This post is going to be an honest one. Some of you may think I am off my rocker, others may think I am absolutely correct, and some of you might feel for me. Whatever you think or whatever you feel that is fine. I know that there are some people who will understand where I am coming from and this is for those of you who love me enough to accept my path and will walk through it with me even with all the frustrations, happy tears, sad tears, all the waiting periods and all ups and downs.
There are ladies out there who know that they don't want children. There are many excuses why they don't want children. Some don't want children because they don't want their bodies to be stretched out, tore up, swollen, and sore. Some don't want children because they think having kids means life stops and changes so much and they just can't handle the thought of that. Some just know they won't have the patience or attitude to have little ones. I am sure there are many more but these are the most common I hear.
To that I say, I may never be skinny again, heck I may never be back at my pre-pregnancy weight, but that is OK for me. My husband and daughter still love me unconditionally. I might have crazy stretch marks, but those are just stretch marks made from love! It just means my body can handle anything that is thrown at it because let's face it. Any woman who has carried a child has put their body through war!
Now moving on, my life never stopped after I had my baby girl! In fact it got that much better. Not only do I love her like crazy, but I have experienced things I NEVER would have without her. Some moms like to keep their child on a schedule and that is wonderful, however I don't. This way we don't have to work life around nap time, nap time works around us. Obviously, like a few days ago I knew that before I did anything else I had to get cranky girl down for a nap, but it doesn't stop my life, it only shifts my order of doing things. We hike, we go out to eat, we go to sporting events, we go on random weekend vacations to random places (while in Korea, you never know if you will get a bed or the floor). Life keeps on moving and now it is more fun with little feet. Plus date night means so much more, because it doesn't happen as often.
As for the frustration and patience.... remember I said this is an honest post... NO ONE HAS THEM! Not all the time anyway. Just yesterday I found myself snapping and going crazy because my Princess turned into a crazy, crying, cranky, needy, hitting and kicking the floor DRAMA QUEEN! Oh and this wasn't just a little thing, this went on for hours off and on all day! Yes I lost my cool. But then she brought me over a book sat on my lap and said, "mommy read please." and half way through the book my heart was melting with more love and patience then I had all day! Being a mom is rough I get that, but it better be a really good excuse for you to not want such amazing blessings in your life.
With all of that being said, I am back on the fertility journey. Most of you, if not all of you, know that my first child was a fertility baby. Hubby and I went through a wonderful fertility doctor and after lots of tests, drugs, and shots, I became pregnant with my little princess! Today, right after I finish this blog, I will be starting medication yet again! Prenatal vitamins, provara and in a few days Chlomid. Some of you may be shocked right now that I am so openly announcing this. However, I have been down this road before so I know I need my family and friends as a support group even if we aren't in the same country. I have gone this route before and nothing happened so we proceeded to an off post fertility doctor who through the IUI was successful! Going in for procedures are more pills, injections, tests and in the end a lot more money. So we are going to start off with just the 3 medications for now. If this doesn't happen then Dr. Ma would like to continue trying this way for 3 months. If those 3 months are up and still nothing then we will be looking at going back to the Korean hospital. Which in all honesty I loved! This will be my 4th time going through all this, so friends and family I ask for prayers that we won't have to go further than our first round of meds!
Monday, December 15, 2014
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Tres Dias.... without saying too much
So I sit here and re write this because, something happened and I deleted the last one. Some might be thinking, why didn't you save it, but I assure you I did. When I went to edit a few things that is when I hit something on the keyboard and it deleted everything. So I begin again.....
Some of you know that I last weekend I went on a ladies retreat called Tres Dias. They have weekends for the men as well, which I will now be sending the hubs on when that arises. As the days got closer and closer to the Thursday, the day to leave, the thought of leaving my daughter behind became frightening to me. I have left her with the sitter before but even then I still was able to receive pictures and updates via my phone. Well that and I have never left her for 3 whole days. Anyway, I found myself coming up with more and more ways to get out of it.
Audrey will never go to sleep for daddy...
What if something happens, even though there is an emergency number to tell me it will take me forever to get home...
Audrey is getting the sniffles, I better stay home...
I will get too far behind in school...
There was even a car accident, well a fender bender, at an intersection RIGHT behind me and I remember thinking, "If only that was my car they bumped" (Audrey was not in the car), "It would slow me down and possibly make me miss going."
No such luck. I have 2 very important people in my life who pushed and pushed for me to go. They pushed so hard that I showed up at the church a few minutes earlier than needed. Going into this thing I just kept thinking, "If we don't get on the bus soon and out of here, I am turning back." The clock kept ticking and soon we were on the bus and well off to our destination.
Thank goodness it wasn't called Uno Dias, because my first 24 hours was not what I thought it would be. I was missing Auder-Pop terribly and I just really wanted to see her face. I was ready to go home. Then slowly as Friday progressed I started feeling a little better as time moved on. Once Saturday came, I was a changed girl! Happy and peppy and feeling joyful! Then time was moving too quickly and the day was slipping by. I was so blessed, I grew in my faith, I learned a lot, I talked with so many wonderful and beautiful ladies, it was amazing! I am so happy those two people pushed me to go! I had such an amazing time that I am going back to the next one as a volunteer. I want to relive that weekend but I want to do it from the other side of things.
So many people, including myself, get turned off by the secrecy of what happens on this weekend. Really there are no secrets, but you wouldn't want me to tell you to much. I was very annoyed to go into the weekend not knowing anything, but I came out of it so glad that no one told me anything that would go on and I got to experience every moment without anticipation! If you want to be blessed, if you want to learn, grew closer to Christ, form new friendships, get away from the worldly ways, laugh, dance, cry, be there for others, and all around have an amazing time. Then you need to become part of the Tres Dias family! Notice I keep using the word amazing..... well to be honest, its the most amazing word I have for the weekend.... words can't describe what an amazing time I had :)
Last but not least, I want to thank all of you who had such kind and loving words for me throughout the weekend and the ones who prayed for the weekend. They mean the world to me and I will treasure them always! You know who you are!
Love and Blessings!
