we are here! thanks so much to everyone who prayed for chris and topher to get here in one piece and in one day. it worked! God worked it. it was a long day of traveling, but it was awesome. chris got to toronto around 10pm, and i got here at about midnight. we were all asleep by about 2am and awake this morning at 10:30am. so glorious to be on vacation!
chris and i even managed to golf today with my parents, which was a great treat especially cause there were moments when i was kind of cold. so great.
we also ate incredible chinese food with a bunch of my olf church buddies and my brothers.
great times.
no pics right now cause i am exhausted and trying to figure out how i am going to sleep on this queen size bed with chris, lily, and topher... i love being on vacation!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
leaving on a jet plane. again and again and again
it's 5:41am and i cannot fall back asleep. i have about a hundred other things i could be doing right now but i am trying to bore myself back to slumberville by sitting in the dark (it's not dark. the sun is out. dang you desert sun!) with my computer.
i was awoken in the middle of the night by topher who had a bad dream: "sungu drank all the water and didn't leave any for me. wahhhhh! can i have more water?" topher's nightmares often involve other people taking his food or beverages. frightening! so i slept the rest of the night with him. then i woke up at 4:40 to send off the boys to the airport. we are all going to toronto today. but not all together.
we have a friend who works at US Airways, and she very kindly gave us two buddy passes. which were about $300 less than the tickets that lily and i had to buy, but still a ton more than what buddy passes used to go for when Jeehon used to get them all the time when she worked for the airline five years ago. ah the good old days!
Jeehon and her kids left our house for toronto on thursday night at 9:30pm. they did not get to my parents house until almost twenty hours later. Jeehon was also flying stand-by on buddy passes. yowsers. apparently there is a lot of 'weather' on the east coast, so trying to get there was a disaster. fortunately- chris and topher are on the exact same route! they are going to go to dallas, then to philadelphia, then hopefully get to toronto some time this week. if things go really great- hopefully today! if you're bored- would you please pray for my hubby and son to make it to toronto today? and if you're really really bored, please pray that they make it back to phoenix next weekend when we try to fly with lots of other 4th-of-july-weekend commuters.
lily and i bought really wonderful expensive tickets. though paying for them hurt our feelings and our wallet, i am happy to know that Lord permitting, we should definitely be getting to toronto tonight.
we have a long day ahead, but it will be one full of stories, adventure, and prayer! i am really looking forward to blogging from one of my favoritest cities in the world, with my mom's phenomenal home cooking in my belly, surrounded by my brothers and parents, my sister, her kids, my chris, and our kids. it's gonna be a great week! i'm gonna come back ten pounds heavier, i promise! see you on the other side.
i was awoken in the middle of the night by topher who had a bad dream: "sungu drank all the water and didn't leave any for me. wahhhhh! can i have more water?" topher's nightmares often involve other people taking his food or beverages. frightening! so i slept the rest of the night with him. then i woke up at 4:40 to send off the boys to the airport. we are all going to toronto today. but not all together.
we have a friend who works at US Airways, and she very kindly gave us two buddy passes. which were about $300 less than the tickets that lily and i had to buy, but still a ton more than what buddy passes used to go for when Jeehon used to get them all the time when she worked for the airline five years ago. ah the good old days!
Jeehon and her kids left our house for toronto on thursday night at 9:30pm. they did not get to my parents house until almost twenty hours later. Jeehon was also flying stand-by on buddy passes. yowsers. apparently there is a lot of 'weather' on the east coast, so trying to get there was a disaster. fortunately- chris and topher are on the exact same route! they are going to go to dallas, then to philadelphia, then hopefully get to toronto some time this week. if things go really great- hopefully today! if you're bored- would you please pray for my hubby and son to make it to toronto today? and if you're really really bored, please pray that they make it back to phoenix next weekend when we try to fly with lots of other 4th-of-july-weekend commuters.
lily and i bought really wonderful expensive tickets. though paying for them hurt our feelings and our wallet, i am happy to know that Lord permitting, we should definitely be getting to toronto tonight.
