'Ketchup With Us' - Prompt #20 (My dear dad)

The twinkle in his eyes and quick smile showed his contagious joy

To hold his hand was to feel safe, secure, loved

In the Air Force, he was a brave defender of our country

As a pastor, he was compassionate and empathetic: listening to people’s problems, offering hope.

Taken too soon, he will always be my hero, my first love.

(I will try to post a better picture tomorrow - this is all I have access to right now) :)

'KETCHUP WITH US' - PROMPT #20

In this installment of ‘Ketchup With Us’, Michele and Mel have asked us to tell a story about a great dad in our life, fact or fiction in 57 words or less.

The Many Faces of Joe

It doesn't happen very often, but the other day Mr. Joe Sung Min was sitting still for an extended period of time and I was able to take a number of pictures of him.  He is a very expressive little dude and is very entertaining to say the least.  I've got to get some video of him because he is a very funny boy.

Enjoy!

 

My Doppelgänger

Twenty (mumble) years ago, I was likened to

 a jealous, plotting sister and a rebellious, dancing daughter.

What’s that you say? How can THAT be?

Relax, people.

The likeness was in looks back then – and now not quite so much.

There is ONE thing still the same:

Nobody puts Baby – or Becky – in the corner.

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This was written for the 14th installment of "Ketchup With Us." Michele and Mel challenged us to write, in 57 words or less about our doppelgänger. Do you see the resemblance?

Life on the Farm - An Update

Things have been quite hectic here these past few weeks.  The past 3 weeks I've been traveling and have been away more than I've been home.  That makes for an extra crazy time for the Papa, having to manage all aspects of the house and the farm.

The first week I was away, our long awaited dining room table and bench wer delivered.  By "delivered", I mean dropped off at the end of the driveway. For Brian to manage. Alone. He was not pleased.  Especially when he did get the table into the house but could NOT get it into the dining room. Oops.  I was convinced that when I got home, I could help him get it into the room, you know, having TWO people it would make the task easier. Well, mostly.  We tried EVERYTHING, and every possible doorway to no avail.  Finally, he had a moment of genius and begun to take out one of the windows.  Sure enough, we were able to maneuver it in that way.  What a relief.  It was definitely worth the effort.  What do you think?

Once the table was situated, I could relax. The weather outside was unseasonably pleasant so we all went outside and visited with all of the animals/pets.  They were quite happy to have some company.

First up, the chickens.  When they hear and see us coming, they come a-runnin' hoping for some crackers, cheerios or whatever goodies we are sharing with them.  They are quite silly.

Nuna couldn't wait to show me the trees that Mr. Alex cut down while I was away, in case I hadn't noticed the three big trees that were down in the front yard.  The kids had fun scrambling over the trunks and through the branches and they slowed down just long enough for a picture or two.

Next up were the turkeys and the pigs.  This, as we soon found out, is mating season for the turkeys and we saw Josey Wales and Mr. Drummond posturing around poor Smarty.  We left them alone and found that one of the hens had laid an egg in a little nest she made on the ground.  Awwww.

From there, we made our way to the back of the property where Wilbur and PorkChop reside.  Joe hadn't seen them in quite awhile and he was enamored with them.  He LOVES those piggies (who are an awful lot like dogs) and kept running back over to give them "pat-pats."

The busy day ended with each of the kids getting to ride on the tractor/bulldozer with Papa and then having some fun pretending to drive/and or sitting in the bucket.  From the looks of it, we are going to have quite a fun summer on the farm.  Who knew?!?

 

As we went in for the night I noticed we weren't the only ones getting ready for bed.   I'd never seen this before, but all five of the turkeys were roosting up on the roof of the wood shed.  I'm not sure if they stayed that way all night, but it made for a neat picture!

In the next few weeks we will be adding two goats to the mix so things will really start to get interesting.  Nuna suggested we give you all some video tours of the farm and I think that is a great idea - so stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ketchup With Us #13

For this installment of Ketchup with us, Michele and Mel have ordered encouraged us to write about someone whose shoes we would like to walk in for a day.

With boundless energy and nary a care in the world, I would welcome each day with open arms.

Enjoying the small things: cheerios, coloring, being silly and playing outside for hours

Naps, family hugs, tickle fights and snuggles at bedtime would round out my day.

The best part? Tomorrow I get to do it all over again.

It's a Boy - 2 Years Later

It is hard to believe two years have passed since we got the call that would change the course our lives forever - our prayers and dreams were answered and we were matched with a boy. The boy that would become our son.  You can read all about that day here.

He has made such progress during this time, in fact, we all have.  In the (almost) year and a half since he has been home, he has learned to feed himself (yay!), walk (and then run), crawl up the stairs and talk. A lot.  His vocabulary is growing exponentially, although his go-to words are still: hi, hello, 'tinky, oh dear, Mama! Papa! Nuna! Joe-Joe! (no longer "Doh-Doh") and choo-choo.

He has been a trooper through three surgeries - all with great success. We learned this past week that one year out from his eye surgery everything is perfect - and we hope it stays that way.

He went from being afraid of our pets (not having any experience with them in Korea) to giving them "pat-pats" every day and saying "awwww" whenever he sees one. As much as he loves the inside pets, he ADORES our outside animals, especially the turkeys.  He will chase after them with outstretched hands calling "here gobble, gobble" and trying to pet them.  The chickens are a close second - and once it gets warmer outside and he sees the pigs more, I know he will be fascinated with them as well.

He overcame his grass aversion - good thing, since we now live on 5 acres - and loves to trek around outside.  We are looking forward to a very fun (and messy) spring and summer.

I could go on and on about how much he has grown, how we are better people for having him in our lives, how thankful we are that Omma and Appa took such great care of him in Korea - but I know you're looking for the pictures of our handsome little man.  I'm posting this tonight from my in-laws house so I don't have access to all my pictures.  Please check back as more photos and video will be coming.

Thank you for joining us on our journey with Joe Sung Min!

He loves his nuna (big sister)

...and his Papa too 

Cranes that go u-u-u-u-p!

And trains that go "choo choo"

Firetrucks, trains and Grandma too!

And most of all his family. :)

Busy, busy, busy....

Little man is keeping us busy and on our toes.  From the time he wakes up until the time he naps or goes to bed at night he is on. the. go.  You'll often hear him yelling "Go, go, go, faster faster!" or "Hurry, hurry, come on!" as he races from room to room.  People are amazed he is such a constant ball of energy.  More often than not, as he moves from place to place and toy to toy (trains, fire trucks, books and blocks are his current favorites) you'll hear him saying "busy, busy, busy."  He also says it as hey comes up to me as I'm working, but it doesn't stop him from asking me to read a book or watch some Choo Choo Soul on the computer. :)

Taking a good picture of him is getting more challenging as he shows up as a blur, but I keep trying.  I had some luck recently when we went to the Open House at Liv's old school - he had a blast in the preschool playing in the house and with the kitchen (anything with doors that open and close will keep him occupied) and then in the 1st grade classroom which was train-themed and filled with Thomas the Tank Engine items. Mrs. Quinn even let him push the button that made the whistle blow. So exciting! 

He definitely keeps us busy, busy, busy and we can't wait until the weather warms up so he can use up his energy outside chasing the animals and just being a kid.

He isn't always a happy camper...be thankful there is no sound :)