Thanksgiving back home...

even though i was unable to be at home with my family this thanksgiving, i felt more connected with them than i have in the longest time. with skype-in and skype-out i am able to connect with regular landlines and cellphones, which makes both parties more accessible. and this on top of the amazing goodness of God towards me here in korea. i am so thankful, and i truly give God all the glory.

my aunt conway and brother daniel worked to get these pics to me. here's the fam. just to warn you, chloe appears in all the pictures, pretty much. it's 'cause she's so cute.

(l-r) top row: john, daniel, luke bryan, dad, josh, conway
bottom row: anna (w/micah), sarah (with nathan), mom, rebekah, katherine, baby chloe

hanging out in the den (clockwise): anna (in green), katherine, sarah, doug, danel, david, luke

anna, micah, and bek

daddy holding his first little granddaughter. chloe on her first thanksgiving

bryan, elizabeth, and uncle steve

aunty conway and josh

mom and dad

sarah with chloe

aunt vera with chloe

kat holding the chloe-meister


and more pictures from things going on here in korea soon....

gangnam station at night

this past sunday night i went with mrs. kim and my co-workers to see chang ha-na in concert. she is korean, 23, a graduate of julliard and currently studying philosophy at harvard. she also happens to be a world-renowned cellist. the concert was wonderful, and i couldn't help but marvel at the way those little white arms flew over the instrument and brought out such beautiful music. i am really glad i got to go.

i am also excited about being able to talk to more people from back home. i now have a US phone number you can reach me at (it connects to my computer), so if i forgot to include you in my email, let me know and i'll send it to you. then we can catch up.
in the meantime, know i am doing well. the computer is up and running again beautifully. the kids are fine. christy from church is getting married on saturday, so that's exciting. i am still working out. the weather is colder, but not freezing. and tomorrow i have to go grocery shopping. yay. the end.

love you all and basking in the goodness of God this thanksgiving. will write more later. goodnight.

hello

a little stressed... but as mr. justice used to say:

shake it off, come back strong

i love how the Lord doesn't let me get too confident or comfortable in any situation. always, always He reminds me how very much i need Him.

and He also helps me not to take anything too seriously.

so tuesday night after work i was setting my computer up before britt and stef came over for bible study... and the computer began to do really weird things - make loud whirring noises, starting and restarting randomly, and scrolling down a list of files. it was totally shot.

stef recommended taking the battery out and letting it rest for the night. i did that, but the next morning it was still all messed up. so i asked jody for help. he asked if i had a cd that could reformat the computer in case of just this situation.... and so it came to that. i had to completely revamp the computer and start all over. i lost everything, tests, quizzes, pictures... yep. everything. i decided to look on it as a cleansing process. breathe deeply.

no tests for the kids, then. there was great jubilation amongst them all, of course. :) and i have a little more time to get my stuff back in order.

the Lord is good.

a proud sister showing off her bro.
luke, first year at VMI..doesn't he look great?!

as i think i mentioned in an earlier post, our cousin katherine goes to washington & lee, which is right next to vmi. because she's family, luke is able to get away on the weekends and get a breather. i think having family close by is good for them both as they adjust to their first year of college.

luke on the phone, with uncle steve and kat. auntie conway is probably taking the picture... as she always is! thanks for sending the pics, conway!

hiking last weekend (4.november)

the three of us headed out to the 'mountain' near suji - gwanggyosan - and spent the early afternoon hiking and enjoying a nice relaxed pace. we found these tomatoes on the side of the road...
:)

sorry i'm late in posting the pics.

stef, jody, and i

another pagoda

ridiculous

karate kid represent

on the way home...

update:

1) eunice, my dear friend from church, felt compelled to give me two worship cds that she loves to listen to - by terry macalmon. come to find out, i had been really missing his worship music from back home and had only the night before been browsing his website and looking at the cds online. i love how the Lord works! since she gave them to me last week, i have been spending a lot more time in worship and praise. i am loving the presence of His Spirit and finding myself hungrier and hungrier for more of Him in my life.

p.s. john 13-17 is amazing...

2) mrs. kim and i have been talking about a change in my step 3 (advanced) program. we may be switching from 5 to 3 days a week - possibly a MWF deal - in which we will have to become a lot more focused in the curriculum. tomorrow morning she and i will go to little john's (an english curriculum bookstore) to pick out the next set of books for these kids. pray that God gives us wisdom! the strongest known possibility are the six remaining books of c.s. lewis' chronicles of narnia.

3) yesterday gabriella, one of my advanced students, had to give a speech in english about a favorite role model to her private christian school... along with i don't know how many others. i just got news tonight that of all the students, she won. her mother called mrs. kim to thank her and our school for all our hard work. it is so encouraging to hear this news! i am so proud of gabriella. she is a hard-working, diligent, and sweet girl, and she deserves this honor.

4) it's getting colder. tuesday i broke out my winter p-coat and scarf, and our school brought the heaters out from the basement. the temperature is still wavering between fall and winter, but yesterday and today it's been a little warmer. enough for late night walks to enjoy the clear night sky.

5) britt, stef, and i continue our tuesday night bible study. this tuesday we talked about dependence on God versus independence and relying on our own wisdom and reasoning as a result of the Fall. it was a really challenging topic, and we addressed the difficult issue of submitting every area of our lives.. all those decisions... to the Lord and allowing Him to lead and guide us. i pray God gives each of us a breakthrough as we seek to follow Him.

6) i am in communication with Operation Mobilization (OM) in the US, though i am not pushing the process. i'm content with where God has me here in korea, and i am kind of waiting until i go to germany over christmas for the Lord to make timing clear.. and just to get a sense of His heart. more details later...

my kids are here, so i should go. know that i love and miss you all. write when you can.

last friday i went to see 'the devil wears prada' with mrs. jang, ujin, and esther. it was a lot of fun to spend some time with the ladies outside of work and, surprisingly, i really enjoyed the movie. it was intense and thought-provoking... i found myself mulling over it afterwardsevery evening all the teachers go down to the first floor, where a restaurant opened a few months ago, and we have our dinner together.

Miss Ruth: "Does anyone know what 'violence' means?" (We're reading the Jigsaw Jones Mystery series.)

Christine: "It's something that little kids can't do."

uproarious laughter.