we have a long day ahead, but it will be one full of stories, adventure, and prayer! i am really looking forward to blogging from one of my favoritest cities in the world, with my mom's phenomenal home cooking in my belly, surrounded by my brothers and parents, my sister, her kids, my chris, and our kids. it's gonna be a great week! i'm gonna come back ten pounds heavier, i promise! see you on the other side.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
weapons of mass destruction
the most terrible thing happened last week.
my kids were having their 'quiet time'- which has replaced 'nap time'. the 'quiet time' from the day before was pure wonderment. the kids did what they were supposed to do- be quiet, read books, and hopefully pass out. the kids passed out in front of their bookcase, dead asleep on a bunch of books on the floor. it was sheer adorableness. i was so happy that i had such great, obedient, studious, and tired children. life was grand.
then 'quiet time' came around again the next day. the kids were very very very quiet. but they were not good at all. they were the absolute opposite of good. extreme, polar opposite of good.
you know how anything can be a weapon in the wrong hands? that's what happened. but it's not like the kids were using innocent things like books, or knitting needles, or cotton balls to wreak havoc. no. they used something beautiful- nail polish, to destroy themselves, and their bedroom carpet and wall.
sure, this picture doesn't look that bad, but that's how the carpet looks AFTER i already got a lot of the nail polish out. and there's more nail polish on their dresser. and on some of their clothes and blankets...
and of course, they got a lot of nail polish on themselves. a lot. some on their faces, lots on their legs, feet, hands, and some even managed to properly land on their toe nails.
lily had taken two bottles of my nail polish days ago and hidden it in one of her little purses. lily is a hoarder and a sneak. so, she didn't leave the room during her quiet time, which is why no one knew what she and topher were up to. until the smell of nail polish wafted through the house when the air conditioner kicked on. and boy was that smell potent! the kids got seriously disciplined and will hopefully never ever again use something as wonderful as nail polish, which is to be used only for the beautification of things- not for the destruction thereof.
clean up time was not superscuccessful (as you saw from the carpet picture) but that's mostly because i ran out of nail polish remover. after about a whole bottle and maybe 100 cotton balls later, the carpet still looks like junk and the kids have remnant nail polish on their toes. pink nail polish of course. on topher. of course.
here's a picture of lily trying not to pass out from the fumes from the nail polish remover. the fumes that are pissing her off the most are probably from the nail polish remover that was used on her face. chris was very good about finishing up with clean up duty when he got home from work.
gotta love these crazy crazy crazy kids...
my kids were having their 'quiet time'- which has replaced 'nap time'. the 'quiet time' from the day before was pure wonderment. the kids did what they were supposed to do- be quiet, read books, and hopefully pass out. the kids passed out in front of their bookcase, dead asleep on a bunch of books on the floor. it was sheer adorableness. i was so happy that i had such great, obedient, studious, and tired children. life was grand.
then 'quiet time' came around again the next day. the kids were very very very quiet. but they were not good at all. they were the absolute opposite of good. extreme, polar opposite of good.
you know how anything can be a weapon in the wrong hands? that's what happened. but it's not like the kids were using innocent things like books, or knitting needles, or cotton balls to wreak havoc. no. they used something beautiful- nail polish, to destroy themselves, and their bedroom carpet and wall.
sure, this picture doesn't look that bad, but that's how the carpet looks AFTER i already got a lot of the nail polish out. and there's more nail polish on their dresser. and on some of their clothes and blankets...
and of course, they got a lot of nail polish on themselves. a lot. some on their faces, lots on their legs, feet, hands, and some even managed to properly land on their toe nails.
lily had taken two bottles of my nail polish days ago and hidden it in one of her little purses. lily is a hoarder and a sneak. so, she didn't leave the room during her quiet time, which is why no one knew what she and topher were up to. until the smell of nail polish wafted through the house when the air conditioner kicked on. and boy was that smell potent! the kids got seriously disciplined and will hopefully never ever again use something as wonderful as nail polish, which is to be used only for the beautification of things- not for the destruction thereof.
clean up time was not superscuccessful (as you saw from the carpet picture) but that's mostly because i ran out of nail polish remover. after about a whole bottle and maybe 100 cotton balls later, the carpet still looks like junk and the kids have remnant nail polish on their toes. pink nail polish of course. on topher. of course.
here's a picture of lily trying not to pass out from the fumes from the nail polish remover. the fumes that are pissing her off the most are probably from the nail polish remover that was used on her face. chris was very good about finishing up with clean up duty when he got home from work.
gotta love these crazy crazy crazy kids...
