Thrift Store Dress

days in may

2013-06-19T18:57:00.001+09:00

The semester is quickly coming to a close and with it, many of our usual activities. This year the university was so kind to offer the professors a weekly beginners level Korean class that would help us go at a slower pace than the regular class offered to the foreign students (they cover in a day what we covered in a week). It was an absolute riot some evenings as it was held at the end of two very long teaching days with a class full of worn out and quite goofy professors. Our teacher was an absolute gem and I really loved the class! Looking forward to returning to it after little Jimmy arrives and I get settled into a new routine. :)

As many of my previous posts have shown, Robert and I have been having a blast rediscovering our little town. After living here for almost 2 years, we're getting to see parts of it that we never knew existed. We ventured out on a Saturday for a leisurely day of thrift shop hopping and visiting a quaint little eye glass shop that has been there for 30 years (and still has some of the same advertisements hanging up too) :) The owners were adorable!

Doing my "posing" for Robert to snap pictures unawares :)

This was a very special Mother's Day as it was my first... I can't wait to meet this little growing boy inside of me! He is such an active little guy and brings me so much joy already, I can't even begin to imagine how much I will love this kid when I can hold him in my arms!

We had a lovely little picnic in our favorite spot and enjoyed the gorgeous weather and scenery.

Our friends from the University, Chandan and Pooja, came over and cooked us authentic Indian food! It was divine. Robert started us out with a lovely bruschetta appetizer and then I finished us off with some shortbread and tea. It was truly an international meal :)

Teacher's day rolled around and my Mentoring students surprised me with these adorable signs they had made. They were so sweet! I have had such a wonderful time getting to know these three girls better! :)

This is the first "Korean" thing I have bought for baby James. I can't wait to see him in this adorable little shirt and to hold him!

Robert and I spent another day relaxing and enjoying our local town. Our friend from Jikjisa Temple invited us to eat dinner with him inside the temple. This was a pretty cool experience and we also enjoyed tea in the Temple tea house. They were doing their evening ringing of the bell for the animals so we got to see that too which was very interesting.

After walking around the Temple grounds a little bit, we decided to take a drive around the mountain to see what we would find. It was a gorgeous evening and the scenery was beautiful. It's amazing to think that this is our "backyard".

a walk in the park

2013-06-01T11:08:00.002+09:00

With Summer on its way, we have had some pretty hot days but the evenings are absolutely gorgeous so we have enjoyed several evening up on our rooftop. Its so relaxing to take a pot of tea, lawn chair, and maybe even a movie and just sit and enjoy the surroundings.

As I mentioned before, the addition of Perry has opened our eyes to a completely different version of Korea than we had seen before. We are now able to see the real Korea and appreciate its beauty. We have been taking advantage of every opportunity we can to see more and explore more. Though we came to a familiar place, Jikjisa park, we still had new experiences and enjoyed the time immensely! The afternoon was a bit misty and overcast which only made the colors more vibrant and fascinating. This is extremely high praise but it kind of reminded me of our trip to Ireland because of how green every was. It was so gorgeous!

Chestnuts... they're my favorite.

Robert had heard about this Tea House at the entrance of Jikjisa Temple and wanted to try it out so we did. Talk about an amazing experience! You order one kind of tea but by the end of it the lady has brought out about 5 different kinds to try~ herb, floral, mixed flavors, you name it.

While sitting enjoying our tea, the owner came over to talk to us and we understood about 55% of what she said but halfway through we got lost. She was talking about a friend and something about English. We apologized and she said not to worry about it and left. We forgot about it and then about an hour later a monk shows up at our table and says "hi!". She had apparently called him to come down from the temple to meet us. :) He was such a nice guy and we struck up a great friendship with him.

What an awesome rainy day experience, huh?

exploration begins...

2013-05-27T22:32:00.001+09:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, we became proud owners of a little blue set of wheels named Perry. Up until this purchase, Korea was never really viewed as a beautiful or exciting place to either Robert or me. However, now that we have easily accessed transportation, Korea has blossomed in our eyes. Suddenly we are seeing streets and back roads, mountain passes and quaint neighborhoods that were otherwise invisible to us before. It has been an exciting several weeks as we have embarked on weekend drives to simply explore the areas around us. Whether that means we are visiting a nearby city for dinner or exploring a backwoods road that takes us to new areas of town, we are having a blast!

We decided to stay pretty close to home on Buddha's birthday because that is a huge traveling holiday here. We decided to go spend the day in Gumi. We had a lovely lunch at Terrace 5, walked around an open market taking pictures and talking to adorable old people, watch Great Gatsby, and then headed home after some window shopping. It was a fabulous day!

If you haven't noticed, there is a substantial increase in pictures... that's because we finally replaced our Canon elf! Robert has been having so much fun snapping pictures of Korea and finding the things that others view as old and outdated but that we find to be the beautiful side of Korea~ the old and traditional. It still exists but you have to look hard and long to find it. This is the viewpoint from our rooftop. The days have been extremely hot but the nights are absolutely gorgeous so we have enjoyed sitting up there in the evenings this past week.

Saturday called for a stroll around our own little neighborhood. This brought us to an adorable little cactus store that had the most amazing cacti! Some were shaped like roses, lotus, and many more. It was fascinating!

Gimcheon is covered in red roses and hydrangeas! It is absolutely gorgeous!

We decided to christen a newly opened coffee shop in town with our friends, the Moonesars :)

Perry took us to Daegu to celebrate our first Parent's day :) Here in Korea, Mother's day and Father's day are combined into one day. We had a great American meal at TGI Fridays and then gelato from Davinci's Coffee. We bought a few things but realized when we got home that our bags never made it home... that's always a bummer.

Trying to get used to this new phase in life: very short energy spurts! :)

It really cuts into a girl's shopping experience! :)

As always, we are doing our best to have an absolute blast. Our life is about to change a great deal and we couldn't be happier about that fact. These next few months are going to be full of fun and new adventures! We're simply going to have a little guy to share them with from now on! :)

GU School Festival 2013

2013-05-22T23:14:00.003+09:00

This year's school festival was so much fun! The kids did an awesome job on their tent and seemed to really have a great time. Even though I spent a lot of time at the English department tent, one of my favorite parts of festival was walking around to see all my General English class students with their own departments. They get so excited to see you and sucker you into buying food from their tent :) It's a ton of fun. There are so many kinds of food being sold, department chanting, and loud upbeat music playing from each tent. If my child likes techno music straight out of the womb, I blame Korea entirely...

