more korean ajima love

Every where we go Ajimas come up to ammon to love on him,

but this is our favorite "ajima moment" that I actually captured on film.

Last spring break we were down in Busan sitting on the beach.

Ammon was doing his own thing.

Up comes Ajima to Ammon and tucks in his shirt, pulls his pants up really high, 

and is just really fussing over him.

(i love facial expression of  the ajima to the right who is barely in the picture also. )

 (When jacob just saw this picture over my shoulder just now

he said, "I love chilsung cider."  which is the drink she is holding. ha ha)

Then she starts to brush the sand out of his hair.

Next, she notices that he has a runny nose.

So she searches around our belongings until she finds something to wipe his nose with.  

It happens to be Ammon's sock, so I rush to give her a wet wipe instead.

She proceeds to wipe his nose with it, pinning him down.

We are dying laughing.

Ammon on the other hand did not find it so funny, and she was saying ohhhhh, ooh,ohhh

imitating his howling in mock sympathy.

then she's laying on top of him trying to play with him and give him loves, and he wanted nothing to do with this crazy woman by then.  He was done.
What is even funnier, is that she wasn't the only person that came up to him and was
doing the same thing, and then they would photograph him and play with him.
Perfect!  I could just sit and enjoy the sun.  ha ha.

more korean love to come in my next post.
"You know, like Ron Bergundy, we are kinda a big deal around here."

He's at it again!

Dave went to a medical conference in san francisco.

What did he bring back for us you ask?

(besides more knowledge about breast imaging. ha)

......Rye flour.

With that he made homemade rye bread, and then this fabulous dinner

of Reuben sandwiches. He had a homemade sauce as well.

They were seriously unbelieveable.

need a closer view?

Grilled to delicious perfection.

and if that wasn't enough, he made one of my favorite desserts to

order at restaurants, a chocolate lava cake. He is trying to perfect

it before Roger and Teresa Harding come to visit next month.

We went on a cruise with them for dave's 40th birthday, and we ate

so many of these every night at dinner that our waitress would just bring

out a whole pan of 12 of them as soon as she saw us coming.

She was a good waitress.

and if that isn't enough.

DAVE IS GOING WITH ME TO YOGA TONIGHT!

I am starting to think he was abducted by aliens.

I'm not complaining. ha.

I guess dave is like a good cheese, gets better with age.

Although a little stinky. ha ha. (I couldn't resist that one dave.)

PS- I love a man in a star wars shirt.

Look how gorgeous my mom is!

I think she looks like a movie star.

She is 34 here and pregnant with my sister kelly (her 5th baby).

My Mom passed away when I was 34, it was hard.

When I went to my Dad's family reunion this past summer everyone

kept saying how much I look like her. I really don't.

I just have her coloring (dark hair and light blue eyes), and probably

mannerisms. I think my eyes are the only things that are kind of like hers.

but mine are more round like my dads.

I really see my sisters kelly and nicole in her way more.

But hey, after seeing this picture. I'll take the compliment!

PS -and now I know why she tortured me starting at a young age to tweeze

my eyebrows. Hers are perfection and I have my dad's eyebrows. ha

(sorry dad, but it is true)

PPS- Leah has her dad's eyebrows and I admit it, I held her arms down on the floor with my

knees and forced eyebrow plucking upon her.

Yep, I'm my mother's daughter. ha ha.

I am sad to leave korea.

I cannot believe that we are moving in just a few months! Where has the time gone? I haven't shared nearly enough all of the things that I love here in Korea. Plus there are so many places we have gone that I haven't shown you! How could I have done that to you? You see, I love Korea, and I love the Korean people and I want you to love them too. So, I must focus, and in these last few months share with you all of the things that I will miss about korea. So...........

Number 1)

Ajimas in Korea. A married woman here is called Ajima. It is not a derrogatory name. It is a respectful name. but every grandma aged woman for sure is an Ajima. It is a term of endearment really. I love how the older women here are so respected and loved. Ajimas can say and do whatever they want. They love children and will come up and just start caring for your baby. I mean really caring for them. Like wiping their nose, tucking in their shirt etc.

when we were down in Busan last spring break Ammon could not get a moment to himself. Luckily he is a pretty social kid, but after awhile enough is enough. I'll post the pictures tomorrow. Because right now I want to focus on....

my favorite Ajima!