Monday, June 20, 2011
fathers day
today is father's day and i am sitting quietly in a cabin up north in overgaard,
hanging out with my sleeping niece, and waiting for everyone else to come back from a walk. i kinda feel like it's mother's day!
i feel superblessed to not be in the phoenix area today for a couple reasons. 1. i am wearing a long sleeve shirt and am worried that my kids are too cold on their walk right now, whereas if we were home, i would be worried about nothing because we would definitely not be outside on a walk, and definitely not be cold. 2. i am hanging out with two of my favoritest dads- chris and wes!
here are chris and his dad playing tether ball together yesterday:
that was a hilarous and wonderful snapshot of yesterday. a wonderful father's day moment we had today was when we were rolling dice to see who would go first while playing Farkle. kim and i lost. chris and wes both rolled a six. so it was a roll off. they rolled again. both rolled a 1. roll again. both rolled a 3. roll again, wes rolled a 5, chris rolled a 4. adorable.
chris and wes are a cute couple of men. i may have already mentioned this before, but one of the most incredible things about these men, and pretty much all the watson men (grandpa and robert)- is how freely they throw out: "i love you". and mean it! they all say this to each other quite often- grown men saying "i love you" to each other all the time. as a korean woman- that's crazy to hear. the first time i knew i was joining a different kind of family was when i was on the phone with chris after he moved back to arizona and was briefly living with his dad. wes came in to chris' room to say good night and they chatted for a second, and then they exchanged "i love yous". they were just going to bed. they were going to see each other in the morning. it's not like they were going off to war or jail or into the lion's den. they were just saying "i love you" as if it was something they always said. again- for me, it was weird. and now that i have been part of this watson clan for over five years, i am used to hearing it. though it never fails to warm my heart everytime i hear chris getting off of the phone with his dad, or brothers, or grandpa, and saying: "i love you."
i want to clarify that most korean people are not superverbal about their feelings whether they be good or bad feelings. my family does not throw out the words: "i love you" a whole bunch, but that doesn't mean that i don't think my parents, brothers, and sister don't love me. i know they do. funny enough, my parents actually say "i love you" like it's going out of style to lily, topher, sungu, and sunha. i don't know why they say it so freely to the little ones and not so much to their own kids, but that's their perogative. i feel the love from my parents through their outpouring of verbal love to my kids.
so, one of my favoritest lines in any movie is from 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." Mr.T (yes, the guy from the 80s with the mohawk and gold chains) is the voice of a dad who loves his son very much. there is one time when he tells his son: "i love you son." and to that his son replies: "i know dad! you tell me everyday!" that's how it's supposed to be! fathers telling their sons, and daughters, that they love them, every day, and kids just knowing that they are so very loved.
my kids are very fortunate to be part of a family that expresses their love for one another very very openly. chris loves loves loves his kids and he tells them and shows them just how much, every day. and lily and topher know that their dad loves loves loves them and are going to be two very confident, well-adjusted, secure, and happy kids because of that love.
just look at the love:
happy father's day to wes, chris, and all the other wicked-great dads out there. much love and respect to you all.
hanging out with my sleeping niece, and waiting for everyone else to come back from a walk. i kinda feel like it's mother's day!
i feel superblessed to not be in the phoenix area today for a couple reasons. 1. i am wearing a long sleeve shirt and am worried that my kids are too cold on their walk right now, whereas if we were home, i would be worried about nothing because we would definitely not be outside on a walk, and definitely not be cold. 2. i am hanging out with two of my favoritest dads- chris and wes!