Some of you know that I last weekend I went on a ladies retreat called Tres Dias. They have weekends for the men as well, which I will now be sending the hubs on when that arises. As the days got closer and closer to the Thursday, the day to leave, the thought of leaving my daughter behind became frightening to me. I have left her with the sitter before but even then I still was able to receive pictures and updates via my phone. Well that and I have never left her for 3 whole days. Anyway, I found myself coming up with more and more ways to get out of it.
Audrey will never go to sleep for daddy...
What if something happens, even though there is an emergency number to tell me it will take me forever to get home...
Audrey is getting the sniffles, I better stay home...
I will get too far behind in school...
There was even a car accident, well a fender bender, at an intersection RIGHT behind me and I remember thinking, "If only that was my car they bumped" (Audrey was not in the car), "It would slow me down and possibly make me miss going."
No such luck. I have 2 very important people in my life who pushed and pushed for me to go. They pushed so hard that I showed up at the church a few minutes earlier than needed. Going into this thing I just kept thinking, "If we don't get on the bus soon and out of here, I am turning back." The clock kept ticking and soon we were on the bus and well off to our destination.
Thank goodness it wasn't called Uno Dias, because my first 24 hours was not what I thought it would be. I was missing Auder-Pop terribly and I just really wanted to see her face. I was ready to go home. Then slowly as Friday progressed I started feeling a little better as time moved on. Once Saturday came, I was a changed girl! Happy and peppy and feeling joyful! Then time was moving too quickly and the day was slipping by. I was so blessed, I grew in my faith, I learned a lot, I talked with so many wonderful and beautiful ladies, it was amazing! I am so happy those two people pushed me to go! I had such an amazing time that I am going back to the next one as a volunteer. I want to relive that weekend but I want to do it from the other side of things.
So many people, including myself, get turned off by the secrecy of what happens on this weekend. Really there are no secrets, but you wouldn't want me to tell you to much. I was very annoyed to go into the weekend not knowing anything, but I came out of it so glad that no one told me anything that would go on and I got to experience every moment without anticipation! If you want to be blessed, if you want to learn, grew closer to Christ, form new friendships, get away from the worldly ways, laugh, dance, cry, be there for others, and all around have an amazing time. Then you need to become part of the Tres Dias family! Notice I keep using the word amazing..... well to be honest, its the most amazing word I have for the weekend.... words can't describe what an amazing time I had :)
Last but not least, I want to thank all of you who had such kind and loving words for me throughout the weekend and the ones who prayed for the weekend. They mean the world to me and I will treasure them always! You know who you are!
Love and Blessings!
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Vacation part 2
So I left off when we had left Nanna's to head to Florida. Again they had an open seat for Audrey on both flights so Audrey was able to have her own seat, which is always a blessing. Landing in Atlanta was rough and I actually got motion sickness, which this round of trips was the first ever on a plane. Except for the time I had food poisoning or something weird and had to fly but that is for another time.
Once we landed I had turned on my phone to find a text from my sister that she was already there waiting! We were towards the back of the plane so we of course were stuck there forever before we got a chance to inboard. We had such great visits with Collins side of the family already, and I was very excited to see mine. Sure enough on our way off the escalators my sister was there waiting for hugs with a big smile on her face. Audrey took right to Aunt Kimmy and in the car started mimicking her every move and sound from her car seat. It was on this day the Audrey/Aunt Kimmy signature sound started. WOOOOO HOOOOO! We headed to her house and picked up the boys and headed to steak and shake. It was so nice seeing her and the boys. I can't remember the last time I had seen my nephews and they had certainly become tall and much older then I remembered :)
We had such a great time just hanging out and relaxing. We went on a nature walk and a large tortoise that came walking right passed us. Audrey yelled as she thought he was about to charge her, yet she still made sure to name him Guy! We also went to a park where injured animals were sent until they could be sent back to the wild. Unless of course they couldn't be sent back to the wild then the refugee would keep them and take care of them. After the refugee we went and had lunch then headed to loggerhead. Now this was the same type of thing, a refugee for sea turtles. I saw turtles so HUGE that I could hardly believe what I was seeing. It was really cool. Loggerhead was positioned right next to the Ocean so of course we had to take Audrey to her first Ocean. At first she was horrified because the water was so cold, though she allowed Aunt Kimmy to continue dangling her feet. Soon the girl was unstoppable. Audrey would have ran into the Ocean by herself had we let her. She became soaked in Ocean water and didn't want to leave. She was a fan of the big blue, and we have a seashell from her very first visit.
Florida was beautiful as always but sadly after a few short days we had to board yet another plane. The trip too the airport was interesting as it is only about a 15 minute drive but there was a terrible accident which slowed us down and forced my sister to have to drop us and run. We made it to our gate 5 minutes prior to boarding. It was a rush but we made it. So off to Ohio we went!
Again the Atlanta landing was rough and again I thought I was going to be sick, I didn't lose it but I did have to keep putting drops of peppermint under my tongue. We knew we would get in a little sooner than when my parents could, but after luggage and everything we figured it would have been pretty good timing. Then we realized the plane landed almost 30 minutes early. So by the time we got our luggage it was basically the time we would have originally landed and knew it could potentially be a long wait. Then I saw the sign for the USO! I didn't even know there was military in the area so this amazed me. We wandered over and they welcomed us with arms wide opened. It was so relaxing. Audrey had tons of toys to play with and Collin and I had a tv with comfy reclining chairs and couches. They of course also offered snacks and coffee! Then the text came in that my parents were just around the corner! We headed out and 5 minutes later the family had arrived.
Audrey again had gone straight to Grammy with no problems. Our first stop Ihop! Oh how I had missed that place. I didn't want to go to sleep that night, I just wanted to stay up and talk. But eventually mom and I were the only ones left so I gave in. We had a great visit. We went to a Lake Erie Monsters game, (the baby AVS), for military appreciation night, which was a blast. Even after I ran into a 3 foot cement pillar and twisted my ankle on the way to the game. I was in a LOT of pain but knew we had to continue to the game. Thank goodness I didn't do anything worse.
