This is something I wrote as I was sitting in the hotel room on Camp Humphreys...
June 26, 2014
I want to remember that every night at 2200 while we were in lodging they played "Taps" and it never failed to move me. The way it echoed on the still night air was hauntingly beautiful to me. I will miss hearing that song of remembrance every night when we move off post. I am grateful for all those who sacrificed so that we get to call America a land of freedom.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Poor Anna
Written back in May...
We have had a great time being in Utah thus far.
Anna has had a bit of a rough time though. To start off, her sleeping was way off. She was waking up between 4:45-5:45 for the first few days and would not go back to sleep. I am most definitely NOT a happy camper that early in the morning. On top of that, two days after we arrived she was riding a "plasma car" and it went rolling down the end of the driveway and dumped her right on her face. She scraped her chin, lip and nose. Thankfully she's a tough cookie. The next day she and Tommy came down with a really bad cough/runny nose. It was waking both kids up at night, which was rough on Mom as well. Two days later Anna was out riding on the tricycle with the girls and I heard a huge scream. She had fallen off that bike as well and not only scratched her chin and nose, but managed to put two huge bite marks on her lip as well as bloody knuckles. Her lip was extremely swollen for a couple days after that. We kept the pacifier in to help her avoid chewing on the lip. Ouch! Lots more blood that time. And then another two days later? She started teething- 4 teeth at once. Poor Anna couldn't catch a break! As of today we have a residual runny nose, but the crabbiness and waking up multiple times a night has ended.
We have had a great time being in Utah thus far.
Anna has had a bit of a rough time though. To start off, her sleeping was way off. She was waking up between 4:45-5:45 for the first few days and would not go back to sleep. I am most definitely NOT a happy camper that early in the morning. On top of that, two days after we arrived she was riding a "plasma car" and it went rolling down the end of the driveway and dumped her right on her face. She scraped her chin, lip and nose. Thankfully she's a tough cookie. The next day she and Tommy came down with a really bad cough/runny nose. It was waking both kids up at night, which was rough on Mom as well. Two days later Anna was out riding on the tricycle with the girls and I heard a huge scream. She had fallen off that bike as well and not only scratched her chin and nose, but managed to put two huge bite marks on her lip as well as bloody knuckles. Her lip was extremely swollen for a couple days after that. We kept the pacifier in to help her avoid chewing on the lip. Ouch! Lots more blood that time. And then another two days later? She started teething- 4 teeth at once. Poor Anna couldn't catch a break! As of today we have a residual runny nose, but the crabbiness and waking up multiple times a night has ended.
Thoughts on Simplifying
So I had heard the idea of having just 5 basic outfits for your kids. That would mean less laundry and therefore less stress. If something got a little dirty- just spot clean it and put it back in the drawer.
HA! I laugh at your concept. I lived with those 5 outfits for almost 6 weeks with my kids when we were in Utah and it was a huge pain! I felt like I was doing laundry all the time to keep up. And just a little dirty? Ha! What kid only gets a little dirty? I'm sorry- but I prefer having enough clothes on hand so that if I don't feel like doing laundry for a week, we can all still survive.
The end
HA! I laugh at your concept. I lived with those 5 outfits for almost 6 weeks with my kids when we were in Utah and it was a huge pain! I felt like I was doing laundry all the time to keep up. And just a little dirty? Ha! What kid only gets a little dirty? I'm sorry- but I prefer having enough clothes on hand so that if I don't feel like doing laundry for a week, we can all still survive.
The end
Thoughts on Korea
We have been in Korea for 4 weeks now. Kind of crazy that much time has gone by already. We are finally getting settled in, too. We are mostly out of our boxes, and once we finish ordering furniture (mostly shelving for the kitchen) I think we will be very comfortable.
Some things I've noticed already about being here:
I like living a bit more simply. We didn't bring very many of the kids' toys with us. Mostly legos, tinker toys, and magnetic blocks. Then the girls brought their dolls and each child chose just a couple favorite other toys. Extremely minimal. And I have noticed that they play with the toys ALL the time! We've had legos for years. They have been played more in the last 2 weeks than they have in the 4 years we've had them. And their dolls have appeared! I had given up on dolls, as the girls NEVER played with them. I'm hoping this means I can start making doll clothes again :) It is just nice to know that when I ask the kids to clean up, it is not beyond what they are capable of achieving. The house is smaller than our last, and with fewer belongings it doesn't feel too much that way.
I never truly lived in a humid climate. (And I grew up in Illinois.) Jim-a-nee! It is so incredibly humid here! We have only stand-alone air conditioners in the house. One in the downstairs living area, one in the upstairs living area, and one in our bedroom. We keep them at 25C (77 F) during the day and typically 24C (75 F) at night. It has been a huge adjustment, as we were always 68-70 degree folk! We purchased a dehumidifier yesterday, which takes the humidity level down to about 60%, but it has made an enormous difference in the way the house feels. We filled a huge bucket full of water just in the last 20 hours of use. And there's plenty more to be had! Especially with monsoon season upon us, it is just very wet here. Basically I just always feel clammy. I am sure we will all adjust.
