Weekend with the girls

My friend, Kathee, organized this ladies' night away.  Five of us were able to go, and it was A BLAST!!!  We arrived in Seoul at around 2:00 in the afternoon on Friday.  We had to enjoy some of the homemade ice cream at the Dragonhill Lodge (where we were staying).  From left to right...Grace, Kathee, Liz, Lynn (me), Maya.

Then, we went shopping at the ladies' shop in the hotel.  We all liked this dress.  The other two ladies each bought one.  I have another similar dress so I resisted the temptation.

Off for our pedicures...

Now that we all have pretty toes, we head off for dinner at Seoul Tower (behind me).

We ate in the revolving restaurant.  It took about 1 hour to travel 360 degrees, so we were able to enjoy all the views of Seoul while we were dining.

We talked until about 2 am, and it still only felt like 10 pm.  The next morning, we went in shifts for massages (sorry no pictures of this folks). :)  After lunch, we headed to Dongdemun Fabric market.  This is an indoor market, and IT IS HUGE!!!  It is several floors that seem to go on for miles.  I bought lots of ribbon for scrapbooking and a few hair clips for Adeline.  There was an overwhelming amount of fabric, buttons, jewlery, and ribbon.  For those who sew or quilt, this place is a dream come true for you.

Thanks girls.  I loved every minute...

Blogging advice anyone?

I am well past my 100th post, and so you would think I would have learned more by now. But, I have been lazy about learning the nuances of HTML, and have had to figure most things out by myself since most of my experienced blogging friends live nowhere near me (can you just hear the whine in this post thus far). Anyway, I want/need to do some sprucing up to my blog, but I can't find any templates I like. Well, that's not quite true. I found a few, but every time I download them into my layout, they lose my widgets. I have even downloaded them instead of cut/paste, but they still don't seem to work quite right. So, why not ask the wise masses of you to share the love and tell me your favorite sites for templates, stock photos, fonts, and the like. Any recommendations for other sites I should check out to teach me...I mean FOR DUMMIES kind of sites. I need it basic or I won't stick with it. Please HELP!!!

Cruise Reading

These are the books I read while we were on vacation....


Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers....
"Voice in the Wind" is the first book in the Mark of the Lion series. I heard so many people talk about this series that I decided I finally had to see what all the hype was about. I'll give this a 4-/5. It is better than most Christian fiction on the market. The writing style is not my favorite, and I would have given the book a lower rating, but I found myself thinking about the book and the characters throughout my day. If a book holds your attention when you are not reading, then clearly the author is accomplishing something. Most of the book is set in Rome and Ephesus soon after the death of Christ. It is a story of faith, love, lust, sin, gladiators, religion, and Roman law and social classes. There are two more books in the series so the ending leaves you hanging.


Still Life With Rice by Helie Lee......
This was an excellent read. I give it a 4+/5. I saw it recommended on a few blogs and shelfari pages (although I can't remember where so sorry I can't give you credit). I needed to spend a few more $ to get free shipping on Amazon...so why not? Helie Lee was raised in America. She seeks to understand her heritage and the social expectations placed on her as a result of generations raised in Korea. She writes a memoir of her grandmother's life and the sacrifices she made to bring her family from Korea to America. Her grandmother shows courage and creative ingenuity to survive war and oppression. This is a captivating story that I would recommend to anyone, but is a MUST read for my reading friends in Korea who will now have an even deeper appreciation for the culture and history of this land.



Don't Make Me Count to Three! by Ginger Plowman...
I give this a 4/5. This is a great book about getting to the heart of your children's sin instead of just making them obey for obedience sake. It is about training up your children according to scripture. The author gives a lot of great, practical examples. It focuses a little too much on the NEED to spank your children, but overall a good read. You can also buy a chart as a companion to this book that I think is fabulous. It is called Wise Words for Moms. It opens like a calendar and has columns for your child's behavior (complaining, bragging, disobeying, lying, tattling, etc), heart probing questions, reproof (Scriptures with what to "put off"), encouragement (Scriptures with what to "put on"), and additional verses. I am sure I will be using this chart in the future.

Adeline needs one of these!

Easter Finest

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Reading with mommy

Adeline shows off her dexterity

How fast can you type?

Saw this over at my friend Ruthie's blog, and I thought it was fun.  Let me know how you do!

73 words

Speedtest

We're back!!!

We are home...and we're safe...and we had an AMAZING time!!!  I just spent several hours catching up on a lot of missed blogging....you should see how many pictures I DIDN'T post!!!  I hope you enjoy a glimpse into New Zealand and Australia.  Adeline did GREAT!

Patrick is planning to do a video of the trip and post it on U Tube.  I will let you know when it is done.

I have hundreds of YOUR blog posts to catch up on, so be patient with me.  I may need to be a little lighter than usual on the comments, but I can't wait to see what you have all been doing.

If you are looking for me, you may need to search under the MASSIVE piles of laundry that I will be FOREVER trying to dig my way out of.....

The Sapphire Princess

Here are some of the pictures of our cruise ship and some of the activities we enjoyed while cruising.

We were not able to get a room with a window (which we were really bummed and a bit nervous about before our vacation).  I have been on two other cruises one without and one with a window.  The room without a window was very tiny and was so dark at night that I had a really hard time waking up in the morning.  However, there weren't any military discounts left for the rooms with window views, so we either had to take a room without a window or pay a few THOUSAND dollars more for a balcony.  We were pleasantly surprised when we found ourselves in this nice suite.  No window, but plenty of space.  We brought our own baby girl alarm clock with us.  She did not seem at all disoriented by the dark room.  Around the backside of the sink is a desk with a mirror above it and a large closet.  The bathroom was also more spacious than any I have had before on a ship.

One of Adeline's favorite locations was this jungle gym.  She especially loved the slide.

in the tunnel with daddy...

Adeline LOVED the pool.  I thought we got some pictures there, but I guess it was just video.

dancing with daddy...

This is one of many of Adeline's adoptive grandmothers.  She was quite an attraction.

Patrick and I came in second in the doubles ping-pong tournament.  We lost the final game 20-22.  I won the women's tournament (so what if there were only three of us).

Christchurch

There were great views of the city from the top of this gondola.

We went punting on the Avon.

Dunedin

View of the town....

I thought someone might be interested in these.....
We toured this beautiful historic home in Dunedin, New Zealand (no pictures allowed inside).

This was the one day that Adeline HAD IT!!!!  We were excited to go on this hour long tour, and she was NOT having it!  She was tired and hungary, and she made sure everyone around knew it!  We finally decided to divide and conquer.  Patrick went on the tour while I fed her and FINALLY got her to sleep, and then he held her while I went on the tour.  She was much more pleasant after a nice long nap.

Gardens

We toured some beautiful botanical gardens and parks in Christchurch and Melbourne.

Sydney

Patrick took this as we were cruising into the Sydney harbor at 6 am.

Touring the Sydney Opera House was one of our highlights.

This was a quaint part of town called "The Rocks."  Cute cafes, shops, and restaurants.

Me posing with an Aborigine musician.