We also celebrated Audrey's second birthday in Bubble Guppies style. I got to see so many people that I had not seen in a long time including a high school friend that I hadn't seen in years and a cousin who we figured it had been about 14 years since our last visit. It was great, and it was once again confirmed how amazing our family is to all come together and how much Audrey is loved.
We also went to my grandmas for a night which was, as always wonderful. We had a great big dinner that was much like an early Thanksgiving. Then the next day my grandparents, two aunts and cousin went to Erie with us so I could get the much loved Chick-Fil-A! It was a wonderful visit, except that on the way in, my grandma took a harsh fall, it was seriously one of those moments when everything around me froze and in slow motion I watched her fall to the ground but no matter what I did, there was nothing I could do fast enough to stop it. I felt awful, we went there for me, and she took a tumble on the cement. After she got up and became composed again, we got her some ice for the side of her head and she seemed to be ok, just a little sore. The worst of it was needing to get new glasses.
We headed back to my parents that afternoon and had a relaxing night just hanging out and talking. Tuesday morning came early and the day that I was dreading. We packed up the night before and had to finish early in the morning. My mom was babysitting so Audrey and I went to join her after lunch and Audrey got to play with a new friend. Once her day was over we packed up and headed to Cleveland. We got a suite with a full kitchen, table and chairs, living room with a fireplace and a Kind size bedroom. Then upstairs was another bathroom and kind bed. Matt took the pull out couch. If anyone can make a hotel fun.... it was Matthew and I. We played with a ball on he stairs for a long time laughing and hoping that no one was down stairs that would call in saying we were too loud. Then he wanted to go find the gym and that was an adventure. We walked around the premises for what seemed like forever until mom went in and rechecked directions. The gym was in the Hotels second building, that looked nothing like the one we were staying in. Matt had pointed it out awhile ago on our adventure but mom and I told him he was crazy and that, that building had to be a different Hotel.... joke was on us! Once back we finally all gave in and called it a night. 4am came REALLY, REALLY early, and sure enough it was time to head to the airport. Because of the time we had left my parents and Matt only had time to drop us off and say our good-byes. Sometimes I think that is for the better because then there are not as many tears because it has to be quick, but then when I finally have time to process I think it hurts even more to have to say good-bye.
Audrey got another seat all the way back home. It was an amazing, busy, vacation but a fantastic one!
Once we landed I had turned on my phone to find a text from my sister that she was already there waiting! We were towards the back of the plane so we of course were stuck there forever before we got a chance to inboard. We had such great visits with Collins side of the family already, and I was very excited to see mine. Sure enough on our way off the escalators my sister was there waiting for hugs with a big smile on her face. Audrey took right to Aunt Kimmy and in the car started mimicking her every move and sound from her car seat. It was on this day the Audrey/Aunt Kimmy signature sound started. WOOOOO HOOOOO! We headed to her house and picked up the boys and headed to steak and shake. It was so nice seeing her and the boys. I can't remember the last time I had seen my nephews and they had certainly become tall and much older then I remembered :)
We had such a great time just hanging out and relaxing. We went on a nature walk and a large tortoise that came walking right passed us. Audrey yelled as she thought he was about to charge her, yet she still made sure to name him Guy! We also went to a park where injured animals were sent until they could be sent back to the wild. Unless of course they couldn't be sent back to the wild then the refugee would keep them and take care of them. After the refugee we went and had lunch then headed to loggerhead. Now this was the same type of thing, a refugee for sea turtles. I saw turtles so HUGE that I could hardly believe what I was seeing. It was really cool. Loggerhead was positioned right next to the Ocean so of course we had to take Audrey to her first Ocean. At first she was horrified because the water was so cold, though she allowed Aunt Kimmy to continue dangling her feet. Soon the girl was unstoppable. Audrey would have ran into the Ocean by herself had we let her. She became soaked in Ocean water and didn't want to leave. She was a fan of the big blue, and we have a seashell from her very first visit.
Florida was beautiful as always but sadly after a few short days we had to board yet another plane. The trip too the airport was interesting as it is only about a 15 minute drive but there was a terrible accident which slowed us down and forced my sister to have to drop us and run. We made it to our gate 5 minutes prior to boarding. It was a rush but we made it. So off to Ohio we went!
Again the Atlanta landing was rough and again I thought I was going to be sick, I didn't lose it but I did have to keep putting drops of peppermint under my tongue. We knew we would get in a little sooner than when my parents could, but after luggage and everything we figured it would have been pretty good timing. Then we realized the plane landed almost 30 minutes early. So by the time we got our luggage it was basically the time we would have originally landed and knew it could potentially be a long wait. Then I saw the sign for the USO! I didn't even know there was military in the area so this amazed me. We wandered over and they welcomed us with arms wide opened. It was so relaxing. Audrey had tons of toys to play with and Collin and I had a tv with comfy reclining chairs and couches. They of course also offered snacks and coffee! Then the text came in that my parents were just around the corner! We headed out and 5 minutes later the family had arrived.
Audrey again had gone straight to Grammy with no problems. Our first stop Ihop! Oh how I had missed that place. I didn't want to go to sleep that night, I just wanted to stay up and talk. But eventually mom and I were the only ones left so I gave in. We had a great visit. We went to a Lake Erie Monsters game, (the baby AVS), for military appreciation night, which was a blast. Even after I ran into a 3 foot cement pillar and twisted my ankle on the way to the game. I was in a LOT of pain but knew we had to continue to the game. Thank goodness I didn't do anything worse.
We also celebrated Audrey's second birthday in Bubble Guppies style. I got to see so many people that I had not seen in a long time including a high school friend that I hadn't seen in years and a cousin who we figured it had been about 14 years since our last visit. It was great, and it was once again confirmed how amazing our family is to all come together and how much Audrey is loved.
We also went to my grandmas for a night which was, as always wonderful. We had a great big dinner that was much like an early Thanksgiving. Then the next day my grandparents, two aunts and cousin went to Erie with us so I could get the much loved Chick-Fil-A! It was a wonderful visit, except that on the way in, my grandma took a harsh fall, it was seriously one of those moments when everything around me froze and in slow motion I watched her fall to the ground but no matter what I did, there was nothing I could do fast enough to stop it. I felt awful, we went there for me, and she took a tumble on the cement. After she got up and became composed again, we got her some ice for the side of her head and she seemed to be ok, just a little sore. The worst of it was needing to get new glasses.