The President always tours the department tents and gives each one some encouragement and a little money to help on their expenses. Our kids had a special little song prepared and everything :)

The students practice for weeks on their department cheers. It's a pretty amazing thing to watch and listen to! They are so organized about it :)

My favorite little guy showed up to festival too! :)

Enjoying some relaxed time with the other professors.

Robert participated in a relay representing the English department :)

I loved seeing the student body gathered for the closing ceremony. It was pretty cool to see.

Robert with one of my students from last year :)

English department DJ :)

In the midst of the excitement of festival, we purchased our little Kia Morning named "Perry". It makes such a huge difference to have a car now. I haven't ridden in a taxi for weeks now! It's amazing! :)

James' first School Festival :)

We decided to set a record right off the bat of how many we could fit in Perry... 6 people! :)

English department on the last night of Festival

It was such a great School Festival! I enjoyed the week so much and look forward to next year! :)

A few days of Spring

2013-05-16T10:57:00.001+09:00

While it was short, we did have a little Spring and we took advantage of it. Our friends Hyunuk and Jeongbong own the Lucky Penny here in town (its an American-style bar and restaurant). They lived in Japan for 9 years and San Francisco for 9 years so they are completely familiar with being a foreigner in another land. They called us up one night and told us that they wanted to give us a Baby shower because they knew how lonely this time could be (they had their second child in America). They're right. It can be extremely lonely, but knowing we have friends like them make it just a little less so. They invited a few of our friends and put together an amazing Sunday lunch of some of the best homemade lasagna I have ever had, grilled meat, salads, fruit, cheesecake and coffee. It was such a fun day hanging out with everyone, playing the Wii, and being together. BB is spoiled already! :)

All BB's stuff :)

With the weather so good, we couldn't pass up the chance to walk to the park for a picnic! This is our favorite picnic spot in town and with good reason. It's so peaceful and gorgeous.

I love living in Gimcheon...

I am currently addicted to fruit smoothies...

Robert is a master chef and I always love his cooking, but I always get a kick out of the state of the kitchen after he is done! :) He can cook, but he sure makes a mess!

My mentoring girls and I headed out for another picnic on the weekend but the wind was so bad that day we ended up walking back to a coffee shop and enjoying the rest of the time over cookie shakes and americanos.

Catching one of the last taxis for awhile... (stay tuned to meet Perry) :)

early April days

2013-05-15T00:47:00.002+09:00

Although winter was holding on with a fierce grip this year, we did manage to have some beautiful days in April. The cherry blossoms were gorgeous as always and we tried to get out to see them as many times as possible. They have a rather short window before they disappear.

This is a rather peculiar dish that is weirdly delicious... It's a "Salad Pizza" that is just that: a salad that has a sometime sweet dressing over a thin crusted pizza. The whole time you eat it you keep thinking, this is kind of weird... and then you reach for the next piece.

My mentoring girls wanted to learn how to cook "American" food so I invited them over and showed them how to make a tomato based pasta and alfredo pasta. I also did fresh garlic bread and salad.

^^It was a fun evening. ^^

I spend so much time in coffee shops doing homework, that sometimes I forget to just enjoy a coffee shop now and again. One of my favorite things to do is to spend an afternoon sipping a cappuccino and either writing letters or reading a book.

Probably one of our favorite ways to spend an afternoon and evening is to head over to Daegu for some shopping and dinner. We decided it had been long enough since we went (after all, the owner at our favorite restaurant didn't even know I was pregnant!) and headed over to spend a fun filled day together. We did some substantial shopping, sipped coffee on the veranda of a coffee shop, and then enjoyed a delicious meal at Little Italia....

Some of my students enjoying a "Market day" activity with another class.

We stopped by one of our English department student's work place and tried out the food :)

We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of our little boy in a few months! I'm getting exciting about making the baby room soon! :)

a friend visits korea

2013-05-12T20:38:00.000+09:00

Living in Asia can be a bit lonely because we don't often get visitors on this side of the world. Imagine my excitement when my friend Laura told me that she would be doing her teaching practicum in China and that she had a Spring break! We got the details worked out and she was able to come spend a few days with us in Korea. The time was short but we tried to pack in as much fun as we could. We ate a lot of Korean food, visited coffee shops, visited Jikjisa Temple, went to a cat cafe, and did Dr. Fish :)

We enjoyed one of our first gorgeous Spring days! Laura came at the perfect time!

It is good luck at Korean temples to stack rocks. If you stack a rock on someone else's rock, it allows their prayer to be answered.

Laura was brave enough to drink from the communal watering hole :)

Not only was the weather perfect, but Laura was able to come just at the right time for the cherry blossoms. They were in full bloom and absolutely gorgeous!

On our way back up to Seoul...

Say what you want, but a couple hours spent sipping lattes and playing with cats is a perfect afternoon in my book. We had a blast!

Introducing Laura to the wonders of Honey Bread :)

Dr. Fish!! We were the only people in the place but the lady still told us we had to be quiet... which is extremely difficult when you have a bunch of little fish gnawing at your feet! :)

It was such a delight having Laura here! We have known each other for many years but it has been within the last year or so that our friendship has really began to blossom. I loved having her in our home and spending time together. Thank you so much for making the trip over to be with us, Laura!

Easter Weekend 2013

2013-04-25T16:05:00.003+09:00

With Easter approaching, I was getting a little homesick and wasn't sure that we would really get to do anything special for the holiday. Prior to the weekend, we did do a few fun things with friends which always helps to get rid of some of the loneliness felt around a special holiday...

It just so happens that our 24hr McDonalds is next door to the movie theatre, so a few of us profs enjoyed a night at the theatre and then some junk food to close out the night :)

Spring finally started showing its colors...

