time and a little bit of cleaning. When Clark and my oldest came home we ate dinner and then the girls started dancing all over the living room! They were too precious! I just had to get out the camera and start snapping! This is truly my special moment to remember for this Monday! I hope you enjoy it!

I found this site and had fun making a virtual me! :-) Clark got a kick out of it and I had fun making it. What do you think??

Let me start out by saying this is a TRUE story...This REALLY happened today! We were out working (beach ministry) at Hamdoek Beach. It was a BEAUTIFUL day! The sun was shining and the skies were clear! Ministry went well and then our family stayed after to see how long the crowd stayed around. So, we went out for a swim in the ocean. We were having a great time splashing with the girls when a woman came up to us speaking perfect English. We began talking and she was Korean Canadian and was very sweet. She is visiting family in Seoul for 6 weeks and made a special trip to Jeju. She is Presbyterian and very strong in her faith. She was excited to meet missionaries that were working on the island.

I know, I know...This story isn't sounding too strange yet...But it is about to get there! She began telling me a story of a Pastor from Seoul that is now living out in one of the country villages of Jeju. He moved into a village that has no Christian influence. He has made a commitment to stay until everyone in the village knows the Lord as their own personal Lord and Savior. He bought some land and moved out just telling people that he is new to farming, but wanted to learn. He did not want to come in telling people he was a farmer...He wanted to become one of them! For the first few years his crops failed. So, he prayed and searched the bible and God inspired him to build a CHICKEN COOP! He felt lead to build it very specifically. AND he was to raise the chickens "naturally". This pastor prepares all of the chicken food on his own and tastes it to make sure it is perfect. He built the chicken coops with individual stalls that have curtains so that there is privacy for laying eggs. He now raises more "natural" egg laying chickens than anyone else on the island. He still has meager accommodations compared to those he had back in Seoul, but he is able to support himself and another family with him income from these chickens. He is slowly beginning to be accepted into the village and as he is accepted, he is able to share!

This goes to show that there is NO business that God is not in...He is even in the Chicken business...Even if I don't understand it! However, if God ever gives me specific inspiration for a pig pen, a bird house, or any thing else...I want to be like Moses and the pastor in the village and be willing to do whatever God leads me to do! No matter how crazy it seems!