here are chris and his dad playing tether ball together yesterday:
that was a hilarous and wonderful snapshot of yesterday. a wonderful father's day moment we had today was when we were rolling dice to see who would go first while playing Farkle. kim and i lost. chris and wes both rolled a six. so it was a roll off. they rolled again. both rolled a 1. roll again. both rolled a 3. roll again, wes rolled a 5, chris rolled a 4. adorable.
chris and wes are a cute couple of men. i may have already mentioned this before, but one of the most incredible things about these men, and pretty much all the watson men (grandpa and robert)- is how freely they throw out: "i love you". and mean it! they all say this to each other quite often- grown men saying "i love you" to each other all the time. as a korean woman- that's crazy to hear. the first time i knew i was joining a different kind of family was when i was on the phone with chris after he moved back to arizona and was briefly living with his dad. wes came in to chris' room to say good night and they chatted for a second, and then they exchanged "i love yous". they were just going to bed. they were going to see each other in the morning. it's not like they were going off to war or jail or into the lion's den. they were just saying "i love you" as if it was something they always said. again- for me, it was weird. and now that i have been part of this watson clan for over five years, i am used to hearing it. though it never fails to warm my heart everytime i hear chris getting off of the phone with his dad, or brothers, or grandpa, and saying: "i love you."
i want to clarify that most korean people are not superverbal about their feelings whether they be good or bad feelings. my family does not throw out the words: "i love you" a whole bunch, but that doesn't mean that i don't think my parents, brothers, and sister don't love me. i know they do. funny enough, my parents actually say "i love you" like it's going out of style to lily, topher, sungu, and sunha. i don't know why they say it so freely to the little ones and not so much to their own kids, but that's their perogative. i feel the love from my parents through their outpouring of verbal love to my kids.
so, one of my favoritest lines in any movie is from 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." Mr.T (yes, the guy from the 80s with the mohawk and gold chains) is the voice of a dad who loves his son very much. there is one time when he tells his son: "i love you son." and to that his son replies: "i know dad! you tell me everyday!" that's how it's supposed to be! fathers telling their sons, and daughters, that they love them, every day, and kids just knowing that they are so very loved.
my kids are very fortunate to be part of a family that expresses their love for one another very very openly. chris loves loves loves his kids and he tells them and shows them just how much, every day. and lily and topher know that their dad loves loves loves them and are going to be two very confident, well-adjusted, secure, and happy kids because of that love.
just look at the love:
happy father's day to wes, chris, and all the other wicked-great dads out there. much love and respect to you all.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
princesses and boy princesses...
on saturday morning, we went to Changing Hands, a wonderful little bookstore in Tempe (or is it Chandler?...) they were having a fun morning for princes and princesses with stories, cookies, and crafts. it was pretty awesome. the kids are finally at the age where they sit through storytime. or at least 80% of it. and they are also old enough to understand threats to get them through the last 20% of it- no sitting for stories=no cookies. so we sat through one whole story and then got to the good stuff- crafts and cookies!
another great part of the morning was that the kids were swinging their magic wands in my face and saying they were turning me into a 'witch'. well kids, your magic spell worked! now to figure out how to get me to not be a witch anymore... muahahaha!
the princess
decorating cookies!
eating cookies!!!
topher and lily showing off their crafts. topher made a tiara. he makes it look good.
showing off more crafts- crowns, wands, more tiaras! the crown actually makes topher's head look small for once! what a great great morning!!!!
another great part of the morning was that the kids were swinging their magic wands in my face and saying they were turning me into a 'witch'. well kids, your magic spell worked! now to figure out how to get me to not be a witch anymore... muahahaha!
the princess
decorating cookies!
eating cookies!!!
topher and lily showing off their crafts. topher made a tiara. he makes it look good.
showing off more crafts- crowns, wands, more tiaras! the crown actually makes topher's head look small for once! what a great great morning!!!!
Monday, June 13, 2011
who you gonna call?...
