Open House

Our branch held an Open House last week for anyone interested in finding out who we are. So each auxiliary was in charge of decorating a room to tell about that particular organization. Kudos to our Young Women who did a fantastic job with our room!

growing and growing and growing....

I can hardly believe AJ is two months already!!! Where does the time go? I know I still have a few baby years ahead of me with AJ, but already it seems like time is just slipping through my fingers! Each second he grows and each day he's learning something more. You know what I mean? He's awake more often these days, but sleeps pretty well through the night. He's down to waking up once, maybe twice during the night to nurse. He's even starting to smile and chat with us! Drew had him actually laughing the other day! Awe! Melt my heart!

And speaking of growing up.....

We were getting ready to go out and about the other day, so I told Kami to go and get her shoes, while I got AJ in the car seat. She came around the corner with a pair of my heels on! I think she would have actually have worn those shoes out the door, if I would have let her! Honestly. My kids need to stop growing!!

YW Lesson 41 "Being Dependable"

Object Lesson - Display a watch/clock.
Q: How many of you YW depend on a clock like this to get you out of bed in the morning?
Q: What would happen if this clock were to stop working?

A good watch or clock is very valuable when it tells time accurately. But, a watch or clock, no matter how cool it looks is of little use if you cannot depend on it to tell time accurately.

Teacher Presentation
Read: Sleeping Through The Storm
Q: How/Why could the young man sleep through the storm?

-Discuss what it means to be dependable and list the characterstics on the board.

-On a piece of paper, have the girls think back through their day, week, month and/or year and list all of the people who they have depended on. Have them circle one person on that list.

Quotation

“There is a thought from Confucius that touches upon the point of many personal and public problems. ‘A man who lacks reliability is utterly useless,’ he said. In this there is much of what is wrong with the relationships of man to man—not being reliable, not being able to count on people to perform their part, to do what they say they will do when it needs to be done. And so disappointments and disillusionment occur from day to day. Someone says he’ll have something ready at a certain time, and it just isn’t ready. Someone borrows and says he’ll pay back or bring it back at a certain time, and it just isn’t paid back or brought back. Someone signs a contract and agrees to perform certain services, and just doesn’t do it. The list could be endlessly lengthened. Often there are unavoidable reasons, but sometimes it is lack of reliability—and in some situations this could become not only frustrating but frightening. All this could perhaps be compared to a parachute that opens only part of the time, or to brakes on a car that can’t be counted on consistently. … Suppose we couldn’t count on the promises of God. Suppose the astronauts in orbit couldn’t count on the calculations that others have made, or couldn’t count on the universe being run reliably. Suppose we couldn’t count on the tides, or the sun, or the seasons. It isn’t the hit-and-miss performance that makes life possible, but the degree of reliability, dependability, honesty, consistency that can be counted on. ‘A man who lacks reliability is utterly useless’ ” (Richard L. Evans, “Reliable Once in a While,” Ensign, Oct. 1971, p. 9).

Activity

Have the YW think about the person who they circled on their list. What would be the consequence of him/her had they not been dependable?

Quotation
“A man with whom I am associated as a director in a large company and who is also a government official, said to me on one occasion: ‘We asked for applicants who were prepared to accept a certain job in the government. We had many applicants, and we got them down to ten. As we were considering those ten, we noticed that one of them was a member of your church, and we took him just like that.’
“I said, ‘Why did you take him?’
“He said, ‘Because we knew that he wouldn’t be carousing at night; we knew that we could depend upon him, and we knew that he would do the work assigned to him’ ” (“Dependability,” Ensign, Apr. 1974, p. 4).

Q: How do Church members get such a reputation?
Q: WHY is it important to ahve this reputation?

Quotation
“Each day we must stop and ask ourselves: Am I dependable? Am I strong enough and determined to become the kind of person in whom everyone can have confidence? We have examples all around us of people who had every opportunity to make good and had possibilities of promising careers, and of really making a contribution to the world, but failed because they had not made up their minds and were not strong enough to keep themselves above reproach and withstand the temptations placed before them” (N. Eldon Tanner, “Dependability,” p. 4).

Activity
I adapted the story at the end of the lesson into a script form...just my way of trying to get some participation and not have to read another story! ;^)

Days End

At the end of those particularly rough days...