We headed back to my parents that afternoon and had a relaxing night just hanging out and talking. Tuesday morning came early and the day that I was dreading. We packed up the night before and had to finish early in the morning. My mom was babysitting so Audrey and I went to join her after lunch and Audrey got to play with a new friend. Once her day was over we packed up and headed to Cleveland. We got a suite with a full kitchen, table and chairs, living room with a fireplace and a Kind size bedroom. Then upstairs was another bathroom and kind bed. Matt took the pull out couch. If anyone can make a hotel fun.... it was Matthew and I. We played with a ball on he stairs for a long time laughing and hoping that no one was down stairs that would call in saying we were too loud. Then he wanted to go find the gym and that was an adventure. We walked around the premises for what seemed like forever until mom went in and rechecked directions. The gym was in the Hotels second building, that looked nothing like the one we were staying in. Matt had pointed it out awhile ago on our adventure but mom and I told him he was crazy and that, that building had to be a different Hotel.... joke was on us! Once back we finally all gave in and called it a night. 4am came REALLY, REALLY early, and sure enough it was time to head to the airport. Because of the time we had left my parents and Matt only had time to drop us off and say our good-byes. Sometimes I think that is for the better because then there are not as many tears because it has to be quick, but then when I finally have time to process I think it hurts even more to have to say good-bye.
Audrey got another seat all the way back home. It was an amazing, busy, vacation but a fantastic one!
Friday, November 21, 2014
Vacation part 1
I need to have a headset to talk directly to my blog page so that it doesn't take me so long to find the time to sit down and type. We all made it back safely and all of our flights were fine... no crazy incident like last time, (see http://bigcitylittlefamily.blogspot.kr/2013/09/yes-that-just-happened.html if you are unaware of that situation). On our way from Houston to Tokyo though we did realize that we had a sick child on our hands. Not the, I am sick and going to be lethargic and sleep the whole time, but more like I am irritated feeling and going to let you know about it, type of sick. Audrey didn't sleep for more than 3 hours on the flight. She did however sleep the 2 hours and 20 minutes from Tokyo to Seoul, in fact we all did.
Our visit was wonderful. We got into PHX around 6pm and headed straight for the Hotel, however we had a heck of a time getting our rental car. There was a bit of a line and it was not an easy transaction. I must not of figured in the tax correctly because whenever I get a rental car I always set aside a card specifically for that and nothing else. I was a dollar and some change off :( So when getting ready to just use our bank account instead they informed Collin that any instate drivers license could only use a credit card. Since Collin still has a AZ license he couldn't use the debit card. So then we changed it so I would be the main driver, since I have a Colorado DL. This of course entailed them going back through the entire system of input and deleting Collin's information and inserting mine. After about another 20 minutes we had the keys. We walked out to the rental cars and we were greeted with two gentlemen carrying bottles of water for us and walking us to our car. After the initial inspection and again another lecture on the safety of buying additional insurance we were finally in the car. Next stop was the hotel and once we got there it wasn't long before we were all asleep. I thought we were in for some serious rest but Audrey had other plans and choose to wake up at 3am. So her and I had an adventure walking around the hotel early in the morning, going into the hotel lobby and watching ABC's on the computer, going outside to run around some more and then playing on the steps leading from the first floor up to the top floor. I even got her a bath and a little after 6 begged her to fall back asleep. Somewhere around 630 we were both sleeping again. The reason for our PHX visit was for my youngest step sons wedding. The Mrs. had already been to Korea, but it was great to see her again. It was also great to finally meet my daughter in law from my oldest other step sons marriage. I never know how I will be viewed because of being closer to their ages but I LOVE both of my daughter in laws. The wedding was nice and although I missed the ceremony due to Audrey choosing to have a screaming fit 5 minutes prior to the beautiful bride walking down to meet her husband. The wedding was very nice and the weekend was, well, frankly a whirlwind of events and to be honest most was a blur. However, it was great for Collin to be able to spend so much time with his kids. It really was the highlight for him. The only thing I wish that had happened was I was hoping to see my step granddaughter. I knew the boys wouldn't make it I just didn't know the little princess would not.
While there we got to stay with some very loving friends. We had great conversation and an awesome time with them the whole way around. I wish we could have spent more time with them but it was a very short weekend with the family and time was not on our side. Sunday came and we had nothing to do and we discussed the zoo or something fun but when we woke up we quickly realized that the time zones had kicked in, and we were dragging. So that Sunday we laid around, watched some football, a movie, napped, and just hung out. Thank you friends for all your hospitality and helping out with Audrey.
Monday morning came and we were off to see Nana and Grandpa Bill. Orbitz had sent me an email saying that our flight had changed to a 5 hour layover in Dallas and we would not get into Killeen until after 10pm at night. This was very unexceptable so Collin spent easily an hour and a half on the phone getting it all worked out. We finally got an early departure from Dallas and our ETA for Killeen was now just after 7. This was better than the 10 but not as good as our origional flight. Since Nana and Grandpa Bill wouldn't be able to pick us up that late I started searching for a rental car. This worked out in the end much smoother, however, it was difficult getting the car at first. Knowing that Killeen is so small I realized I should get the car as soon as possible. When I called from the house, I was told by Enterprise that the only thing available was a van at $80 plus a day. NOT HAPPENING. So I tried to log on once we got the airport and search through USAA and Orbitz. I couldn't connect in the PHX airport so waited until we got to Dallas. Most of you know I stress easily and not having the car set in stone this close to arrival had my stress level up, but I knew in all reality everything would work out. Once we were in Dallas and found our connecting flight I was able to get onto Orbitz, the USAA website was taking way too long to load, but Orbitz said they had compact cars all the way up to vans availible through Enterprise. I thought this was slightly odd but went with the compact car anway. After landing in Killeen we went to the rental area and checked in to get our car. The guy looked at us puzzled and said, "We don't have any compacts available." After a bit of discussion, we got the next size up and were on our way. Advice for the futre. They may tell you on the phone or on their website they are out of cars, but they always set aside cars for their partners like Orbitz! An hour or so later we arrived at Nanna's house.