Here she is above doing a kimchi squat on the kids bathroom countertop cleaning the mirror.

I LOVE HER! She is so sweet, so kind, and I love her being in my home. Not to mention that she leaves it spotless. I feel guilty for how little I pay her, but it is what she asks for. $30 to clean my whole house. It is the best day of the week when she comes.

She talks to Ammon the whole time in Korean and is so cute with him. Ammon gets so excited when she comes. He runs to the door screaming AJIMA! AJIMA! He is always wanting her to come and play with him, but she doesn't know what he is saying. The other day it was raining and I took a taxi home from the store with ammon. On the radio in the taxi was an older Korean woman speaking. Ammon says so tenderly, "I love Ajima." I couldn't believe he just said that out of the blue and than i realized that it was the voice on the radio that reminded him of her. I asked him if Ajima was talking on the radio and he said, "yesh." so cute.

We will definitely miss Ajima, and all of the Korean ajimas.

Why can't I blog?

(easter morning)

To answer my question, I think because my life is just so intense right now. Intense in a good way. It is brimming and full. Even my dreams are intense. Have you ever had a long night of vivid crazy dreams? (It runs in my family, and is not fun. ha) Well, I feel like blogging right now would be like trying to document a night of vivid dreams. I just wouldn't be able to do it justice. How could I get across all that amazing detail of color, emotion, and activity that makes it so.....well......INTENSE! It is too overwhelming to even think of it. I just wish you could be here and on my couch one night (my couch is really cozy). We could curl up with blankets and hot cocoa and talk about it in all it's intense detail.

I am always wondering why I am so tired all the time. Am I just old, or lazy or what? I thought to myself, I don't really do much. I lead a simple life. I just do my little routine and am a mom. Then I started really thinking about it. Starting looking at all of things I have been involved in and how emotionally, spiritually, and physically draining they all are. From organizing a large women's conference for church, to helping my friend deal with cancer, missionary lessons at my house, to every in and out of and drama of my kids lives, and on and on. It was a lot. It was not as simple at all. In fact, the word intense came to mind. No wonder I am intensely tired. ha.

Satan is just so sneaky. He can make me feel discouraged that I don't do much or make a difference. Or that I am not good enough, or do things poorly and someone else could do better (and should). Why does he do this? Because he is acutely aware of just how powerful one woman can be. Just how much good she can do. I talk about this a lot on my blog don't I?

I am just such a huge believer in the power of women and their goodness!

My favorite lately is something that my friend Mary Montes De Oca said at church recently.

"I want Satan to say when I wake up, "oh no, she's awake again!"

The world describes success in terms of wealth, power, formal education, and career success.

While all of those things are well and good and can serve great purposes. They are not my (or God's) definition of success.

Here is one of my favorite definitions that is displayed in my house

(i've shared it before)....

To laugh often, to win the affection of children, to earn the

appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal

of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the

best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a

healthy child, a garden patch......to know even one life has breathed easier

because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!

-Emerson

I stayed up until 3am getting the house all ready for easter morning. I was so proud of all of my floral arrangements. I don't have vases and I realized that I have all of these cool pottery pieces that jacob made in ceramics. Seriously like 50 pieces that are so awesome that i can't part with any of them.

(that's the emerson quote in the right hand side of the picture. love it!)

Here is Sister Beck's definition.

“We know we are successful if we live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit.”

one last awesome quote.

Sister Margaret Nadauld:

“Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.

“Oh, how we pray that every. . . woman will. . . be all the wonderful things she is meant to be. . . . May daughters of God honor the priesthood and sustain worthy priesthood holders. May they understand their own great capacity for strength in the timeless virtues that some would scoff at in a modern, liberated world for women.”

AMEN! Right?

random.

Ammon insisted I take a picture of him. This is the only pose he would do.

I have no idea why. Cracks me up.

so excited!!

Can't wait to see this tonight!!!!

(and eat buttered popcorn with hot tamales in it, and a big sprite)

and this in December!

i love you peter jackson.

(i'm serious)