You are my sun(flower), my only sun(flower)

Here she is in all her fall glory!!! I couldn't wait to show you!!! We went to a hoedown at our church. My chili won 3rd prize in the chili contest, Patrick participated in the pie eating contest, and Adeline was a hit!






How excited was I that I bought this costume at the thrift store on base for $3?!?!?!?!

Wordless Wednesday---Sound asleep (really!)

Book Report

This weekend I read The Horse and His Boy, the third book in the CS Lewis Chronicles of Narnia series.  I read it before, but I didn't remember all the details.  If you never read it...

1. You should.

2. You should stop reading this post now because I am about to totally ruin the plot for you.

No, seriously, there is something really special about reading it the first time and this is your final warning to stop reading this post........

Okay, if you are still with me, I will assume you have read the book and know the characters.  I LOVE how all these things happen to Shasta and Aravis during their journey that seem really hard to them, and then Aslan later explains the purpose of these trials.  He is really helping them and saving them from what could be great tragedies.  Wow!  How often do we not get what we want and think that God could not possibly know what is best.  We wish we were in control.  Then, how often we later see that His timing is perfect, His plan is perfect, and His love is perfect.

I also love that when Shasta asks why Aslan scratched Aravis, Aslan tells him that is not part of his story.  I couldn't think of one way her injury could be helpful or necessary in their situation. Later, when Aslan explains this to Aravis he says, "The scratches on your back, tear for tear, throb for throb, blood for blood, were equal to the stripes laid on the back of your stepmother's slave because of the drugged sleep you cast upon her.  You needed to know what it felt like."  How great that we have a God that loves us enough to discipline us and mold us closer to His image.

When I feel like I am in a season of life that does not make sense to me, when I worry about the future, when I feel like a trial is too hard to bear, I remember this story.  I remember that God sees the grand scheme.  There is a happy ending because our God is victorious!!!  He has already won.  I can rest in the knowledge that He is in control, and that means I don't have to be.  Thank you Lord.

Our amazing creator

My aunt forwarded me an email with these egg shells that were cut with laser beams. Amazing!!! If man created a laser beam that is this precise, think about how much more amazing our own creator is. Praise God!

Views from our house

Here are some views from our house in Korea. I hope to soon give you a view of the inside, but we need to get a new charger for our video camera.


There isn't a lot of grass here. Koreans seem to grow something on every available patch of land. In the distance of the second photo you can see part of the flight line on base.





This view is from the other side of the house. The structures that look like greenhouses on the top left are airplane hangers.


This is the building next to ours, but ours looks just like it. We have the top floor.

Sunday finest

I love putting Adeline in blue. It brings out her blue eyes.

Adeline's Song

I made up a song for Adeline, and I thought I would share it with you.  I sing it to her almost every day when I am putting her to sleep.  When she is fussy, it usually calms her.  It is to the tune of Adelweiss from The Sound of Music.

Adeline, Adeline

Every morning you greet me.

Lovely and kind,

sweet, God's child,

You are so precious to me.

Blossom of love may you bloom and grow,

bloom and grow into a lady.

Adeline, Adeline

You are so precious to me.

Two Updates

1.  Adeline is feeling MUCH better.  Thank you for all of your prayers and kind words of concern for her.  She had a few days of looking like a deer caught in headlights.  She slept a lot more but when not sleeping was more clingy and fussy.  She also had less of an appetite (which really shows she was not feeling well).  She seems more like herself every day, and the fever is gone.

2.  I wanted to give an update about the MAD HATTER'S tea party I went to this week.  Well, first, I TOTALLY missed the theme.  I was thinking it was a cute name to encourage the ladies to wear hats, so I arrived in my cute dress and tea hat.  WRONG!!!  It was a theme based on Alice in Wonderland.  People had on crazy hats.  One lady wrapped a bunch of packages and cut a hole in the bottom package to wear it on her head.  Another, made a hat with a bunch of computer stuff on it (disks, cables, thumb drive), and another had a bunch of fake tulips on top of her head.  So, I had a hat, but was disappointed that I missed the theme.  I had low expectation for the food portion of the tea (I thought it was just a buffet at the officer's club), but the food was amazing.  It was not like a tea...in fact there wasn't even tea.  It was catered by an Italian restaurant here, and it was very good.  When I first arrived, most people were standing in small groups talking.  It was hard to find people to talk with.  However, I did talk to some ladies during dinner and made some connections.  There is a group that scrapbooks on Mondays. :)  I also spent a while talking with Kristin, who happens to live off base pretty close to me.  She has two little boys.  She invited me to a Bible study on Tuesdays (one that I was already planning to attend), and then she called me yesterday and invited me to lunch.  God is so good in providing me friends so quickly.

Vacation???

We have had many great vacations since we've been married.  This was not one of them.  But it wasn't all bad...

We left for Sorakseon National Park on Tuesday afternoon.  Adeline did great in the car, and we made it there without problems.  We were able to walk around a little bit that evening, and took some pictures.  Wednesday, it poured...all day.  We decided to be troopers.  We bought a raincoat (well, it was a glorified plastic bag with a hood and sleeves), put Adeline in her Bjorn, and headed off with our one umbrella.  We hiked towards one of the attractions, a huge rock that teeters on the edge of a cliff.  It was supposed to be a 3.3 km hike.  We hiked, and hiked.  It said, 1 km.  We carried on.  Now, our shoes are soggy, our pants are wet, and our attitudes are a bit less chipper than when we started.  We finally made it to some tents where they were selling food, drinks, etc.  We went inside to dry out a bit.  I (Lynn) insisted on going a bit farther because I couldn't stand the thought of being this close and missing the main attraction.  Patrick and Adeline stayed in the tent.  I'm not even sure if I made it to the attraction.  I hiked some more, and made it to a rock where they were taking pictures.  However, there was another sign pointing still farther up that said 1 km.  We headed back, cold, wet, and irritated.  Adeline gave up and went to sleep in the Bjorn.  

