I slept thru the night!

It always amazes me that I can sleep thru the night on my first night here. Guess not being able to sleep on a 13 hour flight has it's advantages! So here is what I look at when I think I have been traveling for SO long on the flight:

I think to myself, 'Wow, I have been flying for a long time now', then look at the monitor and realize, I still have 8 MORE hours of flying!!!

Then I look at this:

And realize how cool is that! To see myself crossing over the international date line. This always gets me tho, it messes me up on my days and when I finally think I have it down, I mess it up when I talk to my family back home. Oh well, Koreans can have blonde moments too!!

We arrived at the airport and everyone's luggage arrived and no one got stopped at customs!! So here is the 2008 Holt Gift Team, one of many group photos to come. The Gift Team consists of volunteers from Oregon, Washington, Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio:

In Korea and Tired

To say the least! I am not one to sleep on the plane, I sure wish I could tho on such a long flight! It does help to be seated in economy plus, even for my short legs. I am off to bed, way too tired and we have a full day tomorrow. I will write tomorrow!! Good night or good morning for most of you! Love and miss you all!!

Korea or Bust!

I can finally say I am ready for my trip! Christmas cards are done and ready to mail...the trees are decorated...the schedule is typed out for my family...and I am almost packed, which is saying a lot since I usually don't pack until the night before!

The next time I will post will be from Korea...I am so excited so stay tuned!

Thanks Mom, for the Reminder...

That TODAY is MY Gotcha Day! Wow! I haven't thought about my own Gotcha Day in a long time, probably because I am always so busy with living life! For those that do not know what a 'Gotcha Day' is, it is the day when a child joins their forever family. So today is my 36th anniversary of the day I joined my forever family...amazing. And to think of how far I have come in my life...

I have been so blessed, though the road wasn't always easy, but with the all the challenges, it made me that much more of a stronger person. I really wouldn't trade my experiences, for all of them, the GOOD and the bad, made me the person I am today. I was given a wonderful chance at life and happiness and I am proof that dreams really do come true! How lucky am I to have a wonderful family of my own and be able to give back to those that have truly been instrumental in giving me this life!

In eight days, I will depart for Korea. I get the wonderful opportunity to give back to Holt, but in reality, I am the one that receives the wonderful gifts of seeing our dedicated Holt-Korea staff, our foster families, and most of all, the children and adults in our orphanages and at Ilsan.

No wonder this time of year always gets to me, it's the time of year I was given the gift of my forever family. Thank you, mom, and I am so happy we are sharing the Holidays together! I love you!

My Reminder for Giving Thanks...

This is a size 2 toddler jacket that I wore when I was 5 1/2 years old. I look at it every once in awhile and really can't get over how tiny it is. The significance of this jacket, it was the jacket I wore on the day I joined my second adoptive family in the United States. I was in the first family for 15 months, but was horribly physically abused. If I would not have been adopted into my current family, I truly believe I would not be alive.

I am not a saver of things anymore, but this jacket, I will never get rid of. What a great reminder for me of the day I was given yet, another chance at life and oh what I life I have had and still have! My life today, people assume I am spoiled, I am, but it came with a lot of hard work and prioritizing of my life and the lives of my own family members.

When I look at this jacket, I think to myself, "What a cute jacket!" But the most important thing I think of when I see this jacket is how grateful I am for the life I have been given. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Oh Where, Oh Where....

Have I been? Living life, keeping busy, making major decisions that I thought I would never have to make(not ones that affect my family, sort of).

Life is crazy at times, we all have to keep our focus on what is important in life and for me, that is my family. I was out of town most of last week and weekend. My hubby was pretty funny and saying how glad he is to have me home, being a 'single' parent was very tough on him. But he does an excellent job when I am gone. I wouldn't be able to handle it if I had all of his responsibilities at work like he does, then come home and run the household, I would be a wreck! That is why I chose to be a stay at home mom. I know my limits.

It's funny to hear my kids talk about how busy they were with more responsibilities when I am gone...do they really appreciate all I do for our family? YES!!! I know they do and that is why I became a mother, so they could be kids and I could be the parent. I love my hubby dearly and love my kids dearly for stepping up to help when I am gone so that I too may follow my passions!

So, onto the election....tough no matter which way you voted, but wow, history was made and I am proud that America is the land of opportunity for everyone! But it's about how kids think too. My son was telling me about how his discussions at school yesterday and how it came to someone saying to him that he was a racist because if my son could vote, he would vote for McCain...ummm, my son is of mixed race and the student who dared to call him a racist was of a different race(other than Caucasian). I guess I am wondering why it is coming down to race for some people. I've lived with this all my life and I am able to look past any of that. I am able to take the emotion out of it too, guess that has been my survival instinct. I wonder when we can be 'judged' by who we are and not by our race or gender or income level?

Relatives

Since my last posting about losing a parent, my uncle from my dad's side of the family passed away over the weekend and I attended his funeral yesterday. Weddings and funerals are the times when we catch up with relatives that we haven't seen in years. I am grateful I was able to attend my uncle's funeral and see my cousins that I haven't seen for years. I can't even remember the last time I saw them. Some of my greatest memories from my childhood are the ones spent with my cousins.

As I read my uncle's obituary, it struck me that I hadn't realized I had seven cousins. Granted I was younger than most of them so only remember two of the girl cousins. Seeing everyone again after so many years, I would not have recognized any of them, but maybe one if it were in a different setting. Thank goodness for my mom being there with me to introduce me to everyone.

Then come to find out I had an impact on one of my cousins to look at adoption. I don't remember this cousin either, but what a wonderful blessing to know that I had this influence. He was no longer eligible to adopt from Korea, but still pursued adopting a girl from China. This little girl is now 4 years old and cute as can be.

On the drive home, my mom was able to clear up the happenings that occurred with each of my uncles. One uncle I have never met as he chose to close himself off from all family years ago. These life stories sounded like soap operas, but in the end, my uncle that passed away did find happiness and lived his life to the fullest. I'm blessed to know I talked to him a few weeks ago when he called me out of the blue just to say hi to me.

Another thing that struck me as I was at the funeral, my uncle looked so much like my father. I thought this when he attended my dad's funeral so many years ago. Then to see pictures of him in the program, he and my father looked amazingly alike. I couldn't 't help but be stunned by the similarities. Seeing the pictures really made me miss my father even more, but what great memories I have of him and now my uncle.

We all lose touch with our relatives until a wedding or a funeral. We all need to appreciate family more. I wish life wasn't so busy for everyone and we could all get together more often.