Jacki

About a year ago I posted a blog about a group of Saints from Cameroon who made an incrediably long trip to the Aba Nigeria Temple just two weeks after it's dedication in August 2005. I also mentioned a women in our branch who is from Cameroon. Though it was a couple years after this that Jacki met the missionaries on a subway and joined the church, I still think of Jacki as a pioneer woman of courage, who is forging the way for her family back home in Cameroon, both financially, physically and spiritually. Because of Jacki's efforts and determination for her children to have more of an education that she has, her oldest son is here in Seoul now attending the University and studying Law. Jean Marcel is also being baptized this Sunday.

Jacki is such an inspiration to me in so many ways. I value her friendship and always look forward each week when she comes and helps me out with the house and kids! It makes me smile each Tuesday when the door opens and Kami perks up, runs to the door and says, "Jacki! Jacki!" And Jacki in her thick French accent returns, "Oui! Kami-Kamden!" Here are some pictures of my dear friend and the kids!

Did You?

The Princess and the Peapod

Here's just a recap of today's festivities from over here in Korea!

Just before heading out the door this morning, I decided to take a few pictures of the kids before their costumes and hair got too "played in"....Kami actually did okay with keeping her hair in. She only took one side out once today!

Soon we were off to the Osan Parent Network Playgroup Halloween Party. This picture reminds me of a scene in a movie....wait a minute Princess....who gave you that apple to eat? Well, luckily the apple didn't have a spell that put Princess Kami to sleep, but it must've had some kind of sibling effect because the Princess' little brother slept all through the party and for the majority of the day!
After eating lunch at Burger King and taking care of some laundry, I took Kami Trick-or-Treating. Her first real experience! My friend Tori watched AJ for me while Kami and I went up and down the halls of one of the base housing towers. She caught on pretty quickly that if you knocked on peoples doors tonight, they'd open their doors give you candy. My original plan was to trick-or-treat down just one of the halls, but Kami was having so much fun that we ended up knocking on five floors worth of doors. I love look of realization on Kami's face when my friend Amy showed her the candy.


We also visited our good friends Bernie and Rich....across the hall lives Angela and Vic, who became Kami's friends pretty fast after bringing out bubble wrap to pop and LOADING her up with candy! Thanks a lot, guys! ;^) And here's the Princess, the Pea, and their VERY tired looking Mommy. Three weeks of single parenthood seriously shows in my face more that I thought! *sigh* Drew's home tomorrow! And, yes, I did get my hair cut and I love it! And this is my favorite look AJ gets every once in a while. I call it his "worried" look...he must've gotten that from his dad!
And of course a Birthday shout-out to one of my very best friends....my sister Rachel! Happy 31st Birthday, Sis! We love you and miss you! We hope your days was fantastic!

The Cake Pop: Attempt #2

So, a few months ago I discovered this super cool site called Bakerella that had these absolutely adorable looking things called "Cake Pops", as pictured below:

I have recently got up the courage to try to make them on my own. So last night I had some friends over and we attempted to make some Halloween ones. This is a picture (no laughing...okay, yeah, you can laugh) of last nights finished product (they're supposed to be ghosts, if you couldn't tell)
Okay, so we're not exactly Bakerella, but we had a blast in the process of making them! And at least these ones were eatable (Attempt #1....not so much! LOL!)....in fact, they are quite delicious. So much so in fact, that I'm not yet dis swayed from attempting them again and trying to perfect the "Bakerella" look! More to come from "The Cake Pop" posts!

*sigh!*

So, tonight is our Branch's annual Chili Cookoff/Fall Party.....and for the second year in a row, I didn't make it. Oh, we came so close this year! I was going along in my day, doing my very best to ignore the ever growing mess my daughter was making of our house, the whines, the itchy throat that I'm sure will turn into a full-blown cold in the next day or so, AJ's constant crying from what I assume to be the same itchy throat that I've got going on, and Kami's refusal to take a nap. I was determined to make it tonight. I had been baking all morning (I LOVE the smell of a house that has something baking). Cupcakes for tonight perfect and fluffy with what was supposed to be orange frosting, but actually came out peach (but I was ignoring that fact, too) and I was quite pleased with myself that I heeded friend Sariah's warning that the cornbread that she had dropped off with me has a tendency to burn....but they came out the perfect golden brown.

So, what was the straw that broke the camels back?

Like I said, I was ignoring the whines, but the mess was getting to me. So, I started picking up around the house (while AJ was actually sleeping). And I was trying my best to ignore Kami's plea of "Mommy....I need help!". Thinking she was most likely wanting to get into one of her toys that I would then later have to pick up, I replied half-hearted, "Kami, I can't think of anything that you would need help with, that I'd want to help you with."