As always this is a warm and relaxing visit. Nanna and Collin went to the store and she of course spoiled Audrey with new toys, and a day or two later we found Audrey's Anna trick or treat costume. Being only a day or two away from Halloween, I didn't think we would still find one. There were several Elsa's out there at the Church trunk or treat but only 1 Anna! Audrey still doesn't understand the concept of trick or treating yet but in all honesty that is ok with me. She will either start enjoying it in a year or two or she won't. At Nanna and Bill's we found Duck Dynasty wine and of course HAD to try it. It wasn't bad, I enjoyed mine and Collin said his was good as well. Unfortunately Audrey still wasn't adjusted, I don't think we really were either and she was up several nights all night long. Audrey was not the nice little princess she usually is. On our last full day Nanna and I went and got our hair done, mine was a cut and straightened and Nanna was color. It was Halloween and all the hairdressers were all dressed up. Saturday came and by 5am we were awoken by a knock on our door. My alarm never went off and Nanna came to the rescue. We were soon off for an early flight to Florida.
Well Audrey has gotten awake so I guess I will finish telling you all about the last part of my trip later. Time to get her some toast and try to call some family. Hope you all are having a great week. I will try to get the rest of the trip up before I go to bed tonight :)
Our visit was wonderful. We got into PHX around 6pm and headed straight for the Hotel, however we had a heck of a time getting our rental car. There was a bit of a line and it was not an easy transaction. I must not of figured in the tax correctly because whenever I get a rental car I always set aside a card specifically for that and nothing else. I was a dollar and some change off :( So when getting ready to just use our bank account instead they informed Collin that any instate drivers license could only use a credit card. Since Collin still has a AZ license he couldn't use the debit card. So then we changed it so I would be the main driver, since I have a Colorado DL. This of course entailed them going back through the entire system of input and deleting Collin's information and inserting mine. After about another 20 minutes we had the keys. We walked out to the rental cars and we were greeted with two gentlemen carrying bottles of water for us and walking us to our car. After the initial inspection and again another lecture on the safety of buying additional insurance we were finally in the car. Next stop was the hotel and once we got there it wasn't long before we were all asleep. I thought we were in for some serious rest but Audrey had other plans and choose to wake up at 3am. So her and I had an adventure walking around the hotel early in the morning, going into the hotel lobby and watching ABC's on the computer, going outside to run around some more and then playing on the steps leading from the first floor up to the top floor. I even got her a bath and a little after 6 begged her to fall back asleep. Somewhere around 630 we were both sleeping again. The reason for our PHX visit was for my youngest step sons wedding. The Mrs. had already been to Korea, but it was great to see her again. It was also great to finally meet my daughter in law from my oldest other step sons marriage. I never know how I will be viewed because of being closer to their ages but I LOVE both of my daughter in laws. The wedding was nice and although I missed the ceremony due to Audrey choosing to have a screaming fit 5 minutes prior to the beautiful bride walking down to meet her husband. The wedding was very nice and the weekend was, well, frankly a whirlwind of events and to be honest most was a blur. However, it was great for Collin to be able to spend so much time with his kids. It really was the highlight for him. The only thing I wish that had happened was I was hoping to see my step granddaughter. I knew the boys wouldn't make it I just didn't know the little princess would not.
While there we got to stay with some very loving friends. We had great conversation and an awesome time with them the whole way around. I wish we could have spent more time with them but it was a very short weekend with the family and time was not on our side. Sunday came and we had nothing to do and we discussed the zoo or something fun but when we woke up we quickly realized that the time zones had kicked in, and we were dragging. So that Sunday we laid around, watched some football, a movie, napped, and just hung out. Thank you friends for all your hospitality and helping out with Audrey.
Monday morning came and we were off to see Nana and Grandpa Bill. Orbitz had sent me an email saying that our flight had changed to a 5 hour layover in Dallas and we would not get into Killeen until after 10pm at night. This was very unexceptable so Collin spent easily an hour and a half on the phone getting it all worked out. We finally got an early departure from Dallas and our ETA for Killeen was now just after 7. This was better than the 10 but not as good as our origional flight. Since Nana and Grandpa Bill wouldn't be able to pick us up that late I started searching for a rental car. This worked out in the end much smoother, however, it was difficult getting the car at first. Knowing that Killeen is so small I realized I should get the car as soon as possible. When I called from the house, I was told by Enterprise that the only thing available was a van at $80 plus a day. NOT HAPPENING. So I tried to log on once we got the airport and search through USAA and Orbitz. I couldn't connect in the PHX airport so waited until we got to Dallas. Most of you know I stress easily and not having the car set in stone this close to arrival had my stress level up, but I knew in all reality everything would work out. Once we were in Dallas and found our connecting flight I was able to get onto Orbitz, the USAA website was taking way too long to load, but Orbitz said they had compact cars all the way up to vans availible through Enterprise. I thought this was slightly odd but went with the compact car anway. After landing in Killeen we went to the rental area and checked in to get our car. The guy looked at us puzzled and said, "We don't have any compacts available." After a bit of discussion, we got the next size up and were on our way. Advice for the futre. They may tell you on the phone or on their website they are out of cars, but they always set aside cars for their partners like Orbitz! An hour or so later we arrived at Nanna's house.
As always this is a warm and relaxing visit. Nanna and Collin went to the store and she of course spoiled Audrey with new toys, and a day or two later we found Audrey's Anna trick or treat costume. Being only a day or two away from Halloween, I didn't think we would still find one. There were several Elsa's out there at the Church trunk or treat but only 1 Anna! Audrey still doesn't understand the concept of trick or treating yet but in all honesty that is ok with me. She will either start enjoying it in a year or two or she won't. At Nanna and Bill's we found Duck Dynasty wine and of course HAD to try it. It wasn't bad, I enjoyed mine and Collin said his was good as well. Unfortunately Audrey still wasn't adjusted, I don't think we really were either and she was up several nights all night long. Audrey was not the nice little princess she usually is. On our last full day Nanna and I went and got our hair done, mine was a cut and straightened and Nanna was color. It was Halloween and all the hairdressers were all dressed up. Saturday came and by 5am we were awoken by a knock on our door. My alarm never went off and Nanna came to the rescue. We were soon off for an early flight to Florida.