On Friday night we had a dinner with the GU professors that live in Gimcheon (a few couldn't make it) and it was another fun evening of fajitas, homemade pizza, delicious fruit, and homemade desserts. It's a fun group and a lot of laughs were had.

At the end of the night someone asked what the date was, to which I firmly gave the answer. Someone else said no it was indeed a day later than that. I started getting worried because I had already purchased tickets for the next morning to head to Seoul... Sure enough. When I looked, I had bought the wrong ticket for Saturday morning AND the wrong returning tickets for Sunday night :( So, the next morning I headed to the station early to try to get a new ticket. The train was completely sold out of seats so not only did I lose the money on the first ticket, but I also had to buy a standing ticket for a 3 hour ride :( Luckily, there was a seat available in the food car and so I was able to sit for the whole ride. I can't imagine what I would have done if I hadn't found a seat :( I met up with my friend Candace and one of her friends from church. We headed to Itewon for lunch at Outback and then Candace and I headed to Dongdaemun in search of wonderful fabrics and sewing goodness. I found some adorable material for the nursery and am so excited to get started on my sewing projects! :)

After shopping with Candace, I headed over to Dobong (my old stomping grounds) to see Hannah and Jolie. It was so much fun seeing them and getting to catch up on life in the last few months.

Sally picked me up and we headed to her house. She was gracious enough to allow me to stay with her for the night. This was such an amazing experience because it was my first time to stay in a completely Korean home. Her family is currently living with her parents. The grandparents were so sweet to give me their room! I insisted that I could sleep on the floor but they said that because of the baby I needed to have the room :) Sally's husband made a delicious dinner of spaghetti (which they piled on my plate so high I don't think a grown man could have finished it) and then we just hung out for the remainder of the evening. I loved not only seeing Sally, but her two daughters Joyce and Annie too! :) I used to teach them at the English Academy.

In the morning I was served a complete Korean breakfast of rice, soup, fried sweet potatoes, fish, and some leftover salad. It was fantastic! I absolutely loved the whole time spent with Sally and her family.

They dropped me off on their way to church and I met up with Robert who took a morning train to Seoul. We had decided to come up and spend Easter Sunday at Yumkwang church. As always, it was wonderful seeing and catching up with all our old friends! After church there was a big Easter dinner that was amazing and again I was told to eat A LOT! :) I really think that I could easily gain 50 pounds if I ate as much as Koreans tell me to! :)

^^Happy Easter 2013 from the Black Family^^

English Department MT

2013-04-21T13:04:00.000+09:00

Perhaps the term "MT" sounds familiar to those who have been with me for the long haul... It was fun then and it was fun again this year. There were a few changes this year. A. The students were divided into four main "houses" rather than small team and so Robert and I were on the same team this year. B. I was more of a cheerleader this year since I couldn't really do a lot of running or jumping :) I still had a blast. The style was much the same as before but this group of kids is a crazy bunch and so there was a ton of laughs and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves.

Maple House

Pine House

Elm House

Oak House

This was the group of professors that came out to MT this year. What a great bunch of profs!

This year I got to accompany the students in the morning to visit a movie set sight where we just walked around to enjoy the weather and have lunch before heading to our actual MT location.

Quite the packaged lunch, huh? :)

As soon as the students were settled in their rooms, the games began and we played Mini-Olympics for the rest of the afternoon.

Dance off the Sticky notes.... It was a gem to watch!

Dragon Tail

Mentos and Cola

After all the games everyone was very ready for dinner. We got to eat a Korean meal that has quite an interesting story. It's called 부대찌개 (Budae Jjigae). After the Korean war, food became sparse and Koreans used surplus food from the US Army such as hotdogs or spam to add to their traditional soups. This became a common dish and still is today.

After dinner was the much anticipated Talent Show where there was singing, acting, dancing, and a whole lot of laughs!

Robert sang a popular pop song that the kids all knew and then surprised them with a

Korean song too :) They all really loved it.

It was such a fun experience getting to know the kids on a deeper and closer level than just in the classroom. I always love MT and this year was no exception. I'm so glad that I got to attend this year's English Department MT.

goodbyes and a couple quick hellos...

2013-04-10T15:28:00.002+09:00

This year at Gimcheon University we doubled the number of International Professors and what a great group we have! It has been great getting to know and working along side these professors this semester. We divided into two shifts: Monday-Tuesday team and Tuesday Wednesday team, so I don't get to see all of the them very often but I am really enjoying the new team!

Gimcheon University 2013

After meeting so many new faces, it came time to say goodbye to those that made my first year in Gimcheon amazing!

Remember when I said Lynn was staying around for awhile? Well, despite being super busy, we did manage to get to spend some quality time together during her week with us. It was awesome being able to spend her last few days in Korea together.

Lynn and I went up to Seoul a little early and then Robert came up after his class because not only were we saying goodbye to Lynn, but Jonathan and Jennifer Freeman were in Seoul on a layover and so we had the opportunity to see them for a couple hours! It was such a fun afternoon :)

So good to see our friends again!

After saying goodbye to the Freemans, we spend a few hours just hanging out together and then we took Lynn to the express train. There were tears and a lot of hugs... I miss her tons already. I'm so happy that she gets to be home in Cape Town with her family and friends and look forward to seeing her again someday soon! :) I now have several reasons to visit South Africa (besides my own brother and sister in law, of course) :)

Once the weather started getting a little better, we took advantage of a free Saturday (hadn't seen one of those in awhile thanks to our procrastination on masters courses) and visited a famous Buddhist temple about an hour away. The art and architecture is always so astounding and beautiful!

We're staying busy with the new semester and enjoying this new season of life called pregnancy :) It's been a really fun experience so far, but more on that later :) It's been nice not cramming for courses every night too! We have officially finished all the coursework and will be enrolling in our final Capstone project soon. This mama is very ready to be finished! :)

BB's First Baby Shower

2013-03-27T00:51:00.001+09:00

Sometimes in life, you are blessed beyond words to have friends who are there for you no matter what-in the tough times and in the joyous times. I have had many such friends throughout my life, but there is a particular group that made this last year an incredible journey.