On second thought, maybe I should have listened to her. *SIGH!!*

General Conference

Last night I finally got the chance to sit down and watch General Conference via the Internet. I sat through a couple of talks and then looked around the house at all of the toys strewn across the floor and dishes left undone, and decided that I would do some cleaning up while I listened to conference. As I finished up wiping the table down, I heard Kami awake in her bedroom (it was probably about 10:30PM). So, I went in to check on her, expecting her to have fallen back asleep, or thinking maybe she was talking in her sleep. But, when I went to her room, she was standing in her crib and wide awake. Not wanting to fight with her to get her to go back to sleep, I carried her out to the living room, sat on the couch with Kami on my lap and watched conference while enjoying my daughters company. I was so surprised that she just sat on my lap and watched with me. I did break out some M&M's and milk while we watched. But....it was just such a peaceful feeling. It's been a little rough this last month since AJ's birth. Last week we had, what I call a "mass exodus" from our house. My sister and niece who had been here for over a month left for home and Drew left for a 3 week class in Mississippi all on the same day. So, I've been a "single mom" for a little over a week now. So, AJ being so little and monopolizing a lot of my time and energy, I cringe when I'm trying to calm him down or when he's nursing and Kami comes up to me asking to sit on my lap. I hate having to say "no" when there is no one else around that can play with her. Anyway, I enjoyed the opportunity that presented itself last night. It was the best mommy/daughter time Kami and I have had in a while.

We're faring okay here by ourselves, for those wondering how we're doing! ;^) Although, I do happily admit that I've had a lot of help! Friends bringing dinners by, inviting us over to their homes to do laundry, just a couple of days ago, I was in need of some rubbing alcohol for AJ's umbilical cord that hadn't fallen off yet so I sent an email out to the sisters in the branch to see if they had any to spare (the commissary and BX had been out for quite a while) and I was amazed at the emails that poured in and the phone calls I started receiving. Our Branch President and his wife ended up being the ones to bring some over, but not only that, they sat and chatted with me for a little bit! Yay! Adult conversation! How I miss that the most at night when Drew's gone. Yesterday morning I took the kids with me to the church for a Relief Society brunch and to watch the General RS Broadcast. Kami played in the nursery where a couple of my beautiful YW watched the kiddos and AJ came with me. He, however, started to get pretty fussy....and just as I was contemplating packing up and going home, our District President who is also in our Branch came up to me and offered to take AJ while I finished watching the broadcast. AJ cried the entire time, of course, but I cannot begin to tell you how spiritually fed I felt not only from listening to a wonderful messages, but also by being served. It made me think about Cain's comment to the Lord just after slaying his brother and the Lord asked, "Where is Abel thy brother?" and Cain answered with, "I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?" I guess why I was thinking about this comment is because I think the answer is a resounding "Yes! Yes, you are!!!" We, not only as Latter-day Saints, but as Christians are fully responsible for the well-being of our fellow man. Do we know where our brothers and sisters, our friends, are? Do we know how they need served? If God came to you now and said, "_________(insert your name), where is ___________, thy brother/sister?" Would we know how to answer that??? I think with the amount of service that has been shown to me and my family, I am learning how to serve. My friend Ruth made a comment after the RS broadcast as to how I could stand letting someone else take care of my crying baby. Other than perspective....I get a crying baby all day long (okay, not really, he's actually a pretty good baby), but Pres. Hilton knows that after the hour is up, he can give him back to me and his work is done!.....I guess I could also say that by being served, I am learning how to serve.

ANYWAY....holy smokes this is a long blog post! I'm not sure any of it made sense, but, as you can see, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. My heart is full of gratitude for so many things and so many people! So, if you're reading this and you've brought dinners by or picked something up at the commissary for me or offered to take Kami for me or let me do laundry at your house (or offered) or made me laugh or asked how I was doing or let us eat at your house or came over to mine and chatted, etc. etc. etc. I just wanted to say, Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You are heaven sent!

Okay. Here's some random pictures that I though I'd share from this weekend. Enjoy!

Monkey see, monkey do. Since AJ was laying on his blanket, Kami decided she had to as well!

My conference watching buddy!

AJ's favorite past time, and how I settle him down if he's super fussy! Also, check out the little fat rolls he's getting on his legs! SO CUTE!

Hey Ruth!

I'm an Esme, too! Go figure!

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!
You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great
importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be
sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and
appreciate the kind way you always handle things.

Calling the Computer Literate

Okay, usually if I tinker around long enough on the computer I can figure stuff out. But this whole "HTML" stuff has really got me baffled! I'm trying to add a blog header on my site, but nothing is working! I've tried to upload it from under "Layout" directly from my computer as well as uploading it to Photobucket and getting a code formed. But, nothing seems to work. Tips anyone????