Well Audrey has gotten awake so I guess I will finish telling you all about the last part of my trip later. Time to get her some toast and try to call some family. Hope you all are having a great week. I will try to get the rest of the trip up before I go to bed tonight :)
Friday, October 10, 2014
Family
A little bit of back information.
I remember when I first moved here Collin had the computer room in the spare bedroom. There was a full size bed in the corner of one of our 3 bedrooms on the 10th floor. I on the other hand, had other plans. My dream for my baby girl was to have a large nursery with all the amazing furniture, and a separate play room with more toys and gadgets that a girl could ever want. Although I still have a lot of those items, living in a 3 bedroom apartment made me have to severely downsized and the guest room with the bed, in my eyes, needed to become the playroom. With that, the bed had to go, the computer was now in the living room, and the toys took over.
Fast forward to the present.
We now live in a 4 bedroom apartment. There is a nice master bedroom that of course we take over, and a hallway connects to a tiny room with no closets. There is a large room that has been separated with wooden sliding doors to make 2 rooms, each room having closets. The rooms were taken up by our room, the baby's bedroom, a computer room with workout equipment and a closet full of photography equipment and a playroom. All this and no guest room or bed because I thought it would be better not to have one. I remember telling Collin, "Who is ever going to visit us in Korea that we will need a bed? If local friends stay over or your son comes to visit, they can sleep on the couch!" I never thought we would actually get family here!
Last week was amazing. Collins brother and his brothers youngest son who he hadn't seen in 6 years, and his brothers wife, who he had never met, came to visit. I was suddenly regretting not having that spare bed. However we did have 2 air mattress set up, that seemed to work just fine for them. With a little shuffling around of the playroom, all had a comfortable room to sleep in.
The long weekend was so busy, short and wonderful all at the same time. It was such a pleasure meeting this part of the family for the first time. I chuckled every time I heard Collins brother say the same things Collin does like when we part ways with my step son Collin likes to say, "Make good choices." Well wouldn't you know as we were turning to leave our son Collin's brother said, "Make good choices!" It was so perfect. In fact I didn't even realize it wasn't Collin until I truly processed the voice in my head, and our son said, "Wow they are brothers."
They arrived early early in the morning and unfortunately their first sight of me was just crawling out of bed with Audrey to great them. I am sure a horrible sight for them. So much for first impressions mean everything. Although I guess they got a glimpse of the real me, and to be honest in made picking out my clothing for the rest of the week more relaxed. I mean they already saw me at my worst lol! After they went down for a early morning nap we headed off to lunch and then got caught in the rain walking home. The rest of the day was easy and relaxed. Friday we were out and about all day and went to an old Korean village that we had never seen before, so it made it a first for everyone. We also hit up a great lunch in Myeongdong, walked through the shopping, which I found a fabulous store to do clothing shopping for me even though I am considered very large in this Country, went to Nagwon Music mall (which I have never seen so many music stores in my soon to be 31 years of living, and I thought of my music teacher in high school almost the whole time). Then we went to visit our son! It was a long busy day and by the time we got home we were out for 11 hours that day!
Our second day, was much more low key. We went to a park where there was a lot of music things going on. We even saw John Park perform for an woman's Adidas event in the park. Many of you probably don't know, but he was a finalist on one of the American Idols. My brother in law actually got a picture with him so it was kind of cool. We took a stroll in Itewan, walked home and a few hours later enjoyed fireworks on the roof of our apartment complex.
After Church on Sunday, we stayed in the house and visited until the sad hour came for them to pack up and head home. A wonderful, but fast weekend, with many awesome memories made!
The Village
The crowds of Myeongdong... Can you find Collin and I?
Random family pics!
Just a few photos of the amazing fireworks. This year was England, China, Italy, and Korea!
I remember when I first moved here Collin had the computer room in the spare bedroom. There was a full size bed in the corner of one of our 3 bedrooms on the 10th floor. I on the other hand, had other plans. My dream for my baby girl was to have a large nursery with all the amazing furniture, and a separate play room with more toys and gadgets that a girl could ever want. Although I still have a lot of those items, living in a 3 bedroom apartment made me have to severely downsized and the guest room with the bed, in my eyes, needed to become the playroom. With that, the bed had to go, the computer was now in the living room, and the toys took over.
Fast forward to the present.
We now live in a 4 bedroom apartment. There is a nice master bedroom that of course we take over, and a hallway connects to a tiny room with no closets. There is a large room that has been separated with wooden sliding doors to make 2 rooms, each room having closets. The rooms were taken up by our room, the baby's bedroom, a computer room with workout equipment and a closet full of photography equipment and a playroom. All this and no guest room or bed because I thought it would be better not to have one. I remember telling Collin, "Who is ever going to visit us in Korea that we will need a bed? If local friends stay over or your son comes to visit, they can sleep on the couch!" I never thought we would actually get family here!
Last week was amazing. Collins brother and his brothers youngest son who he hadn't seen in 6 years, and his brothers wife, who he had never met, came to visit. I was suddenly regretting not having that spare bed. However we did have 2 air mattress set up, that seemed to work just fine for them. With a little shuffling around of the playroom, all had a comfortable room to sleep in.
The long weekend was so busy, short and wonderful all at the same time. It was such a pleasure meeting this part of the family for the first time. I chuckled every time I heard Collins brother say the same things Collin does like when we part ways with my step son Collin likes to say, "Make good choices." Well wouldn't you know as we were turning to leave our son Collin's brother said, "Make good choices!" It was so perfect. In fact I didn't even realize it wasn't Collin until I truly processed the voice in my head, and our son said, "Wow they are brothers."
