Seattle, WA

Our trip back home to the States has almost come to an end and it has been fantastic! I have taken so many pictures the last week and a half of fun times with all of our family and friends, but I also have taken several of the breathtaking views that surround the Pacific Northwest...God's beauty is truly incredible here!

Anyway, this post isn't so much about our vacation as it is for our friends who haven't had the opportunity to see the Great Northwest before. I grew up here, moved away 4 years ago and it is even more beautiful than I remember! Here is a glimpse for you of the gorgeous Seattle area we've been enjoying...

And to our friends back in South Korea (see you soon!) and you would not believe how fresh the air is here! Every time I step outside I can't help taking deep breaths, enjoying the crisp, fresh, sweet clean air...a very different reaction to our 'home' in S.Korea where we all often hold our breath outside! Even the kids have noticed the difference! If only I could bring it back with me, I would! :)

Samuel is TWO!

Samuel turned two! And this post is mostly for the grandparents back in the States...LOTS of pictures! We had a nice little party tonight with some of our good friends and I think Samuel had a great time... 

Our sweet baby boy isn't so little anymore!

Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

I think they turned out pretty cute! So I had to share a pic...   :)

A Wipes Bin For Play!

All my kids have at one point during their baby/toddler years, pulled all of the wipes out of the wipe bin. There's something just wonderfully fun about pulling them out one after the next and they are so thrilled with themselves as they do it but it doesn't make Mama very happy when it happens. :) So why didn't I think of making something like this long before the 4th child? I have been keeping my scraps as I sew in an empty wipes container and Samuel got ahold of it one day and I realized that it was great entertainment for him! So I made some more 'scrap' size pieces, some long ones, some of them I sewed multiple little ones together so there would be different patterns all strung together as he pulled them out...and he LOVED it! :)

He did this over and over again many times and even kept putting them back in all by himself!

It was so simple and quick to make and was such a hit...I'm definitely going to pull this one out during school time with the big kids when Samuel needs something to do without Mommy's help. :)

The Love of Reading

Most days I try my hardest to get up before the kids...that is to say, before the trumpets blare on post at 6:30am, because if the kids haven't gotten up before that, they sure will when they hear them. Our house gets going much earlier than the trumpets on most days though. Every once in awhile my older two will rise even before me....if it was the younger two, I'd know the second they were awake! But Joy and Joshua occasionally rise before I do and entertain themselves until I join them. I took a few pictures of them one morning because I felt so much joy as I thought about how most mornings that they wake before me, this is how I find them.... reading books.  :)

I LOVE that they love reading! It makes my heart so happy to see them choose to read on their own, even first thing in the morning. And I laughed when I saw Joy had chosen the laundry basket as her reading spot, I love to find comfy places to curl up with a good book too, though I don't think I'd fit in the laundry basket anymore! :)  If there is one thing that I hope all my children will 'catch' from me and Peter, besides our beliefs and faith, it's the love of reading and it's so sweet to see that these little ones are already doing it so often.  :)

Beautiful Mosaics!

When we started, I thought this was going to be a one day art project...but it turned into a week long creative event! Joy LOVED it and made so many more than I ever thought she would! And most of them with very little help.

Below is Joy's Heart and Joshua's Masterpiece! The kids enjoyed it so much that I decided to do it for our co-op art project last week and I think the kids in our class enjoyed it too, though we did much smaller pieces of cardboard so that we could finish them during our classroom time. :) It's messy, but fun and so beautiful when completely filled in and finished. It took a bit of patience so Joshua only did this one and another smaller one at co-op. But Joy really got into it!

For this one I wrote the letters in pencil on her card board and drew 3 leaf shapes as she requested, then she glued her beans on top of the lines I wrote, but she did the rest! She spent about 3 days doing this one, making the patterned frame and then adding her... 'wind swirls' as she calls them... before filling the rest of it in.  :)  I think it turned out fantastic and I'm going to try my best to save it so we can pull it out every fall to decorate our home, it's beautiful!

Joy's Star...

This is the only one that I helped Joy do very much...and it's only because I was having so much fun! Our Autumn Tree...

They made beautiful art to add to our wall!