Let me rewind a couple years... moving to Korea meant leaving a huge group of tight-knit friends and going to a place I had no clue about where I also didn't know a soul. While I made some amazing friends in that first year that I still am in contact with, at times it was the loneliness time of my life. So you can imagine my hesitation when it came time to move to Gimcheon, I didn't want to leave the good friends I had made in Seoul. It felt like I was starting all over again and I was dreading the loneliness that I knew was inevitable.

We moved to Gimcheon on February 25th and not even a week later, Robert and I met Laura in the Gumi Immigration office. Later that week she invited me to dinner with some girls and I met Tanya and Laura. Not long after that I met Vince and Nina and the list continued... It felt so wonderful to have a group of friends that I could call up at any time and either just chat or go hang out. These friends were what made last year an awesome experience. There were so many memories made by this group and this amazing year culminated into what has become one of my favorite memories of all time...

Everyone was scheduled to leave in about a week since their contracts were up and so it meant a lot of goodbyes were approaching. I had noticed that all my friends were extra busy every time I would text or call them but just assumed they were all packing and getting moved out of their apartments, so I didn't think too much into it. That week I had done a bunch of laundry and the throw pillow cases were off drying. Robert had nonchalantly asked me when I was putting them back on and I thought that was weird, but again, didn't read too much into it. Little did I know a party was in the works. On Thursday, I had kind of a bum day, not feeling the greatest but I had plans to meet someone that evening and Robert encouraged me to go ahead and go since I would probably feel better after I got out of the house. I agreed and left....

When I walked in the door an hour later, the house had been transformed, there was a circle of people sitting in my living room and suddenly everyone yelled, "Surprise!" I was so shocked!! They got me so good! I did not suspect a thing and they had been planning this for weeks. I can't begin to say how special this night made me feel. I am truly blessed with amazing friends!

Sweet little messages for BB

We had done the needle test with family when I was just 6 weeks along and it had said boy, so we decided to test it again to see if it was the same. It still said boy :)

A very excited mommy and daddy duo

The party throwers were...

Lynn, Nina, and Vince

Clodagh and Dara

Tanya, Laura, and Robert

BB is already really loved...

While this might have been one of the earliest baby showers ever, it was also one of the most special as well and it was done with a whole lot of love from amazing friends!

We can't wait to meet you BB!

february, friends, and fun

2013-03-16T20:43:00.000+09:00

When we arrived to Incheon, we just barely missed the last bus headed home as well as all the trains headed into Seoul so we had to get a hotel near the airport. There was no complaining coming out of this girl! :) We had the sweetest taxi driver that was so concerned for me and made sure I was comfortable and cared for :) ~~We had a good night's sleep .~~ I woke up at a crazy hour and stared at the wall for a couple of hours until I finally got my computer and watched too many episodes of Psych... stupid jet lag.

The next day we headed to Seoul station, ate at our beloved Paris Croissant (why oh why can't Gimcheon have one!?) and then boarded our train home.

We were happy to be home, but not when it started snowing...

Lynn had a few things left on her to do list before leaving Korea and so we headed off to Daegu one day for lunch at Italy Italy where we got to design our own pasta and pizza.

Another one was to eat as much Korean food as possible before she left... lucky for us, the local kimbap shop is just around the corner from my house! More kimchi jigae and mandu please!

I FINALLY got to meet little Eunchan Isaac Lee! He was born the day after we left Korea so I had only seen pictures of him. He was as cute, if not cuter, in person and is just the sweetest thing you have ever met!

^^Valentine's Day^^

Again, like last year, we decided to "go native" and celebrate Valentine's day and White day separately. Basically Valentine's day was all about Robert and then I get White day all to myself :) I decided on a fancy meal at home...

Crockpot Cheesecake :)

This was our 8th Valentine's Day together :)

We don't get too many visitors on our side of the world so it is always super exciting when someone is either making a special trip or just stopping by on their way somewhere else. Jason and Tammy Dodson live and work in China and were in Singapore for a conference and stopped by Korea for a few days to visit us. We had so much fun getting to know them and their two daughters!

Finally visiting Namsan Tower!

It was SOOO cold!!!

Robert was getting a lot of practice with playtime and storytelling :)

After having a blast with visitors, then came the not so fun part: saying goodbye to the bestest of friends from this last year in Gimcheon. The fabulous five was going down to just two of us... Nina and me. We had a great last week together and enjoyed making a few last minute memories before, one by one, they flew home...

First was Laura

Then Tanya

Lucky for me, Lynn at least stayed an extra week so I didn't have to lose everyone at once! And she bunked at our house so we got to make a whole set of fun memories :)

Enjoying the first "Springy" day!

And that's us... getting back into our lives after such a long time away.

the days before heading home

2013-03-10T22:41:00.003+09:00

Not only did I get to spend my birthday in America, but I was also able to be present at my friend Cilla's birthday celebrations which made me very happy. We had a nice dinner out and then met up with friends at the Melting Pot for some fondue dessert :)

The Birthday girl :)

After the partying was over, we headed back to Cilla and Audrey's where the annual closet purge went down. Basically every couple years I go through Cilla's closet and force her to get rid of stuff. It had been a good solid 2 years since the last one so we had our work cut out. The boys were obviously very little help during this process...

We got to enjoy a gorgeous Saturday brunch with Daddy and Mama Black at the Breakers hotel which is an amazing experience. I had done it many years ago and so it was fun to go back with family. We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day either! Thank you South Florida.

Later than evening, Grandma Jackie, Mama, Roanna, and I headed out for a lovely girls night starting with dinner at Sweet Tomatoes followed by Mary Poppins at the Kravis Center. It was such an amazing performance! We had such an awesome time together :)

So happy to have seen all my amazing friends and family while I was in Florida.

It was truly an amazing experience to be home for such a long time.

We had a little family celebration for both Tami and Cilla on Sunday.

And then the packing began... or at least the packing, weighing, unpacking, weighing, repacking....

My awesome helpers :)

We left Hobe Sound at 4:30am the next morning headed for West Palm Beach and then did the long trip home. All things considered, it was a great trip with very little inconvenience so I can't complain. The minute I landed in Seoul, I missed Sunny South Florida...

