beniah got a hold of my camera recently and went crazy through our house. i started to delete them..and then i realized they were actually kind of cool.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
adventures in arizona: pumpkin patch
so recently i've decided to explore arizona more. let me explain. i'm still coming to terms with the fact that we live here. my mindset my freshman year at the university of arizona was "four years and get back out". i had moved here from seoul, south korea..one of the busiest and biggest cities in the world. i took public transportation everywhere, there was always people around which made me feel safe, korea experiences four seasons, and i love a good city. tucson is pretty much the anti of all these things and i was determined not relocate after college. fast forward four years and i'm married and my husband has a job here..so we buy a house..and suddenly i feel like i'm trapped (especially since the housing market crashed shortly after).
don't get me wrong. i haven't been hating everyday of my life here. mostly just when it is unbearably hot do i think these thoughts. but after a hike last year i commented on the BEAUTIFUL sunset. dave turns to me and responds "that sunset has been here for eight years". so i've decided that as a family we will be exploring more of what arizona has to offer. and now that the weather is cooling down (here and there) i think its the perfect time to start.
we've been going to agua linda farms in amado, arizona for the past couple years and i'm glad we went back this year. to the typical hayride around the pumpkin patch, pony rides (for an additional $5/ride), and petting zoo they added a jumping castle and mini corn maze this year. we have yet to join them for their movie nights on friday and saturday night, but next year we might settle in for the kid friendly movie. their food is pretty delicious and i was particularly impressed this year. i was holding my freshly made onion rings (yum), while beniah carried his hot dog basket over to get some ketchup when i hear "mama, it fell, it fell!". i turn around and his hot dog had come unraveled from his paper and was upside down on the dirt. i was not going to buy another one-i was out of fun money-but i felt bad. i knelled down to talk with him about it and one of the workers came over and took the hot dog from me and said, "lets get you another one." i think beniah was prepared for me to tell him that we weren't going to get another one because he teared up right away and fell into my shoulder. after a second to calm him down i told him they were getting him a new hot dog. his thank you to the man who showed up with a fresh one was truly genuine-and so was mine. my standard for great customer service is pretty high since i am in the customer service business and they definitely won my business for the next coming years.
in years past i haven't actually purchased our pumpkins there. beniah was too little to even realize if we left without one and i always thought they were overpriced. but as we were exiting i stopped to pick out two because they were actually cheaper than what i had seen at the grocery stores and i choose to put our money into a local business. and although i tried to encourage beniah to pick out a big one for himself-he choose a baby pumpkin (well, two actually..i gave in-they were so little!)
don't get me wrong. i haven't been hating everyday of my life here. mostly just when it is unbearably hot do i think these thoughts. but after a hike last year i commented on the BEAUTIFUL sunset. dave turns to me and responds "that sunset has been here for eight years". so i've decided that as a family we will be exploring more of what arizona has to offer. and now that the weather is cooling down (here and there) i think its the perfect time to start.
we've been going to agua linda farms in amado, arizona for the past couple years and i'm glad we went back this year. to the typical hayride around the pumpkin patch, pony rides (for an additional $5/ride), and petting zoo they added a jumping castle and mini corn maze this year. we have yet to join them for their movie nights on friday and saturday night, but next year we might settle in for the kid friendly movie. their food is pretty delicious and i was particularly impressed this year. i was holding my freshly made onion rings (yum), while beniah carried his hot dog basket over to get some ketchup when i hear "mama, it fell, it fell!". i turn around and his hot dog had come unraveled from his paper and was upside down on the dirt. i was not going to buy another one-i was out of fun money-but i felt bad. i knelled down to talk with him about it and one of the workers came over and took the hot dog from me and said, "lets get you another one." i think beniah was prepared for me to tell him that we weren't going to get another one because he teared up right away and fell into my shoulder. after a second to calm him down i told him they were getting him a new hot dog. his thank you to the man who showed up with a fresh one was truly genuine-and so was mine. my standard for great customer service is pretty high since i am in the customer service business and they definitely won my business for the next coming years.
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| my delicious fresh onion rings |
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| his fresh hot dog w/ketchup :) |
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| there were crickets all over..i think b looks like a pumpkin here haha |
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| on the hayride w/uncle phil |
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| the cousins and their pumpkins :) |
in years past i haven't actually purchased our pumpkins there. beniah was too little to even realize if we left without one and i always thought they were overpriced. but as we were exiting i stopped to pick out two because they were actually cheaper than what i had seen at the grocery stores and i choose to put our money into a local business. and although i tried to encourage beniah to pick out a big one for himself-he choose a baby pumpkin (well, two actually..i gave in-they were so little!)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
the cloud of the Lord
warning: random emotional rambling ahead
we got news last week that we will not be able to travel until after the start of the new year. our initial timeframe was presented as november - february, and like i've done this entire process i began planning for the "long shot": february. don't get me wrong-i would have LOVED to see her come home sooner, but i wanted to prepare myself (and our family) to wait and if it happened sooner that would be great! but then we received some news that lead me to believe, hey this might actually happen before the end of the year! we were truly excited. there was our mistake. we got our hopes up. and it really was disappointing to hear that we will have to wait more and possibly even longer than february.
today our little girl is turning one.
the one year birthday is a big deal in korea. on beniah's 1st birthday we did a ceremony similar to what a child would experience. and it was hard enough knowing we wouldn't be able to provide that for H as well-at least not on her actual first birthday. but i also worry that the transition will be more difficult as she ages.
in all honesty the transition is scaring me beyond belief. i've known what to expect throughout this process: paperwork, raise some money, wait, more paperwork, more money, more and more waiting... but i've become more and more anxious about the transition (mostly because) it is completely out of my control. some parts of the process are out of my control as well (like waiting on paperwork from korea), but the transition of bringing her home and us becoming a family involves real people and real emotions. scary stuff if you ask me. i've been reading toddler adoption and i find myself putting the book down every so often while my heart aches for these moments to come.
over the weekend i've gradually come to accept that God's timing is perfect. just this morning i was reminded how He leads, directing us, and is with us when things are moving or are standing still.
"Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out-until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels."
exodus 40:34-38
we got news last week that we will not be able to travel until after the start of the new year. our initial timeframe was presented as november - february, and like i've done this entire process i began planning for the "long shot": february. don't get me wrong-i would have LOVED to see her come home sooner, but i wanted to prepare myself (and our family) to wait and if it happened sooner that would be great! but then we received some news that lead me to believe, hey this might actually happen before the end of the year! we were truly excited. there was our mistake. we got our hopes up. and it really was disappointing to hear that we will have to wait more and possibly even longer than february.
today our little girl is turning one.
the one year birthday is a big deal in korea. on beniah's 1st birthday we did a ceremony similar to what a child would experience. and it was hard enough knowing we wouldn't be able to provide that for H as well-at least not on her actual first birthday. but i also worry that the transition will be more difficult as she ages.
in all honesty the transition is scaring me beyond belief. i've known what to expect throughout this process: paperwork, raise some money, wait, more paperwork, more money, more and more waiting... but i've become more and more anxious about the transition (mostly because) it is completely out of my control. some parts of the process are out of my control as well (like waiting on paperwork from korea), but the transition of bringing her home and us becoming a family involves real people and real emotions. scary stuff if you ask me. i've been reading toddler adoption and i find myself putting the book down every so often while my heart aches for these moments to come.
over the weekend i've gradually come to accept that God's timing is perfect. just this morning i was reminded how He leads, directing us, and is with us when things are moving or are standing still.
"Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out-until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels."
exodus 40:34-38
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