new! and seriously improved!

 

do you know what I haven't been able to do for six months? besides being able to up and leave the country, and being able to enjoy more than 24 hours of childless freedom- I haven't been able to post any pictures to my blog! I thought it was our internet connection- but we got that situation looked at- and still no blog pictures. and then we decided it must be our antiquated and awful computer. so my sweet hubs got me a new and shiny laptop for my birfday! I was sick for my birthday and did not get to go out foraging for free food, which is one of my favorite birthday activities, but I got INSANELY hooked up with some of the absolute best birthday presents a girl could ask for. man my friends and family are amazing!!!

speaking of amazing friends, my phenomenal friend, jenny, took our pics back in November. and they were soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo great! I really really really wanted little j to have beautiful pics to take home with her (wherever that may be and whenever she may happen to have to leave) and jenny delivered big time. and of course- I can't show you those pics. not because of my computer though- just privacy and protection of my little one.

so here are some pics I can show you. and I seriously restrained myself by only picking 10 to share with you:

Chris Watson. He's my fave.

tickle tim! I cn share this one beause you can't really make out J's face

fantastic mr. topher

cuties!

 

 

& beauties!

 

an attempt at a family pic without J. she's standing right behind us.

stop growing up child!

acting, and looking like a little angel.. at this specific moment ;)

our boy! love him so.

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jenny! i cannot get over how you capture our family's heart and soul with your camera! 

 you are amazing and i can't thank you enough for the fantastic blessing of your friendship,

 and for the incredible honor it is to be able to have your photographic masterpieces on the walls of our home.

 

for more info about jenny:

 

http://www.jennybishopphotography.com/blog/

Crazy Pants

i vaguely/distinctly remember the first time i ever saw someone wearing capri pants. i was in my car, in toronto, at yonge and bloor, with jeehon. as we sat at the red light, a person (i think it was a man!) walked in front of our car wearing pants that weren't long enough to be pants, but weren't short enough to be shorts. jeehon and i laughed and drove on. we thought it was so ridiculous. and then before we knew it- everyone was wearing capris, and my sister and i were certainly part of the everyone.

i remember the first time i ever tried on skinny jeans. i was at forever21, and i was with jeehon (man! you'd think from this post that we haven't spent most of our adult lives living on different continents!), and i came out of the dressing room and we just knew- it wasn't right. i was too short to pull this 'trend' off. and the pants were too tight. and i wasn't 21 any more so why was i shopping here? but guess what happened next? everyone and their mother (mine included!) started wearing skinny jeans. including me. and excluding jeehon. she's such a rebel sometimes. and i believe i have never seen Elisa Watson in skinny jeans either. i know two rebels.

but isn't it funny how sometimes you see something, and the first time you see it you are shocked/disgusted/amazed/annoyed. but then you see it over and over and over again and then you become numb to it. you even succumb to it. you even try the pants on again. and you convince yourself that you do in fact like those pants. that you do in fact somehow look good in those pants. and then you pay money for those crazy pants.

i remember, in my sweet, innocent, youth- thinking that divorce was for quitters and bad kids were a result of bad parenting,

i'm older now. it's fair to say that i'm jaded now. i wear crazy pants now for pete's sake. but i know that NO ONE knows what's going on in anybody's home except your own. and if you aren't paying attention- you (i!) might not even really know what's going on inside your own home.

i have seen marriages disintegrate/implode due to sin. i have seen marriages work through unfaithfulness. i have seen good parents struggle with bad choices that their kids have made. i have seen bad parents abandon their precious little ones to a very broken and sad foster care system, but somehow come out on the other side with very very good, responsible, amazing kids who grow to be amazing, responsible, good adults. i have learned you can't judge anybody because you have no idea what they have been through and what they are going through. you don't know why people are wearing the pants that they are wearing. did someone force them to put them on? or did they choose it themselves? were those the only pants available to them? is that even ever really an option or a complete cop out?

what pants are you wearing and why? were you appalled the first time you saw someone wearing those same pants- or were you amazed? i hope it's the second, and not the first. but here's the good news- you can always, always, change your pants. sometimes you need help getting out of them, and then you're gonna have to call some really good friends that you are comfortable enough with to have them see you in your undies. but call them. and change your crazy pants.

this post is dedicated to my absolutely amazing family and friends who have helped me out of some bad pants situations, and helped me into good pants. and i do still shop at forever21. even though i am almost 34.

2014

here is our Christmas letter from this year!
still can't get pictures to load cause my computer hates me!!!!

2014- A Year of Promotions

Chris- After having played the part of being a drug-addicted transient (very convincingly!) for two years, Chris decided to give up the beard and gave being a Sergeant a chance. After a very stressful (for me!) 3 week testing process, Chris did great, did five weeks of training, and has been Sergeanting his very own squad for about a month. With his promotion has come the joys of working midnights and weekends again. If you are ever in Scottsdale, driving aimlessly at 2 am on a Friday night- give Chris a call! Or better yet, buy him a donut. He loves those. ;)

Jihae- It only took her two and a half years to master being a mother of three, and that’s when Jihae got promoted to being a mother of four. And the fourth came with no morning sickness or painful labour- only thirty hours of classes, a home inspection, and still lots of anxiety- and BOOM! We got a sweet and sassy little 17-month old delivered to our doorstep! With this promotion has come less sleep, more joy, less patience, and more opportunities to practice being more patient. If you’re every driving aimlessly around Gilbert at 2pm any day of the week- give Jihae a call! Or better yet, bring her a coffee. Cause she needs one.

Lily and Topher- Though they absolutely deserve their own paragraph, their promotions looked very similar this year. So that’s why they aren’t getting their own paragraphs. This year was a mighty and major year for our eldest two as they both accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour, and were baptized at church in front of their friends, families, and a ton of strangers. It was the best!!!!! We are so exceptionally proud of the little people that Lily and Topher are. They are (usually) so helpful, especially with entertaining the younger two kids, and they are both doing really great in second and first grade respectively.

Mia- Her promotion was not one that she sought, but it happened nonetheless. She was booted from her lofty position as ‘baby of the family’, and was upgraded to being a big sister.  With her promotion has come a shared bedroom with Lily- which she loves, someone to boss around, and someone to scheme with/play with while the other kids are at school. Mia is so hilarious, so cute, and so stinkin temperamental!

J- I doubt that living at our crazy house is much of a promotion for our precious little foster daughter, but we are so glad she is with us! In the last five and a half months, she has grown four teeth and two molars, her vocabulary went from not much to too much, and she went from not hugging us back when we would hug her- to giving us the tightest, most life-affirming squeezes, topped off with an interesting version of ‘love you!’. It is hard to tell who has grown more in the last few months- her, or all the rest of us because of her.

Thanks to all of you for your continued friendship and support. When you think of us- pray for us!

And we are praying for you and wish you a blessed and wonderful 2015!

Thanks also to jennybishopphotography for taking our pictures again this year!

(which i can't seem to upload any pics to my blog. again...)