While this has been a brief view of our time in America, it doesn't begin to capture all the awesome memories we made and the people we got to spend time with. Sometimes it was just sitting around drinking coffee or watching an episode of Take Home Chef, but those times were just as special as the ones pictured above.

This visit home was a particularly special one because it was the last of its kind... the next time we return to Florida, we will be toting a 3 month old and there will be two sets of eager grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and a great grandma just ready to start the spoiling :)

a month of birthdays

2013-02-28T15:32:00.001+09:00

It was so much fun to be "home" for our birthdays again. When I got up, my dad had a mini box of cereal ready for me (an old family tradition) and then I went to work and shopping with my mom. The guys met us for lunch and I was able to give my mom her birth-day flowers (another little tradition I started doing a few years back).

Robert and I left after lunch to head to Orlando for a relaxing birthday getaway for a few days. We rented a great time share in a golf resort and enjoyed lazing around at the pool. We had originally planned to spend a day at Animal Kingdom (the only Disney park we have yet to visit), but the idea of spending the day by the pool won out. This was a choice I later regretted when the extremely painful sunburn kicked in...what can I say, I no longer have Florida skin apparently... I couldn't take the heat like I used to.

We got to meet my friend Hannah for dinner at Brio and it was so great seeing her again!! We have so many awesome Korea memories and it just hasn't been the same without her.

We met up again with Hannah and a few of her siblings for some amazing barbeque at 4Rivers. We had a relaxing evening afterwards hanging out around a fire in the backyard too. It was fun to finally meet a few of the siblings that I had heard so much about.

JP, Jolie, and Eva came up to spend that last night/day with us and we got to experience the "free Disney" which JP was very familiar with. :) We went on a bus, ferry, train, and saw a few of the different resorts and just had a fun time together.

On our way out of Orlando, our plan was to stop by the outlets for a little shopping and then head down the road to get home for a birthday party for Robert, me, and Tyler. As plans often go, that's not exactly what happened... We shopped for awhile and then our car refused to start. We had been having a little trouble with it throughout the week but this time it wasn't going anywhere. It finally started and we headed to the interstate. As we were sitting at the light to get on the interstate, the car died and we were completely stuck. We called for a tow truck and JP and Jolie (who were just up the road a bit from us) came back to pick me up and we headed to another outlet while Robert waited for the tow truck. By now we had already missed the birthday party :( We got everything sorted out and arrived home at about 10pm... happy to not be sitting beside the road.

The following day (Saturday) we had our joint birthday party planned. The original plan was to have a grill out at our favorite park in town. Again, as plans go, it was a rainy day so we changed locations and had it at home.

Having fun shopping in an American grocery store again :)

A full-blown American style grill out... it was amazing

Thanks to everyone who came and made our birthdays so special!

Hannah drove done to Hobe Sound and stayed the night which was a ton of fun. It was great to finally see where the other one was from after having the experience abroad together and growing close in that context. I loved introducing her to all my friend who I had talked about and showing her places that were special to me :)

On Robert's actual birthday we had a fun time taking pictures with our friend Erica and we finally shared the news about BB with our friends and family on facebook. :)

Out to eat at Jetty's (a favorite local seafood spot) for Robert's birthday

The next night we got to go to Guanabannas (another local seaside spot) with the Blacks to celebrate both our birthdays... what did I tell you? It truly was a month of birthdays... we just kept celebrating!

We ended the night at Kilwins. :)

What a fun experience to celebrate our birthdays with friends and family again and

spend the time at home.

january continues.

2013-02-21T12:04:00.002+09:00

We have a fun tradition that we try to do every Christmas with Marie and Carmelo and that is to go look at lights. This year it came a little after Christmas but that didn't change how fun it was. We found a special park that had huge light displays and even some 3D ones which was pretty cool.

After lights we headed over to Starbucks to enjoy the wonderful evening breeze and the company.

And to shamelessly look ridiculous in our 3D glasses :)

I never get tired of Florida... it's absolutely gorgeous.

My high school graduating class was able to have a small get together with several of the classmates which was so much fun! Some of them I hadn't seen since probably graduation day. This would have been our 6 year reunion. People came and went at various times so we never got a group picture which is a huge bummer! I guess it will have to wait until the 10 year mark :)

President Kang from Gimcheon University and a small delegation came to Hobe Sound for an official meeting to join Hobe Sound and Gimcheon in student transfers. This was a very exciting thing for us because Robert has been working on this union for quite some time. English majors have the option to take classes at Hobe Sound Bible College, while student teachers can complete their TESOL practicum at Gimcheon University within the English department. It was such a wonderful experience to have them in our homes and to take them to some of our favorites spot in town, like Harry's :)

I finally got to meet Baby Kate, my friend Candace's baby. She is so sweet!!

And Robert and I went through our stuff in storage and had a huge yard sale. We figured it was a waste to have so much stuff in storage when our life is very much in Korea for the time being.

Robert got to go flying with dad, which he always loves to do everytime he's home.

We got to have an awesome day spent with friends! We started out at the Donut Factory, headed to several thrift stores (our favorite), did some Target shopping, and then met up with Caleb and Cilla for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. :)

After living in South Florida for 15 years, I had to go home for a visit to finally eat at Dune Dogs!! :) Now I can finally say I have eaten at the local establishment...

Robert spending some time with Isaac, Micah, and and Titus Geise in the canoe.

And then there was Masters courses that began....

fun was had...

2013-02-15T21:45:00.000+09:00

And so January begins...

As I mentioned before ( if I didn't, I meant to), my siblings and I were all to make a meal that represented where we lived. Jeremy and Delani had made a delicious South African meal the Sunday before Christmas and New Year's day was Robert and my turn. We decided to go for the most basic foods possible so that my family could be kindly introduced to Korean cuisine (Robert's family has been to Korea a couple of times so it was old news for them). I will say that everyone did quite well with the foods. :)

My helpers

The menu included:

Grilled meat and lettuce wraps 상추쌈

Steamed Rice 밥

JapChae (mixed noodles) 잡채

Fried Zucchini 호박전

Soy Bean Soup 된장찌개

Steamed Egg 계란찜

Favorite past time: archery and guns in the back yard :)

For Jason and Tami's meal, they did a delicious German-inspired meal of Reubens, Saur Kraut, and German Chocolate cake:)

Triominos: Grandma Howard's favorite game :)

Girls' Lunch at Taste

Family Breakfast at Harry's

Robert and I headed over to our special Park (Zeus Park) for a lunch date one day. We always love to revisit the place where we had our first date, got engaged, and got married :)

"our" tree

Day out with the Boys

Olive Garden

decisions, decisions...

