My August Birthday Girl

I now have a 4 year old in the home. Katie turned 4 recently and we had her birthday party here at our home. She is into animals but extremely interested in elephants. She wants to know everything there is to know about elephants. We have stuffed animal elephants, books on elephants, and elephant figurines. Her invites were covered with elephants.

For her birthday she was asking for a baby elephant.

No not a stuffed animal.

No not a book about them.

No not a figurine.

A baby elephant as a pet. She has it worked out that it would live in the home and she would take good care of it. She is beginning to realize that maybe we can't do this. But she can hold out hope can't she??

And since my girl is now 4, she wants to learn how to play soccer. So this fall, after some investigating on my part, we'll enroll both her and Ryan in soccer.

Now I need to figure out where to bring her to see live elephants...I see a trip to a zoo in the future.

~Jen

Camp MuJiGae is done for now...

Camp MuJiGae is over for this year for us. Mommy was the coordinator for the youngest campers (5 years old and younger) this year. She had learned 2 new Korean songs to teach this year and didn't get to do them since the SIWA women had their own program this year which was absolutely wonderful. The group had a play about a Goblin and most of the 24 campers sat their and listened with their parents to the play. They handed out masks for the kids to decorate. If the campers showed their masks to the SIWA students, they got a prize of school supplies which included a ruler, a pencil case, a pencil, an eraser, and more.

After the SIWA students' program, the older campers (the 3 to 5 year olds) had a Tae Kwon Do program that a Korean adult adoptee who is a 4th degree black belt did for me. He was former camper and former counselor for camp and wanted to give back. The kids had a blast and they got to break boards at the very end of their session. He signed the boards for the kids and handed out gift certificates for one month free lessons with 2 private lessons and a uniform. That was totally unexpected and I thanked him several times. He stayed through the family day events and made sure that he said goodbye to us before he left.

Every time that I saw "The Big Kahuna" for camp yesterday and today, he mentioned to me that he got rave reviews from parents that this was the best camp for the youngest age group in several years. The last thing that was said was this: "we've filled the position of coordinator for Curiosity campers and you're doing it". Wow


I'm taking some time to relax and regroup and then start planning next year's camp for the youngest group of campers for MuJiGae.

Preparing for Camp Mujigae

Camp Mujigae is around the corner. Yours truly is the co-coordinator for both Rising Stars and Curiosity campers (so all of the campers 5 and under). I am coordinator for Curiosity (the 3 to 5 year old group of campers).

So far I have learned Arirang on the recorder without using sheet music I might add, still learning 3 Korean songs (can't seem to get one in time to the music just yet---arrrggghhh so frustrating for me), designing some lovely things on Publisher (gotta love that program and the ideas that I have), chopstick classes and more.

I'm just a little nervous in performing on the recorder with a solo and pray that I don't get performance jitters or be overcome with stage fright!!! So far the kids have been my audience and they have been humming away to the music.

Back to the prep work!!

"I'm 5 years old..."

Ryan greeted me the morning of his birthday with the ususal "hello Mommy" but added "did you know that today is a special day?...I'm 5 years old". Where did my little boy go??

It seems like only yesterday we got into the limo and took the trip to NYC to pick our little boy up. His first diaper change was there in the women's bathroom at the airport. His first bottle was there. He came over with 3 other little boys. Shortly after he came home, it was his first birthday. We had just family over...we didn't want to overwhelm him. He looked so handsome in his Hanbok that his foster mother picked out for him.

Each year since I have taken pictures of him in his Hanbok for his birthday.

Here's a photo review:


First Birthday




Second Birthday




Third Birthday




Fourth Birthday




Fifth Birthday





Wow...my little boy is growing up so fast on me and into a little man.

Space the Final Frontier...

My kids, but most particularly Ryan, is highly interested in the space shuttle. For an hour and a half yesterday afternoon, we had it on TV watching as NASA slowly counts down, does all of their last minute checks with inspecting the shuttle until the final minutes and seconds before it lifts off into space. We learned how far away the moon was from the Earth...a question that Katie had.

He made a rocket out of his bristle blocks and blasted it off into the air as the space shuttle lifted off. Then all of the kids cheered and clapped over this.

Ah the joys of the simple amazing things as the space shuttle lifting off to space as seen through my kids eyes!!

We'll be watching NASA TV as they do their mission. And maybe we'll be able to watch them land as well...

~Jen

Parents Day

Did you know about this holiday??? I will admit that I really didn't either and as I looked up Mother's Day, I found out about this Korean holiday as well. It is celebrated on May 8th.

Parents Day in Korea

Family Month in Korea

More information about Parents Day in Korea

And just like Mother's Day or Father's Day, parents in Korea on Parents Day don't get a day off from work either.

~Jen

Mothers

Each of us have at least one. My kids have three. I think about three of them often. Their First Mom and the two foster moms. I hope that they are well. I wonder what they are thinking about now.

My kids think about their foster mothers often. My son has his own wishes for his foster mother...all good stuff but private things that I can't mention here. It's between them that he has relayed to us. We feel privileged that he can come to us with his feelings and open up from time to time.

I wish that their First Mom is well as we think about her often...I will admit right now that I think it's more me than my kids. My kids do know that they have a birth mommy who was unable to take care of them. Eventually I know that there will be questions from them that I may not have the answers to and that they might look elsewhere for those answers. I am fine with that. It's only natural to have questions. I would be more concerned, I think, if they didn't have any.

For my kids, they think about their foster moms. Two incredibly special women who took in these three children nutured and cared for them as if they were there own and gave them up to strangers who whisked them away in a van to head to the airport for a plane bound for a country far away. Many tears were shed by these women. I know since I cried many tears in that van on the ride to the airport myself just seeing Bella's foster mom crying.

To them, my husband and I are eternally grateful. For our children, they think about them and mentioned them often and pictures are drawn just for them and sent to them. Drawings that are sometimes described to me, held by me briefly before I send them off through our agency to Korea for others. I am overdue on letters and pictures to them and hope to rectify that situation soon.

While all of us have mothers be it a bio mom, an adoptive mom, a foster mom, or somebody that we look(ed) up to as our mom, I want to wish you a Happy Mother's Day. I hope that you find some peace this Mother's Day.

History of Mother's Day in the US

Happy Mother's Day to all of you...