Tis the Season

A couple of pics I snapped for fun.

Halloween Part 2

The little dictator and his minion.

Bumblebee and her BFF the cowgirl.

It's Already Been a Year

One year. A year filled with wonderful moments... the pictures to follow are actually from three different events. The first one was at Halmuni's place - pretty low key as we were all recovering from the stomach bug (which we would then give to Halmuni). Then we had a party at our place... which can probably be traced to at least 2 more cases of the stomach bug. Then we had an impromptu photo session with the kids to take pictures in their han-boks before they got old enough to get their driver's licenses.

Big boy

Posing for the camera (not really)

Opening presents!

Getting a little help from sister

Sugary goodness

Cupcakes by mom

Focus

You're supposed to eat these?

Squishy fun

Getting dressed by Halmuni

Sitting still for a moment

Elias and Dana

Posing with Halmuni

Remember these days

Loving siblings (so far)

aaaaand, we're done.

A smile for the road

Elias - we love you. You are a great blessing from God and we are thankful for every day we have with you.

*poof* 2 Months Goes By

It's no mystery that time flies.

It seems like just yesterday that we were celebrating Elsie's 3rd Birthday... but now it's 8 weeks later! I don't think it's having a lack of things to write about, but rather, being so caught up living life that we seldom find time to take a step back and think or talk about life. That's when I remembered that this is not simply a scratchpad for us, but also (hopefully) a collection of snapshots throughout Elsie and Elias' lives for them to be able to revisit later in their lives.

SO, having said that, the last two months have been very fun, challenging, and wonderful. We've had some sicknesses run through the house (RSV - respiratory somethingerother virus) which turned Elsie into a barking seal and contender for the longest continuous snot-stream to exit a human being.

Elias also has been dealing with his first cold, but it has been concurrent with the introduction of 6 new teeth. Yes, you read that correctly - SIX. Poor little guy is going from 2 teeth to 8 in one fell swoop. Little overachiever. This does, however, explain why he has been slightly less than interested in eating, sleeping, or smiling.... but thankfully mostly all of those teeth have cut now and he's back to being himself... whatever that means as he seems to be changing daily.

Christmas Time

Wow. It's been over two weeks since we've posted anything on here. So much to report! Elsie got a job, Elias is driving, and Abbey the cat has turned over a new leaf and is a cuddly-cat.

These are all lies, some further from the truth than others.

It was a really good (and quiet) Christmas. We spent the day at home and just lounged around and relaxed throughout the morning. Halmuni Candy came over a little later and we all watched the Nutcracker on DVD and then shared a nice dinner. It was one of the more low-key and mellow times we've had in a while, but it was really nice.

Getting ready for......

First exposure to sticky buns... not of the diaper variety.

Elias doing his favorite thing.... besides eating and pooping of course.

He really is that happy.

Checking out her new kitchen.

Obviously about to say something really important.

Matching aprons - made by Halmuni.

You can't help but smile along.

Just Because

Cute random snapshots of little E, or "the boy" as I refer to him.

New Coat

Elsie is soooo blessed to have a talented Halmuni. The pictures speak for themselves.

Halloween 2009

We actually just got back into town from Hansville on halloween and didn't have any real plans. We were really thankful to get an invite to have dinner over at the Myers' place. The next day we carved Elsie's first pumpkin.

2009 - Halloween

Hansville 2009

We recently took a little time away as a family. It was actually one of the first times that we went somewhere for not other purpose than getting away and spending some time together. It was awesome.

2009-Hansville

100 Days

October 26th came and went without much hoopla, but it did mark a somewhat important day. On 10/26/09 Elias celebrated his 100th day since birth. The 100 day celebration used to hold great significance in Korean tradition because it marked a time when the baby's chance for survival increased dramatically, and although the advances of medicine and technology have all but made this celebration obsolete, I'm still thankful for the incredible blessing in little Elias. 

Every day is a gift of grace from God.

Contentment

Could he be more content? Elias at 3 1/2 months with his mama and Turtle hat, compliment of Halmuni. Thank you Candy!

Snapshot

I love my little girl. That's about all I have to say about that.

Yes, Those Are Peppers

So here's the back story.

I was down in Albuquerque a few weeks ago (9/20) and hatch chile season was in full-stride. I wanted some real bad. Without really thinking through the entire process, I stopped by one of the roasting stands while on my way to the airport. The plan was to stop by Walmart. buy a duffel and throw in the 20# of fresh roasted chiles and bring them on as carry-on. Wow.... even I amaze myself sometimes.

As the time ticked by, I realized that this plan may not come to fruition, or if it did, would be at the expense of making my flight home. So I chose the latter and dropped off my bag of capsaicin gold on the back porch of the family I stayed with.

Lots of holes cut in it..... Is it..... a puppy? I open it up, and there is 8# of fresh chiles straight from NM.

Big love to my brothers in ABQ!

Now THAT'S Metal

On Tuesday, August 18th, while riding her bicycle to work, our dear friend Angela was in an accident. Details of how the accident happened are still unclear and the West Seattle Police Dept. is investigating.

Ang was rushed to Harborview and was quickly admitted into the ICU where she has received excellent care from the many doctors and nurses attending her multiple injuries. The list of injuries she sustained go on like an old testament genealogy.

It's truly miraculous the way she's recovering from all of them. Initially, there was an understanding that only 10% of cases that suffered the same injuries even woke up from their coma. Not only is she up, but she is walking, talking, laughing, joking and crying. There's a long road ahead for her and her husband Josh, but the refiner's fire (Mal 3:2-3) has already clearly changed them both and I'm sure will continue.

So about the picture.... I was at the hospital where she has started her intensive rehab recently started and she leaned over to me with a slight grin and asked, "wanna see something cool?" Out comes this picture of the hardware in her elbow. As if that wasn't enough, she went one step further and had me feel where the metal is pushing against, and almost seemingly THROUGH, her skin.

What a trip.

I'm thankful for God's graciousness to let us have more time with our friend Angela. We love her.