Toys R Us

Ice Cream

a good day was had by all...

saying our goodbyes to an amazing lady

2013-02-08T08:17:00.003+09:00

I can't say enough how happy I was that Robert and I were in America when my grandmother passed away. While it seems odd to be happy about such an event, it would have been nearly impossible for us to attend the funeral had it been while we were in Korea. Having the opportunity to say our goodbyes to Grandma as well as meeting new and seeing old family members was priceless. I was thrilled for Robert to be able to finally meet so many of my family members that ordinarily he wouldn't have met. It was also fun to show him around Mitchell which was my old stomping grounds many years ago.

This time was so much more of a celebration than a time of mourning. Yes, I think of her all the time and I miss her alot, but I have no doubt she is enjoying heaven right now and I couldn't be happier for her. She lived an incredible life and touched countless lives with her sweet spirit and her godly example. I am so honored to be her youngest granddaughter and hope to live my live in a way that resembles her character and her faith. We had a very special relationship and I will treasure that always. One of the sweetest things that God could have given me was when I found out I was pregnant, I realized that my baby would be born in August which is my Grandma's birthday month. While I shed many tears, I also laughed and smiled thinking of all the wonderful memories I have tucked away forever...

Winter Wonderland

We got to celebrate a cousin's birthday together

The whole family getting together for a meal in the old church dining hall :)

Loved seeing Grandpa enjoying his family

Robert finally got to see the World's ONLY Corn Palace!!! :)

Grandpa with his sister and his children

He may dress like a city slicker but he is a country boy at heart

The time spent with family and friends celebrating Grandma's life was an amazing chance and I am so happy that we were able to be there for it. Though there was sadness at her passing, the time was spent enjoying one another and laughing at funny memories from childhood. My grandma was a social bug (I got that from her) and loved to be at the center of activity. Many times when we were having a big family reunion, she would stay up late with us because she didn't want to miss anything. :)

Grandma, I love you and will miss you always. Thanks for the example you lived of godliness, ladylikeness, and always treating others with grace and kindness. You were an inspiration to so many and you touched innumerable lives. I look forward to seeing you again one day and can say that I am a better person because I had you in my life. I'll miss getting your letters and I will miss writing to you. Thanks for loving me, encouraging me, and most of all, praying for me. I always knew that you were taking me to Jesus through prayer. I will treasure my candy dish, my corningware dishes, and the teacups you gave me. I will always think of you when I eat dill pickles, Swanns push-ups and personal pizzas, and I will always remember playing with the toys behind Grandpa's chair. I loved sitting in your lap and playing with your hands (they were worn but gentle and I loved how they felt). I loved spending the summers in your backyard and picking food from your garden. You would send us out with old cool whip containers to pick raspberries and I think you knew we would eat more than we would bring in. You were always so patient and I loved watching you and Grandpa together. I loved that he would still kiss you before leaving the house and the two of you would sit in your chairs and pray together. I never doubted that your marriage was the most important thing to you. Thanks for that example of commitment. I will always treasure the Christmas village that you gave me. The times we set it up together and all the times I played with it--now my kids will get to enjoy it. So, thank you Grandma for all the memories and the lessons. I love you. ~ Jenny

At my bridal shower 2009- so happy she was there!

Our wedding- 2009

Florida Christmas(s)

2013-02-01T05:23:00.003+09:00

We had originally planned to leave NC on Sunday but decided to leave Saturday evening and surprise my mom. We called my dad and told him that we would be getting in around 4 or 5am. He and my mom both had to work that evening so he got Brian to help get the bed ready in Jeremy's old apartment off of the house. We made the trip down and fell into bed around 5:30 am. I work up around 8:30 the next morning to hear sweeping on the front porch. I opened the door to head up to the house and you should have seen my mom's face! :) It was priceless!! She was so shocked and it made the long drive worth it. We made it in time for Jeremy and Delani's South African meal (mom asked us kids to each make a meal from our respective places).

Visiting the Gardens Mall is always on my Florida to-do list!

Christmas with the Howards...

Christmas with the Blacks...

Telling Grandma Jackie she was going to be a Grandma Great :)

Not a bad view to have for Christmas, is it?

It was so much fun getting to meet my newest niece, Lauren Jayne!

We came from all over- South Korea, South Africa, Idaho, and Florida- and what a blast it was to be together! It had been about 3 1/2 years since all the siblings were together and we had few new additions too which made it all the more fun! :)

North Carolina Christmas

2013-01-30T00:50:00.002+09:00

We walked up the street from our house carting 4 large bags plus carry-ons toward the bus station at 5:45am. We got the 6am bus headed toward Incheon airport and arrived at 9:30. Our flight out was at 1:45pm so we had some time to kill. Luckily the Incheon airport has been voted best in the world for 7 years running. :) We flew from Korea to Japan and then had a couple hours layover there. From Japan, we flew the long flight over to Chicago. We had a short layover in Chicago and then flew to North Carolina. Once we arrived in Charlotte, we got our bags and headed to the car rental place. On our way to Grandma's, I was praying for safety since we were both so tired from the trip, and we were about a car length ahead of an accident at one point when a semi truck side swiped a car and sent it spinning. :( We made it to Grandma's late and went almost straight to bed. Robert's grandparents wake up at 4am, which would normally be weird for us, but with jetlag... I was right there with them most mornings! :)

Grandma's stash of homemade candies

After a 24+ hour trip, a spa pedicure with a massaging chair was exactly what I needed!

We even got super cute snowflakes on our toes :)

This year I got to help Grandma with some of her famous cakes and pies.

I am in "the know" now :)

Robert and Austin enjoyed hunting in the back woods.