Movie Star Crush

The Three Musketeers movie came on today and I remembered something I hadn't thought about in a LONG time......

Once upon a time, there was a little 14 year-old teenager, whoes heart skipped a beat when she saw this......

Chris O'Donnell was my very first movie star crush. Baby face, long curly locks and beautiful blue eyes? Who couldn't resist that??? I even remember taking a picture from a teen magazine of him to Girls Camp with me one year. I was so embarrassed when my friends, in jest, brought out the picture when our Bishop came up for dinner and testimony meeting. Ahhh. The little things that would make me blush! Okay. I've shared mine; so here's a blog challange for you....who was your first movie star crush? (My second movie star crush would have been Jared Leto....back in his "My So Called Life" days......his picture graced the cover of my school notebooks!)

And here's some pictures of our own little Picasso......


.....we went on base today with every intention to go to the Air Show. We drove by the flight line, saw all of the people and I quickly decided maybe I'm not ready to attempt such a feat with two kids by myself yet. So, Kami settled for lunch at Subway and a trip to the BX to pick up some paints! Drew...she DOES sing: "Painting the sun, painting the sun, bright yellow. Bright yellow. Painting the bright yellow sun." while she paints! SO CUTE!!!

YW Lesson 38 "Good Health Habits"

Okay! Last Sunday was my first week back to church and my first YW's lesson in a month!!! I missed the YW in our little branch SO MUCH while I was gone. More than they'll ever know. When I was discouraged, bummed out and emotional while waiting for AJ to come, I tried my best to think of happy things and thinking of the amazing girls in our branch always put a smile on my face.

We did have a lot of fun with this lesson. I took an idea that Angela had in a similar lesson she gave last year and brought in some foods and measured out the sugar content in each of those foods. The girls were amazed and made us all really think about what we're putting into our bodies. Anyway. It was just a pretty casual lesson about the things we eat and how to incorporate the Word of Wisdom into our lives. Okay. I taught this lesson on a Fast Sunday, too. Kind of mean. But, on the other hand, maybe it gave the girls an opportunity to end their fast right. It was just so good to be back teaching again!

AND while I was gone.....I finally got a 1st Counselor again! Wahoo! I am so excited! Katie is a fantastic person with the energy and spunk I wish I had! I'm so glad she accepted the calling!

Babies and More!

I was talking to my sister on the phone the other day and she said I needed to update my blog with more pictures. So Rachel, here you are! Here's some pictures of my babies that I have taken over the last couple of days!

Today AJ is officially 3 weeks old! Wow! I know he's still so new, but I can't believe it's been 3 weeks already! I've hardly noticed the time going by with all of the diaper changes, clothing changes (the kids and mine!), feedings, etc. I must say though, I LOVE being a mom! And I LOVE the way I'm feeling this time around! I had such a hard time my first time around with Postpartum Depression and it's such a huge difference right now! I can actually sit back, watch my kids and think, "Wow! This is fantastic!" Anyway, I'm doing great! AJ is such a fun baby to have around. He nurses super well and sleeps a lot (at least right now he does anyway!). He gets a little fussy at night, but nothing the baby swing won't settle. And Kami absolutely adores him! It's been so much fun to see her as the big sister. She is such a huge help!

Okay. Totally off topic. But, I've got a funny story that I've been laughing at all day long. So, this morning I get the kids ready and out the door to go to our Breastfeeding Support Group Meeting (I was actually early! Woohoo!) at my friend Anna's house on base. I stop at the gate and hand my ID card to the guard, who says to me, "Wow! It smells really good in there!" A little taken off guard, I'm thinking quickly at what on earth he could be smelling. I did take a shower that morning and did actually remember to put my deodorant on. Still thinking quickly, I think of the kids in the back seat. They are clean, but I didn't think they were particularly overfull (is that a word? well, it is now.). I did make cookies last night to bring to BFSG, but they were in an air-tight container, so it couldn't be that. So the guard finishes scanning my ID card and I'm about to drive away and I couldn't resist asking. "Um. What does my car smell like?" He paused for a minute to think and then satisfied with his conclusion he says, "It smells like....laundry detergent." AAAAAHHH! One advantage of keeping laundry detergent in the back of your car (we take our laundry on base every week). Anyway, that was so random, I thought is was pretty funny.

Alright. I'm off to get Miss No-Nap Kami to bed!