When we got back to the hotel, Adeline was not herself.  She felt very warm, but we couldn't find our thermometer.  We gave her some Tylenol and she slept.  Patrick decided we needed to leave.  We were 4 1/2 hours away from an American hospital, and if Adeline got worse, he wanted to be closer to home.  The hotel was kind enough to only charge us for one night.

We are on our way home, making great time, and Adeline was doing really well for not feeling well.  Then, there is smoke, and a noise coming from our car.  We are 15 min from home and our car dies.  We glide down the ramp to just before our last toll plaza.  Our car has overheated, there is oil all over the back of it, and no one around speaks English.  We call some friends, put water in the radiator, add some oil, and make it home.  Adeline is finally sound asleep in her bed three hours past her bedtime.

So, we can choose to remember this as the rainy vacation where Adeline got sick, we left early, and had a broken down car.  OR, we can see it as an adventure where we survived in another culture, made it home safely, and managed to get a few great pictures.  We'll choose the latter.

12 Things I've Done in Korea

I thought I would make today's post more informative.  Here are twelve activities I have done since arriving in Korea....

1.  Had authentic Korean food.  Yes, we decided it was time to dive in since people kept asking us if we tried the food yet.  We are both not very picky eaters, but it was not our favorite cuisine.  The rumors are true that if you eat kimchi, you will smell like it for a day.  Patrick had it coming out his pores.  We really enjoyed the experience though and would be happy to go again if any of you come to visit.

2.  Ate dinner at Chili's restaurant, Outback Steakhouse, and Pizza Hut.  We also had Thai food at least twice and Indian food.  See, the world is not such a big place after all.

3.  Went purse shopping with my new friend, Alexia.  Korea is known for making excellent quality knock-off purses.  It is really hard to tell they are not real.  So, when I come home with a Coach diaper bag, know that I paid $55 for it, not $450.  If anyone is interested in designer bags...Coach, Prada, Louie Vuitton (yes, I had to look it up to see how to spell that), Dooney and Burke, Gucci, Chanel, and many more, just tell me what you are looking for and I would be happy to shop.

4. Got my hair cut.  Last week I finally decided it was time to be brave and go to the salon.  I am happy to report that they did a good job.

5.  After going for above hair cut, noticed that they do pedicures for $17!  Went back the next day and relaxed for 50 minutes with my book while my feet were pampered.

6.  Took the subway to the town of Suwon, where we did some shopping and had dinner.  I bought a pair of pants and some sneakers.  For once, it is a real advantage to be small.  Koreans are small (short and thin), so tall/big people have a hard time buying clothes here.  I wear a 7 1/2 shoe, and I think the largest they carry is an 8 1/2.

7.  Did (and continue to do) laundry in a machine that is both a washer and drier.  Sounds great until you find out it is completely in Korean and takes about 8 hours to do a load.  And the oven is in Celsius.

8.  Joined a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at our church.  They meet once a month.  There is a speaker, food, games, and childcare.  It meets on a Wednesday morning for about 3 hours, and I really enjoyed it.  I have found that it is easy to find community here.  Most people are in the same boat we are.  They came here without friends and extended family and are here for a short time.  So, there are lots of groups you can join, and you don't feel the awkwardness of joining a group that has known each other for years.

9.  Started Adeline's baby album.

10.  Joined a book club.  We are meeting next week, and I am almost done with the first book.

11.  Joined the Osan Officer's Spouse's Club.  I know it sounds like I am joining a lot of clubs, but most of them, including this one, only meet once a month.  Their October activity, on Thursday, is a mad hatters tea party.  I was sold.

12.  Bought Adeline's halloween costume at the thrift store on base.  I am quite excited about it.  You will just have to check back to see it...

We also have many more activities planned for the upcoming weeks/months.  We are leaving in the morning for Mount Sorak.  It is a 4 1/2 hour drive but is supposed to be worth the trip.  We are staying for two nights, so this may be my last post for a few days.  Hopefully I will have some beautiful fall pictures when I return.

Patrick is flying!

I'm taking flying lessons while I'm in Korea. Ground school has begun (8 weeks), then I'll begin formal flying lessons. I took the pictures below while flying with my friend, Steve.



I've got the look!



Ready for Mach 2.



I took this picture of our apartment building, at dead center.



Here's a video of us landing at Osan Air Base. Steve is at the controls. The frame rate of the camera is at times in phase with the propeller, making it look like the propeller is stopping!

We arrived!!!

We arrived!!! Here we are standing by our front door.

This is our first family photo in Korea after spending the day at a festival.

Adeline is so happy to see her daddy again.... yes, daddy was excited to see her too.

Adeline is eating new things every day, and we haven't found anything yet that she won't eat. We know that may change some day. Not sure where she gets her appetite from... :)

Adeline is trying hard to learn to crawl. She gets into this position a lot, but hasn't coordinated the motions yet.

She is doing quite well with sitting up though.

She loves her big bathtub. Mommy and her both enjoy
bath time.




One day when we felt like exploring the country, we went to E-Mart. It is kinda like the Korean version of Walmart. One of the cool features is that you can roll your cart onto the escalator. The carts also roll side to side as well as front to back.

All dressed up and ready for church.

After all this adventure, I think I will sleep...