Family tradition: get fish one night :)

Robert with his Great Grandma Kenyon

Grandpa turning on the forge. It's a family favorite :)

The Black Family Christmas 2012

The original family

The grandkids

with Great Grandma

We had such a nice time just sitting around chatting and enjoying each other's company at Grandma's house :) We were so happy it worked out to start our trip there. It had been a couple years since we'd been there and it was time to get Robert back to his NC roots :)

pre-Christmas Christmas

2013-01-08T00:34:00.004+09:00

Before heading back to Florida for Christmas, we decided to have our own little Christmas at home.

I made a farmhouse breakfast that was followed by a few presents.

Then in the evening, friends came over for a Christmas party which was so much fun! We had chili and cornbread, hot chocolate, decorated Christmas cookies, had a secret santa game, and then watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. :) It was definitely a fun evening.

A Merry Christmas was had by all!

The most wonderful time of the year!!

2012-12-15T16:23:00.002+09:00

December is here and we have done a lot in a short about of time. Robert is on the preaching rotation at church and so when his Sunday came along, they decided to have one of the English department students interpret instead of David who usually does it. So despite his nerves, John translated and he did an excellent job! It was such a great experience for him and I believe this will be added to student practicums. There are already several avenues for students to use their language skills. Some are involved in a Christian radio broadcasting group, others attend big name concerts such as Jason Mraz, Keane, Norah Jones, Eminem, Elton John, etc and work as translators for the guest staff. Our students are doing so well with their English and we are so proud of them!

Being the staunch holiday observer that I am, I refused to put up any Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, so while munching on Thanksgiving leftovers and watching Elf, we started decorating the house with a few meager decorations (which we added to later in the week)

After finishing up a stressful couple of modules, we decided we needed a weekend away to just relax and enjoy some Christmas shopping, so that's what we did. We headed up to Seoul for a couple days to relax and rejuvenate.

Enjoying our favorite Irish Breakfast in Seoul

And for our "Christmas Meal" we went to our favorite restaurant in Myeongdong, Saffron.

For one of Robert's class finals, his students performed an English drama called "Beauty is a Beast". They did such a fantastic job and it was so enjoyable to watch and support them!

Our boss, David and his wife Charlotte are expecting their first child this month and we were delighted to celebrate with them at their baby shower. Charlotte made amazing Vietnamese food and we enjoyed the fellowship. We are so excited to meet little Eun Chan Isaac!

When we left their house, we saw that the first snow had come!

Warning: stilettos and snow do not make the best of friends.

On the weekend we headed over to Daegu to do some Christmas shopping and met up with our coworker, JooYoung and his wife Nari. We went to their wedding earlier in the year and it was so much fun to hang out with them!

We had the identical shade of polish on :) Kindred spirits

Since Christmas is not a huge deal over here, decorations are a bit sparse, but I still enjoy my few splashes of Christmas around the house :)

This week we headed over to Iksan near Jeung Ju to visit a man that had hosted the Black family when we visited Korea 6 years ago. Pastor Choi is such a kind man and it was great to see him again and to meet his daughter and her family. They took us to a wonderful Bibimbap (mixed rice) restaurant which is famous for having the original bibimbap. It was delicious and a fun experience.

It's time to go on vacation...

My mentor group opted to have our final meeting after final exams and since I live close by I told that them was fine. I had taught them how to make a pasta dish and apple pie so now they were going to teach me how to make 잡채 (Japchae) and 된장찌개 (Doenjang Jjigae).

They were excellent teachers and we had so much fun cooking together and then enjoying our delicious food. Lynn came over too for the free cooking lesson :)

With Christmas approaching, Robert and I have enjoyed several relaxing nights at home with a Christmas movie. Tonights choice: The Ultimate Gift, along with some popcorn next to the tree :)

Some friends took us to a delicious meal up on the mountain near Jikjisa Temple so all the food is locally grown and the quality (and quantity) is just amazing!!

And that's all for now... It's getting closer to Christmas and I am so excited!!!!

A semi-traditional Thanksgiving

2012-12-10T22:51:00.001+09:00

This year we had an amazing Thanksgiving with wonderful friends from all across the globe. We had Irish, South Africans, New Zealanders, Canadians, and a few of us Americans. :) It was so much fun sharing all our fun holiday traditions with our friends and allowing them to experience a semi-traditional American Thanksgiving.

The preparations began several days in advance simply due to the small size of my kitchen and that I was baking in a small toaster oven :)

I tried a new thing... ordering groceries online. How fun is that?! :) Its delivered right to your door.

I could get used to that.

Prepping for the big day with Lynn :)

We swapped out the Turkey with some chickens

The massive Spread consisted of:

Chicken and vegetables

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Souffle

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Stuffing

Broccoli Casserole

Potato and Bacon Bake

Cous Cous

Cabbage Ramen Salad

Garden Salad

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

Pecan Pie

No Bake Cookies

Rocky Road Bars and Ice Cream

It was a team effort and wow was it delicious!! :)

Group Picture Time...

and a little Gangnam...

After several hours, we started eating again :)

And that folks, is the conclusion of an amazing holiday spent with some pretty awesome friends :)

It was definitely a day full of fun memories.

catching up on life...

2012-12-08T10:37:00.001+09:00

Well I'm back... after Google ~~tried to enlist me in their evil plan of controlling the known universe~~ forced me into buying more space online for my pictures because apparently this little blog is taking up too much internet space. Therefore, it has been a solid month without blogging. So, I am sitting here beside my lovely Christmas tree (yep, a lot has happened since the last post) and will finally catch up on all that has transpired since I last posted.

We had a lovely evening with friends in Daegu (Robert and my favorite city in Korea to date). We rode the train over and since it was a Saturday night, we ended up standing (or sitting on the floor) in the snack car. Fun times. We ate at Buy the Book which is a quaint little English bookstore that also serves delicious food. We enjoyed some wonderful vegetarian chili and some Reeces chocolate cups! :) Oh life's simple pleasures.

Tanya getting her fabulous on :)

The lovely Gimcheon Girls

The handsome Hubster

On Sunday, we had a very special event because not only did we get to meet Jared's good friends, but it was also Baptism Sunday and we were privileged to witness both Jared and one of our students getting baptized. Such an amazing experience to see God working in their lives.