There are lots of bugs- especially mosquitoes. We live fairly close to a river, so we are especially bombarded with these blood suckers. Poor Ellie has been their favorite treat, too. After doing fireworks on the 3rd and 4th, she counted 16 bites on one foot and 12 on the other. It took 4 full days before she wasn't completely miserable with the itching!
The branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is amazing. Before we even moved here I was getting messages from the sisters here showing willingness to give advice and assistance. And it hasn't ended. We got a lead on a house to rent right next door to the Relief Society President and there are 2 other LDS families in this same neighborhood. Another huge blessing- lots and lots of kids to play with!
The Korean people are the friendliest I have ever met. Ever. They just love children and are constantly coming up to the kids and giving them hugs and talking to them and smiling and just overall happy to see them. We go through the gate on post and the gate guards are the sweetest men. They are excited to say hello and talk about how Steve must be "a rich man" to have so many kids. We have learned only a few Korean words so far, but I hope to improve our language skills significantly while here.
There is very little wasted space. All around where we live are rice fields. But you'll notice on a small stretch on the side of the road one row of corn, or beans, or some other produce. Every little patch of available ground is being used and I love it! Just the other day I went to enter an on-ramp and thought that I had missed the turn and accidentally drove into a farmer's field, as the whole ramp was surrounded by crops.
There is quite a bit of pollution and dust in the air. It is constantly hazy here. I hear it blows over from China- the desert sands and the pollution from the cities. It is really quite unfortunate, but it makes for some amazing sunsets. This is just out my dining room window and really doesn't do it justice, but trust me- the sun is always red when it sets and I am always in awe.
Traffic laws are more like suggestions. Red light? Just figure out if anyone coming- if not- go right ahead. Ryan is already picking up on the "traffic lights as suggestions" rule. I also still need to get used the kph vs the mph. I'm getting there.
There is much to do in this beautiful country and I hope we are able to do many of the amazing things available to us. And I hope I do a better job documenting it!
Some things I've noticed already about being here:
I like living a bit more simply. We didn't bring very many of the kids' toys with us. Mostly legos, tinker toys, and magnetic blocks. Then the girls brought their dolls and each child chose just a couple favorite other toys. Extremely minimal. And I have noticed that they play with the toys ALL the time! We've had legos for years. They have been played more in the last 2 weeks than they have in the 4 years we've had them. And their dolls have appeared! I had given up on dolls, as the girls NEVER played with them. I'm hoping this means I can start making doll clothes again :) It is just nice to know that when I ask the kids to clean up, it is not beyond what they are capable of achieving. The house is smaller than our last, and with fewer belongings it doesn't feel too much that way.
I never truly lived in a humid climate. (And I grew up in Illinois.) Jim-a-nee! It is so incredibly humid here! We have only stand-alone air conditioners in the house. One in the downstairs living area, one in the upstairs living area, and one in our bedroom. We keep them at 25C (77 F) during the day and typically 24C (75 F) at night. It has been a huge adjustment, as we were always 68-70 degree folk! We purchased a dehumidifier yesterday, which takes the humidity level down to about 60%, but it has made an enormous difference in the way the house feels. We filled a huge bucket full of water just in the last 20 hours of use. And there's plenty more to be had! Especially with monsoon season upon us, it is just very wet here. Basically I just always feel clammy. I am sure we will all adjust.
 |
| Humidity has done amazing things to Anna's curls! I LOVE those curls! |
 |
| Ellie's feet. There are just as many on the other side! |
 |
| checking out the river by our house |
The branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is amazing. Before we even moved here I was getting messages from the sisters here showing willingness to give advice and assistance. And it hasn't ended. We got a lead on a house to rent right next door to the Relief Society President and there are 2 other LDS families in this same neighborhood. Another huge blessing- lots and lots of kids to play with!
The Korean people are the friendliest I have ever met. Ever. They just love children and are constantly coming up to the kids and giving them hugs and talking to them and smiling and just overall happy to see them. We go through the gate on post and the gate guards are the sweetest men. They are excited to say hello and talk about how Steve must be "a rich man" to have so many kids. We have learned only a few Korean words so far, but I hope to improve our language skills significantly while here.
There is very little wasted space. All around where we live are rice fields. But you'll notice on a small stretch on the side of the road one row of corn, or beans, or some other produce. Every little patch of available ground is being used and I love it! Just the other day I went to enter an on-ramp and thought that I had missed the turn and accidentally drove into a farmer's field, as the whole ramp was surrounded by crops.
There is quite a bit of pollution and dust in the air. It is constantly hazy here. I hear it blows over from China- the desert sands and the pollution from the cities. It is really quite unfortunate, but it makes for some amazing sunsets. This is just out my dining room window and really doesn't do it justice, but trust me- the sun is always red when it sets and I am always in awe.
 |
| sunset over the river near our house |
Traffic laws are more like suggestions. Red light? Just figure out if anyone coming- if not- go right ahead. Ryan is already picking up on the "traffic lights as suggestions" rule. I also still need to get used the kph vs the mph. I'm getting there.
There is much to do in this beautiful country and I hope we are able to do many of the amazing things available to us. And I hope I do a better job documenting it!
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