They arrived early early in the morning and unfortunately their first sight of me was just crawling out of bed with Audrey to great them. I am sure a horrible sight for them. So much for first impressions mean everything. Although I guess they got a glimpse of the real me, and to be honest in made picking out my clothing for the rest of the week more relaxed. I mean they already saw me at my worst lol! After they went down for a early morning nap we headed off to lunch and then got caught in the rain walking home. The rest of the day was easy and relaxed. Friday we were out and about all day and went to an old Korean village that we had never seen before, so it made it a first for everyone. We also hit up a great lunch in Myeongdong, walked through the shopping, which I found a fabulous store to do clothing shopping for me even though I am considered very large in this Country, went to Nagwon Music mall (which I have never seen so many music stores in my soon to be 31 years of living, and I thought of my music teacher in high school almost the whole time). Then we went to visit our son! It was a long busy day and by the time we got home we were out for 11 hours that day!
Our second day, was much more low key. We went to a park where there was a lot of music things going on. We even saw John Park perform for an woman's Adidas event in the park. Many of you probably don't know, but he was a finalist on one of the American Idols. My brother in law actually got a picture with him so it was kind of cool. We took a stroll in Itewan, walked home and a few hours later enjoyed fireworks on the roof of our apartment complex.
After Church on Sunday, we stayed in the house and visited until the sad hour came for them to pack up and head home. A wonderful, but fast weekend, with many awesome memories made!
The Village 
Random family pics!Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Finding my place... after a year!
Hello my friends and family. I am sorry for once again another long delay, but again I have found myself really busy and swamped with school. Today marks 1 year of living in Korea. In fact it was about this time 1 year ago that I step foot in a high rise in a three bedroom apartment on the 10th floor. My world was quickly about to change from living just outside pretty Colorado Springs, where Pikes Peak was just outside my door, to a busy noisy city of 2 million people. I remember all the mixed feelings, I was happy to be with my husband but, I knew it was going to be a hard adventure.
Well here it is a year later. I still know very little Korean, and I still get lost often if I am not with someone, but I have a lot more confidence in who I am and in my life. This has been one of the most wonderful years of my life, I have truly been blessed while living here and although I miss my friends and family and American food and American shopping and......... I digress..... the point is, that even though I am so far away, I wouldn't change any of it. Korea has shown me a new life, a new outlook, and has brought me to a deeper stronger walk with God. Today I think I am really starting to find my place here. Yes sad that I am saying that after a whole year but, I am feeling great.
I have started meeting different and new people. Some I am still not to sure about and others I absolutely love being around. We even have a girl who lives in the same apartment complex that we do, that knew the Robertson family growing up. In fact she told us a couple nights ago that they are the same people now that they were years ago, just a lot richer! This woman was at the park by our apartments and there were several American kids there, Audrey actually played with them and had a good time, for some reason my daughter is really shy (I don't know where that comes from because well....... most of you know both her dad and I and neither of us are shy). I seem some of them down at the park often now and it is really nice to meet a group of parents who just want to be parents. No comparing where each others child is at, no judgmental thoughts or looks, no one is worried about looking perfect and no talking about rank. Which is something I am not used to with military wives. Rank is always part of the conversation. I couldn't believe it when I actually looked at my husband on the way home and said, "that was a nice time, and no one asked about rank!" I couldn't believe that was one of my first statements. Sad but true that military spouses are so worried about who's husband holds what rank. It was such a calm, relaxes night, talking with new friends.
I also have started up with PWOC. Protestant Women of the Church. We meet every Wednesday morning for announcements, prayer, and praise and worship time. After words we all break for our classes. There were several classes to choose from and I got into the the class that I really wanted... Calm My Anxious Heart! Due to sickness in my house I had to miss last weeks but this weeks was awesome. I love the group of women in that class and I can already tell I made the right choice for me. There is homework, on top of my already busy homework school life, but it is a fraction of what I have had to do in my Bible class and that class is over next Sunday. Anyway after PWOC there was a lunch a cross the street, now normally I wouldn't go to these things because I usually feel real out of place. Collin had called me, and I told him I didn't know if I would be going to lunch or not and he said that I should go. While I was still deciding if I wanted to go or not, a distant friend asked me if I was going and that she thought she would be going so I figured why not. At least I have one person if I don't get a table with anyone else I know. (By the way I say distant because we don't really talk and really don't know too much about each other). I am so glad I went to that lunch. I sat with a her and a good friend of mine and we all had our little girls. It was amazing conversation and fellowship.
So here I am a year into Korea and finally feeling like I am fitting in somewhere. My husband told me today that he can see a difference in me. Between getting out more and meeting the right crew, he says I am always in such a better mood. I am looking forward to another 17months here and I am enjoying my favorite month here, September.
I will be stateside for a visit soon and I am very much looking forward to stepping on American soil again.
Have a great day everyone!
Well here it is a year later. I still know very little Korean, and I still get lost often if I am not with someone, but I have a lot more confidence in who I am and in my life. This has been one of the most wonderful years of my life, I have truly been blessed while living here and although I miss my friends and family and American food and American shopping and......... I digress..... the point is, that even though I am so far away, I wouldn't change any of it. Korea has shown me a new life, a new outlook, and has brought me to a deeper stronger walk with God. Today I think I am really starting to find my place here. Yes sad that I am saying that after a whole year but, I am feeling great.
I have started meeting different and new people. Some I am still not to sure about and others I absolutely love being around. We even have a girl who lives in the same apartment complex that we do, that knew the Robertson family growing up. In fact she told us a couple nights ago that they are the same people now that they were years ago, just a lot richer! This woman was at the park by our apartments and there were several American kids there, Audrey actually played with them and had a good time, for some reason my daughter is really shy (I don't know where that comes from because well....... most of you know both her dad and I and neither of us are shy). I seem some of them down at the park often now and it is really nice to meet a group of parents who just want to be parents. No comparing where each others child is at, no judgmental thoughts or looks, no one is worried about looking perfect and no talking about rank. Which is something I am not used to with military wives. Rank is always part of the conversation. I couldn't believe it when I actually looked at my husband on the way home and said, "that was a nice time, and no one asked about rank!" I couldn't believe that was one of my first statements. Sad but true that military spouses are so worried about who's husband holds what rank. It was such a calm, relaxes night, talking with new friends.