BATMAN!
i know, that is the ghostbusters song. does batman have a song?... "dananananana batman!"... not nearly as catchy as the ghostbuster song.
anyway, last week we met batman. and it was awesome. though it took two days. my sister and i went to the mall early in the week and saw that batman would be there on saturday and sunday, so we decided to come back to meet the caped crusader, because Sungu and Topher and huge batman fans. have they ever seen a batman show or movie before? no. how do they know batman? they don't. but they love him. kind of like how we have never seen Jesus but we love Him cause we have heard great things about him. man, i never realized how spritually savvy our kids are.
so saturday afternoon, we all got in the van and were pumped and ready to meet batman. the boys were dressed in their batman best- matching t-shirts that say 'batkid'. adorable, right? so we got to Arizona Mills, a wonderful little outlet mall here in the valley, at about 1pm. we were going to meet up with chris' brother's wife's sister, Sarah, for lunch too. but then we saw a sign that said batman would be around for pictures at 5pm. yowsers! there was no way we could keep our kids entertained for 4 hours. and worst of all- we had chris watson with us, and there was NO WAY he could stay in a mall for 4 hours. no way. so, we had to abandon the plan to meet batman. chris made up a story about how batman was stuck fighting crime and beating up the penguin, and that he wasn't going to be able to make it today. the kids were very disappointed. until they got to ride on the carousel!
and then we ate at mc donalds. done deal.
but things weren't right at the watson/malloy home. so we decided to give it another shot. so after church on sunday, we got back in the car, and went to meet batman. and of course we didn't bring a camera with us, but fortunately chris had his handy dandy iphone and was able to get this picture:
doesn't he look like val kilmer/michael keaton??? very professional. very nice to the kids. great time had by all. especially jeehon who maybe has as big a crush on batman as her son now.
i know, that is the ghostbusters song. does batman have a song?... "dananananana batman!"... not nearly as catchy as the ghostbuster song.
anyway, last week we met batman. and it was awesome. though it took two days. my sister and i went to the mall early in the week and saw that batman would be there on saturday and sunday, so we decided to come back to meet the caped crusader, because Sungu and Topher and huge batman fans. have they ever seen a batman show or movie before? no. how do they know batman? they don't. but they love him. kind of like how we have never seen Jesus but we love Him cause we have heard great things about him. man, i never realized how spritually savvy our kids are.
so saturday afternoon, we all got in the van and were pumped and ready to meet batman. the boys were dressed in their batman best- matching t-shirts that say 'batkid'. adorable, right? so we got to Arizona Mills, a wonderful little outlet mall here in the valley, at about 1pm. we were going to meet up with chris' brother's wife's sister, Sarah, for lunch too. but then we saw a sign that said batman would be around for pictures at 5pm. yowsers! there was no way we could keep our kids entertained for 4 hours. and worst of all- we had chris watson with us, and there was NO WAY he could stay in a mall for 4 hours. no way. so, we had to abandon the plan to meet batman. chris made up a story about how batman was stuck fighting crime and beating up the penguin, and that he wasn't going to be able to make it today. the kids were very disappointed. until they got to ride on the carousel!
and then we ate at mc donalds. done deal.
but things weren't right at the watson/malloy home. so we decided to give it another shot. so after church on sunday, we got back in the car, and went to meet batman. and of course we didn't bring a camera with us, but fortunately chris had his handy dandy iphone and was able to get this picture:
doesn't he look like val kilmer/michael keaton??? very professional. very nice to the kids. great time had by all. especially jeehon who maybe has as big a crush on batman as her son now.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
tent time
chris set up our tent in the backyard on saturday. the kids were very excited about it! the three big kids, chris, and i were planning on sleeping in there. we all got in the tent, armed with blankies, favorite dolls and animals, and some water. it was pretty warm. so we sat outside, in our giant tent, read some stories, said some prayers, looked out the tent window, and then the troops dispersed.
first sungu said he wanted to go back into the house, and then lily said she didn't want to sleep in the tent with just topher. we reminded her that mom and dad would be in the tent with them, but it wasn't enough.