Attention Scrapbookers!

http://www.scrapbookfactorystore.com/

So, the super cool scrapbook store that I used to work at now has kits online! Wahoo! I am so excited about this!!! These kits are put together by a group of uber-talented ladies - I miss them all so much!!!! Anyway, go on over and check out their new store! The kits are sold unassembled with everything you need to complete a 2-page layout. You can use the designers idea exactly as the pictures shown, or add your own little flair here and there! Yay! Congratulations Scrapbook Factory on your "dot com" expansion! :^)

Storks Nest Review

Whew! Finally a post! I've seriously been trying to work on this for a couple days now! Nothing too recent here, just a review of our 18 days in Seoul!

In all its glory...here's a picture of the little house that became a home away from home.

During our stay we took advantage of visiting some local museums....this one is the Children's Museum inside the National Museum. Very cool and super fun for the kiddos!

Drew came up one weekend and we walked over to the Korean War Memorial. We've been there before, but it was fun to take Mindy and Emily.

Some days were spent just playing outside!

A couple of days before AJ's arrival.
Playing at the Toy Store.
And finally! Here's here! YAY!

Introducing....

Andrew Jerome (AJ)!

Hey Everyone! Just a quicky update on baby AJ! After being 5 days overdue, AJ was born yesterday morning after a super quick 4 hour labor!!! Whew! Everything went so fast there was no time for any pain medication of any kind. So. Wow. That was something I never expected or planned to do. But....now that I've done it, it's almost empowering! AND I feel great! We're all doing well. We're at home now, thanks to the fantastic doctors at the hospital on Yongsan Army Post in Seoul. They must have had pitty on us since we hadn't been home in over two weeks (with the exception of our quick escape!).

Anyway....AJ weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. (a whole pound bigger than Kami) and 20.5 inches. He is a GREAT baby! We all feel so blessed to have him as a part of our family! Thanks to everyone for all of your support and prayers on our behalf!

Home For The Day

Hmmmmm. No AJ yet! I had a doctors appointment today and it looks like I'll be yet another week (my guess). Drew was up in Seoul this weekend and for a couple of days this week for work meetings. So, we decided since it didn't look like anything was going to happen tonight, we'd come back down to Osan and sleep in our own bed! It is so nice to be home!!! I do have to head back up tomorrow, however, since this weekend it the Korean Thanksgiving holiday. The roads are really, really bad during this time and nearly impossible to actually get into Seoul.

We've been trying to keep somewhat busy while we've been in Seoul. We went to the Children's Museum next to the Army base one day and to the Korean War Memorial Museum another. We also went to story hour at the library, gone to a few movies (Osan Friends....did you know it free admission up there?!? What the heck????) and have done tons and tons of walking! :^)

Today the first thing we did upon coming back to Osan was B-line it straight to the fabric store! I think my sister must have been their favorite customer of the day because he kept giving her free fabric as we were leaving! LOL! Ahhhh. I think we'll be back there soon! :^) Other than that, I've just really been enjoying being at home! There's no place like it! I'll let you all know as soon as we're back here with baby in hand! :^) Miss you all!

To the Blog Watchers!

Okay. For all of you who keep checking up on my blog to see any baby news, this one's for you! :^)

So, no baby yet. But I did make my way up to Seoul where I'll be staying on the Army Post until AJ comes! Entourage in tow (Kami, my sister and two nieces), we rode the bus up from Osan yesterday. After grabbing some lunch and a quick trip to the PX (Post Exchange) we made our way by Taxi over to the hospital to check into the Storks Nest (free lodging for expectant mothers who have to travel to be in Seoul to have their babies). Taxi's here have been a rare sight around this base this summer with strikes and contract issues, etc. So, it's a welcome sight to see taxi's actually running on a regular basis now. Just in time! :^) Anyway, the accomadations are....humble....but, hey, it's FREE! And it's within walking distance to the hospital. So, no complaints here! :^) I am actually surprised though that we are the only ones in the little "house". There are three rooms with their own bathrooms and a shared kitchen. But, no sign of others coming from the other two rooms. Of course that can change at any time around here! But, I was hoping to see some prego friends from Osan up here, too! Not that I'd really like to stick around until they DO come up! Any time this little guy wants to show his face is just fine with me!

At lunch time yesterday, we also discovered that the foodcourt offers free wireless internet! So, what's where I'm at right now! So glad I brought my computer!

Anyway, we're all doing well! Just chilling out waiting to go home with a new bundle any day now! Pictures of my temporary 'digs' coming soon! :^) Anyway, enough rambling! I just wanted you all to know that I'm still here! I'll update more soon!