Introducing his friends in Korean

Jared being baptized

Judy being baptized

All the baptism candidates

So proud of you!!

Jared and President Kang after the Baptism service

The following week we pretty much did nothing but work, sleep, eat, and study masters. We got behind on two of our courses and the majority of November was spent catching up on that. However, in the midst of our frantic studying, we did take time to go up to Seoul for one last hurrah with our pals Jordan and Bethany. That's right, the time has come for them to return to America. No more crazy Seoul or Gimcheon weekends with them. It was a bitter sweet weekend because we got to enjoy their company and remember all the fun times together in the past year but also sad because we hate goodbyes. Life happens and we're so glad we got to experience Korea with them!

They had a work dinner that was going to go quite late so we just entertained ourselves with dinner and a movie :) (btw...that Papa Johns man is everywhere!!)

On Saturday we headed out on the town and ended up at an amazing Thai restaurant. One thing you can count on with the Boltes and the Blacks--good food and good coffee are always present.

After lunch it was time for some dessert and coffee so they introduced us to the best Macaroon shop around!! I have an amazing relationship with these little cookies of goodness and I can attest to this shop's quality.

We found a quiet little coffee shop to enjoy our macaroons along with a latte.

After walking around and shopping for quite some time, we visited another of the Bolte's favorites which was an adorable little French dessert cafe. Korea has tons of coffee shops which sport various desserts but this was something I have never seen in Korea. The desserts were amazing!

We came, we ate, we got stuffed....

You know you are in Seoul when...

After our dessert had settled, we arrived back in Ssangmun and were ready for a dinner of substance. What better choice than Samgyupsal, Bokumbap, and Kimchi Jigae? That's right. It was the best.

This weekend was their final Sunday at church as well as the English service Thanksgiving dinner. We really cashed in on that one, huh? :)

It's always nice to see old friend again!

Then it was our last time to experience Coffee How's with the Boltes...

We love you Jordan and Bethany and wish you all the best in your next chapter!

We miss you already and can't wait to see you again! :)

For mentoring group the following week, I decided that with Thanksgiving on the way, it was a good idea to teach my girls how to make an apple pie. :) They had a blast!!

We made the pie, played Dutch Blitz while it cooked and then enjoyed our creation :)

And that gets us up to Thanksgiving! Stay tuned... it was a killer event! :)

October goodness

2012-11-11T01:07:00.001+09:00

With Fall in the air, we are constantly searching for good hearty and warm meals to eat. We found just such a meal with other night when we went out with Lynn, Nina, and Vince. We searched every in Bukokdong and even got directions from a lady and it ended up being on the first street we passed... we basically walked in a big circle around the restaurant :) Oh well. it was worth the walking and the waiting.

We were invited to take part in the welcome dinner of four new Korean professors. It was a delicious meal and a wonderful time spent with our Church family.

It's getting chillier everyday and I am wearing scarfs more often. Today, I just happened to match Paris Baguette :) My mentor girls thought it was pretty funny and snapped this picture.

Robert was gone for 5 days to Vladivostok, Russia for a TESOL convention where he presented a paper on International standardized testing. I was so happy he got to go but I didn't very much like to spend the weekend alone. It so happened that all my friends had plans too so I spent a lot of time at home working on school work. It probably was better that they were busy because I was able to work alot since it was just me :) He had a wonderful time and made some amazing connections with people, even getting invited to present at another conference in Moscow next year!! :)

On October 31, 2012 we welcomed my new niece, Lauren Jayne Taylor into the world. I'm so happy to be an aunt for the sixth time! :) I can't wait to meet her and am so happy she and mamma are ok. Nana made it to Idaho just in time! :)

Working very hard....

Robert sent me this picture :)

One of the highlights of the weekend was attending a Romeo and Juliet musical/ballet at the Gimcheon Fine Arts Center with my friend Nina. We had such a lovely time and the performers did an excellent job. It was so much fun to see how they made the story applicable to the Korean audience while staying very true to the original story. The singing and dancing were also very good!

We had a nice dinner of Calguksu and then grabbed lattes at Hands Coffee before the show.

This last week we had a big Marketplace activity for our classes. One class was the buyers (mine) and another class was the sellers. The sellers would set up shops with a specific list of merchandise that they could price however they liked. My kids were divided into groups with individual shopping lists and were given $200.00 to spend. Each class was given key shopping phrases and haggling terms to use. The goal for the sellers was to make the most money and the goal of the buyers was to haggle for the best deal and save the most money. The kids had an absolute blast and it was so much fun hearing them shout "That's a rip off! You're killing me! Give me a better deal!" :)

We got to celebrate Nina's birthday with her at a relaxing party at her and Vince's place the other night and as always, a good time was had by all :)

The U.S. Election happened. For us, the results were coming in the middle of the day so while I was busy working, I had my ipad running with the results. The day did not go as I would have liked it, but that's all I am going to say about the matter. The President will receive my honest and sincere prayers for guidance, leadership, and strength in leading our country.

While watching the results come in, I got to have a delicious order-in lunch with my mentor group (yes, that is order in food.... pretty crazy huh?) They enjoyed talking about the voting process and American politics while we were eating.

And then it was back to studying.... story of my life :)

Little Angels

2012-10-30T23:34:00.000+09:00

I don't own any of these pictures. I actually took them from a friend's wall on FB. The kids are a little bigger now but I just haven't had a chance to get pictures of them. They are so special and adorable. I love my weekly hour spent with them! I love to see their smiles, hear their giggles, and I don't even mind their slobber so much :) Last week I got bit which didn't feel so good but the look on the kids face was hysterical! Each one has a unique personality and I love to see how they respond to things. I made fishy lips on my first visit to one of the kids and since then he always finds me and purses his lips telling me to do fishy lips :) Everytime I am there I am amazed at how much they just need love. They need someone to hold them, to laugh with them, to wipe away their tears. I'm glad I get to be that for them at least once a week. Though it's not much, it brings me a lot of joy to visit them. I'm still working on learning their names! :) There are several new babies (1-3 months old) that have joined the orphanage since these pictures were taken too...

Waiting for Bath time :)