so i took lily and sungu back in, and chris stayed outside with topher. inside i was praying with lily, she wanted to ask Jesus to help her to be brave. so we prayed for her to be brave, and for topher too. when we said 'amen', lily said she was ready to go back outside. when i told her that her decision was premanent- stay out or stay in, she decided Jesus could make her brave in the comfort of her own bed. i ended up sleeping in topher's bed, making it that much easier to be brave in her room.
meanwhile, chris was outside with topher. topher asked about giants, and the copius strange noises that were lurking on the other side of the thin tent wall. chris told his son that it was absolutely ok to want to sleep inside the house. but topher was resolute. he was going to sleep outside like a brave boy. as long as chris did not leave his side! so they stayed in the tent, looked at each others' teeth, hung out like best buds, and topher fell asleep clutching on to chris' arm for dear life.
little did our brave little boy know that chris managed to free himself for long enough to come inside, enjoy some air conditioning, and a game of scrabble, before he went back to topher's side. topher had a great time in the tent, and woke up a little bit after the sun, at 6am, much to his father's chagrin. chris, sore from sleeping on the ground, was awoken by topher saying: "look dad! the sun is up!here it is! (opening up one of the tent 'windows') and look, it's on this side this side too! (opening the other 'window' on the other side of the tent)"
setting up the tent took about a half hour, and that's about how long lily and sungu lasted in the thing. but topher's bravery made the ordeal worthwhile.
first sungu said he wanted to go back into the house, and then lily said she didn't want to sleep in the tent with just topher. we reminded her that mom and dad would be in the tent with them, but it wasn't enough.
so i took lily and sungu back in, and chris stayed outside with topher. inside i was praying with lily, she wanted to ask Jesus to help her to be brave. so we prayed for her to be brave, and for topher too. when we said 'amen', lily said she was ready to go back outside. when i told her that her decision was premanent- stay out or stay in, she decided Jesus could make her brave in the comfort of her own bed. i ended up sleeping in topher's bed, making it that much easier to be brave in her room.
meanwhile, chris was outside with topher. topher asked about giants, and the copius strange noises that were lurking on the other side of the thin tent wall. chris told his son that it was absolutely ok to want to sleep inside the house. but topher was resolute. he was going to sleep outside like a brave boy. as long as chris did not leave his side! so they stayed in the tent, looked at each others' teeth, hung out like best buds, and topher fell asleep clutching on to chris' arm for dear life.
little did our brave little boy know that chris managed to free himself for long enough to come inside, enjoy some air conditioning, and a game of scrabble, before he went back to topher's side. topher had a great time in the tent, and woke up a little bit after the sun, at 6am, much to his father's chagrin. chris, sore from sleeping on the ground, was awoken by topher saying: "look dad! the sun is up!here it is! (opening up one of the tent 'windows') and look, it's on this side this side too! (opening the other 'window' on the other side of the tent)"
setting up the tent took about a half hour, and that's about how long lily and sungu lasted in the thing. but topher's bravery made the ordeal worthwhile.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
cousins!
i'm not sure how a whole week has passed since my last post, but we have been busy and exhausted here with our on-slaught of extra family members. what have we been busy with? i'm not sure. we have gone to a good number of malls, been dressing lily and sunha in matching outfits, and have gotten wet every day (steady 100+ days are here to stay). buying a kiddie pool at walmart was the best $20 i have ever spent. really, i have nothing new to report. we did meet batman on sunday, but that deserves it's own post. otherwise- nothing. nada. i have actually tried to post for the last 3 or 4 days in a row, but either i have fallen asleep, not been able to find my camera, fallen asleep, or not been able to think of anything good or special to write about.
so, what to do when you have nothing to write about? post pics of a bunch of crazy kids. so here you have it- more pics of my kids and their crazy cousins.
so, what to do when you have nothing to write about? post pics of a bunch of crazy kids. so here you have it- more pics of my kids and their crazy cousins.
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