I also have started up with PWOC. Protestant Women of the Church. We meet every Wednesday morning for announcements, prayer, and praise and worship time. After words we all break for our classes. There were several classes to choose from and I got into the the class that I really wanted... Calm My Anxious Heart! Due to sickness in my house I had to miss last weeks but this weeks was awesome. I love the group of women in that class and I can already tell I made the right choice for me. There is homework, on top of my already busy homework school life, but it is a fraction of what I have had to do in my Bible class and that class is over next Sunday. Anyway after PWOC there was a lunch a cross the street, now normally I wouldn't go to these things because I usually feel real out of place. Collin had called me, and I told him I didn't know if I would be going to lunch or not and he said that I should go. While I was still deciding if I wanted to go or not, a distant friend asked me if I was going and that she thought she would be going so I figured why not. At least I have one person if I don't get a table with anyone else I know. (By the way I say distant because we don't really talk and really don't know too much about each other). I am so glad I went to that lunch. I sat with a her and a good friend of mine and we all had our little girls. It was amazing conversation and fellowship.
So here I am a year into Korea and finally feeling like I am fitting in somewhere. My husband told me today that he can see a difference in me. Between getting out more and meeting the right crew, he says I am always in such a better mood. I am looking forward to another 17months here and I am enjoying my favorite month here, September.
I will be stateside for a visit soon and I am very much looking forward to stepping on American soil again.
Have a great day everyone!
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
VBS week... and other stuff!
You know that Vacation Bible School was a success when 3 days after the final day everyone is still talking about it and posting pictures on Facebook. So many of my fellow volunteers are still posting and l love seeing it. I made so many friends last week. Everyone was amazing and I can't stop thanking the pre-k family enough! I really miss my kids. I wish I would be able to stay in contact better. Two of them had birthdays on Sunday and I hope they went well! VBS week was an experience I will never forget. The kids are all truly amazing and to watch their little lives light up when learning about Jesus is so awesome! Watching them sing songs and learning the hand motions and participating is outstanding and simply awesome! I think I have found that I really want to work with kids. I found my thing.
Collins birthday was this weekend and I have to say it was a great night. There are 2 guys here in Korea with us that I would do anything for and both of them were with us! Sitting around and talking football and hockey was a blast. I can't wait to see how the football season turns out to see who is right and who is wrong about their assumptions! There was plenty of talk about Cleveland and Johnny football! Somehow though the evening, for awhile, kept going back to Sharknado. A movie none of us have watched but yet talking about the concept seem to intrigue these 3 men lol. I just sat back and laughed, found a smile forming a cross my face and realized how lucky I am. It was indeed a great evening!
August is almost upon us and there will be some upcoming changes in the Shorey house. Whenever Collin is gone it gives me a chance to clean up my diet, dedicate myself to more workout time, and revamp my plan. I guess I should say plans because with both Collin and the Nanny being gone my volunteer work is going to be pretty slow which also means I will have a lot more time at home. My big plans for August are to look over the budget and prepare for our upcoming vacation to the states. Plan for my September Jeju Island trip that I am really wanting to take. I have to go to Hallasan and even if we can't climb much with the Audrey I will climb parts of it! I say mostly the word I and not we because it is my goal more than Collin's! Hallasan is the biggest mountain in South Korea, which isn't saying much for the height of a mountain. I am used to Pikes Peak and well I don't think Hallasan is even half of the peaks sumit that I used to look at everyday! However, I want to go do it! Who knows if we leave early enough maybe we can reach the top even with Audrey. I doubt it but a girl can dream! I will also start looking at the many trips we want to take next year and all the little weekender trips we can take throughout the year. I would love to see Thailand, Japan, and China. Japan is first on the list though as I want to go to Mt. Fuji. It is funny, I used to be such an ocean girl, I always wanted large bodies of water around me and now I am all about the mountains. August is also going to be a month to crack down on not only my health and weight loss but for little miss A. She is potty trained for the Nanny. Never has issues unless they are out playing and can't make it to a potty in time. At home though she is completely potty trained for Minda and well it's time she is completely potty trained for mommy too. So while we are home the princes will be in big girl underwear! We will also get her back in her own bed. We have had some rough nights with sleeping and so she has been back in our bed again. Nights like tonight we were just too lazy and put her in our bed instead of hers because neither of us wanted to deal with it. So once it is just her and I, we are going to get back to it, along with a better schedule. We were doing so well with a schedule and then I just got lazy, or busy, or something.... yes, the Shorey household will be a busy one in August!
I can't believe that July is winding down so quickly. It seems like just last week we were starting July! Which also means that the real heat is just around the corner. I never thought I would experience the kind of heat that I have these past couple of weeks. There are times when I don't feel like I can fully breath outside it has been so unbearable. Collin says it has been a good summer so far but if next year is hotter than this year, I am not going to do so well! That and I am sure our electric bill is going to be 900.00 for this month. I say this because May and June combined was 900.00 and those were not even hot months :(
School is going well. I am into my 3rd week of a computer class and only have 2 more to go! Which reminds me I should probably get my books ordered for my Bible class since it starts soon. I can't believe fall semester is right around the corner already. I am not loving this computer class but I am pushing for an A as always. I did enjoy my English class and even though my final grade was a B I think I learned more in those 5 weeks than I have in a long time. Oh and I am taking a Korean class. Not sure how well that is going to go, but I also know I can't have Collin teach me the language. Our brains operate very different and it would just be one disaster after another! I missed last week due to VBS but I guess we got a bunch of new students so instead they just repeated the previous week. I may not be able to have Collin teach me but I sure can have him help me brush up to be ready for this Thursday!
Well better get off here. It is 1am and Audrey has successfully been sleeping for 2 1/2 hours! I better get some sleep in before she decides she wants to wake back up. It has been a rough 5 nights with her.
I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and has and even more fantastic week!
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